Chapter 761 - 757: A Complete Mess

While Melinda Sterling had, with Cecilia Sterling’s help, successfully reenrolled in school to repeat a year of her studies, back in her hometown, her sudden departure had thrown everything into chaos.

「Fornan, Drakehaven Town.」

This was a small town in the southernmost part of Fornan, steeped in a rich, local culture.

Most families in town were large, with multiple generations living together. The elderly and children were a common sight, especially children—a family with only three or five was considered small.

The preference for male children here was arguably the most extreme in the entire country. For the locals, it was no longer a simple matter of preferring boys; they took immense pride in having sons, and a woman’s status in the family rose with every son she bore.

If a family, or even an entire clan, had no male heirs, they would be looked down upon by everyone.

In a supposedly civilized, modern society, such feudal customs still persisted. In fact, in a small, obscure place like this, they had only intensified, taking on a distorted and pathological bent.

"Ma!"

First thing in the morning, Janet Warner, the wife of the Sterling family’s eldest son, was shouting in the courtyard, "The laundry detergent is all gone! Do we have any more?"

Hearing her, the old madam slowly emerged from the main hall, her face etched with impatience. "Mindy bought some online before. She said there was a sale and it was cheaper, so she bought a lot. Go look for it."

"I’ve been looking forever! There’s none!"

"Look more carefully. Mindy must have put it away somewhere. It’s not like the detergent could grow wings and fly away."

Janet Warner was so furious she started cursing. "That damn girl just up and left, abandoning this whole pile of chores! The day she comes crawling back because she can’t make it out there, I swear I’ll break her legs! We’ll see how she runs then!"

The old madam had just gone back inside when her grandson started yelling, "Grandma, where are my black jeans? Where did she stuff them?"

Hearing this, the old madam’s reply was the same. "Go look properly. Your sister always folded and put away your clothes. They must be in your room somewhere."

"She didn’t throw them out, did she? Last time, the color bled from these jeans and ruined a whole basket of clothes. My mom chewed her out for it..."

"She wouldn’t do that. Just look carefully."

As the old madam spoke, her own hands weren’t idle. She was rummaging through a drawer, looking for her denture cleanser—another task Mindy usually handled for her.

"Ma, I’m off to work. Janet has an event at her office this afternoon, so she probably won’t be back for lunch. Have the second son’s wife cook for you."

Miles Sterling was neatly dressed and holding a briefcase, ready to leave.

He was the eldest son of the family and worked as an official in a government office in town. The old madam doted on her eldest son, because in her eyes, working for the government was the most respectable job, one that brought the greatest honor to their ancestors.

"Miles,"

The old madam stopped him. "You have to find Mindy and bring her back."

"Ma, Mindy’s already gone. If she’s determined not to come back, where am I supposed to find her?" Miles Sterling said helplessly. "Just forget about that whole thing with Mindy. I thought it was a bad idea from the start. Marrying her off to a divorced man in his thirties... it wouldn’t look good if word got out."

"This is a small town, and I have a reputation to maintain. If that marriage had actually happened, what would people think of me?"

The old madam waved her hand dismissively. "It’s not about that."

"Then what is it?"

The old madam sighed. "When Mindy was here, I never thought she did much. But now that she’s gone, the whole house has fallen into chaos. Look at this mess! No one’s cleaning up, and the chores only get done when your wife and your brother’s wife have free time. It’s so frustrating to watch."

Hearing this, Miles Sterling looked exasperated. "As long as someone does it, what’s the problem? Why do you care when they do it?"

Before the old madam could nag any further, Miles Sterling glanced at the time and impatiently pushed her aside. "Ma, I really have to go. If there’s anything else, tell my brother."

Men were all like that. As long as he wasn’t the one doing the chores, it made no difference to him whether Mindy did them or his wife did.

All that mattered was that someone got it done.

"Ma, I’m heading to work. I’ll be eating at the office for lunch, so I won’t be back."

Just then, the second son’s wife, Sylvain Webb, came out from a back room, announcing her departure as she headed for the door.

The old madam’s eyes widened. "You’re not coming back for lunch either? Then... then who’s going to cook for me and the grandsons?"

The middle school in town was close enough that students who lived nearby all came home for lunch.

Sylvain Webb blurted out instinctively, "Mindy, of course. She..."

Then she caught herself. "Oh, right, Mindy ran away. Well, then it’s up to my sister-in-law. It was supposed to be her daughter’s job anyway. Since Mindy’s gone, she can do it."

Janet Warner, who was just walking in, happened to hear this and immediately shot back, "What’s that supposed to mean? Is taking care of Ma and cooking for her solely our family’s responsibility now?"

"Oh, Sister-in-law, I never said that." Sylvain Webb looked calmly at Janet Warner. "It’s not just about taking care of Ma. Aren’t Cedric, Theo, and Trigem Corporation all your sons? Their older sister ran away, so aren’t you, their mother, going to feed them?"

Janet Warner opened her mouth to argue, but Sylvain Webb cut her off. "And don’t drag my Toby into this. I only have one son. If you, his aunt, don’t want to include him, I can just have him eat at school. It’s all the same to me."

With that, she walked out the door.

Janet Warner’s chest ached with anger. Then she heard the old madam say, "Well, then you come back at noon and cook. You can’t let the children go without lunch."

"Ma, I have things to do at the office this afternoon. It’s such a long trip to come back and go again!"

"How long could it be? When Mindy was still living at home and going to school, she could come back at noon to cook for her younger brothers. Why can’t you?"

"All right, stop arguing. It’s not a big deal." Just then, the second son, Connor Sterling, stumbled out, bleary-eyed and wearing only his boxers. "I was trying to sleep in, but all I can hear is you all out here squabbling nonstop since dawn."

When Janet Warner saw he wasn’t wearing pants again, she yelled, "Connor, put on some pants!"

"You’re making such a fuss, Sister-in-law. It’s not like I’m naked." Connor Sterling said dismissively, then turned to his mother. "Ma, stop giving my sister-in-law a hard time. Just have Cedric take his brothers to eat at school for lunch. I’ll pay for it. She has things to do at work. You can’t expect her to drop everything and come home to cook, can you?"

"What about me?" the old madam demanded, her eyes wide.

"As if I’d forget about you?" Connor Sterling stepped forward and threw an arm around the old madam. "You still have me, your son, don’t you? I’ll take you out for steamed dumplings at lunchtime. There’s a new place right next to the Forestry Bureau, and I hear it’s delicious."

Like the youngest son in many families, Connor Sterling’s career wasn’t as successful as his older brother’s, and he lacked the down-to-earth competence of his two older sisters.

But when it came to being a smooth-talker and charming the elders, he was in a class of his own.

At his words, the old madam immediately nodded. "Fine, then. Everyone get back to what you were doing."

Janet Warner sighed as well. ’I have a good excuse today, but what about in the future?’

’With Mindy gone, am I going to have to come back every day at noon to cook for the old woman and the kids?’