Chapter 59: Division of the Family

"I..."

Yi Zhonghai opened his mouth, unable to find a response.

After all, He Yushui had indeed attempted to hang herself...
Even if that "hanging" was a bit peculiar.

Just as Yi Zhonghai was about to ponder further—

"You don't need to concern yourself with this matter anymore."

Director Wang waved her hand impatiently, slowly walked over to He Yushui, and took her hand with a gentle expression: "Yushui, my child, cutting ties with Silly Zhu is a major decision that concerns your future. You must make up your mind yourself."

He Yushui nodded heavily: "Aunt Wang, I've thought it through. I want to sever ties with Silly Zhu."

Initially, Director Wang had also been reluctant to see He Yushui sever ties with Silly Zhu.
However, He Yushui's suicide attempt today had shaken her deeply.

In this new society, the people were the masters of the country.
The fact that a young girl had been driven almost to her death was terrifying just to think about.

If anything had truly happened to He Yushui, not to mention her position as the head of the neighborhood committee, even several higher-ranking officials would have been dragged down.

Furthermore...
Li Aiguo had actually drawn a gun...
That was genuinely frightening.

Seeing that He Yushui's mind was made up, she said no more and agreed.

"Taking advantage of the neighbors being here today, let's get all the paperwork done so everyone can act as witnesses."

Director Wang instructed He Yushui to write a "Declaration of Severing Ties," sign it, and press her thumbprint on it.

The three managing granddads and the residents of the courtyard also signed their names as witnesses.

Pocketing the declaration, Director Wang said, "Tomorrow during work hours, I'll stamp it with the official seal. From this moment on, you will have no relation to Silly Zhu whatsoever."

"Thank you, Director Wang..."

The boulder weighing heavily on He Yushui's heart finally landed.
From now on, her education, her studies, and her marriage would no longer be affected.

The residents looked at He Yushui's excited expression with a mixture of sighs and emotions.

Silly Zhu had originally been considered a prominent figure in the courtyard.
His house was the largest in the compound, located right in the main rooms.

He himself was a cook at the rolling mill, earning a handsome monthly salary, and occasionally getting to enjoy leftover meat dishes from the leaders' banquets.

Usually, with Deaf Old Lady backing him up from behind, even if he caused trouble, it never reached the authorities.

His life had been as carefree as one could possibly imagine.
All he needed to do was marry a wife, have a few children, and he would have a warm kang and a happy family for the rest of his days.

Such a marvelous hand of cards, yet he had played it into this wretched state.

Silly Zhu had been locked up in the detention center, and He Yushui had severed ties with him.
Blame it all on the fact that Silly Zhu had set his sights on a neighbor's young wife.

Lust is a sharp blade hanging over one's head; the ancients spoke the truth.

Several older women in the courtyard had already made up their minds.
They would use Silly Zhu as a negative example to discipline their own husbands at home.
That way, those men wouldn't dare let their eyes wander toward pretty girls anymore.

No...
It wasn't just about not letting their eyes wander; even if they happened to run into one, they had to stay two meters away.

In case a girl thought you had ill intentions and submitted a complaint letter to your factory, you wouldn't even have a way to clear your name.

...

In this era, dividing the household meant dividing the property.
He Yushui severing ties with Silly Zhu was already a settled matter.

Next came the division of the He family's property.

Logically speaking, both parties involved should be present for a property division.
Yet Silly Zhu was currently at the railway police station and unable to attend.

Director Wang pondered for a moment and said slowly:
"As the saying goes, even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes, let alone when it involves the He family's property."

"Old Yi, is Deaf Old Lady around? She is closest to Silly Zhu; let her come negotiate on his behalf."

Hearing Director Wang's question, Yi Zhonghai's expression instantly darkened.

Because of Silly Zhu's arrest, Deaf Old Lady had called him over the day before yesterday and cursed him out thoroughly.
She kept demanding that Yi Zhonghai compensate her with a grandson.

Yi Zhonghai would have loved to compensate her.
Except he didn't even have a son of his own.
His age only permitted him to be Deaf Old Lady's son, not her grandson.

When Deaf Old Lady hit this sore spot, Yi Zhonghai, in his anger, snapped back a couple of times on the spot.
Deaf Old Lady's health wasn't great to begin with because of Silly Zhu's situation.
Overwhelmed by fury, she had fainted on the ground and been rushed to the hospital.

Otherwise, had Deaf Old Lady been present today, Yi Zhonghai wouldn't have been in such a pathetic state.
No matter how unreasonable Li Aiguo was, he wouldn't dare draw a gun in front of Deaf Old Lady.

Learning that Deaf Old Lady could not stand in for Silly Zhu, Director Wang furrowed her brow into a knot.

Just then—

He Yushui retrieved a piece of paper from the drawer in the inner room and handed it over: "Director, this is our He family's property. I've already allocated it according to market value; Silly Zhu and I each get half."

Li Aiguo glanced at He Yushui in surprise. This girl wasn't foolish; she knew to make preparations in advance.
And it made sense.
In the original story, bearing the stigma of being the sister of a chicken thief, she managed to successfully marry into the public security sector—could she have done that without a bit of cunning?

Having cunning was fine; what was dangerous was failing to use it in the right place.

Director Wang was also somewhat surprised. She took the list, read it over carefully, and nodded repeatedly:
"Four cotton quilts, one table, three chairs, a stainless steel wok, five porcelain bowls, six pairs of chopsticks... it covers almost everything in your household."

"Yushui, you've considered this very thoroughly. I think we can proceed according to this list. Tomorrow, have someone take the list to the police station and ask Silly Zhu to sign it, and that will be that."

Just when everyone thought the dust had settled, Li Aiguo smiled and said: "Director, Silly Zhu has also lent a significant amount of money to the Jia family over the years. That sum should be factored in as well."

Jia Zhangshi, seeing Li Aiguo tuck his gun back into his waistband, had already breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing him turn his sights toward her, she sprang up: "Money? What money! Our Jia family has never borrowed money from anyone!"

"You didn't borrow it? Borrowing implies it gets returned, but since your family borrows and never returns, naturally it doesn't count as borrowing," Li Aiguo said.

A burst of muffled laughter erupted from the crowd.
Everyone in the compound knew that Jia Zhangshi never returned money she borrowed.

"You..."

Jia Zhangshi wanted to spew vicious words, but a single glare from Director Wang forced her to swallow them back: "Jia Zhangshi, I'll ask you just this once: did Silly Zhu lend money to your family or not?"

Ever since liberation, Director Wang had served as the head of the neighborhood committee.
Especially during the early, chaotic days, neighborhood committee workers had to carry pistols with them day and night.

The reason Director Wang could maintain order in the district wasn't through gossiping about trivial domestic matters, but through iron-fisted methods.

When Jia Zhangshi had first married into the courtyard all those years ago, she was also a troublemaker who took plenty of beatings, and she held a deep fear of Director Wang.

"No..."

Jia Zhangshi hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Lent..."

"How much?"

Jia Zhangshi lowered her head and muttered under her breath: "I don't know. We never intended to pay it back anyway, so we didn't keep count."

So she really never intended to pay it back.
Director Wang: "....."

With no IOU and no recorded amount, how much was she supposed to make the Jia family return?
Director Wang felt a splitting headache coming on.
This was turning into a tricky problem.