Chapter 23: So This Is How a Man Runs the Household

Looking at his smiling mother-in-law, Lu Chuan thought to himself, You’ve already drawn the lines for me, so how else could you address me? “Mom, you can call me Lu Chuan, or Dachuan. Either is fine.”

His heart felt desolate.

The Fang family had accepted this marriage, which meant there was no longer any room for Lu Chuan’s own opinions. Better to behave and avoid suffering.

It was a realization that everything had been settled.

From now on, Lu Chuan had been stamped with a label.

Fang Yuan’s man.

Wang Cuixiang was satisfied. As expected of an educated person, he understood things. “Dachuan, don’t be fooled by how formidable Fang Yuan looks. She actually doesn’t have many schemes. In the future, you’ll have to keep a closer eye on her. Major matters like dividing the family property are best left for her not to get involved in.”

She never asked whether her daughter had suffered a loss during the division.

That possibility simply did not exist.

As her mother, she knew exactly what kind of person her daughter was.

Lu Chuan said, “Mom, my parents are soft-hearted. Fang Yuan was right. What my family lacks is someone like you to steer the ship. Otherwise things wouldn’t have become such a mess. Even a wedding could end up turning into something like this.”

Wang Cuixiang laughed at his words. “You really know how to talk. In our family, I always listen to your father. Your father runs the household. The women in our family are all reasonable. Don’t worry. Fang Yuan takes after me. She listens to her man.”

Lu Chuan glanced at the men squatting by the doorway chatting, then looked at his mother-in-law sitting steadily in her chair.

Those words from his mother-in-law were something to hear, not something to believe.

Looking at the situation now, wasn’t his father-in-law’s position obvious at a glance?

By the time Wang Cuixiang invited Dachuan to stay and eat at the house, it no longer mattered what objections Fang Dalen raised about the marriage.

Lu Chuan understood even better how his father-in-law exercised authority at home.

Glancing over at Fang Yuan, Lu Er understood.

Fang Yuan took after her mother.

His future status was not likely to be much higher than his father-in-law’s.

Fang Yuan said to her father, “Mom is already entertaining the new son-in-law.”

What she meant was that he should stop struggling.

The matter was settled.

Fang Dalen looked at Lu Chuan and made one final attempt. “The return visit isn’t until tomorrow. Is there no regard for proper customs at all? Won’t this look bad?”

He did not dare say even a single sentence about discussing the marriage further.

Coming from the mouth of a burly man over 1.8 metres tall and weighing more than 90 kg (~198 lb), the words felt strangely out of place.

Wang Cuixiang stood only about 1.54 metres tall, with an average build. She looked gentle and amiable, but when she spoke, she meant business. “My daughter was able to change grooms on her wedding day. What customs does our family still have to worry about? Go buy the best liquor and entertain the new son-in-law.”

Fang Dalen ordered his sons, “Listen to your mother and hurry up.”

What else could he say?

Standing nearby, Lu Er witnessed the entire process of how a man ran the household in his father-in-law’s family.

Wang Cuixiang said to Fang Dalen, “Haven’t you always complained that our children couldn’t study? From now on, you don’t have to regret it anymore. Our son-in-law can study. Our family has an educated person now too.”

Whatever Wang Cuixiang said, Fang Dalen truly accepted. “He’s really one of our family now? We can really brag about it to others?”

Just listen to that question.

Lu Er was perceptive enough that he instantly realized he had found shelter at the top of the food chain.

He immediately moved closer to his mother-in-law.

“As long as Mom doesn’t dislike me.”

Wang Cuixiang looked at her son-in-law and felt one hundred and twenty percent satisfied.

Very good indeed.

She had given birth to six children, five sons and one daughter.

When she finally had a daughter, her husband Fang Dalen had been so happy that he directly named her Fang Yuan, meaning that life had become complete and fulfilled.

But honestly speaking, among all those children, not a single one was obedient or tactful.

Every one of them was fierce and lacking in subtlety.

Who would have thought that her son-in-law would be someone who knew how to read people’s expressions?

Compared with the candidate the matchmaker had originally proposed, this son-in-law was definitely better.

