During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a village called Zhaojiabao on the bank of the Yellow River, and there was a family in the village, the man was called Zhao Baoshan, and the wife was called Sun Hongmei.
Zhao Dongshan's family has more than 20 acres of land, two cows, a house, and six houses. It is considered a medium family in the village.
The couple gave birth to two sons, the eldest son is named Zhao Jinnan, who is 20 years old this year and married a wife named Zhou Yunfang. The youngest son's name is Zhao Jindong, and he is only 14 years old this year.
On weekdays, Zhao Baoshan leads his two sons to farm. The father and son have a clear division of labor, the father Zhao Baoshan and the eldest son Zhao Jinnan are responsible for farming and harvesting, and the younger son Zhao Jindong is responsible for herding and feeding cattle. And mother-in-law Sun Hongmei and daughter-in-law Zhou Yunfang do laundry, cook at home, and take care of housework.
It is said that there is no one in the family who eats idle meals, although there is no great wealth and wealth, but the sunrise and sunset, peace and security, and harmony and beauty, and the daughter-in-law Zhou Yunfang is also pregnant, a year later will add a third generation to the family, when the time comes, this family will add a lot of joy, and this day is also very nourishing.
However, there are unforeseen circumstances in the sky, and people have good and bad luck.
In the summer of this year, the Yellow River was flooded, and his father Zhao Baoshan went to the river to fish for firewood, and was swept into the whirlpool, and was fished out two hours later. The family was grief-stricken, and Sun Hongmei fainted from crying.
The pillars of the house are gone, and the sky seems to have fallen. When Zhao Baoshan was there, although Zhao Jinnan was already twenty years old, he just worked with his father, and his father said that he would do whatever he wanted, and he never bothered. Now that his father is gone, he doesn't know what to do. Therefore, when other people's fields were plowed, he hurriedly went to plow, but he was too late to catch up, and he planted many days later than others, and the crops that grew were much less harvested than others.
The father is gone, and the youngest son Zhao Jindong has to help his brother plow, plant, and harvest the crops in addition to herding cattle and feeding the cattle. After a year of hectic work, I slowly learned to farm.
However, perhaps it was her husband's death that hit Sun Hongmei too hard, and just when the Zhao family's life gradually turned on the right track, her body had problems again, she often experienced dizziness, she ate less food, and often ......couldn't sleep
Half a year later, Sun Hongmei is still gone.
Sun Hongmei is gone, and Zhou Yunfang's life will not be easy. Zhou Yunfang, who is six months pregnant, has a big belly and has to do laundry and cook for her husband and brother-in-law.
Seeing his sister-in-law working with a big belly, Zhao Jindong took the initiative to take on the housework of washing clothes and washing dishes. When Zhou Yunfang was eight months pregnant, Zhao Jindong said to his brother, brother, I can't let my sister-in-law do housework anymore, in the future, you will do the cooking, washing clothes, washing dishes and other housework. Zhao Jinnan said, okay.
More than a month later, Zhou Yunfang gave birth to a son, named Zhao Yubao, and the two brothers Zhao Jinnan and Zhao Jindong were even busier, not only busy with the crops in the field, but also busy with housework, and also serving Zhou Yunfang in confinement.
After a busy month, Zhou Yunfang was able to cook, and the two brothers were a little more relaxed.
In this way, in a blink of an eye, three years have passed, Zhou Yubao is also three years old, and Zhao Jindong is also seventeen years old, and he has reached the age of marrying a daughter-in-law.
Jin Nan said to Yun Fang that Jin Dong is not too young, and it is time to marry him a daughter-in-law.
Yun Fang said that when my father and mother were there, I saved a little silver, but I didn't have much left to do their funerals, and I just gave birth to a son, what can I give to Jindong to marry a daughter-in-law?Do you think you'll marry you by smiling at other girls?
Although Jin Nan was unhappy, he felt that what his wife said was also true, so he stopped mentioning it.
However, Zhou Yunfang proposed to separate from her brother-in-law.
Zhao Jinnan resolutely disagreed, saying that his younger brother Jindong has not yet married, how can he split the family?
Zhou Yunfang said, can't you get married if you split up?If you don't have a family, will you never be separated?If you don't have a family for a lifetime, you won't be separated for the rest of your life?Divided into a family, doing more and less is your own, what's wrong?Besides, if you are separated, you will do better in the east.
