Zhulan followed Li Shi out, “What’s the matter?”

Li Shi lowered her voice, “Mom, Zhang Datie, and Zhu Shi are here with their sons. They are here with outsiders. I couldn’t stop them. They have already entered the yard, Mother, should I ask the head of the house to drive them out?”

Zhulan raised her eyebrows. She really didn’t expect that Zhang Datie’s family would come, and they would come in such a big way. They got engaged with the county magistrate’s family, and Zhang Datie and Zhu Shi never dared to instruct their children to come to Rong Chuan again. “Did they do anything?”

Li Shi shook her head, “No, Zhu Shi and Zhang Dati were dressed very appropriately. They don’t look like they are here to cause trouble. When the couple came, they sat in front of the table without wandering around or looking for Rong Chuan.”

Zhulan intuitively felt that something must be going on with Zhang Dati’s family. Although this family may seem annoying, they also know how to survive. They knew who they could provoke and who they couldn’t. They dared to plot against Wang Ru, but they didn’t dare plot against the Zhou family. “If they don’t cause trouble, don’t worry about them. If anything happens, they will be found.” 

Li Shi was relieved after her mother-in-law’s words. It was her first time to receive guests by herself, and she was afraid of messing up. She also understood now that if she made a mistake, it would be the face of the entire Zhou family, “Mom, then I will go entertain the guests.”

Zhulan was very satisfied with Li Shi today. Her careful performance was not in vain. As for Zhao Shi, she was helping in the kitchen because of her face!

Zhulan returned to the house, and Dong Lin Shi asked, “Is nothing wrong?”

Zhulan smiled and said, “It’s the first time that Li Shi is entertaining guests, so she is a little unsure. Let’s go, I’ll take you around.”

“Although there is no garden in the house, there is a pond with a nice view.”

Dong Lin Shi stood up and said, “Then I want to take a look.”

After all, it was the home her daughter was going to be married into. She had to take a careful look. Originally, she was dissatisfied with the Zhou family’s old house. Unexpectedly, the Zhou family bought a bigger house. This time, her daughter’s marriage made her face look better too.

Regarding the Zheng family’s house, when it was built, many people were concerned about it, and some even came to buy it forcibly. No one succeeded in buying it, and they didn’t dare to mention the Zheng family’s house again. Later, everyone knew that the Zheng family was not easy to mess with. Although the family had left, the rumors about the Zheng family had not stopped.

Especially after the military officer joined the Zheng family in the northwest, it was even more certain that the Zheng family was not easy to mess with. Unexpectedly, without realizing it, the house was sold, and it was sold to Zhou Shuren.

Her Old Man guessed and finally understood that Zhou Shuren was chosen because he was a relative of the Zheng family’s son-in-law. This was why he caught the eyes of the Zheng family and they sold the house to Zhou Shuren.

No matter why, she just knew that her daughter would have a share in this big house in the future. The better the Zhou family, the happier she would be.

During this marriage, she also heard rumors. People were maliciously guessing whether her daughter had some illness that could not be concealed, so she found the son of a mere xiucai. This time, she could slap those people in the face. How could an ordinary xiucai afford such a large household!

Dong Lin Shi was in a good mood and felt good looking at it. “The house is really well built. They are all independent courtyards.”

Zhulan said, “Yes, in the future, each household will have its own courtyard. Not only spacious but also undisturbed by each other. Those who study can focus on their books. And when there are children in the future, they’ll have space to play without disturbing others. Plus, if someone wants to open a kitchen, it’s convenient too.”

Dong Lin Shi’s smile deepened, knowing that Yang Shi was telling her indirectly that she was not an evil mother-in-law who controlled everything, nor did she set extreme rules for her daughters-in-law. “Each courtyard has many rooms. In the future, seven or eight children born in each room can be accommodated.”

Zhulan thought about how Dong Chuchu would only be thirteen next year. It was truly unfortunate in ancient times. With no one around, Zhulan felt she still needed to speak up. “Sǎozi, we’ve known each other for almost a year now, and you know my temperament. I don’t beat around the bush. Marrying off Chuchu early will save trouble in the future, but she’s only thirteen next year, still very young. My suggestion is to wait two more years before consummating the marriage. Having a wedding night too early isn’t good for Chuchu’s health. What do you think, sǎozi?”

Dong Lin Shi listened with a warm heart. Yang Shi indeed cherished her daughters-in-law. Affectionately, she said, “If dìmèi didn’t mention it, I also wanted to talk to dìmèi about this before the two children got married. Today, dìmèi brought it up first, and sǎozi feels grateful. I’ll thank dìmèi on behalf of Chuchu for your love and care.”

