Auntie’s whole family came over, and with the increase in people, we set up two tables for lunch, still divided by gender, one for men and one for women. Cheng Su brought out the last dish before finally removing her apron and sitting down.
Auntie stared, gawking at Cheng Su, and even Liu Wenjing seemed bewildered.
"Auntie, what’s wrong? Is there something on my face?" Cheng Su asked, touching her cheek.
Auntie’s expression was strange, and after hesitating, she said, "Back home, when we have guests over, it’s always the men who keep them company, and during meals, women never sit at the table. They only serve from the kitchen and at the tableside and eat separately in the kitchen afterwards."
Cheng Su’s face turned green.
"Usually, it’s the men who accompany the guests, and the women cook the meals. Even after they’ve finished, they aren’t allowed to sit at the table. Otherwise, it would be laughable. Even during the meal, they shouldn’t enter the room, just wait outside to clear the table. No woman from any family should sit at the table, otherwise, it’s seen as ill-mannered, a lack of upbringing. Just look at my daughter-in-law; she’s never sat at the table," Auntie continued as if she hadn’t noticed Cheng Su’s changing complexion, turning to Mother Qi, "Don’t you have this custom here?"
Mother Qi was somewhat embarrassed: "We don’t have that here."
"Then I guess our place follows the ancestral traditions and rules more closely," Auntie said with a nod, making a big deal of it.
By this point, Cheng Su’s face had turned from green to black.
Qi Fenglian, seeing that things weren’t going right, chimed in, "Auntie, you have so many customs over there! We don’t have them here. Even my in-laws don’t have such customs!"
Women not allowed at the table during a meal? What kind of international joke is this? This is the progressive 1980s, not the Great Qing Dynasty, okay?
After hearing Auntie’s bizarre views, any sympathy Cheng Su had for her hard-luck aunt vanished into thin air.
"Auntie, do you always follow this too?" Cheng Su asked through clenched teeth.
"Of course, when my husband was around, he entertained the guests. Now that he’s gone, it’s up to my two boys. When have you ever seen a woman accompany guests? The way it is, men are in charge of external affairs, women are responsible for the household; where’s the justification for a woman to sit at the table and eat equally with men?" Auntie said with a hint of contempt.
"Auntie, Big Sister-in-law, you two are truly pitiful. What era are we living in now? Men and women are equal. Women are capable of holding up half the sky. Since when can’t a woman sit at the table to eat? Anyone who didn’t know better would think you’re living in ancient times!" Cheng Su clicked her tongue, shaking her head.
Auntie and Liu Wenjing’s faces turned in unison.
Mother Qi scolded, "Every place has its own customs; what’s wrong with that? Talking about pity. Just eat your meal."
"Yes, Mother-in-law, I’ll eat and keep quiet!" Cheng Su bowed her head, using her bowl to hide the sneer on her lips— it’s been said that those deserving pity also have detestable aspects. Perhaps, that has always been an eternal truth.
What kind of people are these!
Auntie watched Cheng Su bury her head in her meal and ignore everyone else, casting a meaningful glance at her sister that seemed to say, "You’ve failed in her education."
Mother Qi was red in the face and glared at Cheng Su, blaming her for causing her own embarrassment in front of her elder sister.
Cheng Su acted as if she hadn’t seen, continuing to focus on her meal, which cast an envious look from Liu Wenjing.
She married so well!
She’d never had the chance to sit at the table during big celebrations like the New Year at the Deng family home, always busy outside. Sometimes during the bustle, her meals would be cold dishes and cold rice.
And now, having lost her husband, her life was truly hard!
Qi Fenglian, sensing the tense atmosphere, felt uneasy herself. No wonder she never saw her aunt sit at the table when she visited her aunt’s house with her mother as a child. So, there was such a custom, and life for the women there must be really tough.