Allure of a Country Maiden

Mrs. Lan typically did not cook herself in town, instead employing a maid to handle the chores.

However, she wasn't bold enough to state outright that the maid was hired to serve her. Instead, she justified it by claiming that the help was necessary during busy times at the shop to ensure that meals were served promptly, preventing Jingwen from going to school on an empty stomach. Nonetheless, she insisted she cooked herself most of the time.

Mrs. Lan had a strategic mind. As long as she intended to do so, she knew how to ingratiate herself with others and make them fond of her. Hence, among the daughters-in-law, she was the one who led the most comfortable life.

Now that the family was preparing to divide the household, the elderly couple would live with her family. Mrs. Shen wasn't an easy person to get along with, so Mrs. Lan had to ensure that she was in her good books to have a comfortable life in the future.

Therefore, Mrs. Lan took the initiative to undertake household chores without being asked, "Mother, there's no need for you to worry about dinner. You can rest after giving the instructions. You've had a tough time raising so many children. Now that your sons are married, it's time you enjoyed some comfort. We'll make dinner without you. The other day, I bought a box of pastries from Yipinxiang. I heard that even the county magistrate's wife loves their pastries so much that she often sends people from the county to buy them. Bao'er, accompany grandma to her room for some refreshments, and don't forget to make a cup of honey water."

While trying to please Mrs. Shen, Mrs. Lan tactfully excused Shen Bao'er from the manual labor.

Her daughter had been pampered since birth, touching nothing more laborious than a pen for reading and writing. Her delicate jade hands were meticulously tender. Mrs. Yang had hopes that her daughter would marry into a wealthy family for a good life.

Shen Bao'er understood the hint and hurried to help Mrs. Shen towards the main house, "Grandma, let me help you back to your room for some snacks."

"Is this really the pastry that the county magistrate's wife loves?" Mrs. Shen had always envied the life of a high-ranking official's wife. Having failed to become one herself, she pinned her hopes on her son to bring her honor. Although her son had let her down, she still had hope in her grandson and she was getting close to realizing her dream.

Mrs. Shen was particularly interested in the preferences of the madams and ladies of official families. She was afraid that if she became one of them one day, her ignorance might embarrass her in front of others.

"Yes, that's what the baker said at Yipinxiang. Grandma, I embroidered a headpiece for you. The pattern is a new release from the embroidery workshop. I heard it is trendy in the Imperial Capital; the bourgeois madames are really fond of it. You would look even more noble than those ladies if you wore it. It's autumn and the weather will be getting cold soon. Remember to wear it in the morning and evening to avoid catching cold," Shen Bao'er lured her grandmother into happiness as they made their way to the main house.

"You really are a good girl! You're the only one who still thinks about me. Otherwise, no one cares about me."

...

Their voices gradually faded in the kitchen.

After they left, Mrs. Lan looked around, chose a pumpkin, and sat on the bench peeling it. Her actions were so slow that it seemed as if she was trying to carve the pumpkin.

Mrs. Lan was eager to finish dividing the property and return to town. If she continued to stay here, her hands would be ruined.

However, remembering that after the property division, she would have to live with Mr. Shen and Mrs. Shen, she felt a bit powerless.

Fortunately, Jingwen would take at least three or four more years to pass the civil service exams. The couple wouldn't live in town for the time being. Once Jingwen was assigned an official post, she could think about how to get away from them. She would then have the freedom to move to wherever her son was stationed.

In the meantime, Shen Jingwen had invited the village chief, his son, Uncle Shen's family, Mr. Guo, Mr. Lin, and other villagers. After everyone settled in and was served tea, Master Shen finally began, "Today, I have invited you all here to witness our family's splitting of the household. I appreciate your time and effort."

Everyone was surprised to hear that Shen Rengui suddenly wanted to divide the household.

In their village, most families would split after the son gets married, and the parents would live with the eldest son.

After all, they understood the saying that while it's good to get along, it's hard to live together.

