Chapter 84 - Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Evaluation Criteria (2/2)

Jiang Chunlan was simply consumed by jealousy. Why should Su Wenyue be so fortunate? She had everything good – not only a good background and beauty, but everyone also held her in high regard and courted her favor, including her big Aunt, her mother-in-law. Coupled with Mrs. Wang’s instigations, she became increasingly impatient.

“Third Cousin’s wife, you have no idea how hateful Su Wenyue is. My mother is her elder, yet she doesn’t give her any respect, let alone to me, her cousin. And yet, my Aunt not only doesn’t blame her but sides with her. It’s all because her mother’s family is well-off, attracting everyone to suck up to them. It’s infuriating!” Jiang Chunlan said, getting more and more angry as she spoke.

“How could I not know? That Fourth Daughter-in-law is very scheming. I’ve suffered a lot at her hands. If it weren’t for her, my parents-in-law wouldn’t be so dissatisfied with me. I didn’t expect her to turn against you now. She’s definitely jealous of the close relationship you’ve had with the Fourth child since childhood. What a petty woman,” Mrs. Wang said, agreeing with Jiang Chunlan’s complaints, looking like she shared the same enemy. Mrs. Wang had been completely infuriated through the situation with her big brother, incurring the wrath of her parents-in-law and a warning from the Fourth Daughter-in-law. She had kept a low profile for some time, not daring to confront Su Wenyue directly, but that didn’t stop her from trying to trip up Su Wenyue in other ways. She did not want Su Wenyue, the mastermind behind her troubles, to have an easy life. Using the brainless fool, Jiang Chunlan, as a pawn suited her just fine, although she hadn’t yet thought of a better way to deal with Su Wenyue. For now, she was content with getting Jiang Chunlan to stir up some petty troubles, just to annoy Su Wenyue.

Yang Juxiang and her daughter have been staying at the Han Family’s home for several days with no intention of leaving. Both mother and daughter being lazy and gluttonous, it wasn’t just Su Wenyue who disliked them. In fact, apart from Mrs. Yang and Mrs. Wang, who wanted to use Jiang Chunlan for her advantage, everyone in the Han Family couldn’t wait for Yang Juxiang and her daughter to leave. But seeing as the guests were comfortably settled in without working, enjoying good food and sleep daily, they hadn’t even uttered words of leaving.

“Mother, we are running low on food at home. Do you think we should send someone to the city to buy some more?” Since Mrs. Yang had been injured and needed to recover, the task of managing the household food supply had fallen to Mrs. Liu, the Eldest Daughter-in-law. Now that the kitchen’s stocks of rice and flour were dwindling, she came to consult Mrs. Yang.

Mrs. Yang furrowed her brow upon hearing this: “Didn’t I ask the Fourth child to buy two months’ worth of provisions last time? How come it’s not enough already? We seem to be using up our food supplies too quickly. Eldest Daughter-in-law, don’t tell me you’re taking after the Third Daughter-in-law; our Han Family cannot tolerate any inside-out leaking.”

Mrs. Yang had also become more cautious due to Mrs. Wang’s previous actions. Mrs. Liu didn’t have the best reputation with Mrs. Yang, and with the recent complications involving her mother’s family and the Fourth Daughter-in-law, Mrs. Yang couldn’t help but grow suspicious.

Since the doctor had prescribed rest and no exertion for a while, Mrs. Yang hadn’t been managing the kitchen affairs and had no direct control over the food supplies. Even though the family’s diet had remained quite good these days, the consumption didn’t strike Mrs. Yang as excessive. But when she suddenly learned from Mrs. Yang that the recently stocked provisions had run out so quickly, her reaction was quite strong, instinctively suspecting Mrs. Liu of foul play.

In fact, Mrs. Liu was completely innocent this time. Coming from a poor background herself, she treasured food just as much as Mrs. Yang did. Seeing the precious grains being consumed these days was painful for her, and she had even tightened the sacks in hopes of conserving some. The truth was that Yang Juxiang and her daughter could eat massive amounts, devouring more in one sitting than the whole family combined. Even the men who did farm work at home couldn’t eat as they did with ravenous appetites. It was hardly surprising that the food was used up quickly, and yet the mother-in-law, fond of her sister and niece, was still indulgent.

“Mother, you’re falsely accusing me. That mother and daughter duo really can eat too much. You see it at the table yourself, Mother. Just the two of them eat more in one meal than our entire family, and even the men in our family working in the field don’t eat as much as they do. If things continue like this, our family will go broke from feeding them. This year, the government has raised the tax by twenty percent, and with the harvest we got from the fields, we barely have enough food for ourselves,” complained Mrs. Liu, expressing her distress about the food while hoping her mother-in-law would send the voracious guests away soon.