Li paid special attention to what happened in the morning. She would hang around the door from time to time. When she saw Zhang Datie and the Zhu couple enter Wang Ru's yard, she began to lie down against the wall of her house and eavesdrop.
Zhulan was basking in the sun, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Li eavesdropping with her butt sticking out. Her already round figure looked even rounder from behind, which was so spicy that it was unbearable to look at.
Xue Han saw her mother sometimes looking disgusted, and sometimes suppressing her smile. She discovered that the sister-in-law, whom she used to hate so much, was becoming more and more lovely.
Zhao smiled secretly and continued to embroider the handkerchief with her head down. Even though the family was wealthy, that was the money of her parents and her parents, which had not yet been distributed to the various branches. Although her mother would give her and her elder sister-in-law some pocket money from time to time, she still could not compare with her elder sister-in-law in terms of money. She would embroider handkerchiefs when she had nothing to do, because she had reference to the patterns of the handkerchiefs her father-in-law brought back from Jiangnan. Now one of her handkerchiefs was worth twenty cents!
Even though she had to take care of the children during the past six months, she was still able to embroider five handkerchiefs a month and earn one hundred coins a month, which was a considerable amount of money.
While threading the thread, Zhao looked up and saw her elder sister-in-law standing on tiptoe to eavesdrop. She was actually a little envious of her elder sister-in-law. Look how comfortable her sister-in-law is living. Her elder sister-in-law even has the recipe she created in her hand. As long as her father-in-law becomes a juren, the recipe in her sister-in-law's hand can be exchanged for money. She never thought that one day she would envy her elder sister-in-law!
Zhulan leaned against a specially made chair with a fan on her head. The sun was shining brightly today and it was just after lunch, so she felt drowsy. She no longer envied those who were born with breast implants or dressed as ladies. It was still better to be at the top of the food chain. Life was so comfortable!
"Mother, mother!"
Zhulan, "... ..."
Just when I felt good, it suddenly became bad again. Li's habit of making a fuss came back again.
Xue Han couldn't help but burst out laughing when she saw her mother's face fall. Zhao also smiled with her lips pursed. Li was confused and asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Zhulan touched her chest, angry at Li who was sometimes in a daze, but she was angry at herself, "What's wrong?"
Li was about to speak, but then she remembered that she had just eavesdropped and realized that she couldn't speak loudly, otherwise the neighbors would hear her. "Mom, I overheard the conversation next door."
Zhulan leaned forward, her face darkening, "Speak louder, I can't hear you clearly."
If I hadn’t seen that my daughter and second daughter-in-law couldn’t hear it clearly, I would have thought there was something wrong with my hearing!
Li's voice became louder, "Mom, I'm afraid the neighbors will know I'm eavesdropping if I speak so loudly."
Zhu Lan's face was wooden. "Who was the one who shouted the loudest just now?"
Li realized what was happening and her face flushed. The neighbors knew she had eavesdropped. She laughed dryly and fantasized, "Maybe they thought I was calling my mother for something else, and they didn't see me at the foot of the wall."
Xue Han wanted to cover her face. Could the sister-in-law please not react so slowly? "Sister-in-law, you were shouting at the foot of the wall just now, and it was so loud!"
Even a fool knows that you have been hiding under the wall.
Li, “… … ..”
Ouch, I just held it in!
Zhulan fanned herself to calm down her anger. "Tell me, what did you hear?"
Li's voice was still low. "Mother, Wang Ru is so stupid. She actually gave Zhang Datie 20 taels of silver to get Zhang Sanni, and told Zhang Sanni that there was no need for a deed, just an employment contract. In the future, Zhang Sanni would live next door as a maid. Mother, is Wang Ru stupid? If there is no official deed, who will recognize a contract? Zhang Datie can still sell Sanni in the future. Mother, what is a contract?"
How could Zhulan explain it? She said vaguely, "I don't know either. I only know about buying a maid's living contract and a death contract."
Li was a person who liked to chat with the young wives in the village. In order to prevent Li from showing off everywhere, it would be safer for him to know nothing.
