Chapter 226: Chapter 226: Visiting Relatives

Lu Tingting followed the scent out of the kitchen. "What are you guys eating?"

Seeing his granddaughter, Lu Deyao immediately schooled his expression back to normal. "Tingting, come, come, have some pomelo. It’s freshly peeled."

Lu Tingting took the pomelo and was about to eat it when she noticed the whole family staring at her. Puzzled, she asked, "Why aren’t you guys eating?"

"We’ve already eaten. You go ahead, have some more."

The pomelo was very fresh, its flesh plump and glistening. It looked appetizing.

Lu Tingting peeled off a large piece and stuffed it in her mouth. The next second, her chubby face scrunched up into a living meme.

"Oh my god, it’s so sour!"

Seeing his granddaughter had fallen for it too, Lu Deyao felt a sense of satisfaction.

"Is it sour? I thought it tasted fine."

"None of you think it’s sour?"

The three of them shook their heads in unison. "Not sour."

Refusing to believe it, Lu Tingting ate another piece. After she finished, she saw her whole family laughing and finally realized she’d been tricked.

"Oh, so you all ganged up to trick me!"

Jiang Moli beamed. "My dear niece, your Third Aunt is going to teach you another lesson today. You must always respect your own instincts and feelings, not what outsiders tell you. It’s like this pomelo. Even if a hundred people say it’s sweet, if it tastes sour to you, then it’s sour. And if it’s sour, you should just throw it away."

Lu Tingting retorted indignantly, "So what if I like sour things? It’s none of your business!"

Jiang Moli said, "Then go ahead and eat it. It’s all yours."

"You want me to eat it? Well, now I won’t! I’m not going to give you the satisfaction. I hope it makes you mad!"

"Hey, the silly girl’s finally grown a brain!"

"You’re the silly one..."

"Alright," An Hui cut in, stopping their bickering. She turned to Jiang Moli and said, "On the 7th, it’s your Great Uncle’s 79th birthday. Your father-in-law and I are going back to my hometown. You’ll be home alone, so behave yourself."

In many rural areas, there’s a custom of celebrating a person’s "ninth" birthday instead of their "tenth" for major decade milestones.

The number "ten" is considered inauspicious because it implies an end or a peak has been reached.

"You’re going to a feast and you’re not taking me?"

An Hui looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Lu Deyao explained, "Your Great Uncle is a country person. The older generation’s views and ideas are different from you young people. We’re afraid you wouldn’t be comfortable there."

Jiang Moli was just teasing, but hearing Lu Deyao’s explanation, her interest was suddenly piqued.

"Don’t worry about it. I’ve been stuck for ideas on my next project anyway. Traveling and meeting new people will help me gather material for my work."

Hearing her say that, Lu Deyao agreed to take her with them on the 7th.

Lu Tingting exclaimed, "I want to go too!"

One more person wouldn’t make a difference.

Lu Deyao made the final call on the spot. "Alright, then we’ll all go back together to celebrate Great Uncle’s birthday!"

An Hui’s hometown was in Lucheng, a city with a rich history.

During the war, it was one of the main revolutionary base areas and the site of several famous battles.

In fact, Lu Deyao had met and fallen in love with An Hui while on a mission in Lucheng.

Early in the morning on the 6th, Lu Deyao led the family to the train station.

After arriving in Lucheng, they had lunch, then took a three-hour bus to town. From there, it was a tractor ride and a thirty-minute walk, but they finally arrived at An Family Village.

An Family Village wasn’t large, with only about thirty households in total.

Despite its small population, nearly everyone in the village was related to the An Family in some way.

So when they arrived, almost the entire village was at the entrance to greet them, creating quite an impressive scene.

Lu Deyao was a high-ranking official, after all. Although he had rarely accompanied An Hui back over the years, he never failed to send gifts and observe the proper courtesies annually. The whole village had benefited from his generosity.

It was the first time both Jiang Moli and Lu Tingting had visited An Family Village.

As An Hui made the introductions, all the An family members’ eyes fell on the two of them.

It was as if they were looking at some rare curiosity.

To the people of An Family Village, pampered young ladies from the city like Jiang Moli and Lu Tingting were like creatures from another world.

"Oh my, look at this little face, so fair and delicate, just like tofu."

