Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 1607 - 819: Staying for Dinner

Lady Chiang responded with a nod and turned to leave. This cabbage, she had already prepared it before showing it to Lady Zhou. But Lady Zhou had this temperament; to assert her authority, she had to remove two more cabbage leaves.

Lady Chiang had always known that making a living under Lady Zhou’s command was no easy task. Previously, there were more people in the family, and above her were Lady Gu, Lady Zhang, and several other aunts, so Lady Zhou couldn’t trouble her much. But now the situation was different; in the old house, there were only two daughters-in-law for Lady Zhou to command. One was Lady He, and the other was her.

Of course, Lady He was scolded the most and was the least favored. But with Lady He’s personality, she couldn’t act as her shield. Most of the household chores still fell on her head, and even if she was clever and skillful, she would still be troubled by Lady Zhou from time to time.

Fortunately, Lady Zhou was considerate of her, not shouting and cursing her like she did with some of the daughters-in-law. On one hand, it was because she was the granddaughter-in-law; on the other hand, it was obviously because she was smarter than the other daughters-in-law of the Lian Family.

But what use is being smart, when this kind of constant bitterness and resentment goes on day after day, year after year? Others might see an end, but for her, there was no end in sight. Sometimes, thinking about this, Lady Chiang felt despair.

The only consolation was her daughter, Da Niuniu, and any children she might have in the future. For the sake of the children, she had to continue living this life, cautiously making a living under Lady Zhou’s command each day.

Lady Zhou was strong-willed, needing to appear superior everywhere, especially among the women at home. Therefore, if daughters-in-law were incapable, they would be looked down upon by Lady Zhou and scolded. But if a daughter-in-law was capable and stole Lady Zhou’s spotlight, she would also be deliberately troubled and rebuked. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Not being capable wouldn’t do, and being too capable wouldn’t do either. Finding a suitable balance between the two was truly a challenge. Even Lady Chiang, with her ingenuity and caution, often found herself stepped on by Lady Zhou.

Take, for example, the matter of preparing cabbage for dumpling filling. Lady Zhou had instructed ahead of time to prepare two kinds of fillings. One was for guests, with more pork inside. The other was for their own consumption, with more cabbage and less pork.

Actually, given the living standards of the old house now, and considering it was still the New Year period, there was no need for that. But Lady Zhou had been accustomed to saving over the years and insisted on doing it this way.

Lady Zhou preferred dumplings with more vegetable filling. Additionally, Lady Zhou liked to eat dumplings, and by adding more cabbage and less pork, she could make more dumplings and eat them for several consecutive meals.

However, Lady Chiang believed that Lady Zhou had another reason for doing so. Lady Zhou didn’t think all family members were entitled to eat dumplings filled with a lot of meat. Some people were already lucky to even get a taste of the dumplings; giving them more meat would make Lady Zhou feel distressed.

In essence, it was still Lady Zhou’s usual way of doing things—there must be clear distinctions in the food hierarchy at home.

For Lady Zhou, this was how to maintain order; this was how to demonstrate her authority as the woman in charge at home.

Having understood Lady Zhou’s intentions, Lady Chiang deliberately chose just two cabbages to show Lady Zhou and cleaned them thoroughly. After all, in front of guests, she certainly didn’t want to appear like a sloppy daughter-in-law who couldn’t do anything. She also left room for Lady Zhou to demonstrate her authority.

For the guest dumplings, two cabbages were enough. But for the other dumplings, more cabbage was needed. When the time came, Lady Zhou’s instructions managed to showcase her authority and competence without causing her to lose too much face in front of the guests.

However, even with such thoughtful and meticulous work, Lady Zhou still managed to find fault, embarrassing her in front of others.

It seemed that in the presence of Younger Lady Zhou, Lady Zhou was especially eager to assert her authority.

Lady Chiang suppressed her anger in her heart, ultimately having to slowly let it out herself.

After Lady Chiang went out, Da Niuniu wobbled in, holding a broom taller than herself, and swept the discarded cabbage leaves that Lady Zhou had ripped off the floor.

Seeing Da Niuniu now capable of chores, and acting with a somewhat endearing clumsiness due to her young age, Lian Manman couldn’t help but smile.

One would think, having a little great-granddaughter who voluntarily sweeps the floor, Lady Zhou, as the great-grandma, should be pleased beyond words. But Lady Zhou just looked coldly at Da Niuniu, without saying a word.