Chapter 367 - 366: Is There No Place for Reason?
On the first day of the lunar year, as the sky was beginning to brighten, Jinrong and the others, who had been chatting and laughing all night, finally called someone over to clear away the leftover wine and snacks. Those who wanted noodles had noodles, and those who preferred congee drank congee, comforting their stomachs with a proper hot breakfast before each returned to their rooms to wash up and rest for a bit.
No sooner had they lain down than the younger members of the main branch had yet to come to give their New Year’s greetings, when Madam Song and Qi Dong from the Third Branch family arrived.
After so many years, this was the first time that the Qi Family Third Branch was spending Chinese New Year’s Eve and keeping vigil through the night in their own home. Although the food they brought back from the main branch was not bad, certainly better than what they could have prepared themselves and superior to what most of the village had for their New Year’s Eve dinner, Lady Zhang had difficulty even eating after being slapped, let alone thinking about adding wood to the stove to reheat the food. The children were frightened and unsettled, and Madam Pang was also full of worries.
For various reasons, the Third Branch’s New Year’s Eve dinner was a desolate and dreary affair. After a chilly and sparse meal, they were driven by Madam Song back to their rooms to keep the year-end vigil.
Lady Zhang’s face began to swell and turn red around midnight, and by the time it was almost dawn, it had swollen beyond recognition, truly resembling that of a pig’s head. The whole night was filled with her agonized cries and groans, fluctuating between high and low pitches, creating a disturbance all night long.
Qi Dong was so worried that he was pacing around in circles, while Qi Congwen stayed by Lady Zhang’s side, offering a cool wet cloth and the like. Qi Congwu and Huahua, the two children, were terribly frightened, huddling to one side, crying intermittently and dozing off, having worn themselves out over the course of the night.
Living in the same courtyard, Qi Yourong and Madam Song naturally didn’t find peace either. Madam Song had checked on them twice, but to no avail.
Madam Song was already irritable, and when Qi Dong asked whether they should call for a doctor, her suppressed anger could not be contained any longer, and she scolded him fiercely, "Why would you look for a doctor during the New Year? Don’t you find that unlucky? Your wife seems clever on the surface but is actually foolish to the core. Could you really afford to provoke the Second Branch family? Look at this, not only did you barely eat the food, but you also didn’t bring any back. So much good food, I’m nearly in the grave and it’s my first time even laying eyes on such fare, let alone tasting it. And you still have the nerve to talk about getting a doctor!"