Chapter 5: Lu Yang, why don't you just rob someone?
“Lu Yang, why don’t you just rob someone?”
“5,000 yuan? How could you even say that? You’re just a lousy carpenter. Working for my father, you get 150 yuan a month, and that’s only because you’re his apprentice who finished your apprenticeship. Other carpenters only get a little over 100 yuan a month. Even if you worked for my father for two years, without eating or drinking, you’d only save at most 3,000 yuan.”
“But now you’re asking for 5,000 yuan with just one open mouth. Are you saying I wouldn’t dare report you to the police for extortion?”
Yin Mingzhu’s reaction was much greater than her Mother-in-law’s.
Even Ma Xiulan, his mistress, hadn't shown any reaction yet, but she was already impatiently shouting loudly.
Saliva sprayed directly onto Lu Yang's face.
He frowned, his face turning grim, and he retorted sarcastically, “What, Yin Mingzhu, is this household yours to manage now? My master and his mistress are still here. Even they haven't spoken yet. When is it your turn to speak?”
“You, Lu Yang, you are shameless.”
Yin Mingzhu was furious.
A promising university student, she now looked exactly like a shrew.
Lu Yang finally released Yin Mingyue Meimei's warm little hand, which he had been holding in his palm, and stood up with a mocking expression. His 1.81-meter height, in a world where most of the small southern people were only 1.5 to 1.6 meters tall, seemed very oppressive. Even if Yin Mingzhu was fiery, she couldn't help but step back.
“You, you, what do you want to do?”
Lu Yang chuckled, “What are you afraid of? Do you think I’ll hit you? Don’t worry, I don’t hit women. Even if you’re a cultured hooligan, I can’t be an uncultured male hooligan, can I? That would make me just like you!”
Yin Mingzhu's lips turned purple with anger, but ultimately, fearing the pressure of Lu Yang's masculine hormones, she turned her face away: “I won't engage in a war of words with you.”
“Hmph!”
Lu Yang sneered, “You won’t engage in a war of words with me, but I insist on having a good talk with you. You say I’m shameless, fine, I’ll be shameless for you to see. The current situation is that the Yin is looking for a live-in son-in-law, and you voluntarily withdraw, but I am still willing to marry a Yin daughter, so the younger sister naturally takes your place.”
Lu Yang squeezed Yin Mingyue Meimei's hand beside him slightly.
“In the future, when Master and his mistress pass away, the family business left behind by my Father-in-law and Mother-in-law will naturally be inherited by me and Mingyue Meimei. Now I’m just asking for some money to put away before marriage. Why are you, the eldest Sister-in-law, jumping out so impatiently? What business is it of yours, an outsider?”
Yin Mingzhu's face turned pale, and she was so aggrieved that she almost vomited blood.
But Lu Yang's killing intent wasn't enough; he then exaggeratedly pretended to be surprised: “Did I guess wrong? Is it that you, eldest Sister-in-law, are not unwilling to have a live-in son-in-law, but just unwilling to have me? One day, even if I am already the Yin’s live-in son-in-law, and Master and his mistress already have successors, you would still be very willing to bring another live-in son-in-law back. You are determined to split at least half of the Yin’s family fortune in the future, aren’t you?”
As soon as the words fell.
Yin Mingzhu herself was stunned: Did I? Did I really think that?
Even his mistress began to look at her with suspicious eyes, as if saying, “Big girl, do you really think that?”
5,000 is a lot, a very large sum of money.
Just now, Lu Yang proposed to ask for such a large sum of money as compensation for him to agree to this marriage, changing the older sister to the younger sister, to save the Yin’s face and not delay tomorrow's wedding date.
His mistress was startled.
When did a rural family ever spend 5,000 silver dollars to marry a wife? Even for a live-in son-in-law, there's no need to spend so much, right?
Even a millionaire couldn't withstand such squandering.
However, when Lu Yang raised his doubts, and the eldest daughter was again speechless, it immediately made Ma Xiulan herself confused.
Is it that 5,000 really isn't too much?
Outside the house, Yin Laohan, who was hiding and eavesdropping at the door, had a mess of wrinkles on his old face trembling, almost catching a mosquito leg that flew past his old face. At this moment, his heart was in turmoil, and he also really wanted to know.
What exactly is the eldest daughter in the room thinking?
A troubled household means no prosperity for livestock.
Only when family members live in harmony can the family business flourish.
Yin Laohan understood this simple truth passed down by his ancestors, but he was afraid that the eldest daughter didn't. With this current drama, even if there's no trouble now, if it causes trouble later, it means the Yin’s ancestors didn't accumulate virtue, and he, Yin Laohan, would be destined to lose face in front of the villagers.
Yin Mingzhu’s voice came from inside: “When, when did I ever say such a thing? You… you wish to sow discord! I am my parents’ daughter, so how am I an outsider? Besides, whether a married daughter or a daughter living at home, both are my parents’ daughters. Only someone like you, Lu Yang, who hasn’t read much, would cling to these feudal dregs. My parents will realize sooner or later that as long as a daughter is filial, it’s the same no matter where she is.”
