Chapter 227: Chapter 227: I’m a Cactus, Whoever Touches Me Dies

The clueless Lu Tingting didn’t catch the great-uncle’s intention at first and asked naively,

"If we’re not eating at the table, where are we supposed to eat?"

The great-aunt replied, "In our village, the women all eat in the kitchen."

The good-natured Lu Deyao tried to persuade the old couple. "Brother, Sister, those are old-fashioned ideas. This is a new era. Women hold up half the sky, so they should all eat at the table."

But the great-uncle was as stubborn as a mule. He stuck his neck out and retorted,

"I don’t care about any new era or old society! In my house, you listen to me! Women belong in the kitchen. If I say they can’t eat at the table, they can’t eat at the table!"

Lu Deyao’s tone soured. "Fine. Your side of the family can follow your rules, and my side will follow mine. Moli, Tingting, sit down."

BANG!

The great-uncle slammed his hand on the table.

Lu Tingting was just bending down to take a seat when the sudden noise made her jump, and she nearly fell to the floor.

Lu Deyao was getting angry too. "In that case, I won’t eat at the table either! I’ll go eat in the kitchen!"

Just as the atmosphere grew tense, Jiang Moli spoke up.

"Dad, Great-Uncle, don’t fight. It’s not a big deal. As they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Since Great-Uncle’s family has this rule, we should follow it."

Lu Deyao gave her an unreadable look.

’This daughter-in-law of his was never one to suffer a loss. Was she about to stir up some trouble?’

Lu Tingting was also well aware of Jiang Moli’s character.

She secretly clenched her fists, as excited as a meerkat scurrying through a melon patch.

’Fight! Get him!’

Jiang Moli continued, "Mom and Great-Aunt don’t count as ’women.’ They’re old ladies now. It’s only right and proper that they eat at the table. And Sister An, she’s a mother-in-law herself, so she should join them."

These words were music to the great-aunt’s ears. "Hui, your youngest daughter-in-law is quite the filial one."

Although An Hui didn’t know what Jiang Moli was planning, she knew full well that her daughter-in-law was a cactus: touch her and you’ll get pricked.

So, she sat down without another worry.

"Dad, you go ahead and have a nice meal with Great-Uncle and the others. We’ll go eat in the kitchen."

With that, Jiang Moli turned and walked out of the main hall.

This was obviously not the outcome Lu Tingting had hoped for. She caught up to Jiang Moli, dissatisfied. "Hey, are you really going to eat in the kitchen? Since when are you such a pushover?"

Jiang Moli grinned at her. "Less chatter. Save your energy so you can eat more meat in a bit."

As she spoke, she entered the kitchen.

After the sisters An Cui and An Liu came in, Jiang Moli shut the kitchen door behind her and wedged a stick against it to make sure it couldn’t be opened from the outside.

Sister An, Li Yurong, was just about to transfer the cooked chicken into a serving bowl when she heard the commotion and turned around.

"Third Aunt-in-law, what are you doing?"

Jiang Moli walked up to the stove with a wide smile.

The An Family used a kerosene lamp, so the light wasn’t great, but one sniff was enough to know that the chicken in the pot was packed with flavor.

"Second Sister, get the bowls and chopsticks. We’re eating."

Jiang Moli was of a higher generation, so An Liu subconsciously obeyed her, taking clean bowls and chopsticks from the cupboard.

Jiang Moli took a bowl and chopsticks and used the spatula to scoop half a bowlful of chicken.

She started eating and called out to the others in the kitchen, "Dig in, everyone! While it’s hot. Niece-in-law, your cooking is excellent. This chicken is delicious."

’Since we’re here, let’s eat our fill first and worry later.’

Lu Tingting also grabbed a bowl, shoveled it full of chicken, and began to feast.

SSSSS, HA, so hot!

’It’s so good!’

At that moment, Li Yurong finally snapped back to her senses. "Third Aunt-in-law, this... this is..."

"What’s with all the ’this’ and ’that’? Just eat!"

Li Yurong said anxiously, "This is the only good dish tonight! The elders haven’t eaten yet. If we, the younger generation, eat first, people will gossip."

