A fierce wife enters the house: She helps up a house full of spineless people.

Grandma Chen's smile froze completely, and she stared at Chen Shuyan in shock. "Dividing...dividing the family?"

Old Chen didn't say anything, but slowly put down his chopsticks.

Chen Shuyan stood up, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, his posture as upright as if he were bowing in an examination hall: "Grandpa, Grandma, now that I have achieved academic success, I will need to socialize and make friends with my classmates, so my expenses will not be the same as before. Your uncle's family has also worked hard for many years, so why don't we each go our own way and relax a bit?"

As expected of a scholar, those are his beautiful words.

Chen Xiufen sat at the lower end of the table, her face beaming with undisguised smugness, while Liu Yiyi lowered her head, though the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

Old Mrs. Chen grew anxious and slammed her hand on the table: "What family division! We're a perfectly good family! You just passed the imperial examination and became a scholar—"

"Milk." Chen Shuyan's tone was calm, but the word was spoken with emphasis. "You know the situation at home. If the eldest and second wives continue to mix things up, it will only make things more complicated."

He glanced in Wang Jinzhu's direction, then looked away.

The meaning is clear—he doesn't want to be associated with the first wife anymore.

Old Chen remained silent for a long time before suddenly speaking, "How should we divide it?"

These three words are tantamount to tacit agreement.

Old Mrs. Chen wanted to stop her, but Old Mr. Chen silenced her with a look.

Chen Shuyan had already prepared his answer. He cleared his throat and said, "My family has four mu of good land and four mu of second-grade land. My idea is that the second wife's family should have three mu of good land and one mu of second-grade land; the first wife's family should have one mu of good land and three mu of second-grade land."

He paused, then added, "Now that I have official rank, I am exempt from taxes. If the fertile land is registered in my name, my whole family will benefit."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Tianfang slammed his chopsticks on the table with a "bang".

Everyone at the table shuddered.

"Three acres of fertile land?" Chen Tianfang stared at Chen Shuyan, his voice not loud, but each word was like a stone hitting the ground. "All these years, the money for your studies, your travel expenses for the imperial examinations, the fine grains and eggs you ate—wasn't it all paid for by the eldest branch of the family? I've been hunting in the mountains and farming in the fields for you for so many years. Now that you've grown up, you want the lion's share of the fertile land?"

Chen Shuyan's expression changed slightly: "Brother, I have official rank, and the fertile land under my name is exempt from taxes. This is for the benefit of the whole family—"

"Will I still be there for your whole family in the future?"

Chen Tianfang stood up.

He was half a head taller than Chen Shuyan, and with one step forward, his shadow fell over him.

"If you want more fertile land, fine," Chen Tianfang's voice suddenly softened, making people's hearts tighten even more than before. "Then don't divide it."

Chen Shuyan was taken aback.

"From today onwards, you will support the family," Chen Tianfang said, enunciating each word clearly. "You will provide for your grandparents' food and clothing, and for the entire family's needs. I've supported you for so many years; it's your turn now."

The main room fell silent again.

Chen Shuyan's face turned pale. He had just passed the imperial examination and was penniless. His ranking wasn't high, and the local gentry had only given him a few dozen taels of silver. If they didn't separate the family, would he be the one supporting the whole family?

Can he afford to support him?

Chen Shuyan's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Big brother—"

"Two mu of good land and two mu of inferior land per family," Wang Jinzhu finally said.

"If it works out, we'll break up; if not, then forget it."

Chen Shuyan looked at her, a hint of resentment flashing in his eyes.

Wang Jinzhu met his gaze, cracked a melon seed that she had somehow produced in her hand, and said, "Scholar, you know the situation. How much the eldest son's family has given out over the years, and how much the second son's family has taken, is not a matter of land. Two acres of fertile land is already a concession from us."

"Where's the village chief? We need a witness for this," Chen Tianfang said.

"I'll go and invite him." Old Chen stood up, leaning on his cane, and walked out.

Nobody stopped him.

Half an hour later, village chief Chen Defu arrived. Accompanying him were two clan elders, carrying the family genealogy.

