Jiang Sheng's father Jiang Yong and Jiang Wangshi came together. Jiang Sheng did not come with him. Jiang Wangshi came with a basket. In the basket, there was a piece of pork weighing about two pounds and some dried black fungus.
Since entering the yard, Jiang Wangshi has been looking around. She put down the basket and said, "Jiang Sheng didn't come home to tell us that his relatives had moved. If we hadn't gotten up early this morning and drove the ox cart to Zhoujia Village, the head of the family and I wouldn't have known that they had moved. This is a moving gift. Your relatives are wealthy and don't care about this, but it's a good thing we can give you. Don't despise it."
Zhulan could hear a lot of complaints. Jiang Wangshi complained that they didn't tell her about the move. And the last sentence was harsh. She really thought she was in a good mood. "What you said, my dear, let me say something. There are two kinds of in-laws: those who share the joys and sorrows and those who go their separate ways. The treatment for those who go their separate ways is naturally different. Don't you think this makes sense, my dear?"
Jiang Wang's face flushed. Although Yang didn't curse, it was much more rude. Wasn't she just targeting the Jiang family? Who would have thought that the last incident was completely false? However, it was indeed something she and the old man did that was not right.
She was angry just now. First, the Zhou family moved out without notifying the Jiang family and did not consider the Jiang family as relatives. Second, her son had moved into Yue's family and would have to show them the house in the future. They also had to save face, so it would be impossible for her to live with her youngest son in the future. How could she not be angry? She believed that the Zhou family was not kind. Third, she was jealous.
As a woman, she really envied Yang. She used to look down on Yang, but now Yang was high above her. The growing gap was like a mirror, reflecting her darker and uglier side.
Jiang Wangshi turned off her anger and didn't know how to start talking for a moment.
Li was particularly satisfied with what she heard. Her mother-in-law was really amazing. She made Jiang Wang feel ashamed with just a few words. When would she learn some skills from her mother-in-law
Zhulan had no good feelings towards the Jiang family. She and Zhou Shuren did not take the Jiang family seriously at all. They were unwilling to lower their status to fight against them, but that did not mean they would always tolerate them. They said to Li: "We have accepted the gifts from the in-laws. It is getting late. Since the head of the family is not feeling well, we will not keep the in-laws and mother-in-law any longer."
Jiang Yong didn't say a word from beginning to end. It was Zhou Shuren's fault for not being able to get up from the kang to rest, so Zhulan received him herself.
Jiang Yong turned pale with shame. They were being sent away by their in-laws. Shouldn't he be happy that the Zhou family let them in instead of blocking them outside
Boss Zhou knew that his mother was not angry because she felt that the Jiang family was not worth getting angry about. Seeing his mother pick up the teacup again, he stepped forward and said, "Uncle, this way please."
Jiang Yong's face turned pale and then red. He stood up with a stern face and glared at the old woman, "Why don't you leave and wait for someone to chase you away?"
Jiang Wangshi's face turned redder again. She was already very old, and the old man didn't give her face in front of the younger generation. How could she face people in the future
There was contempt in Zhulan's eyes. Yelling at a woman was not a big deal. She hated it most when people put the blame on women.
Zhulan was not afraid at all that the two men would get angry and return to Zhoujia Village to target Xuemei. These two men were smart enough and would definitely not dare to do that.
Zhulan waited for Boss Zhou to come back after sending people back. She looked at Boss Zhou and he said cleverly, "Mom, uncle and aunt are not going back to Zhoujia Village."
Zhulan curled her lips. The old couple of the Jiang family were quite smart. "Yeah."
Boss Zhou felt that his mother was much more cruel than his father when she was cruel. Her words hurt people's hearts and made them look shameless. His father was more direct, at least he didn't suffer in his heart. If Jiang Sheng's parents went back, he would be so angry that he would fall ill.
When Zhulan saw Zhou Laoer coming in, she said, "I was just thinking of asking your elder brother to look for you."
"Mom, do you have something to ask me?"
"Well, your father and I discussed it yesterday. The house is too big, and we don't have enough people. We don't have to sell food, so we have enough food. Go find four big dogs and put two at the front door and two at the backyard. Find some powerful dogs."
Zhou Laoer thought about it and quickly thought about who has a dog. "Mom, dogs are not cheap. A full-grown dog costs about one or two taels of silver."