But everyone was surprised that Shen Rengui, who had never divided his family before, was now dividing it.

However, nobody said much. There are only so many reasons why a family would divide; it's not surprising given that the more people there are, the more friction there will be.

Mr. Shen repeated to everyone how they had agreed to divide the family. The village chief asked whether Shen Chengguang and his brothers had any objections. Since everyone had no objections, the village chief drafted the deed of separation.

In this dynasty, the deed of separation had a certain format. It generally stated which numbered son was leaving his biological or adoptive parents' home, along with details of his inheritance such as how much farmland and land he would receive, its location, how much silver he would receive, how many livestock and farming tools he was entitled to, and so on.

After the division of the family, every year or month, the son is required to provide a certain amount of silvers to his parents for their retirement, and show his respects to his parents with certain items during festival days.

After dividing the family, each family's properties belong to that family and other family members are not allowed to use it or claim possession of any property obtained after the division without the head of the family's permission. Of course, any property intentionally hidden before the division does not count.

The deed must have at least four witnesses who provide fingerprint seals.

Xiao'er found the deed to be very meticulous when she saw it later, which would be convenient if any property disputes arose and they had to go to the government.

After the deed was established, it was duplicated into four copies: one for the government to record property transfer, one kept by the village chief, one held by Mr. Shen, and one given to each family member.

Once everyone had pressed their fingerprints on the deed, the division of the family was considered complete.

The village chief would take the deed to the county magistrate's office the next day to process the property transfer and then bring back the household registration for each family. From then on, tax collection and conscription by the imperial court would be based on this household registration.

"Now that the family has been divided, but these years, everyone has endured hunger and cold in order to support my eldest son and grandson to achieve academic honors. In the future, when my eldest son achieves something, he must not forget to help his younger brothers. Chengguang, what do you say?" Mr. Shen reiterated, trying to appear unbiased, making everyone understand that his favoritism results from the need for more silver for education and promising that the main family will repay their debts once they have prospered.

"Is there a need to say? Even though we have divided the family, my younger brothers are still my brothers. We have divided our households but not our hearts. In the future, I won't hesitate to provide help when I can." Mr. Shen and Shen Chengguang never considered that the other families might actually fare better than the main family. They believed that the other families needed to rely on them. Of course, there were others who shared their belief as well, after all in ancient times, the difference between those who received education and those who did not was great.

"Chengguang is a responsible person." Shen Renfu said contentedly. He was pleased that his nephew was doing well, even though he disagreed with Mr. Shen's favoritism.

...

"With siblings who respect each other, Rengui is truly fortunate. Soon, you will be able to enjoy the blessings of your children and grandchildren." Everyone began to give their blessings.

At that time, the food was ready and Mrs. Lan came in, asking Mr. Shen, "Father, the meals are prepared, would you like us to serve the food now?"

Mr. Shen agreed and invited everyone to the table. As guests were present, only men were seated at the dining table that night. The women could only make do with a meal in the kitchen.

The food was abundant. Mr. Shen cared about his reputation and would always prepare a lavish meal for guests. But as customary among the countryside people, they would always serve their guests with the best food they had. The countryside people were very hospitable and honest. Although they might skimp when it came to their own meals, their banquet for guests would always include meat and fish.

At the Shen family's home, in addition to fish and meat, there would always be chicken and duck meat. They served a total of 12 dishes including stir-fried shiitake mushrooms with chicken, roast duck bought from the town, steamed fish, braised pork, eggplant with fish flavor, pumpkin stir-fried with meat, smashed cucumbers, stir-fried chives with eggs, big plate green beans, stir-fried vegetables, fried peanuts and cold wood-ear mushrooms. The staple food was rice and white steamed buns. Everyone enjoyed the meal.

The women were only served pumpkin stir-fried with meat, stir-fried vegetables and coarse grain steamed buns. If they wanted to eat the meat; they had to wait until the men had finished their meals to see if there were any leftovers.