The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 557 - 555 Respectfully Offering Tea

Chapter 557: Chapter 555 Respectfully Offering Tea

"Xiao Tiantian?" Wang Yongzhu’s tone was a bit dangerous.

Reluctantly, the voice of Xiao Tiantian rang out, "Congratulations to the host for completing the housing task, reward points 100 points."

"Congratulations to the host for completing the private cash side quest achievement, with private cash reaching 3,000 taels, reward points 150 points."

"Congratulations to the host for achieving the confidant in a love story achievement, reward points 5000 points."

...

Then, after the system panel flickered for a while, the data on it changed:

The current host:

Clothing: Level 4, 0 points

Food: Level 4, 0 points

Housing: Level 4, 0 points

Transport: Level 4, 0 points

Available points 5305, (points can be freely allocated to the above options)

Seeing so many points, Wang Yongzhu finally felt like she could hold her head high and breathe easy.

In the past at times like this, Xiao Tiantian would definitely be jumping for joy, crying and begging to upgrade, to reach the peak of the system.

At the moment, however, it was as quiet as a chicken, pretending it had never existed.

Wang Yongzhu couldn’t be bothered to quibble with this dumb and cute system and after glancing at the points, she threw out a sentence, "Rest assured, I won’t ask you to upgrade until your superior mainframe responds."

"Really? Host Big Big! You are a good person! Host Big Big, from today on, I will be your most loyal and intimate Xiao Tiantian! Whichever direction Host Big Big points to, that’s the battlefield where Xiao Tiantian will follow without hesitation..."

This must be a boot-licking system! Wang Yongzhu silently made a retort and cut off contact with Xiao Tiantian.

Early the next morning, everyone got up bright and early, waiting in the house where Wang Laozhu and Old Granny Zhang lived.

Today was the day the newlyweds served tea to see the in-laws and also the day the new bride would first go into the kitchen to cook and let the in-law’s family taste her culinary skills.

Liu Xiaoqiao had been earnestly reminded by Mother Liu that this day was the critical moment for whether she could truly integrate into her husband’s family.

Don’t be lazy by any means, don’t get up late at all.

When it was barely dawn and the chickens had just crowed for the first time, Liu Xiaoqiao turned over and got out of bed, feeling around to light the oil lamp.

Wang Yongping was still fast asleep, and she didn’t wake him but went by herself toward the kitchen.

She had specifically asked Jinhua about it yesterday and knew where the kitchen was.

She thought she was the earliest, but when she arrived at the kitchen and saw the firelight, she knew someone was already there.

Upon entering, she saw a frail figure busy at the stove, it was Lady Jiang.

Liu Xiaoqiao knew roughly this was her third sister-in-law and hurriedly greeted her, "Third sister-in-law, morning! Am I late?" she asked, her heart filled with a bit of nervousness and regret.

Lady Jiang hurriedly stood up, "Younger sister-in-law, morning! You’re not late, everyone in the family is still asleep. I was just boiling some water for washing faces, the water just boiled, do you want some as well?"

After thinking for a moment, Liu Xiaoqiao didn’t stand on ceremony, thanked Lady Jiang, went back to her room to fetch a basin, took some water, and after washing up, she rolled up her sleeves and started cooking.

Lady Jiang knew this was the test every new bride had to face when entering her husband’s family, to evaluate the new bride’s cooking skills.

Since she still couldn’t grasp the character of this fourth sister-in-law, she didn’t dare say much and just carried her hot water back to her room.

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Soon, Lady Lin of the big room also came to the stove room to fetch water to wash her face. Seeing Liu Xiaoqiao bustling about the kitchen without a moment to spare, she curled her lips, greeted her, fetched her water, and left.

Then came Old Granny Zhang. She first stood at the doorway, watching Liu Xiaoqiao’s proficient movements and feeling satisfied, before stepping into the stove room.

Liu Xiaoqiao, upon seeing her mother-in-law, immediately panicked, nearly losing her grip on the spatula: "Mother...Do...Do you need to fetch washing water?"

