Free Web NovelChapter 133: Chapter 133: It’s Hard to Be a Daughter-in-Law in a Wealthy Family
While everyone was talking, the Second and Third Aunts heard that their sister-in-law had returned from abroad and hurried over.
The Second and Third Aunts were younger than Mrs. Vaughn, but not as beautiful.
Moreover, Mrs. Vaughn had a carefree nature. In her thirties, she had washed her hands of her son, ignoring him completely to focus on self-improvement. This saved her a great deal of frustration, and after all these years, she didn’t look a day older than them.
In fact, just as when they were young, she still left them in the dust.
The moment they saw her bright and captivating face, they became even more infuriated. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
But they couldn’t very well show it, so the two women went forward and began exchanging polite and enthusiastic pleasantries with her.
Cecelia Archer couldn’t get a word in and listened from across the way, utterly bored.
Suddenly, Ms. King returned, leading Candy by the hand.
"Mrs. Vaughn’s return today is a happy occasion. It’s getting late, so I must prepare a welcome dinner for her. Young Madam, could you watch the child for a bit?"
"The Second and Third Aunts are staying for dinner tonight as well, so I’ll prepare something to everyone’s tastes. I just don’t know if Mrs. Vaughn’s preferences have changed over the years. Ma’am..."
Mrs. Vaughn’s tastes had indeed changed. After so many years away, she had grown accustomed to a much lighter, simpler diet.
But she had come back for Cecelia Archer. Although the Old Master was present, making it inconvenient to openly boss her around, she wasn’t about to let her off easy.
"It’s been over a decade since I’ve had your lotus root starch balls. I’ve been craving them... I come back, and suddenly I’m a mother-in-law with no mental preparation at all. I have no idea if my daughter-in-law is even the capable, wifely type..."
Ms. King quickly spoke up for Cecelia Archer. "The Young Madam is very capable, Ma’am! Not only does she take wonderful care of the child, but she’s also an excellent cook. She’s very hardworking and often helps me in the kitchen. Damien loves her cooking and has even praised her culinary skills."
Mrs. Vaughn said, "Is that so? Then can she make lotus root starch balls?"
Cecelia Archer wasn’t stupid. The implication was crystal clear. ’If I don’t offer to do something, won’t I be publicly humiliating her?’
"I can. And even if I couldn’t, I can learn. If you’d like to have them, I’ll go to the kitchen and prepare them now."
Mrs. Vaughn shot her a cool glance. "Won’t it be too much trouble for you?"
"Not at all. It’s what I should do."
Mrs. Vaughn said no more, her superior attitude signifying her acceptance.
Cecelia Archer told Candy to go play with the Old Master, then she stood up and followed Ms. King to the kitchen.
The Old Master took Candy aside to practice calligraphy. No sooner had they left than the Second Aunt began to laugh meaningfully.
"Sister-in-law, you are truly blessed. Your son became the pillar of the Vaughn Family at such a young age, gave you a granddaughter, and married such a capable daughter-in-law. It’s truly enviable."
"You have no idea how in love Damien and Cecelia Archer are. Even though she only just married into the family, she has his heart completely wrapped around her finger. Just the other day, we were all playing mahjong, and in one afternoon, Damien fronted her nearly a million for her stakes."
The Third Aunt, who hadn’t heard about this, was stunned.
"Losing a million in one afternoon of mahjong? My goodness! Father is the most opposed to extravagance and waste. He stipulated that the living expenses for everyone in this entire compound can’t exceed two million a month, and she lost that much in a single afternoon? Didn’t Father say anything?"
The Second Aunt glanced at the Third Aunt. "Damien is in charge of such a massive corporation. Forget a mere million; it wouldn’t be a problem for him if she spent a hundred million in an afternoon. What would Father say? Right now, that little girl Candy has him so thoroughly charmed he doesn’t know which way is up. I’d say he doesn’t know, and even if he did, he’d probably pretend he didn’t."
"When all is said and done, it just shows how capable Damien is. Sister-in-law, you’re so blessed."
Mrs. Vaughn listened to her rambling, her face impassive, but a firestorm of anger was erupting inside her.
’First, he buys her a five-million-dollar bag in one go, and now he lets her lose a million in an afternoon. Has Damien Vaughn lost his mind?’
