CH 90

Zhulan smiled, “In the future, I will have more contacts with clan members, so naturally I should prepare more presents.”

Xuehan was stunned, “Mother, when did Dad say that!”

Zhulan pointed to the things inside the box and said, “These things are telling me that your father has the intention to reconcile with our clan members. It’s hard to stand alone, as there are too few of us. Our clan is our root, and we cannot lose it.”

Zhulan didn’t expect her daughter to understand everything at once. There were many things that one had to figure out through their own experiences and exploration.

When she first came, she didn’t have a strong sense of the ancient clan, and Zhou Shuren was the same. She only wanted to rely on herself for many things, but after the patriarch helped to give them the ladder, they gradually understood and realized the importance of the clan. Even if the clan didn’t have capable individuals, their presence still commanded respect in the surrounding villages and communities.

The original husband inevitably had the pride of an educated person, combined with grievances from the previous generation and a lack of opportunities for reconciliation. This gradually led to a distance between him and the clan. Even though Zhulan and Zhou Shuren never explicitly discussed it, deep down they both desired to reconnect with the clan for the sake of Zhou Shuren and their children.

Zhou Shuren came back this time because he wanted to take advantage of the New Year’s ceremony to visit.

It took half an hour to divide the things, and she kept some fabrics for gifts and for her mother’s family. The remaining was divided by Zhulan according to the population to save trouble.

The four boxes were not made of good quality wood. Zhou Shuren didn’t want to appear wealthy, so he didn’t dare to buy expensive ones. However, they were still sturdy. Zhulan didn’t want to keep any of them. Rong Chuan should have one in his room since there was no box there. The eldest child should have one because they had more family members. Zhao Shi, who didn’t have a dowry box, should get one. The boxes inside the house were provided by the second child after marriage. As for the unpleasant smell inside the boxes, they would have to deal with it themselves.

Zhulan had been nesting in the winter and had not worked for a long time. After tidying up for a while, she felt sore all over. Just as she was about to send the fabrics and things distributed to the second son’s family, Li rushed in with a gust of wind, “Mom, you are too hardworking. I came back here to help you share it!”

Zhulan counted the distance to her in-laws, with a wooden face, Li Shi went to her mother’s house to get the money and rushed back. Pointing at the most piled ones speechlessly, “These are yours, you can take it back when you come back, the box each gets one, boss, you can move it back!”

Boss Zhou understood his wife very well but had never looked down on her. He accepted her for who she was. With a smile that didn’t bring any embarrassment in front of his mother, he said, “Mother, I wanted to discuss something with you. Tomorrow, we are planning to go to the town.”

Zhulan knew in her heart that Li shi probably had some money, and she wanted to surprise her elders, “Okay, I understand.”

Li shi was not in a hurry to move the things given to her family. Instead, she smiled, “Mother, I’ll send the things to my dìmèi first.”

Zhulan said, “…Go.”

This was because she was afraid that she will give Zhao more things and wanted to take a look at it while sending it over!

Boss Zhou blushed and lowered his head carrying the box and quickly left. He had no choice but to support his own wife. One side was his mother, and the other side was his wife. Experience told him, it was better to hurry up and slip away.

Zhulan looked at the Boss with blank face. She really didn’t see it, the Eldest had his own way of survival while maintaining the balance between his mother and wife.

Li shi happily went out with the fabric in her arms, and came back in a short while, with a big grin. Her mother-in-law was not partial, she had discussed with the head of the family to buy silver hairpins. She went back to the house, and she wanted to hide the money quickly because it was not safe to put it outside.

At noon, Zhou Shuren woke up feeling hungry. Zhulan asked Li Shi to cook chicken soup with added ginseng roots specifically for Zhou Shuren. She also personally kneaded dough to make hand-pulled noodles for him.

After lunch, the two sons who were studying looked at their father eagerly. They were thinking about the books, ink, paper, and inkstone all morning, but they didn’t dare to go to the main room, and they didn’t read much all morning.