Chapter 261: Supporting the Waist

Zhulan motioned for Zhao to sit down first, and after Zhao sat down, she said, "Mother has nothing else to say, but I want to give you some advice. Wu Ning's brother, Wu Ming, is a 16-year-old scholar. He is now a disciple of Xu Jinshi, who is the dean of Qingshan Academy. Wu Ning's brother is young and has a famous teacher. He has a promising future. Mother's idea is that you should not only teach Wu Ning, but if possible, you should accept Wu Ning as your disciple. With the status of master and disciple, you can also have a good relationship in the future."

Zhao was moved by her mother-in-law's plan for her. The head of the family could not pass the imperial examination, so the family did not split up and lived together. The current gap was not too big, but with the third and youngest brothers passing the imperial examinations, the second branch was not the eldest son and had the eldest grandson, so the second branch would have less and less status in the future. It would take many years for the son to grow up and support the second branch!

Now her mother-in-law is instructing her that the second wife will have her own network of contacts in the future. "Mom, I understand. Thank you for planning for us."

Zhulan likes talking to people who understand things, it's really easy. "It's good that you understand. That's enough, go back!"

"Mom, I'm going home first."

"kindness."

Zhulan waited for Zhao to leave, then rubbed her neck. She and Zhou Shuren tried their best to maintain a balance, but as time went by, the gap between the parties would become bigger and bigger. It seemed that there were no conflicts now, but conflicts would inevitably arise over time. Even if the tongue touched the teeth, how could there be no conflicts in a family!

The eldest couple may be stupid, but they are good at giving birth to sons. After a few years, Mingyun grew up and was able to take on the responsibility of being the eldest wife. Mingyun also had the status of the eldest grandson, so the status of the eldest wife had always been stable. Therefore, the eldest couple were the most blessed in the family.

The second house is different. The child is too young, and it will take more than ten years for Mingrui to grow up. As for the marriage through Yu Shuang, Zhu Lan does not allow it. She hopes that Yu Shuang can find someone who will take care of her. Therefore, the second house is the weakest among the houses.

In the third room, Zhou Shuren is cultivating Changlian, who has potential and can be helped by his in-laws. Even if Changlian is separated, he can still live a good life.

Changzhi is good at studying. Although he is not good at household chores, he is not stupid and has a clear mind. As long as he has a good wife to help him, his future will not be bad.

Now the Wu family has brought this good fortune to their doorstep. This opportunity is so rare. If the second branch seizes it, it will also be beneficial to Yu Shuang and Ming Rui in the future.

Zhulan felt relieved and waited for Zhou Shuren to come back in a good mood.

At noon, Zhou Shuren didn't come back. Zhulan understood that he must have been waiting for him, otherwise he would have come back long ago.

In the afternoon, Zhou Laoer came back, looking unhappy. Zhulan was prepared, so she patted Zhao to comfort him and glared at him, "Don't be so gloomy and silent, your wife and I are waiting!"

After Zhou Laoer found out, he was furious. "Mom, I found out in Qianjia Village that the man my mother-in-law married later was very capable. When he was the manager, he set up a family business for himself. After he became free, he bought some land. He lived a good life in Qianjia Village. He was one of the richest families in Qianjia Village. But even though he was such a rich family, my mother-in-law didn't live a good life."

Zhulan guessed that Zhao's mother was sold. Even if she was not sold to the Yun Mansion, she had no maternal family and was a stepmother, which was still a sold identity. If Manager Qian was protecting her, her life would have been better. Unfortunately, the current situation is really developing in a bad direction.

Zhao was anxious, "What happened to my mother?"

Zhou Laoer heaved a sigh of relief. "From what I heard, my mother-in-law not only took care of the Qian family's children, but also had to take care of the whole family, cooking three meals a day. Her health was not very good, and the children she gave birth to were also bullied. I saw them at the door of the Qian family's house. Several children were pushing him, and I didn't dare to step forward to stop them, for fear that if I pushed away the children who bullied him, he would be bullied even more severely when he got home. I waited until the children left before I helped the little guy up and stuffed a few cakes for the children."

My cheap brother-in-law is not very big and his clothes are okay, but he has some injuries. You can tell at a glance that he is often bullied. When I think back to the things that children say about bullying, I realize that they are all what I heard from the adults at home.

