Zhulan looked at Boss Zhou, who nodded. "We were afraid of the rain so we hurried home. We caught up with the Zhang family's ox cart after leaving the city gate. I quickly glanced at Wang Ru. She was still unconscious but her face looked much better."
Li sighed, "The luck next door is really bad. Wang Ru was already injured and then caught in the rain. Don't worry, she will have a high fever."
Zhulan watched the rain getting heavier and heavier. It was already autumn, and the weather became colder with each autumn rain. Wang Ru's luck was indeed bad. People in ancient times were afraid of colds and typhoid fevers, which could be fatal.
Li saw her mother-in-law looking at the meat in her hand and laughed, "Mom, the pig we killed today is very fat. It is said to weigh 220 kilograms. Mom, check if the fat is fat. It will definitely produce a lot of oil when fried."
Zhulan nodded, "It is indeed fat enough."
The pigs we raised this year are also doing well, probably weighing over 200 kilograms!
When Li thought about having hot pot in the evening, she carried the meat with great enthusiasm and said, "Mom, I'm going to make lard."
"Go ahead. Oh, by the way, make the bone soup first so that you can have a bowl of bone soup at noon."
Li had already entered the kitchen, shouting, "I know, mother."
Zhulan sat under the eaves and continued sewing clothes. The room was too dark on a rainy day, and she didn't want to light an oil lamp and hurt her eyes, so she could only find a place with sufficient light to sit.
After sewing a piece of clothing, there was a noise next door. She could faintly hear the voice of someone being careful not to get wet in the rain. Wang Ru must have come back. There was a commotion next door and she could also hear Wang Laosi's voice. She didn't believe that Wang Laosi was really worried about Wang Ru. He was busy running around for Wang Ru yesterday just for money. Without any cash cow, he had been spending his savings. Wang Laosi has been much more low-key in the past six months!
Wang Laosi also wanted to make amends, but Wang Ru refused to listen. When she finally got the chance, she even suspected that Wang Laosi had deliberately angered Wang Zhang in order to get slapped in the face.
The heavy rain did not last long and stopped at noon. After the rain stopped, the wind blew and it was quite cool. Zhulan had a fire in her house and it was really comfortable to take a nap on the kang.
In the afternoon, Zhulan doesn't have to worry about anyone coming. Everyone knows that she has the habit of taking a nap after she has recovered. If no one comes in the morning, no one will come in the afternoon, so Zhulan can sleep until she wakes up naturally.
Li had a lot to say, and finally waited until her mother-in-law woke up, "Mom, Wang Ru has called the doctor again. She really has a fever."
Zhao took over the conversation, "With such a serious injury, I don't know if I can survive it."
Zhulan had a fever as expected. Wang Ru's condition meant that no one could stand being exposed to the rain. She asked, "Did you invite Doctor Lu?"
Mrs. Li was watching the excitement from the front door of her house and nodded, "We invited Doctor Lu."
Zhulan thought that since Mr. Lu came in person, "the Wang family must have given him a lot of money!"
Li said excitedly, "Mother, it was not the Wang family who invited her. It was Master Shi who came. Master Shi sent someone to invite her. Moreover, Wang Ru woke up for a while and chased Wang Daya away like crazy. Wang Daya was driven out and has been taken home by Sun."
Zhu Lan was surprised, "Only Wang Xin was driven away?"
Mrs. Li nodded. "I heard it all at the door of our house. Wang Ru told Wang Daya to get out. I don't know what Wang Daya did, but Master Shi's followers brought Wang Daya out and drove Wang Laosi and his wife out as well. But Wang Ru fainted again!"
Zhulan really didn't expect that so many things would happen after she slept for only half an hour. "Has Doctor Lu left?"
As soon as Zhulan finished her words, Doctor Lu and his son entered the courtyard. Zhulan stood up quickly and said, "Doctor Lu, are you going back to the county? I'll ask the old man to harness the carriage."