That’s why one should read more. Yin Mingzhu’s eloquence, after the initial panic, became smoother and more self-righteous as she spoke, making it sound as if Lu Yang was in the wrong and being unreasonable.
But one thing she absolutely did not mention was whether or not she wanted the Yin’s property.
“Tsk tsk tsk.”
Lu Yang clapped his hands: “Clap clap clap clap… Well said.”
Then he turned around and looked towards the door, where the afternoon sun cast a clearly visible shadow of the hiding Yin Laohan.
“Master, I think this marriage can proceed, but perhaps being a live-in son-in-law should be reconsidered? If I truly become the Yin’s son-in-law, Mingyue Meimei and I will naturally dutifully care for you two elders. However, if Mingzhu Meimei is not too keen, I fear it might cause discord in the household later. What do you say, Master?”
“Cough, cough, cough.”
Yin Laohan knew that he couldn't stay hidden any longer.
The golden afternoon sun shone on the doorway of this farmhouse courtyard, stretching the old man's shadow longer and longer, until his entire sun-baked, yellowish face was revealed.
Yin Laohan's expression was very complex. He tapped his pipe on the doorstep, his gaze sweeping past his wife, past his stubborn eldest daughter, and lingering for about a breath on the youngest daughter, who sat on the edge of the bed looking slightly nervous. Then it fell directly on Lu Yang, who met his gaze with no sign of nervousness. He said dryly, his voice slightly hoarse, “Son, are you really not going to reconsider?”
Now it's no longer just the eldest daughter who has thoughts in her heart.
Instead, it's Lu Yang, this young man whom he watched grow up. The timid look in his eyes from before has disappeared, and not a trace of fear can be seen. If it were yesterday, he would have been very happy that his child had grown up, but now, the other party's eyes tell him that his child has not only grown up, but has also become estranged from him. If he were to force the issue today, he fears… The marriage might not happen, and instead, resentment might be created!
Lu Yang, of course, had no mind to ponder his master's inner journey at this moment. He only wanted to clarify things quickly so he could implement the plan he had long decided on.
“Master, you just heard it outside. It’s not that I’m unwilling to be this live-in son-in-law, but Yin Mingzhu simply isn’t prepared. She’s unwilling to marry me, and she’s unwilling to let the younger sister marry me. Master, you are the millionaire of the village, and the furniture factory business has been flourishing in recent years. If it were me, I probably wouldn’t be willing to hand over this family business to an outsider.”
After speaking, Lu Yang gave a self-deprecating smile.
But what was unknown to others was that he was actually very nervous inside.
It was very difficult to persuade his master, because his master was not only very rigid, but also stubborn. Having a live-in son-in-law was like a national policy for the Yin. If he opposed it alone, it would be useless. Even with the younger sister, Yin Mingyue Meimei, it wouldn't work. Even his mistress could only be an outsider. Only Yin Mingzhu, another descendant of the Yin who was directly concerned with this interest, could have her desires aroused and make her stand up to oppose it. Then his master would have to seriously consider it.
Is it to forcefully recruit a live-in son-in-law?
Offend all future generations and cause the household to be forever in turmoil?
Or is it to settle for the next best thing, follow Lu Yang's suggestion, turn the live-in son-in-law into a good son-in-law, and from then on, everyone will still be a loving family?
This was Lu Yang's overt scheme.
A millionaire meant nothing in later generations, but it was 1988, less than ten years after the reforms began. Yin Mingzhu was not some domineering female CEO of later generations, but a rural female student who had just been admitted to Peking University. She herself didn't know where her future would lead. High-flown talk was fine, but that was limited to expressing ideals. Her dreams were still very vague, but in this countryside, there was indeed a clod of earth, a throne, that could be inherited.
It was fine that Lu Yang didn't mention it.
She might not have thought of it, after all, this was something that would happen decades later. Even if Lu Yang married into the Yin, it would still be a long time before he inherited this family business.
However, once it was mentioned, Yin Mingzhu would subconsciously follow Lu Yang's line of thought: “If I leave, and only leave behind my silly younger sister and this live-in son-inlaw, then will I have to look at his face if I want to ask my parents for more living expenses in the future?”
“Also, if my parents pass away a few years earlier, then will there be no place for me, Yin Mingzhu, to settle in this house anymore?”
This is also very realistic.
Surely, she wouldn't expect her Sister-in-law, who was also someone she didn't get along with, to pay for her future tuition fees, right?
So it's no wonder Yin Mingzhu was greedy. As long as she couldn't be sure that she would quickly make a name for herself after going to the capital and no longer have to haggle over the trivial value of this small workshop worth only tens of thousands of yuan in her eyes, she simply couldn't completely ignore it.