Mother Lu glanced at them several times, but no one looked at her. They continued chatting enthusiastically, as if they hadn't spoken in ages.
"Cough cough..."
Unable to hold back any longer, Lu's mother coughed twice, giving a signal.
When Yu Yin and the others heard Lu's mother's voice, they all looked at her, wondering what she wanted to say.
"By the way, Dad, is there something you need to tell us?" Brother Lu asked, voicing everyone's concerns.
They call everyone over late at night without saying what it's about, and people have to ask them first.
"Well, Shukang is getting married soon, and your mother wants you guys to give her your opinions." Even Mr. Lu himself felt a little awkward saying this. They were getting married, what were they supposed to advise him on?
"Marriage, so sudden?" Lu Shurui didn't expect this. He hadn't been divorced for long, and now he was getting married. Would his two children accept it?
"It wasn't that sudden. We've been dating for a while now. Xiaohui is a dutiful and family-oriented woman, a hundred times better than Wang Mengyao!" Mother Lu's habit of praising one and belittling the other is something she can't shake.
"Mom, why are you bringing that up? It's all in the past." Lu Shukang felt uncomfortable when his mother mentioned Wang Mengyao again. After all, she had given him such a big and brightly colored hat, how could he be willing to accept it?
"I'll tell you what's wrong. Xiaohui is better than Wang Mengyao anyway," Lu's mother muttered indignantly before leaning back in her chair.
"Big brother, sister-in-law, second brother, second sister-in-law, second sister, second brother-in-law, I've called you all here today to discuss buying a house for Mom and Dad." Lu Shukang greeted each of you in turn, and the purpose became clear.
"Buy a house? What kind of house?" Sister Lu asked in surprise. Her parents already had a house!
"This isn't Xiaohui, but my girlfriend. She's also divorced and has a five-year-old daughter, so there's no room for her at home. My parents are quite used to living here, mainly because the buildings here have running water, which is convenient." Lu Shukang talked for a long time but didn't get to the point.
"Pick the main point: why do Mom and Dad want to buy a house? They can't fit here, don't they already have a house?" Sister Lu questioned.
“Our house doesn’t have running water, and Mom isn’t used to it. It just so happens that the house next door is for sale, and I was thinking of buying it for Mom and Dad so they can live together and take care of each other.”
Lu Shukang had already made plans. He would let his two sons and parents move in, which would make the house much more spacious.
"So you're planning to have Mom and Dad move in with Xiang Qiang and Xiang Wei, and you'll be living with someone else's kids?" Brother Lu's voice rose an octave. He didn't know what Shu Kang was thinking. What would Xiang Qiang and Xiang Wei think then? Their mother was gone, and their father was someone else's again.
“Brother, you can’t say that. We live next to each other, so aren’t we living together?” Lu Shukang was exposed by his brother, but he still tried to argue.
"So you're planning to continue having your parents help you take care of the kids while you live your own life? Lu Shukang, look back, your parents are over sixty years old, their hair is all white. Shouldn't they enjoy their retirement?" Lu Shurui didn't care how he planned to live, but he couldn't bear to leave his parents, who were getting old.
"Second brother, I had no choice. I didn't want a divorce either. I wanted to live a good life too!" Lu Shukang felt wronged. Of all his brothers and sisters, he was the one who was having the worst time.
"Didn't Mom help take care of the kids before you got divorced?" The second sister cut to the chase, delivering a precise blow.
Lu Shukang had nowhere to vent his grievances!
Yu Yin, her sister-in-law Lu, and her second brother-in-law didn't say a word; they were outsiders. Yu Yin was just there to watch the spectacle, as long as it didn't involve her.
"How can you be such good older brothers and sisters? Your younger brother is getting married, and you treat him like this. I want to buy a house, and I want to live in an apartment building with running water, why can't I? I've raised you all, why can't I buy you a house? You all!" Mother Lu couldn't stand seeing others make things difficult for her youngest son, her precious darling.
"Mom, that's not reasonable. We're buying a house, not a cabbage. Houses are so expensive now, not like they used to be, costing only three or two thousand. You want us to buy a house? We still have to make a living, don't we?" Sister Lu was going crazy. How much wealth could they possibly have?
"It's not like you're the only one paying. Can't you brothers and sisters each contribute a little?" Mrs. Lu muttered discontentedly.
"Lu Shukang, how much is the house you like?" Brother Lu didn't want to talk to his mother about those things; it was pointless.
"Eighteen thousand coins. House prices are rising fast these days. It's a fixed price, no bargaining." Lu Shukang's voice was soft and lacked confidence.
"Eighteen thousand..." Brother Lu repeated several times.
“Mom and Dad, when you divided the family property, you said that the three of us brothers would each have a room in the old house, and that Shumin and Shuxia would not get a share, and that they wouldn’t have to pay for our retirement. Now, there’s no reason for Shuxia to pay for the house, so the 18,000 yuan should be split equally among the three of us brothers, 6,000 yuan each.”
"Six thousand? Where are we going to get six thousand yuan?" Sister-in-law Lu exclaimed in surprise.
"Don't speak yet, let me finish," Brother Lu stopped his wife.
“Our monthly salary is only about two hundred yuan. After food and drink expenses, how much is left? We also have children to raise. You want to buy a house worth 18,000 yuan a month. Isn’t that making things difficult for us? I can’t do it. I can’t ruin my own life just to meet your demands.” Brother Lu refused righteously.
Lu Shukang turned his gaze to Lu Shurui, his purpose self-evident.
“You don’t need to look after me. I’m still in school, and the school salary isn’t much. I can’t help you. Shukang, if you want to get married, you have to overcome these things. The child is your own; you can’t rely on your parents for the rest of your life. You can’t let the child feel abandoned by his father; that would be too pitiful.” Lu Shurui felt sorry for his two nephews, who had grown up in such an environment.
"You don't have it? Your family owns a big factory and lives in a mansion, how could you not have ten or twenty thousand yuan?" Lu's mother exploded upon hearing Lu Shurui's words. Their main purpose today was to get Lu Shurui to pay for the house; the others were just there for show.
"Mom, that's Yinyin's factory, not mine." Lu Shurui had realized by now that they were being targeted.
“Isn’t hers yours too? Isn’t it the same? You’re just stingy and don’t want to buy us a house.” Mother Lu said this as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"No, that's not true. What's mine is mine, not yours. Don't covet what doesn't belong to you. Besides, don't you feel ashamed to ask a country bumpkin like me for money?"
Yu Yin's lighthearted words made Lu's mother blush and speechless.
Her own words from back then still echo in my ears, constantly resonating.
The room was quiet; no one spoke. Yu Yin looked around but didn't see Lu's father or the two children.
Mr. Lu didn't show up for a long time, probably taking the two children outside for a stroll. I don't know if he didn't want to participate or if he was afraid the children would hear. In any case, only Mrs. Lu and Lu Shukang were in the room, fighting for their lives.
The situation became incredibly awkward!
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