Chapter 71: Can We Not Do This?

Fang Yuan: “Mom stayed with me all night before she went home.”

Lu Chuan: “You two get along pretty well.” His tone was tinged with a strange jealousy. The person he’d been thinking about the whole way had spent the evening with his mom instead—she probably hadn’t even thought about him.

And you could tell, the two of them really did get along. Didn’t you hear? She kept calling her “our mom.”

Fang Yuan was full of praise for her mother-in-law: “Our mom is a good person, easy to get along with.”

Lu Chuan muttered, “You’re marrying a man, not his mother.”

This guy doesn’t know how good he has it. Fang Yuan replied, “If you had a bad relationship with your mother-in-law, then you’d know how hard it is for men.”

All Lu Chuan wanted, after running around all day, was to lie on the bed, chat with Fang Yuan, have a little heart-to-heart, and build their relationship.

He didn’t have any other intentions, but feelings need to be nurtured. Otherwise, when he goes off to school and doesn’t have much time with Fang Yuan, the two of them will just be headed for disaster.

Lu Chuan didn’t want to be a heartless husband, but that required a solid foundation of affection. To be fair, he’d been putting in the effort.

But all his tender feelings seemed to mean nothing to Fang Yuan. The girl didn’t even think in that direction.

Lu Chuan was about to fall asleep at the dinner table. Fang Yuan felt bad for him and nudged him, “Go to bed.”

Lu Chuan forced himself to stay awake. “I still have something to say to you.”

For once, Fang Yuan played along, but after waiting a while without hearing Lu Chuan say anything, she turned to see that he’d already fallen asleep.

See, if you’re that tired, just go to bed. You didn’t even get to say what you wanted. What was the point?

After a good night’s sleep, Lu Chuan woke up with his thighs still sore. Even when he was sweeping the yard, he couldn’t stand comfortably.

Fang Yuan noticed. “Are your legs sore? Come, I’ll massage them for you.”

Lu Chuan’s face turned bright red. He wanted to refuse, but then he thought, why not? Other than this, there really weren’t many chances to have any physical contact with Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan couldn’t stand the way Lu Chuan just stood there dumbly. “What are you spacing out for? Sit down.”

Lu Chuan: “You, you sit. I’ll just stand.”

Fang Yuan felt like Lu Chuan’s brain just didn’t work sometimes. “Your legs hurt—why would I sit? Sit down.”

Lu Chuan sat down on a small stool. Fang Yuan squatted down and started massaging his calves. “Does it still hurt?”

Lu Chuan wanted to say that riding the bike made his thighs sore too, but when he looked at Fang Yuan, he didn’t dare make a sound.

Fang Yuan: “I’m asking you a question—does it hurt?”

Lu Chuan’s mind had already wandered off somewhere. “It’s better, it’s better.” Actually, his legs felt even weaker now—he could barely stand up.

Fang Yuan: “Are there mosquitoes in the house? Your ears are all red from bites.”

Lu Chuan rubbed his ears. “Maybe, I guess.”

Fang Yuan: “I didn’t get bitten, though. When Mom left yesterday, she spent ages swatting mosquitoes for me.”

Lu Chuan’s mind was drifting somewhere far away. “Maybe I got bitten outside.”

Fang Yuan: “With legs like yours, will you be able to take me along next time?”

Lu Chuan: “I’ll be fine after a rest.” Then he added, “You have really nice hands.”

Fang Yuan didn’t get shy like he expected. She picked up her own hand and said, “They’re okay, but not as nice as a scholar’s hands.” Then she asked, “Are you flirting with me?”

Lu Chuan almost fell off the stool. “What—what are you talking about?” At most, he was just giving her a compliment, not hitting on her.

Fang Yuan: “Aren’t you? I’ve seen my eldest and second brothers, when they were dating, they always complimented their girlfriends like this.”

Lu Chuan got a bit flustered. “Your brothers let you watch that?” That’s really not appropriate.

