Zhulan took Xue Han with her to the county. Since Li Shi knew that she no longer had to hide anything, she openly talked about what she wanted to buy and wanted to make the best mooncakes for money.

Li Shi wanted to continue asking her mother-in-law for advice, but when she thought that her cooking was unpalatable, she stopped asking. As for why her mother-in-law knew about ice skin, she thought it was because her mother read a lot, so she knew more.

Zhulan belatedly wanted to explain, but after thinking about it for a while, Li Shi would automatically fill her brain. Hence even if she explained it could be superfluous, so she didn’t explain. She just made a point to not mention it again in the future.

The day was cloudy, and so no longer hot. Hence there were many people in the county. They all took advantage of the cool weather to go out and walk around. Zhulan did not accompany Li Shi to buy glutinous rice flour but took her daughter to the fabric shop. She had promised to make clothes for Changlian, but the suitable fabric at home had run out. She couldn’t just make clothes for Changlian; she had to ensure that all her sons experienced motherly love. Maintaining a genuine emotional connection was essential for a family.

The clerks in the shop were all sharp-eyed and knew who was really going to buy and who was there to take a look. Zhulan was greeted by a clerk as soon as she entered the door, “Please come in, there are new styles recently, and only our shop has them.”

Zhulan met the clerk. Wanting to show her women’s fabrics, he hurriedly said: “I want to make clothes for my son. Let’s take a look at your blue fabrics.”

Zhulan saw the shopkeeper about to lead her to see women’s fabrics and quickly said, “I want to make clothes for my son, show me the blue fabrics you have.”

Zhulan actually wanted to make white clothes, but unfortunately, in ancient times, white was not commonly worn, especially on important occasions. She had never seen the white-clad gentlemen portrayed in period TV dramas that were common in modern times. Even fabric stores rarely sold white fabrics. Zhulan chose blue and green fabrics instead. Her skills in sewing and clothing making became increasingly proficient. Now, it was no trouble for her to embroider and make several sets of clothes within a month.

She sometimes thought that if she could go back to modern times, she could open a costume shop and it would definitely make money.

Zhulan chose the fabrics she wanted to buy. Seeing that Xuehan had chosen some fabrics to make purses, she wanted to pay for them together. But Xuehan stopped her and said, “Mom, I also want to give my brother a gift. I will pay for these fabrics myself.”

Zhulan smiled and said, “Okay, you pay it yourself.”

Among the Zhou family’s children, this girl was the most well-off. During the Chinese New Year, she got a good purse. Moreover, she and Zhou Shuren would occasionally give out some copper coins when they were in Pingzhou. After returning home, her daughter started interacting with Dong Chuchu, and every time they invited Xuehan over, Zhulan would give her some silver coins. Xuehan didn’t spend them and returned them to her, but Zhulan insisted that Xuehan keep them for herself.

Calculating in her mind, this girl should have at least two and a half taels of silver in her hand. This was not counting Rong Chuan’s silver, which was a lot of money. She heard Dong Lin say that Dong Chuchu gets 5 taels a month. On average, Xuehan has more money than Dong Chuchu every month.

After buying the fabric and leaving the fabric store, Zhulan saw Zhou Shuren coming out of Ruyi Pastry Shop with a young man across the street. Zhulan’s attention was focused on Zhou Shuren in front of her. She wondered why the male lead, was not wandering around everywhere but came up at the pastry shop!

Zhulan was accompanied by her daughter, who was the original female lead. She didn’t want to make any noise and accidentally run into the male lead, and her plan was well thought out. However, she overlooked Boss Zhou.

Boss Zhou couldn’t afford to stay silent when he saw his father; that would be unfilial. He quickly jumped down from the ox cart, “Dad.”

Zhou Shuren looked deeply at Boss Zhou; he knew trouble would come from the eldest son. Since Boss Zhou had called him, Zhou Shuren couldn’t pretend not to have seen, “Hmm.”

Yao Zheyu, who had intended to get on the carriage, hesitated and withdrew his foot. He was quite interested in Zhou Xiucai. Since he encountered his family members, it was natural to introduce himself, making it easier for future visits to their home in Zhoujiacun. So he asked with a smile, “Zhou Xiucai, is this your son?”

