Chapter 160 Resentment

The first banquet was held at the clan leader's house, and in the following days there was a wave of entertaining guests in the clan. Although Zhou Shuren was of a higher generation and there were few people older than him alive in the clan, it was because Zhou Shuren was born late that people of the same generation were at least a dozen years older than him. Therefore, everyone older than Zhou Shuren invited him, and he couldn't refuse.

After going through all the details, Zhulan, who has a good memory, was confused. In ancient times, there was no family planning. A family would have at least four or five children, and sometimes seven or eight. They would live together for several generations without separating. There would be even more grandchildren. This was because there were more cases of infant death in ancient times. Otherwise, most people would survive.

Each family has quite a few children, so it is no big deal for Zhulan to visit their home for dinner and give a gift for the first meeting. But she has memory problems due to having so many children. In addition, some of the children look alike due to blood ties, so it is really a headache for Zhulan to remember the children.

Xuemei took the children back to her parents' home, Zhulan was making clothes, and Zhou Shuren was resting. They were really exhausted these days and currently didn't want to go anywhere and just wanted to stay at home.

Xuemei carried her daughter into the main house, but she didn't expect her father to be lying down. She thought he was studying and was a little worried, "Mom, is Dad feeling unwell?"

Zhu Lan looked at Zhou Shuren with envy. She also wanted to lie down, but she had been attending social events for half a month and couldn't eat. She went to eat directly at mealtime and basically went with Zhou Shuren. She was late for a lot of embroidery and was rushing to finish it. "Your father fell asleep."

Xuemei heaved a sigh of relief that she was not sick. "Mom, Jiang Shengxin and I have just moved here. We have discussed inviting Mom, Dad, and my brother and sister-in-law to come over for dinner. Do you think tomorrow is okay?"

Zhulan put down the needle in her hand and asked, "Have you moved in and packed everything?"

Xuemei and her husband received the signal from Zhulan, and they came the next day. They rented a house on the same day. It was still the same family that they had liked at the beginning. The house had been vacant because they didn't want to rent it to someone with a different surname. Xuemei's surname was also Zhou, and with Zhou Shuren's relationship, she was able to rent the house smoothly, for fifty cents a month.

The house is on the street in front of Zhulan's home. Because the population is simple, the house has only five rooms. It is expensive at fifty cents a head after a while, so no one in the clan rents it. However, the yard is large and has three acres of land. The value lies in the yard.

Xuemei and her husband didn't care about the rent. Their purpose was to move here, so they rented a house quickly and paid for one year in one go.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren were busy but couldn't help, so Xuemei and her husband moved in and relied on the eldest and second oldest sons for help.

Xuemei, "I finished it the day before yesterday, but my parents were busy and didn't come to tell my mother. I turned the soil in the garden these few days, and my eldest and second brothers even helped me pick up a cartload of firewood."

Zhu Lan asked, "No one from the Jiang family came?"

She had always wanted to ask, but the girl knew that she and Zhou Shuren were busy and never came over, so she had no chance to ask.

Xuemei pouted, "My father-in-law and mother-in-law wanted to come live with us, but my husband didn't agree. My parents-in-law got mad at us and didn't help us or come to visit us. My brother and sister-in-law didn't help us when they watched us, but they did help move things when we moved."

Ever since my parents-in-law found out that my husband went out to help at the county government every day, they no longer ignored them, and their son and daughter became their dearest treasures again. It's a pity that they were hurt so badly that they will not pretend that it never happened. They will do their best to show filial piety, but it is impossible for me to live with them.

Zhulan really didn't know this was possible. "Your parents-in-law must be so sorry."

Xuemei felt very proud, "It's a pity that I didn't regret it because it's too late to regret it."

Zhulan did not sympathize with the Jiang couple and said, "Let's have dinner tomorrow. I'll ask your eldest and second sisters-in-law to go over and help. By the way, have you prepared all the meat and vegetables?"

Xuemei was embarrassed. "Mom, my eldest and second sisters-in-law have been helping me a lot these days. I can cook by myself tomorrow. It won't be a big deal to prepare two tables of dishes."

It took Xuemei several days to accept the changes in her sisters-in-law after she saw her eldest and second sisters-in-law again. Her eldest sister-in-law was very good at handling things and was not at all flustered like before, doing everything at will. Now she was very calm.

The second sister-in-law has changed even more. Although she still doesn't know how to comb her hair or cover her face, she doesn't bend over or cry. Instead, she is more imposing than the eldest sister-in-law and seems to have everything under control.

The two sisters-in-law have really helped her a lot these days. She can't be so arrogant as to trouble them, as she is a married woman after all.

Zhulan really didn't think as much as Xuemei. Her starting point was herself. Li's cooking was delicious. Although the eldest daughter's cooking was not bad, she didn't want to try it. This was because she had been eating out for more than ten days and basically shared the same cooking skills with the eldest daughter. She estimated that the dishes would not change much. She was really about to vomit after eating for more than ten days. She thought, "Your father and I have been eating stews for more than ten days. Every time it's stewed chicken and meat. And it's too troublesome for you to cook by yourself. It would be better if you make something simple and light. It would save you effort."

Xuemei's mouth twitched. She was not stupid. She knew her cooking skills well. Her mother's words were just a crazy hint to her that the roasted chicken and stewed pig's trotters in the county taverns were all good. It was easy and convenient to buy them as the main dishes without having to cook them herself. "Mom, I've thought of a recipe. Can I tell you?"

Zhulan knew that the eldest daughter was smart and must have understood her hint, "Yes."

Xuemei, "....... roast chicken and braised pig's trotters from Deyi Restaurant, braised rabbit meat and braised pork intestines from Qijia Restaurant, tofu soup, scrambled eggs, and the staple food is mixed noodle steamed buns."

Zhulan didn't feel embarrassed at all, "Not bad."

Xuemei said with a wooden face, "Mom, I'll go back first and come back to get the table and chairs tomorrow morning."

"You don't have to come pick it up in person. We can just go over and bring it to you."

"good."

Zhou Shuren waited until the lady left and then burst out laughing, "Did you hear Xuemei's resentment?"

Zhulan, "My resentment is the deepest!"

When she and Zhou Shuren went to visit relatives, someone would serve her food at every meal. The dishes in more than a dozen restaurants were basically the same, and the meat in dishes like stewed pork with sauerkraut was always the fattiest. And because they valued her and Zhou Shuren, they would always enthusiastically serve her the fattiest meat. Even if she didn't want to eat it and felt sick, she would still eat it with a smile. Who said that they had no bad intentions and instead gave her the best food because they valued her.

Fortunately, she has encountered this more than once in modern social events. She doesn't like Japanese food, but the customers like it and it would be impolite not to eat a bite. She can still eat it with a smile, and even if she goes back and spits it out, no one will know that she doesn't like it.

This time I'm going to have dinner at my cousin's house. She's my elder and there's nothing wrong with her seeking some benefits for me!