Fang Yuan: “What are you so worked up about? I watched secretly with Wu Hu.”

Lu Chuan thought to himself, your brothers must have had a hard time with you two around.

Fang Yuan: “So, are you flirting with me or not?”

Lu Chuan: “You’re overthinking it. You said my hands are nice too—does that mean you’re flirting with me?”

Scholarly types are so good at turning the tables and sounding righteous about it. Plus, he was testing his wife’s attitude, speaking very cautiously at the end.

Fang Yuan: “That’s true. I definitely don’t have any designs on you.”

Lu Chuan’s face instantly darkened. This woman really didn’t know how to talk. How could she have no interest in him at all?

Was it his looks? Or something else? Of course, if Fang Yuan didn’t like his body, he could always work on that.

Fang Yuan: “By the way, do your thighs hurt? When I was learning to ride a bike, my thighs hurt too.”

Lu Chuan froze up. Should his thighs hurt or not? This was a question worth holding a conference in his brain over.

Fang Yuan: “Want me to massage them for you?”

Lu Chuan steeled himself, took a deep breath, and gathered his courage. “Sure.”

Just then, Lu’s mother pushed open the gate. “What are you doing? Why are you sitting while Fang Yuan is squatting?”

Fang Yuan replied, “Mom, Lu Chuan was riding the bike all day yesterday. He could barely walk this morning, so I’m giving him a massage.”

Lu’s mother genuinely cared for her daughter-in-law. She said right away, “You rest, let me do it.”

Lu Chuan stiffened up even more. He wanted to ask his mom, “You can even take over this from your daughter-in-law?”

Can’t you stop interfering? Can’t you be a little more self-aware?

But unfortunately, Lu’s mother had no such awareness. She was completely focused on caring for her daughter-in-law, pushing her aside and massaging Lu Chuan’s legs herself.

Meanwhile, she said to Fang Yuan, “I’m worried you’re not eating well out there, so I made some pickles with sesame oil for you to take back.”

Fang Yuan: “That’s great! I’ve tasted your cooking before, Mom.”

Lu’s mother pounded her son’s thigh with her big hands, and still found time to dote on her daughter-in-law. “When you finish, just let me know and I’ll make more for you.”

Then she started asking about Fang Yuan’s family, clearly planning to follow her daughter-in-law’s wishes to the letter.

Lu Chuan stood off to the side, full of resentment. This wasn’t his real mom—this was a love rival. He looked longingly at Fang Yuan, but she didn’t even spare him a glance.

Once again, all his feelings went to waste. Lu Chuan just wanted to howl, “My dear mother!”

But after his mom started massaging, his leg really did feel better. He didn’t need her to keep going.

Lu’s mother said, “There’s something I need to tell you. The in-laws from your eldest brother’s wife’s side have come by several times. If they were here to make trouble, they leave as soon as they arrive. If they’re not here to make trouble, why do they bring people with them? I really don’t know what they want.”

Fang Yuan: “Let them fuss. Either way, it’s their own daughter they’re making trouble for.”

Lu’s mother: “That’s true.”

But then, Li Meng’s family came—not to cause trouble for Li Meng and Lu’s eldest brother, nor for Lu’s parents. Instead, they came to make a scene at Lu Chuan and Fang Yuan’s place.

Li Meng’s mother came in crying, rolling on the floor, while Li Meng’s brother and sister-in-law kept accusing them of “stealing their daughter”—as if things could be that easy.

Lu Chuan was so angry he laughed. “If I stole your daughter, why are you making a scene at my house?”

Li Meng’s sister-in-law: “It was your Lu family who did it. What, you don’t want to admit it?”

Lu Chuan: “Call the police, then. If the Lu family did it, let the Lu family go to jail.”

Lu’s mother was stunned. That wouldn’t do—her eldest son couldn’t go to jail. But Fang Yuan stopped her from speaking, and she didn’t dare say a word.

Fang Yuan: “Is it because you heard I made some money? You don’t make trouble for Li Meng, or for my in-laws, because you know you can’t get any money out of them, right?”

