Chapter 79: The Son-in-Law’s Got Some Skills

Fang Yuan said, “Mom, I’ll let them off this time, but next time, don’t let me catch them. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve only ever had my eye on other people’s pockets—no one’s ever dared to have their eye on mine.”

Wang Cuixiang gave her daughter a light smack. “What nonsense are you talking about?” At least try to make a good impression in front of your son-in-law.

Fang Yuan replied, “How is that nonsense? Who could ever take advantage of me? They must not want to live well.”

Wang Cuixiang coughed, signaling her daughter to tone it down a bit. Even she felt awkward in front of her son-in-law. Her daughter’s way of handling things really wasn’t the best.

Lu Chuan felt even more uncomfortable, coughing several times. He’d just taken advantage of Fang Yuan earlier, without thinking about the consequences.

Fang Yuan looked around and said, “Did someone fry chili oil in here? Why are you both coughing?” She looked completely innocent.

Wang Cuixiang didn’t want to listen to her daughter’s big talk anymore and tried to send them off. “Aren’t you in a hurry to get to the county? Hurry up and go.”

If this conversation went on, it wouldn’t be good for the son-in-law to hear. Her own daughter’s personality really needed to soften up a bit.

But how could she teach her? As a mother, Wang Cuixiang was really troubled. With Fang Yuan’s temperament, she worried that if her daughter didn’t know enough, she’d suffer losses, but if she knew too much, she’d get herself into trouble.

So, in many things, Wang Cuixiang had never really explained things thoroughly to her daughter.

Fang Yuan glanced at the sky. “We should get going. How are my eldest and second brothers doing over here?”

Wang Cuixiang replied, “They’re not as sharp as your son-in-law. They haven’t suffered enough yet—once they do, they’ll learn.” In other words, not great.

Fang Yuan said, “Still, we can’t just watch our own family suffer. Mom, you should keep an eye on my eldest brother. If it comes to it, give them a few beatings—they’ll learn their lesson.”

Lu Chuan glanced at Fang Yuan, thinking, If my brothers-in-law get beaten, so be it, but when it comes to our own kids in the future, I can’t let Fang Yuan raise them like this. I’ll have to take the lead.

Wang Cuixiang said, “Don’t worry about them. They’re old enough now—let them figure things out. Your eldest and second brothers do care about you, though. When they heard about what happened with the Li family, they wanted to go over to your place, but I stopped them.”

Fang Yuan replied, “You don’t have to speak up for them. If I really suffered a loss, they wouldn’t get away with it.”

Wang Cuixiang finally smiled. Her daughter’s big heart was a good thing.

As for the matter of the son-in-law letting her daughter give him a ride on the bike, Wang Cuixiang’s way of thinking would never misunderstand. A perfectly healthy young man, letting his wife give him a ride, ears all red and looking tipsy—what could he possibly be thinking?

Wang Cuixiang thought it through even more clearly: if the son-in-law didn’t have any feelings for her daughter, that would be the real problem.

Knowing that her son-in-law had feelings for her daughter put her mind at ease. For things to develop this way, it really felt like a blessing from a previous life.

Honestly, at first, Wang Cuixiang’s biggest worry was that her son-in-law wouldn’t like her daughter and would just go through the motions with their family.

Seeing the two of them like this, she finally felt at ease. Happily, she packed two jars of pickles for her son-in-law and daughter to take with them.

Well, in times like these, pickles really were a good thing.

In front of his mother-in-law, Lu Chuan still had some shame and didn’t dare let Fang Yuan give him a ride. He insisted he’d sobered up and took Fang Yuan with him.

He really had sobered up—after all, he’d just brought Fang Yuan into the village himself.

Fang Yuan said, “Yeah, right. If you’re not sober, you’re not sober. Why act tough? You’re just saving face and making things harder for yourself.”

Wang Cuixiang, carrying the pickle jars, happened to overhear this and quickly closed the courtyard gate, afraid her son-in-law would be embarrassed.

