Chapter 150: Returning to Jia Village

Early the next morning, Wang Erlang walked without looking to the side, ate without looking to the side, and led the ox forward without looking to the side. When he reached the side of the wooden pavilion, he bade farewell to the two elders, his eldest brother, and the younger generation.
Wang Ge: "Second Uncle..."
Wang Erlang was so startled that his legs tripped over each other. Alas, last night his mouth had been as wide open as a split melon; what on earth hadn't he said? No wonder people always said that drinking alcohol ruins matters—it was true!
"Second Uncle, in a couple of days, A-Shu and I will come back to the village to see you."
"Ah, good."
Watching his second uncle's guilty, fleeing appearance, Wang Ge felt both an urge to laugh and a pang of sympathy. Last night, she had wanted to bring up the household division plan with him, but she would just have to delay it for another two days. However, it did not matter; her second uncle clearly detested Wang San and would not object.
Then, she would proceed with the third step first.
Grandfather Wang and his wife were going straight to sweep the pigsty. Wang He had left because he had to go to the stable, and Wang Shu was also very busy as she had to weave straw sandals together with the young girls of the pavilion household.
Wang Ge: "Grandfather, this time when I go back, I am not returning to the Nanshan estate, but going to Shanyin County."
"Going to Shanyin County?" Grandfather Wang stopped instantly and asked in surprise, "Are they not letting you study anymore? Or is it for the artisan examination?"
"Let's talk about it when we get home."
"Very well." Grandfather Wang told his old wife to take A-Peng and A-Ai to the pigsty. A-Peng could help out and also look after her baby sister.
Back in the courtyard and inside the room, with the window curtains half-rolled, Grandfather Wang, Big Brother, and Wang Ge sat in a circle. Wang Xing was practicing calligraphy by himself at a desk in the courtyard.
Wang Ge: "After the upcoming prospective artisan examination concludes, County Magistrate Huan will give me two choices. The first is to continue staying at Nanshan and then go to Shanyin County by myself a month early; the second is to join the newly established intensive training camp for prospective artisans in Shanyin County. The training camp will hold all sorts of competitive trials. If a junior artisan wants to take the test for intermediate artisan, there is a condition—or rather, a score—that must be achieved... and that is to rank among the top ten in a hundred county-level competitive trials."
This final sentence caused Grandfather Wang and his son to draw in a sharp breath. One hundred trials, county-level competitions, top ten! Heavens, artisan ranks truly were more difficult to pass one after another. To put it bluntly, how large was a county, and how many people lived there? Ordinary farming families who had never traveled farther than the township would never even ponder such a possibility in their entire lifetimes.
What moved them was that Wang Ge was only eleven years old, yet she knew how to pave the way for becoming an intermediate artisan in advance, just as she had freely taught artisan skills in the village to pave the way in advance for recommendations based on virtue.
Having a wise maiden in the family surpasses all the young men!
"However," Wang Ge's tone shifted, "if Third Uncle continues to make trouble out of nothing, and even goes so far as to withhold grain from the tenant farmers without Grandfather or Second Uncle knowing, then what would it matter even if I won a hundred matches? All my hard work would be in vain, and all my achievements would be washed away! Grandfather, Father, if things really turn out like that, how could I ever be reconciled?"
"Ha, ha... Alas..." Grandfather Wang's two laughs seemed to carry more words behind them, but he only gave a bitter smile, shook his head, and remained silent.
Wang Dalang: "Father, do not blame Tiger Treasure. It is not that she lacks respect for her Third Uncle; it is truly that her Third Uncle is not worthy of respect!"
"Blame Tiger Treasure? No!" Grandfather Wang looked at his granddaughter with a mixture of approval and excitement. "In the past, I only heard people say that those who accomplish great things must be decisive. Now our Wang family has also produced a decisive and clever maiden. I am too overjoyed to have any room for blame! Tiger Treasure, Grandfather believes you already have a good plan. Tell us!"
"Yes!"
The next day, Grandfather Wang, Wang He, and Wang Shu all asked for a day off. The four grandparents and grandchildren set off just as the sky was growing bright, walking back to Jiashe Village. The newly paved main road was simply wonderful. This was the first time everyone had returned to the village since coming to Reed Pavilion, and they were overwhelmingly delighted. Whenever Wang Shu saw wild flowers of different colors, she would pick them.
Grandfather Wang: "Once we get back, you must put those away properly, otherwise A-Ai might mix every single one of those flowers into the pig feed."
Wang Ge laughed along, her mind dwelling on something her second uncle had mentioned. He had said that during his first rebirth (which was actually his second lifetime), Jiashe Village had also built a new road. This showed that with each of his rebirths, the social environment he experienced remained the same, and it also proved that she was indeed the one altering her family's tragic fate.
Since it had been altered, it must continue to change for the better; they could not repeat past mistakes.
When they returned to the village, it was already the hour of Shen in the afternoon. Along the way, they continuously greeted their village neighbors, and then arrived in front of their own courtyard gate followed by numerous village children.
