Zhao Shi was an expert in making clothes. She knew there were clothes in the bundle as soon as she held it in her arms. She held the bundle tightly, her heart swelled because she guessed what it was.

Zhao Shi’s tone was a little nasal, “Mom.”

Zhulan motioned to her Second son to take Zhao Shi back, “We’ve been busy all day, Mom should rest, you guys go back too!”

Zhao Shi hugged the bag tightly, “Mom, we’ll go back first.”

Zhulan, “Yes.”

After the two of them left, Zhulan exhaled and said to Zhou Shuren, “The last big thing in my hometown is done, and I can pack my luggage for Pingzhou at home tomorrow.”

Zhou Shuren pulled Zhulan to lie down, “You’ve worked hard all day today. I’ll massage your back. I’ve seen you rub your shoulders from time to time today.”

Zhulan sighed, “This body is not young after all. I’m one year older this year. My metabolism and body functions are declining year by year. I stayed in bed all winter last year, and I wasn’t idle preparing for the wedding after the New Year. There was a wedding banquet a few days ago, and I sat all day today and I haven’t recovered. I feel weak all over.”

Even if she continued to replenish her body and recuperate in winter, couldn’t be compared to the golden period of her twenties.

Zhou Shuren learned the massage technique from Zhulan. He used some strength, and Zhulan hissed. Zhou Shuren withdrew some strength, “Then we will go to Pingzhou later. There is no need to rush. Take a good rest recently.”

Zhulan waved her hand, “No, it’s better to finish it in one go, otherwise you will not want to move again after a few days of rest.”

Zhou Shuren continued to massage Zhulan. Zhulan had gained some weight in the winter, but she lost it again these days. Every child was a debt.

In Second Zhou’s yard, Zhao Shi had already opened the bundle. In the bundle was a wedding dress, a fiery red wedding dress. Zhao Shi’s tears were rolling in her eyes.

Second Zhou put his arm around his wife’s shoulders and said, “Mother always remembered that you didn’t have a wedding dress.”

Zhao Shi nodded repeatedly and said, “I won’t envy my saozi anymore in the future. Husband, I’ll go change into my wedding dress.”

This wedding dress belonged to her. Who didn’t want to wear a wedding dress when she got married? But she had no family. When she married her husband, the wedding dress she wore was not hers. It was lent to her by her saozi. She was fat and her dress didn’t fit her. Because it was borrowed and couldn’t be altered, she had always hoped to have her own wedding dress.

Now her mother-in-law prepared it for her, and ordered it from a ready-made clothing store, and it was the most popular style this year.

Zhao Shi combed her hair again, took the jewelry her mother gave her and the jewelry her husband bought, and now that the family had some savings, she would still touch her rouge even if she was hiding from people. She packed herself up and walked out with a smile in her eyes, “Husband.”

Second Zhou thought to himself that he must have had a lot of luck in his previous life to marry Zhao Shi, “Wife.”

Mingrui sat on the kang, looking at his mother, and just blurted out something, excitedly shouting, “Mom.”

It was so loud that it interrupted the couple’s gaze. Well, there were two babies at home who needed to be coaxed to sleep!

The next day, Zhulan had never seen the silver hairpin on Zhao Shi’s head, and Li Shi had already rushed to answer, “Mom, look at my taste, I chose the hairpin.”

Zhulan thought to herself that Li Shi was rarely generous, and this hairpin was about two taels, “You have good taste.”

Li Shi’s aching heart was comforted. She slapped herself a lot after buying the hairpin. She was obsessed and actually spent two taels of silver. Fortunately, she got her mother-in-law’s praise, otherwise, it would have been a bigger loss.

Dong Shi’s gift was also affordable, jade pendant earrings.

Xuehan had been learning embroidery from Zhao Shi, who was not only her saozi but also her master. She also gave Zhao Shi expensive gifts. The gauze and thread she bought for the embroidered screen were all of the best quality and cost her a lot of money.

Zhulan was happy. She liked family reunions. A harmonious family brings wealth. If there was chaos every day, the family would be in chaos first, and how can they be united against the outside world? In the future, the Zhou family needed the whole family to work together.

Zhulan looked at her youngest son and her daughter. Her task as a mother was basically completed.

