It's no wonder He's wife finds Zhao's wife disagreeable.
Everyone was eating; they thought this matter would just pass, but when Ye Qingzhi had just picked up half an egg from her bowl with her hand, Zhao's wife suddenly hit it with her chopsticks and said, "A mere girl, who will belong to another family when grown up, how dare you eat precious things like eggs?"
As she spoke, Zhao's wife took the egg from Ye Qingzhi's bowl and put it in her eldest son Ye Wenyu's bowl, saying, "Give the egg to your brother. If your brother is well-fed and grows strong, he can support you after you marry."
Ye Jiu had heard this reasoning not just once from Zhao's wife.
In the past, because of Ye Jiu's physical coordination problems and speech impairment, even though she disapproved of many things, she could only bear it and was powerless to act.
But now, her health had improved, so many things could no longer be let go meekly as before.
At that moment, Ye Jiu put down her chopsticks and said, "Sister-in-law, the egg was for Qingzhi. If you have an objection, just give it back!"
Probably not expecting Ye Jiu to speak up, Zhao's wife was taken aback for a moment. By the time she reacted, Ye Wenyu was already blushing with shame and said to Zhao's wife, "Mom, the egg was a gift from Aunt to Qingzhi, let Qingzhi eat it. I'm already so big; how can I snatch my sister's food?"
Ye Wenyu's response couldn't help but garner some admiration from Ye Jiu.
The half egg was not important; what mattered was that he had not been influenced by Zhao's wife's discriminatory thoughts towards girls, which would have led him to oppress his own sister.
Originally, no matter who was supposed to eat the egg, He's wife had no intention of intervening, as her heart leaned more towards her grandson than a costly granddaughter.
However, not to mention these grandchildren— even if her own sons were to come back, they could not surpass Ye Jiu's place in her heart.
Hence, with Ye Jiu speaking up, He's wife naturally supported her.
He's wife looked at Zhao's wife with obvious disdain and said, "Younger daughter-in-law, if you don't want to eat, just go out and gather some firewood right now. With the eldest and second brother not at home, we're running out of firewood. Here you only know how to shirk work and scheme all day, not caring for the Gu Family, now even trying to snatch things from the children. You've really learned some tricks, haven't you? Perhaps one day you'll even start snatching things from your mother-in-law too?"
Following He's wife's fierce bombardment, although Zhao's wife was reluctant, she still put the half egg she had picked up back down, but she couldn't help but lash out at Ye Qingzhi, "Eat, eat, eat, you costly and useless girl, why don't you eat yourself to death!"
Watching this, Ye Jiu suddenly regretted having shared the egg.
Especially with a mother like Zhao's wife, it might have been better for Ye Qingzhi not to eat the egg at all.
Scolded by Zhao's wife, even though the egg was already in her bowl, Ye Qingzhi dared not pick it up to eat. A six-year-old child, being scolded by her own mother over half an egg, sobbing pitifully was truly heart-wrenching.
Eventually, Old Man Ye could not stand it anymore, put down his chopsticks, and muttered gruffly, "Zhao's wife, are you intent on spoiling this meal for the whole family?"
Although the daily decisions in the house were usually made by He's wife, Old Man Ye was still the head of the household, and Zhao's wife dared not challenge him. She immediately fell silent and no longer dared to scold the child.
The meal was eaten amidst noise and quarrels, truly quite lively.