’He may be in charge of the Vaughn Group now, but it isn’t his personal property. Every single transaction has to go through the finance department. He...’
’He shouldn’t be so foolish as to embezzle company funds for a woman, but if he keeps letting her spend with such unchecked extravagance, even if the Vaughn Family were sitting on a mountain of gold, it would one day run dry!’
’Good thing I’m back. That homewrecking fox spirit, bringing ruin to the family!’
"Ms. King!"
Ms. King hurried over. "Ma’am?"
"I want the lotus root balls made purely by hand. And add a dish of Emperor’s Fried Rice. I’m hungry. Serve the food in one hour, on the dot."
Ms. King hurried back to the kitchen, her brow beaded with sweat from the difficult demand.
"The food has to be served in an hour? How is that possible? Never mind everyone else—the Second and Third Aunts, their husbands, and Damien—just the two dishes Mrs. Vaughn requested are more than I can handle!"
Cecelia Archer, having washed her hands, saw Ms. King this flustered for the first time and offered some thoughtful words of comfort.
"Don’t worry, I’m here to help. Just tell me what to do, and I’ll be your assistant. We’ll do our best to get it done in time."
"Sigh. I’m sorry to trouble you, Young Madam."
Ms. King wiped the sweat from her brow and went to the refrigerator to check the ingredients.
"We have the ingredients for everyone else, just not for Mrs. Vaughn. I need to go buy ten pounds of lotus root and ten pounds of shrimp right now."
"I’ll go," Cecelia Archer said, asking, "Are you sure there’s nothing else to buy?"
"That’s all. But please hurry, Young Madam. It’s Mrs. Vaughn’s first day back; we can’t risk making her unhappy."
Cecelia Archer urged the driver to go so fast it felt like they were flying. Rushing as fast as she could, she finally returned with the ingredients after forty minutes. ƒrēewebnovel.com
When she entered the kitchen, Ms. King was so busy her feet barely touched the ground.
"Young Madam, my hands are full right now. Would you mind grating the lotus root into a pulp?"
She found a basin and a wooden grater for her.
Cecelia Archer took them, quickly peeled the lotus root, and began pressing the sections against the wooden grater, rubbing rapidly.
’Whoever invented this dish must have been a glutton for punishment. It’s so tedious.’
’Perfectly good lotus root. Wouldn’t it be fine just sliced and eaten? Why does it have to be grated?’
Cecelia Archer was in a hurry, her arm moving so fast it felt like it was about to start smoking. Several times, she scraped her fingers against the metal part at the bottom of the grater, breaking the skin.
But she had no time to cry out in pain or bandage her fingers. She just rinsed her hand under the faucet and got back to work.
More than ten minutes later, the lotus root pulp was finally ready.
Ms. King quickly took the pulp to rinse it and start making the balls, giving Cecelia Archer another task at the same time.
"There’s still the shrimp. Quickly devein and peel them, then pinch off the heads and set them aside. I’ll need them later for the noodles. This is the last step. Thank you for your hard work, Young Madam."
Suppressing the pain in her hands, Cecelia Archer poured the shrimp into the sink.
They were all live shrimp, large and plump. They wriggled and jumped in her hands, making it easy to get pricked while pinching off the heads. Cecelia Archer had lived a frugal life before and rarely ate such things, so she was not skilled at deveining shrimp.
By the time she was done, all ten of her fingers were covered in tiny cuts. Soaked in water for so long, her fingers were now swollen and aching.
Fortunately, Ms. King was quick and experienced. With three pots going at once, she still managed to get all the dishes ready at the last possible moment.
As the golden, tempting Emperor’s Fried Rice was inverted onto a plate, Ms. King announced that everything was finally ready. At that moment, Cecelia Archer felt as if all her strength had been drained away, and she slumped against the kitchen wall.
"That was so hard. Thank goodness you were here, Ms. King."
Ms. King, just as exhausted and flustered, looked at her, her heart aching.
"It’s not easy being a daughter-in-law in a wealthy family, especially when the mother-in-law is so young."
"Young Madam, I advise you to have a second child as soon as possible. It will solidify your position and help you get through this initial adjustment period more easily... In all my years with the Vaughn Family, I’ve seen the second and third madams do the exact same thing. You’ll have to have another one sooner or later anyway, so you might as well be smart about it."
