Chapter 30 A wonderfully old-fashioned family
Perhaps it's a difference in customs; the people around Yu Xue don't understand the custom of having guests cook for birthday parties.
But on my grandmother's side, it was indeed the guests who cooked, while the hosts sat outside.
Grandpa, Uncle, Cousin, and the birthday boy were sitting outside. Aunt and her daughter came out to greet them and then went back to the kitchen. Chen Wanxi took the apron from her aunt and was about to go into the kitchen when her aunt handed her another apron. Her uncle, being kind, took it for Yu Xue.
Yu Xue stared at the apron for two seconds, then looked away, still with her hands in her pockets, and didn't react.
Having gotten used to a comfortable life, she found the smell of cooking oil in the kitchen a bit unbearable.
There are four people in total: Aunt, Aunt's daughter, Chen Wanxi, and Yu Xue. There are also four people in total: Uncle, Grandfather, Aunt, and Aunt's daughter. Two of the first four are guests, and the last four are all the owners of the house. Both groups consist of four people, so there is no shortage of manpower. Logically, the second group should be adopted, since the normal logic is that the owners cook while the guests rest, not the other way around.
Actually, Chen Wanxi couldn't really be considered a guest. It's normal for a daughter to cook for her mother's birthday, but Yu Xue was acting according to the Chen family's special logic.
The Chen family's logic is: once a daughter is married, she is like water spilled from a cup, therefore she is an outsider.
They're outsiders, so they don't usually get a share of the money.
Therefore, now, Chen Wanxi is an outsider to the Chen family, and Yu Xue is also an outsider to the Chen family.
You can't be outsiders when dividing things up, but become family when working together, right?
Although this logic is outside of morality and even outside of the law when dividing the family property, the Chen family has passed it down from generation to generation until now, when someone finally thought of objecting to it.
However, the Chen family's rules have always been above the law. They decide how to divide the family property, and they also decide when "outsiders" become insiders.
Yu Xue took two steps back. Whoever wants to do it can do it; she's not doing it. She's here as a guest.
"What are you spacing out for? Take the apron, or you'll get your clothes dirty," my uncle said.
Wen Feng accepted it, but he couldn't cook either; all he could do was make some pretty desserts.
Their family situation didn't require them to learn to cook. He had learned to make desserts mainly to please Liu Xin.
This dinner party doesn't seem like it needs any snacks.
But he knew that if no one answered, Yu Xue would be scolded again.
Wen Feng: "She just had surgery and can't stand the smell of cooking fumes."
"Oh, just say so!" Uncle quickly took the apron back from Wen Feng's hand and stuffed it into Aunt's hand. "What's there to be embarrassed about? The young lady has finally come back for a visit. If you don't want to work, then don't work. Take a day off."
“我记着娃喜欢吃鱼。”外公操着一口方言，关心道，他回过头，冲着厨房大喊，“曦曦！曦曦！娃爱吃鱼，冰箱里头有两条鱼，你给揍了。”
Chen Wanxi: "Oh, Dad, you don't need to worry about her. You even made fish for her."
“You’re talking nonsense.” Grandpa raised his voice two octaves. “The child has finally come back for a visit. You can’t just ignore what he says. You’re making the child feel bad.”
Yu Xue didn't want to argue with them and waste her voice, so after the two finished arguing, she said, "I can't eat. I had surgery and can't eat greasy food. You don't need to worry about me."
Grandma said, half-scolding and half-concerned, "How could you not eat? Your grandpa specifically asked you to beat him up."
Yu Xue: "..." Fine, whatever, she's already made her stance clear.
They arrived relatively early, at only nine o'clock. The guests started arriving gradually from ten-thirty. They should have known better than to come with Chen Wanxi. Apparently, Chen Wanxi told them she would arrive at eight-thirty because she wanted to come early to cook.
That family is truly geniuses. They got a guest to get up at seven in the morning and come over to cook. A group of men practically turned the sofa into a carpet, but not a single one of them stood up to help.
Yu Xue asked curiously, "Uncle, where's your family's cook?"
Uncle: "It's your grandma's birthday, so we gave them a day off, otherwise there would be too many outsiders at home."
Yu Xue: "..."
They give the chefs a holiday, treat the customers like chefs, and don't even pay the customers' wages.
Okay, genius.
Every decision made by the Chen family was so unexpected.
