Chapter 75: The Pursuit of “Reasonableness”

Fang Yuan nodded. “However it’s reported in the village, whatever damage was done to our family, calculate it in money and have her pay for it.”

She then looked at the village Party Secretary and asked very seriously, “Am I being reasonable here?”

The Party Secretary felt respected by this new daughter-in-law, who seemed very responsible. He turned to the commune official. “Isn’t this reasonable?”

The commune official nodded. “It’s reasonable enough.”

Then someone took out a notebook, did some calculations, and gave a number: “Five yuan.” In other words, Li Meng’s sister-in-law smashed up the Lu family’s house, and five yuan would settle it.

Fang Yuan really couldn’t stay calm. “How much?” Was it just because her family had no one to back them up that it was only five yuan?

The commune official quickly explained, “Five yuan isn’t a small amount. Only a few bowls were broken, the window paper was torn. The cabinet is still usable. Just paste new paper on the window and it’s fine. How much more do you want?”

This was really beyond Fang Yuan’s expectations—just like that, it was over.

Fang Yuan looked at Old Lady Lu and forced out a sentence: “With relatives like this, we’d better get some valuables for the house next time.”

It really wasn’t worth all this trouble.

Old Lady Lu nodded, and in front of the commune official and the Party Secretary, said, “I used to be narrow-minded, but from now on, I’ll listen to you.”

The commune official’s face twitched. He’d never seen a mother- and daughter-in-law like this. Did they want to get smashed up again or what?

Li Meng’s mother was getting anxious. “Pah! You’re trying to extort us? Some relatives! I’ll never set foot in your house again in this lifetime!”

The Party Secretary and the commune official both looked at Li Meng’s mother, thinking, “The money may not be much, but if you really never come again, they’ll probably think it’s worth it.”

With everyone staring at her, Li Meng’s mother felt aggrieved. “What are you looking at me for? I don’t have any money. I won’t say anything more. I really don’t recognize these relatives.”

Li Meng’s sister-in-law wouldn’t pay either. In the end, it was Li Meng herself who pretended to wake up and handed over the money. Otherwise, Fang Yuan wouldn’t have let it go.

As for the bicycle, it was only after much persuasion from the commune official and the Party Secretary that Fang Yuan finally let them take it away.

The commune officials all told Li Meng’s sister-in-law, “See? Don’t mess with people you can’t handle. If you try to extort someone like her, you’re just asking for trouble. Next time, steer clear.”

Li Meng’s sister-in-law thought, “You don’t need to tell me. I’ll avoid her for sure. She’s even more ruthless than I am.”

Li Meng looked at her sister-in-law and hated herself for not having Fang Yuan’s skills. Otherwise, her sister-in-law wouldn’t dare try to use her to get money for the family.

Li Meng’s mother didn’t dare say anything to Fang Yuan, so she cursed at Li Meng as she prepared to leave.

Fang Yuan watched Li Meng hand over the money and said regretfully, “I really went too easy on her. That woman still has money left.”

Lu Chuan said, “Alright, just take it as Lu Laoda not being worth much.” As he said this, his heart ached.

If Lu Laoda was worth a lot, he’d be unhappy; if Lu Laoda wasn’t worth much, he’d be even more unhappy. These tangled feelings—Fang Yuan would probably never understand them in her whole life.

Fang Yuan also warned Li Meng’s sister-in-law, “Don’t mess with me. I’ve learned a lot today. Now I know the going rate for smashing up someone’s house. If you dare mess with me, I’ll smash up your place for five yuan. I can afford it—I have money.”

Li Meng’s eldest brother, his wife, and their mother all hurriedly ran off. Next time they saw this woman, they’d definitely avoid her.

The commune officials couldn’t just leave after hearing that. They earnestly told Fang Yuan, “You can’t do that. That’s against the law.”

Fang Yuan replied, “Then why don’t you arrest them when they break the law? I’ll accept the punishment too.”

Then she added, “Isn’t that reasonable?” She really had a thing for being “reasonable.”

The commune officials were left speechless. Talking to a girl like this was just so difficult. If everyone handled things this way, there’d be chaos.

In the end, the Party Secretary had Lu Chuan take Fang Yuan home and persuade her. People from their village couldn’t behave like this.

Otherwise, there’d be no reasoning with this stubborn girl. She was dead set on her principles.

The commune officials wiped the sweat from their brows as they left. This girl was really tough to deal with.

Meanwhile, Old Lady Lu, holding the five yuan, was overjoyed. She went around the village trading for vegetables, saying she’d invite everyone who helped today over for a meal. She was happy to spend that money.

For the first time, Old Lady Lu wasn’t stingy—she was downright generous.

Li Meng felt awkward. The people she’d called didn’t help her; instead, they’d driven away her own mother and sister-in-law. And then there was the question of who was actually hosting the meal.

For her, this meal was awkward no matter what—whether she ate or not, it was uncomfortable.

Li Meng’s face soured at Old Lady Lu. This mother-in-law never considered her feelings when doing things.

But Old Lady Lu really hadn’t considered Li Meng’s feelings. Back when Li Meng broke off the engagement with Lu Laoda, and after the Lu family’s house was smashed up by the Li family, the Lus just took it quietly. That resentment had been bottled up in Old Lady Lu’s heart until today.

Don’t look down on the five yuan—what Old Lady Lu really got back was the Lu family’s dignity.

Her family wasn’t weak. Even when they were bullied, they got some justice.

And when her family was in trouble, the villagers helped out. That’s what good relations are about. No matter whose pride was hurt, Old Lady Lu had to host this meal.

Otherwise, who’d help you next time? Why hadn’t the villagers helped out like this the last time they were smashed up?

Li Meng’s family had come to make trouble for the eldest before—why hadn’t the villagers helped then?

All this made Old Lady Lu think deeply.

Did she have time to worry about Li Meng’s feelings?

Her eldest son’s “let it go” was already enough of a loss of face for the family and the village.

As for Lu Laoda and Li Meng’s reputations, Old Lady Lu couldn’t care less.

When her eldest said “let it go,” did he think about his parents, his brothers, or the villagers who helped?

Lu Chuan naturally followed his mother’s lead, organizing people to sit inside, and called on Zhang Xiaole, Gong Er, and Zhu Xiaosan to help entertain the guests.

No one even thought about letting Lu Laoda handle this. What did it have to do with him? After all, it was his in-laws who caused the trouble.

Fang Yuan pulled Lu Laosan aside and whispered something. Lu Chuan glanced over and saw that Fang Yuan got along well with Xiaosan.

He thought, “She’s even a year older than me, but she gets along better with Xiaosan. Age really doesn’t mean much.”

Fang Yuan had Xiaosan take people to the township to buy things. Five yuan could buy a lot in the village, but it still wasn’t quite enough.

Since they were hosting, they had to do it right. This was their family’s time to shine in the village. Her father had always told her, “When it’s time to be generous, don’t be stingy.”

After saying her piece, she went to the kitchen with Old Lady Lu.

Fang Yuan knew it was time to step up as the lady of the house.

Old Lady Lu was busy in the kitchen. When she saw Fang Yuan, she said, “Second daughter-in-law, you don’t need to help here. Go keep the guests company with Lu Chuan. You’re the backbone of our family, not just someone who cooks.”

In Old Lady Lu’s eyes, her second daughter-in-law was truly on another level."