Chapter 2347 Experience
He glanced at Bai Shan in the window and whispered to his daughter, "You are silly. Not to mention families like theirs, even in our family, a wife has to take care of the housework, respect her parents-in-law, and work in the fields. Of course, the Bai family has no shortage of people working in the fields, nor is it short of money, so you don't have to work in the fields, but you still have to take care of the housework, right?"
"You're an official out there, busy as hell right now. How can you find time to take care of household chores?" Old Zhou whispered, "But your grandmother-in-law and mother-in-law are still here. We live together now, and all household affairs are under the control of Old Madam Liu. After you get married, as long as you still live here, you can leave all the affairs of the mansion to them."
"If you move out, and your grandmother-in-law and mother-in-law ask you to manage the household, will you do it or not? What if they bully you?"
Manbao said, "Madam Liu and Aunt Zheng won't bully me."
Old Zhou said, "That's not necessarily true. It's different before and after becoming a daughter-in-law."
Manbao was curious, "Why?"
Old Zhou tried to think, then shook his head, "I don't know either. Your grandma is just like that. Before your mother married me, she kept praising her as if she were a fairy. But as soon as your mother walked in, your grandma started to dislike her no matter how she looked at me."
Manbao tried hard to recall the little talk his uncles and aunts had said under the big banyan tree at the entrance of the village, and whispered, "Old Madam Liu and Aunt Zheng won't do that. They are good people."
Old Zhoutou, "Your grandmother is also a good person."
Manbao didn't believe it. Although her mother never said anything bad about her grandmother, the elders in the village did say a lot. So she asked curiously, "Dad, how did my grandmother praise my mother in the past?"
"They praised your mother a lot," Old Zhou said. "They said your mother was hardworking and capable, and that your family had many brothers and was amazing. Anyway, they praised her a lot."
"Look at you now. Don't Madam Liu and the others often praise you for being capable, hardworking, and smart?" Old Zhou whispered, "But when you get married, they might become like your grandmother again."
Manbao looked incredulous.
Old Zhou shook his head and said, "Why don't you listen to the old man? Your father has seen many people like this."
Manbao said: "My mother is also a mother-in-law, she won't do that."
Old Zhou glanced at her and said, "Girl, you are too naive. Who said your mother hasn't changed? Your mother has changed in the details. Take your sisters-in-law for example..."
"What are you talking about?"
Old Zhou immediately fell silent, his back tensing. He turned his head to look at the voice and saw Qian frowning at him and his daughter. He immediately stood up, patted his butt and said, "No, nothing."
Manbao said: "Mom, my dad said you wuwuwu..."
Old Zhou covered her mouth and pulled her up and pushed her into the house, "Don't you want to study with Bai Shan? Go study now."
Qian gave him a sidelong glance, nodded to Manbao and said, "Go study."
Then he frowned and looked at Old Zhou, "Aren't you going to the kitchen? Why don't you leave?"
Old Zhou went with her.
When they left the courtyard, Qian couldn't help but ask him, "What are you and Manbao talking about?"
"What's with all that nonsense?" Old Zhou said unconvincedly, "Isn't what I said the truth? You women look for the best before you marry your daughter-in-law, but after you marry her, you look for the worst. Aren't I just worried that our daughter will suffer in the future?"
Old Zhou's nose was a little stuffy. He sniffed and said, "Look at our Xier. How much suffering she went through in the past? Manbao can't bear that kind of injustice."
Qian: "...You're overthinking it. What kind of family is the Bai family? You've lived in the same village for so many years, and you don't know it?"
She said, "Don't say bad things about Bai Shan and the Bai family in front of Manbao. If it gets to the Bai family and people misunderstand, I'll make you pay."
Old Zhou stopped talking.
Bai Shan was also asking Man Bao, "What did Uncle Zhou talk to you about? Why did he talk for so long?"
Manbao sighed and said, "My father told me that people's hearts are treacherous. Some people in this world are two-faced and changeable."
Bai Shan: "...Uncle Zhou was deceived? Why did you suddenly have such a realization?"
Manbao waved his hand and said, "That was all when he was young. Have you written your confession yet?"
Bai Shan showed her, "Almost done."
Manbao read the whole thing and was satisfied. "Write quickly. I'll copy it when you're done."
Bai Shan: "...This is mine."
"Oh, I'm the chief officer. I can just submit a memorial. At most, I can sign it for you. There's no need for each of you to write one, right?"
Bai Shan thought about it and felt that it made sense. He looked at the memorial again and felt a little reluctant to continue writing. "Can you fill in the rest?"
"You've already written this far, why don't you just finish it for me," Manbao said, "so that I don't have to take over midway and the wording and sentence structure will be different."
Bai Shan looked at her for a while and had to continue writing.
After he finished the draft and revised it, Manbao took it over to copy it.
Bai Shan was tidying up his desk and said, "I'm going to visit Brother Tang tomorrow. What gift do you think we should prepare for Old Master Tang?"
"Local products from the Western Regions," Manbao said. "Give me a box of spices."
Bai Shan couldn't help but laugh, then said: "Okay, I wonder if Old Tang will accept it. After all, this thing is valuable and it might be considered bribery."
Manbao muttered quietly, "We went there to bribe people anyway."
Manbao and his men did go to bribe people. Lord Tang was in charge of the Censorate, and his attitude was very important. Even if he did not forbid his subordinates from impeaching them, as long as he did not speak or take action, Manbao and his men would have a lot of room to survive.
Old Lord Tang had no idea what they were thinking. He felt that the relationship between their two families was pretty good, so he thought it was just a normal New Year gift and accepted it without even opening it.
After all, they didn't just send a box of spices, there were also other New Year gifts prepared for them by Old Lady Liu and Mrs. Qian. The one that could be seen with the naked eye was two lamb legs, not to mention the pickles made by her sister-in-law that Manbao sent. There were six small jars full of various pickles. It was said that everyone in the Tang family loved to eat them, so Manbao specially asked her mother to prepare a little more.
Old Master Tang didn't notice it, but Master Tang did, because the gift given to him was in a separate small box, and he opened it directly.
Seeing the spices inside, Lord Tang was surprised. "Is this frankincense? It smells so good. Did you buy it in the Western Regions?"
In front of him, the few people had nothing to hide. Man Bao said complacently: "We seized it from the bandits' den."
Lord Tang was completely unaware of this and was extremely surprised. "You're still going to suppress the bandits? Just relying on General Nie's hundred men?"
Aren’t the horse thieves on the grassland very ferocious?
Was it so easy to be wiped out?
"No, it was the Liangzhou Governor who sent the troops, and we are here to assist." Man Bao asked, "Hasn't there been any military report sent to the capital?"
Lord Tang said, "I'm the magistrate of Chang'an County, not the Ministry of Personnel or the Ministry of Justice. How would I know this information? But my father should know. I can ask him later. Does suppressing bandits count as meritorious service?"
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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