CH 97

Two days passed in a blink of an eye. Xuehan and Zhang Rong Chuan were getting engaged, and the word spread throughout the village.

In two days, Zhulan created a menu for Li shi to prepare for the engagement. Many people would come for the engagement, including Zhulan’s natal family. Li shi’s natal family would also come, as well as several elders from the clan who they had visited. Calculating the number of people without children, they had to prepare for at least five tables.

The tables and chairs were all borrowed from the clan, and the benefits of reintegrating into the clan came. There were many people in the family who came forward to help. Before Zhulan could speak, the tables, chairs, plates, and bowls were delivered.

There were three tables in the living room of Zhulan’s house, one table in the bedroom where Zhulan lived, and one table in Li shi’s room.

In order to look serious and respectable, Zhulan bought half a pig, five hens, and five rabbits, and prepared eight dishes, including braised pork ribs, sauced meat, sauerkraut stewed bones, chicken stewed with mushrooms, braised rabbit meat, fat sausages, and sausages. At the last moment, Zhulan also cut a piece of ham to make soup, the staple food was mixed noodles and steamed buns.

Early in the morning, Li and the eldest daughter-in-law of the Patriarch’s family were busy cooking, and the second and third daughters-in-law of the Patriarch’s family helped them.

Zhulan had to entertain the female guests, as Zhao shi was only a few days away from confinement, so she couldn’t help.

The engagement had nothing to do with Xuehan because she was young. And Rong Chuan was essentially given to Zhulan’s family with no elders. After the Patriarch’s house came to the door early in the morning, Xuehan went to accompany Zhao shi.

Rong Chuan was going to meet guests, so he put on new clothes and stayed by Zhou Shuren’s side.

Zhulan chatted with the Patriarch’s wife in the bedroom, and Zhulan said enthusiastically: “I really want to thank my aunt today. Since my aunt helped, I’m not too busy!”

Zhao shi was in her confinement and she and Li shi was too busy handling everything.

Zhou Wang shi was very proud. She had successfully raised all eight of her children, with six sons. The daughters-in-law were diligent, and they are all very filial. “Wait a few years for Changlian and Changzhi to get married. Then you will have enough family members to help you.”

Zhulan thought to herself that relying on her two sons getting married to have help around the house might not be as efficient as hoping for Zhou Shuren to achieve official recognition and bring in a capable wife to handle the household chores. She replied, “Auntie, you are one of the most fortunate individuals in the village.”

Zhou Wang shi looked at the bedroom. No wonder Yang shi was envied by people. Look at the cabinets covered with unpatched fabrics. There was no idea what she was doing with the fabrics in the sewing basket. Thinking carefully, Yang shi never wore clothes with patches. Zhou Shuren as expected, loved his wife. She felt jealous, “You are the most blessed person in the village, and my aunt envies you.”

She had to endure her mother-in-law’s temperament for several years!

Zhulan, “…”

She shouldn’t have mentioned luck!

Fortunately, her natal family arrived, and Zhulan hurriedly went out to greet her mother. Zhulan helped Sun shi, “Mother, why did you and Dad come in person?”

She thought it was a cold day, so maybe only her two elder brothers with their wives and sons could come.

Sun shi was upset, “My wàisūnnǚ is getting engaged and I am not allowed to see it for myself?”

“Wasn’t I just worried about you and Father’s health?”

Sun shi didn’t give a face to Zhulan as she was truly annoyed with her. Although Rong Chuan was quite suitable, she was informed about this engagement at the last moment. Sun shi snorted, “My body is much better than yours, so you should think about your own body!”

The old lady was upset, and Zhulan quickly apologized, “Yes, yes, what Mother said is right.”

Zhulan helped her mother into the house, and hurriedly knelt down to give her slippers, “It’s hot on the kang, please warm up for a while, I’ll bring you some tea.”

Sun shi gave a grunt, but she didn’t let go of her anger anyway.

Zhulan soon came back with tea, and her mother was chatting with the Patriarch’s wife, which was quite lively.

