Chapter 37

When they entered the house, Lu Dashan, pressed for time, couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to Lu Xiujuan.

He walked over to the wardrobe, took out a key, and opened the cabinet door. Inside, he pulled out a small wooden box. The box was about the size of two palms, but it was locked with a large lock, clearly indicating it contained something valuable.

Sure enough, when Lu Dashan opened the box, Lu Xiujuan saw a large stack of money inside. There were various denominations, but what caught her attention were the bundles of “big reunions.” She quickly glanced at one bundle and estimated there were about ten bills in each, meaning a hundred in total.

There were six such bundles!

Adding up the scattered loose change, Lu Dashan’s savings must have been at least six hundred, perhaps even seven hundred!

Lu Xiujuan couldn’t believe her parents had this much money. It wasn’t sixty; it was six hundred!

In the countryside, a family might not even make a hundred in a whole year, and after expenses, they would barely have any money left. Yet, her parents had so much.

What’s more, they had always acted poor in front of her. Even when she was getting married and wanted some money as her private stash, in case she was short when going to her in-laws, they refused, citing their financial hardship.

But now, looking at this, it wasn’t that they were poor—clearly, they just didn’t want to give her any and preferred to save it for her brother.

This thought made Lu Xiujuan feel a surge of jealousy.

Lu Dashan had his back to her and didn’t notice her expression. Though Jiang Guihua noticed it, she was slow-witted and assumed Lu Xiujuan was simply shocked.

She quickly reminded her.

“This is the money your father and I saved over our lifetimes. It’s our last reserve. Don’t tell anyone, not even your husband, understand?”

Lu Xiujuan’s expression was unreadable, and instead of responding right away, she asked, “Mom, Dad, is all this money really from your own savings?”

Jiang Guihua and Lu Dashan were startled by this question. Without thinking, they immediately replied, “What nonsense are you talking? If this money is not saved by us, where else would it come from? Do you think it just fell from the sky?”

Their faces were tense, as if afraid Lu Xiujuan might notice something wrong.

But to their surprise, Lu Xiujuan didn’t echo their words. Instead, she directly asked, “But I remember that the money the brigade got in a year was less than fifty, and my brother spends more than fifty every year. How could you have saved this money?”

Jiang Guihua and Lu Dashan’s faces truly changed this time. They stared at Lu Xiujuan, panicked and shocked.

“You little brat, what do you mean by that?” Jiang Guihua snapped.

Lu Xiujuan smiled lightly as she replied, “Nothing. I’m just curious. After all, Mom and Dad, I’m your real daughter. Do you really think I would have bad intentions? Would I ever do anything harmful to you?”

Her tone was light and friendly, and she didn’t sound suspicious at all. Given that she had always been obedient in her parents’ eyes, even to the point of enduring everything they said, they quickly relaxed their guard.

“Anyway, don’t worry about it. This money didn’t come from stealing or robbing. It’s from legitimate sources, so just keep it quiet,” Lu Dashan said, not wanting to dwell on it further. He then reluctantly took out three hundred yuan from the box.

Because he had taken part of the money, some receipts at the bottom of the box were now more visible.

Lu Xiujuan quickly noticed an old withdrawal slip with the name of a military district on it.

Her eyes flashed as she finally confirmed the source of the money and felt she had completed the task Wang Chengwu had given her.

She took the money from Lu Dashan and left.

However, Lu Dashan and Jiang Guihua were still uneasy. They followed her to the village entrance and only relaxed once they saw her hand the money to Wang Chengwu.

After that, the couple went back to the fields. What they didn’t know was that, after they left, Wang Chengwu and Lu Xiujuan turned back toward the Lu family home.

But this time, they didn’t enter Lu Dashan’s house. They went next door to Lu Chen’s house instead.

When they arrived, Meng Xuan had already been waiting for a while.

Seeing Wang Chengwu and Lu Xiujuan, he immediately invited them inside.

This wasn’t Lu Xiujuan’s first time in Lu Chen’s yard, but her feelings this time were very different from before. She wasn’t sure whether this was the last time she would ever step foot in this house.

After all, after today, she might never return to Nanjiao Brigade, and there might never be another chance to visit Lu Chen’s home.

While Lu Xiujuan was lost in thought, Wang Chengwu had already briefed Meng Xuan about the events that had just transpired at Lu’s house. When he confirmed that Lu Xiujuan had seen the withdrawal slip inside the box, Meng Xuan nodded.

“Alright, since we have proof, it will be easier to handle.”

What they had been most concerned about was evidence. Bringing Lu Xiujuan in was to use her as a witness.

But with physical evidence, things would be even better. After all, witnesses can change their testimony, but physical evidence is irrefutable. It’s written in black and white, with no room for argument.

Wang Chengwu thought the same way. With physical evidence, everything would be much smoother.

“Comrade Meng, should we just call Comrade Lu Chen back right now, or…?”

Wang Chengwu really didn’t want to drag this matter out any longer. After all, the longer it dragged on, the more likely something new could go wrong.

Meng Xuan didn’t want to waste time either. He nodded and then said to Meng Yinyin, “Go call Lu Chen back.”

Meng Yinyin froze for a moment, her eyes widening as she pointed at herself.

“Me?”

“Who else? You’re his girlfriend, aren’t you?” Meng Xuan said with a cold tone.

Meng Yinyin sighed, “Fine, I’ll go.”

What’s with the sarcasm? Really!

Pouting, Meng Yinyin was about to turn and leave when she heard Meng Xuan call her back.

“Are you just going like that?”

Meng Yinyin gave him an annoyed look.

What else should she do? Should she change clothes or fix her hair?

