Chapter 173: Understood

Even without thinking too hard, anyone could tell that Big Brother Fang wouldn’t let himself get taken advantage of like that. Fang Yuan was a little confused: “Yeah, of course he wouldn’t agree to that. So then what happened?”

Lu Chuan replied, “So is this brother-in-law supposed to get a share of the profits, or just earn a wage? Whether Big Brother makes money or loses money, how much does it really have to do with this brother-in-law?”

This is the kind of thing that gets more interesting the more you think about it. If you really weigh it carefully, you start to see what’s going on.

Fang Yuan knew deep down that her big brother was never that generous. She started to doubt herself: “Did I blame him for nothing?”

Lu Chuan didn’t know how to say it—your big brother is more shrewd than you, so you’d better stop worrying about it. It’s not about whether you blamed him wrongly or not; it’s a fundamental misunderstanding.

At the very least, Lu Chuan never underestimated this brother-in-law. He’s not an ordinary person.

Fang Yuan still couldn’t figure it out the whole way home: “So what’s he up to? What’s the point of all this fuss? It’s not worth it just to ruin his brother-in-law’s reputation.”

Not that Lu Chuan didn’t know, but even if he did, he couldn’t say. In the end, it all comes down to interests.

Is Big Brother Fang an ordinary guy? Definitely not. When he got home, he gave his brother-in-law a hard look: “If you want to go to the construction site this year, then work hard and do your job. Otherwise, don’t bother going.”

The brother-in-law was unhappy, but didn’t dare act up in front of Big Brother Fang: “Brother-in-law, you can’t listen to their gossip. The provincial capital is so big, and none of them are outsiders. Don’t you care?”

Big Brother Fang scowled at him: “My place is too small for you, is that it?”

Brother-in-law replied, “Brother-in-law, I’m just paving the way for you. You don’t know—everyone who went to the provincial capital with the Five Tigers said they made big money there, and that you have connections. We’re all brothers here, so why should you be stuck in the countryside?”

But Big Brother Fang wasn’t about to pamper his brother-in-law: “I don’t have the skills to make money in the provincial capital, no matter how good it is. If you’re with me, work hard and earn your keep. Otherwise, get lost.”

Then he turned to his wife: “Fang Yuan is my sister. If you don’t like her, just go to our parents’ place less often. Stay home and take care of the kids. Don’t let people say I can’t support my wife and children. You’re the lady of the house—you’re in charge here.”

He continued, very seriously: “At our parents’ place, you’re a daughter-in-law. It’s not your place to boss people around. Fang Yuan is their daughter. In their house, she has more say than you.”

He didn’t even give his wife a chance to argue: “Fang Yuan won’t come here to bother you.”

Fang Yuan really just didn’t like her and didn’t want to deal with her, but she never actually went out of her way to provoke her. Big Sister-in-law said, “Got it. I’ll go back to my parents’.”

Big Brother Fang said, “Go home with your brother and the kids. I’ll come pick you up from your folks’ place tomorrow.”

That’s what you call giving someone a slap in the face and then saving their pride—he really knew how to handle things. Big Sister-in-law and her brother couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

Big Sister-in-law was almost in tears, grabbing Fang Laohu: “Honey, aren’t we going home together?”

Big Brother Fang just turned and left. He still had a lot of authority in front of his brother-in-law. That whole “afraid of the wife” thing? Not here.

With a brother-in-law like Fang Laohu, how could anyone believe he’d pamper his wife’s brother? Even the so-called “royal brother-in-law” didn’t believe it himself.

Big Sister-in-law was reluctant, but still pulled herself together and went home with her brother. This man might treat you well most of the time, but when he says something, you have to listen.

The so-called “royal brother-in-law” didn’t even dare make a peep in front of Fang Laohu.

After sending off his wife and brother-in-law, Big Brother Fang immediately went to see Fang Daleng.

Fang Daleng looked at his eldest son, worried: “Why’d you let your wife go home by herself? She’s got her issues, always thinking about her parents, but you should still give her some face. Remember to pick her up tomorrow.”

Big Brother Fang looked reluctant, but said, “I’ll listen to Dad. Can’t let outsiders laugh at us.”

After he said that, he acted like he was the one who’d been wronged—really hard to watch.

Wang Cuixiang looked at her husband and nodded approvingly, praising her eldest for being reasonable. Every family’s like this. For a man, a little grievance is nothing.

Wang Cuixiang rubbed her chest and went out to chat.

As parents, they’re just there for their son to play his games. After all these years, Big Brother’s little schemes—her silly old man never saw through them.

Wu Hu (Five Tigers) also laughed. Big Brother was a master at this game, and only their dad kept falling for it. But he was willing to give Big Brother this face, this way out.

That night, Wu Hu thought it over too. With Big Brother’s cunning, would he really let a brother-in-law mess up his own business?

