Chapter 76: Not Ready to Deal With It

After standing awkwardly in the yard for quite a while, Oldest Brother Lu and Li Meng finally figured things out.

If they didn’t show up at this occasion, or didn’t make an appearance, they could pretty much forget about living peacefully in the village in the future.

No matter how awkward it was, they had to get through today.

Oldest Brother Lu signaled to Li Meng to go help his mother. As for the fact that Mother Lu wasn’t hosting the gathering at their house, Oldest Brother Lu didn’t have the energy to care.

If the gathering really was at his place, Lu Feng’s position would be even more awkward—after all, it was his mother-in-law who caused the trouble.

Lu Chuan also noticed Lu Feng’s discomfort, but all he could do was mutter, “Serves you right.” Always insisting on saving face at the worst possible times. What face do you even have left?

Li Meng had been standing outside the kitchen for a while, listening in. If she went in to help, it would be like putting Fang Yuan on a pedestal, just like Mother Lu was doing.

They were both daughters-in-law—why should only she be busy in the kitchen?

But if she didn’t go in, she’d look bad just standing around. She wanted to go inside and chat with the others, but the conversation there was all about how to deal with her mother and her sister-in-law.

Li Meng felt awful about it—no need to even mention it.

Luckily, Fang Yuan never came out of the house. She told Mother Lu, “Today, I’ll just help you out here, Mom. In my family, on occasions like this, my mom would always be the one busy in the kitchen.”

She was following her parents’ example, planning to carry on those good habits in the Lu family.

Mother Lu immediately said, “Alright, today in the kitchen, I’ll do whatever you say.”

At least, when people talked about it later, it would be her second daughter-in-law who was in the spotlight—and no matter how you looked at it, she was pleased with that.

Fang Yuan, though, had some self-awareness. “I’d better listen to you, Mom.” She wasn’t really cut out for kitchen work.

Li Meng thought, If I don’t speak up, these two will just ignore me. So she said, “Mom, let me help you.”

Mother Lu was stunned for a moment—she’d forgotten about her eldest daughter-in-law. What was she doing here? This wasn’t even her own home. Instinctively, she looked at Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan never forgot how much she disliked her eldest sister-in-law.

She tossed a piece of firewood toward the doorway, blocking Li Meng from coming in. Her face said it all: You’re not welcome here.

Li Meng jumped back in fright. “Second sister-in-law, what are you doing? You almost hit me! You’re so rude!”

Fang Yuan replied, “I really don’t have the kind of manners your family has. Why are you here—trying to get a free meal? We’ve already split the family. My house is my house, yours is yours. We’re hosting today, and you’re not invited.”

If it weren’t for today’s special occasion, Li Meng wouldn’t have wanted to come over and join in either. She thickened her skin and said, “We’re all family—if we act like strangers, people will laugh at us.”

Fang Yuan shot back, “We’re not strangers, but we’re not so close that you can bring your family over here and ask me for money. I don’t owe you anything. If you don’t leave, don’t blame me for embarrassing you in front of the whole village.”

Li Meng thought it over—anyone else with a bit of pride wouldn’t dare do something like that, but Fang Yuan wasn’t like other people. Li Meng was genuinely afraid.

Since she didn’t have enough face to save herself, she tried to drag Mother Lu in. “There are only two daughters-in-law in the Lu family. If people find out we don’t get along, it’ll look bad for you, Mom.”

Fang Yuan didn’t overthink it, nor did she ask Mother Lu if she cared about appearances.

She just said, “Enough with the nonsense. Get out.”

Mother Lu said, “Eldest daughter-in-law, it’s not like you and Fang Yuan not getting along is a secret. Don’t worry—today I’m helping out at the second son’s house, and tomorrow, if you need to host, I’ll help you and the eldest. I’m not stubborn about these things. If you two can’t get along, then just don’t.”

Li Meng thought, So you’ll help me host a feast just to throw my mother and sister-in-law out? Isn’t that just deliberately making things difficult for me?

Li Meng said, “Mom, there’s no need. We’re all family. If the second family is hosting, it’s the same as if we were. I’m not feeling well today—just tell the villagers that for me. Otherwise, they might think we’re being ungrateful, and that wouldn’t be good.”

Mother Lu could only nod. “I know, I know. The villagers understand.”

The eldest daughter-in-law just couldn’t let it go—why did she have to force her way in? She couldn’t save face anyway.

Fang Yuan sneered. She talks a good game.

Li Meng left. Seeing Mother Lu still looking uncomfortable, Fang Yuan said, “As long as she doesn’t bother me, she can say whatever she wants. She’s not my kind of person—I won’t have anything to do with her.”

Mother Lu let out a sigh of relief. With such an awkward relationship, why force things? “You’re generous, second daughter-in-law. Not having much to do with each other is just fine.”

Mother Lu kept her own mental tally. The relationships between the eldest, the second, and Fang Yuan were so complicated. If they really tried to force everyone together, wouldn’t her second son feel awkward? How would they get along?

Would the eldest really be comfortable?

So, given their special situation, there was no need to pretend the brothers were close. From now on, everyone should just live their own lives.

She and her husband had discussed this plenty in private. They couldn’t understand why Li Meng insisted on forcing things—didn’t she feel awkward?

As for Oldest Brother Lu, at least he knew to feel embarrassed. Lu Chuan didn’t call him over, so he took a couple of steps forward, then quietly backed off and left.

Lu Chuan glanced at Lu Feng’s retreating back, pretended not to see anything, and went off to greet guests with Gong Er and Zhang Xiaole.

He didn’t feel great about it either. Turns out, he wasn’t as generous as he thought—he cared more than he realized about the fact that Oldest Brother Lu and Fang Yuan had once been engaged.

Lu Chuan couldn’t even describe how he felt. When he and Fang Yuan got their marriage certificate, he hadn’t cared at all.

But it hadn’t even been a month, and his feelings had already changed. He couldn’t get used to it himself.

Lu Xiaosan soon came back from town with some people. They hadn’t bought much—just some bean curd sheets and a piece of meat from Fang Yuan’s father. But once the food was cooked, everyone was impressed. There was plenty of oil and everything tasted meaty.

The Lu family’s impromptu feast only filled three tables, and since there wasn’t enough room inside, the tables were set up in the yard.

Fang Yuan was generous—she had Mother Lu use the meat, bean curd sheets, cabbage, and vermicelli to make a big pot of stew, then called the kids running around outside to bring bowls from home so each family could take a big bowl back to eat.

This was even more popular than inviting people over for a meal, since this way, both the adults and kids at home could have a taste.

At the tables, there were six dishes—just enough for the people who had helped Fang Yuan keep Li Meng’s sister-in-law from leaving earlier.

Everyone was happy. Whether or not they actually ate much, just looking at the spread, they knew their help had been appreciated—it wasn’t for nothing that they’d stood up for the Lu family.

Of course, the topic of Oldest Brother Lu inevitably came up at the table.

No one wanted to criticize him in front of Mother Lu, but the truth was, he hadn’t handled things well.

He couldn’t even keep his own in-laws in check, letting them come make trouble at his brother’s house—one incident after another, each more hurtful than the last. He had no sense of responsibility. If it were someone else, even real brothers would have broken ties by now.

So, not inviting Oldest Brother Lu over was something no one thought was wrong.

If he had been there, there wouldn’t have even been anything to talk about.

77."

"Chapter 77: Getting Serious About the Wrong Things