Isn’t Mom just the cutest?"

"**Chapter 72: The Scoundrel Runs into the Living King of Hell**

When Fang Yuan spoke, the whole scene fell silent. After all, everyone was waiting to see how this new daughter-in-law would handle things.

If the young wife got angry and started a ruckus with the Lu family, things wouldn’t end well for them.

Everyone was secretly cursing Li Meng’s family for being so shameless—what did any of this have to do with the new daughter-in-law?

Of course, most people were also eager to see how the second Lu daughter-in-law would deal with the in-laws of the eldest Lu daughter-in-law.

Who didn’t know that the Fang family’s tigress wasn’t someone to mess with? They all wanted to see how the tigress would handle these troublemakers.

Li Meng’s eldest sister-in-law, embarrassed and angry, snapped, “Your family’s in the wrong here. No matter what you say, you’re not in the right.”

On one side, Li Meng’s mother was rolling on the ground, wailing and crying; on the other, Li Meng’s sister-in-law was arguing non-stop. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were working together seamlessly.

Fang Yuan sneered, “Do I, Fang Yuan, look like someone who reasons with just anyone?”

She swung a pole at them. If Li Meng’s sister-in-law and mother hadn’t dodged quickly, they’d have been hit for real.

Li Meng’s eldest brother was so scared he took several steps back. This woman was no pushover—she’d start swinging without so much as a warning!

Fang Yuan said, “Haven’t you heard who I am? If I, Fang Yuan, don’t have my eye on the money in your pocket, you should be thanking your lucky stars. And you dare to mess with me? You’ve got guts.”

Not seeing Li Meng anywhere, Fang Yuan was a bit disappointed. “Your daughter’s behavior—I haven’t even come looking for you about that yet. Since you’re here today, let’s talk. What’s going on?”

A neighbor, Sister-in-law Sun, chimed in, “A scoundrel’s finally met her match.”

Lu Chuan pulled Fang Yuan’s leg off the stool. “Stand up straight when you talk.”

Fang Yuan glared at Lu Chuan. “Why are you so fussy?”

Fussy? Compared to the Li family, who’d come looking for trouble and to extort them, Fang Yuan looked like the real bully—and the whole village was watching.

But Fang Yuan really was a bully. She called out to Lu Chuan, “Get some people over here. Have Xiao San and the others surround them. If the Li family doesn’t give me a clear explanation for what their daughter did today, they’re not leaving.”

No one knew where Lu Xiao San popped up from, but he said, “Don’t worry, sister-in-law. I’ve already sent someone to the commune to get the officials. Let them come and reason with these people.”

Fang Yuan replied, “Reason with them? You can’t reason with scoundrels like these! Why bother? Just surround them for now. I’ll treat you all to a meal later.”

Lu Xiao San was a bit taken aback by his second sister-in-law’s boldness. “Really surround them? Not just scare them?”

Fang Yuan rolled her eyes. “Scare them? In your dreams. They came here to hand over money—how could I just let them leave?”

Lu Xiao San remembered how Fang Yuan had managed to squeeze money out of Li Meng before. He slapped his thigh. “Quick, surround these outsiders! I’ll buy everyone popsicles later.”

The Li family hadn’t even started making a scene yet, and they were already flustered by this turn of events. Why were they being surrounded?

Li Meng’s eldest sister-in-law scrambled to her feet. “What are you doing? Why won’t you let us leave? This is illegal!”

She seemed to forget that they’d come here to cause trouble and hadn’t planned on leaving so easily.

Fang Yuan said, “Don’t think you’re the only ones waiting for me—I’ve been waiting for you too.”

She was so aggressive that Lu Chuan didn’t even have a chance to speak—this wasn’t his area of expertise anyway.

Li Meng had stolen Fang Yuan’s man, and Fang Yuan hadn’t kept it a secret. Right in front of the whole village, she said openly, “Your family did this. A verbal apology isn’t enough for me. So, what now?”