She gave him a look of displeasure, but Meng Xuan said, “Come here, I’ll teach you what to say.”

With her clueless expression, he was worried that she would just go and ask Lu Chen to come home without any real impact. If that happened, then what was the point of sending her, his “girlfriend,” to do this?

So, Meng Xuan took a moment to teach her a few “useful” lines.

The lines were so shocking that when Lu Chen heard them later, he was completely stunned.

But he wasn’t the only one shocked. The other members of the brigade who heard this were also dumbfounded.

What do you mean, Educated Youth Meng’s brother doesn’t like Lu Chen because he’s poor and doesn’t want them together?

He even said Lu Chen’s uncle is rich, and his father used to get a military allowance. How could Lu Chen be worse off than his uncle?

Then he said Lu Chen should ask his uncle for money, or else Meng Xuan would never allow him to be with Meng Yinyin!

Lu Chen quickly realized what Meng Yinyin was trying to do. He understood and quickly played along.

Suddenly, Lu Chen put on a panicked and desperate expression, pleading with Meng Yinyin.

“Don’t be angry, I’ll work harder.”

Seeing that he caught on, Meng Yinyin had no choice but to continue acting.

“It’s no use talking to me. You need to go back and talk to my brother. If you can’t get any money, we’re done!”

After saying this, Meng Yinyin quickly turned and ran, putting on a sad and distressed expression, even though her scalp was going numb from the awkwardness.

The only thing she was relieved about was that Lu Chen would follow up and handle things afterward. Otherwise, she wouldn’t know how to face everyone’s gaze.

After Meng Yinyin ran off for a while, Lu Chen immediately stood up from the field, looking around anxiously, seemingly searching for the brigade leader.

A kind auntie who saw him said, “It’s alright, you should go after Educated Youth Meng. We’ll tell the brigade leader about your leave later.”

“Yes, yes, you don’t need to work today, but if your wife runs off, it’ll be bad.”

“Quickly go and talk things over with Educated Youth Meng and her brother. This can’t be delayed!”

The people who usually wouldn’t dare speak to Lu Chen were now all chattering and giving him advice.Seeing this, Lu Chen immediately nodded to express his gratitude to them, and then immediately chased in the direction where Meng Yinyin disappeared.

Once Lu Chen was out of sight, the others couldn’t help but start discussing the matter.

“I told you, Meng Xuan looks like someone capable. How could he let his sister marry someone like Lu Chen? Sure enough, he’s come here to cause trouble,” one person said.

“Yeah, Educated Youth Meng is a bit delicate, but she’s beautiful, and her brother is in the army. With a capable brother-in-law, isn’t that a good deal?”

“Too bad Lu Chen is poor. I don’t know if their marriage will actually work out. Ugh, I can’t even bear to think about it!”

Although they knew there was a big gossip happening right in front of them, they could only work and couldn’t enjoy the fresh gossip firsthand, which made everyone anxious.

But even though they couldn’t witness the drama in person, they enjoyed it just as much while working in the fields. Soon, the story of Meng Xuan’s disdain for Lu Chen’s poverty spread throughout the entire brigade.

Even Lu Dashan and Jiang Guihua, who had just returned to the fields, knew about it.

Their first reaction was to mock Lu Chen.

He deserved to be looked down upon by Meng Xuan!

They had already told him that someone like him didn’t deserve to be with Meng Yinyin. He should have given her to Wang Chengwu, but he didn’t listen. Now, it was clear that he was being rejected. Serves him right!

But before they could enjoy this mockery for too long, they realized the topic seemed to involve them as well.

“Lu Dashan, Lu Chen is your nephew. Don’t you think you should help him out? You can’t just stand by and watch his hard-won relationship fall apart,” one person said.

“Yes, yes. If you ask me, you, as an uncle, are also wrong. You built such a nice house next to the old house and let Lu Chen live in the old house. Now, when Educated Youth Meng’s brother sees it, he’ll compare the two houses and feel increasingly upset.”

“I thought your family was doing well financially. Why not lend some money to Lu Chen? After all, he’s family, and he’ll repay you.”

The brigade leader had long been displeased with Lu Dashan. His house was grand, and he even had a son who was treated like the young master. People could only imagine how wealthy his family must be.

Normally, everyone would just murmur behind his back, because if they spoke openly, others might accuse them of being envious.

But now, things were different. With a ready-made opportunity to gossip, they were eager to talk.

So, everyone began to speak in a mocking tone.

Lu Dashan, hearing these comments, naturally felt upset. He knew their intentions were driven by envy of his family’s situation.

But despite understanding their motives, he also felt a bit nervous. After all, only he knew how his family came by everything they had.

So he could only suppress all his emotions and said impatiently: “Okay, he’s already such a grown-up, how can he not handle such a small matter? Besides, who said I won’t help him? I will definitely go over to check on him when I get home from work at noon. I’m not an uncle for nothing.”

“You should all worry more about your own affairs.” he added, and then, with a stern face, refused to say anything more.

The others, not really wanting to make things awkward with Lu Dashan, lowered their heads and went back to work after exchanging a few words.

Seeing this, Lu Dashan thought he had successfully brushed the matter aside.

However, not long after, he saw Jiang Guihua rushing over from where she worked, looking frantic. She shouted at him, “You’re still here working? The house is almost being broken into! Why aren’t you rushing home?”

“What?”

It took Lu Dashan a moment to process Jiang Guihua’s words. Seeing his confusion, she cried out again, “Lu Chen has lost his mind. He says he wants to borrow money from us, claiming he knows we have money. He saw us lend money to our in-laws and now he won’t stop unless we lend him some too!”