Chapter 20 – Paying One’s Debts

That was what she said, but in her heart, Zhao Yuzhu was utterly disgusted with her previous life in the Ancestral House!

Back at the Ancestral House, she had been the classic example of someone who toiled hard but was never appreciated. She was busy from dawn till dusk, barely ever resting, and yet her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law still claimed she was just an idle freeloader at home!

Sometimes in the dead of night, Zhao Yuzhu would dream of those days and wake up filled with hatred toward her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law.

“Otherwise, how do you think you got the reputation of being a virtuous and kind woman among the neighbors? That ability to swallow grievances is something even a thousand-year-old turtle spirit can’t compete with.” Su Luyun said with a soft laugh.

Though the words sounded like praise, to Zhao Yuzhu they were nothing but needles pricking at her pride.

Facing Su Luyun’s half-smiling gaze, Zhao Yuzhu couldn’t help but retort: “How could I ever compare with you, cousin? You’re something else now. Everyone’s saying that if this were ancient times, you’d definitely have a chastity memorial arch erected in your honor!”

To think that this Pan Jinlian was being praised and even considered for a chastity arch—what a joke! It was laughable to the point of absurdity!

Su Luyun burst into laughter at that. “Really? Then I must’ve been born in the wrong era!”

Zhao Yuzhu: “……” She had seen shameless people before, but never someone this brazen!

Su Luyun stirred the rice soup in the pot to keep it from burning and said with a smile: “These days everyone’s singing my praises, aren’t they?”

Zhao Yuzhu glanced at her and was momentarily stunned by the smugness in her expression.

Then suddenly, her eyes widened in realization!

What had puzzled her before suddenly became clear in this moment of enlightenment.

It felt like the clouds had parted, revealing the blue sky!

She finally understood why Su Luyun had suddenly changed her attitude!

Su Luyun was trying to build herself a reputation—a good one that everyone would admire!

She wanted to be known as a woman who divorced Zhou Changdong yet still earned everyone’s respect and praise, not their condemnation!

Realizing Su Luyun’s intentions, Zhao Yuzhu felt a surge of satisfaction—but she quickly followed it up with a challenge: “Cousin, is that your goal?” There was no way she was going to let Su Luyun get her way. She had to ruin it!

“What goal?” Su Luyun raised an eyebrow.

Zhao Yuzhu wore a look of “you can’t fool me” and said: “Aren’t you doing all this to create a good reputation for yourself?!”

“My reputation has always been pretty good. Why would I need to create one? Cousin, what are you even talking about?”

Zhao Yuzhu: “…Cousin, are you joking? Don’t you know everyone used to call you a wasteful woman?”

And you’re calling that a good reputation?

Among all the wives with a decent name in this neighborhood, she was the only one!

Su Luyun laughed: “The reason people said I was wasteful was because I spent 1,700 yuan without blinking to buy this courtyard house. They were just mad that they were a step too late and missed out, so they turned their noses up at me. Sour grapes, that’s all it is.”

“But I think I had great foresight. Don’t be fooled by how expensive it seemed back then—if someone wanted to buy it now, they’d have to pay 2,300 yuan at the very least. And if I so much as hinted that I wanted to sell, people would be lining up to snatch it up. You know how rare and desirable places like this are, right?”

“I didn’t even have to do anything and I already made a clean profit of 600 yuan.”

“……”

Su Luyun spoke about this with great pride.

Even though Zhao Yuzhu was silently grinding her teeth, she had to admit that this house had indeed been a good buy back then!

She bought it for 1,700 yuan, and now even 2,300 was considered a lowball. If she raised the price by another hundred or two, anyone with the means would likely still be willing to purchase it!

Because a standalone courtyard house like this was extremely rare—something you could only hope to come across by chance!

She and Li Wenchuan currently lived in a tube-style apartment, and just buying that place this year had cost them a whopping 800 yuan, for only a mere ten square meters! They had to barely partition it into two rooms!

Furthermore, places like those tube-style apartments were overcrowded, chaotic, and complicated in terms of interpersonal relationships.

