Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 99 - 97: Unpleasant New Year’s Eve Dinner

Chapter 99: Chapter 97: Unpleasant New Year’s Eve Dinner

On New Year’s Eve, the whole family had dressed to impress in preparation for their dinner at the old house.

Mrs. Liu wore a violet gauze skirt with a light pink satin belt tied into an elegant butterfly knot. The skirt was adorned with a row of three-dimensional roses made from soft violet chiffon. Her sleeves were shaped like a wood ear’s edges in the style of lantern sleeves, and a slightly loose bun sat atop her head. A hollowed-out hairpin, studded with a purple gemstone, was inserted into the bun. On top, she wore a white fox fur-lined cloak with a pink flower-patterned satin hood. She looked youthful and stunning, beautiful and vibrant.

Under the nourishing effects of the spirit objects in her space, Mrs. Liu had undergone a significant transformation. Her skin was pale with a hint of red, her hair was jet-black and shiny, her lips were rosy and her teeth white, her eyebrows and eyes brooded deeply. She was even more beautiful and charming than when she was sixteen.

Shen Chengyao had just put on a blue-violet satin gown and tied the same-colored belt when he turned to look at his wife, already dressed up. He was struck dumb with awe - his wife was more beautiful than ever, so much so that he found it hard to take his eyes off her.

Noticing Shen Chengyao’s staring, Mrs. Liu asked, "What’s the matter? Do you think I look bad?"

Feeling dry-mouthed, with a warmth growing in his stomach, Shen Chengyao replied, "No, you look stunning. I’ll check if the children are ready so that we don’t keep mom and dad waiting too long." He then left hastily.

Mrs. Liu looked at herself again in the tall mirror. She felt that everything was in order, her daughter’s clothing designs suited her perfectly, making her look a lot younger.

Mrs. Liu, with the baby girl in her arms, entered the main room where the whole family was waiting. Her children, including Xiao’er, lavished her with praise on seeing her.

"Mother, you’re so beautiful!"

"Mother looks really good."

...

Xiao’er and Yun’er too were dressed to the nines, wearing similar clothing with different cloaks. However, Yun’er was slightly thinner and shorter.

Looking at his wife and children laughing and carrying on happily, Shen Chengyao felt a sense of deep satisfaction. It was their first New Year wearing new clothes, including himself. He had never expected the tradition of wearing new clothes on New Year to bring such happiness and satisfaction.

The family, carrying gifts for Master Shen and Mrs. Shen set out towards the village. They encountered many children and villagers on the way. Everyone greeted them with admiration and marveled at the clothes, the baskets of fruits, dried goods, and other foods they had. They all sighed, what a lucky couple Mr. Shen and Mrs. Shen were to have such a capable son who could provide such luxuries!

Many children, seeing the beautifully dressed siblings, even ran home to beg their parents for new clothes.

Upon entering the courtyard, they found it cold a desolate while all the other houses bustled with noise as families were calling their children for dinner.

The New Year’s Eve dinner was usually eaten early, with dumplings served during the night’s vigil.

Were they waiting for their family to prepare dinner? Xiao’er thought to himself.

The family walked into the main house, where Master Shen, Mrs. Shen, Shen Yuzhu, and the main family group were all sitting on the kang bed.

Having exchanged greetings and set down the New Year’s gifts, they took their usual places to sit.

Mrs. Shen scrutinized their new clothes, her gaze piercing.

At that moment, the family of the second branch entered, followed by the fourth branch. Both families arrived dressed in new clothes. Witnessing this, the anger flared in Mrs. Shen’s eyes.

As soon as Shen Chengzong sat down he asked, "Mother, you said we all are eating the New Year’s Eve dinner together, right? Is it time to start eating?"

His question gave Mrs. Shen an opportunity to give full vent to her feelings; she had been suppressing it the whole day. Before this, she had just looked at the New Year’s gifts brought by Shen Chengyao and her expression had improved a bit, but upon hearing his words, her face fell again, "What, now I must wait on you hand and foot? You all came over for the meal, intending not to bring a grain of rice nor move a finger, just waiting to eat dry, is it?"

"What, the meal is not yet cooked! At this point, isn’t everyone else starting to eat!" Shen Chengzong became dissatisfied. If the meal wasn’t yet ready, what did they come to eat for?

"We all live in the same courtyard, are you saying you weren’t aware if the meal was ready or not? Every man jack of you hiding in your own rooms, all dolled up so extravagantly, are you planning to go trade smiles around or to attract someone?"