She quickly took the wooden bucket from Old Granny Zhang’s hand and personally scooped water for her. Afterward, she also took the initiative to say, "Mother, the water is quite heavy; let me carry it for you." As she spoke, she partially removed the firewood from under the stove, gave the contents of the pot a quick stir, and then covered it with a lid.

She then carried the water toward the backyard.

Old Granny Zhang liked this kind of attentive daughter-in-law; her expression softened a bit.

All morning, after Liu Xiaoqiao prepared breakfast, she hurried back to the yard, waking up the Liu brothers and the men who had come for the wedding, staying in the east wing room, before rushing back to call Wang Yongping.

Wang Yongping, having drunk too much the day before, had been completely out of it when he entered the yard. Now, being called awake by Liu Xiaoqiao, it took him a moment to clear his head upon opening his eyes.

It wasn’t until he saw Liu Xiaoqiao that he suddenly became alert, "Wife, I drank too much yesterday. I didn’t make a fuss last night, did I?"

Liu Xiaoqiao shook her head, "Fourth Brother, get up quickly. Father and mother are waiting for us."

Wang Yongping, annoyed with himself, slapped his own head and hurriedly got up. He took off the salty-dried-vegetable-like new robe he had slept in and changed into everyday clothes; then the couple hurriedly made their way to the backyard.

As for the Liu brothers and the men who had come for the wedding, they naturally could not get involved in the tea ceremony to meet the in-laws, which was a family matter.

Liu Xiaoqiao had also prepared their breakfast and brought it to the wing room, and Song Chongjin had come over early in the morning to keep the Liu brothers company during the meal.

Wang Family’s Backyard.

Wang Laozhu and Old Granny Zhang sat at the head of the table, and upon seeing the couple come in hand in hand, looking a fair match, both showed smiling faces.

There were mats on the ground, and as the couple entered, they kneeled down properly. Wang Yongzhu passed them two cups of tea, and they respectfully offered tea to Wang Laozhu and Old Granny Zhang.

Wang Laozhu took the tea and drank a sip, offering a few words of advice, "From now on, we’re all one family. You should live together harmoniously."

Wang Yongping and Liu Xiaoqiao respectfully bowed their heads and answered, "Yes, Father."

Old Granny Zhang took a sip of her tea and pulled out a red envelope, handing it to Liu Xiaoqiao: "Live a good life with Laosi and give us Wang Family descendants soon."

Liu Xiaoqiao blushed as she took the red envelope and also said yes.

Then it was time for the siblings and sisters-in-law to meet and pay their respects.

In peasant households, there aren’t as many formalities as in the large clans; a simple greeting sufficed, and there were no gifts exchanged.

However, when the nephews and nieces came forward to greet their new aunt, Liu Xiaoqiao took out the red envelopes she had prepared in advance and gave one to each child.

There wasn’t much money inside, just two copper coins for each person, but it was a gesture of goodwill.

Jindou and the others thanked Liu Xiaoqiao and accepted the red envelopes.

Lady Lin pursed her lips; the new sister-in-law seemed to be quite perceptive.

After meeting the in-laws and drinking tea, they went straight to breakfast.

The men of the Wang Family hadn’t eaten well the day before, since most had drunk quite a bit and were not in the mood for breakfast upon waking up.

Liu Xiaoqiao, being a thoughtful person, had prepared a pot of fragrant, soft, clear porridge early in the morning, along with two side dishes, and also steamed a pot of the previous day’s leftover buns. She warmed up two leftover meat dishes from the day before, and the table was laden with food.

Old Granny Zhang drank a mouthful of the porridge and ate a couple of bites of the side dishes, nodding to herself. Although the cooking was not as good as that of Laosan’s House, it was much better than what the Eldest Brother’s house offered.

Liu Xiaoqiao, anxious, had been closely watching Old Granny Zhang, fearing that the food she made wouldn’t suit her mother-in-law’s taste. Seeing that Old Granny Zhang didn’t say anything, Liu Xiaoqiao finally allowed herself a sigh of relief.

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