CH 131

Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, two days went by. The grains that the Li Shi had planned were sufficient, but the vegetables were gone. She even noticed that her mother-in-law, who used to enjoy pickled vegetables and spicy cabbage, wasn’t touching them anymore and that touched a nerve. She was truly worried that her mother-in-law might lose weight. Because of this, she was afraid that the meat in her hands would run out, and even the eggs were gone. There were still two meals left for the day, but there were no vegetables left. What should she do now?

Li Shi pulled the hand of her husband, “You, the head of the family, think of a way. Punishing me is a trivial matter, but if Mother loses weight and Father is unhappy when he comes back, it will be a big deal.”

Boss Zhou didn’t want to take care of it at first. But now he had to take care of it because Father won’t talk to Li Shi face to face when he comes back, but he will educate him!

Li Shi saw that the stepping foot of the head of the family retracted again, her small eyes lit up, and she realized something, and suddenly she didn’t panic and sat on the kang very steadily.

Boss Zhou turned around and looked at his wife carefully as if something was different. But he didn’t think much about it, and came up with an idea, “Why don’t you buy tofu and add vegetables to eat, and then buy some soybeans and grow some bean sprouts for a change.”

Li Shi’s eyes lit up. A piece of tofu costs three wens, and she can buy two pieces for six wens. A pound of beans costs five wen, and with a pound of soybeans, she can grow a basin full of bean sprouts. “Alright, I’ll go buy them right now.”

Seeing Li rush off with the money pouch, Boss Zhou didn’t get a chance to say the rest of his words. If he added money, Li’s assessment would fail within three days. He thought to himself that if Mother doesn’t lose weight, Father won’t come looking for him, and if his wife faces consequences, she would just have to face them. It was a good opportunity for her to learn a lesson and not stubbornly stick to eating pickled vegetables for two days in a row. With plenty of remaining food, the outcome would not be good for anyone’s appetite in the family!

At noon, Zhulan saw spicy tofu and sauced tofu. Li Shi smiled flatteringly, “Mother, do you think it suits your taste?”

If Zhulan hadn’t wanted to train Li Shi, she would have been tempted to make a fuss a long time ago. She glanced at the boss who was paying attention here, and he probably came up with this idea. “Yes.”

During the meal, Zhulan ate a lot, and Li Shi was relieved.

After the meal, when Li Shi finished cleaning up, Zhulan called her to come to her room, “I gave you three days’ worth of food, and you have no calculations at all. How do you think I should punish you?”

Li Shi clenched her hands tightly, her fat hand had pinched marks, and she had a good attitude of admitting her mistake, “Mother, I will accept any punishment you give.”

Zhulan had been pondering about the punishment. “I’ll punish you by making you write a menu. From now on, I’ll provide you with a day’s worth of ingredients and food. You need to write down what the main courses are for each of the three meals and what the side dishes are. Show it to me once you’ve written it, and if I agree, you can proceed. This starts tomorrow. Alright, you can go back now!”

This way, you won’t end up deceiving yourself! L

i Shi’s mind went blank, she didn’t know many words, what should she do? She didn’t dare to ask for a different punishment. Woo, she felt that her mother-in-law was much more terrifying than her father-in-law!

Boss Zhou waited for Li Shi to come back and hear about the punishment. After hearing the punishment, he was in a bad mood. What is it called? Li Shi didn’t know many words at first, but she was forced to recognize them these days. If they start writing from tomorrow, Li Shi didn’t know many words. Doesn’t he have to teach her words? This was punishing Li Shi and also punishing him by the way, because he helped Li Shi!

If Zhulan knew what Boss Zhou was thinking, she could have snorted and said, that was really the case. By giving gave an idea, wasn’t he hampering Li Shi’s training? Won’t she then just turn to find the boss when she encounters difficulties? This was not good, this time she wanted to see if the boss dares to come up with an idea!

Seeing the gray face of the head of the family, Li Shi said, “What’s wrong with you, the head of the family?”

Boss Zhou explained the deep meaning of the punishment, and concluded: “Mother is not only punishing you, but also warning me!”

Li Shi wanted to cry even more, okay? It was easy to be smart and know that the head of the family was afraid of his father. She hoped that the head of the house will help more in private in the future. But Mother-in-law just cut off her path directly. Mother-in-law was so scary!

The next day, Zhulan received the menu that Li had sent over. It was written on the back of used paper from Mingyun. The handwriting was barely readable, but Zhulan managed to guess and figure out the day’s meals. She realized that Li hadn’t made it overly difficult and agreed without much hesitation.

Only then did Li Shi feel that she had come back to life, and happily went to cook.

During breakfast, Ming Teng leaned next to Zhulan, “Grandma, are parents going to study at clan school too?”

Zhulan asked, “Why do you ask that?”

Ming Teng blinked his eyes wide, “Because my parents were studying hard yesterday when I fell asleep. Yes, they’re all learning to read.”

Zhulan smiled, “So Ming Teng also has to learn from your parents. Studying is not easy and you have to work hard.”

Ming Teng nodded, “I will definitely work hard.”

Parents were obviously forced, okay? Mingyun was a little worried, his younger brother was not as smart as him, so he needed to teach him more in the future!

Ming Teng’s back felt cold, and he looked back at his brother, feeling the danger intuitively, and smiled flatteringly.

Mingyun pinched his younger brother’s chubby face. This boy’s figure had a tendency to develop like their mother, and he needs to add exercise!

Zhou Shuren was not at home, the excitement of the Zhou family was all on the Eldest couple, and the days were very lively.

In the county, Zhou Shuren had finally finished his exams and was waiting for the results to be posted the next day so he could go home. These five days had been extremely cold for him, especially as his hands had become frostbitten. He had applied some ointment, which helped alleviate the discomfort somewhat.

In the early morning of the next day, Boss Zhou Boss and Second Zhou drove the ox cart to the county. The cow at home gave birth to a calf and was able to drive the cart. After Zhulan saw her two sons off, she couldn’t stop worrying. Her concern wasn’t about how well the exams went, but rather about Zhou Shuren’s health. She had no idea if his body could withstand the five days he spent in the cold. Even though Boss Zhou had gone to the county and seen Zhou Shuren doing fine, she still feared that he might not share any bad news.

Zhou Shuren didn’t arrive home until the afternoon, and Zhulan didn’t ask about his grades, she just looked at Zhou Shuren carefully, “You’ve lost weight.”

Zhou Shuren also looked at Zhulan, “You’ve lost weight too.”

Hearing this, Li Shi felt a shiver down her spine. Her father-in-law’s words were against her true feelings. Her mother-in-law clearly hadn’t lost weight.

Boss Zhou had a strong desire to survive, so he hurriedly answered, “Mother lost weight because she missed my father.”

Zhou Shuren was happy when he heard that, and snorted, “That’s because you, the boss, didn’t take good care of your mother.”

Boss Zhou, “….. ”

Dad, if you keep saying this, I won’t act as the eldest anymore!

Second Zhou looked at his eldest brother sympathetically and was glad again that he was not the Eldest.

Zhulan twitched the corners of her mouth, and pulled Zhou Shuren into the room, “I’m not thin, so tell me, how are your grades?”