Although the Qian family's large tile-roofed house and the dozen or so acres of paddy fields were mostly earned by Qian Sangui through escorting valuable goods, the family has not yet divided its property, so the money Qian Sangui earned still belonged to everyone in the family. The notion that one could contribute but not withdraw was deeply ingrained in some people; Lady Wang, Qian's first daughter-in-law, and Lady Tang, the second daughter-in-law, started wailing and creating havoc upon hearing that more farmland was to be sold, declaring suicide, and accusing Qian Sangui of being a bottomless pit that would sooner or later drag the entire family to their demise. The parents from both sides of the family also made a scene, blaming Old man Qian for being unfair and caring only for one son while ignoring the wellbeing of his other sons.
Qian Sangui was a stubborn man and was unwilling to let his father sacrifice the interests of his other brothers for his sake, especially since Qian Sigui had just been betrothed and had not yet started his own family. He prevented Old man Qian from selling any more land, declaring he would live if he could and die if he couldn't. He also suggested the family be divided, saying he no longer wanted to be a burden to the rest.
Old man Qian also thought it was a good idea to divide the family. Once divided, he could sell his own belongings without anyone having a say. After the division, with his support, the third branch of the family would still be able to get by.
On the day of the division, the Qian family invited Wang Lizheng from Huaxi Village and Old man Qian's uncle, known as Second Grandpa, to bear witness. They also invited Lady Wang's father, Old Wang, Lady Tang's elder brother, Eldest Tang, and Qian Sigui's future father-in-law, Carpenter Wong, to observe. Lady Wu, the third daughter-in-law, had no relatives attend as her parents had gone to Quanzhou Province to join their son and had no other kin in the area.
Old man Qian proposed to live with Eldest Qian's branch afterward, and each of the second, third, and fourth branches would provide them some grain and one hundred copper coins annually. If the elderly couple fell ill, the sons would share the cost of medicine and other expenses. He specifically mentioned that until Qian Manjiang came of age, the third branch would not have to provide for Old Qian.
It was only natural for the eldest branch to support their parents, and no one objected to this. However, there was some dissatisfaction about the third branch temporarily not providing for the elderly parents.
Seeing the discontent, Old man Qian explained, "The third branch is sickly, with little ones to care for, and the third daughter-in-law is near her due date. The large tile-roofed house and dozen or so acres of paddy fields, along with the funds saved for Sigui's private tutoring when he was a child, were mostly earned by Sangui through his dangerous work. If you feel this division is unfair, you'd better leave this family now. We, the Old Qian family, have no place for such heartless people."
With that said, no one dared to speak further.
Thus, four acres of paddy fields and eight acres of sloping land were divided among the four sons' families. Due to his previous significant contributions, the leftover acre of sloping land was also given to Qian Sangui.
Qian Sangui expressed his desire not to live in the main courtyard and proposed to buy the old house at the head of the village to live in by himself. The old house had a large yard but was dilapidated, and although it lay remotely, it was originally built by an elder who had no heirs, and who had passed away over a decade ago; the property was now collectively owned by the Huaxi Village.
The Qian's Main Courtyard was one of Huaxi Village's most luxurious courtyards, second only to Wang Lizheng's house and had cost over thirty guan of money to construct. On average, each of Eldest Qian's sons would have to pay eight to nine guan of money for the house, so the third branch was given an additional donkey and two guan of money to purchase the old house on the west end of the village.
Not long after the family split, Lady Wu gave birth to a daughter, Qian Manxia.
Lady Wu, the daughter of a scholar, did not resemble a typical village maiden. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also literate and sensible. Previously, due to Qian Sangui's substantial earnings from his work, Old man Qian and his wife valued and adored her greatly. Since marrying into the Qian family, Lady Wu had never worked the fields and only cooked and did housework at home. After Qian Sangui was injured and Lady Wu was severely shocked, nearly miscarrying, she had been frail and had to take care of her sick husband and their weak daughter, hence she had neither the energy nor the time to work the fields.
By that time, Qian Manjiang had been studying for three years, and although the tutor appreciated his talent, saying he didn't require a remuneration and that the boy could easily pass the child prodigy exam in two months, Qian Sangui insisted he return home since he was now the only one who could work the fields. Thus, the ten-year-old boy became a laborer, toiling day and night, chopping firewood, farming, and carrying the burden of the family's survival on his small shoulders.
