Chapter 92: When Children Grow Up, They’re No Longer Their Mother’s to Control

Fang Yuan’s words didn’t just leave Lu Chuan speechless—they also stunned Fang Daleng and Wang Cuixiang. Their eldest had made a mess of things, and now their daughter was holding a grudge.

Wang Cuixiang was helpless with her daughter. “Fine, I’ll do it. I’ll cook at home. We’ll eat before you leave.”

Fang Daleng tried to negotiate with his daughter. “How about I go tell your eldest brother to come over for dinner?” He didn’t even dare mention the eldest brother’s wife.

Lu Chuan was worried Fang Yuan would snap at her father with something like, “Why not invite my eldest brother’s brother-in-law too?” That would make things impossible to smooth over.

He quickly jumped in, “Dad, are second, third, and fourth brother all home? Let’s all get together and make it lively. Otherwise, I’ll have to head back to school, and who knows, maybe I won’t be home again until New Year’s.”

He glanced at Fang Yuan as he finished, “Fang Yuan will be at home, so I’ll have to trouble you and her brothers to look after her.”

Wang Cuixiang silently watched her daughter’s reaction. Fang Yuan didn’t say a word and just went inside. That was already giving Lu Chuan face.

But Wang Cuixiang didn’t feel happy at all. Her daughter wouldn’t listen to anyone, yet she’d actually listened to her son-in-law. Wasn’t that being completely taken in by him?

She almost wished her daughter had insisted on eating alone as a family. This meal, Wang Cuixiang ate with a hundred mixed feelings.

Her son-in-law was about to leave for university. From now on, the girls he’d meet would all be educated, all kinds of people.

Could her own daughter really keep him? Once her son-in-law was out in the world, it would all depend on his conscience.

No parent could feel at ease with that. The match had been a good one, maybe even too good. Wang Cuixiang was starting to regret it.

But there was no one who could understand what Wang Cuixiang was feeling.

Lu Chuan couldn’t let his father-in-law go call the sons for dinner. He said, “Dad, Fang Yuan’s been talking about you the whole time she was away—she must really miss you. I’ll go call her brothers and sisters-in-law, you go chat with Fang Yuan.”

Fang Daleng thought to himself, “Don’t I know my own daughter? If she missed me, she wouldn’t say it—she’d just ride her bike home to see me.”

But he was happy enough to go back inside. He liked the way his son-in-law talked. The key thing was that his daughter hadn’t objected to inviting the sisters-in-law.

When Lu Chuan walked into the eldest brother’s room, Fang Laoda’s expression changed several times. Lu Chuan was doing well in the county with the Five Tigers. News traveled slowly in the countryside, but what needed to be known was known.

And they were all in the same business. Compared to Lu Chuan, he just couldn’t measure up.

Back when things were divided up, he was the one everyone looked up to. Lu Chuan wasn’t even on his level. Now the tables had turned, and he felt embarrassed without anyone saying a word.

Still, he managed to greet Lu Chuan without losing face. “You’re back. Where’s Fang Yuan?”

Lu Chuan replied, “Big Brother, Fang Yuan missed Dad, she’s chatting with him now. I came to invite you and Sister-in-law over for dinner. I’ll be heading back to school soon, and while Fang Yuan’s at home, I’ll have to ask you both to look after her.”

Fang Daleng’s face brightened. “You don’t need to say that. Fang Yuan won’t be mistreated. No matter what kind of temper she has, your sister-in-law wouldn’t dare neglect her.”

Lu Chuan laughed. That was as straightforward as it got.

He said, “Fang Yuan’s just a bit childish. Even I get a scolding or two from her. Luckily, Sister-in-law is good-natured and doesn’t take it to heart.”

Fang Laoda shot Lu Chuan a look. “No need for all that talk. You can rest easy. She’s the only girl in the family. Even if I wanted to make things hard for her, I couldn’t.”

Lu Chuan was left a bit speechless—his wife’s temper really was something, and no one dared cross her.

He went to invite his sister-in-law over. She looked a bit embarrassed.

Her sister-in-law had been giving her the cold shoulder for ages, and she had no idea why. “Alright, I’ll bring over the dishes I’ve made.”

Lu Chuan thought, at least things looked harmonious on the surface. Still, it was a family.

When he went to the second and third brothers, they came right away. The rest didn’t even need to be called.

Lu Chuan could see that the second and third sisters-in-law were all trying to please Fang Yuan, while the eldest sister-in-law looked a bit sour.

Wang Cuixiang watched her rowdy sons and said to her daughter, “Be smart. I’ve seen through it—if you and your brothers keep your distance, things will last longer.”

Counting on the brothers to make money together was a pipe dream. Better to look after yourself. Wang Cuixiang had seen it all before.

Fang Yuan replied, “Don’t worry. I’m like Big Brother—I care about money. Even if I wanted to get close, it wouldn’t be easy.”

Wang Cuixiang wanted to smack her. “Do you have to drag your brother into this?”

Fang Yuan said, “Is it my fault? Just to save his pride, I can’t even be filial to Mom and Dad? When has he ever been more domineering than me?”

Wang Cuixiang said, “Forget I said anything. Just shut up.”

Fang Yuan actually listened and shut up. But she still didn’t give her sister-in-law any face.

Lu Chuan hoped Fang Yuan would stay close to her family. While he was away, she’d have someone to rely on.

But if she was mistreated, Lu Chuan wouldn’t be happy either.

He chatted with his brothers-in-law, trying to smooth over the awkwardness of the past two months, taking responsibility for everything.

Fang Laoda was a deep one, just like Fang Yuan said—he cared about face.

He never said he was having a hard time or needed help, so Lu Chuan couldn’t offer either.

The fourth brother wanted to get closer to Lu Chuan, but Wang Cuixiang cut him off.

So nothing really progressed, but the second and third brothers could see that their brother-in-law wasn’t petty—he hadn’t taken any of it to heart.

Unfortunately, it was obvious Lu Chuan wasn’t the one in charge at home—he was watching Fang Yuan’s face the whole time. That made them a little uncomfortable.

The problem was, their sister was tough with outsiders and even tougher with her own family—she was hard to please.

They all knew what kind of temper Fang Yuan had. There wasn’t much they could do.

Fang Laoda understood what his brothers were thinking. He could keep the younger ones in line, and that was his skill. “Brother-in-law, I appreciate your intentions. I’m only capable of so much. I can manage in the village, but I don’t dare to think bigger.”

The second and third brothers heard this and immediately gave up on their plans.

The fourth brother was anxious. Work in the county was good, and Lu Chuan was famous now. If he could just say a word, they’d have work. Why wouldn’t he bring it up?

Fang Yuan started putting food on Lu Chuan’s plate, meaning: shut up, don’t push it—it’s not a business deal.

Lu Chuan thought a lot—Fang Yuan had never been this nice to him before, even serving him food. She must be reluctant to see him go back to school. He glanced at her shyly, again and again.

Never mind his brothers-in-law—his whole attention was on Fang Yuan.

His wife handed him a bite of food, and he could imagine a whole romantic scene.

Then, at the table, Lu Chuan said, “Fang Yuan, which dish do you like? I’ll get it for you.”

Everyone looked at him—did Fang Yuan really need anyone to serve her food at home?

Fang Yuan said, “Eat your own.”

Lu Chuan started serving her anyway. Honestly, there weren’t that many dishes—there was no need to be so protective.

[End of Chapter 92]"