Chapter 38: The Coal Boss's Drama Queen

Chapter 38: The Coal Boss's Drama Queen

That evening, Lu Zheng'an had no choice but to call Lu Shao'an and ask him to come over the next day.

A father is a father to both of us; any problems must be discussed and faced together.

Their younger sister married someone from another place; otherwise, they should have been called back to help persuade the old man.

The next morning, just as Bai Zhi was about to leave for work, she ran into Lu Shaoan and Wang Shufen rushing over at the door.

Bai Zhi greeted them politely when she saw them.

Lu Shaoan responded to her with a smile.

Wang Shufen didn't give Bai Zhi a friendly look.

He snorted coldly, turned around, and went inside.

Bai Zhi felt that Wang Shufen's face seemed to be getting bigger and bigger.

I don't want to gain weight normally, but instead look swollen.

She knew she had offended Wang Shufen last time, so Wang Shufen must hate her.

But if she hadn't done that, Wang Shufen probably would have really introduced her to her cousin and made a fool of her all the time.

Wang Shufen, with the haughty air of a peacock, swayed into the Lu family home. Lu Shaoan said to Bai Zhi, "Xiao Zhi, aren't you going to work? We've come to take your Grandpa Lu to the hospital."

"Okay, Second Uncle, I'm off then."

As soon as Lu Shaoan entered the door, he asked Zhang Ma, "Zhang Ma, where's my dad? How is he?"

Aunt Zhang replied with a smile, "The old commander just finished breakfast and went for a walk."

"Taking a walk? Isn't my dad sick? How can he take a walk? Don't lie to me."

Judging from his elder brother's tone last night, the old man seemed to be very ill.

"Sir, I'm not lying to you, the old commander really did go for a walk."

As they were talking, Lu Zheng'an and Xie Yun went downstairs.

Lu Zheng'an asked, "Second brother, you've arrived so early?"

"Didn't you say Dad was sick? I drank too much last night, otherwise I would have come last night."

In his anxiety, Lu Shaoan blurted out, "Dad, how is the situation now? What happened? Why did your condition suddenly worsen? Was it because you upset me?"

Lu Zheng'an, "!!!"

"Can't you speak properly? What do you mean by 'we made you angry'?"

Ignoring his elder brother's dark expression, Lu Shaoan argued, "It's about Xiao Ye's marriage. You all look down on Bai Zhi, and the whole family is hiding outside and not coming home. Dad is staying at home alone, brooding. How can he not get sick?"

Xie Yun explained awkwardly, "Second Uncle, we've been busy with work lately and haven't had time to go home."

"Really? That's quite a coincidence. All three of you are busy at the same time. Do you work in the same company?"

Lu Zheng'an and Xie Yun were speechless after being confronted by Lu Shao'an.

Wang Shufen chimed in, "Exactly. Brother and sister-in-law, I think the old man's condition worsened this time because you two upset him."

Lu Zheng'an was exhausted, and now he was being blamed by his second son and his wife for being irresponsible. He said sternly, "Since you think your sister-in-law and I haven't taken good care of him, then you should take the old man over to live with us."

Lu Shaoan rolled his eyes. "What's the point of picking him up? This retired senior officer doesn't live in the military compound. If I take him outside, do you think the organization will agree?"

The old man refused to cooperate with the treatment, and the four men sat on the sofa looking worried. Seeing the tense atmosphere and the brothers almost arguing, Wang Shufen forced a smile, softened her tone, and adopted a reasonable demeanor, saying, "On the other hand, elder brother and sister-in-law, I completely understand your feelings. After all, our Xiaoye is so outstanding; it's really unfair to let him marry a country girl. It wouldn't sound good to others either."

"What kind of family are we? We should at least introduce our child to a fashionable and pretty city girl. But the old man is so stubborn; he always brings up our savior."

"I think we can repay a life-saving debt in many ways. We don't necessarily have to sacrifice Ono's happiness for the rest of his life. They say that marrying the right woman will bring prosperity to three generations. If Ono really marries Bai Zhi, his children will be ridiculed as country bumpkins. It won't help or support his career at all."

"Well... I have an idea. How about we each contribute some money to Bai Zhi to get rid of her?"

Wang Shufen squinted and pondered, "As for the old man, why don't we introduce Xiao Ye to someone else? Introduce him to a local girl from Nancheng. As long as the two young people are willing, the old man won't have anything to say. Nowadays, people value freedom of marriage, and arranged marriages won't lead to happiness."