"Yu Xue! Come in and serve the dishes!" Chen Wanxi shouted.
Wen Feng stood up before Yu Xue could.
“Hey—no need, no need—” Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle all quickly stopped them.
Grandma: "How can you let a man go into the kitchen? You can just sit here. Let Yu Xue go and serve a dish. It's no big deal."
Yu Xue raised an eyebrow and muttered under her breath, "Then why do you always hire male chefs? Men can't work in the kitchen."
She stood up after she finished speaking, since she was just going to serve a dish anyway.
She wasn't planning on flipping the table; she didn't want to argue, so she just wanted to finish eating and leave quickly.
That morning, the three women prepared three large tables of dishes. They had amazing stamina, which Yu Xue admired. With such skills, why did they travel all this way to be free cooks? Wouldn't it be better to find some part-time work and earn some money?
She admired him in her heart, but her face remained expressionless.
From childhood to adulthood, she was the quietest, most well-behaved, and sensible child in the family. So when she didn't react to the apron, her uncle subconsciously thought that she was genuinely injured but embarrassed to say so, rather than deliberately being lazy.
She planned to maintain this persona today, so that when Chen Wanxi scolded her, the relatives would say, "Oh my, I would be so happy if I had a daughter. Look how well-behaved your Yu Xue is, much better than our boy. Girls are so much better, they don't cost any money."
Then Chen Wanxi would awkwardly agree, "Yes, yes, boys cost more money."
Although none of the words were kind, they did help Yu Xue out of a difficult situation.
After all, with so many talented people gathered here, if she stands out too much, she might become a target. It's better for her to stay out of the crowd.
There was a lot of oily food, even the chicken soup had a layer of oil floating on top. When Yu Xue served the dishes, she made sure to place the lotus root and cucumber, which she could eat, closer to herself.
She sat down next to Wen Feng, next to Chen Wanxi's son. She wanted to change seats, but everyone was already seated, and all three tables were full.
never mind.
"How old is Chenchen? She looks quite tall," her aunt said.
Chen Wanxi: "Nine years old, in the third grade."
Auntie said, "She's so big now! The last time I saw Chenchen, she was only this small."
Chen Wanxi: "Babies grow up so fast."
Third Aunt: "You're so lucky to have a child so late in life. You're over fifty now, right? And the baby is so tiny. Everyone says that a child this age is a gift from heaven."
Chen Wanxi: "Oh my, you have no idea how expensive it is to raise a child. Just take pocket money for example, it costs ten yuan a day."
After she finished speaking, she looked at Yu Xue and said, "Unlike my eldest child, when my eldest child broke, he was very easy to take care of and never asked me for money."
Third Aunt: "Of course, girls are all sensible. Everyone says that girls mature earlier than boys."
Yu Xue: "..." Why is she suddenly praising her? This isn't Chen Wanxi's style. Should she thank Chen Wanxi's son instead?
That's right, Chen Wanxi inherited the Chen family's unpredictable style.
Lotus root is a bit too sweet if you eat too much, and cucumber is a bit too salty if you eat too much, so she started pretending to eat after only a few bites.
Chew, chew, chew, pretend to scoop up a mouthful of rice, chew, chew, chew, then pretend to scoop up another mouthful of rice.
Wen Feng got up and poured Yu Xue a glass of water.
The birthday girl spoke up, "When I was pregnant with Xixi, I always had back pain. I thought it would definitely be a boy, so his father suggested the name Wanfeng, saying that he hoped the child would be gentle like me."
As soon as she said that, everyone around her chimed in, saying that the two of them had a good relationship.
Grandma had said this before, and Yu Xue had heard it countless times; she knew how it would end.
Grandma continued, "But, since it was a girl, there was nothing we could do but change her name to Wanxi. But Xiyang (Sunset) didn't have a good meaning, so her father said he would just pick two homophones from the dictionary and put them together. Look, now Xixi has a son and her daughter is making a lot of money. The family is thriving. It's all thanks to her father for choosing such a good name."
“That’s right, that’s right,” Uncle agreed. “Back then, we were saying how pitiful it was, how terrible it was. Who would have thought the kid would be so lucky to have found such a rich husband.”
Yu Xue suddenly understood why Chen Wanxi hadn't scolded her today; it was because Wen Feng had come, and the Chen family's impression of Yu Xue was that she had married into a wealthy family.