The villagers buzzed around, whispering, “How shameful! They’ve got some nerve, coming here to extort money.”

Someone else muttered, “They’ve run into the queen of extortion herself. Now their dirty laundry’s out in the open.”

Li Meng’s sister-in-law’s face turned beet red. “You’re making things up!”

Fang Yuan retorted, “Making things up? What, your daughter didn’t break off the engagement? You didn’t bring people to smash up the Lu family’s house? Or your daughter didn’t go on a blind date with a commune official? Or is it that your perfectly good daughter just threw herself at someone else for no reason?”

With those harsh words, the circle of women watching outside exploded with excitement—they were even more animated than the people fighting in the middle. That’s the power of gossip.

Over on the side, Gong Er said to Zhang Xiaole, “See? I told you about this, but you wouldn’t listen. Lu Chuan got screwed over by his brother and had no choice but to marry Fang Yuan.”

Zhang Xiaole scowled. “No one’s stopping you from shutting up.” He felt sorry for Lu Chuan—just when the rumors had died down, the eldest Lu daughter-in-law’s family was stirring up trouble again.

They were all here to back up Lu Chuan. They couldn’t let outsiders push him around.

Zhu Xiaosan, ever the schemer, said, “Isn’t this the eldest Lu brother’s problem? Why isn’t he here?”

Exactly. Everyone in the village knew Lu Chuan had sacrificed his own marriage for his brother. Now the eldest Lu daughter-in-law’s family was here, but the eldest brother himself was nowhere to be seen. That was truly shameful.

Gong Er, never one to hold his tongue, said, “What a coward.”

Li Meng didn’t want her eldest brother to come, but he knew that if he didn’t show up, he’d lose face and wouldn’t be able to hold his head up in the village.

As soon as he arrived, he heard those words.

Li Meng protested, “Who are you talking about? Who says we wouldn’t come?”

She went over to pull her sister-in-law aside. “Brother, sister-in-law, you and Mom making a scene here won’t get us anywhere. I told you already, I have no money.”

Li Meng’s sister-in-law made it clear, “You don’t have money, but your younger uncle does. He’s made a lot in the commune. He should take care of this.”

It’s not thieves you have to fear, but people who covet what you have. Now they had their eyes on him.

Fang Yuan had already dumped a bucket of slop over them. “Lu Chuan doesn’t care about this mess, but if it’s my business, you’d better believe you’re going to deal with it.”

Li Meng, now covered in slop, protested, “Who are you throwing that at? Can’t you tell friend from foe?”

Fang Yuan replied, “I threw it at you, of course.” Then she added, “Your family raised a daughter who did something so shameful. Come on, let’s hear it. Pay up.”

She didn’t waste any words.

Li Meng’s sister-in-law said, “Pay what? What’s it got to do with us? I came to get money from you!”

Fang Yuan shot back, “Nothing to do with you? Then why are you here? You think you can just leave after coming here? Pay for the things you broke at the Lu house, pay for your daughter stealing my fiancé—how can you just walk away from what you’ve done? Asking me for money? Dream on.”

Li Meng’s sister-in-law, a notorious scoundrel herself, said, “We don’t have money, and we’re not paying. You… you can’t extort money from us.”

Fang Yuan replied, “This isn’t extortion—it’s compensation. No money? That’s fine. You must have furniture at home. How did you get here? By bike? Donkey cart? Ox cart?”

She turned to Lu Xiao San. “Doesn’t matter what kind of cart—go keep an eye on it for me.”

Li Meng’s sister-in-law tried to stop Lu Xiao San from leaving. She couldn’t let this woman get any ideas. “Are you a bandit? What about the law? That’s a borrowed cart—I can’t give it to you.”

Fang Yuan said, “No problem. If I came to your house for money, you’d have to borrow money to give me, right? This is much simpler. Next time you come, borrow an ox cart. Maybe then we’ll call it even.”

