Chapter 11: Not One for Reasoning

After thinking about it, Second Lu felt as if the sky above his head had turned gloomy—Fang Yuan was that dark cloud hanging overhead.

As for taking advantage of anyone, Second Lu didn’t even dare to entertain the thought.

He spent ages psyching himself up, deciding he should at least try talking to Fang Yuan first, maybe salvage his own future: “Are you really reasonable?”

Fang Yuan replied with great confidence, “Don’t worry, I’m the most reasonable person you’ll ever meet. Everyone in our village and the surrounding area knows it.”

Her family’s village was close to town, so Fang Yuan was quite well-known in those parts.

Second Lu probed cautiously, “So, so can we talk this over? Look, you’ve already gotten quite a bit of money, and as for Big Brother Lu—he’s so shameless, if you don’t want him, just let him go. No big loss, right? As for me, I know I’m not good enough for you, I’m really sorry about that. So how about… you just don’t want the ‘man’ anymore?”

Fang Yuan shot Second Lu a look, staring him straight in the eyes, and said, word by word, “My mother always told me, pretty boys are never up to any good. The moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you weren’t anything special. Is money worth more than a person? Are you trying to fool me for a fool?”

Honestly, who says Fang Yuan is a troublemaker? She makes a lot of sense.

Second Lu also thought, even though he was a bit down and out at the moment, he still had potential—a stock with room to grow.

This woman had some insight, but why did she have to be so proud?

Watching Fang Yuan’s face change, Second Lu was truly scared of her temper. He hurriedly said, “N-no, I just didn’t want you to lose face if word got out. It’s mostly because I lack confidence—I feel bad for you, that’s all.”

He put on a look of sincere concern, as if he was doing it all for her sake.

But Fang Yuan was decisive: “Hmph, what could be more embarrassing than not being able to get married? Don’t even think about pulling any tricks. In three days, get ready to come home with me.”

And just like that, she unilaterally settled the matter. As for the marriage, she wouldn’t let Second Lu drag it out any longer.

In short: Can we live a good life together? If not, we’ll go outside and reason things out—I’ll show you how life should be lived.

Second Lu felt as if his backbone had been ripped out, completely deflated. There was no escaping her clutches now. This woman was nothing like she claimed—she was not reasonable at all.

And there was another thing giving Second Lu a headache: almost all the family’s money was in Fang Yuan’s hands now.

If he lost this wife, he’d lose both the woman and the money. His mother probably couldn’t take that blow.

To get a wife for Big Brother Lu, they’d sent nearly two hundred to Fang Yuan’s family, draining all their savings.

If this marriage fell through, there was no way Fang Yuan would return the money. Not to mention the three hundred and fifty she’d just gotten from selling off Big Brother Lu.

Thinking about it, his own brother had been “sold” for three hundred and fifty, and Second Lu felt sorry for his parents’ loss.

He weighed Fang Yuan, his parents, the family’s savings, and all that money for a long time.

Honestly, even though he was young and confident, he still felt he wasn’t worth that much. To put it bluntly, he just couldn’t let go of the money.

Second Lu sucked in a cold breath. Even though he was sure he’d make something of himself in the future, right now he was stuck because of this money.

Fang Yuan, on the other hand, wasn’t one to brood or overthink things.

She started giving orders: “Put that shameless woman’s bedding on the kang. I don’t even think her stuff is clean, but it’ll do for a base layer. Then put my dowry bedding on top. We’ll just make do for tonight.”

Then she started complaining about Second Lu: “And you call yourself a scholar? How are you so useless? I told you to bring anything useful, but you didn’t even think to bring over the firewood stack. Look, there’s not even anything to burn.”

Second Lu’s mouth twitched. Was firewood something you could just move on a whim? With his skinny frame, could he even manage it?

But, to be fair, he hadn’t thought to bring firewood because there was some in this yard already. He just didn’t want to tell Fang Yuan that.

This woman’s words could really sting. Just because of a few sticks of firewood, he was now “useless”? Did she have to talk like that?

Second Lu said, “If you call your own man useless, do you think anyone will respect you? Who puts down their own husband like that? I told you, you look down on me, and I’m not good enough for you. How about we talk this over again?”

Fang Yuan actually took his words to heart: “My mother did tell me not to call my own man useless. Fine, I won’t say it again.”

That left Second Lu at a loss for how to respond. So she wasn’t completely unreasonable after all? Admitting her mistakes and correcting them—was that a good trait?

But Fang Yuan didn’t dwell on it, and just gave another order: “Tomorrow, go bring all the firewood over.”

Second Lu tried to reason with her, “But my parents are still over there.”

Fang Yuan replied, “What are you worrying about? That shameless woman seems capable enough—she won’t be short of firewood.”

Fine, Second Lu kept quiet. Just thinking about moving that pile of firewood made him sigh—tomorrow he’d embarrass himself again.

The two of them just couldn’t communicate.

Second Lu figured, with such a big gap between their ways of thinking, this marriage wouldn’t work out. Tomorrow, he’d try to talk her into calling it off.

Just then, outside, his mother started knocking on the door: “Second, Second’s wife, open up! Mom’s here to light the kang for you.”

Second Lu was stunned. He and Third had always lived here and lit the kang themselves. His mother was always busy cooking and mending for the whole family—she never had time for this.

He glanced at Fang Yuan. This woman really carried some weight. Was his own mother being a bit too attentive?

Fang Yuan nudged Second Lu with her foot, a little impatient: “Go open the door. Didn’t you hear? Mom’s here.”

Second Lu went out and saw his mother carrying firewood into the house. She pushed past her son and, with a fawning smile, turned to Fang Yuan: “Now that Big Brother’s married, Second and Third were supposed to move back to the old house. There was so much going on today, I’m late lighting the kang. Second’s wife, let me light it for you.”

Her attitude was warm and gentle, all flattery. Anyone who didn’t know better would think she was the new daughter-in-law.

But Second Lu’s mother had been coached by his father: their second son would be studying in the future, and studying needed money. Right now, Fang Yuan held the purse strings. Of course, the main thing was that Second’s wife was tough—money or not, she had to be kept happy.

Fang Yuan was very pleased with Second Lu’s mother’s words. At least the Lu family wasn’t trying to fool her: “I really am reasonable. You’re doing the right thing, so I won’t object. If you want to light the kang, go ahead, just don’t use too much firewood—don’t waste it.”

She spoke as if giving a reward—who knew where she got her confidence from. Clearly, she still needed to learn how to treat her elders and in-laws.

Second Lu thought, there wasn’t a single new daughter-in-law in the village as brazen as this. She really didn’t match up with him at all.

Second Lu’s mother was delighted to hear this. She said, even though Fang Yuan was a bit rough around the edges, she really knew how to run a household.

She pledged her loyalty to Fang Yuan: “I knew Second’s wife was someone who knew how to live.”

Then she added, “If you hadn’t been given to Big Brother’s side, I’d have wanted to live with you myself.”

Second Lu thought, What do you know? Tomorrow she’s going to move the firewood pile over here—she’s just saving her own firewood. His mother’s fawning was honestly a bit embarrassing.

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