Chapter 681: Chapter 668: Slapping the Transmigrator (23)
Xiao Yuan was feigning drunkenness, but Lu Gui was genuinely drunk.
When people get drunk, they tend to spill their inner thoughts and speak the truth more easily.
Thatās exactly what was happening now.
When Xiao Yuan mentioned this, thinking of how tough life has been for Xiao Daya after marrying him, he too started tearing up.
"Yes, it hasnāt been easy for your sister, being with me has brought her no blessings, itās my fault for being incapable, causing her and the child to suffer."
He then started crying alongside Xiao Yuan, "Brother, let me tell you the truth as your brother-in-law, itās really because Iām incapable, I canāt earn money. If I had a good way to make money, I wouldnāt let my wife and child suffer. As men, who wouldnāt want their wives and children to live well, and the family to be harmonious? But what can I do, my mother... she has such a temper. She had it tough raising me, and I just canāt oppose her outright; sheās the only mother I have."
"True."
Xiao Yuan nodded understandingly, "Not to mention my aunt, take my own mother, even if she did something wrong, could a son really turn against her? Definitely not. You have one mother, I also have only one mother, nobody has two mothers. Take Gou Dan for instance; doesnāt he also have just one mom?"
Lu Gui felt even sadder upon hearing this, "Iām only telling you this because youāre my brother-in-law. You know it hurts me seeing my mother and wife not getting along. What can I do about it? Just like you said, sheās my mother, my only mother, I canāt embarrass her. But my wife is also my sonās mother. For my sonās sake, how can I allow his mother to suffer? That also canāt happen. Iām stuck between a rock and a hard place."
Xiao Yuan patted Lu Guiās shoulder heavily again, "Let it be, letās take another drink, weāre both in the same boat, both suffering the same fates."
Lu Gui downed his cup in one gulp.
Xiao Yuan also followed suit and took a swig, "Brother-in-law, since youāre opening up to me, I should do the same. Look, itās not that I want anything, but I have to think about my sister, right? Sheās my only sister, wouldnāt I, as her brother, feel for her?"
"Brother, everyone cherishes their own sisters, itās natural for you to care about yours."
Lu Gui was slurring his words at this point.
Xiao Yuan pounded the table, "In this life, going through it is a struggle, this hardship and that, especially for us men. Outside, we have to play the fool to make money, and at home, to keep the family happy, we still have to play the fool. Pretending over and over, we end up really becoming fools."
This struck a chord with Lu Gui, and he couldnāt help but burst into tears.
"But seeing the wife and kids happy, I am happy to play the fool."
Xiao Yuan wiped his tears away, "Letās take another."
Lu Gui downed another cup.
"The harmony of the family largely depends on us men. We need to be tactful and compromise more. If we just let things be, it would surely turn into a big mess."
While pouring another drink for Lu Gui, Xiao Yuan said, "Brother-in-law, I have to advise you, we should respect the elderly, but we also need to charm them a bit. Donāt be too earnest. Like, for example, if Aunt asked you to hit my sister, would you hit her or not?"
Lu Gui was put in a difficult spot by this question.
"I..."
He thought for a while but couldnāt come up with an answer.
He really didnāt dare go against Lu Sanbaoās family, but he also couldnāt bear to hit his own wife.
Lu Gui felt good about this point; no matter what happened, he genuinely never harmed Xiao Daya.
"I, I, I definitely canāt beat my wife."
Lu Gui finally squeezed out this sentence.
Xiao Yuan gave a thumbs up: "Brother-in-law, thatās a good thought, we definitely shouldnāt beat our wives. I really look down on those men who beat their wives. But if you donāt act against my sister, and it accidentally upsets my mother, that wouldnāt be good either. Look, Iāll teach you a method. If my mother asks you to beat her, just pretend to be angry, take my sister inside a room, close the door, and pretend to beat something, whether itās the bed or whatever. As long as thereās some noise, it will ease my motherās face, and my sister will also know you care for her, isnāt that killing two birds with one stone?"
Lu Guiās eyes lit up: "Brother, thatās a great idea, why didnāt I think of that? Indeed, educated folks are different."
Xiao Yuan then laughed: "From now on, just do as I said. Whenever thereās a quarrel between mother-in-law and wife, you must intervene. You need to make both sides happy; thatās the real skill for us men."
Lu Gui kept nodding: "Yes, yes, thatās how it should be done, come on, brother, letās drink another."
Xiao Yuan laughed and took another drink: "Brother-in-law, just listen to me and youāll be right. If you run into any difficult matters in the future, tell me. I wonāt take sides; even if sheās my own sister, if sheās wrong, Iāll tell her off. If sheās not good to my mother, Iāll make her apologize. But you have to tell me, Iām her brother on her maternal side, itās better I handle it than you. Donāt you agree?"
Lu Gui thought Xiao Yuan was right: "You and she are real siblings, even if bones are broken, tendons are still connected. No matter what, she canāt sever her relationship with you in this lifetime. Even if siblings fight, theyāre still siblings."
"Brother-in-law, you know clearly. I like talking to people like you."
Xiao Yuan complimented again: "I donāt have any brothers, just my sister, and other than her, Iām closest to you, brother-in-law. We should keep in touch frequently. If you have difficulties, just talk to me. Although Iām not very capable, I have many friends, and Iāll definitely help you out. Even with family conflicts, I can mediate for you. We, well, we aim for a harmonious home, for everyone to be happy."
Lu Gui felt very comfortable hearing this.
By this time, he already regarded Xiao Yuan as a confidante and shared many worries with him.
Xiao Yuan listened with a smile: "This is nothing, not worth keeping on your mind."
After they drank and had their meal, itās time to pay the bill and leave, Lu Gui staggered out, quite drunk.
Xiao Yuan called Liu Shu to help support Lu Gui back.
Being so drunk, Lu Gui certainly couldnāt return home, Xiao Yuan had someone tidy up a guest room in the front courtyard for Lu Gui to stay, asking Xiao Daya to look after him.
Xiao Daya made hangover soup and fed it to Lu Gui. After he slept and woke up, he was nearly fully sober.
But by then it was dark, and it wasnāt convenient to leave anymore.
Lu Gui, having no choice, shamelessly stayed at Xiao Familyās home.
He stayed in the Xiao Family guest room, Gou Dan was taken care of by Ms. Ping, and Xiao Daya stayed with Lu Gui in the guest room.
Lu Gui looked at the tidy and clean room, very pleasing to the eyes, sleeping in a high and soft bed, completely comfortable in body and spirit.
He thought to himself, this is how life should be, not like at home, where everyone crams together, nobody sleeping or eating well, the whole family turning into dark-eyed chickens.
After Lu Gui sobered up, Xiao Daya spoke to him about what Xiao Yuan said while he was asleep.
"A Yuan wants to give us a hand, heās doing it for me, wanting me and Gou Dan to have a better life. He said, heāll give two taels of silver a month, one tael for you and one for me. If youāre willing, you can work with him from now on."
Lu Gui was very pleased, of course, he was happy. Two taels of silver was indeed a lot; usually, he wouldnāt earn that much in a month, sometimes he couldnāt even make one tael of silver.