Chapter 92: Children Grown No Longer Obey Mother

Fang Yuan’s words not only choked Lu Chuan, they also left Fang Dalen and Wang Cuixiang at a loss. The eldest son’s troubling actions had made their daughter hold a grudge.

Wang Cuixiang really had no way to deal with her daughter: “I will cook. I will cook at home. Eat before you leave.”

Fang Dalen discussed with his daughter: “I will go tell your eldest brother and ask if they can come over to eat, is that okay?” He did not even dare mention the eldest daughter-in-law.

Lu Chuan was afraid Fang Yuan would retort at his father-in-law with something like asking whether he should also invite her eldest brother’s younger brother-in-law, and this matter would completely stall with Fang Yuan.

Lu Chuan quickly took over the conversation: “Dad, are Second Brother, Third Brother, and Fourth Brother all at home? Let us make it lively together. Otherwise I will be going to university soon, and next time I might only be able to come back during the New Year.”

After speaking, he looked at Fang Yuan: “Fang Yuan will still be at home, so Dad and the brothers-in-law will need to take more care of her.”

Wang Cuixiang watched her daughter’s reaction in silence. Fang Yuan said nothing and went inside the house. This was giving Lu Chuan face.

Wang Cuixiang did not feel happy at all. This daughter did not listen to anyone, yet she actually listened to her son-in-law. Was she already being managed by him?

This was not as good as if the daughter had insisted on eating at home. Wang Cuixiang’s mood during the meal was extremely complicated.

The son-in-law was going to university, and in the future the women he would see would all be educated people of all kinds.

With a daughter like hers, could she really keep her son-in-law tied down? It felt like once the son-in-law was let out, everything would depend on his conscience.

Any parent would not feel at ease. This marriage the daughter had chosen was good, but it was almost too good. Wang Cuixiang even started to regret it.

Wang Cuixiang’s thoughts were completely unspoken, and no one understood them.

Lu Chuan could not let his father-in-law go out and call the sons for dinner, so he said: “Dad, Fang Yuan has been talking about you outside all the time, she must be missing you. I will go call the brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law over. You go talk with Fang Yuan.”

Fang Dalen thought to himself, I know my own daughter well. If she misses me, she would not keep talking about it, she would just ride her bicycle back to see me.

Still, he happily went back into the room. He liked listening to his son-in-law talk. Most importantly, Fang Yuan did not object to inviting the sisters-in-law over.

Over at Fang Eldest Brother’s side, when he saw his brother-in-law enter, his expression changed several times. Things in the county were going well for Lu Chuan, and although the village information was not well connected, everyone knew what they needed to know.

They were in the same line of work, and compared to him, he simply could not match his brother-in-law.

Back when they were divided into groups, he had been the one with a crowd of brothers supporting him, and his brother-in-law was not even comparable to him. Now the gap was obvious, and even without others saying anything, Fang Eldest Brother himself felt uncomfortable and a bit embarrassed.

Fang Eldest Brother greeted Lu Chuan and managed to keep a composed face, not losing Fang Tiger’s dignity: “You are back. Where is Fang Yuan?”

Lu Chuan said: “Big Brother, Fang Yuan is talking with Dad because she misses him. I came to invite Big Brother and sister-in-law over for dinner. I will be going to school soon, and while Fang Yuan is at home, I will need Big Brother and sister-in-law to take care of her.”

Fang Dalen’s expression improved a lot: “No need for you to say that. Fang Yuan will not be wronged. No matter how bad her temper is, your sister-in-law would not dare neglect her.”

Lu Chuan smiled. There was really nothing being hidden at all.

Lu Chuan said: “Fang Yuan is just childlike in temperament. Even I get scolded by her sometimes. It is just that sister-in-law has a good temper and does not argue with us.”

Fang Eldest Brother glanced at Lu Chuan: “Stop talking nonsense. Just rest assured. There is only one girl in this family. If I wanted to make things difficult for her, I do not have that ability.”

This left Lu Chuan with nothing else to say. With his wife’s personality, it really was not easy for anyone to bully her.

Lu Chuan called the eldest sister-in-law over, and she felt a bit embarrassed.

The younger sister-in-law not giving face was nothing new, but she did not know what had offended Fang Yuan, since she had always been unfriendly toward her.

“Alright, I will bring over the dishes I have already cooked.”

Lu Chuan thought to himself that at least on the surface everything was still acceptable. It was still a harmonious family.

When they reached the second brother’s place, a call was all it took for them to come over. No need to even invite the rest.

Lu Chuan also noticed that Second Sister-in-law and Third Sister-in-law were circling around Fang Yuan, while the eldest sister-in-law looked somewhat unhappy.

Wang Cuixiang looked at her noisy sons and said to her daughter: “Keep your guard up. I see it clearly. If your brothers stay a bit distant from each other, things will last longer.”

Relying on brothers working together to make money was just a dream. It was better for everyone to do their own thing. Wang Cuixiang saw things very clearly.

Fang Yuan said: “Do not worry. I take after my eldest brother. I value money, so it is hard to get close even if we want to.”

Wang Cuixiang wanted to hit her: “Do you have to drag your eldest brother down like that?”

Fang Yuan said: “How is it my fault? For his reputation, I cannot even be filial to my parents? Since when is he more domineering than me?”

Wang Cuixiang said: “Forget I said anything. Just shut up.”

Fang Yuan actually listened and shut up, but she still refused to give the eldest sister-in-law any face.

Lu Chuan hoped Fang Yuan would stay close to her maternal family. When he was not at home, she would at least have support.

But if Fang Yuan was wronged, he would not be willing either.

Lu Chuan spoke with the brothers-in-law, trying to ease the awkwardness of the past two months, taking full responsibility himself.

Fang Eldest Brother was a deep and thoughtful man, just like Fang Yuan said, someone who valued reputation.

He did not say anything about needing help, so Lu Chuan could not bring it up either.

The Fourth Tiger wanted to get closer to Lu Chuan, but Wang Cuixiang stopped him halfway.

So there was no progress.

However, Second Brother and Third Brother could see it clearly. Their brother-in-law was not petty and had not taken those matters to heart.

Unfortunately, it was obvious that the brother-in-law did not make the decisions at home and followed Fang Yuan’s lead. This made them somewhat uncomfortable.

The problem was that Fang Yuan was difficult not only with outsiders, but even harder with her own family. She was not easy to please at all.

Fang Eldest Brother understood what his brothers were thinking. He could suppress his younger brothers: “Brother-in-law, I understand your intentions. I only have so much ability. The village is enough for me to handle. I do not dare think about anything bigger.”

Second Brother and Third Brother immediately let go of their thoughts after hearing this.

Fourth Tiger grew anxious. The county work was good, and brother-in-law now had a reputation. A single word from him could bring them work, so why was he not speaking?

Fang Yuan directly put food into Lu Chuan’s bowl, meaning: shut up, do not rush into things, this is not a business deal.

Lu Chuan thought too much about it. Fang Yuan had never been this good to him before, even serving him food. She must be reluctant for him to leave for school, so he secretly glanced at her again and again with a shy expression.

He was no longer paying attention to the eldest brother or anyone else, all his thoughts were on Fang Yuan.

With a bowl of food from his wife, he was already imagining an entire story in his head.

Then at the table, Lu Chuan said: “Fang Yuan, which dish do you like? I will pick it for you.”

The whole family looked at the son-in-law. In this house, did Fang Yuan even need someone else to pick food for her?

Fang Yuan said: “Eat your own.”

Lu Chuan then began actively serving her food anyway. In truth, there were not many dishes, so there was no need to be so attentive.