At the Ran family, Ran Zheng smiled when he saw his son. He personally saw the prince off. When he returned to the house, he could still hear his wife crying.
The doctor was examining his son carefully. Ran was waiting tiredly. When he saw the doctor coming out, he hurried to greet him. "Master Ran needs to be carefully taken care of, especially his arm. Otherwise, the disease will develop."
The doctor's words of being careful also made his point clear. If the disease continued to develop in his right arm, his career as an official would be ruined.
After the doctor left, Ran Zheng sat for a while before he walked in with heavy steps to see his son. His son was lying on the bed and was awake.
Ran Lei heard the footsteps and turned his head carefully, "Dad, the prince said you retired, right?"
Ran Zheng sat on the bed and tucked in his son's blanket, "Yeah."
Ran Lei clenched his uninjured left hand into a fist, turned his head to hold back the tears, and said, "My son hates me."
If he had not hid in time last night, his right arm would have been disabled and he would not have been able to wait for treatment. His heart was filled with hatred, for himself, for his father, and for the entire Ran family.
He hated himself even more, "Dad, it's all because of your carelessness. You kept telling me to be careful, but I didn't listen. It's all my fault. I got you into trouble."
Ran Zheng held down his somewhat agitated son and said, "Listen, even without you, I will retire, it's just a matter of time."
There were tears in Ran Lei's eyes. He had never cried in prison. He covered his eyes with his left hand and tears flowed down the corners of his eyes.
Two days later, Xuemei's parents-in-law sent two baskets of crabs. Jiang Wangshi had her own things to do and was calmer. She explained, "There are farmers raising crabs near the fields we bought. Although it's not the Mid-Autumn Festival yet, I thought the crabs were good, so I bought some. I brought these two baskets for my mother-in-law to taste."
Zhulan looked at the tied crabs, which were indeed quite large. "Thank you, mother-in-law."
Jiang Wang was embarrassed. "We don't have much good stuff at home, but we ate a lot of good stuff from my in-laws. Please don't thank me, mother-in-law. We should be the ones thanking."
Zhulan feels that people are not static, and Jiang Wangshi is a representative example. Whether you want to live a good or bad life, your mentality determines everything. Jiang Wangshi has now experienced this very clearly.
Zhulan asked, "I heard from Xuemei that you dug a pond and planned to raise fish?"
Old Man Jiang has come to his in-laws' house many times, so he naturally talks a lot. He continued, "Yes, the land we bought is in a good location, with convenient water sources. There are people raising crabs nearby, so I want to raise some fish."
If he were in his hometown, he would definitely not raise fish. If farmers wanted to eat fish, they could just catch them in the river. There were not many restaurants in the county town, and the people there did not live a rich life. Moreover, during the slack season, too many farmers caught fish to supplement their family income. Raising fish did not make any money.
It was different in the capital, where many people raised fish. He thought he could raise some, but not too many. Even if no one bought them, he could eat them himself. His children all loved to eat fish. As for his in-laws, they raised fish in their own garden.
In the evening, the Zhou family ate crabs. The crabs were not at their fattest yet, but they tasted good.
Two baskets of crabs seemed like a lot, but that was for an ordinary family. The Zhou family had really many people, and if you counted carefully, each person could eat less than two.
It is conceivable how much Zhou Jiaguang spends on food every year.
After dinner, Zhou Shuren whispered to his wife, "Tomorrow is a day off, and Ran Zheng and his family will come over."
"What did I tell you today?"
"Well, after all, I helped. He wants to come and thank you in person."
Zhulan leaned back in her chair and fanned herself, "Today, the Fifth Prince's carriage flipped over and I don't know what happened to him."
When Zhou Shuren heard the news, he felt no emotion. He didn't care who did it. Zhang Yang was indeed too arrogant recently. "It's true that one wave just came after another. The summer is almost over, but it's getting more and more lively."
The place Zhulan and the others were talking about was under the big tree in the courtyard. It was a habit they had been using for many years, and the maids and the old women were also used to it. There was no one around, so Zhulan whispered, "The Princess of Chu has held a banquet and sent an invitation to our family."
Before entering the palace, Ran Zheng went to see Zhou Shuren. Everything that the capital should know was already known. The King of Chu must have hated Zhou Shuren for meddling in other people's business. This post was sent with ill intentions.
Zhou Shuren held the fan above his head and said, "Be careful."
"I'm not taking care of anyone else's child this time. I'm only taking care of Mrs. Song and Mrs. Shui."
Zhou Shuren sighed. Queen Liang, and now the King of Chu. If he wasn't afraid that he would turn to the Crown Prince and make suggestions to the Emperor, the two princes would not restrain themselves. It is certain that the King of Chu wants to teach them a lesson, but he can't catch him here, so he can only start with his wife.
Zhulan took the apple handed to her by her husband and said, "I heard you prepared a surprise for me?"
Zhou Shuren didn't respond, he knew he couldn't hide it, the whole house was under his wife's eyes, it was unrealistic for him to hide it.
Zhulan was still very much looking forward to it. Over the past six months, Zhou Shuren had given her many small surprises. If it wasn't a big surprise, she would not be satisfied.
The next day, the Ran family came very early. Because Ran Zheng brought his grandson with him, Mingyun and the others did not go to the academy today.
Zhu Lan pulled Ran Wan over. The little girl had really lost a lot of weight. "Let me take a good look. Oh, it makes me so sad. This girl is so skinny that she doesn't have much flesh left."
After that, Zhulan told Mrs. Song, "Ask the kitchen to make more dishes that Ran Wan likes."
Qi’s throat had gotten better because her son had returned home, so she hurriedly said, “Don’t do that.”
Zhu Lan pressed Qi's hand, "Listen to me today, you and Ran Wan both need to take good care of themselves."
Mrs. Qi aged a lot because of Ran Lei. It is difficult to recover once a person gets old. Mrs. Qi is not in good spirits. If it weren't for Ran Lei's recovery, Mrs. Qi would have fallen ill.
Qi was the one who felt the most uncomfortable. Her surname was Qi, and Ran Zheng retired probably because of Qi.
Zhulan signaled Yushuang to take Ran Wan out. After her granddaughters left, Zhulan said to Qi: "You are the backbone. You must take good care of you during these days."
Qi sighed, "I know that too. My daughter-in-law is sick and my son needs to recover. I can't fall down."
"It's all over, and everything is fine."
Qi smiled. Yes, the Ran family still has a future. "Thank you so much this time."
Zhulan: "You're welcome. This is what we should do."
Who can guarantee that their family will not fall into misfortune for a lifetime? Not even Zhulan and Zhou Shuren can guarantee it, so they have been preparing for a rainy day.
In the study, Zhou Shuren and Ran Zheng were drinking tea. The atmosphere was very good this time. Zhou Shuren said admiringly: "Your mentality is what I want to learn."
Ran Zheng raised his teacup and said, "I hope you will never learn my mentality. It's not a pleasant feeling."
He has walked step by step to where he is today, and he also wanted to climb higher. But now the road is blocked halfway, which is a very painful feeling.
Zhou Shuren said nothing. The more he showed, the more the emperor was wary of him. He was used now because he was needed. Once the crown prince took the throne, he estimated that he would be sidelined. He wanted to leave in a more decent way. He said that he would retire, but after being an official for so long, he needed to adjust his mentality when he really retired.