The process of dividing the production was faster than expected.

Four mu of fertile land, two mu for each family, the locations of the plots clearly stated in black and white. Four mu of inferior land, also divided equally. Chen Degui checked it all, nodded, and signed.

The courtyard was divided in two.

"The main room belongs to the second son's family." Chen Shuyan said this with his back very straight. "As a scholar, one must have a place to entertain guests."

Wang Jinzhu didn't even lift her eyelids: "Okay."

Chen Tianfang glanced at her, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

Wang Jinzhu said in a voice only he could hear, "I won't argue about this."

Chen Tianfang fell silent. He understood his wife; her saying she wasn't going to fight meant she had bigger plans.

The remaining household items were allocated according to the house, and the well was to be shared, all of which was written into the documents.

One last question—who do Old Man Chen and Old Woman Chen live with?

Chen Shuyan then launched into another high-sounding speech: "Since ancient times, filial piety has been the most important of all virtues. The eldest and second sons should both repay the kindness of their grandparents in raising them. In my opinion, since both elders live with one child, everyone has the opportunity to fulfill their filial duties."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at Old Man Chen.

An opportunity to fulfill filial duties. This sounds nice, but in reality, it's about sharing the burden.

But Old Man Chen understood. There was a thorn hidden in those words—on the day Chen Shujie got married, it was he who stopped Old Lady Chen from helping. Chen Shuyan hadn't received the extra ten taels of silver, and she was holding a grudge against him!

Old Chen, leaning on his cane, looked around the second house with his cloudy old eyes, then around the first house.

"Me and the boss."

It was concise and to the point, with not a single superfluous word.

He turned to look at Old Mrs. Chen: "Old woman, come here too."

Old Mrs. Chen didn't move. She looked at Old Mr. Chen, then at the faded but crisply starched long gown Chen Shuyan was wearing, "Shuyan and I."

Old Chen's cane paused on the ground for a moment, but he didn't say anything.

Chen Xiufen immediately replied, "Mother, don't worry, I'll take care of you!"

Chen Defu added the last clause, blew the ink dry, and both parties pressed their fingerprints.

"It's settled. From today onwards, the first and second branches of the Chen family will each live their own lives."

The clan elder put away the family genealogy, and the village chief carefully put away the documents. The crowd dispersed, and the main hall was empty.

Old Chen slowly walked back to the main house, leaning on his cane. Chen Tianfang went to help him, but he waved his hand and stepped over the threshold himself.

"Sir, please have a seat." Chen Tianwei moved a chair over.

Old Chen sat down, looked at the courtyard, and remained silent for a long time.

Wang Jinzhu ignored his emotions. She turned and went into the house, carrying out half a bag of rice. "We've separated the family. Let's celebrate today with white rice."

She then magically produced a wild rabbit and a pheasant from the house, and called on Chen Yuxiang and Chen Tianwei to help tidy them up.

Old Chen sat in the courtyard, watching them bustling about, and couldn't help but say, "You spendthrift women, how can you possibly manage a living like this?"

While plucking feathers, Wang Jinzhu replied, "Master, we've separated the family, which is a happy occasion. You can eat to your heart's content today; the good days are yet to come."

Old Chen opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. He was actually quite sad about the family division, especially the thought of separating from his wife. He had no idea how his shrewd second grandson would use her as a pawn.

As the meat was simmering in the pot, Chen Tianrun and Chen Tianwei squatted by the stove, their mouths watering as they stared at the pot of braised rabbit. Chen Tian added some firewood to the stove, the firelight reflecting on his face, a smile playing on his lips.

The main house was bustling with warmth, while the second house was cold and deserted.

Old Mrs. Chen sat in the main room of the second house, with half a bowl of brown rice porridge in front of her. The aroma of meat wafted from next door, and she swallowed hard, pushing the bowl away a little.

Seeing that the aroma of the food from the main house had distracted everyone from eating, Chen Shuyan took out a tael of silver and gave it to his mother. "Mother, tomorrow go to the market and buy some meat and some fine grains. We'll mix them together."