The first banquet was held at the clan leader's house, and in the following days there was a wave of invitations to guests in the clan. Although Zhou Shuren was of a higher generation and there were few people older than him alive in the clan, Zhou Shuren was born late and those of the same generation were at least a dozen years older than him. Therefore, as long as there was anyone older than Zhou Shuren, he was invited and there was no way to refuse.
After going around in a circle, Zhulan, who has a good memory, felt her mind swell. There was no family planning in ancient times. A family had at least four or five children, and sometimes seven or eight. Several generations lived together without separating, and there were even more grandchildren. This was because there were more cases of infant deaths in ancient times, otherwise most people would have survived.
Every family has quite a few children, so it is no big deal for Zhulan to visit their home for dinner and give gifts, but she has memory problems because there are so many children. In addition, some children look alike due to blood relationship, so it is really a headache for Zhulan to remember the children.
Xuemei took the children back to her parents' home, Zhulan was making clothes, and Zhou Shuren was resting. They were really exhausted these days and didn't want to go anywhere and just wanted to stay at home.
Xuemei carried her daughter into the main house and found her father lying there. She thought he was reading and was a little worried. "Mom, is Dad feeling unwell?"
Zhulan looked at Zhou Shuren with envy. She also wanted to lie down, but she had been entertaining guests for half a month. She couldn't go to eat directly at mealtime. She basically went with Zhou Shuren. She missed a lot of embroidery and was rushing to finish it. "Your father fell asleep."
Xuemei was relieved that she wasn't sick. "Mom, Jiang Shengxin and I have moved here. We've discussed inviting Mom, Dad, and my brother and sister-in-law to come over for dinner. Do you think tomorrow is okay?"
Zhulan put down the needle in her hand and asked, "Have you moved in and packed everything?"
Xuemei and her husband received the signal from Zhulan, and they came over the next day. They rented a house on the same day, still the one they had liked at the beginning. The house had been vacant because they didn't want to rent it to someone outside the family. Xuemei's surname was also Zhou, and with Zhou Shuren's relationship, the rent was smooth, fifty cents a month.
The house is on the street in front of Zhulan's house. Because the population is small, there are only five rooms in the house. After a while, it is too expensive at fifty cents, so no one in the clan rents it. However, the yard is large and has three acres of land. The price is high because of the yard.
Xuemei and her husband didn't care about the rent. Their purpose was to move here, so they rented a house quickly and paid for one year in one go.
Zhulan and Zhou Shuren were busy but couldn't help, so Xuemei and her husband moved in with the help of the eldest and second oldest sons.
Xuemei, "I finished it the day before yesterday, but my parents were busy and didn't come to tell mom. I turned the soil in the garden these few days, and my eldest and second brothers even helped me pick up a cart of firewood."
Zhu Lan asked, "No one from the Jiang family is coming?"
She had always wanted to ask, but her daughter knew that she and Zhou Shuren were busy and never came over, so she had no chance to ask.
Xuemei pouted, "My father-in-law and mother-in-law wanted to come live with us, but my husband didn't agree. My parents-in-law were angry with us and didn't help or come to see us. My brother and sister-in-law didn't help when they were watching us, but they helped move things when we moved."
Ever since my parents-in-law found out that my husband went out every day to help at the county government office, they no longer ignored them, and their son and daughter became their treasures again. It's a pity that he hurt them so badly that they won't pretend it never happened. They will do everything they can to show filial piety, but it's impossible for him to live with them.
Zhulan really didn't know this happened. "Your parents-in-law must be regretting this."
Xuemei felt very proud, "It's a pity that there is no regret medicine to sell, so it's too late to regret now."
Zhulan did not sympathize with the Jiang couple and said, "Let's have dinner tomorrow. I'll ask your eldest and second sisters-in-law to help. By the way, have you prepared all the meat and vegetables?"
Xuemei was embarrassed. "Mom, my eldest and second sisters-in-law have helped me a lot these days. I can cook by myself tomorrow. It won't be too much trouble to prepare two tables of dishes."
It took Xuemei several days to accept the changes in her sisters-in-law after she saw her eldest and second sisters-in-law again. Her eldest sister-in-law was very capable in handling things and was not at all flustered like before when she did everything at will. Now she was very calm.
The second sister-in-law has changed even more. Although she still doesn't comb her hair to cover her face, she doesn't bend over and cry dejectedly. Instead, she is more imposing than the eldest sister-in-law, as if everything is under control.
Her two sisters-in-law have really helped her a lot these days. She can't be so arrogant as to trouble them. After all, she is a married woman.
Zhulan really didn't think as much as Xuemei. Her starting point was herself. Li's cooking was delicious. Although the eldest daughter's cooking was not bad, she didn't want to try it. This was because she and the eldest daughter had basically cooked the same dishes when they ate out for more than ten days. It was estimated that the dishes would not change much. She was really about to vomit after eating for more than ten days. She thought, "Your father and I have been eating stews for more than ten days. Every time it's stewed chicken and meat. It's too troublesome for you to cook by yourself. It would be better if you make something simple and light. It would save you effort."
Xuemei's mouth twitched. She was not stupid. She knew her cooking skills well. Her mother's words were just a crazy hint to her that the roast chicken and stewed pig's trotters in the county restaurant were all good. Buying them as the main dish was simple and convenient, and she didn't have to cook it herself. "Mom, I've thought of a recipe. Can I tell you?"
Zhulan knew that her eldest daughter was smart and must have understood her hint, "Yes."
Xuemei, "... roast chicken and braised pig's trotters from Deyi Restaurant, braised rabbit meat and pork intestines from Qijia Restaurant, tofu soup, scrambled eggs, and the staple food is mixed-wheat steamed buns."
Zhulan didn't feel embarrassed at all, "Not bad."
Xuemei said with a wooden face, "Mom, I'll go back first and come back to get the table and chairs tomorrow morning."
"You don't have to come and get it yourself, we can just go over and bring it over."
"good."
Zhou Shuren waited until the eldest daughter left and then burst out laughing, "Did you hear Xuemei's resentment?"
Zhulan, "My resentment is the deepest!"
When she and Zhou Shuren went to visit friends, someone would serve her food at every meal. The dishes at more than a dozen restaurants were basically the same, and the meat in dishes like stewed meat with sauerkraut was always the fattiest. And because they valued her and Zhou Shuren, they would always warmly serve her the fat meat. Even if she didn't want to eat it and felt sick, she would still eat it with a smile, because they had no bad intentions and instead gave her the best food because they valued her.
Fortunately, she has encountered this more than once in modern social events. She doesn't like Japanese food, but the customers like it and you can't eat it without eating it, which is impolite. She can also eat it with a smile, and even if she goes back to spit it out, no one will know that she doesn't like it.
This time I'm going to my daughter's house for dinner. There's nothing wrong with asking for some benefits for myself as she's my elder!