Chapter 228: Chapter 228: Setting the Rules

In the main hall, a table full of people waited and waited, their stomachs rumbling.

After about the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, with still no food brought to the table, the Eldest Aunt sensed something was amiss. She stood up and stormed toward the kitchen.

Seeing the kitchen door shut tight, she furiously raised a fist and pounded on it.

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

Inside the kitchen, Li Yurong and the sisters, An Cui and An Liu, all looked anxiously at Jiang Moli.

Jiang Moli calmly stirred the wok with a spatula, picked out the last few pieces of chicken, and asked Li Yurong and her two sisters-in-law.

"You want any more?"

The three of them shook their heads in unison.

Their grandmother-in-law was acting like a madwoman outside. They were scared to death; how could they possibly be in the mood to eat meat?

"They’re not eating anymore. It’s all for you."

Watching the chicken being piled into her bowl, Lu Tingting snorted. "So I only get their leftovers? Am I that cheap?"

"You don’t want it, then?"

Lu Tingting thrust her bowl forward.

’It’s meat, after all. Would be a waste not to eat it.’

Outside the kitchen, Zheng Hongyan, An Fu, An Hui, and Lu Deyao had all been drawn over by the commotion.

"What’s going on?"

The Eldest Aunt was fuming, her nostrils practically flaring. "Those little bastards locked the door from the inside! Who knows what kind of scheme they’re plotting in there!"

An Hui and Lu Deyao exchanged a knowing glance, a silent agreement to let things play out.

Just then, the kitchen door creaked open from the inside.

Jiang Moli strolled out with a wide smile. "Oh, have you all finished eating? We just finished as well. That chicken tonight was absolutely delicious."

At her words, the Eldest Aunt’s eyes bulged.

She shoved Jiang Moli aside and stormed into the kitchen.

A moment later, a howl like a stuck pig erupted from the kitchen. "SON OF A BITCH! WHERE’S MY CHICKEN?!"

Jiang Moli nonchalantly cleaned out an ear and shouted back into the kitchen:

"Eldest Aunt, your chickens are in the coop. Of course you’re not going to find them in the kitchen."

Lu Deyao’s face contorted as he struggled to suppress a laugh.

An Hui shot him a subtle glare before turning to Jiang Moli. "What exactly were you all doing in the kitchen?"

Jiang Moli replied, "We were following the Eldest Uncle’s rule—eating in the kitchen."

"You bunch of gluttons! You ate the entire pot of chicken! Why didn’t you eat until you burst!"

Hearing the Eldest Aunt unleashing a torrent of curses on Li Yurong and her sisters-in-law, Jiang Moli turned and walked back into the kitchen.

Seeing the Eldest Aunt with her hand raised to strike Li Yurong, Jiang Moli drawled:

"A daughter-in-law can’t let her in-laws walk all over her. If they dare lay a single finger on us, we should just pack our bags and go straight back to our parents."

The Eldest Aunt froze, turning to glare viciously at Jiang Moli.

Jiang Moli smiled sweetly at Li Yurong. "My dear niece-in-law, you’re so beautiful, diligent, and quick on your feet. Not to mention, you’re an amazing cook. You wouldn’t have any trouble remarrying. Look at my stepmother—a village woman with a child in tow, and she still married my father, a formally employed worker. Now all she does is a bit of housework, cooking, and laundry. She doesn’t have to do anything else, and my dad gives her half his salary every month."

"Then there’s one of my aunts. She was bullied by her in-laws and beaten by her husband. She just kicked that worthless man to the curb, left the kid, and moved to the city to help my parents manage their household. Now she earns her own spending money every month. You can’t imagine how good her life is."

Li Yurong had braced herself for a beating and a scolding.

But after hearing Jiang Moli’s words, she suddenly realized that leaving her in-laws wasn’t a dead end.

Her slumped posture instantly straightened.

The Eldest Aunt pointed a trembling finger at Jiang Moli. "You... you! And you call yourself an educated person! There’s a saying: ’It’s better to tear down ten temples than to ruin one marriage.’ Aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning for this?!"

Jiang Moli smirked. "That’s what I was wondering. You have such a virtuous and hardworking granddaughter-in-law, but instead of cherishing her, you do nothing but beat and curse her. Aren’t *you* afraid of karmic retribution?"

