Seeing Grandma Lu and the others come home, Lu Yuning hurriedly followed after them.
Lu Yuting was still a little disappointed. “Why did you yell so quickly? I hadn’t even made a move yet.”
Lu Yuning: “…”
“How about I tell Grandpa that you wanted to go fight someone?”
Lu Yuting: “…”
Lu Yuning snorted and ran over to Father Lu. Tilting her head up, she called, “Dad, Dad…”
Father Lu smiled and bent down to pick her up. “What is it?”
Lu Yuning wrapped her arms around Father Lu’s neck and said with a mischievous smile, “Dad, Third Brother just told me that he was going to…”
Lu Yuting immediately realized something was wrong and rushed forward. “Dad, I just thought that I should go to work this afternoon too. I can help you pull weeds and stuff.”
Father Lu: “…”
“I’m not going to work this afternoon. I still have to go to Hongping Brigade to work.”
“Then I’ll go with you. I can help you carry bricks.”
Lu Yuting hurriedly said, smiling extremely ingratiatingly. “Dad, I’ve grown up. I can help you work now too.”
Father Lu smiled. Of course he knew what these two children were up to, but sometimes adults didn’t have to fuss over every little thing.
“Alright. Then you come with me this afternoon. I’ll give you two cents.”
Lu Yuting had originally only wanted to stop his little sister from telling on him. He hadn’t expected to get a promised payment from his father as well, so his smile immediately became even brighter and much more sincere.
“Okay, Dad. I’ll definitely work hard.”
Father Lu shook his head with a smile.
Mother Lu gave him an exasperated look. “You just spoil them.”
Father Lu kissed Lu Yuning’s cheek. “They’re my own children. So what if I spoil them? Besides, it’s only once in a while. It’s not like I’m really like Ninth Sister-in-law.”
Mother Lu curled her lips. “Ninth Sister-in-law really gets more unreasonable as she gets older. How can she treat the children like that? Isn’t she just bullying Ninth Uncle’s eldest son?”
Father Lu snorted. “That’s why I said he’s stupid. If he’s still this stupid after what happened today, then he really can’t be saved.”
Up ahead, Grandma Lu was also asking Grandpa Lu, “Why did you get into a fight?”
Grandpa Lu answered in a muffled voice, “I heard that Ninth Sister-in-law came looking for trouble with you. I got angry.”
Grandma Lu was helpless and amused. “Don’t you know me? Can I suffer a loss?”
When they were young, she would still take into consideration that the two families were clan relatives and such. But now?
Forget it.
Grandpa Lu still spoke in a muffled voice. “The reason you didn’t suffer a loss is because you’re capable. But that doesn’t mean Ninth Sister-in-law can come looking for trouble whenever she wants. You don’t owe her anything!”
The main reason was that the two families had gone through things like this in the past as well. Afterward, Grandpa Lu no longer wanted to put up with it.
Not even a little bit!
Especially when someone bullied Grandma Lu. Even if Grandma Lu didn’t actually suffer, he would still be angry!
Grandma Lu’s smile grew wider. “Alright, enough. Let’s forget about it today. But next time, don’t be so impulsive. We’re not young anymore. What if you don’t manage to hit someone and end up hurting yourself instead? What would we do then?”
Grandpa Lu looked at her seriously. “I can still fight!”
Grandma Lu burst out laughing. “Alright, alright, I know you can fight. Honestly…”
Seeing that there was nothing else going on, Eldest Aunt Lu also returned to continue making dinner. By this point, the food was almost finished cooking.
Only then did Second Aunt Lu remember. “Oh dear, Eldest Sister-in-law, I’m sorry. I should have been the one to come.”
Eldest Aunt Lu smiled. “Alright, it’s fine. Are Mom and Dad alright? Are Second Brother and Third Brother alright too?”
“They’re fine. Hmph, how could Ninth Uncle and Ninth Sister-in-law possibly be a match for Mom and Dad? And Ninth Uncle’s eldest son is even less of a match for Second Brother and Third Uncle.”
Only then did Eldest Aunt Lu relax. “Then hurry up and wash up and eat. We’ve been at this for so long. Everyone must be hungry and tired.”
Lu Yuchun and Lu Yuping simply told Lu Yuning, “I’m going home to eat.”
Then they ran off.
Eldest Aunt Lu: “…”
“I was planning to give them two sweet potatoes.”
“Forget it. It’s only a few steps away. If they want to go home and eat, then let them.”
