“The best solution? Get a divorce,” Grandma Lu said as she took the cup of warm water Mother Lu handed her and took a sip. “Just end it already. Let your mother find you a new wife—someone obedient, easy to control, who won’t complain no matter what.”

“Where would I find a wife like that?”

Fifth Uncle blurted out.

Lu Qingyuan couldn’t help it—she rolled her eyes.

Second Sister-in-law Lu noticed and subtly shifted forward, blocking his view so he wouldn’t see.

“So you do know that such a wife doesn’t exist?” Grandma Lu scoffed. “We’re not getting involved in this. Go home.”

“Auntie, if I don’t ask you all for help, who else can I turn to?”

Fifth Uncle looked lost.

“The only person you can truly rely on is yourself. If you keep expecting others to carry your burdens, have you ever considered standing up for yourself? You’re already in your forties or fifties. Can’t you take responsibility for your own household and act like the head of the family?”

Seeing that Grandma Lu was about to let loose on him, Father Lu quickly stepped in. “Enough! You don’t need to say any more.”

Fifth Uncle opened his mouth, but noticing everyone’s expressions filled with disappointment, he ultimately said nothing. With a heavy sigh, he put on his straw hat, hunched his shoulders, and left.

Jiasheng and Lusheng had long learned to stay silent in situations like this. They quietly nestled in their mothers’ arms.

Once he was gone, the adults all voiced their disapproval.

“See? If you’re getting married, never marry a man like that! You’d be miserable for a lifetime.”

Grandma Lu sighed.

“Exactly. How suffocating.”

Second Aunt Lu nodded.

The rain continued to pour. By the time midday arrived, Lu Qingming and his brothers finally returned.

Their harvest today wasn’t as abundant as last time when Lu Qingyuan had gone with them.

Still, it was a decent haul. They found plenty of spring mushrooms, and the place where they previously picked wood ear mushrooms had regrown, so they brought back more of those too.

After sorting everything, the three families gathered for lunch. Lu Qingguang spoke about something they had seen on the way back.

“Grandma Yao was wailing and making a scene, screaming that Yanyan’s grandfather and uncles were robbing food. But Fifth Uncle blocked them, saying that since there wasn’t enough room at home, the food should be given to the other house instead.”

“Then Grandma Yao gave him a big slap across the face. Tsk, his whole cheek swelled up,” Lu Qingtian said, shaking his head. “She’s got quite the strength.”

“What a pity it’s raining so hard—I didn’t get to hear a single word of it.”

Grandma Lu sipped her mushroom soup, looking regretful.

Father Lu and the others, well aware that the two elderly women never got along and enjoyed seeing each other in trouble, chuckled at her comment.

The laughter put Grandma Lu in a better mood, and she drank another half-bowl of soup and ate a piece of mung bean cake.

The mung bean cake had been bought by Shu Beiqiu.

Grandma Lu mentioned him every time she ate it.

In the afternoon, the rain showed no sign of stopping. Lu Qingyuan decided to take a nap.

Just as she lay down, she heard the system’s voice. It informed her that live broadcasts would no longer be a daily occurrence. However, everything happening on her end would now appear in text format as updates in the live broadcast version.

Lu Qingyuan breathed a sigh of relief. Although she could see things she hadn’t known before when her life was being broadcast, it still felt uncomfortable.

Thinking of this, she yawned, pulled the blanket higher, and went to sleep.

The rain continued for three days.

Fifth Uncle came over four times.

The first time, he came to borrow fever medicine, saying that Grandma Yao had gotten so angry that she developed a fever.

Since Grandma Lu occasionally had low-grade fevers and there were also young children at home, they kept some medicine in reserve, so they lent it to him.

The second time, he came to return the money. Grandma Yao had insisted that the money must be repaid properly—she didn’t like owing people favors.

Grandma Lu happily had Mother Lu accept it and ate a little more during their meal.

The third time, he brought along his youngest cousin. The man was in his early thirties, with a sharp face and shifty eyes. As soon as he entered, his gaze was anything but proper.

