When She Stops Being Dramatic

"I wonder if there’s even a single edible piece of meat in here."

"If you’re going to give a gift, then give it generously. Who are you trying to humiliate with this?"

"Brother Zishu, I thought you used to be so considerate. Now that you have a girlfriend, you’ve just forgotten all about me, this ’little sister’ you picked up from who knows where. Are you just going to stand by and let people grind my face into the dirt?"

At this, she trembled with anger, her face flushed crimson. The deep disappointment and hurt in her eyes seemed to spill out, enveloping the entire courtyard.

She didn’t give Jiang Zishi a chance to speak, continuing through her sobs:

"You can’t just bully someone like this. I’ve been behaving myself here in the courtyard, I even offered you my blessings. What more do you want from me?"

"Is my very presence here getting in the way of your happy little family? Do you have to keep finding ways to stab me in the heart?"

"I’m a proper young lady, and you want me to eat a chicken’s rear end! You might as well just take a knife to my throat..."

"It’s all bones and skin with the feathers still on it! This is the kind of stuff you’d feed to the dogs!"

With that, she wiped her tears and ran back into her room.

Jiang Zishi’s arm was still frozen in its outstretched position.

The bowl was quite large, one of the wide-mouthed, coarse porcelain bowls common in every village household. It contained a good amount of potatoes, and the few chicken pieces scattered on top were indeed the bony, meatless scraps from the chicken.

The chicken’s rear end sat stubbornly at the very top, a finger-joint-length feather stuck conspicuously in it, swaying in the summer evening breeze...

Who plucks a chicken this poorly?

And to have it arranged in the bowl like that... if that wasn’t a blatant insult, what was?

No wonder Chi reacted so strongly!

Never mind someone like Chi, who couldn’t stand being wronged and was always picky about what she ate. Even they would have been disgusted to receive a bowl of food like that.

When you give something away, even if you’re not well-off, unless you’re a complete fool, wouldn’t you mix the good with the bad?

A cleverer person would put the good meat on top and hide the bony, hard-to-eat pieces underneath.

Some families, concerned with face, would sooner gnaw on bones themselves and give all the good meat to their neighbors.

The village chief’s family didn’t seem like the type to be so thoughtless. Unless... they really did want to put Chi in her place on behalf of their daughter.

A dull ache throbbed in Jiang Zishi’s forehead. ’I’ve been wrapped up in my own business all day; how could I have paid attention to the petty squabbles between women?’ But if he actually offered that explanation, no one would believe him.

The village chief’s wife was a notorious penny-pincher; why would she be so kind as to send Chi Yun’er a bowl of chicken?

And yet, after his initial surprise, he hadn’t thought much of it. He’d assumed his future in-laws liked him and were using this subtle way to announce their daughter’s new status.

He sighed softly. "The chickens we raise at home aren’t very plump. Aunty made a pot of chicken and potato stew, picked out some for the kids, and the adults mostly ate potatoes. She specially saved a bowl of what was left for Chi Yun’er."

"Who would have thought that a dish everyone else considers a treat would be so criticized by this girl. Forget meat, even if it were just a bowl of broth without any meat, who wouldn’t be grateful and say a word of thanks?"

The fickle crowd’s opinion shifted in an instant. And why not? Whether in the city or the countryside, getting to eat meat was like a holiday. Even a dish with a bit of grease was a good thing. Who cared if it was the best cuts?

Besides, considering Jiang’s past relationship with Chi, it was already very considerate of the village chief’s family to think of Chi and send her a bowl of food at all.

And here Chi was, finding fault with it. So, it would have been fine if they’d sent nothing, but sending something earned them an enemy?

If someone wanted to "insult" them with a bowl of meat and bones, they’d welcome it with open arms!

A female educated youth stepped forward with a smile and took the bowl. "If Chi isn’t happy to eat it, we’ll be shameless enough to accept it. We can use the chicken broth to make noodles for everyone tomorrow morning."

"When it’s time for Jiang and Comrade Bian’s engagement, we’ll all help out."

Another female educated youth chimed in with a laugh, "That’s right, Jiang. You went to the village chief’s house for dinner to discuss the engagement, didn’t you?"

"Did you work out the details? We’re all educated youths, so we should help each other out. If there’s anything you need, just say the word. We’ll be counting on you for plenty of things in the future."

The male educated youths also chimed in with questions.

Jiang Zishi smiled and sat down, speaking to the group. "Yes, I went to discuss the engagement. My parents have work and can’t come, but my older brother lives on a nearby farm. They say the eldest brother is like a father, so he can attend the engagement ceremony."

"Even though this is Bian Family Village, Comrade Bian’s hometown, and her parents and brothers are all here... I’d like to hold both the engagement and the wedding here at our educated youth outpost."