There was just one problem.

Something this good made people uneasy.

The marriage between Fang Yuan and Lu Feng had been a compromise.

Her sons had protected their sister so thoroughly that in the end it became difficult for her to find a husband.

Left with little choice, they had arranged an engagement with Lu Feng, whose previous engagement had already been broken off.

For the Fang family couple, that marriage had been a choice made out of necessity.

It was never something they were truly satisfied with.

Who could have expected such a sudden turn of events?

Their daughter had gone and brought back a husband herself.

It was still the same family, but now the son-in-law was younger, educated, reasonably handsome, and apparently quite clever as well.

Wang Cuixiang found him somewhat difficult to handle.

She was definitely satisfied with him.

Far more satisfied than with the son-in-law she had originally chosen for her daughter.

But he was still difficult to handle.

Wang Cuixiang had to admit that this son-in-law was simply too good.

He was not particularly well matched with her daughter.

Though people said that a forced melon was never sweet, her daughter was the sort of single-minded person who, once she got hold of a melon, would never let go whether it was sweet or not.

The Fang family needed to discuss how they should treat this new son-in-law.

Before the meal, Fang Yuan and Lu Chuan went into town to buy things.

That gave Wang Cuixiang, Fang Dalen, and their sons the chance to discuss what attitude and level of treatment they should use toward the new son-in-law.

Fang Dalen was not particularly calculating. “What’s there to discuss? If we’ve acknowledged him as our son-in-law, then he’s our son-in-law. He’s family now. How else should we treat him?”

Wang Cuixiang found him exasperating. “Are you dense? Is he just any son-in-law? He’s a pretty-boy son-in-law. Just look at all those schemes of his. The lot of you stacked together still wouldn’t have as many as he does.”

Fang Dalen scratched his head. “But don’t we have you?”

What he did not dare say was that she certainly had not spoken to the son-in-law that way earlier.

Nor had she treated him that way.

Wang Cuixiang’s face darkened. “Am I the one who’s going to spend my life with him?”

Fang Dalen said, “Woman, what nonsense are you talking about? When a daughter finds a husband, does she bring her mother along too? Our family doesn’t do that.”

Wang Cuixiang rolled her eyes. “Our Fang Yuan is naturally wonderful in every way. But matched with this son-in-law, I’m afraid she won’t be able to keep him under control.”

Fang Dalen said, “That’s nothing to worry about. What do all of us men do for a living? If he causes trouble, I’ll deal with him all the same, educated or not.”

Wang Cuixiang felt a headache coming on. “You don’t know a damn thing.”

Fang Dalen stared with wide eyes as if he were picking a fight with someone.

Yet what came out of his mouth was, “You understand. We’ll all listen to you.”

Wang Cuixiang said, “The human heart is a complicated thing. At our age, we still wouldn’t dare claim we can see through it. Maybe one day you’ll fall for some little vixen yourself. How can I guarantee anything about a son-in-law I’ve only just met? If he’s heartless, he’ll turn out that way sooner or later. Let’s just hope our girl is lucky enough to stumble into a man with a conscience.”

To Wang Cuixiang, this son-in-law was full of uncertainty.

Her daughter’s future seemed worrying.

Fang Dalen said, “Woman, stop taking jabs at me. What exactly do you want us men to do? At least tell us clearly.”

Wang Cuixiang gritted her teeth. “Treat him well. Treat him so well that if he ever treats our youngest daughter poorly, he’ll feel guilty about it.”

Fang Dalen said, “That doesn’t sound right. When our daughter got married, you told the boys something completely different. Didn’t you say they should intimidate the son-in-law and not give him a pleasant face?”

Wang Cuixiang said, “How is this the same? This one has been educated. He has plenty of schemes. On top of that, there’s the whole twist with changing grooms in the middle of the wedding. If he ends up feeling awkward about it, will he be able to live happily with our Fang Yuan?”

After hearing that, Fang Dalen still did not understand.

But that did not stop him from believing in his wife’s decisions.

“Mother of the children, you’re the one with the brains. We’ll do as you say.”

Then he added, “That brat really got lucky.”