Around them, the onlookers all nodded in agreement.
Whatever petty squabbles families in the compound might have, everyone knew what kind of man Lu Yanbei was.
“Exactly! Chen Zhu, when you got stuck up in a tree as a kid and couldn’t get down, it was Lu Yanbei who cut the branches so you could climb down. You’d better keep your wife under control. She has no filter at all. I think she needs a good dose of political education!”
No one wanted to provoke the crazy Hu Xing and have her cling to them like a leech, so they simply ignored her and addressed the invisible man standing beside her—Chen Zhu.
Chen Zhu didn’t dare speak.
Lu Yanbei chopped down the branch, I fell flat on my back… and now I’m supposed to thank him for it?
Forced into the spotlight, he tugged hard on Hu Xing’s sleeve.
“Listen to yourself. Hurry up and apologize.”
By now, the situation was obvious.
Liu Chunhua made the final decision.
“Hu Xing, your political awareness clearly needs improvement. Starting tomorrow, after work every day, you’ll report to the Security Department for ideological education classes.”
“You’ll attend until your thinking improves.”
Seeing that Hu Xing still wanted to argue, Liu Chunhua shot her a sharp look and raised her voice.
“What? Would you rather go to the Public Security Bureau?”
“N-No!”
Hu Xing shivered all over.
She didn’t dare utter another word and immediately lowered her head like a frightened quail.
In the end, she reluctantly apologized to Zhao Jinlan and the Lu family.
As for the medical expenses…
She refused to pay a single cent.
Pointing to her own swollen face and the scratches on her forehead, she argued,
“She already hit me back! What more do you people want?”
Finally, Zhao Jinlan shot her one last fierce glare, thanked Liu Chunhua, and marched home with her son, heads held high like victorious generals returning from battle.
The moment they stepped into the Lu family courtyard, Zhao Jinlan spat on the ground.
“What a nasty piece of work. With a poisonous mouth like that, she’ll poison herself sooner or later.”
“Grandma! Fifth Uncle!”
Da Ya had just finished cleaning the courtyard.
Seeing her grandmother’s sour expression, she didn’t dare approach.
She simply greeted them and stood quietly where she was.
Although Zhao Jinlan favored boys over girls, they were still her granddaughters.
She had never deliberately mistreated them.
Walking over, she gently patted Da Ya’s little face before taking a fruit candy from her pocket and handing it over.
“Good girl. Go back inside.”
“Thank you, Grandma.”
Receiving such a rare treat, Da Ya smiled sweetly before happily running back into the house.
From the kitchen, Li Zhaodi witnessed the entire scene.
She clenched the freshly steamed cornbread in her hand.
“Girls really are impossible to raise. The moment she gets something good, she doesn’t even think about sharing it with her own mother.”
No sooner had Zhao Jinlan sat down in the courtyard to catch her breath than she noticed Lu Yezhong trying to sneak away.
“Hey, you little brat! Get back here!”
Lu Yezhong’s escape plan failed.
He lazily kicked a pebble and leaned against the doorway without a proper posture.
“Mom, one of my classmates needs me.”
“What serious business could you possibly have?”
Zhao Jinlan frowned.
Glancing around, she happened to spot half of Li Zhaodi’s body sticking out from the kitchen.
The words she was about to say immediately changed.
“Come inside with me.”
The courtyard wasn’t large.
Naturally, every bit of conversation carried clearly into the house.
Lin Xiyun heard everything.
The Lu family was large, and Lu Aiguo was a workshop supervisor at the factory.
When housing assignments had been made, he’d pulled quite a few strings to secure them an entire private courtyard.
Still, every household in the compound lived close together.
Any bit of gossip spread almost instantly.
Based on the timeline, Lin Xiyun calculated that Lu Yezhong’s turn to be sent down to the countryside was approaching.
Originally, it should have been Lu Linan who was sent.
But she’d been clever.
She’d wrapped her current husband—Xie Zhenhua, the son of the deputy director of the Meat Processing Factory—around her finger.
The two had quickly married and registered their marriage.
Naturally, she no longer had to go to the countryside.
Just as Lin Xiyun was thinking about it, Lu Er Ya knocked gently on the door again and pushed it open a crack.
Only after receiving permission did she excitedly run to the bedside.
“Fourth Aunt! Grandma and Fifth Uncle went to argue with someone for you!”
Tilting her head, she thought for a moment before adding,
“With Auntie Hu.”
An argument?
Auntie Hu?
The one who had pushed the original owner seemed to be Hu Xing.
Lin Xiyun immediately understood.
Zhao Jinlan had taken her son to demand justice from the culprit.
Her mother-in-law wasn’t particularly kind to her daughters-in-law at home…
But she cared deeply about saving face.