Grandma Lu washed her hands, while Grandpa Lu and the others also put down what they were carrying and washed their faces and hands. Soon, everyone sat around the dining room and started eating.
Lu Yuwei and the others had either gone to school or gone out to look for work. At this time, aside from Lu Yuting, there were no other children at home.
Lu Yubai had to go to town today for a competition exam, so he wasn’t there either.
Lu Yuning had already gotten down from Father Lu’s arms and was now sitting on a tall stool, eating.
Only then did Grandma Lu tell everyone, “Yuxin sent a letter saying that everything at home is fine. Yuxin’s wife also found a job in the army. She works in the cafeteria doing odd jobs, and she gets ten yuan a month…”
After Second Aunt Lu and Mother Lu heard that, they immediately said, “Then we should send Yuxin some dried vegetables and such. I remember Yuxin’s wife likes eating them the most.”
“Mm. And some cured meat too. Since Yuwei is getting married this time, we can buy more meat and make some cured meat to send to them…”
Grandma Lu nodded with a smile.
This was what a family should be like. There was give and take, and no one took advantage of anyone else. That was how they could continue getting along harmoniously.
Thinking of the family next door, Grandma Lu sneered inwardly.
She was waiting to see Ninth Uncle’s good show.
Hmph!
The fight today had a fairly big impact on the two families, but for everyone else in the brigade, it didn’t have much effect.
It was just that whenever members of the two families met now, they no longer greeted each other, much less spoke to each other.
Everyone else continued interacting as usual.
That was simply how things were in the countryside.
They were all neighbors and fellow villagers. Unless someone was directly involved, the others wouldn’t take sides because of it.
Nor would they drag other people into the matter.
But what no one expected was that Ninth Uncle’s eldest son still moved away with Ninth Aunt.
They moved to a piece of wasteland at the foot of the mountain, where they hurriedly built a mud-brick house and temporarily lived there.
Because of this, Ninth Uncle’s eldest son was also delayed from going to Hongping Brigade to work with Fifth Uncle Lu. He only managed to catch the last three days of work.
This made Ninth Uncle’s eldest son even angrier!
If Ninth Grandma hadn’t caused all that trouble, how could he possibly have missed the work?
Even then, it was only because he repeatedly pleaded with Fifth Uncle Lu that the latter finally agreed to take him along.
Thinking about it made Ninth Uncle’s eldest son feel even more frustrated.
Meanwhile, Fubao had already been brought back by Second Uncle Ninth.
After seeing his own father and mother get into such a fight, Second Uncle Ninth also remembered the things from his childhood when Ninth Grandma had treated him differently.
Sometimes, it was better not to think about those things. Once he did, however, it made him feel uncomfortable.
The fact that Second Uncle Ninth had been willing to become a live-in son-in-law was already enough to show just how much of a problem there had been.
It wasn’t that he truly had no temper. It was just that, in the past, his eldest brother and parents had never cared about those things, so there was no point in him making a fuss either.
But now that Ninth Uncle’s eldest son and his wife were taking the matter seriously, he naturally had to take it seriously too.
The difference between who was close and who was distant was now obvious.
Fubao was the most aggrieved.
She didn’t understand how, after being away for only a few days, everything at home had changed when she came back.
Not only had her eldest uncle and eldest aunt moved away, they had even taken Fifth Brother and the others with them and stopped paying attention to her.
What made her even more upset was that Second Uncle Ninth and Second Aunt Ninth no longer doted on her as much as before.
Third Uncle Ninth and Third Aunt Ninth still loved her just as much, but things were still different from before.
Previously, everything had been prioritized around her.
But now?
Fubao discovered that her parents treated her brothers better than they treated her.
Only Ninth Grandma was still the same as always. But even so, Ninth Grandma could no longer buy her as many tasty things.
With Lu Da no longer sending things back, even if Ninth Grandma had money in her hands, she still couldn’t buy the biscuits and candies that weren’t even available at the supply and marketing cooperative for Fubao to eat.
And Fubao had already gotten used to having these things.
So when they suddenly disappeared, how could she not feel wronged?
Fortunately, she could still pick up rabbits, wild pheasants, and such in her daily life. At home, she would still be given an extra chicken leg or an extra egg to eat.
But her little cousin, Lu Shier, no longer took her out to play.
Every day, he either went to work in the fields, went to school, or studied.
In short, he always had an excuse not to take her along.
