A Good Country Wife

Mrs. Qian only paid attention to everyone’s reactions after she finished speaking. Seeing that everyone was silently going about their work and not paying much attention to her, she felt annoyed and quite embarrassed. She hadn’t said anything wrong; this place was indeed cramped, small, and had a strange smell. She had never seen such a rudimentary kitchen before.

Before marrying Zhao Anyu, Mrs. Qian had come from a good family herself, with a kitchen built even better than Lin Genfa’s main hall. Although there had been a period of hardship after Zhao Anyu’s family property was seized, she didn’t need to cook during that time. Upon arriving at Zhao Erhu’s home, she found that the living conditions were even better than her own family and Zhao Anyu’s family. Therefore, it felt natural for her to make such remarks upon seeing Lin Genfa’s house and kitchen.

Mrs. Liu, after all, was kind-hearted and soft-hearted. Moreover, since Zhao Dahuo had entrusted her to look after Zhao Anyu’s family on a daily basis, she saw Mrs. Qian standing there awkwardly and couldn’t help but smooth things over, "Anyu’s wife, why don’t you go take a rest outside? The kitchen is bustling with enough people, and it’s a bit cramped here; too many people would just get in the way. It’s the thought that counts."

"Well, you all carry on; I’ll go have a look outside." Mrs. Qian couldn’t stand the smell in the kitchen and was glad for Mrs. Liu’s suggestion. Without any objection, she nodded and left the kitchen.

Li Xiaomei found it hard to tolerate. "Just look at her attitude. If she doesn’t want to come, then don’t. Who is she putting on this act for? She’s lost her home and is staying with Erhu and his wife, yet she still acts like a spoiled young lady expecting to be waited on. I’ve never seen anything like it."

Lin Yue was well aware of Li Xiaomei’s temperament. "Enough, don’t say any more. Let’s just do our work and mind our own business. She won’t be staying with us much longer anyway. Once Zhao Anyu passes his examination, their family will be moving out. Just bear with it a little longer and don’t take offense over such a trivial matter."

"Alright, sister-in-law, I’ll listen to you." Li Xiaomei respected Lin Yue the most. Since Lin Yue said so, Li Xiaomei agreed without any more words and stopped targeting Mrs. Qian, knowing in her heart that her sister-in-law meant well.

Although there were many people to feed, there were also many helping with the cooking. In less than half an hour of bustling activity, the meal was ready. The men and women were seated at separate tables to eat. The food, supervised by Lin Yue, tasted naturally good, and everyone enjoyed it except for Mrs. Qian, who seemed unable to swallow her food.

Mrs. Qian truly couldn’t eat. Perhaps it was psychological, but having seen the narrow, cramped kitchen with its odd smell, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the food made there was unclean, making even the tastiest dish bland in her mouth.