Li was a little disappointed. "It turns out there are things that mother doesn't know!"
Zhulan chuckled, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, there's a lot more I don't know."
Li shut up. She felt that if she spoke again, she would lose her mother’s favor and would never be able to let her mother pinch her face again!
Zhulan didn't care about the commotion next door, because it was Wang Ru who was making the commotion anyway. However, Wang Ru must have borrowed money from her two sisters to take the twenty taels. Thinking about it carefully, Wang Ru was not only going against the Zhou family and showing the Zhou family's cold-bloodedness, but also wanted to use the opportunity of borrowing money to find a way out and submit to Shi Qing.
Zhulan felt sleepy from the sun. The warm summer sunshine was perfect for sleeping, so she got up and went back to the house to sleep.
After school in the afternoon, Zhulan told Rongchuan about Zhang Sanni's situation, "I have my own rules and bottom line. Even if you beg for mercy at home today, I won't help you. Chuan, I hope you can also have your own bottom line and rules."
Zhulan wants to make her attitude clear and tell Rongchuan that she doesn't care about any kind of people. Some things are better to be made clear as soon as possible, which is good for everyone.
Rongchuan gave up on everyone in the Zhang family before he left. He never told anyone that he was precocious and had never forgotten the memories when he was two or three years old. After his younger brother was born, his third sister often tormented him on purpose, pulling off his quilt in the middle of the night and making him wear wet clothes. Later, his parents cared less about him, and his third sister treated him worse and worse. She refused to give him food several times, and his parents knew it but didn't care. He completely gave up on his family, and everyone in the Zhang family was waiting for his death indifferently!
Rong Chuan lowered his head, "Aunt, even if I were at home today, I would not beg for mercy, not only because Sanni would bring endless trouble to the family, but also because I don't want to beg for mercy. I can't say against my will that I still miss the Zhang family. Since I separated from the Zhang family, I have no relationship with the Zhang family. That family is no longer my family, and they are not my relatives."
Even if his aunt would think he was cold-blooded, he had to tell her. He hoped that his aunt would not worry about him. He also did not want to hide the real him, because he learned from his uncle that pretending is always pretending!
Zhulan felt sorry for the child and touched Rongchuan's head. "Auntie doesn't think Rongchuan is heartless. On the contrary, I think it's good. You already have your bottom line in your heart."
Rongchuan's uneasiness disappeared. He liked the Zhou family. His uncle and aunt not only saved his life, but also gave him the warmth of home. His uncle and aunt were the parents he had always imagined, with a strict father and a kind mother. This family was truly a home. The Zhou family was the warmest place in his heart.
After Zhou Shuren came back and had dinner, he called Changzhi and Changlian to stop studying. After checking their progress, Zhou Shuren told Rongchuan, "Tomorrow, Changlian and Changzhi will not go to the clan school. Ask for leave for them and say that I am taking them out to visit."
Rongchuan said: "Yes."
Chang Lian's heart came to life. His father had been going to the county government office these days, so he became excited. "Dad, are you taking us to the county government office tomorrow?"
Changzhi's focus was, "Dad, the county magistrate is a juren, will he test us in literature?"
After hearing this, Zhou Shuren decided there was no need to be mysterious. He had been thinking of telling them tomorrow to test the two boys' ability to respond. He stroked his beard, thinking it would not be good if the boy was too smart, he could not fool him. He paused, and found that he was getting more and more accustomed to stroking his beard!
Yesterday, Chang Lian didn't dare to think about why the county magistrate's wife suddenly came to visit their home. Today, his father's words made him bolder. With courage, his blood boiled and his eyes widened with excitement. He could see that his father's expression was indifferent, but he calmed down in an instant. It was probably because he knew that he and Chang Zhi would take the examination for the status of a scholar next year, and he was observing them because of his father's relationship.
Zhou Shuren has been observing Chang Lian and is somewhat satisfied. Chang Lian has changed a lot. When he first came, this child had a shrewd look on his face and was a bit impulsive. Now he can calm down quickly, and his guidance is not in vain. He suddenly realized that he is quite suitable for teaching children!