Eldest Sister-in-law Lu glanced at him once before heading straight to Lu Qingyuan’s room, instructing her not to come out.

Father Lu and his two brothers made it clear, both openly and subtly, that this cousin was not welcome. However, the man had an incredibly thick skin and didn’t care about their attitude.

Before they left, Father Lu pulled Fifth Uncle aside and spoke in a low voice, essentially telling him that if he ever brought his maternal relatives over again, their door would remain shut.

Fifth Uncle left awkwardly.

Not long after, he returned, red-faced, asking the three Lu brothers for a loan.

“What does he need the money for?”

Lu Qingyuan was in her room, reading a book that her second brother, Lu Qingtian, had brought back for her. When her two sisters-in-law came in discussing the matter, she curiously asked.

“He didn’t explain it clearly, but I have a feeling—” Second Sister-in-law Lu rubbed her chin, “—that Grandma Yao regretted giving the money and wants to take it back, but Fifth Uncle can’t bring himself to ask directly.”

“So he’s calling it a loan,” Eldest Sister-in-law Lu added.

“Does Fifth Uncle not have any money on him?”

Lu Qingyuan was surprised. A pack of fever medicine only costs twenty-five cents.

“That’s because Fifth Aunt is good at managing money,” Eldest Sister-in-law Lu chuckled and lowered her voice. “She took all the family’s money with her.”

“Grandma Yao allowed that?”

“That money was earned by Fifth Aunt and Fifth Uncle together, and it was never handed over to Grandma Yao in the first place,” Second Sister-in-law Lu explained. “Even if she’s unhappy, there’s nothing she can do.”

“That’s great,” Lu Qingyuan was genuinely happy for Fifth Aunt. “Did Dad and the others lend him the money?”

“No. Grandma used her health as an excuse, so he felt too embarrassed to push for a loan and left.”

Eldest Sister-in-law Lu shrugged and shook her head.

“And even if he dared to ask, how could we lend him anything?” Second Sister-in-law Lu sat down. “With the way their family is now, no matter how much money we lend, it’ll be like throwing a meat bun to a dog—gone forever.”

Speaking of that family, Eldest Sister-in-law Lu felt annoyed. “Little sister, from now on, if you go anywhere far, you must have someone accompany you. Understand?”

“I understand.”

Lu Qingyuan wasn’t foolish. She listened seriously to her sisters-in-law’s warnings.

But before they had to stay on guard for too long, the team leader’s wife took action.

The next day, she gathered a group of people and went straight to Grandma Yao’s house.

It was drizzling outside, so Grandma Lu couldn’t go watch the commotion. She could only send Mother Lu and her two sisters-in-law, waiting for them to come back and give her a full report.

Lu Qingyuan didn’t go either.

More than two hours later, Mother Lu and the others returned.

They were animated as they spoke.

“Sister Lan said someone from our production team had something stolen. They chased after the thief but only caught a glimpse of his back, and it looked very similar to one of Grandma Yao’s younger brothers.”

“Grandma Yao refused to admit it, insisting that her brothers had been home all along and never went out.”

“So Sister Lan pointed out the exact time of the incident. But they couldn’t account for their whereabouts then. One look at their faces, and you could tell they were guilty!”

When Third Aunt Lu got excited, her voice turned sharp.

“And then?” Third Uncle Lu asked.

“And then they still refused to admit it, of course! So Sister Lan took out an item. Guess what it was?”

Lu Qingyuan’s eyes lit up. “Something the thief accidentally dropped?”

“Yes! It was the wolfdog tooth that her third brother dropped inside the victim’s chicken coop!”

Each of Grandma Yao’s brothers wore a wolfdog tooth, supposedly ground down by their grandfather when he was alive.

Luckily, wolfdog teeth weren’t worth much, or else they would have sold them off too.

“That should’ve been enough evidence,” Mother Lu said, taking a sip of water. “But your Grandma Yao still refused to acknowledge it—until her brother knelt down and begged for mercy. He did it so smoothly, you could tell he had done it many times before when he lost money and got beaten.”

