Chapter 21 is all about relentlessly pursuing one's advantage.
She just doesn't like Ji Xuening. She's gone to his house several times to introduce her niece, but he hasn't agreed. Does he really think he's something special? Doesn't he even know his own family's situation? Turns out, she's just trying to curry favor with people from the county town.
Isn't her niece better than Wang Yuqing? Although she's mute, she's beautiful and capable. She's been praised for raising several rabbits, and none of the other rabbits in the village are as well-raised as hers!
Those rabbits were part of her dowry!
Liu Li deliberately asked, "Xue Ning, why didn't your father-in-law and mother-in-law come? I didn't see them either. They should have come according to etiquette. But I didn't expect that you, who are usually so quiet, would agree to come after going to the Wang family in the county town."
Yuan Fang chimed in with a high-pitched voice, "That's right! From now on, you can stand up straight and tell everyone in our brigade that you have a wife from the county town."
Ji Xuening frowned: "I've always kept my back straight, I never bend over."
Yuan Fang's expression changed, and she grinned, because her son always walked with a stoop, and she had been saying for many years that rich people walked like that.
Ji Daming quickly caught up, excitedly saying, "Dad, Mom..." He scratched his head sheepishly after calling out those names, "She caught so many fish today, she's amazing..."
"fishing?"
Ji Xuening was surprised; he had never seen any women in the village who knew how to fish.
Ji Daming nodded: "Yes, she took Meimei fishing in the river by the door. They looked like they caught a lot. I usually either don't catch anything or I only catch one."
Yuan Fang muttered to herself, "Fishing and hunting, what a waste of time."
Ji Xuening wasn't sure if she was replying to her or Ji Daming: "You're really capable, even more capable than me."
Yuan Fang: "..."
She's usually like a block of wood, but I didn't expect her to be so good at roasting people. She forced a smile and said, "Fourth brother, you should be careful with your new wife. I've heard about what happened at the Shuangdai store. I doubt she'll treat your grandma and the three kids well later. She's very shrewd and has a sharp tongue. She's not a kind person."
Ji Xuening remained expressionless and replied indifferently, "It's fine."
Yuan Fang twitched her lips and muttered to Liu Li beside her, "Good my ass, how could he be good to their whole family? Why would anyone from the county town want him?"
As they got closer to the Ji family home, Ji Daming sniffed the air and said excitedly, "Dad, this smells like fish. It seems to be coming from our house. Did Mom cook fish for us?"
Yuan Fang: "..."
What fish aroma? Where is the fish aroma coming from? She sniffed hard, and it did indeed smell like fish, and it was definitely coming from the Ji family's kitchen.
Her face was grim, and she quickened her pace to the Ji family's door. She and several people behind her peered out. Just then, Wang Yuqing happened to come out carrying a large bowl of pickled fish.
Ji Meimei called out sweetly, "Dad, brother, dinner's ready! Mom made lots of fish for us."
Yuan Fang stopped in her tracks, rubbed her eyes, and stared at the pickled fish in Wang Yuqing's hand for a long time before finally moving on to the Zhou family's kitchen next door, where no smoke was coming out.
She recalled how the Zhou family had just prepared a delicious meal to welcome the new bride and had even mocked Ji Xuening, and she couldn't help but blush with embarrassment.
Ji Xuening's voice came from beside her: "Aunt Yuan, the food she made for me was very good."
Ji Xiaoming, who was following behind, added, "Grandma Yuan is my wife. I'm going back to eat fish."
The two, one big and one small, walked back to their own yard.
Yuan Fang stood there, feeling both upset and incredibly embarrassed. The eldest son was usually so quiet, but when he did speak, he could drive you crazy. And the youngest son was the same.
She patted her chest and let out a breath. Just then, Tang Wan, who had been following behind without saying a word, passed by her and said indifferently, "Aunt Yuan, this aroma belongs to the Ji family. The food was made by the Ji family's new daughter-in-law. Don't worry about their affairs. Go back and cook for your son and daughter-in-law."
This was like a slap in the face, making her furious. She stomped her feet and cursed under her breath, "He always acts so high and mighty, abandoning his own parents to come to his lover's house to take care of other people's parents. He's shameless and disgraceful."
As a result, Tang Wan, who was walking ahead, turned around and stabbed her again: "What, you want to come here for a free meal?"
This remark caused the people around him to burst into laughter.
The reason Yuan Fang didn't dare to openly scold her was because her father was the head of the commune's armed forces department, a cadre who earned a state salary, received state-subsidized grain rations, and was a retired veteran who had been to the battlefield before, so he had a high reputation.
How could she dare to offend them?
Before leaving, she said sarcastically to Wang Yuqing and the others, "Eating a fish like this will wipe out our entire fortune, Aunt Ji. Your new granddaughter-in-law is a bit of a spendthrift."
With Wang Yuqing's help, Grandma Ji sat down. She ignored Yuan Fang and instead comforted Wang Yuqing, saying, "Don't pay attention to her. Let's eat and pretend we didn't hear anything."
Ji Xuening and her three children ignored them, and the whole family sat around, eagerly tasting the pickled fish and crucian carp soup in front of them.
Wang Yuqing was unhappy; this was affecting her appetite!
She yelled at Yuan Fang, who was walking down the street, "Did I embezzle your money? Did I eat your food? Did I use your things?"
Yuan Fang was stunned by the retort. This new daughter-in-law was even more shrewish and ruthless than she had imagined. She thought that she would only scold He Ruhua, who was the same age as her, but it turned out that she showed no mercy and even scolded her, an elder.
Ji Xuening wasn't too surprised, having seen it before, but Grandma Ji, Ji Daming, Ji Xiaoming, and Ji Meimei were all dumbfounded and forgot to eat.
Yuan Fang said angrily, "What a sharp tongue she has! It's outrageous that she even scolds me, her elder. Aunt Ji, you can't control your new granddaughter-in-law!"
Wang Yuqing sneered: "I'm not some Tom, Dick, or Harry that needs to be told what to do. My family doesn't do this, only yours does, right? I'm sure my mouth is better than yours, but my breath isn't as bad as yours. It makes me lose my appetite for fish."
Yuan Fang was so angry that her eyes bulged like light bulbs. Although she had argued with others over the years and gotten to a draw, they were all peers. Today, she was being insulted by a junior. She was so angry that she could hardly speak: "You... a young new bride, a junior, how can you speak so rudely? I am an elder, after all. You have no manners and no morals at all."
“In my heart, everyone is equal. There is no distinction between superior and inferior, young and old. I don’t care if you are my elder, peer or junior. If you insult me, I will insult you back.”
"My manners are not for my elders, but for people who are equally well-mannered."
"If you want me, the junior, to back down, then you, the elder, should just keep your distance and let's keep to ourselves."
She was eloquent and had her own set of theories, which left Yuan Fang speechless. Yuan Fang was so angry that her face turned into a bloated toad. She casually replied, "I'm too lazy to kindly remind you. You're really something else. Who would dare to do business with you?"
"Take care, I won't keep you for fish."
Wang Yuqing waved to her.
What a joke! Dare to curse her? I, Yuqing, have a hundred insults in my mouth, ready to fight to the bitter end. I'm all about never letting the other person get away with it.
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