Zhulan listened carefully to Wang Xin’s screams. After a few screams, there was no sound. After waiting for a while, the front door of her home rang loudly.

Zhou Shuren held Zhulan down and didn’t let him get up, “It must be the one next door asking for help, just leave it to the Boss.”

Zhulan didn’t think so, “I can bet you, it’s definitely not the next door asking for help, believe it or not.”

Zhou Shuren followed. Regarding Zhulan’s understanding, Zhulan would never say empty words. It seemed that it was really not the case. “I don’t want to bet. I don’t know as much about the people next door as you do.”

The bet between Zhulan and Zhou Shuren did not start, and Boss Zhou knocked on the door. After coming in he said, “Dad, Fourth Wang is here to borrow the ox cart. Wang Ru next door woke up and passed out again. The wound on her forehead opened again. He has to go to the county to see a doctor.”

Zhou Shuren darkened his face, “As far as I remember, didn’t the Fourth Wang’s family have an ox cart?”

Boss Zhou said at a loss for words: “Since it was borrowed by Wang Zhang Shi, it has never been returned. Fourth Wang went to Wang Zhang Shi to ask for an ox cart, but he was slapped several times when he asked for it back.”

The slap marks on Fourth Wang’s face were very obvious, and they were all bruised. Wang Zhang Shi had slapped him cruelly.

Zhou Shuren, “.”

At this time, Second Zhou came in and said, “Dad, the next-door people have left in an ox cart.”

Boss Zhou was surprised, “Where did the ox cart come from?”

Second Zhou had been guarding the gate and saw the ox cart that Zhang Sanni found: “The ox cart that Zhang Sanni found is from the Zhang Wu Shi.”

Boss Zhou was so naive that he didn’t think much about it and muttered, “This girl is also a kindhearted person. She somehow arranged for an ox cart, she is much more useful than her father Fourth Wang.”

Second Zhou had a dull face and was unwilling to answer.

Zhulan, “.”

Ouch, what a silly son!

Zhou Shuren didn’t want to see the Boss’s naive look, so he waved his hand in disgust, “Okay, everyone, go out!”

Boss Zhou stepped out of the house and, as he exited the main hall, he caught the arm of his second brother. “Father just now seemed disappointed in me. Did I say something wrong?”

Second Zhou thought to himself, his older brother could handle social situations, but his thinking was too straightforward and lacking in subtlety. Even Father had given up hope. He said with emphasis and concern, “Brother, in the future, when you assess situations, don’t just look at the surface. Zhang Sanni has already signed the death contract. Where is there any gratitude? Moreover, Zhang Datie’s daughter, hoping for a sense of gratitude from her is like expecting a rooster to lay eggs.”

Boss Zhou said, “I will give you the position of the Eldest!”

Second Zhou looked at the rising figure gradually. “The moonlight is really beautiful today.”

After saying that, he ran away. Oh, he was so scared that his elder brother had such a terrible idea and ran away!

Boss Zhou looked at his second brother who quickly returned to the house, covering his heart. How despised was the position of the Eldest!

Zhulan heard the closing sound and then spoke, “I knew Shi Qing had a secret hand. It turned out to be a member of the Zhang family. If Zhang Sanni hadn’t been afraid that Wang Ru would die, she would not have exposed him.”

Zhou Shuren looked at the silver ingots in the brocade box, nodded, and counted the number of ingots. “This time, the male lead isn’t as generous as last time. Only six ingots weigh five taels each in one box, for a total of sixty taels. I prefer gold, which looks more pleasing to the eye.”

Zhulan replied, “.I like it too. Although it’s just a small favor, getting sixty taels for nothing is not bad. I really think the down-to-earth male lead is not bad. He’s like a walking purse of silver. This is almost equivalent to the silver from the two times Chang Lian’s betrothal gifts.”

Zhou Shuren saw Zhulan’s eyes sparkling and full of smiles, “Aside from the fact that the male lead is troublesome and makes people unhappy, his wealth is also very prosperous for our family.”

Zhulan chuckled, ” It’s really prosperous for our family.”

Early the next morning, Zhulan was in a good mood. After breakfast, she ordered Li Shi, “Go and get the money from your younger siblings. You and Boss will go to the county to buy big bones, five kilograms of fatty meat, and ten kilograms of pork belly. Then go to the grocery store to buy chili and peanuts.”

Li Shi asked, “Mother since we bought this meat, what would you like to have for dinner tonight?”

In recent days, the mother-in-law had been eating a variety of dishes. She had gained another layer of fat on her stomach!