She didn’t want to get involved in the young couple’s teasing.

Hearing the gate close, Lu Chuan’s skin thickened. “Hold onto my waist so I don’t lose my balance while riding.”

Fang Yuan asked, “Will that really help?”

Lu Chuan kept a straight face. “It’ll help.” Even he felt a little guilty after saying it, but he managed to keep it together.

Fang Yuan grabbed Lu Chuan’s waist with both hands, using quite a bit of strength. “How’s this?” She just wanted to help steady him.

Lu Chuan looked down at Fang Yuan’s hands, thinking, There’s no way she’ll ever cling to me gently like a little bird. This kind of grip, as if she’s afraid my waist will go soft, is really something else. He didn’t push it. “Mm.”

They set off. By the time Wang Cuixiang remembered to bring some clothes out for her fifth son and opened the door, she saw her daughter actually holding onto her son-in-law’s waist.

She never imagined she’d see such a scene with Fang Yuan.

She didn’t even dare call out, just watched the young couple speed off like the wind.

Wang Cuixiang muttered, “My daughter… does she even understand this stuff?”

She could hardly believe it, and then she found herself admiring her son-in-law even more. No wonder he was educated—he really had some skills.

Lu Chuan, for his part, was feeling a little heady. If only the ride were longer.

Fang Yuan noticed that Lu Chuan was riding steadily and quickly, so she let go.

Lu Chuan felt a twinge of regret and tried to argue, “Aren’t you afraid I’m still drunk?”

Fang Yuan replied, “You’re doing fine. It’s hot out. I’m just worried you’ll get a heat rash on your waist.”

Lu Chuan took a deep breath—he really had nothing more to say. To appreciate a wife like this, you had to use your heart.

If he told Fang Yuan he wasn’t afraid of a heat rash, who knows if she’d whack him with the pickle jar.

Lu Chuan was content. Any progress was good progress. At least they’d held each other’s waists—that was something.

His face, which had been red all afternoon, finally cooled down a bit.

When they got to the county, it was just in time for dinner.

Fang Yuan saw that all of Old Lu’s meals were brought over by her fifth brother. Old Lu was busy circling the concrete mixer, never taking his eyes off it.

Wu Hu saw Fang Yuan and Lu Chuan and breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re finally here. Talk to Uncle, will you? He really doesn’t need to watch it so closely.”

Ever since Uncle came to the construction site, he’d been even more single-minded than Fang Yuan, and even more obsessed with the mixer.

Fang Yuan really had some skills, finding an uncle who’d keep such a close eye on the mixer. Wu Hu was full of admiration.

Fang Yuan said, “Dad, there’s nothing to worry about on the site. You don’t need to be so tense.”

Old Lu didn’t say anything in front of Wu Hu, but after dinner, when there were no outsiders, he confessed, “If I don’t keep an eye on this thing, I can’t sleep. It’s all money, just sitting there. I feel so uneasy. To tell you the truth, even watching it, I still can’t sleep.”

Fang Yuan wanted to nod—she felt uneasy too.

Lu Chuan saw the same reaction from both of them and tried to comfort them. “This thing is here to make us money, not to wear us out. My fifth brother taught you how to use it, right? Just keep an eye on it and don’t use it wrong—that’s enough.”

Old Lu discussed with his daughter-in-law, “That won’t do. I can do everything they do. Next time you need one less person here, I’ll fill in. How about that?”

Fang Yuan replied, “That won’t do. What if you get tired out?”

Old Lu was even more straightforward. “I won’t get tired. I can’t stand doing nothing.”

He was so stubborn about it. Lu Chuan thought to himself, his family really was hardworking—couldn’t stand being idle.

He was about to say something, but Fang Yuan spoke first. “Whatever you say. Anyway, when we start renting this thing out, I won’t be able to go with it. You can help out, and when we rent out the mixer, we’ll pay you for your work.”"

"Chapter 80: Standing in the Jianghu