Zhulan was chatting with her sisters-in-law, she served tea and felt a sense of guilt. After all, she wasn’t the original owner of the body, and both she and Zhou Shuren were used to being independent and handling things on their own. It was difficult for them to undergo a complete transformation, and sometimes they fell short. They could only slowly make up for their shortcomings. Zhulan had initially planned to personally return to her parent’s home after the arranged marriage to apologize, but she didn’t expect her mother and father to come in person on such a cold day.

Sun Shi felt quite comfortable being attended to, and the pent-up anger in her heart dissipated. She didn’t really have any major grievances or the desire to meddle in her wàisūnnǚ’s marriage. She just felt that her daughter didn’t share important matters with her anymore, which momentarily saddened her. After all, she cared deeply for her daughter and didn’t want her to overexert herself after recovering her health. “Alright, don’t bother yourself anymore. Just sit and rest,” she said.

Zhulan exhaled and said, “Mother is the one who loves me the most. “

Sun Shi’s heart warmed up. Her daughter was the closest person to her, even though she teased her by saying: “A grandma is still acting like a baby, are you not ashamed.”

“I may become a great-grandmother, but I’m still your daughter, and I’ll always be your daughter,” Zhulan replied with affection.

Sun shi smiled and poked her daughter’s forehead, “It makes people laugh.”

Zhou Wang shi was stunned. The rumors of Yang shi being favored by the Yang family were not false at all. Don’t see it, she will be jealous!

The Li family also came. Old Lady Li came in person, and then several other clan elders. Zhulan’s seniority suddenly went down, and there was no place to sit.

The token exchanged between Xuehan and Rong Chuan was a jade pendant. Zhou Shuren personally went to the county to buy it for ten taels of silver. The marriage letter was written by Patriarch Zhou. The two children exchanged the jade pendant in front of witnesses, and the marriage letter was handed over to Zhulan for safekeeping. And just like that, the engagement was over.

There’s nothing to be done about it. After all, Rong Chuan didn’t have any elders.

The members of the Zhang family are aware of the arranged marriage, but they also know how Rong Chuan was “compensated” to Zhulan’s family. Initially, there were speculations that Rong Chuan was just a hired worker, but later on, the rumors about him being a foster husband turned out to be true. The Zhang family felt ashamed for how Rong Chuan was mistreated within the clan, and no one stood up to support him. They also considered the situation that being a foster husband was disgraceful. As a result, the Zhang family chose to avoid any confrontation or direct involvement with the matter.

Zhulan heard from Zhou Wang shi that Zhang Datie and Zhu shi had been warned by Patriarch Zhang about not disturbing the engagement, so they didn’t come to make a fuss.

Zhulan knew in her heart that Patriarch Zhang didn’t think much about Rong Chuan, which is why he didn’t stop Zhu shi from secretly finding trouble with Rong Chuan. In the end, it was Zhou Shuren who reintegrated into the clan, and Zhang Datie and his wife were discarded.

After all the children surnamed Zhang had to study in the Zhou clan school!

These days were enough for the whole village to know how much Zhou Shuren was valued by the clan!

After eating, it was already afternoon, and Zhulan was so busy that she didn’t have time to talk to her eldest daughter Xuemei. Zhulan first sent off the Yang family who was on their way and then sent away several elders in the clan and the Li family. The Patriarch’s family helped to wash the dishes and tidy up before leaving.

Zhulan was really embarrassed, she planned to bring her two daughters and Li shi to clean up. The Patriarch’s family helped a lot, and Zhulan was not a stingy person. There was quite a good amount of leftovers from the feast, so Zhulan packed some for them. Two big bowls of vegetables and one or two teas were given to the Patriarch’s family.

Seeing off the people, Zhulan called the third son who wasn’t drunk, and the fourth son to return the tables and chairs, and Rong Chuan also went with them. Zhulan straightened her body, finally able to rest.

Xuemei hurriedly stepped forward to support her, “Mother, I’ll help you go back to rest, you’re exhausted today.”

T/N * The Chapter name was different in the MTL but I thought this was more suitable title.