After the separation, I took my whole family to eat delicious food and drink spicy

"Jiang'er, go and invite the village chief over." Su said to Li Jiang.

After receiving instructions from his mother, Li Jiang hurried to the village chief's house, his heart full of anticipation for the division of the family business.

Village chief Li Qingde was a highly respected elder in the village, his every word and action influencing the entire village's ethos. When Li Kun arrived at the village chief's home, Li Qingde was sitting in the yard, holding a yellowed ancient book. The sunlight shone on his wrinkled face, making him look particularly kind and solemn.

"Village chief, my mother asked me to invite you to preside over the division of our family." Li Jiang saluted respectfully, with a barely perceptible nervousness in his voice.

Li Qingde looked up at Li Jiang, then put down the book in his hand and slowly stood up. "Divide the family? Your mother is still alive, what's the point of dividing the family?" His tone was both authoritative and tinged with confusion.

On the way, Li Qingde listened to Li Jiang's description of the family situation, especially when he heard Li Jiang complain about the free food and drink of the third wife, he couldn't help but sigh. He knew Su's character very well. Not only was she selfish, but she was also very partial.

Arriving at the Li family's courtyard, several clan elders had already gathered. Some were sitting, some were standing, their faces etched with complex expressions. As Li Qingde entered the courtyard, everyone's gaze was fixed on him, as if his arrival was the final arbiter of the family division dispute.

"Everyone's here. Looks like something big is going on today." Li Qingde looked around. His voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for everyone present to hear clearly. "I heard from Li Jiang that you guys want to split up, right?"

Upon hearing this, Su stepped out of the crowd and said, "Village Chief, you know our family's situation well. Ever since Li Shan left, the third branch hasn't paid any money from the public treasury to me. I can't let the first and second branches support them for nothing."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Bai's face was full of disbelief: "Mom, what are you talking about? When our Shan Ge was still alive, all the silver we earned from hunting was given to Zhong Gong, and we didn't keep a penny. After Shan Ge left, I worked day and night, for fear of being a burden to the family. I was basically responsible for three meals a day at home. Fang'er and Linlin were only six years old and they helped the family to cut grass for pigs and feed chickens and pigs every day. How come we eat and drink for free?" After saying this, Mrs. Bai's tears began to flow down her face.

"Bai, you still have the nerve to say that. If you had agreed to the Zhao family's marriage proposal, there wouldn't be a split now. To put it bluntly, it's all your fault. I've decided to split this family."

"Alright, stop arguing!" Li Qingde shouted. "Su, you said the third house is eating and drinking for free, but from what I know, Bai works in the fields every day, and the children also help out. How can you say they're eating and drinking for free? Besides, family members should support each other. Now that Li Shan is gone, you should take care of them, the orphans and the widows."

Su was speechless, but still said unwillingly: "You want me to support them? No way. We must divide the family today."

"It's not impossible to divide the family, but it has to be done fairly," Li Qingde said after a moment of contemplation. "The family's fields, houses, and livestock must be divided equally. No one should suffer any loss. Also, from now on, each branch will be responsible for its own profits and losses. No more excuses are allowed to shirk responsibility."

After hearing what Li Qingde said, Su Shi and the first and second wives were all upset. However, because the village chief and the elders were present, the first and second wives didn't dare to say a word. However, Su Shi was different. She felt that her age meant she had a say in front of the village chief and the elders. She felt that the village chief was favoring the third wife. "Village chief, you are clearly favoring the third wife. Why should everything in the house be divided equally?"

Li Qingde frowned and said, "Su, don't be so unreasonable. I'm just following the rules. We're all family, why bother with so much?"

Su snorted coldly, "Since you want fairness, then fine, the first and second wives and I don't want this house anymore. Give it all to the third wife, and we'll move into the thatched cottage at the east end of the village."

Li Qingde was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, "What are you talking about? The house will be divided equally, and the first, second and third wives will still live in their original houses."

