Chapter 26 Parting on bad terms
A thought flashed through his mind instantly, 'This woman really doesn't know how to live. She raised a dog so fat. It seems that if this man marries her husband Erlang in the future, he can't let her be the housekeeper, otherwise he won't be able to keep all the good things.'
Cui Qingyi didn't know what Gu's mother was thinking. She was a little curious when she saw the old man and the young boy coming in. It was the first time someone came to her house as a guest after living in Huaihua Lane for so long. It was quite strange.
Everyone who comes is a guest, and they are all neighbors living in the same alley. Even if they don’t have a deep relationship, there is no need to make enemies. Cui Qingyi did not put on airs.
When the two people came over, he stood up and said, "It's Mrs. Gu and Mrs. Gu. Come in and sit down. Konjac will make a pot of good tea for you and your sister-in-law."
Mother Gu smiled and said, "Farmers are always busy, but today is a good day. My little granddaughter has been missing the sweet cakes you make, so I shamelessly came to your house."
What Gu's mother said sounded nice. Cui Qingyi thought that if she had not met Gu Chengsi in Moxiangzhai that day, she would have believed it.
Not to mention that she has lived two lives, she has read a lot of storybooks even in this life. If she still can't see through the calculations in Gu Erlang's mind, she would be ashamed to death.
But she didn't show any emotion on her face. "It's a simple dish, it's rare that a child likes it. I'll ask Konjac to write down the recipe later. You can take it home and follow it. I guarantee it will be exactly the same as what I made that day."
Mother Gu found Cui Qingyi's words a bit irritating. What did she mean by "simple things"? What did she mean by "it's rare for a child to like them"? Why did these words sound so awkward?
Mrs. Gu didn't think anything was wrong. She sat awkwardly on the stool that Konjac had brought out and said politely, "Thank you so much, Madam Cui. My little girl is greedy and likes to eat sweet things. I'll make it for her when we get back."
Konjac came out with the tea tray, and Mrs. Gu's eyes fell on the teacups and teacups on the tray. She thought to herself, "Oh my god, rich people are really different. Even their teacups for drinking water are so beautiful."
The porcelain is fine white and the patterns on it are exquisite. It would be a pity to use such a good cup to drink water, but she couldn't think of what else this cup could be used for besides drinking water.
Moreover, when they visited other people's homes in the past, they usually brought a bowl of plain water. This was the first time they were served tea, and they felt a sense of vanity as if they were valued.
Without Cui Qingyi's instructions, Konjac went to the kitchen and picked out two kinds of prepared pastries to go with the tea.
When Mother Gu saw this, she started to grumble in her heart, "There are so many rules for visiting a farmer's house. These cakes don't look cheap. These young ladies nowadays really don't know how to live. They just waste good things."
While waiting for the guests to be served, Konjac stopped busying herself and moved a small stool to sit next to Cui Qingyi to continue her needlework.
Mother Gu's eyes moved from the snacks on the table to Konjac's hands.
This time she couldn't help herself: "This material is really good, but it's ruined by our family wearing it."
In keeping with the principle of hospitality, Cui Qingyi was about to invite the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law from the Gu family to have tea and snacks, but she suddenly swallowed the words that were on her throat.
Mrs. Gu was very embarrassed. Her mother-in-law was good in every way except that she was a little petty. She had been reluctant to eat and wear for her entire life, and all the money she saved was given to her brother-in-law.
But what's the point of you going to someone else's house and saying this?
Mrs. Gu quickly spoke up to make amends: "Ms. Cui looks well-educated and very pretty. She will look stunning in this dress."
After hearing what her eldest daughter-in-law said, Mother Gu realized that what she had just said was a bit too much. The other person had nothing to do with them now.
But she didn't mean it. She just felt it was a pity. The material looked expensive, probably costing one or two taels of silver per foot. It would be a waste to leave such precious fabric in this place.
Cui Qingyi knew why the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law came today. She originally thought that it would be best not to have any conflicts since they lived in the same alley, but she didn't expect that the old woman was so annoying and even started to give orders in someone else's house.
She had been controlled by the Cui and Chen families, and had enough of the Yuan and Chen old ladies' bullying. Now that she was living on her own, she had to endure the bullying of an inexplicable old woman.
She was too lazy to pretend to be kind anymore, so she put on a cold face and picked up the notebook beside her to read.
Konjac's hands kept moving as he casually said, "This isn't really a good material. It's just something that's pleasing to the eye in this area."
Mother Gu was a little unhappy. She wanted to say something but was startled by a pair of eyes staring at her. The big black dog that had been lying quietly at Cui Qingyi's feet was now looking at her, making her feel a little weak.
The Gu family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had an embarrassing quarrel. When sending them out, Konjac quickly told them the method of making sweet cakes, hoping that the two of them would not use this excuse to come to their house again in the future.
After everyone left, Konjac closed the door and spat loudly: "Bah, a toad wants to eat swan flesh."
Konjac was not a timid person to begin with. After living in Dongping County for so long, going out and interacting with people every day, her temper, which had been suppressed in the inner house, gradually recovered. She even dared to confront others when buying vegetables on the street.
Cui Qingyi felt that this change was excellent. This was how the world was sometimes. People on the same level as you were not necessarily natural allies. Others would not think you were kind-hearted. Instead, they would think you were cowardly and vulnerable and harbor ill will towards you.
Do you want to say that Gu's mother is a bad person? Cui Qingyi doesn't think so. She is obviously a good mother who plans carefully for her children and grandchildren, but it is such a person who comes up with ways to scheme against others.
Not far away, Feng had been watching since Gu's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law knocked on the Cui family's gate. When she saw someone coming out, she hurried over to greet them.
"Aunt Gu, are you guys visiting Madam Cui's house? It's almost noon now, why didn't Madam Cui invite you to her house for dinner?"
As she spoke, her slanted eyes glanced back and forth at the hands of Gu's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. She was waiting here just to see if these two people brought out any good things from Cui's house. Although the sweet cake last time was crude, it tasted really good.
It’s a pity that Mrs. Cui was stingy and only gave each family a small piece. She didn’t even get to eat a few bites before her mother-in-law took it away and shared it with the children. It would have been fine if she had given it to the boys in the family, but she even gave a few bites to the little girl. What a waste.
Feng had a bad reputation in Huaihua Lane, and Gu usually didn't bother to pay attention to her, but her son had just humiliated the two young ladies at Cui's house, and she was annoyed when she saw Feng.
"Eat, how dare you invite others to dinner for no reason? Do you think I'm shameless and can't take advantage of you enough?"
Mrs. Gu's voice was quite loud. Mrs. Feng, who was busy in the kitchen, heard the sound and ran out quickly, "Aunt Gu, what's wrong?"
Gu's mother was furious. She pointed at Feng and said, "Sister-in-law, you have to keep your daughter-in-law in check. She's cunning, lazy, greedy, and gossipy all the time. Don't let such a woman hinder your grandchildren from getting married in the future."
After saying this, he turned and left without waiting for Mother-in-law Feng's response.
Feng shrank back at the glare from her mother-in-law, but refused to admit defeat. She muttered in the direction where Gu's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law left, "How could you separate the old family?"
Mother-in-law Feng was almost mad at her daughter-in-law, because all year round she was always blocked at her door by neighbors who criticized her.
She is now too embarrassed to go out and gossip with the neighbors. It's such a sin.
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