Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat
Chapter 250 - 250 247 Countermeasures

Chapter 250: Chapter 247 Countermeasures Chapter 250: Chapter 247 Countermeasures Jiang Yan wasn’t often around here, so he wasn’t very affected by the rumors, but the second brother spent every day in the shop, and since the residents of the community had to pass by when they went out, those with loose tongues would whisper as they passed, “So young, so many decent jobs out there, why resort to trickery…”

Uncle Liu felt quite guilty towards the second brother; after all, it was he who had brought up selling the house to them and had persuaded them earnestly, otherwise, they might not have agreed.

“What? You think Uncle gave you too little?” Uncle Liu’s face showed concern, “At my age, I’ll be giving less and less with each passing year, come next year… I might not even be here.”

“Do you have to bring up such things during the New Year?”

“Just tell me if you want the red envelope or not?”

With no other choice, the second brother reached out and took it, feeling its thickness; it should be about ten thousand.

The money felt uncomfortably hot in his hands.

The two had drunk a bit too much the night before, so when Jiang Yan and Mu Jiawen arrived that day, they had only just gotten up and were boiling dumplings.

“Happy New Year, Uncle Liu.”

Uncle Liu beamed a smile, “Happy New Year.”

While they were exchanging New Year’s greetings, the phone in the living room rang.

After the house was transferred, the landline hadn’t been changed; it still had the previous owner’s name and number, so whenever this phone rang, it was almost always for Uncle Liu.

“Xiaojiang, could you answer that for me?”

Uncle Liu turned to help bring out dumplings in the kitchen.

Jiang Yan glanced at him, walked up to the telephone, and picked up the receiver. But before he could speak, the voice on the other end erupted like a machine gun—

“Uncle, no matter what, Lou Jin is your son; if you don’t take care of him, who will? Now the hospital is calling me, you can’t possibly expect me to pay his medical bills, can you? Is that right? And I don’t have any money either. You get your pension every month, and now that you’ve sold the house, why can’t you use that money to pay off his debts? It’s a father’s fault if he doesn’t teach his son. Don’t you have anything to do with what Lou Jin has become today? If you’re not responsible for him, who is…”

“You’ve got the wrong number, I’m not your uncle.”

The voice on the other end stopped abruptly, and after a pause, asked, “Who are you?”

Jiang Yan was expressionless, “You’re calling me and asking who I am? Hanging up!”

He put the receiver back in its place and unplugged the phone line.

But this was only a temporary solution. When people couldn’t find Uncle Liu, they would surely come knocking, including those Lou Jin owed gambling debts to.

What a hassle!

Mu Jiawen sat in the living room, cracking sunflower seeds and watching TV with focused interest, very serious.

She was watching “The Calabash Brothers”!

Jiang Yan sat down at the dining table and, looking at Uncle Liu who was eating dumplings with his head down, asked, “What were you thinking, sir?”

He had no regrets about buying the house, but he needed a plan to solve the problems that came with it.

It wasn’t that he was unafraid of trouble; who would seek out hassle when they could have a peaceful life? That would be crazy, right?

Uncle Liu sighed, “I don’t have any other solution; if it comes to it, I’ll just go into hiding for a few days.”

Where would you hide during the New Year?

“Forget it, just stay calm and avoid trouble,” Jiang Yan said to the second brother.

“Install the extra cameras we bought at the second-floor entrance and in the living room. If there’s trouble, call the police directly. I’ve already cut the home phone line, so call me on my cell if you need to, and don’t act rashly.”

That should be enough, fortunately the police station is right behind the neighborhood, so help will arrive quickly if we report any incident.

The second brother had already moved to the second floor, and cameras were installed both at the entrance and inside the house. The computer they were connected to was in the study on the second floor. Everything was clearly visible, so it was very safe.

After giving a few more instructions, Jiang Yan finally took Mu Jiawen out to see a movie.

….

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Yang Dan’s sister and brother-in-law were planning to bring their nephew for a family visit.

Yang Dan got up early to help her mother wash and chop vegetables, making sure to handle the cold water to spare her mother from it.

Their home did not have running water and still used the old-fashioned hand pump well.

Due to the low winter temperatures, the well often froze and needed to be thawed with hot water before it could produce water. Although the water wasn’t as icy as tap water, it was quite cold, and soon Yang Dan’s hands were soaked red from the chill.

But she said nothing, washing basin after basin as if her hands felt no cold.

Washing vegetables with cold water in winter was a common practice in their household, so Yang’s mother thought nothing of it. Were cold water replaced with hot water, she would have considered it a waste of firewood and would have complained for a long time.

Therefore, Yang Dan simply didn’t suggest it. If it meant washing with cold water, then so be it. After all, what’s the worst that could happen? Frostbite?

It all came down to being poor after all.

After a busy morning, they prepared a large table full of dishes for not just her sister’s family but also her eldest and second brothers’ families.

Since both brothers had already finished visiting relatives before the New Year, they had free time now. When it came time to eat, Yang Dan’s sister went to call them, and both sisters-in-law came over leisurely with their hands tucked in their sleeves.

“Wow, so much food! Did Dan Dan make all this?”

Yang Dan’s mother was also a skilled cook, but age had slowed her down and her hygiene practices sometimes didn’t meet the standards of the younger generation, so when Yang Dan was home, she typically did the cooking.

Yang Dan’s sisters-in-law also knew that Yang Dan’s cooking was delicious, so they were happy to come over for a meal.

In the countryside during the New Year, it is customary for men and women to sit at separate tables.

The men drank at the main table, while Yang Dan and her mother sat with the children at a smaller side table, which only had two pots — one of stewed chicken and the other of pork with Chinese cabbage. The stir-fried dishes were served to the men who were drinking.

“Dan Dan, come sit over here and tell us about Agricultural University. Do you have classes in the fields?”

Yang Dan was busy pouring drinks for the kids when she heard her brother-in-law’s question. She paused for a moment, then replied without turning her head, “We have classes in the classrooms, no different from any other university.”

Her brother-in-law, He Changchun, whether genuinely curious or deliberately provoking, pressed on, “No different from other universities? But that can’t be right. I’ve heard that at Agricultural University, you need to learn farming or they won’t let you graduate. You spend so many years studying hard, and in the end, you still have to go out and dig for food in the fields. So you…”

“Changchun, my big brother is pouring you a drink,” Yang Dan’s sister Yang Yan interrupted him, giving him a meaningful look. Yang Dan’s eldest brother also chimed in with a smile to change the subject, “The dishes are getting cold, let’s eat, come on.”

He Changchun glanced at Yang Yan, slightly annoyed. “I was just curious and speaking the truth. You’re acting like I’m purposely causing trouble.”

Yang Yan kept her head down and said nothing.

As Yang Dan poured drinks, she turned to look at He Changchun, her face calm. “Uncle, you’re very curious about Agricultural University, aren’t you? Okay, then I’ll give you a brief explanation. Twenty years ago, the yield for wheat in our area was only 300 pounds per acre. Back then, most people in the country couldn’t get enough to eat. After the yield was increased to 800 pounds, and now even 1000 pounds per acre, do you know who developed the improved wheat varieties that increased the yields? He’s a graduate of our university.”