Nowadays, the only people who can afford to keep dogs are hunters. Those who keep dogs in the village all use them as guard posts. The families that can afford to keep dogs are all well-off, and buying a dog is not cheap.
Zhulan took out five taels of silver and said, "You can buy it as you like, but it must be of great quality."
Zhou Laoer was more enthusiastic than buying a cow. He just liked dogs and had wanted to raise one when he was a child, but he had never asked for it. This time he raised four dogs, and his wish came true. In fact, even if his mother hadn't said it, he had wanted to ask for it someday.
Zhulan also has a lot of things to do. She has to cut down the cabbages left by the Zheng family and pickle them into sauerkraut and kimchi. The rest has to be put in the cellar. It will take more than a few days to finish the large vegetable garden.
The vegetable garden in the Zhou family's old house does not need to be left to Xuemei and her husband. They have also planted a lot of vegetables in the rented house. The vegetable garden in the old house can be handed over to the eldest brother. With the help of Xuemei and her husband, the eldest brother can do it on his own.
Spinach cannot be stored, so after being picked, it is dried and put into cloth bags and stored in a dry house. The Zheng family has many houses and it has been there for many years, so there is no moisture at all, which provides space for Zhulan to store the spinach.
Yu Lu's little fellows also followed suit and worked.
Sun also wanted to help, but Zhulan refused. In the end, Sun couldn't win over Zhulan and had to take on the cooking job.
At noon, Zhou Laoer came back with four dogs. He went out on foot to buy the dogs and came back leading the dogs into the village. The four big dogs were particularly fierce. Everyone in Lijia Village knew that Zhulan's family had bought big dogs, so this time they dared not go near the house.
Zhulan's family was busy for three consecutive days before they finished working in the vegetable garden. The yard of Zhulan's house was full of radish berries. As for spinach, it was dried directly on the kang. The Zheng family had many houses, so the space was big enough for Zhulan to work this time.
In the following days, Zhou Lao Da and Zhou Lao Er took their wives to the mountain to collect firewood. The geographical location of Lijia Village is closer to the mountain than Zhoujia Village, and the forest here is very deep.
Zhou Lao Da and Zhou Lao Er did not dare to go deeper.
Time flies and it is November. This year's first snow came a little later than last year and was not as heavy as last year. There was only a layer of light snow, which was blown away by a gust of wind.
Xuemei brought her son and daughter home. The two children were the happiest to come. As soon as they entered the door, they couldn't stay still and followed Mingteng to play.
Zhulan asked, "Why did you come here on a snowy day?"
Xuemei said disdainfully: "Mom, it's not a snowy day today. It's just a light snow."
"Qingxue is also snow. Why did you come alone today? Why didn't Jiang Sheng come with you?"
Xuemei said, "Mother Jiang Sheng is sick, so Jiang Sheng went back home by himself. It's just right that he gave me a ride to the entrance of Lijia Village. If he's alright, he can come back to pick us up in the evening."
Zhulan understood that her son-in-law did not intend to take his wife and children back to suffer, and that he no longer trusted his parents.
Xuemei didn't see her sister-in-law. "Mom, where's my sister-in-law? And why isn't grandma here either?"
Zhulan said, "Your grandmother and Li's mother get along very well. After breakfast, she and Li will go back to Li's house and will be back at noon."
Xuemei envied her sister-in-law. This was her third time back home since her parents moved away. She envied her sister-in-law for being able to go back to her parents' home at any time. However, although she could not go home often, she could still eat meals cooked by her sister-in-law every day.
The reason is that the boys in the family are used to eating cakes for lunch. They are tired of eating cakes after two days. Why don’t they eat at her house? It’s very simple. They think her cooking is not delicious. The sister-in-law has spoiled the appetites of the boys. It’s only because her mother’s family is well-off. They can try other families. It’s good to have something to eat.
Finally, a compromise was adopted. The eldest sister-in-law prepared lunch for the schoolboys in the morning and brought it to their house to heat up at noon so that they could have a hot meal when they came back at noon.
The eldest sister-in-law always cooks more. Xuemei knows that it must be her mother's instructions. Their family cannot afford to have three meals a day like her mother's family, so her mother deliberately subsidizes her.
Thinking of this, Xuemei was moved by the difference between children with mothers and children without mothers. Xuemei was moved.
Boss Zhou came in and said, "Mom, Mr. Zheng's second grandson is back."