The words his brother-in-law said kept echoing in his ears. Wu Hu really thought it through, much more clearly than Fang Yuan.

Wu Hu slapped his own hand until it went numb, muttering angrily, “Big Brother really is something else.”

He probably wants to keep all the profits for himself, messing with the second and third brothers. The fourth’s already been pushed out by Big Brother. No wonder brother-in-law could see through it—he’s got a good head on his shoulders.

Why didn’t he think of it before? Big Brother wasn’t even willing to split things fifty-fifty with brother-in-law, so how could he possibly want to split it several ways with his brothers? So that’s what he was waiting for.

If even he’s unwilling, how could Big Brother agree? Damn, Wu Hu thought, “Our family’s full of geniuses.”

Such a trivial matter—if you don’t want to share, just say so. Second and third brother aren’t any worse than you. Why all the drama? Really something else.

Big Brother’s just using brother-in-law to test his brothers. If he didn’t know how dark-hearted Big Brother was, Wu Hu would have told second and third brother everything.

Thinking about all the scheming Big Brother’s done over the past six months, Wu Hu held back. He was afraid Big Brother would turn on him.

But keeping this bottled up really was uncomfortable.

He kept thinking how Big Brother really was something else. Their parents worried about him all the time, but he was always calculating.

They’re real brothers—can’t he just be straightforward? Always scheming.

All he did was secretly save a little money—compared to this, it was nothing.

Lu Chuan took Fang Yuan home, and they actually missed a big commotion in the village.

The talk of the village wasn’t even about Gong Er. Lu Laoda and Li Meng made such a scene that they completely overshadowed the gossip about Gong Er.

Shows just how big of a deal it was.

Sister-in-law Sun grabbed Lu Chuan and Fang Yuan to spread the news: “Don’t bother looking, there’s no one at your house. They all went to the clinic—no, to the commune.”

Just from the way Sister-in-law Sun said it, how could they not be anxious? Lu Chuan said, “Sister-in-law, can you be a bit clearer?”

Sister-in-law Sun said, “Oh, don’t worry, your parents are fine, and so is your third brother.”

Hearing that everyone was fine, Lu Chuan felt much more at ease. As for the rest, he didn’t care. That was something he kept to himself.

Fang Yuan, on the other hand, wasn’t one to keep things inside—if she had something to say, she’d say it: “If anything happened to the others, it’s got nothing to do with us.”

Sister-in-law Sun said, “Actually, it does. When your mom left, she was worried you’d come home to a cold house, so she gave me the key and asked me to heat up the kang for you.”

174."

"**Chapter 174: The Lu Family’s Big Jealous Pot**

Fang Yuan quickly took the keys—her mother-in-law was just too trusting. How could you just hand the keys over to anyone?

Even if you’re a bit cold, you can’t let someone like Sister-in-law Sun just waltz into the yard.

Sister-in-law Sun didn’t even notice this. She just followed Fang Yuan inside, acting all natural and at ease.

As they walked, she chatted away, “Let me tell you, today’s the second day of the new year, right? Your sister-in-law—no, that loose-mouthed one you talk about—she didn’t go back to her parents’ house, right? So her sister-in-law, her mom, her brother, her dad, the whole family showed up. Oh my, anyone who didn’t know better would think they missed their daughter so much.”

Lu Chuan shivered at Sister-in-law Sun’s exaggerated tone and tried to slip away. “I’ll go heat up the kang.”

Sister-in-law Sun felt a bit embarrassed. “I was so caught up listening to gossip outside, I forgot to warm up the kang for you.”

Fang Yuan said, “You really shouldn’t have troubled yourself, Sister-in-law. We came back early, we could’ve done it ourselves. Sorry to put you out.”

Sister-in-law Sun thought to herself, What a considerate little wife. “It’s no trouble at all. Let me keep telling you what happened.”

She really just loved gossiping. If she didn’t finish telling the whole story, she wouldn’t be satisfied.

Fang Yuan, though straightforward, knew it wasn’t good to chase her off, and besides, listening didn’t hurt.

Sister-in-law Sun continued, “You don’t know, Li Meng’s mom, that sister-in-law, she’s really something else. She just takes whatever she wants from Li Meng’s little shop, and she won’t stop until she’s cleared it out. Worse than bandits, I’ve never seen family like this.”

She smacked her lips and went on, “Everyone in the village says that family’s a den of thieves.”

Fang Yuan thought, Serves them right—sometimes it takes bad people to deal with bad people.

Sister-in-law Sun said, “Li Meng, pregnant as she is, tried to protect her things, crying and making a scene. Everyone who heard felt bad for her. But her mom and sister-in-law didn’t care at all, didn’t even care about her pregnancy, just went about their business.”

She added, “Li Meng’s got it tough with parents and siblings like that, but what can you do? They’re her family, and we villagers can’t really interfere.”