Zhao Jinnan said, my parents are gone, my eldest brother is like a father, I am an elder brother, and I have the responsibility to marry my younger brother and marry a daughter-in-law
Zhou Yunfang said, don't you say that I forgot, when I married you, what did my father and mother do?The bride price was only two taels of silver, the house was old, the bed was old, and even the bedding that was built at night in the cave room was old, and only a new dress was made for ...... of us
Zhao Jinnan said, how can you say that?Didn't your family be poor at that time?But without a father and mother, can we get married?Now, my younger brother is still young and has split up, how do you let him live?How to marry a daughter-in-law and get married?
Zhou Yunfang said, I don't care anyway, this family must be divided, if you don't divide the family, I will take the child back to my parents' house to ......
Zhao Jinnan said, you are really unreasonable.
Zhao Jindong said, brother, otherwise, let's split up.
Jinnan said, you can't divide it, you must not divide it, when will you get married and then divide it.
Zhou Yunfang said, okay, okay, okay, you two brothers, I'll take the child back to my parents' house. After saying that, he took his son and left.
Zhao Jinnan said angrily, your sister-in-law is too unreasonable.
Jin Dong said, brother, don't be angry with your sister-in-law, you go and call your sister-in-law and nephew back, let's split up.
Jin Nan said, Jin Dong, you can't plow, you can't farm, you can't cook, how can you live if you divide your family?
Jin Dong said, brother, I'm seventeen years old, I can't learn, no one is born to learn, don't you also learn from your father?
Jin Nan said, Jin Dong, don't say it, my father and mother are gone, I am your brother, I can't let you live alone, your sister-in-law will come back after living at ......her mother's house for a few days
However, it has been almost half a month since Zhou Yunfang went back, and he hasn't come back yet, so Zhao Jinnan is a little anxious. Jin Dong is also very anxious, he doesn't want to let his brother and sister-in-law get out of harmony because of himself. Brother, you better go and bring your sister-in-law back, it's not a big deal to split up the family.
Zhao Jinnan felt that it was really impossible to go on like this, so he went to pick up Zhou Yunfang and his son, and promised Yunfang and his younger brother to separate their families.
However, then he quarreled with Yun Fang again on how to divide the family.
Zhao Jinnan wanted to divide the family property into two equals, but Zhou Yunfang disagreed. She said, what did Zhao Jindong do to the family?When you and your father were farming, I was washing and cooking at home with my mother and doing housework, at that time, he was still playing at home, and later he was just herding cattle and doing some chores, why should he share half of the family property?Besides, now there are three of us, and he is the only one, so why should he divide it in half?I see more than a quarter of ...... for him
Jin Nan said, Yun Fang, how can you say that?There is no separation, the property belongs to everyone, no matter how much or how little you do, it is fair that the property must be divided equally, and he does less because he is young. Besides, he is now alone, married, and has children, isn't he just like us?
Zhou Yunfang said, no, if you do more, you should get more, and if you do less, you should get less, and if you split up your family and then get married, having a child has nothing to do with separating ......
Jin Dong said, brother, just divide it according to what my sister-in-law said, I am alone, I can divide as much as I want.
Yun Fang said that it is still sensible to enter the east. Enter the east, how do you say it, I think your brother is a fool.
Jin Dong said, brother, sister-in-law, don't quarrel, let outsiders know the joke, what family is there to discuss. That's it, I don't know how to farm, it's useless to ask for land and oxen and rakes, it's enough for a house, I'll live alone in one room, and I'll take the rest away for my own use, sister-in-law, do you think this will work?
Yun Fang said, okay, okay, how to live in a house, the three thatched huts outside the courtyard will be given to you.
Jin Dong said, okay, this way it will be more clear, and it will not be stirred together.
Jinnan really couldn't stand it anymore, and yelled, what is the difference between you and letting your younger brother go out of the house?It's just nonsense, I don't agree!
Zhou Yunfang also said angrily, Jindong agreed, why don't you agree?Just according to what Jindong said!
Jinnan's stubborn temper also came up, he had never been angry on weekdays, he picked up the bowl on the table and fell to the ground with a "snap", saying, Dad and mother are gone, I have the final say, half of the family property and I Jindong, you are an outsider, what do you ?...... about
Zhou Yunfang is also on fire, okay, it turns out that I am an outsider in your eyes, okay, I don't want the child anymore, I ...... go
Jindong hurriedly grabbed his sister-in-law and said, sister-in-law, don't be angry, my brother is not serious when he is angry, don't care about ......
