Zhou Laoer had long gotten over the nervousness his father had asked him to go back to his hometown, and was only left with excitement. He slowly realized that since the whole family lived together, he would have no chance to show his ability even if he wanted to. Apart from helping to drive the cart, he could not help the family in any way.
Returning to his hometown, he can not only help look after the family's fields, but also let his father see his abilities. Based on his understanding of his father, his father's arrangement of them brothers is definitely a test!
After lunch in the afternoon, Zhulan asked Zhou Laoer to buy a lot of pork ribs. She instructed Laoer and Chang Lian to go to the pond to dig some lotus roots and stew lotus root and pork ribs soup in the evening.
Zhou Laoer and Chang Lian dug out a lot of lotus roots. The two of them had nothing to do, so after digging the lotus roots, they took the children fishing.
Zhulan divided a portion of the lotus roots she dug out and took out three pork ribs. She said to Li, who was washing the lotus roots, "We'll make lotus root and pork rib soup tonight. Take these back to your mother's house and let your mother have a taste."
This morning, Li's parents sent two large baskets of vegetables. The in-laws are so sincere.
Li grinned, "I'll send it over in a minute."
Lotus root is a good thing. My mother-in-law didn’t dig much to eat last year, so she has been thinking about it since she came back!
It was almost dark when Zhou Shuren came back. The family was waiting for him to come back for dinner. Mrs. Li prepared a big pot of lotus root and pork ribs soup. The children were so greedy that they ran to the door several times, waiting for their grandfather to come back for dinner!
Zhou Shuren came in, "Oh, pork rib soup, this is a good thing to nourish the body."
Zhulan looked at Mingteng eagerly and said, "We're waiting for you to come back for dinner!"
Zhou Shuren sat in the main seat. He was very hungry after running all day. He filled a bowl of pork rib soup for himself, took a sip and said, "Let's eat."
Zhulan took a sip and thought that Li’s cooking skills had improved and the food was better than last year.
Jiang Sheng drank the soup, and sighed in his heart again. His two boys were really good at choosing the day to be born, but it didn't matter whose family would be most comfortable to be born in!
My daughter-in-law is in confinement at my parents-in-law's house. She eats well and uses good things, so her milk supply is naturally good. The two little ones are so blessed.
If his father-in-law and mother-in-law didn't come back, he would be the only one to take care of his wife during the confinement period. His cooking is not very delicious, so he really won't be able to take good care of his wife during the confinement period!
After the meal, Zhulan looked at her daughter. She had drunk two large bowls of pork rib soup and eaten a bowl of rice porridge. This was multiple meals a day. Her daughter usually ate five meals a day.
Xuemei also felt that she had eaten a lot, her face flushed, "Mom, I don't know what's wrong, I'm just so hungry."
Zhulan was clearing the dishes. "You've lost a lot of strength after having two children. It's normal for you to eat more. I will definitely nourish you well when I'm home."
Xuemei felt even more embarrassed. She had chicken soup last night, pig's trotter soup at noon, and pork ribs at night. Her mother had to spend a lot of money to stay at her mother's house for confinement, and she was the only one who depended on her for her family of four. "Mom, it must have cost a lot of money to feed our family and nourish me!"
Zhulan, "Just rest and take care of yourself. This little money is nothing. It's not even enough to buy the fur I brought back for you!"
Speaking of the things she brought back for her eldest daughter, Zhulan really brought a lot.
Xuemei: “… … ..”
She was indeed thinking in vain. Her father was a juren, and as a girl, she had received many gifts because of his status, not to mention her father in Pingzhou.
Zhulan sat aside and told Xuemei what she brought: "When your father became a juren, many people came to give gifts, and I received a lot of skins. I kept all the good ones, and I divided up some of the skins that were not so good. I brought back a mink skin for you, and three more, one for each of your three sisters-in-law, but I didn't give them any."
She just wanted to see how worried Li was. Zhao had leather given by a wealthy family, so she made a cloak. Dong had enough of it, but Li was the only one who didn't have one. Well, she just wanted to tease Li.
Xuemei saw smiles in her mother's eyes and knew that her mother was teasing her sister-in-law again.
Zhu Lan continued, "I won't go into detail about the cotton and fabrics I bought for the child. I made a set of silver bracelets, silver locks, and silver collars for the child. I didn't expect you would have to make a set for him after giving birth to two children. I also gave Miu Miu a head flower and popular toys from Pingzhou City, and Jiang Du a pen, ink, paper, and inkstone."
What the Zhou family has the most now is pens, ink, paper and inkstone. They received quite a few gifts this time. As for the toys, they were all wood carvings with many small mechanisms. Zhulan played with them for a while after buying them, and was impressed by the wisdom of the ancients. Many of the mechanisms were very tricky. She couldn't help but take them apart, and then she couldn't put them back!
I brought it back now and bought it again.
Xuemei counted carefully in her mind and found that her mother brought back a lot of things for her!
Zhulan chatted with Xuemei for a while, then she pushed the door open and was startled. She stared at Li, "Why didn't you make a sound outside?"
Li looked at her mother-in-law with resentment, "Mom, I heard everything. You have already divided the skins."
Bamboo orchid, "... "
Amazing, Li actually eavesdropped.
Li saw that her mother-in-law's eyes were not right, and she reacted, "Mom, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. My sister-in-law was washing the dishes and waiting for you for a long time but she didn't bring the dishes back, so I came to check."
Unexpectedly, when she heard her mother say that the skins had been divided, she realized that her mother had been teasing her!
Zhulan knew that she had misunderstood Li, and that was right. Li did not dare to eavesdrop, "Take the bowl from here!"
Li: "... Mother."
Zhulan walked out, and saw Li's head drooping from the corner of her eye. She curled her lips and said, "I'll give it to you when I get back."
Li grinned, "I know that mother loves me."
Zhulan, “… … ..”
She seemed to have been fooled. Li had learned a lesson and even learned how to act pitiful. Well, it seemed that the fool at home had figured out her tricks. This was not good!
Zhulan returned to the room, and Zhou Shuren raised an eyebrow, "Are you in a good mood?"
Zhu Lan came closer to Zhou Shuren and said, "I'm telling you, I was tricked by Li."
Zhou Shuren put down the book in his hand and sat beside Zhulan, untying her hair and asked, "Are you happy?"
"I think it's interesting so I'm happy. Have you bought the land for the clan school today?"
Zhou Shuren untied Zhulan's hair and took the comb to comb her hair. "I bought it and the ownership has been transferred."
"Any news about the twenty acres of land our family wants to buy?"
"There is no land near Lijia Village, but there is one in Zhoujia Village. I am thinking of buying some and exchanging it with someone so that the 40 acres of land can be connected into one piece. What do you think?"
Zhulan had no objection, "It's good. It's easier to manage if they are connected into a piece."
Zhou Shuren added: "Next year, I want to entrust 40 acres of land in Zhoujia Village to the clan members in the form of helping them to cultivate it."
Zhu Lan knew that Zhou Shuren had already selected the people he would use in the future. "What about Jiang Sheng?"
"Help us harvest crops every year, and distribute seeds in the spring."
Zhulan heard this and asked, "We don't need Jiang Sheng to take care of the seedlings anymore?"
"Well, there are too many plots of land, and it would be too much trouble for Jiang Sheng to take care of them personally. It would be better to distribute the seeds at the beginning of the year. Each person would be responsible for as many plots of land as he could, and Xuemei and her husband would have less worries."
Zhu Lan said, "This is good. Jiang Sheng has two more children, so he doesn't have as much energy as before."