She knew from a young age that her father was always lenient.

If she had an excessive request, she would first test her father’s opinion.

If he agreed, her mother would usually be persuaded by him.

If her father didn’t agree, her mother would definitely oppose it, and her father wouldn’t stop her.

So although it seemed like her mother was in charge, her father was actually the backbone of the family.

Lu Dajie said, “Dad, please don’t tell Mom.”

She was afraid her mother would scold her.

Old Man Lu asked, “Is this your idea or your in-laws’?”

As a grain management cadre, if he didn’t understand this, it would be ridiculous.

Eldest Sister Lu Dajie replied, “It’s my idea. I think the two kids are a good match. Since my niece is so good, if she marries an outsider, she might be mistreated. If she marries into our family, wouldn’t I care for her even more than my own son?”

Old Man Lu understood her intentions and wasn’t angry.

He knew she had a special affection for Xiuxiu.

Father and daughter returned, and Lu Hehuan saw them and ran out, pulling on Old Man Lu’s arm. “Dad, what did my elder sister say to you? Did she speak ill of me?”

Old Man Lu said, “Nonsense, your elder sister never speaks ill of anyone behind their back.”

Lu Hehuan replied, “Dad, tell Mom and Third Sister-in-law to stop. They’re being unreasonable.”

Old Man Lu said, “See, you just said your elder sister spoke ill of you, and now you’re saying bad things about your mother and Third Sister-in-law.”

Lu Hehuan protested, “I’m not speaking ill. I’m stating facts and asking you to help mediate the conflict.”

Old Man Lu naturally knew…

She was confused.

He and Fang Dihua talked about everything, so of course he knew about their daughter’s situation.

He said, “Why doesn’t your husband come over properly to visit and wish us a Happy New Year?

If he came, we wouldn’t give him the cold shoulder or kick him out, would we?

He hasn’t even shown a proper attitude, let alone taken any action.

How can he resolve any issues?

Who has time to deal with his problems?”

Lu Hehuan pouted, “Isn’t it because you all give him such a cold shoulder? He’s too afraid to come.”

Old Lu said, “That’s how it is. He’s your choice of husband, not mine. We’ll each deal with things our own way. If he doesn’t come, I’m relieved.”

Old Man Lu then went inside.

Lu Hehuan called out, “Dad—”

Sister Lu Dajie slapped her, “Lu Hehuan, what are you doing? Xu Shihua is just a middle school teacher you arranged for him. Why does he act so arrogant? If he doesn’t come to wish our parents a Happy New Year, you’re letting him disrespect them? If that’s the case, don’t come back here either!”

Seeing Lu Hehuan sulking, she added, “By the way, what’s up with Xu Shihua? Someone saw him and a woman going for a walk by the river in the afternoon?”

Lu Hehuan responded, “Oh, I know who that is. I’ve seen her before. They were just chatting about literature.”

She had previously insisted that Xu Shihua attend their gathering and had seen that female poet.

She wasn’t Xu Shihua’s type at all.

Sister Lu Dajie, frustrated, poked her, “Chatting about literature? A man and a woman alone in that place? If you found a young man and went to the woods to chat, wouldn’t he be upset?”

Lu Hehuan looked gloomy, “He wouldn’t be upset. He said if I could write poems or articles, I could also find someone to chat with.”

Sister Lu Dajie was so angry she wanted to hit her, “If Xu Shihua keeps this up, I’ll make him return the job to our family. I think your third sister-in-law would be a better teacher.”

“Sis!” Lu Hehuan was upset, “Why are you all targeting Xu Shihua?”

Sister Lu Dajie ignored her.

Fang Dihua had already started preparing gifts for her two daughters.

Lu Hehuan said, “Mom, I don’t need anything else, just a plate of braised meat.”

Fang Dihua replied, “Your appetite is still so big.”

Ding Runsheng, after coming back from the bathroom, continued to praise Lin Shu’s cooking and invited her to visit in the New Year.

Lin Shu naturally declined, saying she wanted to visit her sister’s house in the city.

After tidying up the gifts, Lu Hehuan took Xiaoyou and left, while Lu Dajie’s family rode their bikes home.