But Yun Fang didn't listen, and went back to her parents' house angrily.
Jin Dong said, brother, go and chase your sister-in-law back. Jin Nan said, don't pay attention to her, let her go, don't come back if you have the ability.
Jin Dong said, brother, why are you so stubborn, what my sister-in-law said also makes sense, you are now a family of three, if, if your sister-in-law has another child, the more people will be more populous, the more people will eat, what will you eat if you don't have land?If I don't split up, I'm afraid I won't be able to marry a daughter-in-law in a year or two, why do I want so much property?Besides, I don't want to leave it for my nephews and nieces, what's the wrong thing?Let's go and call my sister-in-law back.
Jin Nan sighed and said, Alas, Jin Dong, it's all because my brother is not capable and didn't marry you a daughter-in-law. Brother, I'm sorry you ......
Jin Dong said, brother, what are you talking about?Father and mother died early, you and sister-in-law are good enough to me, don't think nonsense, my wish is that my brother's family is harmonious, you can agree to your sister-in-law's division and call her back.
Jin Nan said that he was not used to her, and he loved her.
However, what Jin Nan didn't expect was that when his son Zhao Yubao saw that his mother was gone, he cried and asked for his mother. Jin Nan got angry and slapped his son in the ass, and as a result, Yubao cried even more. Later, he was finally coaxed to stop crying, but they had to stay home alone to watch Yubao. But the crops are about to be harvested, and it takes two people to get up early and be greedy late to finish the harvest, one person to watch the children, and one person to harvest, it will be a big mistake.
Helpless, Jinnan had no choice but to come to his parents-in-law's house and promised to divide the family according to what she said, and Yun Fang went back.
So, the brothers finally separated, 20 acres of land and two cows, as well as all the farm tools and the house were divided between the elder brother and the sister-in-law, and the younger brother Jindong was only given a bedding, a small iron pot, a pair of bowls, a pair of chopsticks, and three thatched huts outside the yard that used to be used as cowsheds.
When there was no land in the east, he went to work as a day worker for a large family, so that he did not have to cook by himself, and one person was full, and the whole family was not hungry.
However, when he was busy farming, he couldn't get up early and be busy in the dark, so Zhou Yunfang also took the three-year-old jade treasure to the field to help. However, the couple was busy farming, but Yubao cried and asked his mother to take him to play.
Jindong saw it, came to his brother's field and said to Yunfang, sister-in-law, you can bring Yubao back, the child is still young and ignorant, so much land, my brother can't be busy alone, I will help my brother farm.
Yun Fang said, Jindong, what do you mean by this, is this to see my joke?What's wrong with the land, the separation is your own voluntariness, you don't want the land, you go, I don't want your help. After speaking, he kicked his son Yubao's ass and said, what is the trouble, play by yourself and ......
Yubao was kicked and hurt, and she cried out loud with a "wow".
Jindong said, sister-in-law, I don't want the land voluntarily, how can I come to see you laugh?Yubao is still young and ignorant, so you better take him back.
Yun Fang said, no, don't think about coming back and getting back together, let's go.
Jin Dong said, don't misunderstand my sister-in-law, I am really here to help, you better take Yubao back.
Yun Fang said, Jindong, you can come to help, I will give you a salary.
Jindong said, okay, sister-in-law, you can take the child back quickly.
In this way, Jindong worked at his brother's house for ten days, and helped his brother finish planting the land before going to work at the rich man's house. Yun Fang took out a hundred copper coins and gave them to Jindong, saying that this was wages.
Jin Nan said, Yun Fang, do you know how much Jin Dong is paid for a day in the rich man's house?Fifty wen. Go to the east to work with us, get up early and be greedy for darkness, work hard, you only give him ten cents a day?
Yun Fang said, why do you turn your elbow out?Isn't Jindong your own brother?Isn't it natural for a younger brother to help his brother?Is it less to pay ten clerks a day?
Jin Dong said, brother, sister-in-law is right, I am your own brother, help with farming, what else do you need for wages?When others find out, they don't laugh at us. After saying that, he left.
The land of the elder brother's family has been planted, and the land of the rich man's family has also been planted, and there is no need for short-term work.
On this day, when he went up the mountain to chop firewood, he came back from picking firewood, and rested on the way, when a taxi passed by him, and suddenly stopped and said, "Young man, are you blessed or not, but you come to chop firewood and sell it for money, is it stupid?"