Seeing Fang Yuan wasn’t responding, Sister-in-law Sun kept going, “Later, Old Lu got mad and came out with a hoe, trying to drive them out. But then her father-in-law and brother-in-law ganged up on him and gave him a beating. If Li Meng hadn’t thrown herself in to protect him, Old Lu would’ve been beaten half to death.”

Fang Yuan understood—you can’t just stand by and watch your own son get beaten. She finally spoke up, “My dad and Xiao San went over too.”

Sister-in-law Sun, encouraged by Fang Yuan’s response, became even more animated and indignant, “Exactly! Old Lu got beaten like that—if your dad and Xiao San hadn’t stepped in, your family would’ve lost face.”

She continued vividly, “And the villagers couldn’t just stand by and watch your dad and Xiao San get bullied either. In the end, they managed to drive that whole nasty family out.”

Then she added, “But they wouldn’t give up. They demanded money from Li Meng, saying if you marry their daughter, you have to pay. But Li Meng’s clever—she clutched her belly and said they’d beaten her so badly she’d had a miscarriage. At first everyone thought she was faking, but who knew, it actually happened. Talk about bad luck.”

At this point, Sister-in-law Sun spread her hands, “So now they’ve all gone to the commune.” She really knew how to wrap up a story.

Fang Yuan thought, If Sister-in-law Sun told jokes from my joke books, she’d definitely be more entertaining than Lu Chuan.

Sister-in-law Sun was really looking out for Fang Yuan, “Good thing you weren’t home. Otherwise, what would you have done—help Old Lu or not? If you helped, it’d be awkward; if you didn’t, people would gossip behind your back.”

But Fang Yuan didn’t have those worries. “Sister-in-law, just tell people straight—I’m not afraid of gossip.” In other words, she wouldn’t have helped.

Sister-in-law Sun said, “Look at you. Now that it’s happened once, Li Meng’s mom and her lot won’t come back, and you won’t have to deal with this again. Why talk about it?”

Fang Yuan hadn’t realized Sister-in-law Sun was so considerate.

Sister-in-law Sun sighed, “Still, you have to feel for her. What kind of family is that?”

Fang Yuan replied, “With someone who acts like her, it’s no surprise her family’s like that.” Like mother, like daughter—Li Meng was rotten to the core.

Sister-in-law Sun looked gossipy, “Tsk tsk, you still mind?” She just couldn’t help digging for more.

But Fang Yuan couldn’t let Sister-in-law Sun speculate too much, or who knows what rumors would spread tomorrow.

Fang Yuan honestly didn’t even know what Sister-in-law Sun was getting at.

Just then, Lu Chuan hurried in from the outer room, lifting the curtain. “Sister-in-law, sorry for all the trouble today.”

Sister-in-law Sun replied, “Oh, don’t be so polite. Your mom gave me the key because she trusts me. I’m honored. I’m happy to help.”

Fang Yuan had learned to be polite, too. “You’re trustworthy, Sister-in-law. We can rely on you.”

Sister-in-law Sun floated out of the Lu house, not expecting such praise from Fang Yuan.

She immediately regretted not being more diligent and helping the young couple heat up the kang. She felt she’d let Fang Yuan down and really regretted it.

Lu Chuan looked at Fang Yuan. “You’re not really bothered, are you?”

Fang Yuan replied, “Bothered by what? I hold grudges, but people like that aren’t worth my time.”

Lu Chuan was satisfied. “I’ll go help Xiao San warm up their place.”

Fang Yuan followed, “I’ll go cook, too. With all this fuss, Mom and Dad probably haven’t eaten yet. Poor Mom, dealing with those people—no, those two.”

She added, “Ever since this started, Mom knew the Li family would come sniffing around.”

Lu Chuan said, “Still, I didn’t expect Old Lu to stand up to outsiders like that. Must’ve hurt to lose that money.”

Fang Yuan chimed in, “Now he knows how hard it is to earn money.”

Lu Chuan shot Fang Yuan a look—he really didn’t want to talk about Old Lu with her.

Fang Yuan, oblivious, said, “I wonder if he regrets giving me all that money?”

At that, Lu Chuan’s face fell. Did it really matter if Old Lu regretted it?

Fang Yuan felt a chill. “Is this new house drafty? Why is it so cold? Do you feel it?”

She turned and saw Lu Chuan’s icy glare. So that’s where the cold air was coming from.

Fang Yuan was puzzled. “Who upset you? Don’t tell me you want to go help Old Lu? Are you out of your mind?”

Lu Chuan snorted coldly—he wanted to go fight Old Lu.

He raised his voice at Fang Yuan, “Fang Yuan, whether Old Lu regrets it or not has nothing to do with you. What kind of person he is has even less to do with you.”

Fang Yuan, as carefree as ever, replied, “Right, it has nothing to do with me. Why are you making a point of saying that?”

Lu Chuan was so mad his chest hurt. If only he could say he just didn’t want to hear it. She really would say anything, while he actually cared."