CH 89

After breakfast, L shi’s butt could not sit still. Zhulan looked annoyed and didn’t wait for Li to clean up the table, so she brought out two catties of snacks and gave them to Li, “Boss, you two should leave quickly. Come back early.”

Li Shi was reluctant to part with the dim sum, “Mother, my father must have also bought these when he came back, so I don’t need the dim sum. I’ll just take some pickles.”

Zhulan twitched the corners of her mouth, Li Shi dared to take it, she didn’t dare to give it away. She handed it to Li shi, “Your natal family has a lot of family members, and we don’t know how much your father earned, or what he bought back. Take these two catties of snacks back and give the children sweet treats. Hurry up and stop talking nonsense.”

Li shi seeing that her mother-in-law’s face was getting dark, her fat fingers were hooked on the dessert rope. Thinking about the things her father-in-law brought back, “Mom, I will come back early, don’t be too tired, wait for me to share the things!”

Zhulan, “…..”

So, this was what was on her mind!

Zhulan and her daughter tidied up the table, and Rong Chuan stayed behind to help as well. In ancient times, children of seven years old were not allowed to sit at the same table as adults, but the children were mature for their age. Xuehan was also very intelligent, so even if Zhulan didn’t explain clearly, the little girl understood. Sometimes, Rong Chuan’s face would blush in embarrassment when she was around.

Zhulan was almost heartbroken when she saw it. It was distressing. The children in ancient times matured too early. After tidying up, Zhulan sent Rong Chuan away, and she felt much more relieved.

As a wife, Zhulan felt relieved that Zhou Shuren could return home without worrying about being intercepted or losing his life. She went inside and saw Zhou Shuren sleeping soundly and peacefully.

Next to the pillow was a purse that had been removed from the inner coat. Zhulan opened the purse. In the purse, the bank notes were wrapped with several layers of paper, then wrapped with coarse cloth, and finally thick oilcloth. There was a total of one thousand taels of silver notes. She also picked up the cotton sleeve Zhou Shuren was holding onto. He had already unwrapped it before going to sleep, revealing ten one-tael gold pieces.

On the surface, there were five taels of gold and some broken silver in the purse that he usually carried.

Finally, there was a small box. Inside the small box was a gift for her, a hairpin inlaid with gemstones. Zhulan pried open the bottom of the hairpin box, and there are five taels of gold in it.

Zhulan counted 1,200 taels of silver, and her eyes widened. She didn’t expect to have so much silver, not counting the money spent by Zhou Shuren. Zhulan clutched her heart, it was incomparable!

Touching the hairpin in her hand and smiling, Zhou Shuren went out and not only brought back money but also a gift for her. But unfortunately, it was too expensive to wear in the village.

The rest of the family dared not come to the main room, so Zhulan kept the money carefully and waited for Zhou Shuren to wake up and talk to her.

Then she was in a good mood and came back with a pot of hot water. She put it on the kang table so that Zhou Shuren could easily reach it when he woke up to moisten his throat. Finally, she brought another pot of water and put it on the ground. It was uncomfortable, but Zhulan didn’t go out until everything was arranged.

The four boxes were placed neatly in the hall. Zhulan called her daughter to help, but she didn’t dare to move the box containing the books, and left it for Zhou Shuren to disperse when he woke up.

After all, Xuehan was the little girl who touched the fan and didn’t let go, “Mother, these fans are so beautiful.”

The pavilions and buildings on the fan were so beautiful, and the embroidered flowers were just like the real ones. She yearned for the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan. However, she soon snapped back to reality.

Zhulan was satisfied with Xuehan’s performance. It was normal for a little girl to yearn for beautiful things. Xuehan can wake up so quickly, which showed that she had a really good heart. No wonder she was the heroine. “Your father brought back a lot of fans. Take whichever you like.”

Xuehan reluctantly put down the fan in her hand, with a smile on her lips, “Mom, I like everything so I can’t take it all, let’s share it!”

Zhulan patted the little girl’s head, it was good that the child was sensible and not greedy, “Altogether, there are fifteen fans in total. You three girls keep six fans at home, two for your eldest sister, two for your two jiùjiù’s (1) family, and the remaining five for your mother to gift. There are twenty handkerchiefs. You three girls in the family plus your two sǎozi (2) take two each, and I will keep two for your elder sister, and keep two each for the family of your two jiùjiùs, and the remaining four will be kept as a gift.”

Xuehan was not happy that she got so many. She was stunned, “Mom, what about you?”

Zhu Lan also had a desire for those beautiful things, but as an elderly woman in ancient times and coming from a farming family rather than a wealthy one, she couldn’t afford to keep them. Her heart was bleeding as she said, “These bright handkerchiefs are more suitable for your age. Mother is getting older.”

Xuehan did not know what her mother was talking about, and asked suspiciously, “Mother, who do you want to give away so many fans and handkerchiefs?”

Living in the village, Zhulan and her family didn’t have close relationships with their clan relatives. Zhulan was often the target of jealousy, and her father had little interaction with people from the village. Most of the time, they stayed at home. Besides the occasional visits from relatives, there were not many people in the family with whom they had a good relationship.