Being a woman, she knew all too well the agony of early pregnancy. She herself married too young, and her first pregnancy ended in a stillbirth, which further harmed her health. It took three years before she could conceive again, thankfully with her husband’s support against her mother-in-law. Otherwise, her days would have been even more difficult.

She had gone through it before, and naturally, she didn’t want her daughter to go through the same thing.

Dong Lin Shi sighed and shared her past pain. Zhulan comforted her, “It’s all over. My sǎozi is very lucky.”

Dong Lin Shi wiped away her tears. “I’m making dìmèi laugh. Back then, the attending physician told me, and that’s when I realized, a woman should consummate the marriage after fifteen. Having a child too early isn’t good for the mother’s body or the child.”

Zhulan thought to herself that Dong Lin Shi used her own experience to set the time for her, “Sǎozi, what about sixteen years old?”

Dong Lin Shi was satisfied and telling her about her past was not in vain, “My dìmèi loves her daughter-in-law. I am ashamed of myself as a mother.”

Zhulan couldn’t help but smirk inwardly. If she weren’t shrewd, she would have long been overwhelmed by Mrs. Dong’s flattery. “Then it’s settled,” she said.

Dong Lin Shi smiled. “I listen to my dìmèi.”

 Zhulan said, “…”

She truly had a lot on her mind. Although she took the lead, she couldn’t put all the blame on Dong Lin Shi. A good mother-in-law’s reputation wasn’t easily obtained. Dong Lin Shi made her shoulder the responsibility herself, but luckily, Chang Lian now had ambitions and was afraid of Zhou Shuren. Since Zhou Shuren listened to her, she was at the top of the family hierarchy. Chang Lian didn’t dare to be dissatisfied.

Zhulan took Dong Lin Shi to the pond. The pond was not small, and there were fish in it. Zhou Shuren measured the depth of one and a half meters on the side. About three meters inward, the depth reached two meters. The deepest part in the middle was three meters. The entire pond was not for fish farming but for drought prevention.

There were also lotus flowers in the pond. The weather in the Northeast was cool, and lotus flowers in the Northeast bloomed in July and August. Zhulan had long wanted to eat lotus roots. There must have been people in the Zheng family who liked lotus roots, so they were planted on the bank at a depth of one and a half meters.

Now Zhulan was benefiting from all this.

Dong Lin Shi’s old house had a pond and lotus flowers. “The scenery here is really good.”

Zhulan agreed. It was indeed good. Although it was not her own house, it was a big advantage to live here for free. Zhulan estimated the time, “The banquet is about to begin in the front yard, shall we go back to the front?”

Dong Lin Shi was also tired from walking and was indeed a little hungry. “Okay.”

There were a lot of people here today. Fortunately, Zhulan prepared two more dishes. The tables and chairs were all ready-made, so there was no need to borrow them, and there were just two extra tables for people.

The banquet consisted of twelve dishes, ten meat dishes, and two cold vegetable dishes. The menu prepared by Li Shi had three fish dishes, pickled fish, braised fish, and boiled fish.

Although there were no precious and rare ingredients in the banquet, it was still a good menu for the countryside.

The wine they bought was the best in the county, and the most expensive part of the banquet was the wine.

The county magistrate and his family came in person. Not only did they dispel some bad rumors, but they also calmed down the guests of the Zhou family. No one caused any trouble during the meal, and the banquet ended smoothly.

The guests from the county said goodbye and left one after another. The relatives of the Zhou family were not in a hurry to go back. It was a rare visit, so they naturally had to look around.

Zhulan personally escorted Dong Lin Shi to the car. When Dong Chuchu got in the carriage, she looked in the direction of Chang Lian. Chang Lian looked over and the little girl quickly got in the carriage, feeling shy.

Zhulan watched the curtains of the carriage, feeling numb inside. Indeed, people matured early in ancient times. Well, even in modern times, they matured early too. Thinking about her half-brother from the same father but a different mother, who had already had two girlfriends at the age of fourteen, Zhu Lan sighed and looked up at the sky. She realized she only got out of being single when she traveled back to ancient times!

After seeing off the guests from the county, Zhulan returned to the yard and found that Zhang Datie and Zhu Shi had not left. The Zhou family relatives had not left, but they were relatives. The Li family had not left, but they were in-laws, and the Yang family had not left but they were Zhulan’s natal family. Only Zhang Dati’s family were outsiders.

Zhulan saw that there was indeed something wrong with their visit!

(End of chapter)

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