37: Chapter 37: The Unreasonable Bai Family Members 37: Chapter 37: The Unreasonable Bai Family Members An Shuchao was thus easily subdued by Bai Xue’s few words, and all the previous discomfort vanished into thin air.
“Go on, keep my brother company in the room for a while, I’ll come once the food is ready!”
The dinner was ready in no time, and Bai Xue had made an abundant meal in anticipation of her family’s visit: a big plate of stir-fried leeks with eggs, a large bowl of cabbage and pork stewed with vermicelli, along with a dish of stir-fried potato shreds and fennel-boiled peanuts.
In the pot was a millet porridge, and the staple food was steaming hot white-flour buns.
The table in the room was small, and An Ping had to borrow a low table from the neighbors to join with their table.
An Hao’s family of five, together with the four from Bai Xue’s family, made it a tight squeeze for the nine people seated together.
As soon as Bai Xue had served the food, before old lady Niu Ruizhu even picked up her chopsticks, Bai Jianshe had already grabbed his and pulled the big basin of cabbage and pork vermicelli towards himself, and began eating on his own.
His aim with the chopsticks was precise, and with each pick he got a piece of meat, enjoying it more than anyone else with the big white buns.
Ever since Niu Cuihua had married into Bai Jianshe’s family, she had also suffered a lot, seldom having anything delicious to eat and rarely seeing any meat or fish.
At the sudden sight of eggs and meat, her eyes lit up with envy.
She started to scoot the contents of the dish into her bowl, all the while smiling and saying, “I love eating eggs!”
After serving herself half of the plate, she also served her son Bai Yufeng, “Fengzi, eat more, you haven’t had much to eat these days and you’ve lost so much weight!”
An Hao watched wide-eyed as her father An Shuchao’s chopsticks were suspended in mid-air, without even a single egg to pick up and eat.
It wasn’t just An Hao who was angry, Bai Xue felt a bout of irritation upon witnessing the scenario.
She had gritted her teeth today and fried five eggs in one go, but before anyone could touch them, her thoughtless sister-in-law Niu Cuihua had already scooped them all out.
Even the old lady appeared as if she saw nothing, happily eating peanuts and munching on white buns without saying a word.
Bai Xue was starting to feel uncomfortable.
Her mother had always been partial, only thinking of her when troubles arose, but only had her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson in mind when there was good food and drink.
Look at Auntie, I haven’t even got to have a bite of the eggs, and she has scooped them all out!” Bai Yanjiao was unhappy, her eyes filled with resentment as she looked at Bai Xue.
“Why are you looking at me?
It’s not like I am the one eating them!” Bai Xue muttered dissatisfaction.
After all, they were her own brother and sister-in-law, and despite her dissatisfaction, she couldn’t say these things in front of her husband’s family.
Seeing her mother not intervene, Bai Yanjiao no longer cared about the etiquette of the dinner table and abruptly stood up, her chopsticks reaching over the empty dish in front of her directly into the plate of cabbage, vermicelli, and pork in front of her uncle, picking out the meat to eat.
The meal felt like a battle, with the dining table resembling a battlefield, full of the sounds of chopsticks clattering against plates rather than conversation.
An Ping ate slowly and couldn’t get any meat.
An Shuchao, who was thin-skinned, felt embarrassed to reach out for the meat as everyone else was grabbing for it.
Seeing her husband unable to get anything, Bai Xue also felt an unpleasant taste in her mouth.
She glared at Bai Jianshe and shouted, “Jianshe, leave some meat for your brother-in-law.
He hasn’t reached any yet!”
Bai Jianshe, mouth full of food and not looking up, mumbled indistinctly, “Brother-in-law’s family is well off, with meat every day, they won’t miss this one meal!”
An Shuchao was at a loss whether to cry or laugh.
Finally, An Hao couldn’t hold back any longer and abruptly stood up from her stool.