Chapter 574 - 495: Quarrel
Chapter 574: Chapter 495: Quarrel
The next day was Sunday, and Xiao Man was going to visit the Gu family.
Gu Shaojun had repaired the Gu family’s Guardian Array, but several of the Magic Artifacts within it needed to be replaced. Since Gu Shaozhen had developed a Jade Mine in a small country in the South, the family had plenty of high-quality jadeite jade on hand. Xiao Man found the other required materials in her Treasure Pearl Space, and Gu Shaojun refined them into new Magic Artifacts to install.
So now, Xiao Man’s visits to the Gu Mansion were just to help Gu Shaojun with a routine check on the family members’ Cultivation, visit the elders, and share a meal. She no longer needed to feed the turtle on a schedule.
The turtle was now stable and content. It usually stayed submerged, completely out of sight. Only when it sensed Xiao Man approaching the pond would it emerge from the depths, hastily clamber onto the bluestone slab, and stretch its neck out. It would stare at her eagerly with its round, beady eyes, and sometimes even nod, as if to silently urge, ’I’m ready! Hurry up and feed me!’
It had clearly developed a taste for the good stuff. Every time Xiao Man went to see the adorable turtle, she couldn’t help but laugh.
Since Grandma Tang had nothing better to do, she decided to accompany her granddaughter to the Gu family home. Besides, Granny Gu had called the previous night to invite her over to make wild vegetable dumplings together, as it was the perfect season for fresh, tender wild greens.
Tang Qingyun drove the grandmother and granddaughter to the Gu home. After setting a time to pick them up, he left again. He was heading to the library to look up some materials—the man was studying hard these days.
As the grandmother and granddaughter crossed the front courtyard and entered the central one, they heard the clamor of women arguing. Grandma Tang pulled Xiao Man aside slightly and chuckled, "Your Granny Gu always says her family is much livelier than ours. How could it not be? The saying goes that three women are enough for a drama; her family could put on two! Only Zhou Hui Lan is quiet, gentle, and stays out of all the gossip. Your Granny Gu and her other two daughters-in-law are no pushovers! Listen... it looks like we’re just in time for a good show!"
Xiao Man was speechless. ’Grandma, aren’t you enjoying this a little too much?’
Sure enough, there was an argument in progress. One of the main participants was Tian Xueqin, who hadn’t been seen in a long time, and the other was Jiang Yuyan. The two were trading barbs back and forth. Just then, Zhou Hui Lan came out of a nearby room, pointed a finger at Tian Xueqin, and let her have it with a torrent of harsh words.
Xiao Man: "..."
’My future mother-in-law seems so gentle and virtuous, but it turns out she knows how to argue, and with such ferocity, too!’
’Let me think...’ Xiao Man mused. ’Mr. Gu banned Tian Xueqin from the Gu home for a year. More than a year has passed, so Second Madam Gu is back. But to start a fight with her sister-in-law the moment she returns... what is she trying to pull?’
The pair hid behind a flowering bush to eavesdrop for a moment. Xiao Man glanced to her left and saw that, sure enough, a dark cloud now hung over her grandmother’s face. Her expression was grim.
Tian Xueqin and Jiang Yuyan were arguing over food—specifically, the dried fish the Tang family had gifted them.
Before the New Year, Tang Qingshan and Ai Wenli had returned from Gongdao Village with many local specialties. Among them was a cloth sack containing over thirty pieces of dried river fish. Xiao Man knew at a glance they were a gift from Uncle Man Cang. All of them had been made by curing and air-drying large fish, each weighing over four or five pounds.
Since Ai Wenli loved dried fish and was pregnant, Xiao Man had secretly swapped the fish. She placed the original batch into her Treasure Pearl Space and replaced it with dried fish prepared in the space. These replacement fish had been raised in the First Rank Spiritual Spring Pool, feeding on Purple Lotus Leaf Stems. For an ordinary person, eating this fish could strengthen their body; for a pregnant woman, it was beneficial to the fetus. Unaware of Xiao Man’s switch, Grandma Tang had packed up half of the dried fish for Dad Tang and Mrs. Ai to take to Liaozhou. The remaining half, she had split with Granny Gu.
And now, the two sisters-in-law of the Gu family were fighting over that very fish. Tian Xueqin accused Jiang Yuyan of being selfish and hoarding the fish for herself. She also complained that Granny Gu showed favoritism and, even worse, blamed Grandma Tang. She claimed Grandma Tang had ill intentions, gifting them inferior dried fish to make them feel indebted, only for it to give them an upset stomach!
Jiang Yuyan was being called selfish because she had only made two bowls of fish congee. Shaoyu and Shaoying had each eaten one, so when Shaoling wanted some, there was none left. Tian Xueqin then steamed some of the ordinary dried fish from the kitchen for Shaoling, but after eating it, the child came down with vomiting and diarrhea...
Jiang Yuyan felt deeply wronged. During the New Year, Old Mrs. Gu had given her two large pieces of dried fish, telling her to keep them and occasionally cut off a piece to make congee or steam for her two children. She had known all along that the specialties from the South sent by the Tang family were rare treasures. This dried fish, in particular, was a nourishing delicacy—fresh, sweet, and with a mellow aroma. Her children adored it, so as a mother, she naturally wanted to ration it for them. Besides, Old Mrs. Gu had also set some aside for Shaoling; every child had their own share. That was why she hadn’t considered Shaoling when making the fish congee. By the time Shaoling showed up demanding to eat, her two children had nearly finished. She couldn’t just conjure another bowl out of thin air.