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Chapter 42
What?
Lu Chen’s words stunned everyone present except Meng Xuan.
Quick-thinking individuals quickly caught on to Lu Chen’s meaning. He planned to use Lu Dashan’s possessions and house as collateral for the debt.
It wasn’t a bad idea at all.
Lu Dashan, however, was slower to react. When it finally dawned on him, his expression changed dramatically. He looked at Lu Chen in disbelief and demanded, “Lu Chen, what do you mean? Are you trying to take over my home?”
Lu Dashan knew he shouldn’t speak to Lu Chen in this tone. It would have been wiser to stick to his earlier humble and apologetic demeanor.
But at that moment, as he realized Lu Chen intended to claim his home and belongings, he couldn’t contain himself.
How could Lu Chen be so heartless? Was he a bandit who robbed homes?
Lu Dashan’s anger boiled over.
In his view, he had lived in this house for decades, and everything inside had been acquired through his efforts, even if it was with money taken from Lu Chen’s father. He had already promised to repay the debt and write an IOU, so as long as he repaid the money, the house and everything inside should remain his.
Besides, if Lu Chen took the house and belongings, where would his family live? Would they have to sleep out in the fields? How could Lu Chen be so ruthless?
“Take over?”
The word made Meng Xuan laugh aloud, drawing everyone’s attention.
Meng Xuan didn’t hold back. As he saw Lu Dashan glaring at him angrily, he smiled and said, “Sorry, I can’t help laughing when I hear something ridiculous, like what Comrade Lu Dashan just said.”
“You call Lu Chen’s suggestion to use the house and furniture to offset the debt ‘taking over’? If I’m not mistaken, wasn’t this house and everything valuable inside bought with Lu Chen’s father’s compensation money? Shouldn’t these things rightfully belong to Lu Chen?”
Exactly!
Everything Lu Dashan owned was purchased with Lu Chen’s father’s money. How could taking back these items be called “taking over”?
Moreover, using these items to reduce the debt was beneficial for Lu Dashan, as it lessened his burden.
With this reasoning, everyone agreed that Lu Chen was quite clever.
The brigade leader and the commune leaders found Lu Chen’s proposal reasonable and firmly said, “Lu Chen’s idea works. Let’s go with it. Since everyone is here, let’s help assess the value of these belongings and the house, then calculate the remaining debt.”
“Brigade leader, comrades, this isn’t fair! If you give these things and the house to Lu Chen, where will we live? We can’t possibly sleep out in the fields!”
Lu Dashan refused to accept their decision. He couldn’t bear to give up his prized and grand house, the only one of its kind in the brigade.
Beside him, Jiang Guihua trembled with rage. Her glare at Lu Chen was filled with venom, as if she saw him as a thief stealing from their family.
But Lu Chen paid her no attention. After the brigade leader announced the decision, he joined the others to discuss the valuation of the house and furniture.
After much deliberation, it was agreed that Lu Dashan’s house was worth 800 yuan, and the furniture and miscellaneous belongings were worth 200 yuan. Together, the courtyard and its contents were valued at 1,000 yuan.
Adding this to the 500 yuan in cash Jiang Guihua had given earlier, Lu Dashan’s family now owed only 1,500 yuan, half of the original debt.
While 1,500 yuan was still a significant amount, it was much less than the initial 2,500 yuan. The brigade leader and the commune leaders were satisfied with this outcome, but Lu Dashan and Jiang Guihua were on the verge of losing their minds.
“No! I won’t agree! This house belongs to us! How can it be given to someone else? This is my home, my home!”
Jiang Guihua broke down and screamed hysterically, her shrill voice making everyone frown deeply.
Seeing that Jiang Guihua was about to create more trouble, the brigade leader sternly interrupted her.
“That’s enough, Jiang Guihua! Shut your mouth!”
“You keep saying this is your home, but if it weren’t for the money Lu Chen’s father left behind, would you have this house? Would you even have this home?”
“You only managed to get this house by stealing the money that rightfully belonged to Lu Chen’s father. To put it bluntly, you and Lu Dashan are nothing more than thieves who took what wasn’t yours to live here. Now that the rightful owner wants the house back, where do you get the audacity to stay here and refuse to leave?”
The brigade leader’s words mercilessly stripped away the last shred of dignity from Lu Dashan and Jiang Guihua, leaving them utterly humiliated.
Looking around, though no one spoke, their expressions clearly mirrored the brigade leader’s stance.
Ultimately, Lu Dashan glanced at Lu Chen’s cold and indifferent face, then at the impatient expressions of the brigade leader and the commune leaders. Under Jiang Guihua’s anxious gaze, he reluctantly nodded.
“Okay… I’ll give this house back to him. I’ll give it back to him, okay?”
“But once I hand over the house, where am I supposed to live? I can’t just sleep on the streets…”
Lu Dashan glared at Lu Chen, his eyes practically burning with fury, as he demanded an answer.
Lu Chen, unfazed, replied in a calm tone, “The old house still has one room left.”
Lu Dashan instantly understood what Lu Chen meant. But what did he mean by only one room being left in the old house? Did Lu Chen not intend to hand over the entire old house to him?
Was he only allowed to live in one room? Did Lu Chen even have a heart?
The brigade leader, however, silently glanced at Lu Chen after hearing this and chose not to comment further.
He understood very well that given how Lu Dashan had treated Lu Chen, there was no way Lu Chen would generously offer the entire old house to him.
After all, both Lu Chen and Lu Dashan were part of the Lu family and shared inheritance rights to the old house.
Even with Lu Chen now reclaiming the new house, the old house still partly belonged to him. Why should he give it all to Lu Dashan?
Seeing that neither the brigade leader nor the commune leaders objected to Lu Chen’s words, Lu Dashan felt a cold chill sinking into his heart.
He realized he had no choice but to accept this reality.
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Ayalee[Translator]
**•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚***•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚
He should be glad he still gets a room there, that inheritance could have also been used to make up for some of his debt.