EBE Chapter 9 Undercooked Rice
Chapter 9 Undercooked Rice
Sun's eyes blazed with fury, her gaze turning sinister. She immediately began to plot in her mind that she would teach her eldest daughter-in-law a lesson in manners when she returned!
"Mother, what's wrong with them? Who made you so angry?" Shen Jiangchuan, the second son, asked as soon as he entered the door.
"Hmph, who else could it be but the eldest daughter's? It's because the eldest daughter didn't stay in town to work today, so she has something to rely on. She didn't even come back to cook lunch. If she doesn't want to cook, fine, but she can still help the eldest daughter with some work in the fields. Those two brats are deliberately being lazy. They don't feed the pigs, don't add food to the chickens, and don't cook. Aren't they deliberately trying to shirk their responsibilities for me?"
Mr. Shen led a group of his children and grandchildren back from school for lunch. As soon as he entered the door, he heard his wife getting angry. After listening to her explanation, he suddenly frowned and felt dissatisfied, thinking that his eldest son's wife had indeed gone too far today!
But after teaching for half a day, he was starving. When it was time to eat, his eldest daughter-in-law and two granddaughters still hadn't returned, and he didn't have time to get angry about it.
"Alright, if they don't come back, the whole family won't eat? Can't you at least start preparing a meal for lunch?"
This was the first time Sun had been reprimanded by a man, and she immediately felt uncomfortable.
“I do everything myself, what use is she to me, this freeloader daughter-in-law?”
The youngest son, Shen Xiaochuan, was not yet married and naturally did not understand the intricacies of the situation. He said in a loud voice, "Yes, Mother, my sister-in-law and Xiaotang have not returned yet, and we have not been able to eat. Aren't you hungry? We have to go back to school to study after we finish eating."
Correct!
Her husband, son, and grandson still have to go to school after dinner. How could she have forgotten about that?
Madam Sun immediately became anxious. She could sulk and skip meals, but her sons and grandsons absolutely could not stop studying. If it delayed their chance to become top scholars, that would be a real sin!
So, she turned her gaze to her second daughter-in-law and said, "Mingyue, go cook!"
"What?"
"Should I cook?"
Ms. Song pointed to herself, her face full of disbelief.
She had no idea how to cook. Her parents had seven sons, and she was their youngest daughter. She was the apple of their eye. From childhood, her sisters-in-law did all the housework, and she never had to lift a finger.
So, Song blushed and looked to her husband for help.
Shen Jiangchuan was always shrewd and knew his wife's temperament very well. He immediately spoke up to help her, "Mother, you know that Mingyue is the youngest in her family. How could she do these things? Besides, she has to embroider and sew every day. What if she gets her hands rough and gets her embroidery work cut off? That would be too much of a loss."
Sun nodded, thinking her son made sense, and immediately called out to her third daughter-in-law.
"Vanilla, everyone's back. What are you still doing cooped up inside? The loom's been shut down, what else could you possibly be doing? Stop dawdling and come out to cook lunch!"
"They're all such a handful, they're constantly giving me so much trouble!"
The third wife, Zhao, had already heard the commotion in the courtyard. She had sharp ears and could hear clearly. Wasn't it just that her eldest sister-in-law and Xiao Tang hadn't returned yet, and she wanted to find someone to cook?
She was busy weaving all day long, so tired that her back, legs and arms ached. Song Mingyue was just sitting and embroidering and making clothes. Her work was very light. Yet she still had the nerve to push the cooking work onto her.
Once this kind of thing starts, it might all be hers in the future!
Trying to get ripped off by her? You're dreaming!
So, she gritted her teeth, picked up the shuttle in front of her, and stabbed it hard into her inner thigh. The pain made her turn pale and break out in a cold sweat.
She staggered out of the room, her face pale and sweating, looking like she was sick, and quite sick at that!
When the third brother, Shen Haichuan, saw this, he was immediately heartbroken. How could his wife have become so ill in just half a day?
He rushed forward and supported his swaying wife.
When the twins Shen Changsheng and Shen Changfeng saw that their mother was seriously ill, they both cried out in unison.
"Mom, what's wrong? Why are you so sick?"
"Waaah... Mother, don't scare me, I'll go get a doctor for you right away!"
Zhao Xiangcao was very satisfied with the result. She was pleased with herself, but her face looked miserable as she forced a smile. "It's nothing. I'm just feeling a little unwell. I'll be fine after a rest. Why waste money on a doctor? I'll just have to tough it out."
Her two sons clung to her legs, crying their eyes out, a sight that brought tears to the eyes of anyone who saw it.
Shen Haichuan, his face ashen, glared at his second brother and sister-in-law before speaking to Madam Sun.
“Mother, Xiangcao is not feeling well today. If you are worried that Second Sister-in-law will make her hands rough while cooking, then you can cook it yourself. I will help Xiangcao back to her room to rest first.”
After saying that, he helped his wife slowly back to their room, and their two sons immediately followed.
Song stood there stunned for a long time before she came to her senses.
The loom in the three rooms hummed all morning. If Zhao Xiangcao was really that sick, yet still insisted on weaving, then she was indeed a ruthless person. No... even in this state, she was unwilling to call a doctor, there must be something fishy going on. In the past, she relied on the fact that she had given birth to twins, and she acted as if the sky was falling if she had even the slightest problem.
She must be faking her illness!
Count her hard!
Madam Song was so angry she almost ground her teeth to powder, but there was nothing she could do about her sister-in-law. After all, the other woman had taken the initiative and pretended to be sick first. It was too late for her to pretend now, and besides, no one believed her anymore!
In the end, Song went into the small kitchen, and her daughter Shen Yinxiu was forced to follow her in to help.
Both mother and daughter were cooking for the first time, and they were so flustered that they didn't know where to start.
Relying on their memories of the food they had eaten in the past, the two of them almost set the kitchen on fire with their efforts, before they finally managed to cook a pot of half-cooked rice.
While cursing and swearing, Sun fed the pigs grass and added feed for the chickens. She rushed into the small kitchen, scooped out a bowl of rice, and ate it herself.
She had just taken a bite when she immediately vomited violently.
"Bah bah bah..."
"Song Mingyue, are you trying to kill us with salt? Are you out of your mind? Why are you putting in so much salt all at once? How upset must you be to cook lunch like this?"
"Oh God, how could I have such a bunch of daughters-in-law? A bunch of lazy good-for-nothings who only eat and do nothing, just poop and stick their butts out, and they even waste food! I can't count on a single one of them, they deserve to be cut into a thousand pieces..."
Feeling guilty, Song immediately said aggrievedly, "Mother, everyone knows I can't cook. Today is the first time Yinxiu and I have cooked, so it's normal that we can't control the heat and the saltiness. Don't be angry, I'll cook more often in the future."
How could Madam Sun dare to let her second daughter-in-law, who was like a mistress, cook? Not only did she cook half a pot more than usual, but she also added so much salt that her mouth tasted bitter from the salt. It was heartbreaking to see so much grain wasted.
She said with great distress, "What future? You should just stick to embroidery and making clothes, and stop wasting food!"
They can't be ordered around, they really can't be ordered around!
The whole family, each holding a bowl of rice, were starving if they didn't eat, but it was too hard to swallow if they did!