Upon hearing these words, Mrs. Liu, Mrs. Li, and Mrs. Lu all looked unhappy; her words were very harsh.

"Mother, it’s my fault as well. Today, I had to settle the accounts of the shop for the entire year, so I got delayed. I thought there were many brothers at home and that we wouldn’t keep our parents hungry throughout the year, but I didn’t expect... This late in the evening, the younger brothers and sisters are just arriving. I thought they must be bringing the dishes. I was wrong inconsiderate. Mother, I’ll go prepare it right away. Don’t be angry, if it harms your health, it will upset Father..." After finishing, Mrs. Lan pretended to get off the kang bed to prepare the meal.

Xiao’er held back Mrs. Liu who wanted to rise. If she stood up at this point, she would merely serve as a scapegoat. And it wasn’t as if her family was the only one who hadn’t come over early to prepare the meal. They had already divided their households. Since Master Shen chose the main family to stay with, and invited his other sons over for the meal, Mrs. Lan should have prepared the meal in advance. After all, it’s reasonable for Mrs. Liu and others to lend a hand and help as long as they had enough time!

Mrs. Lan always seemed to have a habit of pushing her responsibilities onto others. Even if they didn’t do well, she would still blame them. This attitude was largely the result of being spoiled by Mrs. Liu and Mrs. Lu in the past, but this kind of behavior needed to change! Especially since they had already split the household and had severed relations; she didn’t want Mrs. Liu to continue enabling her. If she wants to cook, then cook. If not, they could go home and eat, enjoying more freedom. She was even worried about whether everyone could get enough to eat for the New Year’s Eve dinner!

Seeing that Mrs. Liu hadn’t moved, Mrs. Lu also remained seated, and Mrs. Li had no intention of getting up from the beginning.

Mrs. Lan saw that the three daughters-in-law had their backsides glued to the seats, and she felt even more unsatisfied. In the past years, she would just wash her hands and the meal would be ready. This year, did they expect her to cook for so many people all by herself? An outrageous expectation! She first vented her frustrations on Mrs. Liu, who was usually easy to get along with, "I can’t blame you. Younger sisters have all put on new clothes, and you don’t want to get them dirty. It’s a pity that I’ve slaved year-round, yet the money I’ve earned is not enough to compensate for the losses. This year, I didn’t even dare to make a new garment for Wen’er. He is wearing clothes that I made a few months ago and have been worn twice before. I can’t even dream of myself. Third sister-in-law, your outfit costs no less than dozens of taels, right? What if it gets dirty or torn? That would be heart-breaking."

Mrs. Lan looked at Mrs. Liu’s getup with both admiration and jealousy. She couldn’t help but wish to rush up and tear it all apart! As the wife of the eldest son in Shen family and daughter of a scholar, her own son shouldered the heavy responsibility of continuing the family line, yet she was overshadowed by a mere village woman. The jealousy and hurt in her heart were indescribable.

"Grandpa, grandma, why don’t you come over and live with us? We would surely not let you go without a meal even this late. My mother suggested coming here earlier to help prepare the meal, but I stopped her. After all, how filial my eldest aunt is. Since grandpa had invited us all to have New Year’s Eve dinner together, I was sure my eldest aunt would have made all the arrangements. I didn’t expect that...." Xiao’er cleverly left his sentence half-finished, just like Mrs. Lan.

Hearing this, Mrs. Lan’s face turned dark. Were they saying that because she hadn’t cooked a meal, it was unfilial? These parents weren’t only hers and her husband’s to take care of, why should she have to make all the arrangements!

"This year is the first year after we’ve split households. We originally wanted to see how well the first sister-in-law took care of father and mother. After all, in previous years when we hadn’t split, it was okay if the first sister-in-law didn’t come home to prepare meals, as there were me, the second sister-in-law and the fourth sister-in-law. But now we have split up, and I didn’t expect..." Mrs. Liu had also learned to speak like this. She had yet to let go of her anger towards Mrs. Lan!

"Eldest sister-in-law, you didn’t even come home to prepare the New Year’s Eve dinner and yet Father and Mother spent the evening with your family. I have helped you make many meals, and this important meal should have been prepared starting last night if I were in your place." Mrs. Li also lived there and was called upon by Mrs. Shen to cook every now and then, so she had harbored dissatisfaction for a long time.

"Enough, if you have the time to chat here, you might as well go and start cooking right now! Is this meal is going to happen or not!" Master Shen was also angry after listening for a long time. All these people united and were critical of the main family, obviously implying that they weren’t satisfied with the care they’ve been receiving!

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