Chapter 36

At this moment, at Lu Dashan’s house next door.

Lu Dashan and Jiang Guihua had just left, but were quickly called back by their eldest daughter, Lu Xiujuan.

When they returned and saw her standing at the door, they were immediately alarmed.

Especially since it was only a little past 8 AM, and seeing her home at this hour meant that she must have left the town early, probably around 5 AM when the sky was just getting light.

So early in the morning, there must have been some urgent matter that required her to rush back!

Even though Lu Dashan and Jiang Guihua were both eager to earn work points, they were more concerned about Lu Xiujuan.

Their main worry was, of course, her in-laws’ side.

Seeing her come back with a troubled face, Jiang Guihua and Lu Dashan immediately asked:

“What’s going on? Why are you back so early?”

“Did you make a mistake at the Wang family? Did they kick you out?”

“Speak! Did you offend your in-laws? You’re such an idiot. I knew you’d mess things up. You were lucky enough to marry someone from the city, and now you’re ruining it. Useless girl!”

Before Lu Xiujuan could explain the situation, Jiang Guihua had already started scolding her.

After all, in her mind, her daughter Lu Xiujuan was someone who had nothing to her name. The thing that made her most proud in her life was that she found Wang Chengwen as her son-in-law. It was because of this marriage that Jiang Guihua treated Lu Xiujuan a bit better.

However, now that Jiang Guihua realized her daughter couldn’t even manage this marriage properly, she was furious.

Truth be told, Jiang Guihua didn’t care whether her daughter married well or how her life turned out. What really mattered to her was whether her son-in-law could support her precious son in the future.

The four members of the Wang family are all workers. Obviously, according to their conditions, they can easily arrange a job in the city for her precious son Lu Jinbao.

That’s why Jiang Guihua and Lu Dashan had been so kind to Lu Xiujuan and Wang Chengwen. They had to be good to them, especially since their son’s future job depended on them!

But now…

Just thinking about how Lu Xiujuan’s mistake might ruin her son’s job made Jiang Guihua so angry that she immediately slapped Lu Xiujuan’s arm twice.

The slaps were hard enough to leave red marks on her arm.

However, when facing her parents’ scolding and physical punishment without explanation, Lu Xiujuan had already gotten used to it.

In fact, when they treated her this way, she felt a strange sense of joy and even wanted to laugh.

After all, as long as they were ruthless and shameless enough, when they found out what she had done, they would no longer have the courage to scold her!

Ignoring the pain in her arm, Lu Xiujuan said blankly to her parents.

“I came back this time because there’s an issue with my in-laws.”

As soon as Lu Xiujuan admitted this, Jiang Guihua and Lu Dashan were completely shocked.

It was over! They feared their relationship with the Wang family might collapse, and what would happen to their son’s future?

While they were lost in these thoughts, Lu Xiujuan continued.

“Dad, Mom, we still have some money, right? Could you lend me some? My mother-in-law said she wants to borrow some to smooth things over and get a new position.”

What?

Lu Dashan and Jiang Guihua were both stunned by this news.

“Lend money? Where would we get money from? Are you crazy?” Jiang Guihua shouted in disbelief.

“The Wang family are all workers! How could they not have money? Are you trying to trick us? Explain yourself!”

Jiang Guihua didn’t believe that the Wang family would randomly ask them for money.

Other matters could be dealt with, but once money was involved, Jiang Guihua had to be on full alert.

Lu Dashan remained silent, but his expression showed that he shared Jiang Guihua’s doubt. He didn’t believe it either and didn’t want to lend the money out.

Lu Xiujuan knew it wasn’t easy to borrow this money, as her parents prioritized money above all else.

But fortunately, her brother-in-law Wang Chengwu had given her advice, and she could follow his plan.

She looked at her parents without changing her expression and said, “I have no reason to lie to you. Actually, my brother-in-law is waiting at the village entrance. If you don’t believe me, I can call him over.”

Wang Chengwu had indeed come with Lu Xiujuan, but to allow her to handle the situation properly and to avoid being unable to extract answers from Jiang Guihua and Lu Dashan, he had temporarily left and was waiting at the village entrance.

When Jiang Guihua and Lu Dashan heard that someone from the Wang family had come, they became anxious.

“The Wang family is here? Why didn’t you say so earlier!”

Jiang Guihua was afraid that Wang Chengwu might have overheard their conversation and was worried.

Is he really at the entrance of the village, not inside the house, nor outside?”

Lu Xiujuan pulled the corner of her mouth.

“If you don’t believe me, you can go outside and check for yourselves.”

Lu Dashan hesitated for a moment, but not fully trusting her, he went to the door and peeked outside. When he saw that Wang Chengwu wasn’t waiting there, he felt relieved.

But realizing that Lu Xiujuan had said Wang Chengwu was at the village entrance, he understood that the Wang family might be too shy to come inside to ask for money, so they waited at the village entrance.

Thinking this, Lu Dashan couldn’t resist and quickly ran outside to the village entrance. Sure enough, he saw someone holding a bicycle by the entrance, and that figure was clearly Wang Chengwu.

Once Lu Dashan saw Wang Chengwu from a distance, he could no longer doubt it.

He didn’t expect that what Lu Xiujuan said was actually true. The Wang family actually came to them to borrow money?

But how could the Wang family be without money? Why would they lower themselves to borrow money from them, their country relatives?

Lu Dashan couldn’t make sense of it and hurried back inside to voice his doubts.

Lu Xiujuan’s explanation was reasonable.