(End of Chapter 72)"

"Chapter 73: This Trick Doesn’t Work

Li Meng’s mother was furious. “You wish! Are you out of places to reason with people? Didn’t you say someone from the commune was coming? Let the commune handle it. This isn’t how things are done.”

Fang Yuan was much tougher than Li Meng’s sister-in-law. “I’m telling you, I’m not talking to the commune. Whoever comes, it won’t change anything.”

Li Meng’s sister-in-law, fuming, pointed at Fang Yuan’s nose. “You’re being unreasonable!”

Fang Yuan shot back, “You came all this way just to reason with me?”

Everyone around burst out laughing. You’re a rascal yourself, and you want to talk about reason? What a joke.

Lu Chuan watched Fang Yuan put Li Meng’s sister-in-law in her place, his eyes full of admiration for her.

Of course, she was firmly blocking Li Meng’s eldest brother, not letting him get involved in the women’s quarrel.

Lu Chuan had already said, “If a man gets physical, do you think you’ll get the upper hand? Just stay out of it, don’t get involved, and we won’t lay a hand on you either.”

Gong Er and Zhang Xiaole both stepped forward, scaring Li Meng’s eldest brother so much that he plopped down on the ground.

Everyone laughed. “This guy’s useless. No wonder he lets his wife make a scene.”

Li Meng’s eldest brother regretted coming with so few people. Surrounded by the men of the village, all waiting to teach him a lesson, he didn’t dare make a move. He totally chickened out.

Lu Xiaosan broke free from Li Meng’s sister-in-law and wheeled over the bicycle. “Sister-in-law, here it is. Don’t worry, I’m watching it. No one’s taking it.”

Fang Yuan nodded. Not bad, the bike was worth a bit of money. “Give me the money, or leave the bike. Take your pick.”

Li Meng’s sister-in-law definitely hadn’t come all this way to give gifts. She’d never met someone as shameless as Fang Yuan. “Where’s your village secretary? Where’s the secretary? There are bullies here. Doesn’t anyone care?”

The village secretary had been watching the commotion for a while and thought there was nothing wrong with it. If it weren’t for someone like Fang Yuan, the Lu family might have been bullied by these people again.

Like the saying goes, it takes a scoundrel to deal with a scoundrel. Serves them right.

He simply retreated to the back of the crowd and didn’t step forward.

In a village like this, everyone knows each other, but not a single person mentioned the village secretary was there. They all gathered around to watch the show.

Seeing no one was stepping in, Li Meng’s sister-in-law started crying and lunged for the bike, wailing, “You’re robbing us!”

Lu Chuan sighed. When dealing with unreasonable people, you need someone even more unreasonable, like Fang Yuan. This is called fighting fire with fire.

Li Meng’s mother, not daring to go after Fang Yuan, started pulling at Li Meng instead. “It’s all your fault, you worthless thing! Look at the mess you’ve made, just standing there watching your whole family get bullied!”

Li Meng dodged and argued, “Mom, what are you talking about? If you hadn’t listened to my sister-in-law and insisted on coming here to make a scene, would any of this have happened?”

The mother and daughter pulled at each other while the villagers watched, thoroughly entertained.

Fang Yuan nodded. “She’s right. You didn’t raise your daughter well—how did she end up so worthless?”

The whole village laughed. Li Meng realized she’d become a laughingstock—she’d never be able to hold her head up in the village again.

Li Meng’s sister-in-law could tell she wasn’t getting any money from the Lu family. This woman was even more ruthless than her.

She grabbed Li Meng. “Get the bike back for me! You’ve brought us right into a den of thieves!”

Li Meng was annoyed. “I told you, she’s a tough one. I told you not to come, I can’t handle her.”

Li Meng’s mother snapped, “You’re siding with outsiders! Did you plan this with her to set us up?”

Li Meng was exasperated. “If you weren’t trying to take advantage, would you have been set up?”

