Chapter 18

At this moment, in Lu Dashan’s home,

Lu Xiujuan returned to the Lu family carrying two large packages of gifts. Since Lu Dashan and his wife hadn’t finished their work in the fields yet, Lu Xiujuan rode her bicycle over to where the main group was working.

Under the astonished and envious gazes of the crowd, she pretended she needed the house keys, made a show of cycling around, and then returned home.

Her little performance had quite an impact. After she left, the group working with Lu Dashan couldn’t stop discussing it. They remarked on how fortunate Lu Xiujuan was in her marriage. Just a few days ago, she had brought gifts home during her visit, and now she was back again with even more packages.

The easiest way to tell if a woman was doing well in her marriage was by observing how much her in-laws cared for her. One obvious measure was the amount of gifts she brought back when visiting her family.

Judging by the size of the packages Lu Xiujuan brought, it was enough to make everyone green with envy. Many couldn’t help but praise Lu Dashan, asking how his daughter had managed to find such a good husband and in-laws.

Lu Dashan, however, was just as clueless. Before Wang Chengwen’s family proposed, he had been searching for a suitable match for Xiujuan himself. He had even been torn between a 30-year-old worker and the son of the brigade leader from a neighboring team.

But before he could make a decision, the Wang family had already shown up at their door.

With the Wang family’s excellent conditions, the other two options naturally fell by the wayside.

So when asked how he found such a good son-in-law, Lu Dashan could only shrug.

Of course, he couldn’t admit that it was purely his daughter’s good luck. Instead, he chuckled and said, “Oh, you know, children have their own blessings. It’s all a matter of fate.”

Such vague responses weren’t particularly informative but gave him plenty of face. When Lu Dashan returned home, his smile was so wide that it barely left his face.

To think that the daughter he hadn’t thought much of had managed to pull this off—he was quite pleased.

However, his smile quickly vanished when Lu Xiujuan explained the real reason for her visit.

“What did you say? Lu Chen and Educated Youth Meng? How is that possible? Those two…”

Lu Dashan was about to say it was impossible but hesitated. He remembered that the brigade leader had arranged for Meng Yinyin to work alongside Lu Chen recently. The two of them had spent a lot of time together, and Meng Yinyin’s striking appearance couldn’t be ignored.

Even if Lu Chen had an odd personality, he was still a man.

It suddenly seemed not so impossible after all.

Despite his surprise, Lu Dashan wasn’t inclined to concern himself with the matter.

After all, as Lu Chen’s uncle, there was a limit to how much he could meddle. Who Lu Chen chose to marry was none of his business. He had no intention of intervening.

Seeing Lu Dashan’s indifference, Lu Xiujuan grew anxious. She furrowed her brows and hurriedly exclaimed, “Dad, Lu Chen can’t marry Meng Yinyin!”

Lu Dashan was about to ask why when Xiujuan explained, “Don’t you remember? My brother-in-law has his eyes on her!”

Just a few days ago, he had even followed Xiujuan home to meet Meng Yinyin.

Reminded of this, Lu Dashan finally recalled the situation, though he was still somewhat surprised.

“There has been no movement from their family these past few days. I thought the matter was over.”

He had assumed that the Wang family’s lack of follow-up meant that Wang Chengwu wasn’t interested in Meng Yinyin after all.

After all, Wang Chengwu had a good family background, decent looks, and plenty of options in the city. Why would he insist on a pretty but otherwise ordinary Educated Youth?

But now it seemed that Wang Chengwu was genuinely interested in Meng Yinyin.

This made Meng Yinyin quite sought after, didn’t it?

“Dad, did you see all the things I brought home today? My mother-in-law specifically asked me to bring them. She wants me to help resolve the situation between Meng Yinyin and Lu Chen.”

Lu Dashan wasn’t a fool. He quickly realized that the Wang family wanted them to intervene.

While their motives might not be entirely selfless, the gifts were generous, and the Wang family had given him plenty of face. If this succeeded, who knew how much more gratitude they might show in the future?

After thinking it over, Lu Dashan agreed to the task, but he was troubled by one thing.

“Then what should we do? We can’t just tell Lu Chen not to be with Meng Yinyin, can we?”

He could say something, but he doubted that Lu Chen would listen to him now.

Moreover, ever since Lu Chen had demanded his parents’ belongings again, Lu Dashan had been avoiding him. Although they lived in the same house, as long as Lu Dashan locked the small door in the middle and kept the main door closed, Lu Chen couldn’t see him.

Lu Dashan thought he could just hide from Lu Chen for a few days like before, and then he would probably forget about it. But now, hearing Lu Xiujuan’s words, it seemed they were supposed to find a way to talk to Lu Chen about it.

Wasn’t that just delivering himself to the doorstep?

In the end, after thinking for a moment, Lu Dashan decided to let Lu Xiujuan handle it. He wouldn’t get involved, to avoid Lu Chen coming to him for the things his parents left behind again.

“This matter, you figure it out yourself. It’s your in-laws’ business, not something we can help with from our side!”

Lu Xiujuan understood exactly why her father said that—he just wanted to hold on to Lu Chen’s parents’ things.

But this time, she wouldn’t let her father play dumb. For her own future well-being in her husband’s family, she had to make sure her parents paid a heavy price.

This could also be seen as compensation for how they had neglected her for over twenty years and prioritized her younger brother.