“The Wang family isn’t poor, but their money is all in fixed deposits.”

Lu Xiujuan had only learned about fixed deposits the day before, but it didn’t stop her from explaining it as if she understood perfectly.

After explaining, she managed to convince Lu Dashan and Jiang Guihua, who finally understood that the Wang family wasn’t out of money, but simply didn’t want to touch their savings at the moment. They would be able to withdraw the money and give it to Lu Dashan after some time.

Hearing this, Lu Dashan couldn’t help but let out a big sigh of relief. However, he soon began to feel conflicted.

The money Wang’s family wanted to borrow wasn’t much—just three hundred yuan. In a typical rural household, three hundred yuan might not be a significant amount, but their family, due to special circumstances, still had some savings.

Even though they had already spent a large portion of the money they had, the remaining two or three hundred yuan, along with the savings from the hard work he and his wife had done over the years, made it possible to lend the money without too much difficulty.

The problem was, how could they explain where this money came from if they suddenly took it out?

And if they didn’t lend it, would Wang’s family become resentful?

After all, their son’s future and career would still depend on Wang’s family. If they offended them now, it could cause trouble for their son in the future.

Lu Dashan couldn’t make up his mind and decided to have Lu Xiujuan wait outside. He gave a subtle signal to Jiang Guihua, asking her to come inside so they could discuss the matter further.

As the couple entered the house, Lu Xiujuan didn’t stop them. She just couldn’t help but remind them as they walked through the door.

“If my mother-in-law’s situation improves, it will be much easier to handle things in the future.”

The implication was clear—finding a job for her younger brother would also be simpler.

This remark hit the mark with Lu Dashan and Jiang Guihua, causing them to lean more toward agreeing with the idea of lending the money.

However, they still needed to discuss things carefully, as three hundred yuan wasn’t a small amount.

Meanwhile, next door, Meng Yinyin and Meng Xuan had already overheard the conversation and were well aware of the Lu family’s situation.

The siblings were both very sharp-eared. Not only could they hear everything clearly from next door, but they also guessed what Wang Chengwu and Lu Xiujuan were planning.

Meng Yinyin pressed her ear to the wall and whispered to Meng Xuan.

“Brother, once they take out the money, can’t we just move in and collect it?”

Meng Xuan glanced at her in disdain and replied in the same low voice.

“I think it would be faster for you to go back and dream.”

If Lu Dashan and Jiang Guihua were this easy to convince, they would have already returned everything to Lu Chen. They wouldn’t have waited until now, still holding on with thick faces.

“Then should we just pretend we don’t know about it and not get involved?”

Meng Yinyin was still hoping to jump out later and scold Lu Dashan and Jiang Guihua.

Meng Xuan could see right through her little scheme and replied, “Don’t worry, there will be plenty of chances for you to get revenge.”

She hadn’t even really married Lu Chen yet, and here she was, worrying about him and getting anxious about his matters.

Meng Xuan wouldn’t admit that he felt a little sour about it.

At that moment, Lu Dashan and Jiang Guihua came to a decision and walked out of the room.

“We’ll lend the money.”

It was Lu Dashan who spoke. He looked at Lu Xiujuan and said in a deep voice, “Even though we’re relatives, there’s a saying that even brothers should settle accounts clearly. So, I’ll lend the money, but we need an IOU. Go and tell the Wang family that if they’re willing to write one, I’ll lend them the money. If not, then I can’t help.”

Just as Lu Dashan finished speaking, he saw Lu Xiujuan take a piece of paper out of her pocket.

At the top of the paper, the word “IOU” was clearly written.

Lu Dashan’s eyes widened in surprise.

“The IOU has already been written and signed by the Wang family. Dad, don’t worry. What kind of people do you think they are? They wouldn’t just borrow money and not pay it back, would they?”

Lu Xiujuan looked at him with a half-smile, and her expression made Lu Dashan feel uneasy, as if she were mocking him for being too suspicious.

However, he couldn’t deny that her boldness made him feel less anxious about it.

After glancing at the IOU and confirming that everything seemed fine, he turned to head inside to get the money.

Just then, Lu Xiujuan spoke up.

“There’s no time. I’ll go in with you. We still have things to do in town.”

Lu Dashan certainly didn’t want Lu Xiujuan to know where they kept their money, but seeing her impatience, he sighed.

“Dad, I’m married now and I don’t have any keys anymore. Do you really think I can come back and steal your money?”

Of course Lu Dashan refused to admit that he thought so in his heart, but thinking that Lu Xiujuan really didn’t have much chance to come back often, and she was also a member of the Wang family, it wouldn’t be a big deal to offend her too much, so that she wouldn’t say bad things about them in the Wang family.

In the end, he could only say it with a deliberately stern face.

“Fine, fine. What are you thinking all the time? Who said you wanted to steal money? Come in then!”

With that, Lu Dashan opened the door, and, with Jiang Guihua’s worried gaze, he led Lu Xiujuan inside.

It was the first time in years that her parents had allowed her into their room, and Lu Xiujuan felt a sense of relief, though a strange feeling of imbalance stirred in her heart.

Her younger brother could go into any room he wanted without needing permission, even her parents’ room. He probably even knew where their money was hidden!

But for her, she had always been treated like a thief, and only now, because she had married into the Wang family, did her parents no longer treat her the same way. They were allowing her to enter.

Thinking this, Lu Xiujuan became even more determined that she would never leave the Wang family.

Only by staying in the Wang family can she avoid being despised and looked down upon!