Jiang Moli stuffed a piece of chicken into her mouth. It was authentic free-range chicken—the meat was firm, savory, and delicious.

"It’s fine. Just blame it on me. Say I was being greedy."

’I can even get a wave of Disdain Points out of it.’

Seeing that she couldn’t persuade Jiang Moli, Li Yurong prepared to go out and get help.

Jiang Moli stopped her. "Niece-in-law, tell me something. You work just as hard as the men, don’t you? Then you come home and have to cook, do laundry, and clean, waiting on a bunch of them hand and foot. So what if you get to eat some meat? Is the sky going to fall?"

Li Yurong replied instinctively, "Isn’t that just how it is for women after they get married?"

Lu Tingting chimed in, "No way! My third aunt never does any work at her in-laws’ house. She sleeps in every day, and my third uncle and grandma wait on her!"

Li Yurong was dumbfounded.

’She’s married, but instead of serving her husband and in-laws, she has them serve her? Isn’t that just being lazy and gluttonous?’

Jiang Moli, guessing what Li Yurong was thinking, said while eating, "Do you think being praised as a ’virtuous wife and good mother’ is a good thing? You should trust the wisdom of our ancestors: every word of praise you receive is just a measure of how great a loss you’ve suffered."

"The more people praise you, the more you’ve lost. Every compliment you receive is earned by sacrificing a piece of yourself. For them, it’s just a few empty words, but for you, it’s real sweat and labor, and sometimes an even greater price."

"On the other hand, it’s a good thing when people are dissatisfied with you. It means they haven’t been able to take advantage of you."

Li Yurong had never heard anything like this before.

Her whole life, she had been taught that a woman must be obedient, filial, and diligent to be liked by her husband’s family.

"Eldest Sister, Second Sister, don’t just stand there gawking. Come and eat."

An Cui and An Liu were both teenage girls, and their mouths had been watering for a while.

Hearing Jiang Moli’s invitation, they immediately grabbed their own bowls and chopsticks and gathered around the stove to eat.

Li Yurong didn’t go out to get help, nor did she join them in eating. She just sat alone on a small stool by the hearth, lost in thought.

Jiang Moli picked out a plump, juicy chicken leg and held it up to Li Yurong’s mouth.

"Ahh, open up."

"I don’t want—mmph..."

Before Li Yurong could finish her refusal, the chicken leg was stuffed into her mouth.

"You won’t get scolded any less if you don’t eat it, and you won’t get scolded any more if you do."

’It made sense when she thought about it.’

Li Yurong held the chicken leg and began to eat in silence.

This was the first time in her life she had ever eaten a chicken leg.

’It’s so fragrant and delicious.’

Back in the main hall, the few vegetable dishes on the table had been picked clean, without a single leaf left.

After waiting and waiting with no sign of Li Yurong bringing in the next dish, An Fu told his wife, Zheng Hongyan, to go hurry her along.

Zheng Hongyan arrived at the kitchen door and was puzzled when she couldn’t push it open.

"Yurong? What are you doing in there? Open the door!"

Hearing Zheng Hongyan shouting outside, Li Yurong and the An sisters’ eyes went wide with panic.

"It’s fine, just keep eating."

Jiang Moli verbally reassured them, then turned, walked to the door, and called out crisply to Zheng Hongyan on the other side,

"Eldest Cousin-in-law, it’s almost ready! Don’t rush us!"

Zheng Hongyan returned to the main hall and announced to the table, "It’s almost ready! They’re bringing the dish in now!"

The great-uncle put on his ’elder’ airs and lectured Zheng Hongyan. "When you have a moment, you need to have a good talk with Yurong. Is it that hard to cook a meal? Making the guests wait like this, it’s simply outrageous!"

"It’s alright. It’s not easy cooking for so many people. Yurong is very virtuous and hardworking."

Lu Deyao spoke kindly of his grand-niece-in-law, but inwardly, he was starting to worry.

’Knowing his third daughter-in-law’s audacity, plus his greedy granddaughter... surely they haven’t eaten the entire pot of chicken, have they?’

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