Chapter 20

“Lu Huaimei, get over here right now!”

Wang Dani, frustrated that her youngest daughter couldn’t grasp the situation, dragged her into the courtyard.

“Mother, I wasn’t wrong,” Lu Huaimei insisted, her stubbornness making Li Cuihua’s face light up with glee.

Finally, she wasn’t fighting alone!

Li Cuihua quickly turned to Wang Shuhua, who was calmly uninvolved. “Second Sister-in-law, this is a family matter.”

“I trust the third son can handle it,” Wang Shuhua replied indifferently. She disliked village life and avoided household disputes whenever possible. If given a choice, she’d rather live a peaceful life in the city with Lu Huaide.

Her aloofness made Li Cuihua stomp her feet in anger.

Unfortunately for her, Lu Huaijing didn’t give anyone more chances to speak. His face was cold as he said, “Lu Huaimei, I barely know Lu Hongying. If every woman who claimed to be waiting for me expected me to marry them, should I marry them all?”

“Exactly. Your third brother is only one man, and polygamy is illegal,” Tang Wan quipped, watching the drama unfold with an amused expression.

She was entirely unaffected by Li Cuihua’s antics. After the wedding banquet tomorrow, she’d be leaving the village with Lu Huaijing. What others thought had nothing to do with her.

“I never said Third Brother should commit polygamy!”

Compared to Tang Wan’s composed demeanor, Lu Huaimei preferred the familiar and down-to-earth Lu Hongying.

“What do you even know how to do? What’s the point of you marrying into our family?”

“Get back to your room!”

Wang Dani yanked Lu Huaimei harshly, making her tear up from the pain.

“Mother, let her speak,” Tang Wan interjected, stopping Lu Huaijing and Wang Dani from defending her further. She spread her hands and decided to speak plainly.

“I know none of you like me. But I’m marrying Lu Huaijing, and as long as he’s willing to marry me, that’s enough.

I just don’t understand why you’re all jumping around like clowns. Have I eaten your food? Spent your money?”

“Haven’t you been eating our food these past two days?” Li Cuihua retorted, her heart aching at the thought of the extra mouths to feed.

“My husband isn’t broke, and he’s provided the ration tickets,” Tang Wan shot back, dropping her usual cheerful tone.

“Since Lu Huaijing and I are already legally married, I see no need to hold back my thoughts. I’m going to join him in the army. If you don’t like it, tough. In two days, we’ll be out of sight and out of mind.”

“You just got married. How can you join the army so soon?”

Li Cuihua had been mulling this over for days. Tang Wan going with Lu Huaijing would be more trouble than benefit. She’d end up taking care of Wang Dani alone, and there was no guarantee they’d send money and ration tickets back.

“If she wants to go, there’d better be a clear agreement on how much they’ll send each month,” she muttered.

“Why can’t she go?” Tang Wan asked rhetorically, her gaze landing on Lu Huaijing. “Explain to Sister-in-law while I change clothes.”

Without bothering further, she returned to her room, leaving the others to deal with the aftermath.

Li Cuihua’s face darkened. Lu Huaijing, however, calmly echoed Tang Wan’s words. “Sister-in-law, my wife’s decision is mine as well. If you have a problem with us, hold it in for two more days. After that, we won’t be here.”

“I… I don’t have a problem with you two.”

Li Cuihua desperately looked to Lu Huairen for support, but he ignored her.

She turned to Wang Shuhua, but Wang Shuhua simply led her children back to their room, unwilling to engage further.

Left with no allies, Li Cuihua awkwardly smiled at Wang Dani. “Mother, I’m just thinking of you. The third daughter-in-law hasn’t even served you for a single day.”

“I’m not so old that I need someone to take care of me,” Wang Dani replied sharply, her tone dripping with sarcasm. Then, she added, turning to Lu Huairen, “If you’re so dissatisfied with me, fine—take your wife and kids and get out!”

“Mom, I don’t mind.”

Although Lu Huairen was simple and diligent, he was unquestionably filial to Wang Dani.

Li Cuihua wanted to say something more, but Lu Huairen dragged her away, leaving the matter unresolved.

Lu Huaide patted Lu Huaijing on the shoulder. “Third Brother, Second Brother believes you can handle it.”

With that, he quickly slipped away. Family matters were indeed difficult to deal with.

With no one else around, Lu Huaimei, feeling isolated, said, “Third Brother, Sister Hongying really likes you.”

“You little rascal.”

Wang Dani smacked Lu Huaimei on the head. “You know your third brother is already married.

If she were sensible, she wouldn’t spread lies in front of you or have her father seek out your third brother.”

“Mom…”

Lu Huaimei tried to say something more, but Wang Dani grasped her weak spot and cut her off.

“If you keep spouting nonsense, you can stop going to school and come back to work. What’s the point of studying if you can’t learn to behave?”

“Big Brother, look at Mom…”

Lu Huaimei turned to Lu Huaiyi for help, but he simply held his book and went back to his room, clearly unwilling to get involved.

Inside the room, Tang Wan had changed her clothes. When she opened the door to go out, everyone had already dispersed.

Lu Huaijing was talking to Tang Zhou, his tone apologetic.

“Brother Lu, this has nothing to do with you.”

Tang Zhou grinned widely. “As long as you’re good to my sister, I don’t mind if others bully me.”

Tang Wan: …

She hadn’t expected her younger brother to be such a sweet talker.

When he noticed her coming out, Tang Zhou chuckled, “Sis, you guys chat. I’m going to the bathroom.”

He ran off quickly, showing no signs of being bullied.

Tang Wan couldn’t help but laugh. Smiling slightly, she said to Lu Huaijing, “Zhouzhou can be a bit mischievous. Don’t mind him.”

“He’s very clever,” Lu Huaijing replied, his eyes showing approval. Then he lowered his voice and said to Tang Wan,

“He’s strong and well-suited for the military. Once your family’s issues are resolved, he could give it a try.”

“We’ll let him decide when the time comes.”

Tang Wan never treated Tang Zhou as a naive child. Their family’s exoneration would take time.

By then, Tang Zhou would know what path he wanted to take.

“That works too.”

Lu Huaijing wasn’t the type to pressure others. Thinking about what the team leader had said earlier, he quickly explained,

“I’ve already made it clear to Lu Hongying’s family. There was never anything between us.”

“Did the team leader make things difficult for you?”

Tang Wan wasn’t naive. Seeing Lu Huaijing’s slightly off expression when he returned, she knew it wasn’t as simple as he made it out to be.

“No, the team leader isn’t that kind of person.”

Lu Huaijing sighed. While the team leader wasn’t unreasonable, his wife had blocked him and scolded him for being ungrateful, among other things.

There was no need to go into detail about that with his wife.

Tang Wan didn’t press further. With their wedding set for tomorrow, Lu Huaijing needed to inform his relatives.

Tang Wan, not wanting to deal with the whole Lu family, decided to stay in her room and relax. She entered her personal space.

This space came with a mall, which was the very same mall she used to own before her time travel.

Aside from her own supermarket, she rarely visited other floors. Taking the opportunity, she decided to explore.

The first floor was a supermarket with beauty products and snack shops.

The second floor housed jewelry and electronics.

The third floor featured clothing for men and women, as well as shoes.

The fourth floor was for children’s clothing and a play area.

The fifth and sixth floors were food courts, fully stocked with all kinds of ingredients, as well as a cinema.

Just as Tang Wan was enjoying herself, she heard knocking from outside. Reluctantly, she left her space.

When she opened the door, she was greeted by Lu Huaimei’s gloomy face.