The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 654 - 653: Scolding People

Chapter 654: Chapter 653: Scolding People

Fortunately, as it was a new marriage, Song Chongjin had people stock up on plenty of grain and vegetables in the kitchen. Since it was an elder who had passed away, it would not be proper to serve a meat feast, so they could only send someone to buy a slab of tofu, creating a tofu banquet with an assortment of mountain delicacies and mushrooms, which still presented quite decently.

The neighbors arrived at the mourning hall, offered incense, and were met by filial sons and grandsons who knelt and returned their greetings.

Then they were invited to the side hall, where Old Granny Zhang accompanied them, and Wang Yongzhu personally served tea to the guests.

The visiting neighbors took note of Old Granny Zhang and Wang Yongzhu, both dressed in heavy mourning attire, completely devoid of any jewelry, with only a small white flower pinned to their neatly combed hair.

For a moment, they felt pity for the bride; she had just gotten married the day before, and the next day, an elder in her family had passed. Her fate seemed too sorrowful, and had she married into a less reasonable in-law family, they might have labeled the new bride an omen of bad luck.

Even in the dress of a new daughter-in-law, though Wang Yongzhu wore mourning clothes and no adornments, her beauty was magnified even more.

This elicited several sighs of admiration.

Since the visitors offering condolences were all women, they exchanged a few pleasantries before probing each other for information.

Wang Yongzhu, playing the role of a shy young bride, bowed her head and remained silent no matter what was asked.

But Old Granny Zhang, seasoned and astute, had the measure of these neighbors within a few words.

She vaguely mentioned that her family was not from Qi City but lived in the countryside and that this house belonged to her son-in-law, who had grown up with them since he was a child; he had come back to marry.

She said the son-in-law was like her own child, and so the whole family had come for the wedding. Unfortunately, the old man had not adapted to the new environment and had fallen ill and never recovered.

She left the rest unsaid, giving the neighbors room to speculate.

A few of the visiting women flickered with curiosity, at first offering comforting words like asking her to take care of herself.

One of them, however, mixed sympathy with disdain as she spoke, implying things about Wang Yongzhu’s difficult life and bleak future.

Listening to this, Old Granny Zhang felt a flash of anger; her daughter obviously had the face of one bound for good fortune—how could she be called pitiable or unfortunate?

Old Granny Zhang was not the type to hold back, especially when it came to her precious daughter. Her face immediately showed her displeasure.

Seeing the mood shift, the more observant guests tried to change the subject.

Yet, the woman, for some reason, grasped the hand of Wang Yongzhu—who was pouring water and adding tea—and began to cry, "Poor child, to be born with such looks, it’s no wonder..."

She didn’t finish her sentence, but the tone was clearly not kind.

Wang Yongzhu’s expression also darkened, and she pulled away her hand, preparing to speak.

But Old Granny Zhang couldn’t contain herself, "My daughter is fortunate indeed, and has no need for such concerns from irrelevant strangers like you! If you have come to offer your condolences respectfully, then even though we may be peasants, we know our manners and will reciprocate in kind."

"But I have never heard of neighbors taking up the worry of a parent. Is this the custom of the city? Pah! I’ll have you know, our family takes care of our own affairs, so keep your meddling hands to yourself! Otherwise, don’t blame me for being impolite!"

With these words thrown out, the visiting women were visibly embarrassed. A few quick-thinking ones managed to smooth things over, trying their best to steer the conversation back on track.

The atmosphere turned awkward with indignation, and those with thinner skins among the visitors found the situation unbearable and excused themselves to leave.

The kitchen maid was indeed deft and had already prepared a table for the tofu banquet, simply awaiting the guests to take their seats.

Old Granny Zhang also accompanied the female guests at the banquet.

The female guests, looking at the tofu feast which included eight large bowls of dishes—fried, stewed, boiled, and stir-fried—the feast was visually appealing, aromatic and flavorful, especially with the addition of mountain delicacies and mushrooms, which emitted a mouthwatering fragrance.

The ones who had thought about leaving now stayed put, sat down together, and ate till their bellies were round, their opinion of the family’s children rising several notches in their minds.

Although they came from the countryside, their household seemed quite affluent, evident from the tofu banquet before them.

Typically, when a family member passed away and funeral arrangements were made, the tofu banquets held were much simpler; who would be willing to serve these mountain delicacies and mushrooms?

As a result, their attitude became even more amiable.

Since they were all ordinary families, there were no such rules as ’eat without speaking, rest without chatting.’ As they ate, they took the initiative to chat with Old Granny Zhang and Wang Yongzhu about the local specialties and customs of Qi City, preventing any awkward silence.

After the banquet was finished, they politely saw the guests out.

Upon closing the door, Old Granny Zhang’s face darkened: "These city folks are just like our peasant women, so quick-tongued! My girl, you saw it too, the city folk are just like us peasant families, bullying the kind and fearing the tough! We’re newcomers here; what do we have to do with them? We didn’t provoke them, yet they took a mile when given an inch, acting as if they were so important!"

"Pah! Do they even deserve it? They even dare to say my daughter is suffering from misfortune and is pitiable? That’s complete nonsense! My daughter’s blessings are yet to come, these gossipy..."

For some reason, as soon as Wang Yongzhu heard Old Granny Zhang’s hearty cursing, she felt relieved.

It seemed her mother was just fine, unaffected by her father’s recent passing, and the fact that she could still curse reassured her!

Therefore, she hurriedly coaxed Old Granny Zhang into a smile.

The mother and daughter then went to keep vigil in the mourning hall.

Although Old Granny Zhang thought of her sons as ungrateful, when she saw that in just two nights, both her sons and grandsons had become emaciated, with sunken eyes, she frowned, "It’s only been two days, and you’ve all turned gaunt like this, burning the midnight oil. Do you even value your lives? I never saw such filial piety on regular days. What’s the point of making such a fuss now? All of you get out of here and go lie down for a while!"

"Mother, we can’t leave the mourning hall unattended—" Wang Yongping whispered.

"Aren’t your sister and I people?" Old Granny Zhang glared.

The Wang Family Brothers lost their nerve and, too exhausted to carry on, helped each other to rise.

Wang Yonggui wanted to give them a few last instructions, but before he could speak, Old Granny Zhang scolded, "Thinking of giving orders now, are you? Have you got the face for it? Aside from having your brothers buy a coffin, what have you done? Who set up the tents, invited the Monks and Taoist Priests, bought the food, cooked, and received and saw off the guests? Have you lifted a finger in assistance?"

"I won’t even mention Jinhoo; you two grown men are acting like women, just kneeling here wailing. What use are you? Wasn’t it your sister and brother-in-law who’ve held everything together?"

"Without your sister and brother-in-law, what could you do? Just hold onto your father and cry? You’ve all been spoiled, always expecting others to do everything, right? You better smarten up! You’ve already divided the family property and established your own households; are you still planning to rely on your sister and brother-in-law for everything?"

After Granny Zhang’s tirade, Wang Yonggui and Wang Yongping both felt their faces burning with shame.

Upon reflection, indeed, as elder brothers, they hadn’t done anything once they stepped out the door.

Not to mention anything else, but even in the case of their father’s funeral, aside from mourning, they really didn’t handle anything else! It was simply indefensible.

An old man had passed away; where was there a son whose only responsibility was mourning, leaving the daughter and son-in-law to manage all the funeral arrangements?

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