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."