A Good Country Wife-Chapter 19 - Unparalleled Deliciousness_1
Chapter 19: Chapter 19 Unparalleled Deliciousness_1
Chapter 19: Chapter 19 Unparalleled Deliciousness_1
However, this time Zhao Erhu was genuinely grateful to his stepmother for finding him such a suitable wife. Regardless of her motives, the end result was good, and so he didn’t mind being a bit more generous. During the tea ceremony, he also made sure not to make it difficult for Lin Yue.
Lin Yue, on the other hand, hadn’t thought so much about it. But meeting one’s in-laws for the first time is always somewhat nerve-wracking. Filial piety is considered paramount in all goodness, even the Emperor atop the power hierarchy greatly emphasizes it. The weight of filial duty can be crushing; if one’s in-laws do not appreciate them, life as a new daughter-in-law will definitely be tough. Moreover, getting along with sisters-in-law and younger sisters is not that easy. Fortunately, Zhao Erhu had already split from the family, so as his wife, she only needed to fulfill her own duties, without having to serve her in-laws or establish household rules. After all, this was thanks to Zhao Erhu’s bad reputation for defying his wife and mother. Otherwise, at Zhao Erhu’s age and with his parents still alive, there would be no reason for him to have split off to live independently. The ancients valued a household full of children and grandchildren; division of the family was symbolic of its decline. While the elders were alive, families did not separate.
In ancient times, there were no family planning policies, and the belief was “the more children, the more blessings.” Zhao Erhu had quite a few siblings. Lin Yue had found out from some of the younger ones that Zhao Erhu had an older sister and brother, as well as five younger siblings. Aside from his married older sister and second younger sister, as well as the independent Zhao Erhu, the rest of the siblings lived together without having separated. Lin Yue felt somewhat sad for Zhao Erhu upon knowing this. No matter what others thought, even his own relatives distanced themselves from him due to those illusive reputations, which was certainly disheartening.
The house in the old homestead was built during the time of Zhao Erhu’s grandfather. As the family grew, they built a few more rooms next to the old house due to the lack of space, also made from adobe bricks. But the materials used for Lin Yue’s dwelling were inferior, and they were not as spacious, adding only two rooms. Zhao Erhu’s parents, older brother, and younger sister lived in the old eastern house, while the other brothers resided in the newly built western one.
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“Don’t be nervous. It’s just a tea ceremony for my parents. As long as you show the proper respect, that’s enough. Don’t overthink it—I’ve got everything under control.” When they arrived at the old house, Zhao Erhu, seeing that Lin Yue seemed a bit nervous, comforted her.
Zhao Erhu and Lin Yue arrived early, and when they reached the old house, the whole family was getting ready for breakfast. The table was set with a basin of thin porridge, a plate of cornbread, and a dish of pickled vegetables. There appeared to be a sizable amount, but for such a large group of people, it surely wouldn’t be enough. It was unavoidable, as food was tight for everyone at this time of year. Their family was already doing well, at the very least they had two meals a day. Some families had only thin porridge and one meal a day. At this moment, Lin Yue realized how extravagant it was for her to eat rice at every meal and silently resolved to be more frugal in the future.
The others were somewhat surprised to see Zhao Erhu and Lin Yue arrive. They looked at the couple with a mix of astonishment and disdain. They had heard just a few days ago that Zhao Erhu’s newlywed wife was so ill she was near death. Yet here she was, being brought along. However, this new wife of Erhu’s, although looking a bit frail, didn’t seem to be seriously sick. Because they disliked bad luck, not one of the big family had gone to see Lin Yue, and they were reluctant even to inquire about her condition, leaving them unclear about the situation. It was Zhao Erhu’s stepmother, Mrs. Wei, who first regained her composure.
“Erhu has brought your wife over—take a seat,” Mrs. Wei said with a smile on her face, though in her heart she might have felt otherwise. She offered them seats without asking if they had had breakfast but focused on what Zhao Erhu was holding, her expression revealing genuine pleasure.
“Father, Mother, I’ve brought my wife to offer tea to you. This is a gift for our first meeting,” Zhao Erhu said, tired of pleasantries, and handed over the items he was carrying to Mrs. Wei. Seeing this, Lin Yue also placed the food box she was holding on the table.
“Mom and Dad, these are freshly steamed buns, still hot. Eat them while they’re warm.”
“Look at you, coming here and bringing so much with you. Haven’t you eaten breakfast yet? Come, join us for a bit,” Wei Family said as if she had only just remembered to ask. Seeing that Zhao Erhu and others had already eaten, she did not say much more. She opened the food box and had her eldest daughter-in-law get a plate from the kitchen to serve out a few buns, saving the rest for later.
“These buns are so delicately made, they must taste good.” Jin Family, the wife of the third son Zhao Quan, was greedy. She liked to sneak food from the kitchen on a regular basis, which frequently led to scolding by her mother-in-law, Wei Family. Now, seeing the buns, she couldn’t help but swallow, thinking to herself that if there were few buns, she definitely wouldn’t get to eat any. Fortunately, Zhao Erhu was generous enough to bring so many, so surely she could at least have one. Heaven knows how shrewd and formidable her mother-in-law was – usually, the good stuff was only for the elders and the men. As daughters-in-law, they had no share, like the cornbread on the table, which was specifically made according to the number of people by the old lady; they were only entitled to drink porridge.
“Buying so much must have cost a fair amount of silver coins. Don’t be so extravagant next time.” Zhao Dahuo, after all, still had some affection for his younger brother, knowing that Zhao Erhu had not only gotten married but also spent a lot on medicine and a doctor, so he must be short on cash. Seeing that Zhao Erhu had brought so many things, he couldn’t help but speak out, which caused dissatisfaction among everyone in the room.
“What are you talking about, big brother? Erhu is so capable. He doesn’t care about such a small amount of money. Don’t worry about him so much; let’s just eat breakfast,” Li Xiaomei, the wife of Zhao Cheng, the fourth son, said with a sharp tone.
“Sister-in-law, what you said is not right. The buns are not cheap at all; they cost 15 coins each. By my calculations, there are almost twenty of them, which would be more than three hundred coins in total. It’s not a small sum,” Liu Family, the wife of Zhao Dahuo, quickly defended her husband when she saw Li Xiaomei taking jabs at him.
“What are you prattling on about, big sister-in-law? If you don’t want to eat them, don’t. No one is stopping you. You make such a fuss over a few buns, as if you’ve never seen the world.” Li Xiaomei was the niece of Wei Family, who therefore showed more favoritism towards her than the other daughters-in-law. That was also why Li Xiaomei was the most arrogant among her sisters-in-law, not even placing the family of her husband’s half-brother Zhao Dahuo in her eyes. She was very impolite in her words, and seeing that everyone treated it as normal, she knew that such scenes were a common occurrence.
“Enough, what’s all the fuss about? Can’t even keep quiet during a meal,” Zhao Jingen, the head of the family, finally spoke up after being silent for a while. It was only then that everyone quieted down to eat. Wei Family allocated the food; she, her husband, and her son each got a bun, while each daughter-in-law received a cornbread. Although Jin Family was dissatisfied with Wei Family’s approach and felt unfairly treated, under the stern gaze of Wei Family, she had to comply. After all, Wei Family was her mother-in-law, and getting a piece of cornbread was better than nothing.
Zhao Xing, the fifth son, picked up a bun with his chopsticks and took a bite as if with elegance. After tasting it, he looked at Li Family and Jin Family with disdain.
