Zhulan followed Li out, "What's the matter?"
Li lowered her voice, "Mother, Zhang Datie and Zhu are here with their sons too. They came with outsiders, so I can't stop them. They have already entered the yard. Mother, should I ask the head of the household to chase them out?"
Zhu Lan raised her eyebrows. She really didn't expect Zhang Datie and his family to come, and they came openly. When they were in Zhoujia Village, ever since their family got engaged to the county magistrate's family, Zhang Datie and Zhu Shi never dared to order their children to look for Rongchuan again. "Did they do anything?"
Li shook her head, "No, Zhu and Zhang Datie were dressed very decently, and they didn't look like they were causing trouble at all. When the couple arrived, they just sat at the table and didn't wander around or look for Rongchuan."
Zhulan had a hunch that Zhang Datie's family must be here for trouble. Although this family may seem annoying, they know how to survive the most. They know who to offend and who not to offend. They dare to plot against Wang Ru, but they dare not plot against the Zhou family. "If they don't cause any trouble, don't worry about them. If they have any trouble, they will come to us."
Li was relieved by her mother-in-law's words. This was her first time to receive guests by herself, and she was afraid of messing up. She now understood that if she made a mistake, it would be a loss of face for the entire Zhou family. "Mom, I'll go and receive the guests."
Zhulan was very satisfied with Li's performance today. Her diligent teaching was not in vain. As for Zhao, she was helping in the kitchen because of her face!
Zhulan returned to the house, and Dong Lin asked, "Is everything okay?"
Zhulan smiled and said, "This is Li's first time entertaining guests, so I'm a little unsure and want to ask. Let's go. I'll take you around. Although there's no garden in the house, there is a pond, which is also nice."
Dong Lin stood up and said, "Then I have to take a look."
This will be her daughter's home from now on, so she has to take a closer look. She was originally dissatisfied with the Zhou family's original house, but she didn't expect that the Zhou family bought a big house. This time, she will also look good when her daughter gets married.
When the Zheng family's house was built, many people coveted it. Some even came to buy it by force, but no one succeeded. They didn't dare to mention the Zheng family's house anymore. Later, everyone knew that the Zheng family was not easy to mess with. Although the Zheng family left, rumors about them have never stopped.
Especially after the Zheng family in the northwest had a military officer, he was even more convinced that the Zheng family was not easy to mess with. Unexpectedly, the house was sold unknowingly, and it was sold to Zhou Shuren.
The old man also guessed it, and finally accepted Zhou Shuren because he was a relative of Zheng family's son-in-law and happened to catch the Zheng family's eye, so he sold him to Zhou Shuren.
She didn't care why, she just wanted her daughter to have a share of this big house in the future. The better the Zhou family was, the happier she would be.
She had heard a lot of rumors about this marriage. Some people maliciously speculated that her daughter had some unconcealable illness, so they married her with a son who was a scholar. This time she was really slapped in the face. How could an ordinary scholar afford such a large family business
Dong Lin was in a good mood and thought everything was good. "The house is really well built, with independent courtyards."
Zhulan said, "Yes, in the future, each party will live in their own courtyard. Not only will it be spacious, but they won't disturb each other. Those who study can study well. If we have children in the future, they will have a place to play. If we want to cook, it will be convenient."
Dong Lin's smile deepened, knowing that Yang said this specifically for her to hear. This was an indirect way of telling her that Yang was not an evil mother-in-law who controlled everything, nor would she let her daughter-in-law set rules. "Each courtyard has many rooms, so in the future, if seven or eight children are born in each room, they can all live there."
Zhulan thought that Dong Chuchu would only be thirteen next year. It was really a sin in ancient times. There was no one around. Zhulan felt that she still had to say something. "Sister-in-law, we have known each other for more than half a year. Sister-in-law also understands my personality. I won't lie to you. Chuchu will get married early to avoid trouble in the future. But Chuchu will only be thirteen next year, and the child is still young. I mean to wait two years to consummate the marriage. It is not good for Chuchu's health to consummate the marriage too early. What do you think, sister-in-law?"
Dong Lin's heart warmed when she heard this. Yang really loved her daughter-in-law. She said affectionately, "Sister-in-law, don't mention it. I also wanted to tell you before the two children got married. Today, you mentioned it first. I am grateful. I thank you for your love on behalf of Chuchu."