Mr. Lu waved his hand and said, "We are not going back to the city. We are here to stay. Madam Xiucai, please excuse me for disturbing you. We will have to bother you for a few days."
Anyway, he didn't plan to stay next door. It was annoying to see a house full of scheming people. At his old age, he just wanted to find some quiet time.
Zhulan lowered her voice and asked, "Is the situation next door bad?"
Mr. Lu did not hide it, "It is indeed not good. He has a high fever. I gave him strong medicine. Everything will depend on tonight."
Zhulan thought to herself that if Wang Ru had known what would happen today, she would never have taken the risk. In the final analysis, it was Wang Ru who was stupid and acted rashly without understanding the situation clearly. It was all Wang Ru's own fault that she had ended up like this. "Doctor Lu, please come this way. I'm sorry to have you stay in my eldest grandson's house for the next few days."
Mr. Lu said, "I should be the one feeling embarrassed. How can I feel wronged?"
There was a new quilt in Zhulan's house. Zhulan first took people to the house and instructed Li to carry the bedding of her two grandsons to Changzhi's house. The two grandsons would live with Changzhi for a few days.
Then he brought out two new quilts and placed them on the kang, and said to Mr. Lu, "I'll ask the eldest brother to come and light the fire. There is a well in the yard for easy access. If you need water, there are also kettles for boiling water. If you need anything else, just ask my eldest brother."
Mr. Lu's son, Lu Lingzhi, said, "Sorry to bother you, Madam Xiucai."
Ever since Zhulan learned the name of Doctor Lu's son, she specifically asked why he named him Lingzhi. The old man said frankly that it was because Lingzhi was expensive. His grandson was also named Lu Renshen, but after the grandson strongly protested when he grew up, the name became Lu Renshen.
Zhulan felt sympathy for the younger generations of the Lu family. She smiled and went out, asking Boss Zhou to make some tea and send it over.
A fire started in the house of Doctor Lu and his son. Shi Qing's servant came to the door, holding a box with a purse on it.
Boss Zhou came out to answer the call. After sending the people away, Zhu Lan came out and asked, "What did you say?"
Boss Zhou put down the box and said, "Inside the box is a thank you gift for Wang Ru, thanking her for her help yesterday. In the purse is the loan and food expenses for Doctor Lu and his son."
Li was extremely curious, but she didn't dare to open the box to see what the gift was. However, she had originally disliked the fact that Wang Ru lived next door to her, but the thank-you gifts she had received in the past two days had smoothed over her worries.
Zhulan opened her purse and found a silver ingot worth five taels. She was really generous. This amount of silver could be enough for them to live for a year!
Zhulan wanted to put the silver into a purse for Zhao to keep, but when she saw Li staring at the purse, she stopped. Li had a talent for cooking, but she had no eyes for needlework, let alone embroidery. Li also liked embroidered purses and handkerchiefs, but she couldn't make them herself, so her purses were always ugly. Now she had taken a fancy to the purse, so Zhulan handed the silver to Zhao, "Keep the silver."
Zhao was already used to managing household expenses. "I'll enter it into the account when I get back."
Zhulan put away the purse under Li's disappointed eyes. She did not open the box and had no intention of showing it to the eldest and second sons. Some things were better unknown. The less she knew about the family's financial situation, the better she and Zhou Shuren could control the direction of the entire family.
Zhulan took the box back to the house, and she was the only one in the house who opened it to look. This time it was also filled with silver ingots, no wonder it was so heavy. There were four five-liang silver ingots in it, twenty liang of silver in total, and the thank-you gift was silver. It was obvious at a glance that Shi Qing came from Pingzhou in a hurry and only brought silver with him!
After packing up the silver, Zhulan thought silently, August is a prosperous month for the Zhou family. This month is like the God of Wealth has come in, and the silver is running to the Zhou family like long legs. A shop has been opened in just a few days.
Li knocked on the door, "Mom, I'm coming in?"