Zhang Datie’s family was particularly conspicuous among the guests who stayed.

Zhou Shuren and Zhulan looked at each other, but neither of them asked. There was something really wrong with Zhang Datie’s family. They must have waited until all the guests had left before telling them.

Now there was no need for Li Shi to help entertain the guests. She went to help clear the table and plates.

Zhulan needed to entertain the women, and Zhu Shi was sitting in the corner. Seeing Zhulan looking over, Zhu Shi was not panicked at all. She didn’t follow along to chat, and her hands were not idle. She kept eating snacks as if she hadn’t eaten enough at the table just now.

Zhulan ignored Zhu Shi and smiled while chatting with Zhou Wang Shi and her in-laws.

Zhou Wang Shi also saw Zhu Shi, but she was a guest and could not ask questions for Yang Shi. Yang Shi did not speak, and she did not pay attention to Zhu Shi anymore. She said, “In the future, not being in the same village, it will be difficult for me to come and chat with you.”

Zhulan smiled, “It will be the same when I go back to the village to chat with my aunt more often.”

Her daughter was still in Zhoujia Village, and the two villages were not far apart, so it was very convenient to go back and forth.

Zhou Wang Shi likes to talk to Yang Shi, who was obedient to her words, “I remember, if you don’t come, I will come to your door and talk to you.”

“You can rest assured, I always follow through on my words. I will definitely come back to chat with you. However, once I go to Pingzhou in the future, it will be difficult for me to come back. Please don’t blame me for speaking out of turn.”

Zhou Wang Shi secretly thought to herself that a year ago, she really hadn’t imagined that the Zhou family would be where they were today. It was incomparable, truly incomparable. Just look at the people who came today, mostly prominent figures from the county. The table was piled with gifts, truly making others envy. “When the time comes, I won’t blame you. However, when I go to Pingzhou, you must entertain me.”

“It’s natural.”

In the main hall, Zhou Shuren was also chatting with guests. The relatives of the Zhou family were delighted to see Zhou Shuren’s success. The better Zhou Shuren’s development, the more it meant for the family to bask in his glory in the future. The guests who came today were enough to bring them honor and pride.

Zhou Shuren didn’t have many opportunities to speak; most of the time, he observed others chatting. He quietly sympathized with the Li family on his wife’s side. Compared to the cunning members of the Zhou family, it didn’t take long for them to be nearly trapped. Just look at the amiable demeanor of the Zhou family towards the Li family. Clever people tend to prefer the innocent ones!

The Yang brothers were in front of the background. The two brothers looked at each other and decided to stay away from the Zhou family in the future. These people were too smart.

Zhang Datie lowered his head, sipping his tea, with the corners of his mouth twitching. The Zhou family’s members were not easy to deal with. Even their own clan leader was wary of the Zhou clan leader. Sometimes, he would rather take a detour than encounter the Zhou clan leader.

Zhang Dati thought to himself that the Zhou family was too narrow-minded and could not concentrate on studying. Otherwise, the Zhou family would have become a big family long ago. But now it seemed that the Zhou family was about to rise.

In the main hall, Rong Chuan felt very complicated. He had already noticed his parents coming. He was originally worried that his parents would make a fuss and ruin today’s banquet. Unexpectedly, his parents had no intention of making a fuss. After receiving the congratulatory gift, he kept his brother in check and ate peacefully.

They just had no intention of leaving. He kept staring at his father and didn’t see anything on his face, but his intuition told him that something big would happen when his father came.

Chang Lian felt tired by just looking at Rong Chuan. Rong Chuan had been tensing up and always on guard. He had resisted Rong Chuan, a cheap mèifū, for fear of occupying resources. Later, his father used Rong Chuan to temper his temper. Over time, people all had good intentions, and so did he. His cheap mèifū cared about him a lot. Later, his vision changed and he became like an older brother.

He felt a little sorry for this cheap mèifū. It was not easy to live at such a young age. He had been raising him at home for almost a year and he had not grown much. Now seeing Rong Chuan being nervous, he patted Rong Chuan on the back and said, “Relax, nothing will happen. You don’t have to worry about anything, we have a dad!”

Rong Chuan blushed slightly. He and Xuehan were betrothed, but he had always addressed him as an uncle. Even though he wanted to call him father, hearing Changlian say this made him happy that Changlian accepted him, yet also made him shy.

Chang Lian later realized what he had said. He had a toothache and wanted to accept Rong Chuan. Rong Chuan had not married his sister yet. Look at his mouth, he was really incompetent. He still needed to practice. 

Seeing that it was getting late, the table was cleared, the dishes and chopsticks were washed, and the kitchen was tidied up.

Zhou Shuren got up and took the curious clan members around, and Zhulan also followed behind.

After walking around, their eyes were opened. The Zhou family left with satisfaction, and the Li family also went back.

Today several of Li Shi’s uncles were here, as well as the family of the village head of the Lijia Village. They all had vested interests, so their presence and the generous gifts they brought were significant.

The Yang family, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren personally sent them out. Zhulan divided most of the pork that was not used today and sent it back to the eldest brother and second brother’s house. She also gave the fabrics received as gifts to her eldest and second saozi, and several nieces and nephews. Zhulan also gave enough fabric to make a dress as a thank you.

The young grandchildren of the Yang family were reluctant to leave. Zhulan tried to persuade them to stay, but unfortunately, her efforts were in vain. They were each forcefully carried onto the ox cart by their respective mothers. Zhulan watched as the cart went far away, still able to hear the wailing cries of her nephews and grandnieces. They must have been given a spanking.

Zhou Shuren let out a long breath, “I can finally be quiet. It’s been so noisy today that my head hurts.”

Zhulan supported Zhou Shuren. “Your back and waist must be even more sore. You’ve been sitting for almost a day. It’s impressive that you can endure it.”

She really admired Zhou Shuren. He was very hard on himself. Zhou Shuren’s success was not an accident, it was all due to his hard work.

Zhou Shuren didn’t care about his face anymore. He couldn’t bear it any longer and breathed in, “Stop talking. When you say it, I feel the pain in my lower back getting worse. It seems that after applying the medicine, I won’t be able to get up tomorrow.”

Zhulan felt very distressed, “I’ll take you back and leave the affairs of Zhang Datie’s family to me.”

Zhou Shuren waved his hand. “I won’t mention it until Zhang Datie sees me. I’m fine, I can hold on for a while longer.”

Boss Zhou wanted to step forward to help his mother support his father. He truly admired his father. Today, he hadn’t noticed at all that his father wasn’t feeling well.

Second Zhou quickly grabbed his eldest brother and lowered his voice, “If you come forward at this time, do you believe that Dad is keeping your little account in mind?”

Boss Zhou retracted his outstretched hand, “Thank you, brother.”

Second Zhou remained silent. It wasn’t because he wanted to help his older brother, but rather because he didn’t want to be singled out by their father for the same reasons. He suddenly realized that their father now preferred to punish them collectively instead of singling out his older brother. This realization saddened him. He glared at his older brother, thinking he was too weak. If his older brother had held firm, their father wouldn’t have resorted to indiscriminate punishment.

Boss Zhou, “.”

Don’t think he didn’t notice the disdain. His eyesight wasn’t impaired. Indeed, his younger brother’s behavior was what people found most annoying.

Chang Lian was eager to learn more and felt that he had learned something from his father again. He was excited because his father was indeed the most powerful.

Zhulan helped Zhou Shuren back to the main courtyard. When they arrived at the door, Zhou Shuren no longer needed Zhulan’s support. Zhang Datie and his family were sitting in the main hall, waiting for Zhulan and Zhou Shuren!

(End of chapter)

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