Chapter 8: As Long as He Isn’t Immoral

Once this matter was settled, from beginning to end, Father Lu, Mother Lu, and the village party secretary had never asked for Lu Feng’s opinion.

As for the two younger brothers, neither of them had paid any attention to him as the eldest brother.

Li Meng, however, kept tugging at Lu Feng’s sleeve, wanting him to speak up for her. She could not just admit that she was a loose woman like this.

Unfortunately, Lu Feng’s mind was not on her.

The eldest son was somewhat bewildered. Why weren’t his parents living with him? He was the eldest son. “Father, Mother, why?”

Mother Lu comforted him. “Your father and I will live by ourselves. It’s more comfortable. Plenty of families in the village do it this way. The family has been divided, so you can go live your own little life. Your Third Brother’s marriage is our responsibility, you don’t need to worry about it. This arrangement is appropriate.”

Mother Lu had done the calculations. They did not spend much in daily life. If they saved the support money their sons gave them for a few years, it would be enough to marry off Lu San.

The eldest son also did some calculations. As long as his parents were not living with the second or third son, he could still save face. He was still the eldest son of the family.

And just like that, the matter was accepted in a muddled way.

After the family division document was written, Fang Yuan watched as the village party secretary signed it, the Lu family couple signed it, Li Meng signed it, and then everyone stared at Lu Feng.

Without Fang Yuan even needing to speak, Li Meng softly said, “Lu Feng, our lives will only get better and better in the future.”

Her reputation had been sacrificed over this matter, but the benefit was that once they became wealthy, no one in this family would be able to cling to them. When that day came, they would regret everything. Li Meng had very high aspirations.

Lu Feng picked up the pen and looked at Fang Yuan, the woman who had sold him for three hundred and fifty yuan, then looked at Li Meng, the woman who had bought him for three hundred and fifty yuan. He still could not sort out his feelings. Gritting his teeth, he signed his name.

The document also included two hundred yuan a year from his household for supporting his parents. Of course, one hundred of that was being charged to the second son’s household. This was equivalent to losing a wife and ending up with a four-hundred-yuan bill.

Lu Feng felt indescribably aggrieved. Why? What did two hundred yuan represent? A family might not even save that much over an entire year.

At this moment, Lu Feng did not know whether he should be proud that his market value was so high. The way he looked at Fang Yuan was particularly profound. This woman was truly despicable.

Would Fang Yuan be afraid of him? She did not even bother lifting her eyelids. Did this dog of a man really think that as long as someone else took the blame, he had nothing to do with anything? A poor bachelor could not play games like that.

I can strip a layer off Li Meng, and I can strip a layer off you too. But I can’t take this money. I care about my reputation. Giving it to the Lu family couple is fine.

The village party secretary glanced at Fang Yuan before saying to Father Lu, “Only your second and third sons still need to sign.”

A small head poked in through the doorway. “Uh, um, my second brother is here.”

Lu Er walked in with a gloomy expression. Not a trace of a groom’s happiness could be seen on him.

The village party secretary guessed that Lu Er was definitely dissatisfied with this marriage.

Holding the family division document, Fang Yuan said to Lu Er, “The division is finished. Father and Mother have no objections, and neither do I. Sign it.” Her meaning was that nobody else’s opinion mattered.

Outside, Lu Er had already spent a long time calming himself down, telling himself not to get angry. But whenever this female fiend opened her mouth, he felt the urge to grind his teeth.

Lu San eagerly tried to flatter her. “Second Sister-in-law, my second brother is starting university when school begins. Things might be difficult for you two right now, but once my second brother graduates, he’ll definitely have a bright future.”

Fang Yuan raised her head and glanced at Lu Er. “How successful he becomes is a minor matter. As long as he isn’t immoral, that’s enough.”

The indirectly mocked eldest son immediately started grinding his teeth in anger.

Of course, the highly praised Lu Er did not feel happy either.

This entire family had been tormented by this female fiend until none of them had any temper left.

They could only watch as Fang Yuan arrogantly barked at Lu Er, “What are you looking at? Sign it.”