Fang Yuan said, “Your mess is your own to sort out—don’t drag me into it. I could say you planned this whole marriage thing as a scam, too.”

Li Meng’s sister-in-law spat, “As if I’d want anything to do with a poor, broken family like this.”

Li Meng was furious, especially with Lu Laoda (the eldest Lu brother) listening nearby. “Sister-in-law, do you even want the bike anymore?”

Did she ever consider how she’d get by in the Lu family, talking like that?

Li Meng’s sister-in-law immediately shut up. She’d never been extorted before—this was a first.

Li Meng, feeling sorry for herself, whined, “Brother Feng, you see what my family’s like. When it comes to getting engaged or breaking it off, I never had a say. I ran away to find you, Brother Feng, just to escape this misery.”

Lu Chuan and Lu Xiaosan heard this and couldn’t help but smirk. This woman was really trying to play the victim.

Fang Yuan glanced at Li Meng and Lu Feng, then said to Lu Chuan, “That trick might work on your brother, but it doesn’t work on me.”

Lu Chuan couldn’t help but laugh at the wrong moment. He whispered, “It doesn’t work on me, either.”

But Lu Feng really did feel sorry for Li Meng. He’d let go of the past, blaming her mother and sister-in-law for all the trouble. He believed Li Meng truly cared for him.

Li Meng pleaded, “Brother Feng, talk to your parents and let them go. We’ll keep our distance from now on. I never want to see them again.”

Lu Feng was swayed and turned to Lu Chuan. “Second brother, they’re still relatives. What’s the point of all this? Tell your wife to let it go.”

Lu Chuan was amused. When Lu Laoda spoke up, did he ever consider that the whole village was watching? If they let it end like this, how would the Lu family be seen in the village?

He didn’t even bother to look at Lu Laoda. “When they smashed up our house, did they think about being relatives? Did they care about appearances?”

Lu Feng still tried to act like the big brother. “How am I supposed to get along with my in-laws after this…”

Fang Yuan threw a broom at him. “Who do you think you are? Why should I care about your future? If you want them to leave, fine—pay for them yourself. Do you think our family is a free-for-all? Where do you get the nerve to talk like that? What a disgrace. If I were your parents, I’d cut ties with you right now.”

Lu Feng wanted to say, “Even if the deal falls through, we should part on good terms. You don’t have to be so hostile.”

But thinking of how unreasonable Fang Yuan could be, he didn’t dare say a word. Still, the look he gave Fang Yuan was complicated.

Lu’s mother also wanted to cut ties with her eldest son. Who was he pleading for? If it weren’t for Fang Yuan today, their family would have been in trouble again.

Besides, saying this in front of everyone—how would those who stood up for their family feel?

Because of the look Lu Feng gave Fang Yuan earlier, Lu Chuan’s face darkened immediately.

The engagement was off—what was with that complicated look? Lu Chuan was sure Lu Laoda had ulterior motives.

Just as Fang Yuan said, he wasn’t a good person.

Since talking to Lu Chuan didn’t work, Lu Feng turned to his mother. “Mom, say something. With all this fuss, how’s Li Meng supposed to go back to her family?”

Lu’s mother was furious. “When her mother-in-law and sister-in-law came to make trouble, did they think about our family? Do you think money grows on trees? You know me, I’m a pushover. I’ve been living under your second brother’s wife’s roof. I can’t handle this.”

Lu Xiaosan, standing nearby, said bitterly, “Big brother, do you know why Mom listens to second sister-in-law?”

Why else? Because he and Li Meng had been inappropriate, and the Lu family was in the wrong with Fang Yuan.

Even his own brother’s engagement was ruined—Lu Laoda really had no face left to speak.

Thinking of the past between Fang Yuan and himself, Lu Chuan didn’t feel any better.

Li Meng was watching Lu Feng with hopeful eyes, but after hearing this, she gave up on any ideas.

Li Meng was truly afraid of Fang Yuan—she was too unpredictable, and Li Meng didn’t dare cross her.

