She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 358 - 357: Couldn’t Hold Back

Chapter 358: Chapter 357: Couldn’t Hold Back

Having heard Madam Song’s explanation, Nanny Jin spoke with a cold face, "Our patriarch and the two young masters have also suffered hardship and are not people who forget their roots. Moreover, our Second Branch family does not only consist of three masters, there is also a large group of servants attending to the masters. We servants also need to eat, don’t we? Today’s meal was prepared under the patriarch’s early instructions, and every dish could be listed on a restaurant’s menu, we dare not disdain it."

Madam Song, having nothing to say, could only watch as Nanny Jin and three others asked Lady Xu for a basket, took out the oil paper and dishes, and returned to the main hall.

Qi Yourong saw that the several servants of the Second Branch really did come back, holding oil paper wrappers in their hands, and were actually planning to take away the dishes on the table as well.

"Big brother," Qi Yourong called out.

At this time, the people in the room were already sitting scattered on benches and the edge of the kang, either whispering a few words to each other or remaining silent, creating a very oppressive and depressive atmosphere.

Qi Yougui, hearing Qi Yourong call him, replied indifferently, "I thought you knew, so I didn’t tell you. All these foods and vegetables were sent over by your second brother. A few days ago, he brought over a lot of pastries and raw ingredients, and today he brought over several dishes from his home. These were originally your second brother’s."

Qi Younian pointed to the kang table behind him, "The lion’s head meatballs, braised mutton, stewed beef brisket, and old duck soup you were happily eating just now were all brought by your second brother. The other dishes you picked at with your chopsticks were also mostly made from ingredients brought from your second brother’s home. As for the food we prepared here, you hardly ate the meals made by your sister-in-law and the children."

Qi Yourong’s eyes moved between Qi Yougui and Qi Younian in shock and asked, "Then, if my family didn’t prepare anything, what will we eat when we return home?"

Upon hearing such an out-of-tune remark from Qi Yourong, Qi Younian lost his last bit of patience, sighed deeply, stood up from Qi Yougui’s side, and said to Nanny Liu, "Nanny Liu, the hour is late. Have everyone hurry up a bit, we can still prepare our own meal at home and it won’t be too late."

Originally, he didn’t consider these food items a big deal; no matter how good the food was, it was just for filling the stomach, and they weren’t relying on these meals to live. At this moment, he also strongly agreed with his granddaughter’s idea of packing up the meals, leaving no opportunity for the third brother to think skimming off his siblings was only natural.

Lady Wang, sitting next to a table, stood up with a sneer and ordered Lady Han, Lady Xu, and Lady Li, "You all as well, be quick and help the nannies pack and properly bag the meals. While you’re at it, tidy up our own vegetables and later we’ll warm them in the pot, we’ll eat them ourselves."

Madam Song was feeling anxious, continuously making eye gestures toward Qi Yourong.

Her family’s plan for the New Year had always been to have lunch at the eldest brother’s home from New Year’s Eve through the fifth day, except for the second day when they hosted their daughters who returned from their marital homes. After lunch, they would take some food home, add a little to it, and that would suffice for dinner.

Thus, they had not prepared much meat and dishes for the New Year; if they had any, they would only use it after the fifth day, when it was inappropriate to continue dining at the eldest brother’s house. At this time, there was really nothing at home, everything in the yard was frozen solid.

According to the custom of previous years, they would have their New Year’s Eve dinner at the eldest brother’s house and then everyone would sit together, crack sunflower seeds, and chat, all the way until the old and new years intersected at the Zi Hour. The eldest brother’s home would cook dumplings and the two families would eat dumplings together to stay up through the night.

The New Year’s Eve dinner from past years consisted of only one chicken, a few miscellaneous fish, and a couple of stir-fried and stewed dishes with not much meat. Midnight dumplings were enough to fill everyone; the dumpling wrappers were rolled very thin to use as little white flour as possible, enclosing sufficient filling, which naturally was mostly vegetables with a little bit of minced meat mixed in.

Such meals, though not as plentiful as today’s, were enough to fill them up until the first day of the lunar year at noon when they would come over for lunch.

Heading home empty-handed now, with no food nor fire, how were they to celebrate this New Year’s?

Qi Yourong got the hint from Madam Song and stretched his hand toward Lady Wang and her family, but didn’t know what to say.

In previous years, his family would symbolically take some items to the eldest brother’s house, even if not much, but even a little was still something taken and not just consumed for free. This year, the Second Branch quickly rose to affluence, and while the eldest branch also benefitted from the Second Branch, only their Third Branch continued to live in poverty, tied to their meager plot of land.

Hence, they didn’t take a single grain of rice to the eldest brother’s house. They were all so rich that it seemed outrageous to take anything from his house.

But now he regretted it; had they done as in previous years, bringing over two pickled vegetables or a bowl of noodles, his wife could now be helping herself to the food. Even if he didn’t dare touch the Second Branch’s items, couldn’t he have taken more from his eldest brother’s meals? Though the eldest brother’s preparation for this year couldn’t compare to the Second Branch’s, it was still several times better than in previous years.

Lady Wang, seeing Qi Yourong’s outstretched hand in the air, hastened the packing even more, and pushed the approaching Madam Song to the side, "Sister-in-law is a guest, and we wouldn’t dare to trouble you."

Now in the main hall, the Third Branch was left with only Qi Yourong, his spouse, and Qi Liang, a total of three people. With the hawk-eyed servants and guards from the Second Branch, and the ill-looking Qi Ye there, Qi Yourong felt an unprecedented sense of helplessness and isolation.

He looked pitifully at Qi Yougui and said, "Big brother, we haven’t prepared anything at home, if we go back now, we quite simply will have nothing to eat. Could you ask your wife to give us a little?"

Lady Wang snapped back unpleasantly, "Without preparing, what kind of New Year are you celebrating? If we had not prepared, wouldn’t all three families end up hungry on New Year’s Day?"

Qi Yourong and his spouse, cultured as they were, did not stoop to Lady Wang’s level, pretending not to hear her words, and only silently looked at Qi Yougui with hopeful eyes.

Qi Yougui was clearly outmatched and immediately at a disadvantage, telling Lady Wang, "Give a little to the third brother. Our family’s circumstances are ultimately better than his; we can’t just sit by and watch him go hungry over the New Year’s."

"Ahem..." Ye Xinyan, who had been watching the scene unfold, couldn’t hold back and coughed out loud.

The Great Uncle... such a kind-hearted man. No wonder Qi Yourong’s family clung to him like a stubborn leech, with him behaving this way, it would be a wonder if they could shake them off.