Zhu Lan sighed, "Bullying a child is just a test from the Qian family's sons. As long as Manager Qian protects them a few times, the sons won't dare to go too far."

It's a pity that the manager of the Shangjia family paid more attention to value. The older sons were more valuable, so the mother-in-law and the younger sons were naturally abandoned.

Zhao couldn't help crying, "Master, I will go and meet my mother tomorrow."

Zhou Laoer felt sorry for his wife, "Okay, I'll go tomorrow."

Zhulan was not afraid. With Zhou Laoer around, she was not afraid that the Zhao family would be plotted against. Her mother-in-law now had a daughter and was no longer helpless, and the Qian family could also be more restrained.

In the afternoon, all the Zhou family members knew why Zhao was crying. Li felt even more sympathetic towards Zhao, as Zhao's mother also had a miserable life.

Mrs. Dong had seen a lot of things, so her reaction was not that big. She just disliked the Qian family and felt it was upsetting to abandon this relative.

Zhou Shuren returned home after dinner. Although he acted as usual in front of the children, Zhulan knew him very well and knew that the matter must have been settled.

After Zhulan finished washing up and returned to the room, Zhou Shuren picked her up and spun her around twice. "Okay, next time Jiang Ming has a day off, come with me to the competition."

Zhu Lan glared, "Put me down first."

She had just spun around twice and her heart was racing. Now it was pounding hard and she was scared.

Zhou Shuren also felt his hands were a little sore and let go of Zhulan. Well, he still overestimated himself.

Zhulan sat down on the kang, paused for a moment and said, "Do you have anything else to prepare?"

Zhou Shuren rubbed his arm and said, "To be more confident, I will go to antique shops more often these days. The more I learn, the more confident I will be."

Zhou Shuren has always been thorough in his work. Zhulan stopped asking questions and told Zhao's mother about her situation. "This is what happened. Tomorrow, Changyi and his wife will go to recognize their relatives. I was thinking of bringing a pair of decorative vases as a return gift from Dong's brother-in-law. What do you think?"

They acknowledged each other openly and were not begging for money, so naturally they had to bring some valuable gifts, especially since Qian had been a steward and had seen a lot of good things. The only gift that the Zhou family could give to Zhao to support her was this pair of decorative vases.

Zhou Shuren doesn't really like displaying bottles. It's not his aesthetic taste. This one is not worth much for display, but it's good in style. Although it's not an antique, it's worth several dozen taels of silver. "I have no objection."

Zhulan continued, "You can't bring the same gift when you come to recognize your relatives. We have a lot of writing materials at home. Take out two sets of unused ones. The Qian family lives in the village, so they must want to take the imperial examination. Their children must be educated. Giving writing materials is appropriate and can also show that our family is educated. Add some fabrics. Most of the fabrics that Dong Lin sent during the New Year are new styles from the south, which are very rare in the north. Let the second wife take the last one. Zhao has a small embroidered screen, which would be nice to bring."

Although he doesn't like the Qian family and doesn't want to give them an advantage, Zhao's mother is a member of the Qian family after all. He doesn't know what Zhao's mother plans to do. Right now, the most important thing is to make her live a good life. The Zhou family has given so many things, the Qian family will also be cautious. As for what will happen in the future, there is no need to be impatient.

On the second day, Zhulan took out the gift of recognition. Needless to say, Zhou Laoer understood her intention and felt guilty, "Son, I am ashamed."

He couldn't refuse the recognition gift his mother brought him, but he didn't have the money to buy a high-end gift.

Zhao was moved and wanted to kneel again, but Zhulan hurriedly pulled her back, "Okay, it's getting late, you should go as soon as possible."

Zhulan glanced at Zhao's face again. Although her hair was still blocking her face, the scar on her face was painted so realistically. She never thought that Zhao had this skill. It showed that when she was in her hometown, Zhao learned a lot from Wang Ru. Zhao was really clever and deft.

In the afternoon, Zhao and Zhou Laoer came back. Zhulan was a little surprised when she saw the gifts they brought back. Even if it was a return gift, they shouldn't have given so much!

I had a fever again last night. I went to get water in the morning and came back late. I have had a cold for a few days. I have run out of manuscripts. The current manuscripts are all written in real time. I will update two chapters of about 5,000 words first. I will try to finish the update before 6 o'clock. If it is less than 10,000 words, I will make up for it when Yangyang gets better~~~Please give me a monthly ticket~

(End of this chapter)