“With him admitting to it himself, Grandma Yao had no way to defend him. Sister Lan told them to move out as soon as possible. Otherwise, next time, she would call the patrol team from the Guangfu Production Team over.”

“Pfft,” Grandma Lu clicked her tongue. “What a foolish brother. What a foolish old woman.”

One was dumber than the other. What a family.

“When we left, they were discussing going back to their original production team. But I doubt that place will want them either.”

“No production team would want a bunch of gamblers around.”

“Exactly.”

That afternoon, Fifth Aunt came over with an umbrella, bringing Lu Yanyan with her.

“They’ve moved out.”

Fifth Aunt grinned happily. “But Yanyan, Qinghong, and I don’t plan on moving back just yet. We’ve already paid for a year’s rent, so we’ll stay put for now.”

She was more than happy to let her overly filial husband stay home and take care of that old woman.

“Not moving back is a good idea. But you should still keep your valuables safe, just in case your mother-in-law tries something sneaky while you’re away.”

Mother Lu reminded her, and Second and Third Aunt-in-law also gave their own suggestions.

“They really left?”

Lu Qingyuan quietly asked Lu Yanyan, who was sitting beside her.

Lu Yanyan nodded. “Do you know why my grandmother didn’t make a huge fuss to stop them this time?”

“Because of Qinghong?”

Lu Qingyuan could only think of him.

Because Grandma Yao doted on this grandson the most.

“Mm,” Lu Yanyan lowered her eyes and tugged at the corners of her mouth.

“Because Qinghong told her.”

“If Granduncle and his family don’t move out and keep living here, there won’t be enough space.”

“How will he get married in the future? And if he continues gambling, what will happen then?”

“These two sentences completely hit my grandmother’s weak spot. So when Aunt Lan came over saying those things, my grandmother just wanted to keep Granduncle’s reputation from getting worse, so she tried to explain.”

“But when it came to them moving out, she was no longer as resistant as before.”

Although she still couldn’t bear to part with her younger brother and nephews, that reluctance disappeared the moment she thought of her precious grandson.

“Yanyan,” noticing Lu Yanyan’s low spirits, Lu Qingyuan reached out and gently pulled her into a light embrace, speaking softly.

“Qinghong is your younger brother, and Fifth Aunt cares about you a lot. As for the others, if they don’t care about you, then you don’t need to bother thinking about them.”

Lu Yanyan covered her mouth with a smile. “If my father heard this, he would definitely say it’s unfilial.”

“Filial piety should be based on the elders being kind first.”

Lu Yanyan stared at her cousin, feeling that someone like her truly had a clear and admirable way of living. Her family was also so much better.

And what about her? Her grandmother favored boys over girls, and her father was no different—he was a complete mama’s boy.

Qinghong actually treated her well, but in her past life, because she insisted on being with that delinquent next door, she broke Qinghong and their mother’s hearts.

Over time, Qinghong’s affection for her faded.

Having lived another life, Lu Yanyan sometimes still felt jealous of Qinghong. Why did her younger brother receive more love just because he was a boy?

But when facing Lu Qingyuan, she felt more envy than jealousy. Lu Qingyuan’s family had deep bonds with one another. Once, when Lu Qingyuan suddenly came back saying she wanted a divorce, her entire family stood by her.

Back then, Lu Yanyan couldn’t understand. She had married so well—why would she want a divorce? How ungrateful.

Thinking of this, Lu Yanyan leaned closer to Lu Qingyuan. “Sister Qingyuan.”

“Hmm?”

She actually wanted to ask what would make someone want a divorce after getting married.

But now that she was secretly seeing Tan Chang’an, Lu Yanyan looked at Lu Qingyuan, who was gazing at her gently, and suddenly didn’t feel like asking anymore.

Her cousin had her own partner. If she asked something like this, it might cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

“I just think you’re really gentle. I really like you.”

Lu Yanyan rested her head on Lu Qingyuan’s shoulder.

Lu Qingyuan lightly patted her arm. “Are you acting spoiled now?”

“Sort of.”

Lu Yanyan grinned and nodded.

Lu Qingyuan felt that she was acting a little strange, but didn’t think too much about it.