Zhulan woke up in the morning and looked at the gray sky. She thought it was going to rain, so she was thinking about eating hot pot. She smiled and said: “We are going to eat hot pot in the evening. You and Boss should come back quickly before it rains.”

Li Shi couldn’t forget about the hot pot for the New Year. She exclaimed eagerly, “Head of the household, get the carriage ready! Let’s go to the county town to buy meat.”

Zhulan waited for Li Shi to leave and in a good mood called Xuehan to go to the village with her to buy tofu and fish.

Yesterday, Wang Ru’s incident was full of twists and turns. Everyone in the village knew that Wang Ru had gone to the county. Zhulan’s family was surrounded by people as soon as they went out.

Zheng Shi’s life was good after she moved away. The Wang family’s old house was renovated, and she bought a lot of land with the money in her hands. She showed off her family wealth and became more fond of gossip. She was the main gossipmonger in the village.

Zheng Shi, relying on her former neighbor’s friendship, stepped forward and asked, “Saozi, what happened to Wang Ru last night? Why did Wang Ru go to the county? I heard that she is dying?”

Zhulan looked at Zheng Shi wearing new clothes and holding melon seeds in her hands, she was living a beautiful life. “I don’t know, you should ask the Wang family about this.”

Zheng Shi just asked casually, well aware of Yang Shi’s temperament. If Yang didn’t want to say, asking would be futile. Now she didn’t dare to provoke Yang Shi. Not only was Yang the wife of a xiucai, but she was also the future mother-in-law of the county magistrate’s daughter. Not to mention, Zhou Xiucai even knew the Gongzi of the Marquis’ mansion. Trying to please, she said, “Saozi, are you going out for a stroll?”

Zhulan stretched out her hand to avoid hitting the smiling person, and the ancients were not stupid, especially the people at the bottom who knew how to survive best. Except for those with brain diseases, they would not fight with each other if they were too far apart. Even Wang Zhang Shi always smiled stiffly whenever she saw Zhulan. So she said with a smile: “The weather is cool today, and I haven’t been out for a long time. I want to buy tofu and take a look around.”

Zheng Shi quickly made space, saying, “Then it won’t delay you from buying tofu, Saozi.”

Zhulan smiled and nodded, then walked away with her daughter. Even from a distance, they could still hear discussions about the Zhou family, including remarks about how Xuehan was becoming more and more like the young Miss of an official’s family. Flattery seemed to be overflowing.

Xuehan covered the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief. These aunts used to mock and envy her mother a lot before, but now they didn’t dare anymore. The whispers behind her back were quite loud, and at the same time, she deeply understood what her mother had said. As long as she became strong herself, many things didn’t need to be changed directly by her. There would naturally be people who would justify things for her.

Xuehan stretched out her hand and held her mother’s hand, “Mom.”

Zhulan returned the hold. If she and Zhou Shuren felt a little guilty about Xuemei, then they loved Xuehan from the bottom of their hearts. Xuehan was the embodiment of her dreams of having a daughter.

Zhulan was a celebrity in the village. When buying tofu, they could cut more pieces, and when buying fish, they could add a few small fish.

When Zhulan came home slowly, the tables and chairs in the main hall had been replaced. Second Zhou had ordered them yesterday. Zhulan looked at the colors and attributed them to Wang Ru. The carpenters in the village no longer made tables and chairs according to the traditional style. The furniture they bought was simpler and more elegant than the original ones. The most important thing was that the color was no longer painted with red paint, and the natural color looked much more pleasing to the eye.

Zhu Lan placed the fish into the basin to be slaughtered later in the evening. Not seeing Zhao Shi in the front yard, she headed to the backyard where she found Zhao Shi with two girls from the family picking vegetable leaves. Yulu from the main house had just recently learned to walk, but she was already quite adept at speaking. Despite being small and chubby, she clumsily bent over to pick vegetable leaves, showing no fear of falling.

Zhao Shi had almost finished picking. When she saw her mother-in-law, she said, “Mom is back.”

Zhulan bent down and picked up Yulu, “Is Mingrui sleeping?”

Zhao Shi’s eyes lit up with a smile as she mentioned her son. “He woke up several times last night and didn’t get much rest. After eating, he went to sleep. I made sure the head of the household watched over him so he wouldn’t fall.”

Zhulan just asked casually, and she wouldn’t ask unless Zhao Shi explained. This was the difference between Li Shi and Zhao Shi. Zhao Shi would remember every little thing in her heart, and she felt tired just listening to it.

Half an hour later, it started to rain. The eldest couple were rushing home. Li Shi jumped out of the oxcart and said, “Mother, Wang Ru was walking slowly behind us. It’s lucky if she can make it halfway now without getting drenched.”

---