But she hated seeing Lu Laoda and Fang Yuan interact. Without anyone saying a word, just seeing the two of them standing there filled Li Meng’s mind with love and hate.

She felt insecure and guilty, worried that her future as a rich wife wasn’t guaranteed and might be snatched away."

"**Chapter 74: It’s Not So Easy to Take Advantage**

Li Meng hurried over. “Fang Yuan, I’m your sister-in-law. Whatever happened in the past, let’s put that aside. I’m your sister-in-law now, and at least we’re family. How can you act like this?”

Fang Yuan replied, “You might be family to them, but you’re not family to me. I haven’t even acknowledged your brother as my husband—what kind of sister-in-law are you supposed to be? Am I supposed to recognize you just so I can embarrass myself with you all, or so your whole shameless family can come over and try to take advantage?”

Watching the commotion from behind the fence, Sister-in-law Sun couldn’t help but mutter, “She’s got way more bite than I do.”

Brother Sun said, “It’s not just talk—she acts, too. You don’t want to mess with her.”

Sister-in-law Sun had seen it herself—Fang Yuan didn’t hesitate to use her fists. “I’m never going to provoke her again, don’t worry.”

Hearing this, Brother Sun was genuinely relieved. Otherwise, with his wife’s sharp tongue, who knows when Fang Yuan might teach her a lesson.

No matter how much Li Meng pleaded, Fang Yuan ignored her. Anyway, they weren’t getting that bicycle back.

All those little tricks Li Meng’s sister-in-law tried were useless in front of Fang Yuan. She was stubborn—no money, no bike.

The whole village was just standing around watching the show. Word had even spread to neighboring villages, and people came over to see the spectacle.

The show’s title: “The Tigress Deals With the Old Scoundrel.”

It wasn’t until people from the commune arrived that Li Meng’s sister-in-law and mother rushed over to them like they’d seen their saviors, hugging them and crying that they’d been robbed by bandits.

Everyone was stunned. The Lu family had called the commune officials, not these freeloaders.

Fang Yuan, on the other hand, was calm. “You can’t just listen to their side,” she said, pointing at the two women crying and complaining. “How could I have dragged them into my house? They practically delivered themselves to my door to be robbed—I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The commune officials were left speechless. This girl didn’t sound reasonable at all.

That’s when Lu Chuan stepped up. He told everyone not to leave and asked them to stay as witnesses, then explained everything that had happened from start to finish.

Only then did he let the crowd disperse and invited the commune officials and the village head inside to sort things out.

Lu Chuan’s commanding presence caught the attention of both the village head and the commune officials. Anyone could see this young man was someone to watch—he handled things so well.

Of course, it would have been even better if things had been handled before the commune officials arrived.

And looking at someone like him, it seemed he couldn’t even handle his own wife’s affairs.

The commune officials were muttering to themselves: How did he end up with such an unreasonable wife? “A good man has no good wife”—maybe the old saying was right.

With the village head helping as a witness, Li Meng’s family couldn’t make much of a fuss.

But Fang Yuan demanding compensation and holding onto the bicycle wasn’t really justified, either.

The commune officials tried to reason with Fang Yuan, but she wouldn’t budge—she insisted on compensation, or they weren’t getting the bike back.

Her house wasn’t a place people could come and go as they pleased.

The commune officials tried their best to persuade her, but all they could do was morally condemn Li Meng and her family for their behavior. But holding onto the bike wasn’t right.

They kept trying to talk Fang Yuan into it, and by the time they were done, the officials had drunk two ladles of cold water.

It was a real ordeal. In the end, it took the village head to step in before Fang Yuan finally relented a little.

Honestly, even the village head hadn’t realized he had so much sway—he was quite proud.

Li Meng’s sister-in-law hadn’t expected that even with the commune officials there, Fang Yuan still wouldn’t back down. She’d really run into a tough one this time.

In the end, Fang Yuan finally let up, saying she’d accept her losses for now. But as for the Lu family’s house being smashed up last time, they’d reported that to the commune, and that couldn’t just be let go—they had to pay compensation.

