Chapter 12

“That’s correct.”

Gong Minbing casually mentioned something about the neighboring team: “In the neighboring team, a thug stole over ninety yuan from someone and was sentenced to a year in prison, then sent to a farm for labor reform.”

“Comrade Liu, Comrade Tang, I suggest we thoroughly check those who didn’t go to work today.”

Upon hearing that there could be a prison sentence, both Liu Chunhua and Lu Jiaojiao, who had hidden the radio in her room, became extremely anxious.

But Lu Jianguo remained composed, saying, “We need to find the radio quickly, we can’t let it get lost. To be fair, we should start by checking our own family. We have several people at home who didn’t go to work today.”

Liu Chunhua was almost frantic!

Meanwhile, Lu Jiaojiao, hiding in her room like a turtle, was nearly driven crazy by panic.

She had already thought of countless ways to cover her tracks and even considered the idea of claiming she was just borrowing Lu Baiwei’s radio to listen to it.

However, if she had just borrowed it, she could’ve simply asked Lu Baiwei for it, without needing to sneak in through the window—there was no reasonable explanation for that.

As she anxiously paced around her room, she suddenly heard the sound of Lu Wenhua bringing a child to visit their home.

It was just as He Ting, Gong Minbing, Tang Jinghe, and Liu Zhishu were arriving, and Lu Wenhua, who was playing outside with his friends, saw them and mistakenly thought that He Ting and Lu Baiwei had returned after getting their marriage certificate and were handing out wedding candies.

Lu Wenhua wanted to show off in front of his friends, so he said he would take them to their house for some candy.

Lu Jiaojiao felt a glimmer of hope and waved at Lu Wenhua to come inside.

Before his friends could follow him inside, Lu Jiaojiao quickly grabbed the radio she had hidden under the bed and thrust it into Lu Wenhua’s hands.

Then, acting like she had a clever plan, she shouted, “Wenhua, why are you playing with my sister’s radio? Go and return it to her room right now!”

“You’re so thoughtless, always messing around.”

“If you want to play with the radio, you need to ask your sister first, not sneak into her room and take such an expensive thing without permission.”

After framing Lu Wenhua, she dragged him out of her room, still holding the radio.

Liu Chunhua finally relaxed—after all, it was just a child playing with the radio.

She was about to speak when Lu Baiwei beat her to it.

“Lu Wenhua, did you take my radio from my room?”

“Taking something without asking is stealing, and thieves get caught and sent to prison.”

“If you’re going to steal, then you’re no longer my brother. The big white rabbit milk candy I bought today? You don’t get any, I won’t give you any!”

“If you’re going to be a thief and steal, you’re no longer my brother. The White Rabbit candy I bought today? None for you. I’m not giving you any!”

Liu Chunhua and Lu Jiaojiao had calculated every angle but never accounted for Lu Wenhua’s gluttony.

Lu Baiwei’s words set him off. He immediately burst into tears, wailing, “It wasn’t me! It was Lu Jiaojiao who shoved it into my hands!”

“I’m not a thief, I’m not! I don’t want to go to jail! I want to eat White Rabbit candy!”

“Why won’t you give me the candy? Lu Baiwei, you’re a bad woman.”

“All the White Rabbit candy is mine, mine! Everything you own is mine!”

Lu Wenhua continued bawling and yelling without care, “My mom and dad both said so! Everything of yours is mine! You’re my sister, and the ‘three-piece set’ belongs to me too. You have to take care of me!”

“Hmph! My dad only brought you back home so you could take care of me. Now that you’re married to He Zhixing, all the money and food he gets sent from his family will be used to support me!”

“Otherwise, I’ll kick you, this annoying woman, out of our house!”

As Lu Wenhua wailed, clutching the radio, Tang Jinghe’s face turned black as the bottom of a pot, his expression thunderous.

In a booming voice, he roared, “Lu Jianguo, are you trying to kill yourself? Is this how you treat Baiwei?”

