Lu Liu didn’t know how to cook rabbit meat, so he took a rabbit from Li Feng and followed Chen Guizhi to learn how to do it.
After a few days, Chen Guizhi treated him the same as before and taught him in detail.
She explained to Lu Liu in detail what dishes they usually made, how they usually ate them, how to remove the gamey smell, how to choose side dishes, and the differences in taste.
“When we have more rabbit meat in the future, try making it step by step,” Chen Guizhi said.
Lu Liu could cook; once the process was explained clearly, he could figure it out on his own.
For other dishes, Lu Liu took over the cooking, with Shun Ge’er helping him. Shun Ge’er needed to learn how to make these dishes.
It was New Year’s Eve, so Er Tian and his wife didn’t make a fuss. Wang Dongmei also came out to help, but she didn’t do the cold work of washing and picking vegetables. She wanted to tend the fire.
Er Tian was outside with Li Feng putting up couplets, while Chen Guizhi went to Sanmiao’s house to bring Er Huang home.
It was New Year’s Eve, so they shouldn’t be eating at Sanmiao’s house.
She set aside a little over a pound of rabbit meat and had Miao Xiaohu prepare it, adding another dish to the New Year’s dinner.
After exchanging a few pleasantries and congratulating each other, Chen Guizhi led Er Huang home.
When Er Huang went outside, he sensed Li Feng’s scent and jumped onto him, leaving several paw prints on his clean cotton coat. He also licked Li Feng’s head a few times.
Li Feng freed his hands, took out a net pouch from his pocket, and hung it around Er Huang’s neck.
The net pouch was large, and Li Feng had used some dog hair he had saved earlier to make it, so it was loose around the neck.
The children in the village had been taught that, except for a few greedy little brats, the other children wouldn’t抢食 with the dog but would take out food to feed it. It was a bit of fun.
Everything was in order, and the family sat down to eat their New Year’s meal.
The village chief didn’t come today. The division of the family was witnessed, and they would go to his house later to discuss the details of the division.
The family first burned incense and paid respects to Old Father Li, then burned paper and kowtowed. After waiting for a quarter of an hour, they rearranged the food and could sit down to eat.
There was only one child in the family, Shun Ge. Chen Guizhi, as usual, gave him three copper coins as New Year’s money.
Li Feng had discussed it with Lu Liu this year and gave Shun Ge ten coins. After the New Year, Shun Ge turned sixteen, a big boy now. With some money in his pocket, he went to the market with his friends, bought food, drinks, and hair ribbons in the county, and felt more at ease.
Er Tian noticed this and gave Wang Dongmei a meaningful look, but Wang Dongmei pretended not to see it and instead toasted Li Feng and Lu Liu: “Thank you, older brother and sister-in-law. We feel awkward asking for New Year’s money, so just give us a few coins.”
Lu Liu’s eyes widened.
How thick-skinned could she be?
He was honest and obedient, and during the New Year’s Eve dinner, he didn’t get a chance to speak. He just ate and drank.
He couldn’t hold his liquor well, so Li Feng poured him a small bowl to taste.
Li Feng said, “Don’t be shy about it. Once you’re married, you’re an adult, and adults should give children New Year’s money.”
With that said, no one mentioned money or other topics that could lead to arguments during the meal.
On New Year’s Eve, the whole family sat in the main hall.
The stove was lit, and now tea was being boiled.
On the table were sunflower seeds, peanuts, beans, and New Year’s cakes and pastries.
Shun Ge’er peeled chestnuts, which could be roasted and eaten later.
The whole family was quiet, which made Er Tian very uneasy.
“Mother, older brother, why aren’t you talking?”
Er Tian’s unease grew even stronger. He turned to look at Li Feng: “Brother, do you know what’s going on? Have you heard? When Dong Mei went back to her parents’ home, she heard that someone in their village was buying vegetables to sell in the county. We were thinking of discussing it with you—should we plant more vegetables next year? What do you think?”
No one uses their prime farmland for vegetables; they all have small vegetable gardens.
Li Feng thought it wasn’t feasible. He saw that Er Tian was fixated on the idea. Even if they did use their prime farmland for vegetables, others could manage it because they have more family members. They have fewer people, so they can’t spread themselves too thin.
The dishes were cleared quickly, and the leftovers could be mixed into a few more meals, ensuring there was always something left over.
Wang Dongmei wiped her hands, came over to sit next to Er Tian, and saw that no one was speaking, not even cracking sunflower seeds. She felt something was off, glanced at Er Tian, and gave him a look, wanting to ask the reason.
Er Tian didn’t know the reason either. But he had been playing in the village these past few days, and the other men had been looking at him with that kind of expression, telling him that before marriage, they were brothers, but after marriage, they were relatives.
For example, the two of them also had uncles and aunts. After their fathers died, what did their uncles and aunts do? They would definitely help, but could it be the same as before? Everyone had their own small families and had to think about themselves.
Er Tian didn’t know why they were saying this, and he didn’t like hearing it. The group laughed, “Who would go to the chief’s house for no reason?”
Going to the chief’s house was always for something the chief needed to handle, and the most common reason was to divide the family.
Er Tian didn’t want to divide the family.
Regardless of whether he wanted to or not, once everyone was present, Chen Guizhi spoke openly.
Er Tian heard that they were really going to divide the family and immediately panicked: “Mother! Our family is so small; why divide it? What about the land?”
Chen Guizhi didn’t respond and started settling accounts with them.
“Da Feng makes a living by hunting. The silver he earns, you didn’t contribute a single penny. His household assets don’t need to be divided. After you sell the crops for money, I didn’t keep the majority of it, so the silver you saved doesn’t need to be divided either.
“You two make a living by farming. The fields were bought with Dafeng’s money. You two can’t farm all of them, so he helps out every year. The land I divided with Shun is also here. The fields aren’t complicated. You two brothers are dividing the family, so there are sixteen acres, and you each get eight. Er Tian, you take eight acres.
“The house was built with money from Dafeng. The little silver I have was used to arrange a marriage for Er Tian, so I didn’t contribute much to the house. Since Er Tian doesn’t want to support me, I won’t give him the house. I’ll offer you two a discounted price of twelve taels of silver. You can pay rent daily, or buy it outright. If you don’t want to buy it, you can marry into the Wang family and live there.”
Er Tian listened with cold sweat streaming down his face. He had seen what the destitute families in the village were like!
With few people in the family, they couldn’t do much, couldn’t work, couldn’t grow crops, and that’s why they were poor. Poverty led to destitution, and they couldn’t even afford to raise their children. It would take ten or twenty years to turn things around, so he didn’t want to split the family!
Wang Dongmei could tolerate what she heard earlier, hoping to wait until Chen Guizhi finished speaking before apologizing properly. But when she heard that she would have to marry into the Wang family, she couldn’t sit still either.
Her maternal family didn’t even have an extra room. Where would she live if she married into the Wang family? Even if there was a room for the two of them to live in, would living with her maternal family be the same as living in her own home?
The fields are all in Lizi Village. Could they really farm so far away?
Sell the fields and move to Shangxi Village? They’re crazy!
Wang Dongmei was good at calculating, and she knew her parents’ temperament.
If they sold the fields, she and Er Tian could go there and enjoy a period of good treatment.
But once the money is gone, it’s gone. They’ll end up despising us.
She only takes things from her parents’ home to save face, not to go back and suffer humiliation!
“Mother, aren’t you trying to drive us to our deaths?” Wang Dongmei’s eyes were filled with tears.
Chen Guizhi snorted, “Force you to death? You have a house to live in and good fields to farm. How can you say I’m forcing you to death?”
