Country Beauty 261, Main Text 261, Chapter 261: Striving Hard Lu Yun had never entered the living room of Lu Xiaoying’s house before. The sofa, built-in furniture, and large color TV made Lu Yun frown, thinking that the village head must have been pocketing a lot of village funds over the years—this kind of interior decoration was almost as urban as city homes. (wwpaosu8c_- Love Quarters -) “Xiaoyun, sit down. What are you standing there staring at?” Jin Zhi sat on the sofa, picked up a washed apple from the fruit platter on the coffee table, bit into it with a crisp sound, and looked intently at Lu Yun. “After doing all those chores, aren’t you tired?” Lu Xiaoying smiled warmly, handing Lu Yun a popsicle. “Eat quickly—by now it’ll be all melted into water.” "The armchairs and sofas were spotless. Lu Yun glanced at his clothes, still muddy and dirty despite having just taken a shower. The clothes had gotten terribly soiled from his work earlier, and now, seeing the pristine sofas and chairs, he wasn't sure whether he should sit down or not. He was afraid of spoiling them—his mother-in-law, Jin Zhi, was known to be rather fussy—and if she saw the soiled clothes, she'd surely be furious. Lu Yun wasn't afraid of her, but he wanted to use this opportunity to officially visit and stay at Lu Xiaoying's house. That way, on weekends, he wouldn't have to worry about the village chief making things difficult, and he could meet Lu Xiaoying face-to-face without any embarrassment. 'I'm afraid I'll dirty the sofa,' Lu Yun stammered. Jin Zhi smiled, 'No problem. Come, sit down here.' Lu Xiaoying was delighted. She hadn't expected Lu Yun to stumble upon her today, and yet he had managed to win her mother's favor so warmly. She felt a deep sense of satisfaction and began to imagine their future together." ***, if we keep dawdling any longer, Mother-in-law will surely be dissatisfied. After all, you don't even mind getting messy—what's there to worry about? We've just finished helping with the three aunts' chores and have been doing so much physical work, we're absolutely exhausted. It's perfect—just sit on your sofa and rest a bit. This content is the text from Chapter 261 of "Rural Beauty." "Jin Zhi smiled even wider, glanced at her precious daughter, and proudly said, "Of course! My Jin Zhi's darling, naturally the most outstanding. Are there any other beautiful ones?" Lu Yun was now completely at a loss. What had happened to this woman today? She kept asking such strange questions. If she wanted to show off, wouldn't it have been better for her to simply state it herself and maintain that air of superiority? Why make such a fuss over a humble young man like me? Crunch! Jin Zhi bit into another piece of apple, chewing noisily, her eyes smiling warmly at Lu Yun, patiently waiting for a satisfactory answer from him. Not only Lu Yun found himself puzzled, but even Lu Xiaoying couldn't understand why her mother had kept asking the same question. Seeing fine beads of sweat forming on Lu Yun's forehead, she grew increasingly anxious, yet no matter how hard she thought, she couldn't figure out how to subtly suggest something to him. Just when she was frowning and worried, she suddenly noticed her mother looking at Lu Yun with a touch of anticipation. Her heart skipped a beat—she didn’t think much of it, just lightly cleared her throat to draw Lu Yun’s attention to herself, then gave a subtle nod toward her mother, silently conveying the message. Wow! Is it really true that the future mother-in-law is going to ask her son-in-law to praise her beauty? Lu Yun naturally picked up on Lu Xiaoying’s subtle hint and understood her intention. Still, it seemed utterly absurd. After a moment of hesitation, seeing Lu Xiaoying’s growing anxiety, he decided to go with the flow—after all, if things didn’t work out, he’d simply walk out of her home, taking her daughter with him. With that thought, he turned to Jin Zhi and said, “Of course, there’s also you—after all, you’re the most beautiful woman in our village… right?” "Lu Yun was about to say she was the most beautiful woman in the entire village. If he actually said that, it would sound rather superficial—though it was a compliment, it might still make Lu Xiaoying a bit uncomfortable. Still, it should be enough to please Jin Zhi. This content is from Chapter 261 of the series 'Rural Beauty.' 'My mom is truly a renowned beauty around these parts—of course she's beautiful, isn't she, Mom?' Lu Xiaoying chimed in as well. Jin Zhi was in high spirits today. Seeing Lu Yun finish his ice cream, she reached for an apple and handed it to him. The three of them ended up chatting warmly and enthusiastically. 'Jin Zhi, could you please get me five hundred yuan? I have something to attend to in town shortly.' Just as they were enjoying the conversation, a voice from outside the house—Landlord Lu Guang—interrupted. Lu Yun felt his heart skip a beat. He finished off the apple quickly, stood up, and prepared to leave. The village head wasn't easy to deal with. Sitting beside his wife, Lu Yun couldn't help but wonder what thoughts might be forming in his Lu Yunshi didn't have any intention of that, but Jin Zhi happened to catch him bathing and, upon seeing his large member for the first time, nearly rushed in and dealt with Lu Yun right there, experiencing firsthand the sensation of being squeezed half to death as described by Ma Cuihua. Seeing Lu Yun look flustered and stand up, she grabbed his hand firmly, pulled him back down onto the sofa, and smiled, "No problem. You just stay here and chat with Xiao Ying. I'll go get the money for him." Meanwhile, Lu Guang had already entered the room. Seeing Lu Yun seated beside his wife, with his precious daughter Xiao Ying also sitting nearby, his face immediately darkened, and he spoke with growing anger, "Lu's son, what business do you have coming to my house unannounced? Is that sofa really meant for you to sit on?" Huh! Lu Yun was incensed by the lofty, confrontational tone Lu Guang used. If it weren't for the concern for Xiao Ying's comfort and Jin Zhi's generally good treatment of him, he would have already stood up to respond. "I asked him to sit here. What's the issue?" Just now, Xiao Yun moved all the wheat from our courtyard into the house by himself. I asked him to go inside and have a glass of water to rest a bit, but something’s off." Jin Zhi gently patted Lu Yun on the back, signaling for him to relax, then stood up and stormed toward Lu Guang, launching into a sharp outburst. "You...!" Lu Guang couldn't speak. "What's wrong with me? I came in to collect money from you, and then you rushed off to town to hang out with your fox friends and squirrel buddies!" Jin Zhi tossed that line over her shoulder and stormed into the inner room, her face flushed with anger. Lu Guang glared at Lu Yun before following Jin Zhi into the inner room. Lu Xiaoying gave Lu Yun a little tongue-wagging gesture and said, "My father's like this—don't take it too personally." Lu Yun's frustration instantly melted away upon hearing Lu Xiaoying's words, and he smiled, saying, "I know. That's exactly what I'm doing right now—making every effort, striving hard so that we can one day smoothly enter the bridal chamber and ride off into the sunset together." ... Rural Beauty 261