As a woman, she knows too well the pain of early pregnancy. She got married too early, and her first child was stillborn after much difficulty. Her body was damaged. It took her three years to get pregnant again. Fortunately, her husband helped her to support her mother-in-law, otherwise her life would have been difficult.
She had experienced it herself, so naturally she didn't want her daughter to go through the same thing.
Dong Lin shared her past sufferings with emotion, and Zhulan comforted her, "It's all in the past. Sister-in-law is very lucky."
Dong Lin wiped her tears and said, "I am sorry to have made a fool of myself. The doctor who treated me told me that it is best for a girl to consummate her marriage after she turns fifteen. It is not good for both the mother and the child if it is too early."
Zhulan thought to herself that Dong Lin was using her own experience to set a time limit with her. "Sister-in-law, how about sixteen?"
Dong Lin was satisfied. Her past story was not in vain. "My sister-in-law really loves her daughter-in-law. I, as a mother, am ashamed of myself."
Zhulan laughed in her heart. If she was not smart, she would have been flattered by Dong Lin and didn't know what was going on. "Then it's settled."
Dong Lin smiled and said, "I'll listen to my sister-in-law."
Zhulan, “… … ..”
She is really full of schemes. Although she was the one who started it, you can't put all the blame on her. The reputation of a good mother-in-law is not so easy to come by. Dong Lin is asking her to carry Chang Lian on her own. Fortunately, Chang Lian is ambitious now and is very afraid of Zhou Shuren, and Zhou Shuren listens to her. She is at the top of the food chain in the family, and Chang Lian dare not be dissatisfied.
Zhulan took Dong Lin to the pond. The pond was not small and there were fish in it. Zhou Shuren measured the depth at the edge and found it was one and a half meters deep. About three meters inside, the depth reached two meters. The deepest point in the middle was three meters. The entire pond was not for raising fish, but for preventing drought.
There are also lotus flowers in the pond. The weather in Northeast China is cool, and the lotus flowers bloom in July and August. Zhulan has wanted to eat lotus roots for a long time, and there must be someone in the Zheng family who likes to eat lotus roots, so they were planted on the shore, one and a half meters deep.
Now they are all cheap.
Dong Lin's old house has a pond and lotus flowers. "The scenery here is really nice."
Zhulan agreed. It was indeed good. Although it was not her own home, it was a great bargain to live there for free. Zhulan estimated the time and said, "The banquet in the front yard is almost ready. Should we go back to the front as well?"
Dong Lin was also tired from shopping and was indeed a little hungry. "Okay."
There are quite a lot of people coming today. Fortunately, Zhulan prepared two more tables of food. The tables and chairs at home are ready-made and there is no need to borrow them. It is just enough to accommodate two more tables.
There were twelve dishes at the banquet, ten of which were meat dishes and two cold and vegetarian dishes. According to the menu given by Li, there were three fish dishes: pickled fish, braised fish and boiled fish.
Although there were no precious and rare ingredients in the banquet, it was still good enough to eat in the countryside.
The wine we bought was the best in the county, and it was the most expensive item at the banquet.
Today, the county magistrate and his family came in person, which not only broke some bad rumors, but also brought peace of mind to the Zhou family. No one made trouble during the meal, and the banquet ended smoothly.
The guests from the county said goodbye and left one after another, but the Zhou clan members were not in a hurry to go back. It was a rare opportunity for them to come here, so naturally they wanted to take a look around.
Zhulan personally sent Dong Lin to the car. When Dong Chuchu got in the car, she looked in the direction of Chang Lian. Chang Lian felt something and looked over at her. The girl got in the car quickly and felt shy.
Zhulan looked at the car curtain, feeling stunned. In ancient times, people were considered precocious. Well, yes, in modern times, people of this age are also considered precocious. When she thought of her half-brother who had two girlfriends at the age of fourteen, Zhulan looked up at the sky in silence. She was only single in ancient times!
After seeing off the guests from the county, Zhulan returned to the yard and found that Zhang Datie and Zhu had not left. The Zhou clan members had not left because they were clan relatives, the Li family had not left because they were in-laws, and the Yang family had not left because they were Zhulan's parents' family. Only Zhang Datie's family were outsiders.
Zhulan saw that it was indeed something important that happened!