"Father, Qingcheng makes sense. She is my daughter after all, and it's only right she sides with me. I also agree to the separation!"
Gu Zhaobei mumbled, but his tone was firm.
The Gu family's noisy argument, not well controlled, still attracted a crowd of idle villagers to watch.
Seeing that the villagers were coming to watch the fun, Old Man Gu quickly declared:
"Of course, I'm not an unfeeling person. The sixth family is unreasonable and has said rebellious things, but these words were spoken by an ignorant granddaughter, so I won't hold it against her.
As long as the sixth son is willing to kneel and apologize, this matter will be settled!"
In the countryside, people valued who had more sons and who had bigger fists. Having more people meant not being bullied.
Gu Laoliu tried to appease the villagers and gave away the snake meat for free, and now he wanted to split the family. In Old Man Gu's view, this was an act of rebellion. He had already been lenient by asking Gu Laoliu to compensate each family with thirty to forty catties of meat.
He hadn't expected Gu Laoliu and his daughter to be so ignorant and clamor about splitting the family!
Where was his authority as the patriarch?
Gu Qingcheng knew that Old Man Gu was the black-bellied villain. He usually let Grandma Gu play the tough role, while he played the good cop, but in reality, he was the one who made the decisions. Grandma Gu was just a puppet he manipulated, a tool to voice his intentions, so that he could maintain the image of a fair patriarch.
To provoke Grandpa Gu into stepping forward and taking center stage, the current situation was the result of discussions among Gu Zhaobei's family.
When they had killed the snake, if it had been the original Gu Qingcheng's temperament, her first thought would have been to drag the snake meat home for the Gu family to enjoy.
However, Gu Qingcheng felt this was an opportunity.
If they gave the snake meat to the villagers, it would surely stir up family conflict.
Thus, in the small woods, she proposed the idea of giving the snake meat to the entire village to eat.
This way, if the Gu family retaliated, they could seize the opportunity to leave the family.
In ancient times, sons who did not separate from the family had their property belong to the patriarch, Old Man Gu. He could take it, or give it to whomever he pleased.
If they didn't separate, no matter how many supplies they stockpiled, they couldn't openly display them. They would have to secretly use them, and if they were discovered by the Gu family, they would be considered rebellious.
How unbearable would that be?
Once the decision was made, they would see it through and find an opportunity to leave the Gu family.
Gu Zhaobei and Hu Lanfang naturally supported their daughter's idea.
So, as soon as they left the small woods, they eagerly announced that they would give the snake meat to the villagers to eat together.
As expected, when the Gu family lost over a hundred catties of meat, they lost their minds! Old Man Gu also jumped out as he wished.
"Father, I agree with Gu Qingcheng's opinion. Since we are so useless to the family, to avoid burdening everyone, let's separate from the Gu family!"
Gu Zhaobei said innocently, and what was most detestable was the sincere expression on his face. Gu Qingcheng, watching from the side, secretly chuckled. He was truly her incorrigibly cunning Doctor Gu's father!
Old Man Gu never expected that not only would the sixth son not kneel, but he would directly declare his intention to separate the family. His anger surged, and he gave Grandma Gu a look.
"Sixth son, you've rebelled! Rebelled! Father and mother worked hard to marry you a wife and give you a decent life. Now that you have some ability, you want to abandon your own parents?"
Grandma Gu, receiving her husband's look, immediately started crying and wailing.
This tactic had always been effective on Gu Laoliu. Every time she cried like this, Gu Laoliu would be scared into kneeling and begging for mercy, afraid of being labeled a disobedient son.
However, Gu Zhaobei had a new core and was not Grandma Gu's "own" son. Seeing her like this, he not only felt no guilt but even disgust.
So Gu Zhaobei said frankly:
"Since the family can't accommodate us, how about this: if we separate, I won't ask for any family property, and as Mother said, I will give each household thirty catties of meat."
Hearing that there was meat, everyone froze.
Originally, they had planned to attack Gu Laoliu together.
But they never expected Gu Laoliu to be willing to give meat?
Suddenly, everyone felt that if Gu Laoliu could be driven out of the family, and they could get meat, it would be a good thing. The scene suddenly quieted down.
"Father, I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. The sixth son's heart isn't with this family anymore. There's no point in forcing him to stay."
At this moment, Gu Laoda spoke.
Once someone took the lead, it was easier for the other brothers. Their opinions poured out like a dam breaking.
"Eldest brother is right. The sixth son's mind isn't on the family, there's no point in forcing him to stay!"
"Yes, the sixth son isn't united with us brothers. They can take care of their own small family. Why should Father and Mother tie them to the family?"
In fact, everyone was thinking: From now on, they wouldn't have to worry about the food for the sixth son's family of three. They had given birth to a "money-losing" daughter, and the family ate quite a lot. After separating, they could save money.
Listening to the family's words, Gu Zhaobei's face was blank, and he only felt pity for the original owner. He realized how insignificant his position in the family was. Despite doing so much, he was treated as a burden.
"Alright, we'll separate the family!"
Old Man Gu, egged on by everyone, and also hating that his son had proposed separating the family, made this decision in a fit of pique.
Gu Qingcheng was secretly delighted.
Great! Finally, they were rid of these Gu family vampires and wouldn't be drained dry anymore!
"Host, you have gained 100 Satisfying Points, source: The Joy of Separation!"
Oh, so extreme joy could also earn a large number of Satisfying Points!
Gu Qingcheng was very happy. She immediately said:
"The matter of separation is not just verbal. We need to ask the village head to write a separation document, right?"
Speaking of which, Gu Qingcheng's idea of separation was inspired by the Sun family's inheritance division.
It turned out that even during the escape from famine, such matters could be handled as usual.
When Village Head Gu was invited to write the separation document, although he was surprised, he did not show it.
In his opinion, Gu Laoliu separating from the family was not a bad thing.
The Gu family was a lower-middle household in Taoyuan Village. The family had pushed out five small carts, and the carts were full. Anyone with eyes could see it was grain.
Although the family also ate porridge, they could definitely fill their stomachs. However, only Gu Laoliu's family looked sallow and thin, clearly the family that ate the least.
Now Gu Laoliu's family was voluntarily seeking separation, seemingly for survival.
In the past, when Gu Laoliu hunted, he brought it to the family for communal consumption, and his wife and daughter didn't even get to drink the meat broth.
Gu Laoliu was meek and didn't dare to speak.
If they didn't separate, his wife and child would starve to death.
Village Head Gu sighed inwardly: Gu Laoliu had finally come to his senses.
Because Gu Laoliu had selflessly given a giant python to the villagers and out of sympathy for him, Village Head Gu's scales tipped in Gu Laoliu's favor.
As the patriarch of the Gu clan, he had an obligation to maintain family unity. If Village Head Gu used clan righteousness to dissuade the separation, Gu Laoliu would definitely not be able to separate.