Dinner was ready, and the people who had been working outside all afternoon returned.

In two days, the rice from the fields of the third branch was all collected.

At dusk, Lu Yuanfeng borrowed an ox cart and moved all the rice to the threshing ground.

Early tomorrow morning, they would start threshing.

Mu Dashan also reached an agreement with the Wang Family to borrow their ox for the entire day tomorrow, so they could plow and till the fields as needed.

After eating, Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng took a walk.

As they walked, they wandered towards Lu Yuanfeng’s home.

After Mu Shuangshuang tidied up Lu Yuanfeng’s house, he hadn’t seen the results yet.

When they reached the doorway, he couldn’t resist wanting to take a look.

Mu Shuangshuang naturally knew what he was thinking, so she suggested, "I’m thirsty. Let’s go to your place to drink some water, and at the same time, you can check out how I arranged things in your house!"

"Sure!" Lu Yuanfeng nodded excitedly, pulling Mu Shuangshuang along as they walked toward the courtyard.

Just as they entered the yard, Old Lady Lu appeared outside Lu Yuanfeng’s courtyard wall.

Seeing Lu Yuanfeng and Mu Shuangshuang, Old Lady Lu excitedly shouted, "Fengfeng, Shuangshuang... you’re back."

Lu Yuanfeng paused, and after a moment, he turned around.

Mu Shuangshuang followed suit, but Lu Yuanfeng showed no intention of letting Old Lady Lu in.

Old Lady Lu stood outside the door, silent.

The two were at a stalemate, until Mu Shuangshuang couldn’t stand it anymore and spoke up, "Old Lady, come on in!"

Old Lady Lu quickly pushed open the courtyard gate, her small feet moving swiftly as she approached Lu Yuanfeng.

"Fengfeng, can I talk to you for a moment?"

As Old Lady Lu spoke, she glanced at Mu Shuangshuang.

Mu Shuangshuang was naturally perceptive. She said to Lu Yuanfeng, "Fengzi, I’ll go inside to drink some water. You talk with the Old Lady."

Mu Shuangshuang took just one step before her hand was grabbed by Lu Yuanfeng.

Lu Yuanfeng said, "She’s my wife; if I can listen, she can listen too!"

Old Lady Lu’s face turned pale, and after a moment, she spoke, "Fengfeng, the thing is... your... your dad..."

"He’s not my dad; I’ve had nothing to do with him for a long time!" Lu Yuanfeng rudely interrupted Old Lady Lu’s words.

Old Lady Lu steadied herself before speaking again, "Fengfeng, regardless of whether he’s your dad, he’s in trouble now, you can’t just stand by and do nothing!"

As she spoke, Old Lady Lu’s eyes suddenly reddened.

She spoke softly, "Your dad is irresponsible. Over the years, besides eating and loafing, all he’s done is gamble.

I know he has thousands of faults, ten thousand faults, but this time, he was truly set up!"

As soon as Old Lady Lu finished speaking, a disheveled, filthy man emerged from the Lu Family’s yard.

The man was very thin, with hardly any flesh on his face, sunken eyes, a red nose, and a gloomy expression.

Just by looking at him, you could tell he’s not a good person!

However, this person was none other than Lu Yuanfeng’s scoundrel dad.

Upon seeing Lu Yuanfeng, he excitedly shouted, "Feng! I’m your dad, I’m your dad, you can’t just watch me die and do nothing!"

Watching Lu Xiao attempt to enter Lu Yuanfeng’s yard, Lu Yuanfeng shouted loudly, "Get lost! You’re not allowed into my place, not even half a step!"

Lu Xiao’s hand froze on the courtyard door.

"Feng, I know I made mistakes, I know I’ve let your mother down in the past, and I haven’t had an easy life these years.

Ever since marrying that vile woman, it’s been nothing but beatings and insults every day. I’m not living a human life, your mom was so much better!"

As Lu Xiao spoke, tears and snot began to flow from his face.

If his eyes weren’t filled with restless things, one might actually think he had reformed.

"Shut up, you can’t talk about my mom! If you don’t want to get beaten, then get far away from my place, don’t dirty it!"

Lu Yuanfeng was straightforward with no room for nonsense.

After saying this, he went straight inside his house.

Mu Shuangshuang followed closely behind, but she had only taken two steps when Old Lady Lu tugged on her sleeve.

"Girl, help granny, help granny persuade Fengfeng, okay? He’ll definitely listen to you!"

Upon hearing Old Lady Lu’s words, Mu Shuangshuang felt some disgust.

But Mu Shuangshuang still politely responded to the Old Lady, "Old Lady, I’ve said certain things before. If you want Fengzi to keep you in his heart again, sometimes the best way is to let things happen naturally.

Also, this kind of messy situation, you shouldn’t be involved in it, nor should you make Fengzi get involved!"

Mu Shuangshuang wasn’t someone to be underestimated.

She couldn’t be bullied, and the people she cared about couldn’t be bullied even more!

Old Lady Lu froze in place, she hadn’t expected Mu Shuangshuang to say that.

Not only did she refuse her request, she even rebuked her.

Outside the yard, Lu Xiao dared not come in, and shouted to Old Lady Lu, "Mother, quickly go inside and talk to Fengzi! If I can’t gather the money, those people really will kill me. Mother, I’m begging you!"

Lu Xiao had been frequenting the major gambling dens in the town, wagering large bets.

Combined with his lack of sense, he was often deceived, and thus over time, accrued significant debts to the gambling dens.

This time, the gambling dens decided to collect, and sent Lu Xiao to gather money.

Lu Xiao had no way to come up with money, and when he mentioned it to Gu Jiulian, he was chased away.

Lu Xiao couldn’t even get past the doorstep now.

But Gu Jiulian wasn’t entirely heartless, she told him that her son and the girl from the Third Branch of the Mu Family had opened a restaurant in the county.

Finding them for money would be ideal.

Lu Xiao isn’t stupid, because of the matter with Lu Yuanfeng’s mom, the son wished nothing more than to tear him apart.

If he just went to them seeking money, they’d surely chase him away.

Lu Xiao’s first thought was to find his mom, Old Lady Lu, to seek help.

Yuanbao was raised by the Old Lady, and Fengzi respected her in the past, so consulting her was the best option.

After a round of crying and swearing, the Old Lady agreed to help.

Lu Xiao was impatient, and before the Old Lady could even ask Lu Yuanfeng, he had already rushed out.

Naturally, upon seeing Lu Xiao, Lu Yuanfeng didn’t treat him well.

"Mother, my life is in your hands, please save your son!" Lu Xiao spoke, directly kneeling outside the yard.

To Old Lady Lu, he pleaded and cried.

Old Lady Lu sighed, and then followed Lu Yuanfeng into the house.

In the kitchen, Lu Yuanfeng poured a cup of tea for Mu Shuangshuang, and another for himself.

His good mood was completely ruined by Lu Xiao.

And at this moment, the Old Lady entered again.

"Fengfeng, you saw it yourself, your dad outside, crying like that, this time, help him out.

Afterward, he’ll work like a beast for you, repaying all that money, okay?"

Old Lady Lu was softhearted, not able to bear watching her eldest son being killed.

"Work like a beast? I don’t want him to work like a beast; I just want him to bring my mom back.

If he finds her, not only will I pay off his gambling debts, but I’ll also cover his living costs in the future.

If he can’t manage that, don’t let him appear in front of me, my fists don’t have eyes!"