Zhulan and Zhou Shuren took a hot bath when they got home, then lay on the warm kang listening to the sound of rain outside and fell asleep comfortably.
Chang Lian and Dong drank the thick ginger soup. They really didn't expect that the ginger soup made by their mother was so unpalatable. The emotion they had finally felt was destroyed by their uneasiness. Their mother was angry. They had no idea that since their mother couldn't cook, she naturally couldn't make good ginger soup. After a simple wash, the two of them didn't dare to sleep and tossed and turned. They both knew that the matter was not over.
The next morning, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren returned home. The atmosphere in the Zhou family was different. The children got up early and made a lot of noise in the yard, while the adults were doing their own work.
When Zhulan woke up, breakfast was already ready. After washing up, the whole family was waiting for Zhulan and Zhou Shuren to have breakfast.
Breakfast consisted of shepherd's purse buns, millet porridge, and pickles made by Li. Zhulan and Zhou Shuren enjoyed the simple meal very much.
Except for Chang Lian and Mrs. Dong, everyone at the two tables enjoyed the food.
It was Zhou Shuren who punished the eldest and second sons. Only Chang Lian and Dong Shi stood outside the gate for a while without saying anything else. This was the most torturous thing.
Chang Lian saw that his father didn't even look at him and only talked to his eldest brother while eating. He held the chopsticks and couldn't swallow a single bite of the millet porridge in the bowl.
Mrs. Dong was so frightened that she couldn't eat. Her mother-in-law smiled a little towards her eldest sister-in-law. She either ignored her second sister-in-law and her or gave them a cold face, with her head down and her face pale.
After dinner, Zhou Shuren asked the eldest and second sons to do their own work, Rongchuan went to the academy and asked for leave for Mingyun, and Changlian stayed.
Zhulan asked Dong to clean the table herself and said to Li, "I saw you dried a lot of wild vegetables in the yard. Did you pick them outside the city?"
The Zhou family’s house is quite a distance away from the city, and it takes a lot of time to go back and forth to dig wild vegetables outside the city!
Li shook her head. "Mother, I bought these with money. The wild vegetables were sold very cheaply in the market. I wanted to pick them myself at first, but it was too far to go out of the city. I thought it would be better to buy them with money. A large basket of wild vegetables in the market only costs three cents."
Zhulan had no other intention but to ask, "Well, wild vegetables are not expensive, so buy more. When winter comes to Beijing, we can still have some green vegetables to eat. We can dry more this year."
Li was anxious, her mother was not at home, "Mom."
Zhulan interrupted Li and said with a smile, "Why are you in such a hurry? I'll give you a promise. I'll take you two with me, no one else."
Li grinned. Mother was going to take them to the capital. "Thank you, mother."
"It's getting late, let's go to the market to buy some vegetables. Make more delicious dishes today. Mother is thinking about your cooking skills!"
Li felt so confident, "Hey."
Li went out happily, she wanted to share the good news with the head of the family.
Chang Lian in the room, Zhao's face changed, Zhao's heart was in turmoil, mother is not going to take the second room? Her face turned pale, "Mother."
Zhulan said calmly: "Go to the kitchen and boil some more hot water."
Zhao was becoming more and more panicked, but she didn't dare to ask, "Yes."
In the end, she disappointed her mother-in-law. Her mother-in-law treated her well, as long as she was still the original Zhao. Since she came to Pingzhou and found her mother, she had more money in her hands and could even embroider screens. She had changed a lot. Her mother had been a slave, and she had an instinctive fear of officials. The more she talked about it with her mother-in-law, the more timid she became. But in the final analysis, she was just too thoughtful and thought too much.
Zhulan waited for Zhao to go out, glanced at Changlian who was standing obediently, then retracted her gaze and waited for Dong to come back.
In the front yard, Mrs. Li was as happy as a bee, "Boss, boss, mother said she will go to the capital in winter, and she will take us with her this time."
Zhou Lao Da and Zhou Lao Er were picking up horse manure at the gate when they were both stunned.
