The reason Zhulan and Zhou Shuren went to Pingzhou was to visit Zhou Shuren's friends. The day before Zhou Shuren left, he said goodbye to the clan leader and asked him to look after the house.
Before leaving, Zhulan called the eldest brother and his wife over and gave them a stern look. "Eldest brother, your father and I are not at home. You have to take good care of the family. I'll leave the family to you."
It was the first time for Zhou Laoda to be the head of the family. He was a little scared but also a little excited. "Mom, I will definitely take good care of the family."
Zhulan stared at Li and said, "When I'm not at home, if your skin gets loose, I'll definitely tighten it for you when I get back. Watch your mouth. If you can't watch your feet, watch your mouth. Remember?"
Li was already worried because her brother and sister-in-law had taken the food. Her mother scolded her again. She would not dare to do it even if she had eight courage. "Mom, I will be honest."
Zhulan sent the eldest brother and his wife away and checked the luggage to see if anything was left out. She and Zhou Shuren took one thousand and one hundred taels of silver, and also took more than ten taels of change. She was afraid that it would not be enough, so she sewed a pocket inside a piece of clothing and hid a pearl necklace and a pair of jade bracelets inside. When she arrived in Pingzhou, regardless of whether she had enough silver or not, she pawned all of them.
When the carriage arrived, the children realized that grandma and grandpa were going out. The eldest grandson Mingyun looked at them eagerly. Fortunately, Zhulan had no reason to agree. She waved her hand and said, "I'll buy you gifts when grandma comes back. You must be obedient at home."
When the children saw their grandmother getting into the car, they burst into tears. Zhulan signaled the driver to hurry up. After leaving the village, Zhulan dared to lift the curtain and look back. She was relieved to make sure the children didn't run after her. "I don't know if the children will be beaten for making a fuss."
Zhou Shuren glanced at Zhulan, "When have you ever seen them get beaten? Even though they don't look like much, they are very sensible."
Zhulan recalled in silence, she found herself becoming more down-to-earth and caring.
Xue Han was extremely excited. It was the first time for her to travel far away from home. She didn't mind the cold and leaned over the car window to look out.
The carriage first went to the county to wait for the caravan, and the caravan set off from the county on time. Pingzhou was not far from the county, and it could arrive in four hours in winter and three hours in summer.
There are many people traveling to Pingzhou every day. Most of the cars in the convoy are merchants, and the rest are going to Pingzhou to pay New Year's greetings and visit friends.
Zhulan was in great trouble. The wheels without shock absorbers made her so shaken that she lost the heart to complain. She did not realize at all that she had gradually changed from leaning on Zhou Shuren to Zhou Shuren hugging her.
Xue Han was not surprised and looked outside. There was snow everywhere. As they were in a hurry to get on the road, they seldom stopped and did not even have a chance to talk. In the second half of the journey, they staggered and felt drowsy.
They arrived in Pingzhou at dusk. Zhou Shuren checked the pass in front of the city gate. After passing it, he separated from the convoy and signaled the driver to take them to the inn.
The inns in ancient times were very different from those in TV dramas. Zhulan chose a better one and stayed in a second-class room for 150 wen a night. When she went in, she saw that the quilt was dirty. No wonder rich people even brought quilts when they traveled, and the luggage was loaded into several carts. Zhulan thought it was very down-to-earth and could accept a dirty quilt. She called the waiter to come and add 100 wen to exchange for two clean quilts.
When the quilt was delivered, Zhulan was speechless. She wondered why the waiter didn't leave. It turned out that he was waiting to pay more money to exchange for the quilt!
Zhou Shuren asked for hot water and a rag, and said to Zhulan who was changing the quilt cover, "Isn't it right to ask you to get the quilt cover? This is all my experience from my trip out."
Zhulan thought that the TV show had deceived her, so she didn't say much out of consideration for her daughter, and just nodded, "Yes."
The hot water came, and Zhulan wiped the bed, table and chairs twice. Only when they were clean did she feel comfortable.
Zhou Shuren asked, "What do you want to eat tonight? I'll go downstairs and order some."
Zhulan hadn't eaten at noon because she was busy cleaning. She was already hungry. It was a rare trip so she didn't want to treat herself badly. "Order two signature dishes. Noodles for the staple food will warm you up. Oh, and bring back a pot of hot water."
Zhou Shuren, "Okay."
They had dinner in the room. Zhou Shuren ordered roast chicken, a stir-fried dish, and three bowls of shredded pork noodles. All three of them had good appetites and ate everything cleanly.
When going to bed at night, Zhulan felt a little uncomfortable. The bed was not big, and her daughter was not old enough to sleep in the middle. It was safer for the whole family to live in one room in an unfamiliar place. Xuehan had to live in the innermost room, so Zhulan was sandwiched in the middle.
Xue Han was happy to sleep with her mother. She changed her clothes happily and lay down. Zhu Lan stared at the two quilts. She felt a little uncomfortable even though she was sleeping in the same quilt with her daughter.
Zhou Shuren was in a good mood. After Zhulan lay down, he blew out the oil lamp and lay down in the quilt, with a smile on his face. The small bed was quite good.
Zhulan lay on her side as if she was in Zhou Shuren's arms, her face a little hot. They were indeed familiar with each other after a few months of getting along, but they had never been intimate. Xuehan fell asleep as soon as she lay down. She was very tired after a day of traveling. Zhulan thought about many things and fell asleep drowsily.
The next morning, Zhulan was too confused to move, her eyes wide open wondering how she got into Zhou Shuren's bed.