Jin Dong said, I'm a poor boy who can't even marry a daughter-in-law, what's the blessing?
The Taoist priest said, wrong, I see your face, the heavenly court is full, the seal hall is shining, you are obviously a blessed person, how can you not even marry a daughter-in-law?
Jin Dong said, Master, I'm not lying, I'm indeed a disciple of the four walls, otherwise, how could I go up the mountain to chop firewood and sell it for money?
The Taoist priest said, you have made a fortune, go home and tear down the three thatched huts, and then dig down the ...... in the southwest corner
Jin Dong said, Master, don't you want my life?I'm so poor that I only have these three thatched huts, where can I live if I demolish them?
The Taoist priest said, "Listen to me." After saying that, he left without looking back.
Jin Dong looked at the disappearing back of the Taoist priest, shook his head with a wry smile, picked up a load of firewood and went to the town.
When he returned home after selling firewood, he looked at his three thatched huts, and remembered the words of the Taoist priest again, so he circled around the thatched huts, and went into the house to take a closer look at the southwest corner, but he didn't see anything. This Taoist priest, is he crazy?
But he thought again, no, the Taoist priest doesn't know me, how do you know that my family has three thatched huts?So, he went to the southwest corner again, but still found nothing.
Forget it, this Taoist priest may really be crazy, the thatched hut can't be demolished, where will he live immediately after it is demolished?Although my brother has a lot of houses, if I go back to live, my sister-in-law should misunderstand that I want to go back.
The next day, he went up the mountain again to chop wood.
However, before I reached the mountain, I heard someone shouting behind me, "Go east, go back, your house is on fire."
When Jin Dong heard this, he hurriedly turned around and ran home. However, when he ran home, he saw that his three huts had been burned down to only four adobe walls. My brother and his neighbors were talking in front of the hut, carrying buckets or basins, and it seemed that they had come to put out the fire, but the hut was burned and it was difficult to extinguish it.
The elder brother saw his younger brother come back and asked him what was the matterJin Dong said, I don't know, I didn't find anything when I left in the morning, and I didn't make a fire to cook......
My brother went south and said, "Go back to my house and live." I'll fix it for you in a few days. Then, the neighbors all went back and went to work in the fields.
Jin Dong checked in the burned hut again, and found nothing wrong, how did this fire ignite?Suddenly, he remembered the words of the Taoist priest again, and demolished your thatched hut ......Is this providential?What's really going on under this hut?
So, he found an iron box, dug up the wall in the southwest corner of the hut, and then dug down, and when he dug about two feet deep, he found an iron box, which he took out, opened it, and almost cried out, for it turned out that the iron box was full of gold, silver, and jewelry, and roughly estimated that it was worth at least five hundred taels of silver.
Jin Dong quickly covered the iron box, took off his clothes and wrapped the iron box inside, and then went to the jewelry store in the town.
When I arrived at the jewelry store, the shopkeeper checked and found that the box of gold and silver jewelry was worth six hundred taels of silver. So, Jin Dong exchanged all the gold, silver, and jewelry into silver, leaving one hundred taels, and the remaining five hundred taels were deposited in the town's bank.
When he got home, he told his brother about the gold, silver and jewels he had dug up, and took out a silver ticket of three hundred taels to his brother.
Jin Nan said, Jin Dong, this thatched hut is given to you, the things in the thatched hut are yours, I can't ask for it, don't let your sister-in-law know about this.
Jin Dong said, brother, although the thatched hut has been given to me, the gold and silver jewelry on the ground should be left by the ancestors, and you also have a share.
In fact, Jin Nan heard his father say that the Zhao family is four generations up, that is, the great-grandfather of Jin Nan and Jin Dong used to be a rich man, with a lot of property, and he was the richest man in the local area, and this iron box should have been buried by the ancestors.
Jin Nan said, the thatched hut has been distributed to you, this silver is also yours, I can't ask for it, and there is no reason to ask for it, you should take it, go to the town to buy a house, buy dozens of acres of land, marry a daughter-in-law, and live a good life.
Jin Dong said, brother, then I will keep it for you for the time being, and I will give it to you when you need it.
Jin Nan said, Jin Dong, your sister-in-law treated you like that, this thatched hut was also given to you by her, and I won't ask for a penny.
Jin Dong said, brother, don't worry about your sister-in-law, I'll save this silver for you first. The thatched hut is gone, and in the future, I will build a yard for Yubao there, and I will go to the town to buy a house.
