Chapter 7: A Bit Unreasonable

Old Lady Lu was also staring eagerly at Fang Yuan. Whether this was a good idea or not wasn’t up to them—the one who needed to agree was right here.

Fang Yuan nodded. “Alright, if Mom and Dad think it’s okay, then I have no problem with it.”

The old couple from the Lu family quickly echoed, “Alright, alright, if you say it’s okay, then it’s okay. We’ll listen to you.”

Li Meng’s face darkened. So, everything she said just now was for nothing.

Fang Yuan continued, “As long as your eldest son has no objections and is willing to let this ‘tainted’ woman run the household, then let’s put it in writing. By the way, the second branch’s contribution for the parents’ support will be one hundred.”

The village chief nodded. He hadn’t expected the old couple from the Lu family to be so blessed in their old age, with daughters-in-law competing to show filial piety and even stuffing them with money.

This girl might be a bit unruly, but she was generous and handled things with dignity. She didn’t let the eldest daughter-in-law suppress her.

Looking at the woman who had spoken earlier—now being called ‘tainted’ and not even daring to talk back—she probably really wasn’t clean.

He picked up his pen to draft the agreement, but Fang Yuan spoke up again. “Uncle, wait a minute. For the second branch’s share of the support, this ‘tainted’ woman will pay for four years. Make sure it’s written clearly in the document, and she has to sign it herself, stating it’s voluntary.”

The village chief was stunned. He glanced several times at the woman Fang Yuan kept calling ‘tainted.’ Who would agree to such a deal? He’d never seen a family division like this!

This really was a bit unreasonable. What if the kids just didn’t want to be filial?

The village chief couldn’t help but size up Li Meng. Oh, so she was Lu Laoda’s former fiancée, the one who used to come to the village.

So now, the ex-fiancée had entered the family home. No wonder things seemed a bit murky. There was definitely more to this than met the eye.

Li Meng had never heard of anything like this before—buying a good reputation for being filial, and just asking for a hundred like that. Why should she pay? “Are you crazy, or do you think I’m stupid?”

Fang Yuan’s aura was overwhelming. “What, you’re only good at stealing men? So, as the eldest daughter-in-law, you’re so filial to Mom and Dad? Just now you were shouting about having them live with you, but in the end, you want to use someone else’s money to support them, and still claim the credit for yourself. You want all the benefits.”

Lu Feng was furious, not even caring about the complicated relationships anymore. “It’s like this in every family. You’re just being unreasonable. I’m not going to argue with you.”

But Lu Feng’s mind was clear—at this crucial moment, the most important thing was knowing who was on his side.

Fang Yuan said, “So you know you’re being unreasonable. So your filial piety is just lip service? I’m supposed to spend money so you can look good? Do you think I’m stupid? You think you can just snatch people from me that easily? Even if I don’t want them, there still needs to be an explanation.”

Everyone could tell—that last sentence was the key point.

No need to spell it out—the village chief understood. No wonder the Lu family had two daughters-in-law show up today. The eldest’s woman was shameless, chasing after them.

Fang Yuan’s words were like a curse. Li Meng’s face turned pale with anger. “Don’t go too far.”

Fang Yuan replied, “How am I going too far? If I didn’t mind living with a ‘tainted’ woman like you, would you even have a place in this family? Having Mom and Dad live with you is giving you a chance to prove yourself. Otherwise, if they lived with me, you’d have to pay fifty a year for their support.”

Then Fang Yuan added, “If Mom and Dad live with me, you two can get out. I don’t want your money for their support.” She was tough as nails.

See? I might be a bit unreasonable, but I keep my word. It’s not like I’m not giving you a choice.

The village chief thought it over. The second son was about to go to college in a few years. They didn’t even have enough for tuition, let alone to make money. No wonder this unruly girl was seizing the opportunity to get her way.

Lu Laoda said, “I’m the eldest. Why should Mom and Dad live with you?” Never mind the money for now—if the villagers found out, he’d be scolded to death.

Li Meng realized that if she wanted peace today, she’d have to pay up.

She gritted her teeth and comforted herself, thinking, “Money will be worthless in the future. What’s a hundred bucks? It’s not even enough for soy sauce, and it’s only for four years.” “Fine, I’ll pay.”

She agreed so boldly—what’s three or five hundred? When she becomes a rich wife, she’ll throw away more than that.

Lu Laoda thought this woman was crazy. “You think making money is easy?”

The village chief’s look toward Lu Laoda changed. If making money is hard, does that mean you don’t have to support your parents?

Lu Laoda quickly said, “No, that’s not what I meant. Supporting your parents is a son’s duty. The amount doesn’t matter, but you can’t make someone else do it.”

That made sense. This was the most reasonable thing Lu Laoda had said so far.

Fang Yuan replied, “You sound reasonable, but then how could you do something so lacking in virtue? That’s an extra offense. You let a woman take the blame for your shameful deeds, and think you’re off the hook? Could that woman have gotten pregnant all by herself?”

What Fang Yuan despised most about Lu Laoda was this—he let that shameless woman spend the money and take the heat.

He, a grown man, acted like a victim, as if he’d suffered some great injustice. As if none of this was his doing, and the child wasn’t his.

That was something outsiders shouldn’t hear. The village chief’s jaw dropped.

Lu Xiaosan, the third son, piped up, “Second sister-in-law, it’s called ‘pregnant’ for women. Only pigs are called ‘carrying a litter.’” With one sentence, he made his allegiance clear.

Old Lady Lu glared at him. “What’s it got to do with you?”

But honestly, their eldest had let two women argue from start to finish, never taking responsibility. No wonder Fang Yuan looked down on him.

Li Meng snapped, “Watch your mouth. My Feng-ge is just reserved and deep. I’ll pay the money, so stop talking.”

Fang Yuan snorted and spat in Lu Laoda’s direction. What a disgrace.

The village chief was at a loss—how was he supposed to write this division agreement? He’d never encountered anything like this before.

But this confirmed it—the eldest daughter-in-law really wasn’t clean, or she wouldn’t be so easily manipulated. And Lu Laoda was even worse.

Did Fang Yuan care about the money? Could she possibly do a worse job supporting the parents than Lu Laoda? The Fang family never did things that would make people point fingers at them.

This division agreement was just a way to keep those two in check in the future. If they tried to deny it, she’d have proof.

Who knew what would happen in the future, but for the next few years, she wasn’t going to let Li Meng strut around under her nose. This was her way of putting a curse on Li Meng.

At this point, Old Lady Lu spoke up. “Let me say something. The third son is still young. For now, the two of us will live with him. When he gets married, we’ll live on our own. The support from the eldest, second, and third sons will all be written the same way.”

Old Man Lu looked up at his wife. What was she doing? Not living with the eldest? Wasn’t that just stepping all over him?

The village chief glanced at Old Lady Lu. She was usually quiet, but when it mattered, she was sharp!

He just wondered if, when the second son went to college, the old couple would still help out. It would be best to ask them privately later.

After saying her piece, Old Lady Lu looked at Fang Yuan. “Fang girl, what do you think?”

Fang Yuan nodded. “That’s good. You live with the third son. It sounds better, and it’ll be easier for him to find a wife in the future.”

Her demeanor was so commanding that even the village chief was a bit stunned. He thought to himself, in the future, it would probably be the second daughter-in-law running the Lu family.

Li Meng was so angry she could have ground her teeth to dust. This woman was dragging their reputation through the mud. How hateful!"