CH 103

From the original’s memory, Zhulan found that she rarely had conversations with her nǚxù1. But today, Jiang Sheng paid his respects and exchanged a few words over a bowl of noodles. This was their second conversation. In terms of appearance and stature, Zhulan was satisfied with her eldest nǚxù. Her eyes were sharp, and she noticed how skilled Jiang Sheng was in changing the child’s clothes just now. He was considerate as a parent, and her gratitude was genuine. Zhulan smiled and said, “No need to be polite. A nǚxù is also a half a son; so Xuemei’s house is also your house.”

Jiang Sheng felt that the better his in-law was to him, the more he couldn’t stand straight in front of them. He spent his wife’s dowry for becoming a scholar and now lived in the in-law’s family for the sake of the children. But there was no other way because his parents had abandoned him. The only thing he can rely on now was his in-law family, and he was very grateful that they loved their daughter very much and were willing to help him. So all he could do was tell himself over and over again that he must live up to his wife’s expectations and earn back a face for her2.

Zhulan saw that the daughter had settled down the children, and said in a low voice: “The children won’t wake up for a while, so go eat first, and I have something to talk to you two after dinner.”

Xuemei and her husband exchanged a glance, knowing that the conversation was about to turn toward Jiang’s family matters.

Dinner was leftover meat dishes from lunch, and staple food was freshly steamed mixed-grain noodles and a pot of millet porridge. Zhulan had prepared the porridge specifically for her grandchildren, as they were not having a full meal, so their stomach was weak. She wanted them to be nourished with millet porridge first.

After the meal, Li Shi and Xuemei cleaned up the dishes and utensils. The others who were studying went back to their respective rooms. The eldest and second also retired to their own rooms. Zhulan checked on the two children. They had woken up early in the morning and had been worried for most of the day, so they could now sleep peacefully for a while longer. Zhulan returned to the main room and waited for Xuemei to join her.

Zhou Shuren was sitting on the kang, and Jiang Sheng was standing on the ground. He didn’t say anything about the Jiang family, instead, he was testing Jiang Sheng’s skills.

Sweat dripped from Jiang Sheng’s forehead. His father-in-law would test him in the past, but he would not put such a lot of pressure on him. Today, the difficulty level had not only increased but also seemed to be a skipping test, making him nervous and afraid of saying the wrong things.

Zhou Shuren’s eyes were satisfied. Jiang Sheng was indeed talented and had a solid foundation. The daughter’s words were not watered down. If Jiang Sheng hadn’t been under a lot of pressure due to the Jiang family’s troubles, he would have passed the exam this year.

Xuemei tidied up the kitchen and looked at the children before coming.

Zhulan signaled her daughter to sit beside her, and said to Zhou Shuren, “Let’s talk about the business first.”

Zhou Shuren motioned for Jiang Sheng to sit down too, and then he explained what he had said in Jiang’s house and the matter of the separation of the family. After the two accepted it, Zhou Shuren continued: “The conflicts in the Jiang family cannot be resolved. It is better to cut the mess quickly. The separation should be done quickly.”

“Almost everything has been paid back, the fundamental conflict is gone, and there is no need to live with family fights. You can live your life well in the future, and Jiang Sheng can study with peace of mind if there is no bad thing.”

Since there was no land allocated to them, Xuemei didn’t need to work in the fields anymore. The daughters-in-law of the Zhou family no longer worked in the fields, and it was even more important for their own daughter not to exert herself. Women needed to take good care of themselves.

Zhulan answered: “That’s all we can help, and how we live in the future depends on you two.”

No matter whether it was in ancient times or modern times, it was not good for the in-law family to intervene too much. It was true that they need their help, but it would be wrong to intervene for a long time. This speed must be controlled well, and they must first explain it clearly, so as not to rely on them for everything.

Jiang Sheng knew that his father-in-law and mother-in-law would definitely make trouble when they went to Jiang’s house. He was not a pedantic student, and this year made him see it more clearly. His dasao made trouble with his parents. He endured it for the sake of his parents, but as the forbearance intensified, his parents’ indifference made him feel cold, but he didn’t want to separate the family, and he spent most of his time working. If it wasn’t for his wife’s encouragement, he would have given up.

Now his parents-in-law stood up for him and settled the matter, so he won’t have to be manipulated in the future. Tears welled up in Jiang Sheng’s eyes as he said, “Father, Mother, I’ve caused you trouble. Your son-in-law is incompetent.”

Zhu Lan was taken aback by the words of Jiang Sheng and forgot what she was about to say.

Xuemei shed tears and was happy, she won’t have to suffer in the future, and her father even found a profitable job, it’s great, it’s great.

Zhou Shuren stared at Jiang Sheng with sharp eyes, “You are my son-in-law, I should think about you, and make sure you both live a good life in the future!”

Jiang Sheng was stunned, realizing that his father-in-law was chastising him and reminding him that they here helping him due to Xuemei. He understood that he has to always cherish his wife and he wasn’t resentful of the chastisement. “I understand, and in the future, I will do my best to live up to your expectations,” he said.

Zhulan thought of the stories of scholars achieving success and wealth and forgetting about the wife who helped them. Now, Jiang Sheng was grateful because he was getting help from them, but who knew what the future held? She had little faith in vows.

Zhou Shuren also didn’t pay much attention to the conversation. He believed in observing people’s true colors over time. If Jiang Sheng failed to live up to his daughter’s expectations, he wouldn’t hesitate to take action. “Alright, now that you both have a clear understanding, you can stay here at ease. Tomorrow, I will retrieve the writing materials from the family, and Jiang Sheng can resume his studies. Your mother and I are tired after a long day. You should go back and look after the children!”

Seeing that her parents were tired, Xuemei said, “Father and mother, we are going back.”

Zhulan nodded, “By the way, don’t feed the child too much at night, it will make their stomach uncomfortable.”

Xuemei, “Yes.”

Zhulan waited for her daughter and son-in-law to go out and put a quilt on the kang. She was exhausted today, so hurriedly took off her clothes and got into bed, and when Zhou Shuren changed clothes and lay down, Zhulan fell asleep.

Zhou Shuren looked sideways at the distance between the two under the quilt and was very satisfied. The distance between the two has changed from one person to the next, and he went to sleep contentedly.

Xuemei and her husband went back and the children didn’t wake up.

Jiang Sheng was grateful to his father-in-law for giving him the job of copying books and thanked his father-in-law for being considerate of them, but he was worried, “Father-in-law took care of us, but copying books is a well-paying job. I don’t know if your elder brothers or younger brothers could mind about it.”

If Xuemei didn’t know about the family situation from her dàsǎo in the afternoon, she would feel uneasy. Just because she knew, she understood that her brothers would not stare at the money for copying books. Her dàsǎo3 had a very superficial knowledge about the real strength of the family; and even if their parents didn’t tell it explicitly, the siblings knew it in their hearts. So Xuemei said with confidence: “No.”

Jiang Sheng was surprised by his wife’s affirmation. But when he thought of the jade pendant for engagement and the jewelry given by his mother-in-law to his daughter, he could only keep silent. It appeared that from the very beginning, his parents had not been fully informed, and the Zhou family had a strong foundation.

The two children also woke up, and Jiang Sheng and Xuemei’s attention was totally on the children. Xuemei went to the kitchen to get the warm porridge, which contained diced sausages, that Mother specially asked Liu Shi to prepare.