CH 82

Zhu Lan had eaten quite a variety of sausages, ranging from sweet, spicy, and garlic-flavored to pure meat and fatty meat. Now San Ya was not only selling them herself but also collaborating with others to produce more. Wang Ru warned others not to sell them, and people are listening to her now. But in the future, when the demand for sausages increase, they won’t be able to resist selling them.

Zhulan had a good idea, “I think the sausages are made of meat, you adjust the meat stuffing, try to make it according to your personal taste, Mother believes in your ability.” Maybe it will be better than Wang Ru’s cooking!

Li shi held her breath and stood up with her fists clenched, “Mother, don’t worry, I will definitely make better sausages, and I will also sell them.”

Zhao shi waited for her sǎozi (1) to leave, and said with a frown, “Mother, instead of saying that San Ya is targeting sǎozi, it’s more like she is using her as a pretext to openly target our family. What does San Ya mean by all this?

Zhulan looked at the second daughter-in-law with admiration. She knew that in times of crisis, one’s true character was revealed, and she was spot-on in protecting herself. However, she couldn’t speak the truth and said, “Who knows why. May be she is jealous of our family’s good life.”

Zhao Shi accepted this reason, aware that her thoughts had turned dark. She realized that delving further into it would only lead to a dead end. “Mother, it’s not our concern that Wang’s family lives next door,” she said.

Zhulan gave Zhao shi a reassuring look, “Zheng shi is not a vegetarian.”

Zhao shi smiled briskly, not thinking about Fourth Wang and his family anymore.

Before Li shi came back from buying the meat, the noise at the door next door was extraordinarily lively. Zhulan frowned and didn’t know what happened again, since Fourth Wang’s family lived next door, trouble hadn’t stopped for a single day.

After a while, Li shi ran in carrying the meat, “Mother, Sanya saved a nobleman, and the nobleman came to repay the favor. Not to mention the tall horses, but the cloth he gave is eye-catching, and there are many brocade boxes I don’t know what’s inside.”

Zhulan thought about it for a while, and she knew what was going on. There was no such plot in the novel. In the novel, Wang Ru was the head of the family and did not need the grace of saving his life to raise her family status. Now it is different, and Wang Ru urgently wanted to be the master of the family and the life-saving grace was too useful. But having paid back the life-saving grace with money, the Shu-born(2) businessman son will not look at Wang Ru highly.

Repaying the life-saving favor through a visit and gifts, now he was only going to prioritize future commercial interests. Wang Ru sacrificed a greater gain for a lesser one. Zhu Lan was quite pleased with the situation and said, “That’s good.”

Now she wasn’t afraid anymore that Wang Ru will be closely working with the shu-born son and take take advantage of it to stumble the Zhou family.

Li Shi was envious and more motivated to come up with the recipe. She tasted the sweetness of the kimchi recipe, thinking that she would buy all those things by herself when she has money, and she will also please her mother-in-law as well, “Mother, wait until I have money. I’ll buy some good things for Mother.”

Zhulan’s heart was slightly warm, she didn’t care what Li shi’s purpose was to please her. Whether it was out of habit or genuine, she appreciated the gesture, “Okay, Mother will wait for your gift.”

Li shi raised her chin to her younger siblings. See, she was still Mother’s favorite!

Zhao shi understood, she pursed her lips and had to admit that her sǎozi was stupid, but she was also so stupid that she was not annoying. Seeing that mother smiled from the heart, she couldn’t help but learn from her sǎozi, and said, “Mother, the head of the family bought a piece of light-colored fabric. I will make a dress for my mother, and it will be ready by tomorrow.”

Zhu Lan knew that Zhao Shi was observant and must have noticed her dislike for dark-colored clothes. She had wanted to change her wardrobe for a while but lacked a valid reason. The frustrating reality of being a rural woman in ancient times dictated that once they reached their twenties, they should only wear dark and somber colors, while only the elder generation could wear brighter hues. Zhu Lan felt a sense of melancholy, but she mustered up her resolve. “In that case, I won’t be polite with you, but let’s not make it a habit,” she said.

Li Shi counted with her fat fingers, since she was married, she really didn’t show respect to her mother. So she stared at her younger siblings with a guilty conscience and dared not stay in the house anymore.

In the afternoon, the bustle next door finally ended, but Zhulan didn’t expect Wang Ru to come to her door.

Wang Ru came to look for Xuehan. Xuehan’s arm was no longer hanging, but she still pretended that she didn’t have much strength. She pretended to doing work with her left hand. These days, Xuehan couldn’t go out. She was afraid that someone would find out that she was pretending, so she stayed in the house all the time. All she did was learn embroidery and practice calligraphy.

Xuehan didn’t expect Sanya, who she broke up with, to find her. Frowning at her, she asked, “Why are you here?”