Chapter 28

About Lu Chen?

The brigade leader was stunned for a moment before he realized and then awkwardly glanced at Meng Yinyin. If he wasn’t mistaken, Meng Xuan must have come to ask about the relationship between Meng Yinyin and Lu Chen.

The brigade leader, thinking he understood Meng Xuan’s intentions, quickly said, “Alright, Comrade Meng Xuan, please wait here. Let me finish up these tasks, and then we can talk somewhere quieter.”

Although everyone already knew about Meng Yinyin and Lu Chen, it was still inappropriate to discuss such matters in public, especially since Meng Yinyin was a young woman. It would be better to find a more private spot.

Meng Xuan nodded. Naturally, the fewer people knew about his investigation into Lu Chen’s father, the better.

As for Meng Yinyin, she also thought Meng Xuan had come to ask the brigade leader about her and Lu Chen. She felt a little resentful.

She had already explained everything clearly to her brother, but he didn’t believe her and had to come and ask the brigade leader.

Hmph! Did he really think she was that unreliable?

Though upset, she didn’t dare say anything at that moment, fearing her brother might reprimand her in front of the brigade leader.

So, she quietly followed the brigade leader and her brother to a large tree in the distance. It was far enough from the workers, but still allowed the brigade leader to keep an eye on the situation, making it a perfect spot to talk.

Once they stood under the tree, Meng Xuan spoke.

“Brigade leader, how much do you remember about Lu Chen’s father, Lu Tian, when he passed away?”

What?

The brigade leader was completely shocked by Meng Xuan’s question, his eyes widening as he stood frozen for a while, unable to process it.

“Comrade Meng Xuan, you, you are not here to ask about Educated Youth Meng and…”

Meng Xuan’s tone of denial was very clear.

“No, I have nothing to say about their matters.”

The implication was that he couldn’t be bothered.

After all, things had already reached this point. Meng Yinyin, this girl, was capable enough to handle everything herself. What else could he do? He couldn’t just force them apart, could he?

There was no need for that.

Moreover, after thinking it over, letting Meng Yinyin stay with Lu Chen wasn’t necessarily a bad idea. At least, the conditions at Lu Chen’s home were far better than at the Educated Youth point, and it would spare her a lot of trouble.

As for everything else, he would discuss it further with Lu Chen later in the afternoon.

After Meng Xuan denied it, the brigade leader was silent for a moment before he got serious.

“Lu Tian…”

As he spoke, the brigade leader’s expression softened with nostalgia.

In fact, if Lu Tian hadn’t had the accident, he should have been the most promising person in their entire Nanjiao Brigade.

He had enlisted in the army at a young age, fought on the battlefield, earned honors, and was on the verge of being promoted. But then, the unexpected happened—he died in battle, severely wounded and swept away by the rushing river. His body was never recovered.

He was only 25 that year, in his tenth year of service.

As for his wife, she was his childhood sweetheart from the same village who grew up with him. She had a rough life and was picked up by an old man in their village. The old and the young had depended on each other since childhood, but fortunately, the girl had a positive nature and was always smiling even when her life was miserable.

She and Lu Tian had been close since childhood. When they were in their teens, they had already decided they would be together. Even after Lu Tian went away for several years, she never considered finding someone else.

It wasn’t until Lu Tian’s first leave, when he came back to find her waiting for him, that he no longer hesitated. He applied for a marriage license and they wed. Three years later, they had Lu Chen.

Just when they were about to have a perfect family, Lu Tian’s death came days before Lu Chen’s birth. The news struck Lu Chen’s mother so hard that she went into premature labor and, overwhelmed by grief, passed away.

This was all the same as the information Meng Xuan had gotten from the organization. He didn’t comment and was about to ask the brigade leader to elaborate more on Lu Tian’s death when he heard a series of sobs.

Turning around, Meng Xuan saw his younger sister, Meng Yinyin, crying uncontrollably. Her sorrowful expression left Meng Xuan momentarily stunned.

It had been a long time since he had seen her so heartbroken.

Meng Yinyin was indeed devastated. She had only heard bits and pieces of Lu Chen’s family background from Yu Xiaoyu before, but she had no idea how tragic his mother’s life had been, nor how deeply his parents had loved each other.

To think, such wonderful people—Lu Chen never even got to meet them.

If his parents were alive, they would undoubtedly love and care for him, because Lu Chen was the fruit of their love.

It was such a pity…

In that moment, Meng Yinyin felt deeply the pain and despair Lu Chen must have experienced, growing up without his parents.

As her older brother, Meng Xuan couldn’t bear to see her like this. He reached out and rubbed her head, feigning impatience. “Alright, let’s talk business. If you want to cry, hold it in until we get back.”

Such a thing was impossible to control!

Meng Yinyin glared at him, her eyes red, but she obediently quieted her sobs.

She was curious about Lu Chen’s family as well.

The brigade leader, watching this, couldn’t help but feel reassured.

Previously, he had thought Meng Yinyin was just toying with Lu Chen and didn’t take him seriously. But now, seeing her so moved by his family’s tragic story, it seemed he might have misunderstood her. Perhaps she wasn’t as cold-hearted as he had imagined.

“Brigade leader?”

Meng Xuan’s voice pulled the brigade leader out of his thoughts.

The brigade leader shook himself and continued recalling the past.

“I remember that so many things happened to the Lu family at once, it was a mess, and everyone in our village went to help, but during that period it was just a normal burial and welcoming of a newborn. Apart from that, there didn’t seem to be anything special.”

“What about the army? Didn’t anyone come from there?” Meng Xuan prompted. “Or any compensation from the army?”

