Chapter 182: Be Braver

Li paid special attention to what happened in the morning. She would hang around the door from time to time. When she saw Zhang Datie and the Zhu couple enter Wang Ru's yard, she began to eavesdrop by lying against the wall of her house.

Zhulan was basking in the sun, and with her peripheral vision she watched Li eavesdropping with her butt sticking out. Her already round figure looked even rounder from behind, which was a bit too spicy to look at.

Xue Han saw her mother sometimes looking disgusted, and sometimes suppressing a smile. She found that the sister-in-law who she used to dislike was becoming more and more lovable.

Zhao smiled secretly and continued to sew handkerchiefs with her head down. Even though the family was wealthy, that was her parents' money and had not yet been distributed to the various branches. Although her mother would give her and her eldest sister-in-law some pocket money from time to time, she still could not compare with her eldest sister-in-law who had money in her hands. She would sew handkerchiefs whenever she had nothing to do, because she could learn from the patterns of the handkerchiefs her father-in-law brought back from Jiangnan. Now one of her handkerchiefs was worth twenty cents!

Even though she had to take care of the children during the past six months, she was still able to sew five handkerchiefs a month, earning a hundred coins a month, a considerable sum of money.

While threading the thread, Zhao looked up and watched her elder sister-in-law tiptoeing and eavesdropping. She was actually a little envious of her elder sister-in-law. Look at how comfortable she is living. Her elder sister-in-law still has the recipe she created in her hand. As long as her father-in-law becomes a groom, the recipe in her sister-in-law's hand can be exchanged for money. She never thought that one day she would envy her elder sister-in-law!

Zhulan leaned against a specially made chair with a fan on her head. The sun was shining brightly today and it was just after lunch, so she felt drowsy. She no longer envied those who were reincarnated as ladies. It was still better to be at the top of the food chain. Life was so comfortable!

"Mother, mother!"

Zhulan, "......."

Just when I felt good, it suddenly became bad again. Li's habit of making a fuss came back again.

Xue Han couldn't help but burst out laughing when she saw her mother's face fall. Zhao also smiled with her lips pursed. Li was confused and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Zhulan touched her chest and was angry with Li who was sometimes in a daze. She was angry with herself. "What's wrong?"

Li was about to speak, but then she realized that she had just eavesdropped and could not speak loudly, or the people next door would hear her. "Mom, I overheard the conversation next door."

Zhulan leaned forward, her face darkened, "Speak louder, I can't hear you clearly."

If I hadn’t seen that my daughter-in-law and second daughter-in-law also didn’t hear clearly, I would have thought there was something wrong with my hearing!

Li's voice became louder. "Mom, I'm afraid the neighbors will know I'm eavesdropping if I speak so loudly."

Zhu Lan's face was wooden. "Who was the one who shouted the loudest just now?"

Li reacted, her face flushed. The neighbor next door already knew she had eavesdropped. She smiled dryly and fantasized, "Maybe he thought I was calling my mother for something else, and he didn't see me under the wall."

Xue Han wanted to cover her face. Could the sister-in-law please not react so slowly? "Sister-in-law, you were shouting at the foot of the wall just now, and it was so loud!"

Even a fool knows that you have been under the wall the whole time.

Li, "........"

Ouch, I just held it in!

Zhulan fanned herself to calm down, "Tell me, what did you hear?"

Li's voice was still low, "Mother, Wang Ru is so stupid. She actually gave Zhang Datie 20 taels of silver to marry Zhang Sanni, and told Zhang Sanni that there was no need for a deed, just a hiring contract. In the future, Zhang Sanni will live next door as a maid. Mother, is Wang Ru stupid? If there is no official deed, who will recognize a contract? Zhang Datie can still sell Sanni in the future. Mother, what is a contract?"

How could Zhulan explain it? She said vaguely, "I don't know either. I only know about buying girls in life and death contracts."

Li was a person who liked to chat with the young wives in the village. In order to prevent Li from showing off everywhere, it would be safer for her to know nothing.

Li was a little disappointed, "It turns out there are things my mother doesn't know!"

