Chapter 13: She Really Does Understand

Lu Chuan understood why his mother was humoring Fang Yuan so much. This wife was truly precious. Back when the Lu family had wanted Lu Feng to marry this troublesome girl, they had put in a tremendous amount of effort.

So Lu Er, who knew the family’s financial situation, knew that this expensive wife carried the entire foundation of the Lu family on her shoulders. Their family could not afford to lose her.

Inside the room, when Fang Yuan heard Mother Lu say that, she felt there was nothing wrong with it. “Mom is right. Our mom is a sensible person.”

Mother Lu said, “Of course. From now on, I’ll follow Second Son’s wife’s lead. Second Son’s wife, if I do something wrong, tell me, and I’ll change it. The two of us will definitely be good mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.”

Fang Yuan nodded along. “Don’t worry about that. I can’t keep things bottled up anyway.”

All that earned was two silent sneers from the observing Lu Er, the kind he did not dare voice aloud.

Mother Lu was not unhappy at all. As long as Second Son’s wife did not resort to violence, as long as she only used her mouth, Mother Lu was more than willing to cooperate.

Beaming with delight, she said, “Right, right, exactly. I knew the two of us would get along. We still have a few chickens at home. Tomorrow I’ll have Second Son bring two over for you to raise. Mom will pick the ones that lay eggs well.”

In his entire life, Lu Er had never seen his mother flatter someone like this. She must have been frightened out of her wits.

When he escorted his mother outside, Lu Er’s face darkened as he said, “You’re really willing to part with them.”

Mother Lu glanced toward the room before lowering her voice. “It wouldn’t matter if I wasn’t willing. If she finds out tomorrow, she might tear down my chicken coop. If I take the initiative, maybe she’ll leave me with two old hens.”

Then Mother Lu added, “Besides, you’re all my sons. I’m willing to let you have them. Second Son, your wife may be rough around the edges, but she’s a sensible person. Pamper her a little and give in to her a little. Even though you’re a university student, Fang Yuan is right. A university student is still a student, and university students need wives too.”

Then she continued, “Second Son, our family’s circumstances are a bit poor. Your education and your marriage were both worrying matters. Now it’s settled. Just live well with your wife and make her happy, alright?”

Thinking about how ingratiating his mother had been toward Fang Yuan, Lu Er felt miserable.

Then Mother Lu said, “Mom knows you’ve been wronged. But look at how many bachelors in the village still don’t have wives. Many of their families are better off than ours. Once you’ve got a wife, you should be satisfied, right? Even if you’re a university student, if you really marry a city girl in the future, she might not be any better than Fang Yuan.”

Lu Er wanted to say that he would not need to spend money to get married. Now that he had encountered someone like Fang Yuan, even if he had the ability to say it, he did not dare.

Mother Lu spent a long time outside coaxing her second son. Finally she said, “Second Son, Fang Yuan really is a good girl. Mom isn’t lying to you.”

Lu Er did not want to hear any of that. When Lu Feng got married, so much money had been spent by the family that Lu Er knew the details better than anyone else. “You should worry about Eldest Brother instead.”

He did not want to discuss this matter any further.

His mother had already handed over her authority to manage her son to her daughter-in-law. What was the point of saying these things now?

Mother Lu actually nodded. “That’s true too. That woman in Eldest Son’s household isn’t any good. Mom needs to keep an eye on her.”

Then she hurried away. It was not because she trusted her second son, but because she trusted that Second Son’s wife was capable enough to keep the entire family under control, so she could certainly keep Lu Er under control as well.

As for the woman staying in their house and refusing to leave, Mother Lu genuinely felt something was wrong there. She still remembered exactly how that woman had acted when she looked down on their family and broke off the engagement.

Back then, she had belittled their family so badly. Because Lu Feng’s engagement had been broken off, Mother Lu had been unable to hold her head up in the village for quite some time. Because of that incident, it had become difficult for Lu Feng to find a marriage match throughout all the surrounding villages.

Now she had suddenly come back and was supposedly utterly devoted to Lu Feng. How could Mother Lu possibly believe that?

Fortunately, their family had nothing worth coveting. On that point, Mother Lu was very clear. They were truly poor to the core.

So when Mother Lu returned from Lu Er’s house, she pulled her eldest son aside and asked, “This woman must be after something if she’s come back. Our family only has this tiny bit of property, and she certainly wouldn’t care about that. If you say she’s after you, then she never would have broken off the engagement back then. You’d better understand that.”

Lu Feng genuinely had not thought about it. “Didn’t they say she’s pregnant? Otherwise, why would she come back?”

Mother Lu punched him twice. He had been away so long, and she came back carrying a child. Who could guarantee it was yours? Are you missing a brain?

Lu Feng was completely bewildered. Why was she hitting him? It was all that woman Fang Yuan’s fault for setting a bad example.

Mother Lu looked at her eldest son and simply shut her mouth. Their family was poor. If this daughter-in-law ran away, what would become of her son’s reputation? It would become even harder for him to find a wife in the future.

Thinking of that, Mother Lu directly sent her eldest son away.

What a headache.

Being simple-minded had its advantages too.

Watching her eldest son enter the west room was like watching him walk into a demon’s lair. She nearly ground her teeth to pieces and thought, As long as they don’t start causing trouble in the future and just live their lives properly, the Lu family will accept it.

What a heavy burden this great mother was carrying in her heart.

As always, Mother Lu lacked the education to know there was a term for this, enduring humiliation while bearing a heavy burden.

Father Lu was in the east room puffing on his tobacco pipe. When he saw Mother Lu return with such a conflicted expression, he asked worriedly, “Nothing happened over at Second Son’s place, right? You managed to keep things stable?”

Mother Lu replied, “Nothing happened. Second Son’s wife is a good one. Second Son has a lot of schemes in his head, but he’s also very clear-minded. As long as the two of them don’t start making trouble, everything will be fine.”

Father Lu said, “You know, I still can’t quite believe we’ve really married off two daughters-in-law.”

Then he added, “What about Second Son’s future studies? What are we supposed to do? He married a village wife. Will Second Son feel wronged? Will he start causing trouble later? The Fang family isn’t easy to deal with. And we can’t do something that would make people point fingers behind someone’s back. Child’s mother, I just don’t feel secure.”

Mother Lu was even more troubled than Father Lu. “What can we do? Let’s leave things as they are for now. That damned Eldest Son really ruined everything for Second Son.”

Father Lu said, “Look on the bright side. At least our sons have wives now.”

Thinking about how both her sons had married wives, Mother Lu felt much more relaxed. “Later we’ll find a wife for Third Son too. Then our lives will have been worthwhile.”

Father Lu replied, “That’s right. Then those foul-mouthed women won’t spend all day saying our family is so poor that our sons can’t even find wives.”

Mother Lu said, “From now on, I’ll be able to walk around with my back straight.”

Then the husband and wife looked at each other and sighed. They thought about the kind of life Lu Er would have to live in the future, probably spending every day watching his wife’s expression before acting.

Whether Mother Lu could hold her head high or not no longer seemed all that joyful.

That night, both Mother Lu and Father Lu tossed and turned without sleep.

After seeing his mother off, Lu Er looked at the family’s old house. For the first time, his footsteps hesitated. Whether or not to enter the room had become a real question.

The wedding night was an even bigger question.

Fang Yuan, however, lacked that awareness. There were so many things in this shabby house that needed sorting out. How could this man be so blind to what needed doing?