CH 69

Zhou’s small classroom started, and Zhulan figured it out. Rong Chuan had no foundation, Li Shi and Zhao Shi were pretty much the same. They could do simple mental calculations of less than fifty, but they needed to ask for help with copper coins for more than a hundred.

The daughter and the eldest grandson have the best foundations, and because Zhou Shuren taught for a few days, there was no problem within a hundred.

By the time the courtyard wall was built, the ranking had changed. Rong Chuan was really smart. No wonder Zhou Shuren valued ​​hands-on teaching. This child understood everything fast and could draw inferences. Simple addition and subtraction were not enough. He can already do the ancient math problems that Zhulan gave him.

The second place was unexpected, Zhulan didn’t expect it to be Li shi. Li shi was slow in learning to read and write, but on the contrary, she was good at mathematics. Whereas Zhao shi who was good at reading and writing, was a mess at math.

Li shi was high on the clouds, and proudly said, “Mom, I’ll stop for two days to wait for the progress of my Dimei (1), and then I’ll finish my studies?”

It had been four days, and she wanted to go out for a walk, and the days without gossip were painful!

Zhulan’s face was somber, she was used to Li shi being angry with Zhao shi. These few days, she made Zhao shi cry several times. She waved her hand tiredly, let her go quickly, let her rest for two days, “Don’t forget to come back to cook at mealtime.”

Zhulan provided tips based on the dishes she had eaten in modern times. Li shi’s cooking skills skyrocketed, and now all cooking at home was done by her.

Li shi grinned, “Mother, I will never forget.”

Li shi ran away happily, afraid that her mother-in-law would regret it!

Zhao shi took two deep breaths, she was actually no match for her dàsǎo. With tears in her eyes, she couldn’t help but shrug her shoulders and cried, “Mom, am I so stupid, I can’t even compare with dàsǎo.”(2)

How could she lose to that idiot? It was a blow to her confidence in life. How could she be dumber than that idiot? She couldn’t accept the reality!

Zhulan secretly scolded Li shi, she was also in pain, why did it become her job to coax people? She also had some grievances towards Zhao shi, and said dryly, “Everyone has something they are good at. On the other hand, I think she can’t read as well as you.”

Zhao shi still couldn’t accept it. She shouldn’t be so bad at counting, and she worried that her children would inherit this from her, “Mother, I’m sorry for the Zhou family.”

Zhulan, “…”

She really can’t keep up with Zhao’s brain circuit, what does this have to do with the Zhou family!

“Ah!” The sound startled led Zhulan, and even Zhao shi forgot to cry!

Zhulan listened carefully to the sounds in the backyard. She didn’t want to hear Zhao shi crying, so she hurried out to watch. When she got to the backyard and looked at the high courtyard wall, she couldn’t watch the live broadcast, so she could only listen to it.

Wang Zhang shi’s voice was too recognizable, and she was scolding Fourth Wang angrily, “Hey, you’re a murderer…”

Zhulan twitched the corners of her mouth, and Wang Zhang shi scolded for a minute without repeating it. She also understood the reason behind it. Wang Ru had not only sold one recipe but several of them. There were several shops in the county selling Kimchi, and the shop owners had their own ways of keeping costs low. The Wang family, on the other hand, was different. The cabbage they bought was at a high price, along with other costs, which made their product more expensive than what was sold in the shops. Wang Zhang shi suffered heavy losses.

In addition to Fourth Wang, the Wang family had four sons and a grandson who was already married. They are full of manpower and greedy to make a yard of kimchi, thinking that they were going to make a lot of money. Wang Zhang shi had never suffered such a big loss from her own family members before, and she was completely angry!

Zhulan strained her ears to listen and heard the cries of Sun shi, the shouts of Wang Ru, the screams of Fourth Wang being beaten, and the sounds of things being broken and smashed.

In the end, Wang Ru went too far. Despite knowing Wang Zhang shi’s personality, she left no room for compromise. This time, she pushed Wang Zhang shi to the limit.

Zhulan didn’t listen to gossip but also heard a lot of news. After counting Wang Zhang’s investment of ten taels of silver, and Wang Zhang’s successive marriages of grandchildren, the little ten taels was almost all the money she had.

Zhulan wanted to hear it, but there were too many people watching the excitement, so she couldn’t hear clearly. She knew everything she needed to know, her legs and heels were numb, and she went back to the front yard.

Xuehan asked with concern, “Mom, what’s wrong with the backyard?”

Zhulan didn’t hide anything about Fourth Wang’s family, and she explained the truth as easily as she could, “When facing an enemy, assess your own abilities first. If you have the capability, eliminate them completely. If your abilities are insufficient, bide your time and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike. Whatever you do, don’t follow the footsteps of Fourth Wang’s family, causing harm to others but ultimately harming yourself.”

Second Zhou heard this when he came in, and nodded repeatedly, as expected of his mother, he thought the same.

At lunchtime, Li shi came back. Zhulan didn’t wait for Li shi to open her mouth and asked directly, “How did they solve the matter with Wang’s family?”

Li shi was surprised, “How did Mother know that; Mother didn’t go out?”

Zhulan said, “… The family of Fourth Wang is staying at the back of our house.”

Li shi patted her head, “Look, I forgot.”

Zhulan noticed that the front street was also chaotic and curious, “How did they solve it?”

Li shi will not come back satisfied until the whole problem has been resolved.

Li shi spoke excitedly, “Fourth Wang bought all the kimchi, and spent twenty taels of silver. Mother, Fourth Wang is really rich, and once he makes a move, he will pay twenty taels of silver. I don’t think Wang Zhang will let it go. Mother, how much money do you think Fourth Wang has? Where did he get so much money?”

Zhulan didn’t explain the money, and Li shi didn’t know about the selling of recipes. “Okay, you go and cook now!”

Li shi thought that her mother-in-law didn’t know, so she went to make lunch happily. It was exhausting to stand and watch the excitement, and she was already hungry.

Zhu Lan was in a good mood, realizing that harming others only brought harm to oneself. Wang Ru ended up shooting herself in the foot. Not only did she fail to seek revenge on the Wang family, but she also revealed the silver money. Giving away twenty taels so readily created the impression that Fourth Wang was wealthy, and not only the Wang family but the whole village would think the same. Fourth Wang’s family could no longer expect to remain undisturbed.

T/N I added part of the next chapter to this chapter because then only the title of the chapter made any sense. The next chapter will be little short.