After Zhulan and her in-laws went to the eldest son’s courtyard, she hurriedly got up and took Liu Ya to the kitchen. As they walked, she kept saying to Xue Han, “The goose we bought yesterday hasn’t been stewed yet. It’ll be ready at noon. I need to go see what the kitchen went to buy today.”

Since Zhou Shuren decided that Zhao Shi and Second Zhou would go to Chuanzhou, Zhulan had taken back control of the kitchen, handing it all over to Xue Han.

Xue Han estimated the time and said, “The shoppers should be back by now.”

Zhulan said, “Your Eldest sao’s parents traveled overnight.”

If they had rested at night, they should have arrived at Lizhou City in the evening, not in the morning. This couple had not traveled together with the convoy; to save money, they had brought their four eldest sūnzi and come on their own. Along the way, they had only spent money on hiring a carriage and on camping out overnight.

Zhulan took Xue Han to the kitchen. They had returned from shopping. The advantage of being from the border town was that Lizhou City never lacked mutton. Today they bought half a sheep, along with chicken, duck, fish, and other dishes. Zhulan counted eighteen dishes and instructed the kitchen, “All the dishes should be salty and stewed until very tender. Oh, and the main dish for lunch is steamed buns. What kind of pastries did you buy today?”

Steward Ding’s eldest daughter-in-law, Li Xia, said, “Mistress, today we bought pastries from Ruyi Shop.”

Hearing “Ruyi Shop”, Zhulan thought of Shi Qing, wondering if Shi Qing had passed the imperial examination this year.

Speaking of which, there was no Ruyi Shop in Lizhou City last year; it’s a new one this year. Zhulan said, “Keep one plate each for the second and third households and the young lady’s courtyard. Send the rest to the first household.”

Xue Han asked, “Mother, aren’t you and Father going to eat?”

Zhulan replied, “…No, we’re not eating today.”

Could she really say she’d had enough?

There were still frozen pears in Zhulan’s ice cellar. Zhulan had Liu Ya take some to the first household; Li Shi’s parents must not have eaten breakfast yet.

In the courtyard of the main house, Li Xu Shi watched her daughter showing off. Winter was over, and her daughter had pulled out all the cloaks.

Li Xu Shi put them on one by one. “Mother, do you think they look good?”

Li Xu Shi didn’t dare touch them. “They look good.”

Li Shi smiled. “This was given to me by my mother-in-law, Mother. This cloak alone costs over fifty taels!”

Li Xu Shi quickly withdrew her hand, her voice unusually loud. “What? Just one cloak?”

This wasn’t a cloak; it was several acres of paddy fields!

Li Shi smiled broadly. “Yes, Mother, please stop asking me how I’m doing. Just look at my cloak and my jewelry, and you’ll know how well I’m doing. And let me tell you, my mother-in-law prepared my dowry, and I own a shop now.”

Li Xu Shi knew her daughter had earned some money, but it was all from recipes she got from the Zhou family. Without her mother-in-law’s support, her daughter wouldn’t have been able to develop those recipes. It was understandable that her daughter would give the money to her mother-in-law, but now, judging from her daughter’s words, her mother-in-law hadn’t taken a single penny and had even put it all in her daughter’s name. Li Xu Shi sighed, “Your mother-in-law is truly good to you.”

Li Shi smiled. “Mother, my mother-in-law is good to everyone.”

Just don’t cross her bottom line; her mother-in-law is actually very easy to talk to.

At noon, Li Xu Shi didn’t change out of the clothes Boss Zhou had bought for her. Given their circumstances, she didn’t think changing clothes would make them any richer. She packed away the clothes; she could wear them when she went back, and then proudly say that her son-in-law had given them to her.

Looking at the sumptuous meal, Li Xu Shi was overjoyed but politely said, “Qīnjiāmǔ, you’re too kind. We, farmers are fine with anything.”

She was overwhelmed by the sheer variety of food.

Zhulan pulled Li Xu Shi down to sit, saying, “We’re related by marriage, and you’re honored guests. How can you be so casual? Come and try it and see if it suits your taste.”

At the men’s table, Rong Chuan and Ming Yun were at the academy, Chang Lian was at Meng Ju’s house, and only Boss Zhou was entertaining his father-in-law.

Zhulan didn’t know what her qīnjiāmǔ liked to eat, because the Li family’s circumstances didn’t allow Li Xu Shi to have preferences—anything but meat was fine. Of the eighteen dishes Zhulan had prepared, only two were vegetarian.

Knowing her mother was embarrassed, Li Shi personally served her food, saying, “Mother, please eat more.”

Zhulan smiled, “Qīnjiāmǔ, please make yourself at home, don’t be so polite.”

Li Xu Shi didn’t know what to eat anymore, “No need to be polite, no need to be polite.”

While Zhulan was enjoying herself, Zhao Shi lost her appetite. Her mother-in-law’s attitude towards her in-laws was completely different. When her mother came, her mother-in-law hadn’t personally inspected the kitchen. Thinking about what her mother had done, Zhao Shi’s face flushed again. She suddenly realized that she and her mother were similar; was she also disliked?

Now Third Dìmèi had grown close to Eldest sǎo again, and for a long time she had not gone to the Second Branch’s courtyard. Thinking of what her daughter had said, Zhao Shi silently ate her meal. Fortunately, her mother-in-law had given her a chance.

At lunchtime, the men’s table was completely empty of steamed buns and food. The four young men were particularly good eaters; their stomachs were usually dry, so they were all big eaters.

Li Xu Shi felt somewhat embarrassed and fiercely glared several times at her sūnzi. Zhulan laughed cheerfully. “Being able to eat is a blessing.”

In the afternoon, Li Shi’s parents rested for the afternoon. In the evening, Zhou Shuren returned and had a whole roasted lamb prepared.

Zhou Shuren said warmly, “You must stay longer this time. When I have my day off, I’ll take my in-laws to see Lizhou City properly.”

Li Cong’s heart was pounding wildly. In his eyes, even the xiàntàiyé was already an enormously important official. Seeing his qīnjiā return wearing official robes had completely stunned him, and even now, he still had not fully recovered his senses. His mind was dizzy, and he could only nod along blankly in agreement.

Zhou Shuren, like Zhulan, liked the Li family very much. He thought the four sūnzi of the Li family were indeed good; they all had the Li family genes, they were all simple-minded, and he and Zhulan felt at ease.

The Li family received a warm welcome from the Zhou family, and Li Xu Shi was completely at ease.

Early the next morning, Zhulan did not rush to talk to the Li family. Instead, she personally took her qīnjiāmǔ out of the city to visit the orchard.

In the capital, lists of candidates from various regions who had passed the preliminary examinations for the imperial examinations were also sent to the capital. The Emperor usually didn’t look at them, but this year he reviewed all the lists. Frankly, the Emperor wanted to see how many people in Lizhou City had taken the exams and how many had passed under Zhou Shuren’s subsidy policy.

(End of Chapter)

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