Chapter 88 -87: Fighting Over Food
Mrs. Lai finally relented a bit, but insisted that her eldest daughter and the two younger daughters stay outside, not enter her room. She opened the door and then closed it, painfully retrieved her keys to unlock it, and took out a little of the locked away items.
Mrs. Lai’s compromise made Ye Shuying smile triumphantly.
Ye Shuzhi and Ye Shuzhen knew that Mrs. Lai only intended to give something to the grandson outside, probably leaving her without a share.
“Mother, where’s mine?”
“Yes, Mother, you can’t just give to the eldest.”
Mrs. Lai closed the door from inside, her voice coming through, “You are so troublesome. At your ages, what do you need?”
...
“Mother, you’re my mother. It’s not right to pamper the grandson and not your own daughters, hehe,” Ye Shuzhen cooed.
“Once you have children of your own, you’ll understand,” Ye Shuying said with a smirk, as the male baby in her arms stared steadily at the door, saliva dripping from his little mouth.
“Hmm, that’s dirty, elder sister, won’t you wipe your nephew’s drool?” Ye Shuzhi glanced at the boy in her sister’s arms and then at the female babies working in the thatched workshop, feeling that the girls were no less than the boys—just victims of societal bias.
The few girls of the elder brother were much cleaner than the male baby of the elder sister.
“Children drool when they think about food, second sister, third sister, aren’t you also fond of treats?”
Being a mother, Ye Shuying felt insulted by her second sister’s remark that her child was dirty, as it felt like a direct criticism of her.
Eventually, Mrs. Lai, with a heavy heart, took out some edible gifts from the plethora of presents, while the fabrics and tonics, as well as other valuable items, were securely kept away.
She opened the door and distributed some of the items from her hand to her eldest daughter and the two younger daughters to eat.
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Ye Shuzhi and Ye Shuzhen took the food in their hands and started eating, confident that their mother was saving something for them.
They joyfully took the food aside to eat, disregarding their father and elder brother working in the workshop and the gaze of five other children watching them.
They didn’t offer to share the food, joyfully taking their treasures back to their rooms, only opening the window. The two sisters munched while watching their elder sister.
Ye Shuying examined the items in her hands, which were just some slightly more expensive foods, without any fabric or more valuable gifts.
“Mother, why are there only foods and no fabrics? Aren’t there any valuable tonics?”
“Oh my, Shuying, the food that was supposed to be yours has already been given to you. This is for my grandson to eat, don’t say that I’m a bad grandmother. Besides, those gifts were meant for our family, how could I give them to a daughter who has married out?”
Mrs. Lai felt pained as she had already given out some gifts, but could no longer concern herself with this aspect of her daughter.
“Mother, aren’t you hurting my feelings? Just because I’m married out, I can’t have a share?”
Ye Shuying, holding the precious gift food, naturally thought of more. Taking them back would allow her to share with her family; her mother-in-law might regard her more highly, and the widowed old mother at home would stop making snide remarks at her.
“Elder sister, why are you so demanding? It’s been given to you already, isn’t it? You have food and still complain it’s not enough, yet you never bring anything when you visit home; always arriving empty-handed to take things back, how can your face be so thick?”
Ye Shuzhen couldn’t help but scoff, naturally not wanting her mother to share anything with the elder sister, as it would mean less for them.
“Third sister, you aren’t married yet. You talk a good talk now, but let’s see how well you marry and if you’ll take things from our mother’s home then,”
Ye Shuying, seeing her third sister attack her, was instantly furious and retorted against Ye Shuzhen’s remarks.
“Your third sister is right. A daughter married out is like water splashed out; if you don’t bring gifts in the future, I usually won’t say anything, but you ought to know better. We’re not rich; be content and go back home. Don’t mention anything about wooden Bodhisattvas or the like; it’s not something you should be able to take.”
Mrs. Lai no longer had the patience to deal with Ye Shuying; this daughter clearly wanted to split her money, and Mrs. Lai did not want to keep her around for even a moment.
“Hmph, I will come back tonight…” Ye Shuying, holding her son, left these reluctant words behind and departed.
“Elder sister, you think I would mind if you give me less to eat? I won’t mind at all.” Ye Shuzhen noticed that the food in her hand was getting less and less, and she eyed the food in Ye Shuying’s and her nephew’s hands.
As Ye Shuying was leaving with her son, she heard footsteps behind her. Turning around, she saw her younger sister running after her, and with her son in her arms, she quickly ran out of her parents’ yard.
Ye Shuzhen stopped at the gate of the yard and did not chase after her anymore. She closed the yard’s large gate.
******
On the journey back, Tang Shunyan fell asleep in Mrs. Li’s arms as he was sitting in the carriage.
The carriage shook, and Mrs. Li held Tang Shunyan in her arms with Jufeng sitting beside her, while the other maids and old women sat in another carriage.
The box that the housekeeper had placed earlier was under their carriage seat, and other colleagues were also inside.
Mrs. Li held the young Master, squinting her eyes, resting with her eyes closed, not in the mood to look at the scenery outside since her heart was unwilling to leave the children at home.
She was of course also reluctant to leave her husband, but between her husband and children, the children came first.
She wondered if the children had seen her bundle? Right, the bundle, she didn’t even remember to tell her husband and children where the bundle had gone.
Mrs. Li remembered at this moment, during dinner, and when the young master wanted to give his daughter a gift, she remembered that the room did not have the bundle she had put down.
Could it be that the bundle had grown eyes? Or maybe legs?
No, in addition to her husband and children entering the room, the mother-in-laws had also gone in afterward.
It seemed that the bundle was already missing then, and Mrs. Li thought it was possible that the children had stashed the bundle into a trunk.
Mrs. Li couldn’t figure it out; she could only pray that it was indeed the children who had hidden the things.
Jufeng kept her gaze fixed on Mrs. Li but had no intention of chatting with her; she had looked down on this peasant woman from the beginning.
She was a wealthy family’s daughter’s maid who had come as part of the dowry, and even if she weren’t to become the young Master’s concubine in the future, she would end up better off.
Being a peasant, Mrs. Li was someone she had never encountered before. If it weren’t for the young Master, such a lowly person would not appear before her.
Back in the Imperial City, the places she accompanied the Lady to were all luxurious settings; upon arriving at the Tang Family, even though it was just a small county, this family was still the richest in the area.
Always by the young madam’s side, her status was high, and she simply didn’t regard Mrs. Li, with her lowly status, with any consideration.
Yet, somehow, Mrs. Li, a person of such low status, had been so fortunate as to become the young Master’s wet nurse.
She also became a person the young Master cared about, requiring Mrs. Li to take the day off to come back with him.
This was an honor no other servant in the entire household shared, the young Master at such a young age already saw something in Mrs. Li and even had the intent to take her family to prosperity.
Mrs. Li, a seemingly inconspicuous person, should not be underestimated; she appeared to be not one of deep schemes, but rather a person of opportunity.
This person should not be offended for now. In the future, she must restrain her disdainful attitude, not making it so obvious.