The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 739 - 738 Discussion

Chapter 739: Chapter 738 Discussion

Lady Lin couldn’t maintain her composure, clung to the door frame and said with a moan, "I’m saying, Laosi’s house, you’re being unreasonable! This isn’t your fourth room’s house, why are you pushing me around?"

Lady Jiang whispered from behind, "Older sister, if you delay our cooking any longer, our mother will have nothing to eat after she’s done with her morning wash—"

That’s when Lady Lin remembered that both Grandma Taishui and Patrol Sea Yaksha, her little sister-in-law, had returned to town; she really had to behave herself.

She immediately became quiet and left with an embarrassed expression.

The remaining sisters-in-law were both adept and quick with their hands, and without any meat or fish to prepare, the cooking was rather simple.

Due to the tight schedule, they simply made scallion egg pancakes and served them with wild vegetables picked from the mountain that very morning.

They also made a tofu casserole with mushrooms and stir-fried various green vegetables of spring, as well as a large bowl of egg sauce. Lastly, they prepared a light and clear soup with the tenderest wolfberry sprouts.

The meal, when brought to the table, looked refreshingly delicious and very appealing.

Not to mention anything else, among the Wang family’s daughters-in-law, Lady Jiang’s cooking skills were especially reliable. Today, she had put even more effort into it, and the aroma made everyone, both adults and children, involuntarily swallow their saliva.

Lady Lin looked at the assortment of dishes on the table, their oily sheen, and discreetly licked her lips.

These days, she too had been eating nothing but sorghum flour and sweet potatoes with boiled wild vegetables, her stomach lacking the richness of oil, and it had been tough to endure.

Seeing that Laosan’s house ate so well every day made her feel envious and also miserable at once.

Meanwhile, Wang Yonggui guessed it was about time and sent Jinhua to the back yard to call Old Granny Zhang and the others for the meal.

Jinhua agreed with a clomp and raced towards the back yard.

Old Granny Zhang and the others didn’t dare to rest for real. Having freshened up, they all felt more relaxed. They changed into clean clothes, feeling fresh and crisp, and were just about to step outside.

They ran straight into Jinhua.

Hastily approaching, Jinhua looped her arm through Wang Yongzhu’s, "Granny, Old Aunt! It’s great that you’re back! I’ve really missed you!"

Seeing Jinhua, Old Granny Zhang’s face softened a bit as she snorted, "Miss the hair ornaments and treats your granny and old aunt brought for you, eh?"

Jinhua now had a bit more courage and didn’t speak, just gave Old Granny Zhang a smile.

She clung to Wang Yongzhu’s side and refused to leave, even sitting next to her at the dining table.

Initially, Old Granny Zhang, having been jostled around for several days, wasn’t very hungry, but the sight of the light dishes on the table whetted her appetite. After eating a little, she grudgingly complimented, "Laosan’s House hasn’t lost its touch; it still tastes the same!"

Lady Jiang immediately responded with excitement, "Mother, if you like it, I’ll cook it for you every day!"

Liu Xiaoqiao also hurried to add, "Today I gave way to the cooking of Third Sister-in-law. Tomorrow, I will prepare some of my best dishes for mother and younger sister to taste something fresh."

Old Granny Zhang nodded in acknowledgment.

Seeing that both siblings’ wives had expressed their intentions, it was only his own wife, Lady Lin, who seemed like she hadn’t eaten for generations. Everyone else would take one pancake, lay some cold wild vegetables on it, smear some egg sauce, and then roll it up to eat.

But Lady Lin grabbed one with her left hand and another with her right, without touching the vegetables. She poured the egg sauce on with a spoon, wrapping it so tightly it almost squeezed out, before hurrying it into her mouth.

Unable to swallow quickly enough, the sauce dripped down her chin. Lady Lin didn’t care; she wiped her face with her hand and continued to eat vigorously.

The egg sauce was salty already, and with such unrestrained eating, she quickly became thirsty. With a spoon, she scooped up two big mouthfuls of wolfberry sprout egg soup, and her chopsticks constantly reached into the mushroom tofu casserole.