The Second Great Aunt-in-law reached out and pinched Jiang Moli’s cheek. The old calluses on her hand scraped against Jiang Moli’s skin, causing a stinging pain.

Jiang Moli grinned. "Second Great Aunt-in-law, your hands are so rough and thick-skinned, they feel almost like an old lady’s heel."

The Second Great Aunt-in-law’s old face fell.

’Honestly, if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.’

[Disgust Value +1. Credited: 10,000 Yuan.]

An Hui knew how sharp her daughter-in-law’s tongue was, so she quickly led her away to meet the other relatives and elders.

"This is your Third Great Aunt-in-law. And these are your aunts, the first and the third. The second, fourth, and fifth haven’t returned yet."

’Oho, the Five Golden Flowers!’

Jiang Moli played along sweetly. "Third Great Aunt-in-law, it’s nice to meet you."

The Third Great Aunt-in-law folded her hands and put on the air of an elder, her critical eyes scanning Jiang Moli from head to toe.

"So skinny, with such a narrow waist. Can you even bear children properly?"

Jiang Moli beamed. "Well, I’m certainly not as prolific as you, Third Great Aunt-in-law. Say, your family must really love daughters, right? Otherwise, why would you have so many?"

"PFFT!"

A few stifled giggles broke out from the surrounding crowd.

In this day and age, who liked having daughters? Everyone was desperate to have sons!

One look at the Third Great Aunt-in-law’s face and you could see it was blacker than the bottom of a pot.

She had dreamed of having sons, but instead, she’d had a string of girls. For her entire life, she had been ridiculed for it, unable to hold her head high in her husband’s family.

For Jiang Moli to bring this up was hitting her right where it hurt. She was simply despicable!

[Disgust Value +1. Credited: 10,000 Yuan.]

An Hui called over a great-niece who was from the same generation as Jiang Moli to take her and Lu Tingting for a walk.

If they stayed in the house any longer, she was afraid every single relative would be offended!

The village wasn’t big, and they finished walking through it in no time. Then, Jiang Moli headed up the mountain.

An Family Village was in a hilly region. The mountains weren’t very high, and there were even farmlands on the slopes.

At this time of year, there were many wild fruits on the mountain.

There were golden-yellow rose pears, crimson raspberries, wild persimmons that looked like little lanterns, and Japanese raisin fruit.

Jiang Moli and the others didn’t wander back down the mountain until the sky grew dark.

When they returned to the Great Uncle’s house, it was much quieter than when they had left. The relatives had all gone back to their own homes.

The Great Uncle and his wife lived with their eldest son, An Fu.

An Fu was in his early forties and had three sons and two daughters. His eldest son had gotten married last year.

At this hour, An Fu’s eldest daughter-in-law and eldest daughter were in the kitchen cooking.

Lu Deyao was chatting with the Great Uncle and his son in the main hall, while An Hui was with the Great Aunt-in-law, discussing the plans for tomorrow’s banquet.

Upon entering the house, An Liu also dutifully went to the kitchen to help her sister-in-law and older sister with the cooking.

Jiang Moli placed the wild persimmons and Japanese raisin fruit on the table, then sat down next to An Hui with Lu Tingting. They began picking at the raisin fruit while listening to the two women talk.

The wild persimmons and Japanese raisin fruit had been broken off the trees with their branches still attached, making them easier to carry back.

The Great Aunt-in-law shot several glances at Jiang Moli and Lu Tingting, clearly disapproving of the fact that they hadn’t gone into the kitchen to help.

An Hui pretended not to notice.

’Her third son’s wife and her granddaughter don’t do chores at home; there’s no reason they should have to do them at my family’s home.’

By the time the lamps were lit, dinner was ready.

Usually, the An family ate in the main hall. But with so many people tonight, one square table wasn’t enough. Lu Deyao suggested borrowing another table.

The Great Uncle glanced coldly at Jiang Moli and Lu Tingting and said in a gruff voice, "No need to borrow one. Around here, women don’t eat at the table."

Looking at the embarrassed An Hui, and then at the silent An family women, Jiang Moli smiled.

’No wonder An Hui didn’t want to bring me,’ she thought. ’Turns out this Great Uncle is a relic of a feudal past!’

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.