Chapter 13: Sharp Tongue, Soft Heart
Qin Family's courtyard is still quite spacious, not only there is a forecourt, but also a vegetable garden at the back.
In the forecourt, pigs and chickens are raised, and vegetables are grown in the vegetable garden. The pigs and chickens were divided, but the vegetable garden was not. Mr. Qin took it upon himself to help with the gardening, so all family members could eat together.
The family only has one semi-old bicycle, which wasn't divided either. Officially it belongs to Mr. Qin, and whoever needs it, uses it.
After dividing the home, they divided the land. Qin Family Village divided the land only in 1981, at that time the Qin Family had a total of six members: Mr. Qin, Mrs. Qin, Qin Yang, and the three members of Brother Qin's family, so the land was divided for six persons.
When dividing the property, Mr. Qin and Mrs. Qin's land was divided equally between them, giving Brother Qin a portion for four members, and Lin Chuxia's family received land for two members. Mr. Qin and Mrs. Qin only kept a little more than one acre of personal land.
Worried that Lin Chuxia might have objections, Mother Lin explained, "The village will redistribute the land every few years, and by then your household registration will be here, and you'll be able to get land. In these two years, you and Yangyang can have another child, that will add up to land for two people."
The peasants' mentality hadn't shifted yet, everyone relied on land for their livelihood, and the village redivided the lands every few years.
Thus, whenever a family has a wedding or a child is born, they promptly report and update the household registration so that they can get more land during redistribution.
Of course, if there are elderly family members, they also have to deregister them in time because many people are watching. The village cadres directly remove the individuals from the registry.
At this time, no one individually possessed a household registry book, the village had a big one, and the town had a big one, recording all the village's residents, and at year's end, the village accountant would use the registry to report the village population.
It can be said that the village cadres have quite significant authority.