Slowly, even Lu Shisan stopped taking her out as often.
—After all, how much patience could a boy have for playing with his little sister?
Lu Shisan was about the same age as Lu Yuting. If there hadn’t been Lu Shier, whose personality was good enough to accompany her, he wouldn’t have taken his little sister around with him in the first place.
In the past, Lu Shier would accompany Fubao to play, or Lu Shier would insist on bringing Fubao along before Lu Shisan was willing to play with the others.
And Lu Shisan was considered something like the leader of the children in the brigade. If he wanted to bring Fubao along, the others could only accept it.
But now that Lu Shier no longer took her along and Lu Shisan didn’t have the patience for it, he naturally didn’t want to take Fubao along either.
So Fubao could only stay at home with Ninth Grandma.
And Ninth Grandma, to be honest, if she had the patience to take care of children, she wouldn’t have dumped Fubao on Lu Shier and Lu Shisan in the past.
In just a few days, Fubao became dirty and disheveled, no longer as clean and good-looking as before.
Seeing Fubao like this, Lu Yuning became even more suspicious of the storyline given to her by the system.
Was this really the heroine of a Fortune Child story?
Was she really the one everyone doted on?
The more Lu Yuning looked at it, the stranger it seemed.
However, Lu Yuning merely kept an eye on things secretly. She didn’t dare let her guard down, much less sympathize with or pity Fubao.
—She always felt that if she got close to the heroine, she would repeat the original host’s fate.
But she never expected that even though she didn’t want anything to do with Fubao, Fubao would still end up dragging her into it.
That day, Lu Yuning, Lu Yuchun, and Lu Yuping had drawn a hopscotch grid in the courtyard. They were holding stones and hopping around when Fubao appeared at the doorway, her eyes red as she looked at them.
Lu Yuning turned her head and saw her, almost falling onto the ground.
She steadied herself, quickly finished her turn, and planted both feet firmly on the ground. Then, holding the stone, she frowned at Fubao.
“What are you doing?”
Crying at her doorstep?
How unlucky was that?
Fubao immediately burst into tears!
Lu Yuning: “…”
Lu Yuchun and Lu Yuping were both stunned.
Lu Yuning: Actually, I’m pretty confused too, okay?
They had no idea what was wrong with Fubao. Why had she suddenly started crying for no reason?
Fubao sobbed as she looked at them.
“You’re all bad! Why won’t you let me play with you?”
“I used to give you all my good food to eat. Why won’t you let me play with you?”
Lu Yuning: Confused.jpg
When had she ever eaten anything Fubao gave her?
Lu Yuping was equally confused. She had never eaten anything from Fubao either.
Lu Yuchun, however, looked somewhat guilty.
She frowned and glanced at Fubao, then looked at Lu Yuning.
“Yuning, how about we play with her?”
Lu Yuning frowned.
She didn’t want to have anything to do with Fubao, but Lu Yuchun and Lu Yuping were still children too. They didn’t know what the original plot was supposed to be like, so at this moment, they were somewhat soft-hearted and sympathetic toward Fubao.
This made things difficult.
Sigh…
But before Lu Yuning could figure out what to do, Ninth Grandma had already shouted as she ran over.
“Fubao! Fubao! What happened? Did they bully you?”
As she spoke, she picked up Fubao and comforted her, then glared fiercely at Lu Yuning.
“I knew it! The Tenth Household is jealous of me, and you little brat are jealous of my Fubao too, aren’t you? Let me tell you, you can dream all you want, but you’ll never be able to compare with my Fubao!”
Lu Yuning: “…”
Fine.
There was no need to struggle over it anymore!
With someone like Ninth Grandma, she absolutely didn’t want to invite trouble.
Hmph! Bullying a child, was she?
She was a child too!
Lu Yuning suddenly burst into tears.
Her voice was even louder than Fubao’s, and all the surrounding neighbors could hear her. She even startled Lu Yuping and Lu Yuchun, who were standing right beside her!
“Grandma! Grandma! Ninth Grandma is bullying someone!”
Grandma Lu shot out from the back courtyard like a whirlwind.
Standing beside Lu Yuning, she glared with wide eyes.
“Ninth Household, are you looking to die?!”
The moment Ninth Grandma saw her, she immediately picked up Fubao and ran!
Grandma Lu: “…”
Lu Yuping & Lu Yuchun: “…”
Lu Yuning: “…”
She hadn’t even managed to cry out any tears yet.
Why did she run away already?