Zhulan could only step forward after hearing this. It would be too deliberate and scheming for her to hide with her daughter. The male protagonist needs to be more cautious. To be honest, she and Zhou Shuren don’t want to have anything to do with the male protagonist. They had planned not to get involved with the male protagonist and Wang Ru after going to Pingzhou. However, it backfired and they still encountered what they should have encountered. The fated people will meet.

Zhou Shuren introduced, “This is my wife Yang Shi. This is my eldest son Zhou Changli. My four sons are Li, Yi, Lian, and Zhi. The one in front of me is my little girl.”

After a pause, he continued to introduce: “This is the Young Master of the Hou Mansion.”

Yao Zheyu felt surprised because Mrs. Zhou Xiucai didn’t resemble the rural elderly women he had encountered before. He inquired and found out she was close to forty, yet she maintained herself so well that it couldn’t be disguised. She had the air of someone from a noble family, and his gaze shifted to the young girl. She seemed well-mannered, but unfortunately, she kept her head down, and he couldn’t see her face. Mr. Zhou Xiucai, apart from the eldest son resembling someone from the countryside, the rest of his family members seemed quite different!

After offering greetings, Zhulan remained silent, standing behind Zhou Shuren, with her daughter. Dealing with this kind of creature called the male lead was better left to Zhou Shuren!

After hearing the introduction, Boss Zhou was completely stunned. Why was his father so powerful? People who don’t understand him also know what the Hou Mansion was. His father was going to heaven!

Yao Zheyu courteously said to Zhou Shuren, “I’m new to this place and thought of taking a stroll in the countryside. It’s a coincidence to run into you. I might trouble you tomorrow.”

Zhulan, “.”

The male protagonist really knew how to take advantage of the opportunity. It seemed that he would have to go to the market soon.

Zhou Shuren maintained a gentle smile, “The young master’s visit adds luster to our humble abode. There’s no talk of any disturbance.”

In his heart, he thought, observing the politeness on the surface but realizing that due to class differences, it felt more like an announcement than a request. He secretly rejoiced that he had taken the initiative to arrange a marriage for his daughter ahead of time. Even without Wang Ru, she wouldn’t follow the storyline. The male lead’s family had too many issues, and the male lead himself was too scheming. People like him prioritized love less; they weren’t good partners. Indeed, novels were just novels. When exposed to reality, the essence of beauty fades away.

Yao Zheyu said a few more polite words got in the car and left. There was no need to go shopping today.

Zhou Shuren helped Zhulan get on the carriage. There was no place to talk outside. “Let’s go to the market.”

Zhulan motioned to the boss to turn around and go to the market. Boss Zhou was dizzy, and his mind kept thinking about the prince from the Hou family coming to visit his home. How big was this place? What a blessing, the whip whipped very loudly.

There was only one market in the county. In summer, every farmer grew vegetables, and the excess vegetables were sold in the county. The market was very lively, but there was nothing novel. They were all vegetables for the common people.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren went to the hunter. Zhulan didn’t buy a pheasant. The meat of the pheasant was still dead and it wouldn’t be fresh after one night. They bought a live hare and left quickly because there were several dead ones at the hunter’s stall. The dead snake, there was only one hunter here today, and she wanted to practice her courage before stepping forward. The limit of what she could endure until the settlement was reached.

She couldn’t help but sigh. After being stimulated by Li Shi, she saw that she had become stronger when it came to snakes. The human potential was really endless.

They went to buy hens again. In the summer, the butcher wasn’t diligent in slaughtering pigs because killing them daily without selling them would lead to losses. Even if they could make sausages, there were no refrigerators in ancient times, so delaying the consumption of meat for a day would make it less fresh. Generally, pigs were only slaughtered on days with significant events or agreements.

There was no meat stall in the market today. They heard that the pigs would be slaughtered tomorrow morning, so they had to come early tomorrow to buy them. Zhulan bought a few more big fish, and also bought the buckets back, and went home to raise them overnight for tomorrow.

There was nothing else to buy. When the bullock cart approached the gate of the county town, Zhulan remembered what she had forgotten and asked, “Did you forget to pick Li Shi?”

Boss Zhou hurriedly grabbed the bull and went out, but he forgot his wife. It was clear, “Li Shi should still be waiting at the food store.”

Zhou Shuren looked up at the sky. This had nothing to do with him. He didn’t even know that Li Shi was here with him.

Xuehan sympathizes with her dasao. According to how well the dasao listened to her mother’s words, she would definitely wait patiently!

(End of chapter)