No wonder these children had tagged along all this way, each with an expression as if they were looking at some rare curiosity—it turned out their own courtyard gate was tied shut with ropes.
Alas, supposedly, when everyone in the household went out, tying the gate with ropes was not wrong; the mistake lay in the fact that Jiashe Village had no such custom. How obvious was this? It was treating the village neighbors as thieves to be guarded against. Yet could ropes truly keep out thieves?
Fuming with anger, Grandfather Wang strode into the courtyard: "Leave the courtyard gate wide open!"
"Understood," Wang He hastily replied.
How could the old man not be angry? The east wing room was also tied shut with ropes. Who was this supposed to guard against? This scoundrel Sanlang was even guarding against his own second elder brother!
The expressions on Wang He and his sister's faces were even more unsightly.
The setting sun cast its boundless afterglow, dyeing the mountains and fields with a crimson sky that resembled a utopian landscape painting. Yet such a painting was only suitable for scholars and men of letters to admire; farmers walking within this landscape felt nothing but exhaustion all over.
The moment Wang San saw the courtyard gate flung wide open, his hair stood on end, and his voice turned shrill and warped, sounding like a night owl: "Second Brother, our home—look at our home, thieves have broken in!"
Hahaha!
Why had the village children standing by the roadside not left until now? What they had been waiting for was the excitement right before their eyes. One by one, they either clutched their stomachs with laughter or clapped and jumped up and down, pinching their voices to mimic Wang San: "Quickly look, thieves have broken in at our home..."
"Hahaha... Oh oh, treating one's father as a thief, treating one's nephew as a thief. Third Lang of the Wang family, treating one's father as a thief, treating one's nephew as a thief, oh oh..." The little children chanted in increasingly unison rhythms.
Wang Erlang tightly gripped his farming tool, wishing fiercely he could smash Wang San's mouth to pieces and render him mute!
"Second Uncle, you go on inside. Grandfather is in the main room." Wang Ge carried a bamboo winnowing basket out of the courtyard gate. Inside were little fish and butterflies woven out of grass, with a wild flower stuck into each one. She called out to the little children: "Come over here, all of you. I just finished weaving these. One for each person, no snatching."
The little children happily accepted the woven toys and finally dispersed to their respective homes.
The courtyard gate remained wide open.
Inside the main room, after Wang Ge returned, Grandfather Wang did not beat around the bush and said directly, "Coming back this time is to discuss the matter of dividing the household with you."
Erlang and Sanlang each harbored their own shock. Both had probably anticipated that the household would be divided early, and uncharacteristically, neither of them made a sound.
"Dividing the household early is not because of any unfilial actions on your part; I will explain this to the township officials when the time comes. As for the reason, you must have pondered it yourselves. A-Ge will be farther and farther away from home in the future, and so will Hutou. Your mother and I are at Reed Pavilion this year, but next year we might move to Qinghe Manor. Dividing the household early is good for the eldest branch and good for you too. Of course, it is useless even if you disagree."
Wang San's shoulders slumped, and his head hung very low.
Seeing that they still remained silent, Grandfather Wang continued, "Dividing the household involves property. Our family has less than one hundred and fifty mu of land, this residential courtyard, one ox, and two households of tenant farmers. These are all the things of value. If you feel there is anything else, make it up now. If none of you speak up, I will divide it according to these."
Wang Erlang shook his head.
Wang Sanlang's breathing grew heavier, and keeping his head lowered, he said, "If the eldest branch is capable, do they still have to contend with us for land? Since we are moving farther and farther away, what is the use of contending?"
Erlang sneered, already too weary to debate with Wang San any longer. He said, "Dividing is good. With an early household division, A-Ge can go far away with peace of mind, and Hutou can study with peace of mind. I am their second uncle, and this is all I can do to help. Father, rest assured, whatever is assigned to me, I will take; even if nothing is given to me, I will not harbor resentment. When the time comes, I will go feed the pigs with Father and Mother, and sweep the stables with A-He. It will all be very good."
Wang San raised his head and also sneered, "The second branch has a good relationship with the eldest branch, so of course Second Brother dares to want nothing. What do I have? I only have land! I only know how to farm; if I don't contend for land, what else can I contend for? Even my sons and maidens are kept by the eldest branch by their side, as if they are not my children. What can I contend for?"
Grandfather Wang: "Sanlang, when you say such things, have you ever considered that you are also my child?"
"Father, I..." Wang Sanlang opened his mouth. Although a wave of guilt welled up in his heart, he bit his lips tightly, lowered his head once more, and stubbornly persisted in his "contending"!
"Sanlang, I know your worries, but remember this: once the household is divided, you are still my child. I will not let my child starve to death! Even if I always scold you for not striving to do better, I will still not let you starve to death!"
Wang Sanlang sobbed uncontrollably, falling to his knees and prostrating himself on the ground: "This child knows his mistake. It is my unfilial nature."
"You are not unfilial. Well then, let me speak first about the allocation for the third branch. There are two ways of allocation; you may choose one yourself."