Chapter 93 - Chapter 93: Chapter 93: Without Mention (2/2)
“Humph, ungrateful things, all of you! Why are you still standing around? Hurry up and help in the kitchen. You think you can live off handouts?” Perhaps knowing that she wouldn’t gain any advantage from Su Wenyue, Grandma Han naturally withdrew her previous benevolence. As for Yang Juxiang and her daughter, who were now present among the people from the Second House, Grandma Han barely noticed them at the moment, dismissing them as destitute and unworthy of her attention.
Yang Juxiang and her mother’s expressions were equally displeased. They had come with the intention of enjoying free meals, as it was Grandma Han’s birthday and there were sure to be many delicacies. They had thought, at the very least, the birthday package from Eldest Sister’s family looked good. But they didn’t expect to be treated like servants by the people of the Main House and asked to help in the kitchen. It was outrageous.
Yang Juxiang and her mother had heard that the people from the Main House were difficult to deal with, but they followed nonetheless, thinking that as guests, whereas they might not be welcomed warmly, the worst they would face was cold treatment. Little did they anticipate that the Main House would be so embarrassingly dismissive.
Daughters-in-law from the Second House went into the kitchen to lend a hand, while the children followed a few men to the backyard to chop wood. It seemed as if the Main House had been waiting for them to come and work today, piling half a courtyard’s worth of firewood, surely to last for several months. Although firewood was cheap, half a courtyard’s worth would have cost quite a sum of silver. Concerned about the expense, Grandma Han fancied that if she could get the people from the Second House to chop and deliver the wood, she could save that silver. However, as the Main House and Second House had formally split, she would need a suitable excuse to justify this.
The men from the Second House, except for Han Lin, were not the petty kind and were robust and hearty. It amounted to nothing more than extra physical labor. Rather than enduring Grandma Han’s complaints, they preferred to work harder to enjoy some peace. After all, it only happened once or twice a year. Without a word of complaint, they rolled up their sleeves and got to work. The children, accustomed to farm work from a young age, aided in the less demanding tasks with ease.
Su Wenyue followed her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law into the kitchen, where several daughters-in-law from the Main House were already present. The Main House’s internal relations were somewhat complicated; Han Jinbiao had three sons and one daughter in total. The eldest son and daughter were from his first wife, while the two younger sons were from his current wife, Mrs. Han Wang, and aside from the youngest son, the other two children were married.
Apart from Mrs. Han Wang and her two daughters-in-law, working in the kitchen was an already married daughter of Grandma Han. Grandma Han actually had two daughters, married into different households—one in the County Town and the other in a different village. Given Grandma Han’s nature, one could imagine their respective treatments were not the same.
When the Main House’s mother-in-law and daughters-in-law saw Su Wenyue and the others come in, it was Mrs. Han Wang who greeted them, while the others treated the people from the Second House as if they were invisible. However, Grandma Han’s Eldest Daughter, Han Ying, warmly called out to Mrs. Yang as her younger sister-in-law and greeted the other nieces-in-law until receiving a snort of disdain from the Main House, at which point Han Ying lowered her head and returned to her work.
“Second Uncle, you lot must be tired after all that work. I’ve brought some water for you. Have a drink before you continue,” offered Han Fang, who was treated relatively well by the Main House thanks to her big brother, and wasn’t asked to work upon returning. She was kind-hearted, very different from the people of the Main House, and did not agree with their attitude towards the Second House. Unable to help with the heavy labor, she carried over water for them instead.
“Fang’er, thank you. You really are considerate,” the men from the Han family, led by Old Man Han, accepted the water with a touch of remorse, acknowledging that the girl from the Main House was one of the few who hadn’t gone astray.
“Fourth Cousin, I was too busy to attend your wedding, and it has weighed on me. This is a small gift from me, with the hope that you and my Cousin-in-law will have a blessed future,” said Han Fang, passing a small cloth package to Han Yu. In reality, it wasn’t that she had been too occupied to go; it was just inconvenient due to the Main House’s attitudes. Otherwise, her stepmother would have had yet more to nag about.