Zhulan chuckled, "I'm sorry to disappoint you. There's a lot more I don't know."

Li shut up. She felt that if she spoke again, she would lose her mother's favor and would never be able to let her mother pinch her face again!

Zhulan didn't care what the commotion was like next door, because it was Wang Ru who was causing the commotion anyway. However, Wang Ru must have borrowed money from her two sisters to get the twenty taels. Thinking about it carefully, Wang Ru was not only trying to confront the Zhou family and show how cold-blooded they were, but she also wanted to use the opportunity of borrowing money to find a way to surrender to Shi Qing.

Zhulan felt sleepy after sunbathing. The warm summer sunshine was perfect for sleeping, so she got up and went back to her room to sleep.

After school in the afternoon, Zhulan told Rongchuan about Zhang Sanni's matter, "Auntie has her own rules and bottom line. Even if you beg for mercy at home today, Auntie won't help. Chuan, Auntie hopes you can also have your own bottom line and rules."

Zhulan wants to make her attitude clear and tell Rongchuan that she doesn't care about any kind of people. Some things are better to be made clear as early as possible, which will benefit everyone.

Rongchuan gave up on everyone in the Zhang family before he left. He never told anyone that he was precocious and had never forgotten the memories when he was two or three years old. After his younger brother was born, his third sister often tormented him on purpose, pulling off his quilt in the middle of the night and making him wear wet clothes. Later, his parents cared less about him, and his third sister treated him worse and worse. She refused to give him food several times, and his parents knew it but didn't care. He completely gave up on his family, and everyone in the Zhang family was waiting for his death indifferently!

Rong Chuan lowered his head, "Auntie, even if I were at home today, I would not beg for mercy. Not only because Sanni would bring endless trouble to the family, but also because I don't want to beg for mercy. I can't say that I still miss the Zhang family. Since I separated from the Zhang family, I have no relationship with the Zhang family. That family is no longer my family, and they are not my relatives."

Even if his aunt would think he was cold-blooded, he still had to say it. He hoped that his aunt would not be wary of him. He also did not want to hide the real him, because he learned from his uncle that pretending is always just pretending!

Zhulan felt sorry for the child and touched Rongchuan's head. "Auntie doesn't think Rongchuan is heartless. On the contrary, I think it's good that he is like this. You already have your own bottom line in your heart."

Rongchuan's anxiety was gone. He liked the Zhou family. His uncle and aunt not only saved his life, but also gave him the warmth of home. His uncle and aunt were the parents he had always imagined, with a strict father and a kind mother. This was truly a home. The Zhou family was the warmest place in his heart.

After Zhou Shuren came back and had dinner, he called over Changzhi, Changlian and several other students. After checking their progress, Zhou Shuren instructed Rongchuan, "Tomorrow Changlian and Changzhi will not go to the clan school. Ask for leave for them and tell them that I am taking them out to visit."

Rongchuan said: "Yes."

Chang Lian's heart came alive. His father had been to the county government office these days. He was excited. "Dad, are you taking us to the county government office tomorrow?"

Changzhi's concern was, "Dad, the county magistrate is a man of honor, will he test us on our liberal arts?"

After hearing this, Zhou Shuren decided to stop being mysterious. He had been thinking of telling them tomorrow to test the boys' adaptability. He stroked his beard, thinking it would not be good if the boy was too smart, he could not fool him. He paused and found that he was getting more and more accustomed to stroking his beard!

Chang Lian didn't dare to think about why the county master's wife suddenly came to visit their home yesterday, but his father's words today made him bolder. His blood boiled and his eyes widened with excitement. He saw that his father's expression was indifferent, and then calmed down in an instant. He guessed that he knew that he and Chang Zhi would take the examination for the position of Tongsheng next year, and he was just observing them because of his father's relationship.

Zhou Shuren has been observing Chang Lian and is somewhat satisfied. Chang Lian has changed a lot. When he first came, this child's face was full of smartness and his temper was a bit impulsive. Now he can calm down quickly. His guidance is worthwhile. He suddenly finds that he is quite suitable to teach children!