"I’m teaching my granddaughter-in-law a lesson! What’s it to you?"

"Go ahead and hit her, then. Drive her off, and you can find your grandson a new wife tomorrow."

"You!"

In a war of words, ten of the Eldest Aunt put together would be no match for Jiang Moli.

"That’s enough! Stop arguing! The younger generation might not know any better, but you don’t either?"

Though the Eldest Uncle was scolding his wife, his words were clearly aimed at Jiang Moli for talking back to her elders.

Jiang Moli adopted a tone of mock humility. "The Eldest Uncle is right. It’s my fault. Tingting and I were so greedy that we ate the whole pot of chicken and forgot to save any for you. How about this: Tingting and I will atone for our mistake by cooking a fresh pot for you all."

With that, she called out to Lu Tingting, "Come on, let’s go catch a chicken!"

"Okay!"

Lu Tingting put down her bowl and excitedly ran with Jiang Moli toward the chicken coop.

Seeing Jiang Moli actually heading for her chickens, the Eldest Aunt grew frantic. "What are you doing? Stop right there!"

"Eldest Aunt, Eldest Uncle, rest assured! We will make sure you get to eat chicken tonight!"

"Who said we want to eat chicken?! Stop it this instant!"

Jiang Moli turned a deaf ear, joining Lu Tingting in chasing the chickens around the coop, sending feathers flying everywhere.

Catching a chicken in the pitch dark was harder than it looked.

But one chicken, dazed with fright, flew right into Jiang Moli’s arms.

"Got it!"

Seeing the hen flapping in Jiang Moli’s hands, the Eldest Aunt shrieked, "You put that down—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Jiang Moli grabbed the chicken by the neck and gave it a sharp twist.

The hen let out a final squawk and went limp.

Lu Deyao and An Hui were both stunned by her clean, efficient execution.

Lu Tingting rubbed her own neck. ’Suddenly, I feel like Jiang Moli has actually been pretty gentle with me,’ she thought.

Jiang Moli held up the chicken by its dangling neck. "This one isn’t very big. I don’t think it’ll be enough. Should I grab another?"

The Eldest Aunt nearly jumped out of her skin with rage. "Get away from that coop! Don’t you dare touch my chickens again!"

Jiang Moli nodded. "One it is, then. Li Yurong, get some water boiling. Time to pluck this chicken."

Li Yurong was still reeling from one shock after another, her mind completely numb.

When Jiang Moli told her to boil water, she did so on pure instinct.

Needless to say, the Eldest Aunt was so furious her whole body ached. The Eldest Uncle, Zheng Hongyan, and An Fu were also livid.

They had raised those few laying hens with great difficulty, counting on selling the eggs for money.

This troublemaking jinx, Jiang Moli, was just too damn infuriating!

[Disdain Value +3. 30,000 Yuan credited.]

The chicken was quickly butchered and prepared.

Perhaps to prevent Jiang Moli from sneaking any more, the Eldest Aunt took over the cooking herself, finally bringing the pot of chicken to the table.

Despite all their verbal anger at Jiang Moli for killing their chicken, none of them held back when it came time to eat, leaving a pile of bones on the floor.

Jiang Moli and Lu Tingting went with Li Yurong and the two An Family sisters to the old family house next door to prepare the beds.

Before the old patriarch passed away, he had given this house to the Eldest Uncle.

It was normally used for storing grain and junk, but after a quick tidying, it was just about manageable for a night’s sleep.

Once Jiang Moli was out the door, the Eldest Aunt started complaining about her to Lu Deyao and An Hui.

"That daughter-in-law of yours has absolutely no manners! You two, her parents-in-law, hadn’t even eaten yet, and she was already stuffing her face greedily. Who ever heard of a daughter-in-law like that? You have to lay down some rules for her!"

An Hui swallowed a piece of chicken and said calmly, "What’s all this talk about rules? This isn’t the old society anymore. As long as she and Xiao Cheng are happy together, that’s what matters."

The Eldest Aunt was exasperated by An Hui’s attitude, becoming even more determined to teach Jiang Moli a lesson.

"If you keep spoiling her like this, she’ll think she can get away with anything! Fine, stay out of it. In a bit, you just watch how I teach her some manners."

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