Chapter 19: Old Grudges, New Resentments

Fang Yuan had never met anyone so stubborn before. If this were her own home, who would dare go against her? She’d just call her brother over, and in no time, whoever it was would know whose word carried weight.

Unfortunately, her brother wasn’t here today, and she actually lost out to this student. “Fine, I’ll bring more money. If it really breaks, then so be it.”

The two of them dawdled as they got on the bike and left.

Meanwhile, a few of Lu Lao’er’s (Second Lu’s) classmates had been secretly watching them from the old courtyard for a while.

They were all gossiping, “They seem to get along pretty well. Now that Lu Chuan’s married, will he still be willing to go to college?”

Gong Er said mysteriously, “My mom told me that Lu Da (the eldest Lu) got his wife for free. That wife of Da Chuan’s was originally supposed to be Lu Da’s.”

Zhang Xiaole, the village secretary’s son, didn’t want to hear it. “Gong Er, why do you always talk nonsense? Your mom’s not as well-informed as my dad. The Lu family married that wife for Da Chuan, didn’t you hear what Lu Da’s wife said this morning? The Lu family just married in two daughters-in-law at once. Lu Da’s wife was late getting here because her home is far away, that’s all.”

He continued, “Besides, everyone knows Lu Da was engaged before. Isn’t his wife the same girl he was engaged to? Am I wrong?”

Gong Er didn’t buy it. “I know you’re close with Da Chuan, but I’ve never heard him say he wanted to get married. People just say what sounds good, but can you really cover up something like this? Not many people know about Lu Da’s engagement to the Fang family?”

Zhang Xiaole retorted, “Bullshit! How do you know it was Lu Da who was engaged to the Fang family? It was always Lu Chuan. Lu Chuan’s just shy and doesn’t like to talk about personal stuff with you. So what if he didn’t tell you? What, are you trying to say Da Chuan married his own sister-in-law?”

It looked like the two of them were about to start bickering.

Zhu Jia’s kid, standing nearby, got anxious. The couple was doing just fine, but these guys were about to start a fight. “Enough, enough, what are you arguing about? No matter what happened, just don’t spread these rumors. That’s the least we can do for Da Chuan.”

Zhang Xiaole glared at the two of them. “None of you are any good.” They were all buddies—why did they have to make a joke out of each other? Couldn’t they just pretend not to know?

Gong Er was annoyed too. “So what if we talk among ourselves? If outsiders said this about Lu Chuan, would I be okay with it? You think you’re so great? They got married and didn’t tell you either. Why are you so eager to stick your nose in?”

With that, he grabbed his schoolbag and left.

Zhang Xiaole, fuming, kicked over the half-built chicken coop. Each of them had a worse temper than the next.

Zhu Xiaosan scowled. “Them getting married has nothing to do with you guys. What’s the fuss?” Then he rolled up his sleeves and went back to building the coop.

These childhood friends didn’t have much money. When a classmate got married, all they could do was come over and help out with some manual labor.

Zhang Xiaole joined in, but with all the arguing, they were way behind schedule and would definitely be late today.

Meanwhile, Lu Lao’er was riding steadily with Fang Yuan on the back, earning her praise. “Didn’t expect you to be so skinny but still have some strength.”

Lu Lao’er thought to himself, she might as well keep quiet. Whenever Fang Yuan spoke, it was like she was sizing up livestock. Even compliments sounded off.

Fang Yuan said, “By the way, let’s buy a bicycle. We’ve got money anyway.”

Lu Lao’er was a little tempted. “Not like we really need one.”

Fang Yuan replied, “How could we not? It’ll be so much easier for me to visit my family in the future.”

Lu Chuan thought, so this has nothing to do with me.

Then Fang Yuan asked, “When are you starting school? How are we going to live after that? What’s your plan?”

Lu Lao’er fell silent again. This woman always had a way of putting people on the spot. They’d only gotten married yesterday—he hadn’t even had time to think about it. The marriage had come out of nowhere, and he had no idea what married life was supposed to be like.

Fang Yuan continued, “By the way, why are you older than the others? Did you get held back because you’re not smart enough?”

Lu Lao’er snapped back, “You’re the one who’s not smart. I started school late, they started early, and now I’m repeating a year.” Meaning, I’m actually smarter than them.

Fang Yuan nodded. Her family lived close to town, so she knew how school worked. “Good thing you got in this year. Otherwise, with someone like Lu Da ruining the family’s luck, who knows if you’d ever get in?”

Lu Da really wasn’t much, but he wasn’t that powerful.

Lu Lao’er didn’t want to argue about Lu Da. If Fang Yuan praised Lu Da, he didn’t like it. But if she badmouthed him, always bringing him up, he still felt uncomfortable. Why did everything have to come back to that troublemaker?

It was a long way, so Fang Yuan chatted with Lu Lao’er. “How come I never heard Third Aunt mention you going to college? Doesn’t seem like anyone knows.”

Lu Lao’er thought, it was hard enough for the family to find a wife for Lu Da. If word got out that the family still had to support another son in college, would it be easy to marry off a wife? There was some scheming in the Lu family—they couldn’t let this be known.

He mumbled, “Not sure if I’ll go to college yet. Nothing to talk about.”

Fang Yuan said, “See, you’re so secretive. Something this big and you don’t even explain it. Am I an outsider to you?”

Well, you’re not exactly an insider either, Lu Lao’er thought, keeping quiet. He felt like if this marriage didn’t work out, he and Fang Yuan would never see eye to eye.

Fang Yuan went on, “But your family really doesn’t have anyone in charge, do they? Otherwise, who wouldn’t brag if their kid got into college?”

As accurate as Fang Yuan was, Lu Lao’er still felt embarrassed and didn’t want to hear it. He forced out, “How do you know so much?”

Fang Yuan replied calmly, “Before I got married, my brother checked everything out for me. Your eldest brother is a loser, so I’m not afraid of being bullied. Your parents are honest and don’t make decisions. You’re quiet. Only the third one is a bit rowdy, but easy to handle. The only thing we didn’t find out was that you actually got into college.”

She sounded genuinely regretful, like she’d been tricked.

Lu Lao’er said nothing. In other families, having a college student would be something to show off. In his family, with so little to their name, if they said they were sending a son to college, no one would have wanted Lu Da for a husband. Of course they had to keep it quiet. If you looked closely, there was some guilt there.

Then Fang Yuan said, “My dad said, marrying into a family like yours, I wouldn’t lose out. Your family wouldn’t dare mistreat me.”

What could Lu Lao’er say? Her dad was right. Now the whole family was under Fang Yuan’s thumb.

Fang Yuan continued, “If my family had a scholar, my dad would be so happy he’d jump for joy. He’d never stop a kid from going to school just to get him married. He’d rather sell his son than keep a smart one from studying.”

Lu Lao’er couldn’t exactly praise her dad for his vision—selling your son wasn’t exactly something to be proud of.

Fang Yuan found Lu Lao’er too sullen. “Does your family even have the means to send you to college?”

Lu Lao’er glanced back at Fang Yuan, his eyes full of mixed feelings. “Lu Da got engaged and married, so there’s no money left at home.”

She got it. So, to marry her, the family ran out of money. At least Fang Yuan knew what could and couldn’t be said.

She slapped Lu Lao’er on the waist. “See, I knew that good-for-nothing was trouble. Turns out it’s old grudges and new resentments—holding you back from college, ruining your future. That’s just heartless.”

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