"No, Jiang'er and Dachun are about to get married. The house where the third wife lives now needs to be vacated to be used as their wedding house. The third wife and her family will move to the thatched cottage at the east end of the village."

After hearing what Su said, Mrs. Bai said loudly: "Mom, no one has lived in the old house at the east end of the village for many years. The house is leaking everywhere and it is not habitable at all." Mrs. Su ignored her and turned to Li Qingde and said: "Village chief, do you think this arrangement is feasible?" Li Qingde pondered for a moment, "The old house at the east end of the village is indeed in disrepair, but there is no better way right now. Mrs. Bai, why don't you make do with it for now, and build a new house when you have the conditions in the future." Mrs. Bai wanted to say something, but was stopped by Li Xiaoxiao.

Li Xiaoxiao whispered, "Mom, forget it, we can live anywhere." Mrs. Bai looked at her sensible daughter and felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

Seeing this, Li Qingde said, "Then it's settled. The first and second wives will remain in their current houses, and the third wife will move to the old house at the east end of the village. Let's start moving tomorrow." He then looked at Su and said, "Su, now that the houses have been divided up, the next step is to divide up the family's land, livestock, and so on."

"We have eight acres of good farmland, four acres of medium-quality farmland, two acres of reclaimed wasteland, a pig, three hens, a rooster, and about a hundred pounds of unpolished rice." Su continued, "Village Chief, the first and second wives should naturally get more of the land. After all, Jiang'er and Dachun will need money to marry in the future. As for the third wife, she can only get the two acres of wasteland and the rooster."

After hearing Su's proposal, Mrs. Bai was so angry that she trembled all over. "Mother, you're going too far! We can't grow any crops on those two acres of wasteland. How are our family of four going to live in the future?" Mrs. Su remained unmoved. "This is a division of the family, so of course the distribution should be based on labor. Since your third branch doesn't have any men, you'll naturally get less."

Li Qingde couldn't help but say, "Su, your distribution is unfair. Although the third branch's Li Shan is gone, we still have Li Fang. I suggest that each family get two mu of good land, with the Su family counted as a separate family. Each family gets one mu of medium-quality land. The pigs go to the first and second branches, and the wasteland still belongs to the third branch. Each of the three families gets one hen, and the rooster goes to the third branch. As for the coarse rice, divide it equally among the people. How do you think this works?"

Although the first and second wives were somewhat dissatisfied, they also knew that the village chief was trying to distribute the property fairly, so they kept quiet. Seeing that no one had any objections, Su reluctantly agreed.

But then he thought that after the third wife was separated, he would have to pay a lot for his support, so he said to the village chief: "Village chief, you see I am old now, from now on the first and second wives will take turns supporting me for one month, and the third wife will not have to take turns. They only need to give me 200 coins a year for support."

Li Qingde looked at Mrs. Bai, "Mrs. Bai, what do you think?" Mrs. Bai gritted her teeth and said, "Mother, our third branch is willing to pay the alimony, but we don't have that much money right now. Can we wait until we earn some money before paying?"

When Su heard this, she immediately became unhappy and said, "No, it must be paid in one go."

At this time, Li Xiaoxiao, who had been silent all this time, spoke up, "Grandma, we can write an IOU and promise to pay it back within three years."

"Since you don't have any money, you can just use the rooster to pay for this year's debt." Su argued.

Li Xiaoxiao hadn't expected Su to be so unreasonable. Li Qingde, upon hearing Su's words, also felt that the old woman was too difficult to talk to. However, this was someone else's family affair after all, and it was not appropriate for him to interfere too much. Finally, at Su's insistence, the only rooster that the third house had been allocated also fell into Su's hands.

And so, the division of the family was finally finalized. The village chief took out his pen, ink, paper, and inkstone and wrote five copies of the division documents. Su, Li Jiang, Li Ren, and Li Fang from the third branch each stamped their fingerprints. Su and the third branch each kept a copy, and the village chief kept a copy for his records. With the village chief and the elders as witnesses, the division of the Li family was finally complete.