Old man Qian, in his mid-fifties, also helped the third branch with farm work. Even though he was living with the first branch, his help in the third branch's farming caused Lady Wang, the eldest daughter-in-law, to nurse a grudge. Fortunately, Qian Dagui would often defuse the situation by reminding her that without Qian Sangui risking his life to work, they would not be living in such a large house.
After much hardship over five years, Qian Sangui miraculously pulled through. Although he remained alive, he was essentially incapacitated and could do nothing, being so thin that a gust of wind could knock him over. Each winter, he would be bedridden until the weather warmed up and he could manage to walk around a little.
In order to treat and nourish him during these years, the third branch gradually sold off two acres of paddy fields and three acres of sloping land, and even the donkey had to be let go. There was no choice; Qian Sangui needed medicine year-round, and during the winter, they even had to purchase expensive treatments like ginseng to strengthen his body. This was only possible because the Old Qian family was rich; if they were as poor as some, he would have died long ago.
In the past six months, life finally improved a bit for Qian's third wife. Qian Sangui's health had recovered a lot, and he no longer needed expensive medicine to cling to life. By summer he could even get out of bed and occasionally, when he felt a bit better, he'd try his hand at weaving straw mats, hats, and baskets, which could be exchanged for a small amount of money. Lady Wu had also regained her strength, and Qian Manxia had grown a bit older, so she could find time to do some farm work or embroidery.
Just as the family happily anticipated a better life and thought about saving money for Qian Manjiang's marriage, they were hit by the military conscription due to a war at the borders.
It was a tough decision for Old man Qian to decide who should join the battle. Old woman Qian was capable, giving birth to four sons and a daughter all of whom survived. However, the wombs of the daughters-in-law were less fruitful, and the third generation of the Qian family was meager.
Eldest Qian, at thirty-seven, had a twenty-one-year-old daughter, Qian Manwan, who was already married. His son Qian Manchuan was eighteen, with his daughter-in-law Lady Xu just recently pregnant. They also had an eight-year-old daughter, Qian Mandie.
Qian Ergui, at thirty-five, had an eighteen-year-old daughter, Qian Manzhi, and a seventeen-year-old daughter, Qian Mandua, both already married. His youngest son, Qian Manhe, was only twelve years old.
Qian Sangui was thirty-two, with his oldest son Qian Manjiang being fifteen, and a daughter, Qian Manxia, who was five.
Qian Sigui, twenty-three years old, had been married for four years and his wife, Lady Wang, had only recently become pregnant.
It was like choosing between one's own flesh and blood, and it seemed like sending anyone would bring disaster to that branch of the family. Old man Qian's heart ached over the decision. Finally, Eldest Qian suggested they draw lots to decide, leaving it up to fate.
As it turned out, the lot for military service was drawn by Qian Manjiang. Actually, Old man Qian felt that any of the three families could manage, as they could sell their fields and land to gather two guan of money, enough to buy someone's service in Manjiang's place. But contrary to their wishes, the poverty-stricken third branch of the family drew the lot.
Upon hearing the devastating news, Qian Sangui, who had just started to walk slowly again, fell sick once more.
Hearing their troubles and learning about some of the Qian family's domestic affairs, Qian Yixiu shed a handful of sympathetic tears for the third branch of the family.
Looking at Qian Manjiang, in his patched short tunic with grey coarse cloth that had faded from washing, yet was very clean. His dark hair was pulled up on the top of his head, secured with a square cloth. He was thin but did not seem frail. His skin was not very pale, but his features were extremely handsome. Although he had been a young farmer for five years, he had an undeniable aura of righteousness about him, a true ray of sunshine, a young and handsome fellow.
This was her own charming little father! Given time, he would certainly grow into a remarkably valiant and extraordinary handsome man. At his age, if he had been in her previous life, he would only be in junior or senior high, merely a young lad. In half a month, he was to go to war, and she wondered what kind of young mother he would find to marry quickly, before siring her former self.
Qian Yixiu stared unblinkingly at her handsome father. There was no helping it, she liked admiring beautiful men, otherwise she wouldn't have harbored a secret love for Shang Qingyun for twenty years. She found that her little father didn't seem as sad or disheartened as the others, even appearing somewhat excited, but he hid it well, especially the occasional flash of sharpness in his eyes, which contrasted with the upright aura he exuded. Qian Xiu always felt it was familiar but couldn't remember where she had seen it before.
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