There was never a moment of peace from morning till night. How could living there compare to the comfort of a spacious, private courtyard like this?

Zhao Yuzhu didn’t want to continue talking about this topic, so she pulled the conversation back. “Cousin, isn’t this a bit too high a price to pay?”

Su Luyun looked at her. “A price? What price?”

“The price for a good reputation.” Zhao Yuzhu said, looking at her closely. “Think about how much you’ve given up just for that reputation! Let’s not even talk about the three thousand yuan that Zhou Changdong brought back and you returned to the Zhou family. Auntie even said she’d return all the household expenses from your three years of marriage! But those were three years of your youth! And youth is priceless! Now you’re even taking care of Zhou Changdong’s every need—eating, drinking, toileting! After sacrificing so much, all just for a good reputation—is it really worth it? Isn’t that too unfair to you?!”

She looked entirely like someone speaking out of heartfelt concern.

In fact, Zhao Yuzhu had always been this caring and attentive towards the dumbed-down Original owner.

For example, when the Original owner followed the plot and got a little too close with Sun Congxing, Zhao Yuzhu would gently advise her: “You’re already married, you can’t do something that betrays your husband, that’s just not right. Listen to me and cut things off before it’s too late—don’t act on impulse.”

But at the same time, she’d also say: “Fate is a strange thing—sometimes it just shows up without warning and you can’t even control it. For someone to move your heart like that, he must be quite the man.”

She’d always toe the line, slyly encouraging the Original owner to let go and indulge herself.

A genuine toxic bestie!

The dumbed-down Original owner couldn’t see through her. But now, the real person was here.

Zhao Yuzhu’s little tricks were laughable in comparison.

Take now, for example. On the surface, she was expressing concern and saying how wronged Su Luyun was. But in reality, she was reminding and hinting that Su Luyun shouldn’t give up her claim to Zhou Changdong’s assets just for a good reputation!

Su Luyun looked at Zhao Yuzhu playfully and smiled. “Yuzhu, you’re the only one who truly has my best interests at heart. You’re so kind!”

Zhao Yuzhu immediately knew she’d hit the mark!

“We grew up together. Even though you’re my cousin, in my heart, you’re closer to me than a real sister!” she said with great emotion.

Su Luyun nodded in satisfaction. Then, she held out her hand to Zhao Yuzhu. “Since our bond is stronger than gold, dear cousin, don’t you think it’s time you paid me back the hundred yuan you owe me?”

The subject changed so abruptly that Zhao Yuzhu was caught off guard!

Her face stiffened quickly. “Cousin, why are you suddenly asking me for money out of the blue?”

“It’s just that your mention of money reminded me. Over time, you borrowed quite a bit from me.” Su Luyun said cheerfully, still smiling at her.

Back then, Li Wenchuan hadn’t started working at the construction site yet. He was still in the factory, earning only thirty yuan a month.

And since they hadn’t split from the family yet, the money still had to be handed over and divided by the household.

When Zhao Yuzhu lived in the Ancestral House, her life was really suffocating.

So sometimes she’d borrow money from the Original owner to eat out or go see a movie.

The Original owner had full control over Zhou Changdong’s finances and was very generous, often saying she didn’t need the money back and just giving it to her. But Zhao Yuzhu had always insisted that it was a loan.

Yet she never repaid it.

“I offered to give it to you before, but you insisted it was a loan. Now that your cousin’s in need, I won’t be polite. I did the math—not too much, not too little—exactly one hundred yuan.” Su Luyun said with a smile.

Zhao Yuzhu’s face contorted with anger. She’d said all those nice things, and now this?!

She wanted to say she didn’t have the money, but Su Luyun beat her to it, putting on an innocent, thoughtful expression. “Oh right, I forgot—you don’t manage the money. That’s fine. I’ll wait for Wenchuan to come home, and I’ll go ask—”

Before she could even finish the sentence, Zhao Yuzhu quickly interrupted: “It’s just a hundred yuan—I have it! No need to ask Wenchuan!”

“Great. Then go get it and bring it to me.”