Outside the house, she fiercely protected her own family.
Most importantly…
Lin Xiyun could easily guess Zhao Jinlan’s real goal.
Money.
She wanted Hu Xing to pay compensation.
If Lin Xiyun weren’t still “injured” and supposedly unable to move around, she’d have gone herself to settle the score.
Still…
Sooner or later, she’d personally make Hu Xing pay for this.
As for how the confrontation ended…
She didn’t even need to ask.
Zhao Jinlan was not the type to come home having lost.
Looking at Er Ya’s hopeful expression, obviously waiting for praise, Lin Xiyun reached out and gently rubbed the fluffy top of her head.
“You did a great job, Er Ya.”
“As for you secretly drinking my malted milk last time… we’ll let that go.”
Er Ya lowered her head shyly.
Twisting the patched corner of her clothes in her tiny fingers, she murmured,
“I’m sorry, Fourth Aunt.”
“I couldn’t resist that day.”
“It won’t happen again.”
Then she reached with all her strength toward the laundry basket nearby.
“Fourth Aunt, let me wash your clothes.”
Lin Xiyun hadn’t really blamed her.
She was only a child.
Besides…
The bamboo basket was almost taller than the little girl herself.
Lin Xiyun was a perfectly healthy adult.
She wasn’t heartless enough to exploit child labor.
She reached over and took the basket away.
Meeting Er Ya’s puzzled gaze, Lin Xiyun felt unusually guilty.
“Well…”
“You’ve already made up for it by bringing me the news.”
“How about you help Fourth Aunt pour me a cup of water instead?”
“Okay!”
Er Ya’s eyes curved into happy crescents.
Panting as she hurried to the little table nearby, she picked up a glass cup, carefully poured hot water from the kettle while standing on tiptoe, and gently handed it to Lin Xiyun.
“Here.”
“And this is your reward.”
Lin Xiyun reached beside the bed, took out a White Rabbit milk candy, and placed it into Er Ya’s palm.
The little girl’s eyes sparkled.
She quickly glanced around before hurriedly unwrapping it.
She bit off only half the candy and tucked it into her mouth.
Closing her eyes in satisfaction, she looked absolutely adorable.
Lin Xiyun guessed the other half was being saved for her older sister.
Er Ya’s father, Lu Gongxi, sometimes stayed at school during lunchtime.
There was no chance she was saving it for Li Zhaodi.
Only after finishing the candy did Er Ya quietly sneak out of the room like a little thief.
After she left, Lin Xiyun quickly climbed out of bed, locked the doors and windows, and drew the curtains shut.
Most households still covered their windows with newspaper.
The original owner, however, had used whole pieces of cloth as curtains.
Luxury indeed.
Next, Lin Xiyun moved several bricks from the left corner beneath the bed and pulled out a small iron box.
She had already figured out where the original owner kept most of her belongings.
Cloth, canned food, milk candy…
All the good things were locked inside the bedside cabinet.
The cabinet itself contained only a few yuan in loose change and several food ration coupons that were close to expiring.
After thinking for quite a while, she’d finally remembered where the real money was hidden.
Opening the iron box, she found a neat stack of ten-yuan bills along with scattered coins and smaller notes.
She counted everything.
Then stared blankly.
“How can someone spend money this recklessly…”
Lu Yanbei sent her sixty yuan every month.
Over three years, that totaled two thousand one hundred sixty yuan.
The electric fan alone had cost eighty.
She’d also commissioned several large wardrobes and all kinds of furniture.
Add in all her food, clothes, and daily spending…
And now…
Including the loose change…
Only a little over one hundred yuan remained.
Lin Xiyun: “…”
Judging by the timing, the original owner had just collected this month’s allowance and hadn’t spent it yet.
Which meant…
Her actual savings were only about forty yuan.
Sometimes…
When you were completely speechless…
All you could do was laugh.
She silently stored the iron box inside her Spirit Spring Space.
Even mosquito legs were still meat.
At least she had some money for now.
After putting the bricks back into place, her stomach began growling.
She made herself a bowl of malted milk, ate two peach pastries, and finally felt a little better.
Afterward, she climbed back into bed for more rest.
At lunchtime, Zhao Jinlan stood with a ladle, serving food to everyone one by one.
Zhang Lijuan noticed that one bowl had been set aside separately.
Unlike everyone else’s, it contained white rice.
She frowned and nudged her husband with her elbow.
Then subtly gestured toward the bowl.
Lu Jiandong paused for a moment.
Everyone knew exactly who that bowl was reserved for.
He understood what his wife meant.
But he remained silent.
After all…
His younger brother’s wife had just been injured.
As her elder brother-in-law, it wasn’t appropriate for him to argue over something like that.