When he came to the town, he bought a house for eighty taels of silver, and then bought thirty acres of land for one hundred and fifty taels of silver, hired a long-term worker and a short-term worker, and then married his daughter-in-law.
The news of Jindong's overnight fortune soon spread throughout the village, and some soon spread throughout the town, and matchmakers from all walks of life vied to give him matchmaking, many of whom were girls from large families, but Jindong eventually married a girl from an ordinary family in the countryside who was honest and dutiful.
The girl's name is Xie Meizhen, although she does not have the appearance of a sinking fish and a goose, but she is also dignified, and she is hardworking and kind, gentle and virtuous.
But Zhou Yunfang, the sister-in-law who entered the east, of course knew that the brother-in-law had become rich overnight, and also knew that he had dug up a box of gold, silver and jewelry, worth six hundred taels of silver, from under the three thatched huts, and became the richest person in the village and even the town, and her intestines were full of regret.
So, she began to make trouble again, and said to her husband Jinnan, Jinnan, do you say that the treasure left by the ancestors should also have a share of us?Six hundred taels of silver, you can't let your brother swallow it alone, right?
Jinnan said, it's true that it was left by the ancestors, but you don't want it, aren't you clamoring to divide the three thatched huts into the east?Now I see that there are gold, silver and jewels under the thatched house, and I have come to divide them againYou ask the whole village to tell me whether we should share the money of other people?Do you know how the people in the village scolded us?Even if Jindong is willing to give, do we still have the face to ask?
Yun Fang said, Jinnan, I am your wife, didn't I do this for our family?Isn't it for the kids?Why do you keep talking to outsiders?
Jin Nan said, I'm not for my brother, let's be reasonable, it's ours, don't ask for it if it's not ours, anyway, I won't ask for this silver, it should be my brother's ......
Yun Fang got angry again and took her son back to her parents' house. However, as soon as she returned to her mother's house, her mother's family had an accident, her father went up the mountain to chop firewood and fell off the cliff, the person was unconscious, and was carried into the town medical center, the doctor said, we can't cure it, go to the county medical center, I'm afraid I won't be able to live if it's late.
So, they hurriedly hired a carriage to pull the person to the county medical center, but the doctor said that it would take 100 taels of silver to cure, and 50 taels should be paid first.
Yun Fang's family is also an ordinary family, not to mention fifty taels of silver, and she can't even take out ten taels. What to do?Yun Fang knelt down for the doctor, begging the doctor to save people quickly, and we will find a way to save the silver. But the doctor said that if you don't pay the money, you won't be treated. Yun Fang's family was so anxious that they cried.
At this time, Jinnan and Jindong rushed to come, and Jindong took out a hundred taels of silver tickets and gave them to the doctor and said, hurry up and save people.
With the money, the doctor immediately treated him, and after rescue, his life was finally saved. The doctor said that if it was a little later, the person would be finished.
Yun Fang pounced and knelt in front of the little uncle and said, Jindong, sister-in-law is sorry for your ......
Jin Dong picked up his sister-in-law and said, sister-in-law, they are all a family, and you are also for the sake of the family and the children, I understand. My father and mother died early, I grew up with my brother and sister-in-law, I will not forget your kindness to me, the gold, silver and jewelry under the thatched hut are left by the ancestors, and my brother also has a share, a total of six hundred taels of silver, and you can ...... the two hundred taels of silver tickets
Yun Fang regretted and was ashamed and said, Jindong, you have already taken a hundred taels of silver to treat my father, I am already grateful, the sister-in-law can't ask for these two hundred taels of silver, the thatched hut was given to you by the sister-in-law, this silver should be yours, sister-in-law did wrong before, you forgive your sister-in-law.
Jin Dong said, sister-in-law, they are all a family, don't talk about the two families, live together, it is inevitable to bump and bump, don't mention it again in the past.
Half a month later, Yun Fang's father was almost done, and the doctor said that it would be completely fine to go home and raise it for a few more days.
After that, the two brothers often moved around and were as close as a family, and the two concubines, Yunfang and Meizhen, were also like sisters. Yunfang gave birth to another daughter, Meizhen gave birth to a pair of dragon and phoenix fetuses, and when they grow up, the relationship between cousins and cousins is also very close. Both Jinnan and Jindong lived as old birthday stars, and they did not die until they were in their eighties.