Chapter 15

These past few days, Ning Qing and the others ignored Lan Jiu’s scolding. They ate their meals in their own house without any regard to Lan Jiu. If they were hungry, they could cook for themselves. They didn’t care about being these people’s footstools. She had also arranged for the village head uncle to help them move out tomorrow. During this time, they had to pack up the necessities before moving out of this house tomorrow. Lan Jiu herself didn’t want to step foot in these people’s house, so she could only ask her two daughters-in-law to cook for them instead. Although the food wasn’t as delicious as Xiao Shui’s, it was edible. Lan Jiu felt a little relieved that she could still live without these people. Ning Qing’s family didn’t even think about stepping foot in Grandma’s main house the entire day. They were still busy deciding what to take with them when they moved. The pots and pans were from the old house. “What do you want me to bring, Father? I think those things have been stored for a long time. If Father has some extra money, I will buy some new ones. When I went to look at the house, I forgot to check if there were any kitchen utensils.”

“If that’s what you think, then just buy a new one, Ning Qing. I don’t want you to mess around in that house anymore.”

“Then, we only have clothes and bedding to carry. Do you think we can rent the village headman’s cart or drag the old wheels ourselves? You can’t move around much either. I’m afraid your condition will get worse.”

“You can rent a cart, my child. That way, you won’t get tired walking. You can put mattresses for me to sleep on, so that it won’t affect the bones that are about to heal.”

“If you say so, I’ll contact the village headman tomorrow after the separation is over.”

“It’s hard on you, Ning Qing.”

“It’s not hard at all, Father. We’re a family. I’ll do everything to make our family comfortable.”

Ning Qing assured her father confidently. Since she was able to do so many things she had said, But right now, the most important thing was separating from Lan Jiu. She didn’t know what would happen tomorrow if she said that they were separating. Her father still couldn’t move. The big family didn’t suspect anything about the herbs they dug out and put in their cart. This made Ning Qing feel a little more at ease. She wouldn’t have to talk to those people too much.

The next morning, Ning Qing asked her younger sister to go get the village headman to help her and her family separate so that they could finally travel. It would probably be dark by the time they reached Kang Village if Grandma didn’t agree and insisted on letting them be slaves like they used to be.

Ning Qing was the one who invited Lan Jiu to talk about separating from the big house. The others just stood there waiting for Lan Jiu to say what she would say. Ning Qing even made a seat for her father to sit down before they could talk. Otherwise, if there was another conflict, it would be even harder for the bones to connect.

“What do you have to do, Ning Qing, to call me and everyone here?”

“I want to separate from you.”

“What! You ungrateful little girl, do you dare to separate from us? Who told you or taught you this? I will beat you to death, just you wait and see.”

“Stop!!! Do you dare to hurt a child, Lan Jiu?”

The village head who rushed over and saw what was happening stopped Lan Jiu just in time. Otherwise, he did not know what Ning Qing would have to face.

“Who told you to meddle in my household, village head?”

“Because I am the village head, I have the duty to separate your household this time. Don’t think about what you will do to Ning Guan and your family after Ning Zheng dies. Before Ning Zheng died, he asked you to take care of Ning Guan and your family from you all.”

“If they want to separate, they can leave with only their body. I will not let them take any of the things in this household.”

“This is too much, Lan Jiu. None of the things in this household belong to you. I still have your divorce papers in my hand. Or do you want to go to the county and let the officials decide?”

Lan Jiu just realized that the village headman also had a copy of the divorce decree from that year. She could only grit her teeth in anger.

“Then take whatever you want. As for this house, we will stay in your place.”

Just as the village headman was about to object, Ning Qing shook her head and wouldn’t let him say anything more. They had already discussed this matter. The village headman wrote three separate houses and would not interfere with each other anymore. It stated that Lan Jiu’s family would not be able to disturb Ning Guan’s family anymore. If he broke the contract this time, he would send them to prison himself.

Lan Jiu reluctantly pressed her fingerprints with her children as proof that they were aware of this separation. Ning Qing could only ask the village headman’s grandfather to bring a cart to help her carry her things to Kang Village.

The village headman let them wait here and also warned Lan Jiu not to touch them. If he came and saw that anyone was injured, he would send them to the authorities to deal with them decisively.

Ning Qing herself was also careful about her father wanting to walk away. Fortunately, she had made a cane for her father before they moved house two days ago. Now, Ning Guan could walk a little. The only problem was that his broken ribs could not be affected too much. So, he sat quietly and obediently to his good daughter. Ning Qing had her younger siblings push the cart that she had packed with a lot of herbs and prepared to tie it to the cart. When Lan Jiu saw this, she could only scold them but did not dare to do anything to them.