Chapter 162: Can’t Go to the Table

When the women heard about the washing machine, their eyes widened!

They had heard that washing machines were very expensive, not available at the supply and marketing cooperatives, and only sold at the county department store.

“So, what do you usually do?” one woman asked Yu Xiangnian.

Yu Xiangnian replied truthfully, “I don’t have a job.”

Upon hearing this, everyone had the same thought.

Without parental oversight, finding a wife on his own was really unreliable!

She might be pretty, but what’s the use of that?!

Not only does she rely on Jianwa for support, but she also doesn’t do any housework, and after being married for so long, they don’t even have a child!

Yu Xiangnian, of course, was unaware of what everyone was thinking.

There was no habit of eating breakfast after getting up here; at around ten in the morning, meals were served, and it was unclear whether it was breakfast or lunch.

During this meal, there weren’t many people, just the neighbors around, and three tables of food were set.

When it was time to eat, Cheng Jingmo finally had some free time.

Yu Xiangnian took Xiao Jie over and sat beside Cheng Jingmo, ready to eat.

But everyone looked at her in astonishment!

Yu Xiangnian, confused, asked Cheng Jingmo, “What’s wrong?”

“Jianwa’s wife, come over here!” Cheng Jingmo’s mother, Mu Huanzhen, shouted at her with an unhappy expression.

As Yu Xiangnian was about to get up, Cheng Jingmo pressed her shoulder down, “You sit here, I’ll go.”

Cheng Jingmo walked over to Mu Huanzhen, “Mother, Yu Xiangnian isn’t from here. They don’t have such customs there. She has always eaten at the table since she was young. Just because she married me doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be allowed to eat at the table. No matter where she goes, she should eat at the table!”

He spoke loudly, as if he wanted everyone present to hear.

The crowd fell silent, looking from Cheng Jingmo to Yu Xiangnian.

Yu Xiangnian finally understood the meaning behind their stares.

Cheng Jingmo stood up for her in front of everyone, making her feel warm inside.

At the same time, she felt a bit bitter, knowing it was hard for Cheng Jingmo to be caught in the middle.

She felt her back heat up, almost as if everyone could see through her.

She straightened her back, sitting upright, and fearlessly met everyone’s gaze!

She was going to eat at the table; she wasn’t someone to be hidden away!

Cheng Jingmo said to the crowd, “Thank you all for your hard work this morning. Please eat!”

Cheng Shuanzhu also helped to break the tension by shouting, “Everyone sit down and eat before it gets cold.”

The men found a table and sat down, while the women huddled in a corner outside the kitchen, waiting for the men to finish eating, whispering among themselves.

Cheng Jingmo returned to sit beside Yu Xiangnian, leaving Mu Huanzhen glaring angrily at the two of them.

Zhang Hongli sneered and whispered in Mu Huanzhen’s ear, “Mother, he’s forgotten his mother now that he has a wife!”

Cheng Huazi and several elders around the same age sat at another table, their expressions all unhappy.

Cheng Jingmo gave Yu Xiangnian and Xiao Jie each a steamed bun.

It was a steamed bun mixed with sorghum flour, hard and dry.

There were only two dishes on the table: fried potatoes and cold eggplant salad, to go with the buns.

In no time, these two dishes were finished.

Yu Xiangnian was very hungry, but after eating half a bun, she couldn’t swallow any more.

In front of everyone, she didn’t want to give the remaining half bun to Cheng Jingmo.

Cheng Jingmo said calmly, “If you can’t finish it, give it to me.”

Holding the bun, Yu Xiangnian looked at him with mixed emotions.

She felt moved, touched, pained, and reluctant… a myriad of emotions intertwined.

Cheng Jingmo calmly took the bun from her hand. “In an hour or two, the guests will arrive. Go back to the room and prepare.”

It was clear he was giving her a reason to leave this battlefield.

“Okay,” Yu Xiangnian said guiltily.

Back in the room, Yu Xiangnian sat on the edge of the bed, feeling deflated.

This was only the first day, and she already found it so hard to endure. How would she get through the next month?

Outside the kitchen, chaos had erupted!

Three women together made for quite a scene, and with so many women gathered, it was like ten or eight plays all at once!

Some people were comforting Mu Huanzhen.

“Auntie, don’t be mad! Jianwa’s place in the army doesn’t have this custom, so let it be.”

“Let her eat at the table; after all, Jianwa’s wife won’t be here long. No need to ruin the family harmony.”

“Jianwa’s wife must have studied, she’s… what’s the term…?”

“An intellectual! Yes, intellectuals don’t follow these customs!”

But there were also those who were stirring up trouble, with Zhang Hongli being one of them.

She pouted discontentedly and said, “When you marry a chicken, you follow the chicken; when you marry a dog, you follow the dog. If she married into our Cheng family, she must follow our customs!”

Someone echoed her sentiment.

“Exactly, a woman sitting at the table and eating with men as equals, what’s that supposed to look like!”

“Jianwa spoils his wife too much! Just because she’s a bit prettier!”

Zhang Hongli sneered, “Pretty?! Like a vixen!”

Meanwhile, Cheng Jingmo finished eating and went into the room to see Yu Xiangnian.

Yu Xiangnian, who was pampered at home, must be feeling wronged coming here with him!

As soon as he entered the room, Yu Xiangnian rushed over and hugged him. Cheng Jingmo quickly closed the door.

Yu Xiangnian buried her face in Cheng Jingmo’s shoulder and murmured, “Cheng Jingmo… it’s been hard for you!”

Cheng Jingmo hugged her back. “After the guests leave, I’ll cook you some noodles.”

Yu Xiangnian looked up at him and said, “I didn’t expect there to be so many issues.”

Thinking back, Zhao Ruozhu really had good intentions.

She truly didn’t know how to get along with her in-laws!

Cheng Jingmo caressed her smooth face with his thumb. “Don’t think too much. Let me handle things when they come up.”

Yu Xiangnian, still feeling down, replied, “Okay.”

Cheng Jingmo said, “Take out the clothes we bought for my parents and let them change into them.”

Cheng Jingmo held two sets of clothes and, along with Yu Xiangnian, went to the main hall.

Cheng Huazi and a few elders were smoking dry tobacco, filling the hall with a choking smell.

“Father, these are the clothes my wife bought for you,” Cheng Jingmo said, gesturing to Yu Xiangnian. She held the clothes with both hands and handed them to Cheng Huazi. “Please wear these new clothes today.”

Cheng Huazi looked at them expressionlessly for a while, wanting to say something but ultimately saying nothing. He put down his tobacco pipe and accepted the clothes.

Cheng Jingmo then took out the candy they had bought, intending to give it to the guests.

In the room, Cheng Jingmo changed into a clean set of clothes and asked Yu Xiangnian to put on the floral padded jacket.

Yu Xiangnian looked at the bright red and green clothes on the bed, feeling a strong resistance.

Cheng Jingmo said, “Trust me, you’ll look good in this. This is what new brides wear here.”

With Cheng Jingmo saying this, Yu Xiangnian was now a hundred percent certain that she wouldn’t look good in it!

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

“Sister-in-law, are you inside?”

It was Liu Cuihua, Cheng Shuan’s wife.