The breakfast was made by her mother-in-law, Li Wenxiu, who wasn’t particularly busy with work and generally handled the family’s meals. Wang Na’s cooking wasn’t very good, so she rarely set foot in the kitchen.
Just as everyone was eating in silence, Wang Na suddenly cleared her throat, then smiled at Jiang Shutang. “Sister-in-law, our family’s meals are usually made by Mom, but since you became a mother at such a young age and raised three kids, your cooking must be excellent. If you ask me, from now on, you should take over the cooking for the family. That way, Mom can rest a bit, and you can show your filial piety.”
Jiang Shutang hadn’t expected that just the second day after her marriage, this eldest sister-in-law would try to put her in her place.
With so many mouths to feed in the Gu family, was cooking an easy task? It was exhausting—why should she be the one to do it?
But Wang Na’s words were cleverly phrased, and Jiang Shutang couldn’t just lose her temper on the spot, since she was using the excuse of being good to her mother-in-law.
“Eldest sister-in-law, I’d love to show my filial piety, but my cooking isn’t that great. Even though I have three kids, all these years I’ve been so busy trying to keep them fed that I’ve been running around nonstop. The kids cook for themselves, or I just buy some steamed buns and porridge on the fly.”
After saying this, Jiang Shutang didn’t forget to turn the tables.
“Eldest sister-in-law, how many years have you been married into this family? Haven’t you helped Mom share the burden at all?”
Wang Na hadn’t expected Jiang Shutang to dare refuse, and even to call her out on that point. She felt a surge of irritation.
“I’ve been married here for a few years, but my cooking is even worse. Everyone hates what I make.”
Jiang Shutang nodded solemnly. “That can actually be learned. As long as you’re serious and focused, you’ll definitely pick it up.”
The implication was that Wang Na had been married in for years without ever helping cook a meal. If her cooking was bad, she could learn—was she just going to be a terrible cook forever? At the end of the day, it came down to a lack of filial devotion.
No one in the Gu family was stupid, and they quickly caught the meaning behind Jiang Shutang’s words.
Li Wenxiu sighed inwardly. It seemed this daughter-in-law wasn’t as simple as she appeared on the surface—she wasn’t someone to be trifled with.
“This task is best suited for you, eldest sister-in-law. Look, you don’t have kids yet, so you’re relatively free. Unlike me, I’m raising three on my own—that’s truly exhausting.”
Jiang Shutang’s words were pretty sharp too—wasn’t she hitting a sore spot?
Having been married for so many years without getting pregnant had always been a thorn in Wang Na’s side.
But because that fortune-teller had once said that by the great-grandson generation, the Gu family would gradually decline, there were pitifully few children in this generation. Several other women in the family were like her, unable to conceive, so having company had kept her anxiety at bay.
But now it was different. Jiang Shutang had directly given birth to three boys, which inevitably put pressure on her.
And now she was using that to lord it over her—it made Wang Na deeply resentful.
Wang Na had originally wanted to bully Jiang Shutang, but instead she’d been rebutted to the point of not knowing what to say.
Soon, though, Wang Na thought of another countermeasure.
“I’d love to too—to learn properly and be filial to Mom and Dad. But my job is pretty busy, and I really can’t find the time. I heard you work on the workshop floor at Jixie Chang, just an ordinary female worker. Your monthly salary probably isn’t high, right? Twenty-five yuan? My salary is double yours. If it comes down to it, you can just skip the overtime, earn a bit less, and help out more around the house.”
As she said this, there was a clear air of superiority in Wang Na’s eyes. She felt she had completely won on this front.
Jiang Shutang tightened her grip on her chopsticks. “Eldest sister-in-law, it’s precisely because I’m a female worker now that I need to work even harder. Otherwise, how will I get promoted in the future? A person should always have dreams. But cooking isn’t really a big deal—I’ll study it properly when I get the chance, and if I can learn it, I’ll cook for everyone.”
Jiang Shutang spoke softly and gently, appearing to lack force, but she was clearly more broad-minded than Wang Na.
She said all the right things, but whether she actually learned or not was entirely up to her.
Wang Na was unwilling to let it go, but with so many people present, she couldn’t very well make a scene.
The two temporarily called a truce and said nothing more.
That morning, Li Wenxiu had also fried some eggs. When Wang Na went to eat one, they were already gone.
“Sister-in-law, the fried eggs are all finished. Go fry two more for me—I’m currently preparing for pregnancy, so I can’t miss out on nutrition.”
Wang Na said it very naturally, as if Jiang Shutang were her servant.
Beside her, Gu Manman bit her chopsticks and chimed in, “Fry one for me too.”
Jiang Shutang’s eyes darkened. It was clear enough now—it wasn’t just this eldest sister-in-law who looked down on her; the others held the same attitude.
Gu Zhengnan sat nearby without saying a word, and Jiang Shutang felt somewhat disappointed. After all, they were all grown adults—no one was stupid. She was being bullied; couldn’t Gu Zhengnan see it?
Yet he just watched Wang Na bully her without making a sound.
Just as Jiang Shutang was considering how to respond, Gu Zhengnan suddenly stood up.
“Fried eggs, right? Three?”
Wang Na was surprised. “Zhengnan, you’re going into the kitchen?”
Gu Zhengnan nodded. No matter what, the two of them were now husband and wife. If someone wanted to take a jab at Jiang Shutang, he ought to protect her a bit.
“Alright, I’ll fry the eggs for you all.”
Jiang Shutang felt a surge of joy, thinking that Gu Zhengnan wasn’t so heartless after all—he knew to protect her. It wasn’t for nothing that she’d borne him three sons.
Wang Na hadn’t expected Gu Zhengnan to step in, and for a moment, she didn’t know what to say.
“Everyone says a good man doesn’t set foot in the kitchen—how can a man do the cooking? Just let Shutang do it. It’s not a big deal.”
Wang Na thought that with these words, Gu Zhengnan would sit back down.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing her remark, Gu Zhengnan furrowed his brows directly.
“Cooking can be done by either men or women—there’s no rule that it has to be a woman’s job. Shutang just married into the family, so she’s our new daughter-in-law. How could we let the new bride work in the kitchen on her very first day?”
Jiang Shutang was moved by his words.
In truth, men of this era were quite chauvinistic, believing that chores and cooking were women’s work while they were only responsible for earning money. For Gu Zhengnan to have this kind of awareness was quite remarkable.
Sure enough, Wang Na was momentarily at a loss, unable to save face, and could only shut her mouth.
Gu Zhengnan went to the kitchen, fried three eggs, and brought them out.
Gu Manman picked one up, took a bite, and immediately spat it out with a “ptui, ptui, ptui.”
“Second Brother, did you kill the salt seller? Why did you put so much salt in? Is this even edible?”
Gu Zhengnan didn’t even lift his eyelids. “If you don’t like it, fry your own. It’s not like you don’t have hands.”
Gu Manman was so angry her face turned red and her neck puffed up.
“Second Brother, am I really your own sister?”
Gu Zhengnan had always been sharp-tongued and didn’t coddle his younger siblings.
Wang Na’s face alternated between pale and flushed, feeling that her brother-in-law’s words were deliberately aimed at her. On the surface, he was scolding Gu Manman, but in reality, he was scolding her.
Jiang Shutang felt secretly pleased and lowered her head to take a sip of millet porridge.
First round of the sisters-in-law’ clash: Wang Na suffered a crushing defeat.