As soon as Wang Shufen opened her mouth, Lu Shaoan knew what she was up to. Already annoyed, he rebuked her without any politeness, "You stupid woman, what kind of terrible idea is this? Who are you going to introduce to Xiaoye? Your niece? If Baizhi can't be sent to Xiaoye, can your niece be sent?"

Wang Shufen looked up arrogantly and said, "What's wrong with Tingting? Isn't Tingting pretty? My family is from Nancheng, and my brother is the director of a machinery factory."

Lu Shaoan's chubby face scrunched up, his expression stern. "If you keep talking nonsense, go home."

Just as Wang Shufen was about to weakly retort, Lu Zheng'an spoke in a deep voice, "Alright, stop arguing, let's discuss how to persuade the old man to go to the hospital for a check-up."

Last night, the old man meant to use this illness to threaten Lu Ye: if Lu Ye didn't come back and marry Bai Zhi, he wouldn't get treatment.

Lu Ye had just escaped death and was so weak that he didn't dare to go home for the time being.

Bai Zhi is now his attending physician, and the two often meet. If they really have feelings for each other, they can spark a romance without their parents' involvement.

If there's no destiny, how can an arranged marriage bring happiness?

Although Lu Zheng'an and his wife were also worried about Lu Ye's marriage, they had come to terms with the fact that their son had suffered such a great ordeal this time. As long as he could live peacefully, they would let nature take its course for the time being.

Lu Shaoan pondered for a few seconds, then stood up and said to his elder brother and sister-in-law, "Wait a moment, I'll go and invite the old man."

He went outside and found the old man stretching his arms and legs under a big willow tree in the military compound.

Lu Shaoan strolled over and said, "Hey, old man, you seem to be enjoying yourself today. What kind of moves are you practicing?"

Upon hearing his second son's voice, Old Master Lu withdrew his leg, which he had just kicked out, and turned to look at him.

I lost my balance and almost fell.

Lu Shaoan quickly helped him up.

He said to the old man,

"Dad, why don't you go to the hospital for a check-up? Look at you, you can't even stand up properly when you exercise now."

Grandpa Lu disdainfully shook off his hand and questioned him with a stern face, "Did your older brother call you back?"

"Yes, if my older brother hadn't called to tell me, I wouldn't have known your condition had worsened again." Lu Shaoan observed his father's complexion; he didn't seem to be in good spirits.

They hadn't even noticed how unfilial they were as sons.

He felt even more guilty, realizing that he would only sit for a short while each time he came over and then leave, assuming that there was a dedicated doctor to take care of him. They had been careless and had not paid any real attention to the elderly man's health.

"It's nothing serious. You guys go ahead with your work. I'll check on Ono again when he gets back."

After saying that, Grandpa Lu walked to the big willow tree and started practicing by hitting the tree with his head again.

Seeing the old man's stubbornness and refusal to listen to reason, Lu Shaoan paced anxiously, his obese body pacing back and forth. He sighed helplessly, "My dear father, why are you acting like a child? If Xiao Ye doesn't come back, are you still going to delay treatment? Can't you think about your two sons? Knowing you have health problems, you still delay treatment. What if you really pass away one day? How are we brothers supposed to live?"

Old Lu rhythmically rammed into the tree, completely unmoved, saying, "You can live your lives as you always have."

“Old man, you’re too selfish. Do you know how important you are to us? Do you know how filial my brother and I are to you? My mother was sick when she was young because of the war. Back then, conditions were tough and we couldn’t afford treatment, so she passed away early. How many regrets did my brother and I have? Now, both medical care and living conditions are so much better. You’re deliberately delaying treatment. You’re deliberately embarrassing the organization and making things difficult for my brother and me.”

Lu Shaoan spoke until his throat was dry, his chubby face contorted with anger. He gave a long explanation, but the old man only said one thing: wait for Lu Ye to return before treating him.

Lu Shaoan wasn't stupid; he naturally understood what the old man meant.

Isn't the real intention to use the treatment to threaten Lu Ye into accepting Bai Zhi?

This old man is getting more and more confused as he gets older.

How could Lu Ye, that ice block, possibly be obediently threatened by him?

Lu Shaoan paced anxiously, when he suddenly noticed out of the corner of his eye that several of his father's old friends were strolling over. His eyes flickered, and his massive body suddenly knelt down.

Caught off guard, he grabbed the old man's leg and pleaded at the top of his lungs, "Dad, I beg you, let's go to the hospital, okay? Your health can't be delayed any longer. If anything happens to you, I, as your son, won't want to live anymore."