New Year's Eve Dinner at the Third Evans Household

Lana Evans was shoved to the ground, scraping a large patch of skin on her palm. She burst into tears.

Grandma Evans, her mouth full of meat, kicked out and cursed, "You wretched girl! Howling like a banshee on New Year's—shut up!"

Susan Evans, the third daughter-in-law, pulled Lana up with concern. Seeing her daughter's injured hand, she was furious but, mindful that Grandma Evans was her mother-in-law, forced herself to hold back. "Mother, look, Lana's hand is badly scraped!"

"So what if it’s scraped? If she’s so precious, why doesn’t she go be a city lady!" Grandma Evans had already polished off half a plate of meat and was shoveling dumplings into her bowl.

"Mother, that’s not how it works!" Susan Evans, never one to be bullied, shielded Lana behind her and glared at Grandma Evans. "You come to our house and push my daughter around on New Year's—what kind of grandmother does that?"

Grandma Evans, her mouth stuffed with dumplings, retorted, "What do you mean, what kind of grandmother? That brat Lana saw her grandma come in and didn’t get up to greet me, glued to her chair like a lump! So I gave her a push—what’s the harm? You all get to sit while I’m supposed to stand!?"

Susan Evans was fuming at Grandma Evans’s shamelessness. She shot a glare at Sam Evans: "Sam, are we even going to have a New Year’s at this rate!?"

Sam Evans was about to speak when Grandma Evans swallowed her last dumpling, craned her neck, and snapped, "Susan, if you don’t want to celebrate, then don’t! You’ve barely been split off from the family and already think you’re above everyone! Look at your table—meat, eggs, dumplings—Lily Evans must’ve sent you that meat! You get gifts and don’t honor your elders, just shut your doors and feast alone. Aren’t you ashamed!"

Susan Evans was livid. "How is this ‘feasting alone’? We’re just openly having our New Year’s dinner!"

"Bah! You get good stuff and don’t think of your elders, and now you want to be in the right!" Grandma Evans swiftly swept most of the meat dishes off the table, dumped the rest of the meat and dumplings into a big empty bowl, and tucked it under her arm. "My eldest grandson Arthur hasn’t had any meat this New Year, and you think you deserve it? Go, fetch all the good stuff left in the kitchen for me!"

Susan Evans, eyes red with anger, blocked the kitchen door. "There’s nothing left!"

Grandma Evans pointed at Susan Evans’s nose and cursed, "You thieving wench, hiding good food from your elders! You deserve a bolt of lightning! Sam, you’d better bring meat to the main house tomorrow, or I won’t recognize you as my son!"

Grandma Evans made a scene, ransacked Sam Evans's family's New Year's Eve dinner, and left carrying off the food in her arms.

Susan Evans stared at the tableful of ruined New Year's food, her heart aching and her eyes red. She bandaged Lana Evans's wound, then turned to Sam Evans and cried, "We finally split from the family, so we didn't have to support that leech Arthur Evans's schooling, and our days were just starting to get better. Every month we give Father and Mother their grain, never late, never short. What's wrong with eating some meat and dumplings for New Year? We earned it ourselves! Why should she hit us and then take our food? Lily Evans sent us New Year's gifts out of kinship—why should we have to hand over our meat? Mother only cares about the main house, only has eyes for her precious grandson Arthur Evans! Me, Lana, and Stanley—we're just weeds to her!"

Sam Evans, honest as ever, also felt Grandma Evans had gone too far this time. He said, "Don't be angry, wife. I know Mother is biased, and I know how hard you've worked. She really crossed the line today."

Susan Evans gritted her teeth. "So, are we still sending meat to the main house tomorrow?"