Chapter 37: Chapter 37 Wrecking
Voices came from outside the courtyard.
Mrs. Chu had called the other members of the Gu Family back from the fields. With one foot stepping into the kitchen, Mrs. Chu looked at Su Yunjin and Gu Ya, who were inside talking, and said with a smile, “Third sister-in-law, third brother, mother and eldest brother have all returned. We can eat now.”
All the other dishes were set on the table, with only the pig’s blood Su Yunjin cooked still warming in the pot. Hearing Mrs. Chu, Su Yunjin nodded at her, “Younger sister-in-law, the pig’s blood is warming in the pot. You and mother can sit down first, I’ll bring it out in a moment.”
There were many people in the Gu Family and the kitchen was too small to accommodate everyone. Usually, meals were served in the courtyard. Su Yunjin told Mrs. Chu to go out and sit first, but Mrs. Chu did not leave; instead, she went to serve everyone rice. On the other side, Su Yunjin went to get the pig’s blood. Gu Ya, seeing the steam and bubbling heat from the pot, was worried Su Yunjin would burn herself and hurried over to help.
“Yunjin, give me the pig’s blood. I’ll carry it,” he said.
Without waiting for Su Yunjin’s consent, Gu Ya took the bowl of pig’s blood from her hands. Such hot stuff wouldn’t matter much if a grown man like him got burned, but it was different for the young bride — how could her delicate skin withstand such heat?
Gu Ya insisted on taking the pig’s blood, and Su Yunjin didn’t argue with him, letting him take it, while reminding him, “Then be careful, the pig’s blood has a lot of broth, watch out for spills.”
“I know,” Gu Ya said as he carried the pig’s blood out. There were still two bowls left in the pot, and Su Yunjin went to get the rest. Partway through, Gu Ya came back and once again snatched the bowl of pig’s blood from Su Yunjin’s hands, “Yunjin, the pig’s blood is too hot. Don’t carry it anymore. Sister-in-law is serving the rice, you go help her. I’ll take care of the pig’s blood for everyone.”
Assigned by Gu Ya to help Mrs. Chu with the rice, Su Yunjin arrived outside to find Mrs. An and the others already seated. Everyone looked at the pig’s blood and the Houttuynia Cordata salad Su Yunjin had prepared, their expressions somewhat strange.
Both mother-in-law Mrs. An and younger brother-in-law Gu Jianghai looked fine, but the expressions of eldest sister-in-law Mrs. Zhang and fourth brother’s wife Mrs. Han were beyond strange.
Mrs. Zhang spoke first, her face full of disdain and her tone dripping with sarcasm, “My, mother, look at this — what kind of dishes have we got on the table? Is the third brother’s wife feeding us pigs? Whatever is edible and not, it’s all brought to the table. What does she take us for?”
“Isn’t that the truth?” Mrs. Han, equally dismissive, poked at the Houttuynia Cordata salad that Su Yunjin had made, “Look at this, isn’t it what everyone in the village harvests to feed pigs? Third sister-in-law sure has nerve. She just brought it to our table as a dish? What is she trying to say? Is she annoyed that we asked her to cook today, so she’s deliberately insulting us in this roundabout way? Calling us pigs or what?”
Su Yunjin was bringing out the rice and happened to overhear the words of Mrs. Zhang and Mrs. Han. Mrs. Chu, who followed behind Su Yunjin, also heard, “Third sister-in-law, the eldest sister-in-law and fourth sister-in-law are just like that. Don’t take it to heart!”
Looking up, Mrs. Zhang spotted Su Yunjin emerging and began to mock her pointedly, “Third brother’s wife, tell me, have you never cooked before, or do you just not know how? Look at the mess you’ve made. Nobody eats pig’s blood , and you made it for us — well, that’s one thing. But now you’re serving us that stuff from the village that’s meant for pigs to eat? Do the oil and the salt in this house cost nothing? Wasting them ?”