She collected her thoughts, looked at Lu Dashan, and said in a serious tone, “Dad, you have to help me with this. There’s no other way.”

Lu Dashan felt uneasy under her gaze.

“You stubborn girl! I already said to handle this yourself, don’t bother me, I…”

“But Dad, don’t you want the reward from my in-laws?” Lu Xiujuan interrupted, stopping him with a single sentence.

He froze, then with a conflicted expression, asked, “What did your in-laws say?”

Lu Xiujuan answered, “They haven’t promised anything yet, but after it’s done, they’ll definitely reward us handsomely.”

Lu Dashan had already experienced the Wang family’s generosity during her wedding, so when he heard this, he was genuinely tempted.

But…

He really didn’t want to confront Lu Chen, afraid that Lu Chen would demand his parents’ things.

Lu Xiujuan immediately saw through his hesitation. She chuckled and said, “Dad, has Lu Chen ever seen the things left by Uncle and the others?”

Lu Dashan instinctively shook his head.

“Then it’s fine. Since he hasn’t seen them, whatever you give him, he won’t have any proof to question it, right?”

“And hasn’t he always wanted his parents’ things? Let him take them, as long as he gives up on Meng Yinyin.”

It’s a simple choice—let’s see what he picks.

Lu Xiujuan’s words made Lu Dashan’s eyes light up.

Yes, since Lu Chen didn’t know what his parents left behind, couldn’t he just give him something random to fool him?

He had thought of this idea before, but something always felt off, so he’d been putting it off and didn’t give Lu Chen anything.

But now, with the Wang family’s big reward hanging in front of him, he didn’t want to miss out.

Just like Lu Xiujuan said, he could just give Lu Chen something, make him give up on Meng Yinyin, and the problem would be solved.

It sounded simple enough!

Seeing his reaction, Lu Dashan immediately smiled, unable to help praising Lu Xiujuan.

“You girl, since you got married, your mind’s been sharper than ever!”

Lu Xiujuan smiled and didn’t respond.

When Jiang Guihua returned, the three of them quickly decided what “fake belongings” to give to Lu Chen. After some discussion, they found an old medal that had gathered a thick layer of dust in the gap of a wardrobe.

Lu Dashan remembered that the medal had fallen out of an envelope from his second brother, but he thought it wasn’t worth much, so he hadn’t paid attention to it. Afterward, he didn’t know how it ended up in the wardrobe gap. Today, after rummaging through everything, he finally found it.

As for the letter, it had long been lost, along with the savings passbook and money transfer slips, all of which Lu Dashan had disposed of.

They had just wanted to grab something, but now they had actually found something belonging to Lu Chen’s father. This didn’t count as lying to him.

It was just that the allowances and death benefits his father had sent back had all been spent by Lu Dashan’s family.

“Alright, you all wait here. I’ll go talk to him about this.”

With the medal in hand, Lu Dashan didn’t think this plan would fail.

When he opened the small door, which had been closed for several days, he saw Lu Chen cooking lunch.

Lu Dashan walked over and spoke to him directly.

“Lu Chen, I finally found your father’s belongings.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the tongs in Lu Chen’s hand fell to the floor with a loud clang. He immediately turned to look at Lu Dashan, his shock and joy showing in his expression.

Seeing Lu Chen’s emotional reaction, Lu Dashan felt more confident.

“The things are right here. This medal is a symbol of your father’s glory, and the only thing he left in this world.”

After a long pause, Lu Chen stood up, suppressing his emotions. He walked towards Lu Dashan and said, “Give me the things.”

The medal was still in Lu Dashan’s hand, but seeing Lu Chen’s demand, he didn’t hand it over immediately. Instead, he suddenly put on a conflicted expression.

“Before I give it to you, Lu Chen, your uncle wants you to promise me one thing. Is that okay?”

Knowing well how persistent Lu Chen was about his parents’ belongings, Lu Dashan was certain that whatever he asked, Lu Chen would agree to it.

Lu Chen gave him a deep look. When he saw the calculation in Lu Dashan’s eyes, he finally calmed down.

He had approached Lu Dashan and his family countless times, asking for his parents’ belongings, but they had always refused. So now, when they suddenly claimed to have found something and brought it to him, the whole situation felt suspicious.

He didn’t immediately agree but instead looked at Lu Dashan coldly and asked, “What is it?”

Lu Dashan continued to put on a face as if he was extremely troubled.

“Oh, it’s nothing major. Just promise your uncle, will you? As soon as you promise, I’ll give you your father’s things.”

Lu Dashan thought that with the way he had phrased it, Lu Chen would definitely agree.

But to his surprise, the next second, Lu Chen gave him a cold look, then said in a flat tone, “I refuse.”

Lu Dashan stared in shock, unable to believe what he was hearing.

“What did you say?”

Lu Chen repeated, emotionless, “I said, I refuse.”

“You… if you refuse, I won’t give you your father’s things!”

Lu Dashan thought his threat would make Lu Chen back down. But to his astonishment, Lu Chen wasn’t intimidated. Instead, he even cracked a rare smile.

However, the smile was devoid of warmth.

For some reason, seeing Lu Chen like this made Lu Dashan feel both unfamiliar and deeply anxious.

“Lu Chen, I’m your uncle. What do you think you’re doing?”

Without realizing it, he stepped back, almost reaching the small door. But suddenly, he saw a flash before him, and then his arm felt as though it had been struck by something. The pain made him instinctively release his grip.