I traveled back to ancient times, but I was able to lie down and relax.

"Separate?"

Liu Yanxi was stunned, not expecting his sister to say this.

People at this time valued family highly, especially when the elders were still alive. Unless the brothers had really gotten into a fight, they would live together.

It is true that many people can get things done. For example, in farm work, it is much easier and more efficient for several people to divide the work than for one person to do it alone.

But for the three siblings, living in that kind of house was actually harder than living alone. If they could separate...

Seeing that he didn't speak, Liu Nanjia assumed he disagreed and tried hard to persuade him.

“Brother, we really can’t stay in that house any longer. What kind of life have we been living these past two years? Look at my little sister, she’s five years old this year, and she looks even younger than my uncle’s four-year-old Liu Anren.”

She then pulled Liu Sirou's hand over and rolled up her sleeve. Her slender arms were covered with purplish-blue pinch marks, some of which hadn't faded before new ones appeared, all from Fang Shi's pinching.

Then she continued, "My little sister is already weak, and she doesn't even have enough to eat every day. If this continues, I'm afraid she won't be able to hold on."

As she spoke, a strange emotion welled up in her chest, seemingly not hers but belonging to the original owner of the body. The emotion surged so intensely that her nose stung and tears welled up in her eyes.

Looking at his younger sister's red eyes and her little sister beside him, who was also blinking red eyes and looking up at him, Liu Yanxi felt a pang of sadness.

It was his fault. Grandpa never liked Mom and his two younger sisters. When Dad was alive, he always protected them, and Aunt didn't dare to be so presumptuous. But after Dad passed away, Grandpa no longer hid his dislike for them, and Aunt would take her anger out on them at the drop of a hat.

Thinking of his father, he felt even more guilty. If only his father had survived, his mother would still be alive too. With them around, his sisters wouldn't be suffering like this.

Seeing that he remained silent, Liu Nanjia continued to persuade him: "Brother, dividing the family property will definitely be better than it is now. Even if we don't get any land, as long as the three of us are still here, we'll always find a way to survive. Instead of being like this..."

She paused, then prepared to add fuel to the fire: "I overheard a few days ago that Grandpa was planning to marry my eldest sister off to a man from the neighboring Canghe Village who had lost his wife, just because he could offer a higher dowry."

"My older sister is only 14 this year. I heard that man is really fierce. Apparently, he beat his last wife to death. I... I'm scared..."

Actually, she made this up. If she didn't take drastic measures, she was afraid that her educated brother, who had a gentle personality like their father, would blindly follow the ancient tradition of filial piety and disagree with dividing the family property.

Liu Yanxi was taken aback, not expecting such a thing to happen. She quickly said, "Don't worry, little sister, I won't let this happen."

His gaze fell on the concealed wound on his sister's head, and his heart sank. What right did he have to say such things? He couldn't even stop his sister from being beaten like this at home. What if that kind of thing really happened...?

Seeing that he was so upset and self-blaming that he was about to cry, Liu Nanjia felt that the ingredient had gone a bit too far.

This boy was only 13 years old, just one year older than the original owner of this body, yet he was forced to take on the heavy responsibility of caring for his two younger sisters. He had already done a very good job.

So he comforted him, saying, "Brother, don't panic. Maybe I misheard. Perhaps they were talking about someone else, not our eldest sister."

“But the family must be divided. Better safe than sorry. Even if marriage is still a long way off, I don’t want to keep seeing my grandfather’s face and enduring my aunt’s beatings and scoldings every day. After the family is divided, I can take over the cooking, and we can find a way to make money. We can start a small business, and with the money we earn, we can build a big house, grow some vegetables, flowers, and fruit trees in the yard.”

Isn't this the life of lying down that she once dreamed of?

Then, changing the subject, she added, "Of course, you'll still have to do the physical labor like carrying water and chopping wood."

Liu Yanxi was amused by her next words, "Why do you need to make money? I'm here."