Breakfast was made by Dong Shi. Dong Shi’s cooking skills ranked second in the family, much better than Zhao Shi’s. It was not easy for a young lady from an official family to work hard to learn cooking skills. It could be seen that Dong Lin Shi really thought about her daughter.

For Zhulan, who had never made any progress in cooking and could only cook soup, and the soup she made was sometimes tasteless, Dong Shi’s cooking skills must be praised.

After the meal, Dong Shi raised her chin slightly. The meaning was very clear, she was not exaggerating.

Chang Lian was used to eating the food cooked by his eldest saozi. Although his wife cooked well, she had potential and he thought she would do better. “Don’t be proud. Learn from your eldest saozi. I believe you can do it.”

 Dong Shi said, “..”

 No, she can’t. She asked the cook to teach her cooking skills. This was the best meal she had ever made. She really didn’t have the talent of a chef!

Dong Shi also remembered the recipe that the Dong family bought from the eldest saozi at this time. She pursed her lips. She knew about the forced sale. Her father also knew about it. Her father didn’t care because he wanted to train Changlian more.

It was only now that Dong Shi realized that her eldest saozi was a great cook and her second saozi was excellent at needlework. As for herself, her cooking was average, and her needlework couldn’t compare to her second saozi’s. Aside from being more educated, she found that both her eldest and second saozi had also continued to practice literacy. Yes, her eldest saozi was also very good at arithmetic. It seemed that apart from the status given by her parents and having broader knowledge, she really couldn’t compare to her two saozi!

Zhulan has notified everyone to pack their luggage. What to bring, prepare it yourself.

Zhulan packed her and Zhou Shuren’s clothes by herself. They made a lot of clothes this year, especially clothes for going out for social events. Zhulan’s clothes were no longer colorless. The two packed four large boxes of clothes for the four seasons.

Zhulan packed all the clothes of the original body. She didn’t plan to give them to anyone. No matter where the original body’s soul was, she had thought about it. When she died, these clothes would be buried with her. She sealed up her and Zhou Shuren’s clothes. To prevent them from being eaten by insects, she bought insect repellent and put them in a dry place. When she was safe in the future, she would take them away. As long as they were carefully maintained, even if they were oxidized and damaged, it would not be too serious.

This was the last thing she and Zhou Shuren could do for the original body. They occupied someone else’s body, and they had a beginning and an end for the original body.

After packing the luggage at home for two days, Zhou Shuren found a team of carriages and asked Boss Zhou and Second Zhou to accompany them to the house in Pingzhou. By the way, they cleaned the yard in Pingzhou and prepared firewood and other daily necessities.

Originally, they planned to wait for Changlian and Changzhi to finish the Tongsheng exam and move to Pingzhou, but the county magistrate could no longer help Zhou Shuren with his studies. He hoped that Zhou Shuren would go there earlier. Pingzhou was the capital of the state, and he could see his own shortcomings through communication with other scholars. Besides, the yuànshì was over, and the xiànshì and the fǔshì were both going to be held in Pingzhou, so there was no need to stay in his hometown for too long.

After Zhou Shuren met Wu Ming last time, he felt a sense of crisis and wanted to go to Pingzhou early to communicate with Wu Ming more. He gained a lot from the last exchange, so he decided to move to Pingzhou in advance.

Zhulan packed some fabrics and unused decorative bottles, etc., which were prepared for Xuemei.

Two days before leaving for Pingzhou, Zhou Shuren and Zhulan returned to Zhoujia Village. They first went to the clan leader’s house to chat for a while. Zhou Shuren handed the articles pointed out by the county magistrate to the clan school, which would also be helpful for the scholars who were going to participate in the Xiāngshì this year.

Zhou Shuren was not afraid of being copied by others. He wished that the Zhou family would have more juren in the future!

Afterward, the two declined the clan leader’s invitation to dinner and returned to the old house.

Jiang Sheng was studying in the room. With the exam coming up, Jiang Sheng was under a lot of pressure.

Jiang Sheng and Zhou Shuren went to talk about writing.

Zhulan handed the prepared money to Xuemei, but Xuemei quickly pushed it back. “Mother, I’ve already received two large bundles of things. I absolutely cannot take the money.”

She just saw that her mother had prepared the pens, ink, paper, and inkstone for Jiang Du. Her mother and father were going to Pingzhou, and they were worried about her!

(End of this chapter)

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