At this, the brigade leader suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, now I remember. After Lu Chen’s mother was buried, one of Lu Chen’s comrades came to express condolences on behalf of the army, but as for compensation or pension, we don’t know anything about it.”

This was a matter concerning money, so it wasn’t something to be taken lightly. Even if there was any compensation, it was something the Lu family kept private, so outsiders wouldn’t know.

This made sense, so Meng Xuan continued to ask.

“Then, what about the house of Lu Dashan?”

“That,” the brigade leader replied, “later some people asked Lu Dashan about it. He said the money was left by his ancestors, and his mother had found it.”

Here, “his mother” referred to Lu Chen’s grandmother.

Others were puzzled because, if the Lu family had been poor for generations, how could they have any money left by their ancestors?

But since Lu Dashan’s mother didn’t deny it, and her reputation in the brigade was excellent, everyone just believed it. Perhaps the ancestors had indeed saved some money over the years.

At that time, the policies on such matters weren’t strictly enforced, so no one ever looked into how Lu Dashan’s family came into the money to build the house. Eventually, people gradually accepted the reason behind how the money for the house construction was sourced.

Lu Dashan was quite skilled, able to turn even black into white with his words.

Meng Xuan let out a light laugh, his gaze turning slightly cold.

“So, does this mean no one knew about the compensation payment the military gave to Comrade Lu Tian’s family?”

The brigade leader’s expression shifted slightly, and then he nodded, shaking his head in confirmation.

“We really didn’t know about this.”

Had they known, they certainly would never have stood idly by and allowed Lu Dashan to treat Lu Chen the way he had over the years.

After saying that, the brigade leader suppressed the shock he felt in his heart and asked Meng Xuan.

“Comrade Meng Xuan, may I ask how much that compensation was back then?”

It was clear now that Meng Xuan was here representing the military, so his words should be truthful, not fabricated.

In other words, the military really had given Lu Tian’s wife compensation, but unfortunately, no one knew about it!

Meng Xuan didn’t hide anything and answered softly.

“One thousand yuan.”

One thousand yuan!!!

The brigade leader froze for a moment, his breath catching at the figure.

Good heavens! That was a full one thousand yuan, and it was over twenty years ago!

That amount of money was a small fortune back then!

He wasn’t stupid; hearing that figure and recalling how Lu Dashan had suddenly built a house…

It seemed highly likely that Lu Dashan had taken the compensation money for himself, and that was how the grand courtyard had come about!

This was serious—one thousand yuan was a huge sum!

The brigade leader took a deep breath and looked at Meng Xuan with a solemn expression.

“Comrade Meng Xuan, if you wish to investigate, I will fully cooperate!”

With this statement, Meng Xuan felt much more at ease.

However, so many years had passed that even if they tried to check who had withdrawn the money from the post office back then, there was no way to obtain concrete evidence now.

To truly find out where the money had gone and how Lu Dashan’s family had come to build their house, they would have to think of another way.

“Yes, if there are any further plans, I’ll let you know, Brigade Leader. But for now, please keep this matter confidential.”

The brigade leader understood completely and assured him that even his family would not be told.

After Meng Xuan finished with him, he asked a few more questions about Lu Dashan and his family.

The brigade leader answered everything in detail, leaving no stone unturned.

After hearing everything, Meng Xuan had a general idea in his mind, but it wasn’t urgent. He needed to gather more information.

It was getting late, and time for work was almost over. Meng Xuan decided to take Meng Yinyin back to Lu Chen’s house while the brigade leader went off to handle other tasks.

On the way back to Lu Chen’s house, Meng Yinyin’s mood was still low as she couldn’t stop thinking about Lu Chen’s parents.

Meng Xuan, who was in good spirits, couldn’t help but tease her.

“What’s wrong? Feeling sorry for him?”

Meng Yinyin lowered her head, instinctively murmuring in agreement.

Just as she responded, her brother’s voice suddenly rang out.

“Meng Yinyin.”

She looked up in confusion, only to meet Meng Xuan’s thoughtful gaze.

“Brother, what’s wrong…”

She had no idea why her brother was looking at her like that, which made her feel uncomfortable.

Meng Xuan hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he didn’t ask the question, “Is there really nothing between you and Lu Chen?” Instead, he changed the subject.

“What’s for dinner tonight?”

Meng Yinyin, relieved by the change of topic, went to the kitchen and asked in a bossy tone, “What do you want to eat, brother? I’ll ask Lu Chen to make it!”

Her words only made Meng Xuan’s feelings more complicated.

It seemed his silly little sister didn’t have any feelings for that young man at all.

He couldn’t decide if he should be happy or relieved, but he was definitely annoyed.

Meng Xuan snorted.

“Why should Lu Chen cook for you? Don’t you have hands? From now on, you’ll learn how to cook, so you don’t starve to death in the future!”

Meng Yinyin blinked in surprise.

“Brother?”

What was going on with her brother?

He had been fine a moment ago, so why did he suddenly look like someone had upset him?

Meng Yinyin wanted to ask, but seeing her brother’s cold expression, she meekly kept quiet and just said.

“Well, you have to help me cook too…”

Meng Xuan shot her a helpless look.

“You’ll start the fire, and I’ll cook the rice.”

Reluctantly, Meng Yinyin went to light the fire at the stove.

When Lu Chen rushed back from the field with a fish in his hand, he was greeted by the sight of his kitchen filled with thick smoke and the sound of screams.

“Brother, why is there a fire in the pot?”

“I don’t know! Hurry up and come help me put it out!”