Seeing that the atmosphere had eased, Liu Sirou finally dared to speak up: "What about me? What should I do?"

Liu Nanjia smiled and patted her head, saying, "You're still so young, you don't have to do anything, just be a happy little child."

The three of them daydreamed for a while, then Liu Yanxi frowned again, "Now that we've separated, where will we live?"

Since the family is splitting up, they must move out of Grandpa's house; otherwise, what's the point of splitting up the family?

"I've thought about it."

Liu Nanjia said, "Didn't Dad used to teach in the village?"

When their father was mentioned, all three of them looked a little sad.

Liu Nanjia sighed inwardly and continued, "That school is now abandoned. Although my father didn't live there back then, people used to live there. It should have all the basic living necessities. At least there was no need to build a stove, and there were tables and chairs to use."

"Let's try to persuade Uncle Village Head. Given his past relationship with Dad, he should agree to let us stay for a while. If that doesn't work, there's that abandoned house at the east end of the village. It's a bit dilapidated, but we can manage to stay there."

Liu Yanxi was somewhat surprised to hear this. When did his younger sister become so opinionated?

Then another concern was raised: "Grandpa probably won't agree to the division of the family. When Father was alive, he brought it up once because he was unhappy that Aunt always bullied Mother and you. Grandpa got very angry and gave Father a good scolding."

This time it was Liu Nanjia's turn to be surprised. She didn't expect her father to have mentioned dividing the family property. She thought her father was the kind of person who wouldn't disobey his elders.

Yes, she always felt that her father was a bit old-fashioned, a common problem among scholars. She never thought that he had done such a thing for her mother and them, even though he didn't succeed.

Her impression of her father improved a bit more, and she said, "So Father has mentioned this before, then we should definitely separate the family. We can think of a way later. Brother, what I really need today is your attitude. After all, you have to take the lead in this matter of separating the family. If even you are not firm, then it will be even more impossible."

Recalling her grandfather's attitude towards her father in her memory, she spoke again with a hint of disdain: "It's not surprising that Dad couldn't separate back then. How could Grandpa tolerate his scholar son not being on his side? If the family were separated, he wouldn't be able to control Dad anymore. And what about Uncle and Aunt? If the family were separated, Grandpa and Grandma would definitely go with the scholar son, and they wouldn't get any benefit from it."

Given the circumstances of the family division, the grandfather, being the father-in-law, couldn't personally cause trouble for his daughter-in-law. The grandmother, being a weak-willed woman, was far less effective than the shrewish aunt.

He can't use his mother to control his father. How can he control his son? He's a scholar, after all. What face can a scholar father have if he has an obedient scholar son?

Liu Yanxi was also a smart man. He understood what his sister hadn't said and his eyes dimmed. He realized that his grandfather's high regard for his father did not stem from love for his child.

At the same time, a new question arose, and she asked directly, "Little sister, I feel like you've changed a lot these past two days. You've never said these things before..."

Although Liu Nanjia wasn't exactly weak in the past, she never resisted and silently endured the mistreatment from her grandfather and aunt.

Today, he not only brought up the somewhat outrageous idea of ​​splitting up the family, but he also spoke eloquently and logically.

Liu Nanjia gave a self-deprecating laugh: "Two days ago, I had a brush with death and figured out a lot of things. Before, I only dared to think about things myself, but I didn't dare to say them out loud, let alone do them. But that experience made me realize that blindly tolerating things is useless."

She deliberately didn't imitate the original owner, that little girl, who only knew how to endure when things happened, and what was the result?

Moreover, she could attribute all the changes in her personality to that incident, since constantly imitating another person is exhausting.

Liu Yanxi nodded, agreeing with this statement.

He later heard from his younger sister that she had been unconscious for a while that day, and had even stopped breathing. Otherwise, she wouldn't have cried so hard, and his aunt wouldn't have let her rest peacefully in the house for two days.

Seeing that he believed her, Liu Nanjia brought up another important matter: "Brother, do you have money?"