Chapter 51: The Bad Reputation in the Village

Ye Lian’s smile froze as she pouted and said, “Who cares who it benefits? It has nothing to do with us.”

“Hey, I’m telling you, Ye Lian, how can you let go of such a golden son-in-law?”

“Ha.” Ye Lian sneered, “He may be a son-in-law, but he’s not a golden one; he’s the son of a turtle.”

The crowd: “…”

“Did I say anything wrong? Look at him; isn’t he just acting like a son of a turtle for someone else now? He’s even dragging his parents along to be ‘parents’ for someone else.”

Someone in the crowd couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“I say, Sister Ye Lian, you really know how to insult people. What do they call it? Taking care of their benefactor’s widow.”

“Isn’t it the same thing? Who can be so shameless? If she really had difficulties, not just Lu Jiangting, but even a stranger like me would be willing to lend a hand. Isn’t she a martyr’s family member?”

“But look at what she’s doing! She didn’t borrow money before, nor did she borrow it later, but chose to come and borrow it just a few days before their wedding. Clearly, she doesn’t want them to get married. Does she think I’m a fool? Not wanting them to marry, what does she really want? Does she think nobody knows?”

The crowd nodded in agreement.

“Exactly, that woman really has ulterior motives.”

“That’s right! Her husband has died, but it’s not like the whole family is gone. If she’s too busy, she could leave the child with his own grandparents. Yet, she insists on dragging Lu Jiangting’s parents into it.”

The rural women couldn’t stop gossiping once they got started.

They exchanged words, recounting how Lu Jiangting had helped with the funeral two years ago… and talked for half the day.

From initially criticizing Lu Jiangting and Fang Qing, the conversation gradually turned to how Lu Jiangting was indeed devoted and loyal.

However, they felt that Fang Qing was being unreasonable, relying on her husband’s kindness to keep Lu Jiangting doing this and that for her.

People should look forward; they couldn’t just entangle others for a lifetime.

In the end, they felt it was a pity that Lu Jiangting’s situation with Lin Yuyao had come to this point.

“If it weren’t for Fang Qing’s affair, your Yuyao would match well with Little Lu.”

Ye Lian felt a bit of that in her heart, but at this point, she could only stand firm for her daughter.

“I admit, Lu Jiangting is quite an outstanding person, but have you seen his mother, Wang Cuilan? Her eyes are already clouded over.”

“I saw it; it’s a bit scary, but everyone gets old like that. My old lady was the same way before she passed; I asked her, and she said she could only see a shadow.”

“Right, I heard that Wang Cuilan can only see a shadow now. I think she’s not far from being blind. You say, if she really gets married into that family, it’s just one son; who’s going to shoulder that burden?”

This…

Everyone fell silent.

Ye Lian continued, “Marrying a soldier sounds good, but in reality, it means when there’s a family matter, you have to do the work of two people. He won’t be able to come back to take care of his parents, and in the future, won’t it fall on my daughter to take care of them? Raising children and caring for the elderly will all be her responsibility—let’s just ask if that’s hard or not.”

“This… Isn’t Little Lu letting your daughter follow him to serve in the army?”

“How long can she follow? If his father gets sick, and his mother goes blind, who will come back to take care of them? Can you expect Lu Jiangting to return, or his two sisters? A married daughter is like spilled water; you think it’s that easy? In the end, won’t all these burdens fall on the daughter-in-law?”

Hearing her say this, everyone felt it made sense.

“Hey, Ye Lian, after hearing you say this, the Lu family really is a pitfall.”

“Isn’t it? If both partners work together, they can endure difficulties. I had thought it through; if my daughter really married him, they live nearby, I could help take care of the child, and I could ask her brothers to help with the household chores; with the whole family working together, it would be fine.”

But who would have thought that Lu Jiangting, that son of a turtle, wouldn’t work together with Yuyao? He has enough of his own problems to deal with, yet he’s still thinking about others’ troubles. Let him deal with his own issues; we won’t play along.”

“That’s true; for a couple to live together, the most taboo is not being in sync.”

“Yeah, it’s not that we can’t endure hardships; if we’re working together, we wouldn’t fear any difficulties.”

Seeing that everyone agreed with her views, Ye Lian felt pleased and even a bit proud.

“My daughter is doing well; she won’t get entangled in the muddy waters of the Lu family and will be able to marry into a better family in the future.”

…

The Lu family was just in the next village, and these words, especially Ye Lian’s, quickly reached Lu Jiangting’s parents.

Initially, they felt quite guilty for not being able to hold a wedding banquet for the two children, feeling they owed their in-laws.

Especially after they secretly helped Fang Qing with her child, they felt even more embarrassed to face Lin Yuyao’s parents.

However, when they heard those unkind words, they were furious.

Wang Cuilan, leaning on her cane, rushed to the Lin family, standing at their door and shouting, “My son is loyal and righteous, doing all conscientious deeds! How could you speak of him so disgracefully?”

Ye Lian opened the door, holding an IOU.

“Pay back the money.”

“What money to pay back?”

“The money your son borrowed for Fang Qing, three hundred of which was my family’s contribution to Yuyao’s dowry.”

Wang Cuilan: “…”

“Let’s not talk about the dowry today. Even though the marriage didn’t happen, there’s still righteousness between us. We’ve known each other for so many years; no matter what, you should…”

“You can’t slander our Jiangting,” Wang Cuilan asserted.

“Fine, no slandering. Just return the money.”

Wang Cuilan: “…”

“Jiangting helped Fang Qing because Fang Qing’s husband saved him; he…”

“He should help Fang Qing, but he shouldn’t use my family’s money to do so. Return the money.”

“You… Hmph, it’s impossible to reason with you.”

“Return the money.”

Wang Cuilan: “…”

“I don’t have the money right now. Whoever borrowed it should go find that person.”

With that, she leaned on her cane and hurriedly made her way home, fearing that Ye Lian would chase after her for the repayment.

Once she left, Lin Dawei came out and gave Ye Lian a thumbs up.

“You really are something! If they come to find us for trouble, we won’t waste words with them—just two words: ‘Return the money.'”

Ye Lian laughed and said, “Exactly, that’s what I was thinking. As for that money… that kid said he would return it in three months. How long until three months is up?”

“One month left.”

“Alright, if he hasn’t paid it back by then, I’ll call his workplace.”

…

The village’s phone could make long-distance calls, and Wang Cuilan called Lu Jiangting, crying as she recounted her grievances.

She claimed that Ye Lian was slandering their family in the village, and when she went to confront Ye Lian, Ye Lian chased her down for the repayment.

Because of that three hundred yuan, both she and her husband were being cursed by others and didn’t even dare to confront Ye Lian, unable to say a harsh word.