Ding Guohua, Lu Dajie, couldn’t help but lag behind. “Mom.”

Eldest Sister Lu Dajie replied, “Oh, your grandparents won’t agree and scolded me for being illiterate. The government doesn’t allow close relatives to marry.”

For Lu Dajie, it would have been great to have her favorite niece as a daughter-in-law, but it wasn’t a big deal if it didn’t work out.

After all, it was still her beloved niece.

Ding Guohua, however, was quite disappointed.

Nowadays, early marriage is common.

Girls marry at 16 and boys at 18.

His father had mentioned in casual conversation that Lu Xiuxiu was gentle and refined, and as a family member, she would be a suitable granddaughter-in-law.

Ding Guohua thought that when Xiuxiu turned 17 and he was 19, it would be the right time for marriage.

His own mother and uncle had married at that age.

But his grandfather’s refusal was disappointing.

It wasn’t that he had romantic feelings for Xiuxiu; she hadn’t shown him any affection beyond that of cousins.

He just felt that as a young man, he should find a wife.

Instead of a stranger, it would be better to marry someone he knew.

Moreover, Xiuxiu was gentle, beautiful, and had a character he liked.

He thought they were a good match.

He had originally only considered the pros and cons, not the issue of the family’s disapproval.

He thought he was better than a country bumpkin, looked good, and came from a decent family.

He hadn’t expected rejection.

But he didn’t take the close-relative issue to heart.

After all, there were many examples of cousin marriages around him.

After the two daughters had left, night had fully fallen.

Everyone wasn’t hungry, so they roasted a couple of sweet potatoes over the warming brazier.

Sweet potatoes are filling, digest quickly, and don’t cause indigestion.

Lin Shu was in her room sorting fabric and clothes. With the night darkening, she didn’t light the oil lamp to work.

Fang Dihua came over and whispered…

“Third daughter-in-law, do you know something?”

Lin Shu was surprised, “Mom, what do you mean?”

Mother-in-law Fang Dihua seemed unusually perceptive and said, “What’s going on with your elder sister’s family?”

Lin Shu quietly replied, “Mom, don’t you think that elder sister’s father-in-law is too obsessed with his official position?”

Fang Dihua nodded, “Yes, he seems like he wants to claim the whole grain depot for himself.”

Fortunately, she hadn’t taken advantage of the Ding family.

When she asked her eldest daughter to help buy rice and flour, she paid with ration coupons and returned the equivalent value in gifts.

Lin Shu said, “Mom, I’m a bit selfish. I always prioritize our own family. Even if elder sister’s father-in-law has some connections in the county, who knows if he can really get what he wants? If he’s not careful, someone might compete with him for the jobs, and things could get complicated. We shouldn’t get involved.

Treating state work as personal property, aiming to pass it down through generations…

He talks about dedicating generations to the institution, but in reality, he wants to turn public assets into private ones.

If Ding Jia Chang ends up competing for jobs, he might even try to get Lu Shaotang to help him.

I don’t want that to happen, so I want to give you a heads-up and prepare in advance.”

Fang Dihua agreed, “That makes sense. I’ll talk to your elder sister and suggest she keep an eye on things and advise them. We’ve done what we can; whether they listen or not is not our concern.

As long as we’ve acted with a clear conscience, any changes later won’t be our fault.”

Fang Dihua had a certain confidence in her third daughter-in-law.

Although Lin Shu didn’t admit it, Fang Dihua had a feeling that Lin Shu knew something.

If she knew that the third daughter-in-law was alive, maybe she knew other things as well.

The god of horses must have taught her more than just pickles, sour vegetables, braised meat, and sausage, right?

There must have been more lessons.

Listening to the third daughter-in-law seemed reliable.

She needed to tell her husband to be polite to Ding Jia Chang in the future, but not too close.

Lin Shu felt that it was useless for elder sister to talk to Ding Jia Chang.

If things went well for him, he might think she’s trying to bring him down. If things went poorly, he might question why she didn’t help earlier.

Besides, she had no personal feelings for the Ding family.

Since her own family wasn’t as unfortunate as in the original story, she didn’t want to interfere in others’ matters.