Lu Er picked up the pen and stared at Father Lu and Mother Lu. Countless thoughts ran through his mind. University required money. The family had been divided, yet nobody had mentioned that issue.

He could not help overthinking. His parents seemed afraid that he would become a burden on the family. Lu Er’s eyes reddened slightly. “Should I sign?”

It was only three words, but scholars thought more deeply than others. To him, those words carried immense weight.

Father Lu and Mother Lu looked at their second son eagerly. “Second Son, sign it.”

Holding the pen, Lu Er’s hand trembled slightly. Every family knew its own affairs. Whether it was his parents or Lu Feng, they were probably relieved inside. Supporting a university student was not easy.

Otherwise, with Lu Feng’s temperament, even if people’s brains had been beaten out and turned into dog brains, he would never have accepted such a loss during the division of the family.

At last, Lu Er seriously looked at Fang Yuan beside him. Regardless of whether there were any feelings between them, at this moment he found the illusion of having someone to rely on.

No matter what happened in the future, at least right now he was not alone.

He wondered whether the poor but fierce girl beside him understood what she would face after picking up a university student like him. He was definitely not a bargain.

Lu Er signed with his eyes closed. His thoughts were entirely occupied by the issue of continuing his studies. Perhaps even attending university was now uncertain.

He could not really drag Fang Yuan down with him.

Then Lu San also signed, and the family division was officially complete.

It was also the first time the village party secretary had encountered such a situation. When the Lu family escorted him out, his mind was still spinning.

As for the eldest son’s unchaste wife, what exactly had she done? She had actually signed such a family division agreement. The village party secretary’s head was full of gossip.

Still, he weighed things carefully in his heart. Everyone said that the girl from the Fang family was troublesome, but he thought she had plenty of brains.

Even he admired the way this family had been divided.

For four years, the eldest son’s couple would be firmly suppressed. By the time those four years passed, Lu Er would have already graduated from university. Would Lu Feng still be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with him then?

The more he thought about it, the more extraordinary this woman seemed.

Only after the outsiders had left did Fang Yuan speak again. “Tomorrow morning, your whole family will go door to door throughout the village and tell everyone that I am the properly married wife your second son brought home. If you don’t explain it clearly, I’ll personally go explain it to the villagers.”

Lu Feng thought, Wouldn’t that drag both me and this bargain wife of mine through the mud? “Don’t push things too far.”

Fang Yuan’s face darkened. “If I hear even one bad thing about myself anywhere in the village, I’ll go tell everyone exactly how many months pregnant that unchaste woman is.”

Afraid of you? What a joke. This immoral thing dares to show me attitude? I’ve already been generous enough.

Father Lu hurriedly said, “I’ll go. I’ll go. Fang Yuan, I’ll explain everything clearly.”

Fang Yuan shook her head. “No. You don’t get benefits for free. Let that unchaste woman go and explain it herself. If a single bad word about me spreads in the future, then it means she didn’t explain things clearly. I’ll come over and tear her household apart.”

Then she glared at Li Meng and spoke without the slightest courtesy. “Don’t act smug after getting a bargain. That doesn’t work with me. Did you hear me clearly?”

Li Meng looked at Lu Feng with a pitiful expression, then sniffled.

For the sake of becoming a rich lady in the future, she endured it all.

This much was nothing.

Gritting her teeth, she said, “I’ll explain everything clearly. My home is far away, and I was delayed on the road, so when you arrived, you were the only daughter-in-law present. That’s why people mistakenly thought you were the eldest son’s wife. My engagement with the eldest son was perfectly fine. There was never any broken engagement. We only had a small conflict because of family pressure, that’s all. But our feelings for each other are stronger than gold. From beginning to end, you were the second son’s wife. You only married into the family because you thought our second son was handsome and educated. You married him because you wanted the man.”

Father Lu and Mother Lu nodded vigorously.

That story was well made up. Listening to it, it almost sounded true.

Fang Yuan snorted. “No wonder you’re shameless enough to do this. You’re better at making up lies than anyone else.”

Li Meng’s expression became indescribably ugly.

It was simply too humiliating.