At the table, Lady Lin was the one who ate the most ungracefully.

Wang Yongfu finally realized who Jinguan had inherited his eating habits from.

He glared at Lady Lin, but got no reaction.

With no choice left, Wang Yongfu nudged Lady Lin under the table with his foot, prompting her to lift her head and ask, "Head of the family, why did you kick me?"

All eyes at the dining table turned towards them, and Wang Yongfu felt his face burn with embarrassment.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, yet nothing came out.

It was Jinhoo who stood up, "Grandma, Old Aunt, stay with us a few more days this time, so we can show our respect too. Today we’re at Third Aunt’s house, tomorrow we’ll go to Fourth Aunt’s, and the day after to our place! Let’s take turns! Although the meal my mother makes may not be as delicious as the other two aunts’ dishes, it is still full of filial piety! Please, Grandma and Old Aunt, don’t look down on it!"

Old Granny Zhang was initially planning to make a scene, but upon second thought, she decided it wasn’t good to cause trouble on her first day back. Plus, Jinhoo had defused the situation. Considering the child’s feelings, she decided to let Lady Lin off the hook for the time being.

So, they barely got through it.

After finishing the meal and resting for a bit, everyone went to the backyard to discuss the arrangements for the Qingming festival and Wang Laozhu’s fifty-day memorial.

The fifty-day memorial is considered quite significant, commonly known as returning the evil spirits.

According to local village customs, on the day of Wang Laozhu’s fifty-day memorial, it’s not necessary to send invitations; relatives and friends are expected to come on their own initiative.

On this day, it’s customary to invite a Taoist priest to conduct the memorial ceremony, then relatives and friends bring paper money, and things like silver foil ingots to burn.

The family of the deceased needs to prepare paper models of houses and pavilions, stuffed full with paper money or silver foil ingots. For those who are more fastidious, it is also customary to prepare paper models of gold and silver mountains. After the ceremony, these are all burned together to be sent to the deceased in the afterlife.

Daughters who are married and their husbands need to prepare a table of food and drink, with meat and wine, and either five or twelve dishes. These include fish, meatballs, leeks, dried tofu, celery, along with pig intestines and chicken wings.

Each item represents a different auspice.

These dishes are first offered to the deceased, then brought back home for everyone to share.

The staple food for the memorial, provided by the daughters and sons-in-law, is dumplings served to visiting relatives and friends.

The family of the deceased has already purchased the paper models of houses and pavilions to burn, as well as the silver foil ingots, gold mountains, and silver mountains.

All these items were moved to the room next door earlier.

As for inviting the Taoist priest to hold the memorial ceremony, that was arranged in advance, to not bother them repeatedly. The Taoist temple has the date recorded and will come over early in the morning.

What remains is to host the visiting relatives and friends.

Before Wang Yongzhu spoke, Wang Yongfu had already said, "Since all the items for the burning ritual have been bought by my younger sister, when it comes to preparing the feast, let us three brothers handle it. We don’t need to be so extravagant; five dishes will suffice! As for the dumplings, with so many helping hands in our family, we can prepare them the day before without any trouble."

Wang Yonggui and Wang Yongping had no objections and quickly nodded in agreement.

Funerary items are not cheap, especially the paper models of the houses and pavilions, as well as the gold and silver mountains, which also cost a considerable sum.

As for the banquet, there’s still leftover wine from last time, and only vegetarian fillings will be used for the dumplings. How much could that possibly cost?

Wang Yongzhu originally wanted to refuse, but seeing Wang Yongfu’s extremely anxious demeanor, she paused and agreed, "That sounds good! It just seems that I am taking advantage of my brothers and sisters-in-law."

Liu Xiaoqiao hurriedly said, "Sister, what are you talking about? Buying all these items for the burning ritual also costs quite a bit of silver! As for the feast, the meat and fish we have on hand are not worth much. If anything, it seems we’re the ones getting the better deal!"