Boss Zhou quickly came back to his senses, "Really?"
Li nodded, "Really? Mother said it herself. Don't you believe her?"
Boss Zhou shook his head hurriedly. He didn't believe his father's words now but his mother's. His mother was the ruthless person in the family. He grinned and said, "That's great, but what about Mingyun?"
Li thought the eldest son was stupid, "Father and mother will definitely arrange it. When have we ever worried about Mingyun's affairs?"
Her son is the eldest grandson, and her father-in-law is going to take his son to ride horses today. Thinking of this, she seems to dislike the head of the family. The head of the family does not hold a more important position in her father-in-law's heart than Mingyun.
Boss Zhou: “… … ..”
Li has recovered, but she still hurts his heart at every turn. Don't think he didn't see the look of disgust!
Li happily left with the basket of vegetables, completely unaware of how much impact her words had on Zhou Laoer. Zhou Laoer realized that his mother's words not only expressed her satisfaction with his elder brother and his wife, but also expressed that his parents could take care of whomever they wanted and could send away whomever they wanted.
In the backyard, Dong cleaned the kitchen and returned to the main room. Since her parents-in-law left, Dong gradually stopped cleaning the kitchen. It was always her eldest and second sisters-in-law who did it. She even stopped helping to wash the vegetables.
I haven't cleaned up for a long time, so I was a little busy and slow.
Zhulan put down the teacup in her hand and said to Zhou Shuren, "People are here, you go first!"
Zhou Shuren looked at Chang Lian, "Since you feel that you have grown strong enough and that this family will rely on you in the future, I will give you a chance. There is no need to wait until the future. You two can separate and live your own lives. Let me see your ability and how strong your wings are. How about that?"
Chang Lian's legs were numb from standing, but he knelt very smoothly, "Dad, I was wrong."
Whatever he says now is wrong, so it would be better for him to just admit his mistake and not explain.
Zhou Shuren snorted, "I think you are right, but I overestimated you. I am not dead yet, and I am making this clear today. Even if I die, this family will not rely on you. Remember my words."
He had never expected Chang Lian to support the family, and he had always wanted Chang Lian to carry Chang Zhi on his back. There was nothing wrong with what he said.
Chang Lian was stunned. This was the first time he heard his father say this. He had always thought that his father trained him for the future of the Zhou family. Looking into his father's eyes, he knew that his father was telling the truth. Endless panic rose in his heart. His father really didn't plan to keep him anymore. "Dad, Dad."
Zhou Shuren snorted, "Shut up."
Chang Lian quickly shut his mouth. He wanted to ask his mother for help but he didn't dare to open his mouth. It was his mother who locked the door yesterday.
Zhulan cleared her throat. "As for our family assets, the old house is not worth much. We have 80 acres of land in our hometown and a house in Pingzhou. As for the shop, I was asked to sell it when I moved to Pingzhou. This time I went to the capital and bought three more houses, two courtyards with good locations, and one with two courtyards in the south city. Your father and I are not going to share the old house with any of you. We have 80 acres of land, and each of you four brothers will have 20 acres. Your father and I don't want it, so we will give you 20 acres of land, the house in Pingzhou, and the courtyard in the capital."
As for the money in my hand, I'm sorry, Zhulan has no intention of sharing it.
Chang Lian shuddered. This really meant that the family was going to be divided. "Dad, Mom, I won't divide the family. I was wrong. I was really wrong. Dad, Mom, please don't abandon your son."
Mrs. Dong was completely dumbfounded. Did her parents-in-law really want to divide the family? She shuddered. They couldn't divide the family. It wasn't about the family property. She had been married into the Zhou family for less than a year and wanted to divide the family. Her reputation was not good. Her parents didn't want to divide anyone, but they wanted to divide their family. Didn't that mean that their family was wrong
Mrs. Dong bit her lip. Her husband didn't want to divide the family. He might blame her in the future. "Mother, it's all my fault. I didn't respect my sister-in-law. I was wrong. Mother, you can punish me however you want, but don't separate us."