“I’ve said it before—Baiwei was raised by my uncle with so much hardship. After you married that Liu Chunhua, you abandoned her! And then, when my uncle passed, you wept like your life depended on it, claiming you missed her and that my deceased sister had come to you in a dream.”

“Turns out, all along, you planned to exploit Baiwei, to have her help you raise Lu Wenhua!”

“You’ve really got some nerve. You didn’t care for her or raise her, but after our Tang family did all the hard work, you thought you could swoop in and use her when it suited you.”

“I’ve seen shameless people before, but none as shameless as you!”

“You begged and cried for Baiwei to return, just to have her live in a rundown shed, work to earn labor points for your family, and serve you all. On top of that, you wanted her to raise the son you had with Liu Chunhua, Lu Wenhua.”

“As parents, you refuse to do your duty. Where’s your sense of shame? Lu Wenhua isn’t Baiwei’s child. This is infuriating!”

“And it’s not enough to take advantage of Baiwei? Now that she’s married to He Ting, you want to exploit her husband too? To have them both work as beasts of burden for you, helping raise Lu Wenhua?”

“Hah! I’ve seen enough. Baiwei can’t stay in this house anymore. Good thing she’s already married to He Ting.”

Tang Jinghe, livid, tore into Lu Jianguo like a storm before turning to Liu Secretary with a plan. “Look, Baiwei learned medical skills from my uncle. Let’s recommend her for a position as the brigade clinic’s doctor. And while we’re at it, she and He Ting can move into the two rooms at the clinic.”

“No more delays. They have to move today. Right now.”

“If they don’t move, Baiwei will be bullied to death here. If it comes to paying rent for the clinic rooms, our Tang family will cover it. I don’t care!”

“If they don’t move, my Baiwei will be bullied to death. Let them live in those two rooms. Our Tang family will even cover the rent if needed!” 

Since Tang Jinghe brought Liu Secretary along for help, Liu Secretary immediately voiced his support: “Move. Right away. It’s our responsibility as the brigade office to help solve housing issues for married educated youth.” 

Lu Jianguo and Liu Chunhua were stunned. 

No matter how much they calculated and schemed, they never expected things to unfold like this. 

They never imagined that the stolen radio and accusations of theft would expose the truth about why they brought Lu Baiwei back home two years ago, straight from the mouth of their precious son. 

Now there was no way to keep Lu Baiwei tied to their family. 

Lu Jianguo panicked. “It’s that little brat Wenhua talking nonsense! Baiwei and He Ting agreed to stay and live at home after they got married!” 

At this moment, He Ting’s expression was icy, his face so intimidating that it seemed like he might kill Lu Jianguo and Liu Chunhua right then and there. 

It was time for Lu Baiwei to speak up. 

Through her tears, she cried in heartbreak, her sobs coming fast and heavy, her tears flowing like they were free. 

“Father, I trusted you so much. I planned to take good care of you in the future, to be a filial daughter. But now I see that in your heart, there’s only Jiaojiao and Wenhua. You never treated me as your real daughter. You only wanted me to work for this family. I’m heartbroken.” 

“From now on, you’re not my father. I don’t have a father like you.” 

He Ting spoke then, striking right at the weak spot of Lu Jianguo and Liu Chunhua. 

“Baiwei is marrying me. There was never any agreement about her staying in this house.” 

“Here, in this area, only live-in sons-in-law stay with the bride’s family, right?” 

He Ting asked Lu Jianguo and Liu Chunhua coldly, “Do you really think you have the audacity to make someone like me become your live-in son-in-law?” 

“I’m not someone to be bullied so easily. If you don’t let us move today, I’ll head straight to the commune and ask the police to investigate the theft of the radio and arrest the thief.” 

By now, the situation was beyond salvageable. 

No matter how much they schemed, Lu Jianguo and Liu Chunhua had no choice but to admit defeat. 

Lu Jianguo tried to comfort himself, thinking, *As long as the mountain remains, there’s no fear of running out of firewood.* 

He and Lu Baiwei were, after all, blood-related father and daughter. Once she moved out, he could show more care for her and slowly mend their relationship. Eventually, everything would work out, wouldn’t it?