Chapter 109 – Aunt Liao Borrows a Bicycle
Having said that, it brought a lot of trouble for no reason. Now, it seemed difficult for her to live in a low-key manner in the countryside for the next few years.
However, thinking about this now was too late; she could only take it one step at a time.
Lu Xia sighed, “You have no objection to renting it?”
“No problem, it’s up to you,” Jiang Junmo quickly replied.
Lu Xia smiled at his response and then explained, “I’m not being petty, but the way they asked was too presumptuous. They treated the bicycle as if it was a public property for the educated youths here. They were trying to morally manipulate us, so I had to push back.”
Jiang Junmo laughed, “I know, what you did was right. If we lent it once due to face-saving, it would become a recurring thing. We’d be forced to keep lending it, and eventually, the bike would become everyone’s public property.”
“That’s right!” Lu Xia nodded. “The villagers might come to borrow it too, and when that happens, we’ll handle it the same way.”
“Okay.”
Lu Xia smiled when he agreed so readily, “If you feel embarrassed to say no, just push it to me. After all, in our home, I have the final say.”
Jiang Junmo felt a bit shy hearing that but still nodded with a smile, “Yes, in our home, you have the final say!”
Lu Xia couldn’t help but chuckle.
However, she guessed right; the next day, someone from the village came to borrow the bicycle.
The person who came was someone she didn’t know well; they had never spoken before, but she knew the person – it was Aunt Liao from the village.
Aunt Liao acted as if she owned the place as she entered Lu Xia’s yard, looking around as if searching for something. Then she said directly, “Hey, Educated Youth Lu, where’s the bicycle? Hurry up and bring it out. I want to take it home for my youngest son to learn to ride. He’s going on a blind date tomorrow, and it’ll look impressive if he rides a bicycle.”
Lu Xia was taken aback by Aunt Liao’s presumptuous tone, and her lips twitched. She replied, “Sure, Aunt Liao, I’ll get it for you right away.”
“Yes, yes, go get it. I wonder if he can learn to ride in a day,” Aunt Liao said.
Lu Xia didn’t move and continued, “Has Aunt Liao prepared the money?”
“What money?”
“The rental fee for the bicycle!”
“What rental fee?” Aunt Liao looked confused.
Lu Xia’s expression remained calm as she explained, “I mean renting our family’s bicycle. You asked to borrow it, right, for your second son’s blind date?”
Aunt Liao paused for a moment and then realized, “Rent? What rent? I asked to borrow it; I won’t rent it!”
Lu Xia smiled and said, “I’m sorry then. Our family’s bicycle is for rent, not for borrowing. I mentioned it yesterday, and all the educated youths know about it. I thought Aunt Liao knew as well.”
“What nonsense is this? I didn’t know! It’s just a bicycle, and we’re all villagers. How can you ask for money to lend it? Why are you so stingy? Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at by others?”
But Lu Xia remained unfazed, “Don’t worry Aunt Liao, I’m not afraid of being laughed at. Twenty cents for a one-time rental, non-negotiable.”
“What nonsense is this? Twenty cents for a one-time rental? Are you out of your mind?”
Lu Xia remained composed, “That’s the price, take it or leave it. If you can afford it, then rent it. If not, sorry, we won’t lend it.”
Aunt Liao was getting angry and played her last card, “I won’t talk to you anymore. Where’s Educated Youth Jiang?”
She then shouted inside the house, ” Educated Youth Jiang, come and see your wife. What’s this nonsense? We’re all villagers, and you ask for money to borrow a bike. Don’t you care about how you’ll be treated in the village from now on?”
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Chapter 110 – Spreading the Word
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Lu Xia sneered, “Calling him won’t help, I have the final say in our home.”
After saying that, she noticed that Aunt Liao was still persistent, so she deliberately raised her voice to reprimand toward the house, “What are you lingering in there for? Come out when you’ve finished cleaning. Can’t you see we’ve run out of water at home? Hurry up and fetch some!”
Then, to Aunt Liao’s surprise, Jiang Junmo, who didn’t reply no matter how loud Aunt Liao yelled just now, immediately responded from inside the house, “Got it, I’ll go right away.”
And he came out with a bucket in hand, ignoring Aunt Liao completely, and went straight to fetch water.
Aunt Liao in the yard was stunned and then became even more angry. She cursed a few times, and left knowing that things could not be changed.
Before leaving, Lu Xia jokingly suggested, “Since Aunt Liao doesn’t want to rent, you can go to the Village Committee to borrow. We’re all villagers, and they should lend it to you.”
Aunt Liao choked upon hearing that. If the Village Committee could lend the bicycle to others, she would have borrowed from them long ago. In fact, the Village Committee hadn’t lent out the bicycle in years.
By now, Aunt Liao also knew that Lu Xia wasn’t easy to deal with. She left with a cold expression, but she didn’t intend to let Lu Xia off easily. She planned to spread the word in the village and make sure Lu Xia had a tough time!
After she left, Lu Xia breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Jiang Junmo when he came back with the water, “Thanks for cooperating just now.”
Jiang Junmo laughed, thinking about how she pretended to make him fetch water just moments ago.
Though it was all an act, he found himself enjoying it.
“But won’t you offend her by doing that? Aren’t you afraid she’ll badmouth you in the village?” he asked.
“I’m not afraid. It’s actually good if she spreads the word. It lets everyone in the village know that I can’t be easily fooled. I bet other people won’t have the guts to come and borrow the bike in the future,” Lu Xia explained.
“And as for my reputation, I don’t care. I’m already married, and they know I have a bad temper. They won’t dare to provoke me, so it’ll save us a lot of trouble.”
Hearing her explanation, Jiang Junmo felt reassured.
As it turned out, just as Lu Xia predicted, Aunt Liao went back and couldn’t let go of her anger. She soon spread the story with exaggerations.
Now everyone knew that Lu Xia’s bicycle was only for rent and that she wasn’t easy to deal with.
Moreover, after getting married, she also had Jiang Junmo firmly under her control. He dared not move a muscle without her approval and had to do all the housework.
Everyone sympathized with Jiang Junmo, and they depicted Lu Xia as a fierce and formidable woman.
Even when Jiang Junmo went out, he received many sympathetic looks.
However, Lu Xia didn’t care. No matter what others said, she never changed her stance and continued with her “rent-only” policy.
Gradually, everyone realized that Lu Xia was a force to be reckoned with.
Typically, young people in unfamiliar places would want to get along with the locals and even flatter them. In such circumstances, they’d find it hard to refuse or give in due to saving face, ultimately allowing the villagers to achieve their goals.
But Lu Xia was the opposite. She didn’t care about others’ opinions and remained unaffected. As a result, others had no choice but to accept it.
Seeing her attitude, some people secretly pondered that this girl was not easy to deal with, and it was no wonder that Jiang Junmo didn’t fancy the girl from the Shi family.
Thank you for the chapter ♡(∩o∩)♡