Li Meng’s face turned green. Her sister-in-law was never one to part with money, and if they actually managed to squeeze money out of her, it’d be a miracle.

Li Meng herself didn’t care much about a hundred or so yuan—she knew money would be worthless in the future anyway.

But now, after two months of hard times, she understood that a hundred yuan determined her current standard of living. It wasn’t easy to earn.

She really didn’t want to cough up the money.

The village head nodded—Fang Yuan’s demand was reasonable.

Lu Chuan secretly nodded, too. Well said. You have to hold your ground somewhere. If Li Meng’s family never suffers a loss, they’ll never learn.

Li Meng’s sister-in-law had never suffered like this before and refused to accept it. “Breaking off an engagement—who does it nicely? So we smashed things up, so what?”

Who wouldn’t frown at that? Who’d want to deal with people like this?

Lu Chuan said, “It was your family who wanted to break off the engagement, and now you’re here making trouble? Lu Laoda, say something.”

Lu Laoda couldn’t hide this time—it was his wife’s family, after all.

Li Meng tugged at Lu Laoda, pleading. He looked at Li Meng, then at her mother and sister-in-law, and finally forced out, “Let’s just let it go.”

The village head almost spat in disgust. Easy for you to say—now you’ve dragged your whole family, and even me as the village head, into this mess.

Lu Chuan didn’t want to meddle in family affairs, but today he couldn’t just let it go. He had to stand up for Fang Yuan and see things through for her.

Lu Chuan stepped forward. “Let it go? How? If this woman wants to date someone from the commune, that’s her business—we can’t control that. If she wants to fool around with someone, that’s up to her, too. But her family smashing up our house—that can’t just be let go. The house doesn’t belong to you alone.”

He laid it out clearly, though he threw Lu Laoda under the bus.

If Lu Laoda cared a bit more about his family, Lu Chuan wouldn’t have had to push him like this.

When Fang Yuan had said this earlier, Lu Laoda and his wife weren’t around, so things could have been glossed over. But now, with everyone present, there was no hiding.

The village head looked much happier—this was the way to talk, with backbone. If you let it go this time, what about next time? They’d just come and make trouble again.

Li Meng’s face turned livid. “What are you saying? Who fooled around? Oh, I’m being slandered to death! I can’t live with this kind of accusation!”

If she wanted a better life in the future, she couldn’t let people dump this kind of dirt on her. Li Meng was desperate now.

She lunged at Lu Chuan. “My brother-in-law is trying to kill me!” She acted just like her mother—truly a chip off the old block.

Fang Yuan stepped in front of Lu Chuan and kicked Li Meng away. “If you don’t want to live, go die somewhere else!” She couldn’t let this woman mess with Lu Chuan.

Then she added, “Slandered? Nonsense! Who doesn’t know about your business except Lu Laoda? Did you think I wouldn’t check out your background before marrying into this family?”

Li Meng instantly fell silent. Of course, the Fang family would have looked into everything before the engagement.

Everyone understood—this wasn’t just made up; there was evidence.

Li Meng saw there was no way out and just closed her eyes, pretending to faint.

She felt so wronged—why was life so hard? Why was there always a trap, always someone ready to put her in her place?

If only she’d come back earlier, before the engagement was broken off—how much better things would have been. She was already thinking about how to win Lu Laoda back. As for her reputation, was there any hope left?

Lu Laoda’s mother sighed. “Second daughter-in-law, the eldest’s wife is siding with outsiders—she’s no good. Let’s just talk about how they’re going to compensate us.”

What else could they do? Things had come to this—she couldn’t just watch her eldest daughter-in-law’s reputation get trampled. There wasn’t much left of it anyway.

Fine, let’s talk compensation. No one cared about Li Meng and Lu Laoda’s drama anymore.

[End of Chapter 74]"

"**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."

"Chapter 76: Not Ready to Deal With It