Chapter 138 Contribution
As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw Lu Xiaohui bragging to Li Xuemei: "I helped them find Dabao, and to thank me, they specially sent me a jar of freshly made pickled vegetables!"
As for learning the craft by stealing his skills, Lu Xiaohui didn't mention it at all. Shen Hongmei's example was right there in front of her, and she didn't want to repeat the same mistake. This skill had to be kept to herself and used as a bargaining chip for a future comeback.
Gu Mansheng frowned and said with disdain, "Just a jar of pickled vegetables? You saved Liu Dabao's life, and this is what they're going to give you?"
Li Xuemei rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "The Liu family giving eggs and pickled vegetables to the whole village is already a big gesture. Do you think we country folk are like you capitalists, throwing money around like it's nothing?"
Gu Mansheng stared coldly at Li Xuemei: "You proposed the pickled vegetable business, and I found the buyers. Now that you can't deliver the goods, let's see how you clean up the mess when the state-owned factory comes knocking! When the Lu family is emptied out, then you can go and negotiate a grand unity with them!"
Li Xuemei's face changed, and she panicked: "What? It's that serious? Can't we just quit? They can find someone else to do it, why are they targeting us so much?"
Gu Mansheng's eyes flickered. Taking advantage of these country folk's lack of knowledge about contracts and deposits, she threatened, "This is called breaking your promise! You promised the boss something, and now you're backing out? Aren't you treating the boss like a fool? Can you bear this crime?"
Li Xuemei was jolted awake. After thinking about it carefully, she realized that it made sense. She was immediately at a loss: "What should we do? The pickled vegetables are all rotten. Where am I supposed to conjure them up for them?"
Gu Mansheng's eyes darted around, and she looked at Lu Xiaohui: "How about we have my eldest sister talk to the Liu family? You're Liu Dabao's savior, so we can use that favor to pressure them into making a batch for us! It'll be a bit late, but as long as we can deliver the goods, it's better than leaving it blank!"
Upon hearing that there was a chance, Li Xuemei immediately turned to look at her daughter.
Lu Xiaohui's face was full of resistance.
Are you kidding me?! She already has the real formula and is planning to go solo and make a fortune. Why should she have to clean up Gu Mansheng's mess?
Seeing that she remained silent, Gu Mansheng flared up: "Don't play dead! You tried to shift the blame for that pile of rotten pickled vegetables to me last time, but I haven't settled that score yet! This business was ultimately started by you and your daughter, and now you want to walk away unscathed? Dream on! If this falls through, I'll drag the entire Lu family down with me! You will be the sinners of the Lu family!"
Li Xuemei shuddered in fright and quickly tugged at Lu Xiaohui's sleeve, pleading in a low voice, "Girl, why don't you... go and talk to the Liu family?"
Lu Xiaohui abruptly shook off her mother's hand and sneered, "Now you remember I'm your daughter? When you forced me to marry that abusive man and made me swallow my anger, why didn't you think of me as your daughter? Now that you're in trouble, you come to me? No way!"
She stared at Gu Mansheng, her eyes resolute: "Want to drag the Lu family down with you? Go ahead! I've long since stopped wanting to stay in this family! And don't even think about using me as a pawn. I will never use the debt of saving the child to blackmail the Liu family!"
Lu Xiaohui snorted coldly and stormed out, bumping into Lu Jianping and Lu Huaiyuan.
Lu Jianping frowned and immediately scolded, "What kind of behavior is this, so reckless! Don't think you can get away with anything just because you saved someone this time!"
Lu Xiaohui paused, then quickly grasped the key point: "Dad, I've done a good deed?"
Lu Jianping snorted, his face stern, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up: "Well, the commune heard about it and said that you did a good deed and they're going to give you a certificate of merit."
Lu Xiaohui sneered: "Fine, then we'll have the commune send the certificate directly to my in-laws' house."
After saying that, she turned around and was about to go back to her room to pack her things and leave.
Lu Jianping was dumbfounded and grabbed her, saying, "What's wrong with you? You're a daughter of the Lu family, why should the award certificate be given to the Li family? Get back here!"
Lu Xiaohui, however, was unconvinced and said sarcastically, "Someone is forcing me to use this credit to blackmail the Liu family. Father, do you think this is something I should do?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Jianping and Lu Huaiyuan both turned to look at Li Xuemei and Gu Mansheng beside them.
The father and son instinctively felt that this was another bad idea from Li Xuemei.
Lu Huaiyuan rebuked her with righteous indignation: "Mother, you've gone too far! My sister saving people is an act of kindness and a glorious deed! How can you use it to blackmail people? That's too despicable!"
Lu Jianping chimed in, "That's right! If word gets out, the award will definitely be lost, and we'll be the laughingstock of the whole village! Xiaohui has finally brought some honor to the family, and you can't stand to see her doing well, can you?"
Seeing that the two men in her family were unusually on her side, Lu Xiaohui's lips curled into a sarcastic smile.
Sure enough, these people are "one family" only when it comes to family interests.
Gu Mansheng had always been pampered and treated like royalty by the father and son, and she was furious when she saw them actually speaking up for Lu Xiaohui.
"Who are you cursing? Who am I doing all this for?! Do you think business in state-owned factories comes from thin air? I begged my uncle so many times to make connections, all to gain favor with the leaders and pave the way for you to get into the police station! And now, I'm the one being called a despicable person?"
The father and son were stunned for a moment, and their expressions changed instantly.
Lu Huaiyuan stammered, "Xiaoman... I didn't know it was you! I thought it was Mother..."
Lu Jianping quickly put on a smiling face: "Yes, yes! It's usually your mother-in-law who gives orders, I didn't expect it to be you... Don't be angry, it's all for the sake of this family, let's discuss it again."
Upon hearing this, Li Xuemei was furious and slammed the broom to the ground.
"What do you mean?! So if it's my idea, I should be criticized, but if it's Gu Mansheng's idea, it's for the sake of the family? Fine! I've been a slave to the Lu family my whole life, and now I have to serve my daughter-in-law like she's an ancestor. What's the point? Isn't it just so my son can make something of himself? And now that things aren't even settled yet, you're already starting to look down on me?"
Before Li Xuemei could finish speaking, Lu Jianping slapped her across the face.
"Smack!"
Li Xuemei was stunned by the beating, covering her face and looking at her husband in disbelief.
Lu Jianping glared angrily: "What have you contributed to this family? How dare you take advantage of me? Isn't your daughter-in-law busy with everything for us? Stop trying to sow discord here!"
Li Xuemei laughed in anger, tears welling up in her eyes: "Fine! Very well! This capitalist's daughter never tells a word of truth, only you two treat her like royalty! Since you treat her like a treasure and me like trash, then I'm done living here! I'm leaving this house!"
After saying that, she shoved Lu Xiaohui aside, rushed into the house, hastily packed a few clothes, and ran back to her parents' home without looking back.
Lu Huaiyuan instinctively wanted to chase after her, but when he saw Gu Mansheng wiping away tears, he immediately turned around to comfort his wife.
Lu Jianping learned the seriousness of the breach of contract penalty from Gu Mansheng and panicked, turning his gaze to Lu Xiaohui again.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com