When she was a singer, the Chen family said, "In ancient times, singers were all low-class people." Doesn't this prove it? The Chen family is a time traveler, living in the modern era, but living by the principles of ancient people. The more ancient the better. Yu Xue supports this group of people to all live in caves and learn from the cavemen.
However, if you ask this quaint and old-fashioned family where they learned these rules from, which dynasty they came from, whether there are any records, how much history they have read, or which dynasty they came from, they know nothing and will not answer. They will simply say, "These are the rules left by our ancestors." They don't know whose ancestors they are, but they are ancestors nonetheless.
Yu Xue, a modern person who had studied history, suffered quite a bit in this real ancient family.
However, her reputation changed after she got married because her husband was so capable.
Chen Wanxi's reputation has also changed because her daughter's husband is impressive.
Yu Xue said she was too lazy to argue and that it was fine. If Wen Feng was so useful, she wouldn't mind taking him with her from now on.
But there was one question she had wanted to ask for a long time: "Can the evening breeze be used by girls too?"
Grandma immediately said, "How can you give 'Evening Breeze' to a girl? 'Evening Breeze' sounds so gentle."
Yu Xue's lips twitched slightly. "Women are all rough around the edges, aren't they?"
Grandma choked, and then it was Grandpa's turn to speak. "Oh, you don't understand. A boy's gentleness is different from a girl's."
Grandma agreed, "That's right, what would happen if boys were like girls?"
Yu Xue asked earnestly, "What's different?"
Grandma: "Oh dear... how can I explain this to you? It's like the old saying, 'It can only be understood, not explained.' You see, Wen Feng is also a gentle child, but your gentleness is different from Wen Feng's. Even gentleness has different forms."
Yu Xue: "..." Fine, whatever.
Grandma noticed Wen Feng's laughter and asked, "Why did you suddenly laugh?"
Wen Feng: "I feel that if these words were written down and sold to antique dealers, they could fetch a lot of money."
These words were harsh; you could almost hear the sarcasm in his tone.
But no one dared to embarrass him, because he was rich and a man.
Compared to the relatives present, Yu Xue is also wealthy, but there's nothing she can do. She's a woman, and when some of her relatives talk about her money, it becomes a matter of unspoken rules.
Never mind, let's leave it at that.
"Sister, I want that." Chenchen said, pointing to the beads on Yu Xue's wrist.
He tried to pull her away, but Yu Xue dodged.
Yu Xue said, "No."
Chen Wanxi: "Oh dear, just give the kid whatever he wants."
Yu Xue took off the rope, and Chenchen reached out to take it, but Yu Xue just wanted to put the bead on the hand furthest from Chenchen's.
Chenchen grabbed her mother's hand and started crying.
Chen Wanxi stood up, but her grandmother told her to sit down.
Wen Feng quickly said, "This is a holiday gift I bought for Xuexue, so it's not appropriate to give it away."
"Oh—I see." Chen Wanxi quickly patted Chenchen's hand. "That was given to my sister by your brother-in-law. We don't want it, okay? Mom will take you outside to buy two later."
Yu Xue looked at Chen Wanxi and awkwardly forced a smile.
She remembered it was the same when she was a child. The little devil in the family took a fancy to her favorite mechanical pencil. Without even thinking, her father told her to give the pencil to her sister. She disagreed and blurted out, "Why should I?" Her father immediately jumped up and scolded her.
She cried and vomited in the house. Her stepmother probably found it amusing and joined in, scolding her along with her father. Her younger sister was happily drawing with a pencil nearby. Listening to her stepmother's scolding, her father's harsh criticism, and her sister's laughter, she suddenly couldn't feel sad anymore. She just felt a lot of pain. Her throat hurt, her nose hurt, her eyes hurt, and everything hurt.
After that bout of crying, she lost all hope for that mechanical pencil.
She had better not fall in love with anything, because nothing in this house belonged to her, not even the bed she was temporarily sleeping in.
She felt a warm hand covering the back of her hand. Turning her head, she found Wen Feng secretly stroking her hand and mouthing, "Are you alright?"
Yu Xue smiled slightly, then shook her head.
It's okay, it's all in the past.
Now, she has her own room. The first thing she did after earning money was to buy herself a small house. Although she has never lived there, she is no longer homeless and will never be without a place to go again.
She is much better off now than she was when she was a child.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com