Chapter 12

Gu Yueqian looked at the brigade leader.

“Brigade leader, these blueberries were discovered and picked in the mountains by me along with others. It’s true that state rules say anything from the mountains is collective property, belonging to the brigade, but there is no rule forbidding us from picking and eating them ourselves.

And we split everything equally on the spot. I didn’t take more for myself.

Most importantly, I had originally planned to share some with my cousin’s wife’s family. Who knew that this grandmother and grandson of mine would be so unreasonable—before I could even open my mouth, they tried barging into my home to snatch my blueberries. Since you’re here, please judge fairly. I’ve only been married into the Lu family village for a few days, and this is how my elders treat me? Is this really how your Lu family village treats its new brides?”

“Lu Cheng’s wife, I wasn’t accusing you.”

Lu Zhenzhong hurried to explain. He was worried that if such talk spread, it would ruin the chances for Lujiagou’s bachelors to find brides. When a new daughter-in-law enters the family, people are supposed to treat her with courtesy. In decent households, she isn’t even asked to work right away—often not until after she’s given birth. That way, the husband’s family shows understanding.

After clarifying, Lu Zhenzhong turned to the grandmother and grandson.

“Granny Dabao, is what Lu Cheng’s wife said true? Did you intend to barge into her room and snatch things?”

“I… we absolutely did not!” Granny Dabao’s face hardened—of course she wouldn’t admit it.

“She hit us out of nowhere, and now she’s scared of taking responsibility so she’s making up lies to slander me and my eldest grandson! And besides, even if this old body of mine did something not quite right, as a junior she shouldn’t be raising her hand against me! Brigade leader, look—there are still footprints here! She kicked me this far. My old bones feel like they’re falling apart. I think I’m going to die, I really am about to die!”

She howled in pain, trying her best to look pitiful.

But one glance at the tracks and Lu Zhenzhong could piece it together—judging from where she landed, she must’ve been standing right at Lu Cheng’s doorway when she was kicked. Which meant she really had been trying to snatch something.

He sighed. He knew a bit about Lu Cheng’s family situation.

“Granny Dabao, from how loud you’re shouting, you don’t seem hurt that bad. Why not let this go? Don’t make trouble with the new daughter-in-law. If word gets out that you’re bullying her, people will say your family mistreats its women. That’ll ruin Dabao’s reputation when he tries to find a wife in the future.”

“You… Brigade leader, I can’t believe you’re this kind of person!”

Granny Dabao hadn’t expected even Lu Zhenzhong to side against her. She immediately threw herself back onto the ground, rolling around and wailing even louder.

At last, her screaming drew the attention of those returning from the fields. With a loud bang, the freshly fixed gate was kicked open again. The frame fell down once more—though this time it didn’t hit Lu Dabao, since he rolled out of the way in time.

At the familiar sound, Granny Dabao instinctively flinched. She turned and sure enough—it was Lu Cheng, back at last! At first her face shrank with fear, but seeing Lu Zhuang and Lin Yufen trailing behind him, she quickly wailed louder.

“Son! You’re finally home! Come and see how your younger brother’s wife bullies me. She kicked me all the way over here—half my life is gone!”

She even showed off the footprint on her belly.

Lu Zhuang, seeing the scene, grew angry. His mother had been knocked to the ground?

“Mom, get up quickly.” He rushed to help her, then turned his ire toward Gu Yueqian—or rather, Lu Cheng, since he didn’t dare question the wife directly in front of him.

“Lu Cheng, your wife hit my mother. What do you have to say for that?”

Lu Cheng’s tall frame blocked everyone’s view as he shielded Gu Yueqian behind him. His broad shoulders looked as though they could bear the weight of the world. His voice, cold as ice, carried a cutting chill, and the full force of his anger was directed straight at Lu Zhuang’s family.

“I’ve said before—no one tells my wife what to do.”

Lu Zhenzhong clicked his tongue in shock. This was the longest sentence he had ever heard come out of Lu Cheng’s mouth. Good thing he hadn’t taken Granny Dabao’s side earlier—otherwise, wouldn’t Lu Cheng have come after him?

“So what you’re saying is, you’re admitting you bullied my mother!”

Lu Zhuang was furious. Their father was gone, leaving only this one mother. If Lu Cheng had any conscience, he’d understand how much their branch of the family had already sacrificed! Yesterday’s incident could be overlooked, but today again? Was Lu Cheng treating them like pushovers?

Sensing the conflict escalating, Lu Zhenzhong quickly tried to mediate.

“Lu Zhuang, you don’t understand the whole story, so you can’t put it that way. It was Granny Dabao and Dabao who tried to snatch the blueberries Lu Cheng’s wife had picked from the mountains. That’s how things got to this point.”

“Snatch? My mother would never try to snatch their things! Brigade leader, don’t you go siding unfairly!” Lu Zhuang roared.

“I can testify! Granny Dabao and Lu Dabao are always snatching Lu Yao’s things—I’ve seen it plenty of times!”

Just then, little Xiuyun walked in, dragging a small bundle of firewood, and spoke up loudly on Lu Yao’s behalf.

Everyone’s eyes turned toward her.

Especially Lu Zhuang’s family, their stares sharp enough to devour her.

The young girl shrank a little under the pressure, but thinking of Lu Yao’s many grievances, she clenched her jaw and forced her courage to the surface. Her black eyes shone as she bit down hard and continued,

“Sometimes when Yao-yao picks just a couple of flowers from the mountain, Lu Dabao tries to steal them. He loves taking other people’s things. Granny Dabao even claps her hands and cheers him on! I’ve seen it many times. They just like to take whatever belongs to Yao-yao.”

“Xiuyun, are you telling the truth?” Lu Zhenzhong was surprised.

“Of course. I’m not lying. My grandma has seen it too. You can ask her.”

Lu Zhenzhong grunted, then turned back to the grandmother and grandson.

“Granny Dabao, is Xiuyun telling the truth? You’ve often bullied Lu Yao whenever Lu Cheng wasn’t home?”

“We… we never did that!” Granny Dabao denied it flatly, but her flustered expression betrayed her.

Lu Zhenzhong shook his head, deeply disappointed.

“You’re being foolish! These are your own relatives—how could you bully a young girl? And now you’re even picking on the new daughter-in-law. If word spreads, how will your family face anyone?”

With someone testifying against them, Lu Zhuang’s family couldn’t deny it any longer. They knew in their hearts exactly how they behaved, and saying more would only dig them deeper. All they could do was grit their teeth and hope to muddle through.

After all, the days ahead were long. Gu Yueqian could play tough now, but living under the same roof day in and day out gave them plenty of ways to make her suffer. Sooner or later, she’d learn the meaning of hardship.

While the others stewed in silence, Lu Cheng finally spoke again.

“Brigade leader, I want to split from the family. I need you to oversee it.”

“Split the family?”

Lu Zhenzhong was stunned. How could this courtyard be divided? But before he could think it through, Lu Zhuang and Lin Yufen’s faces had already darkened.

Because—Lu Cheng’s work points were registered under Lu Zhuang’s household. Each year, grain was distributed according to work points. Lu Cheng alone could earn as much as two grown men. But when the grain was divided, Lin Yufen always found excuses to cut down what Lu Cheng and his sister received, pocketing the surplus for herself.

If Lu Cheng separated from them, there would be no more extra grain falling into their laps.