Chapter 309: Li's Trick

Zhou Laoer had long gotten over the uneasiness his father had asked him to go back to his hometown, and was only left with excitement. He slowly realized that since the whole family lived together, he would have no chance to show his abilities even if he wanted to. Apart from helping to catch the bus, he could not help the family in any way.

Returning to his hometown, he can not only help look after the family's fields, but also let his father see his abilities. Based on his understanding of his father, his father's arrangement of them brothers is definitely a test!

After lunch in the afternoon, Zhulan asked Zhou Laoer to buy a lot of pork ribs. She instructed Laoer and Changlian to go to the pond to dig some lotus roots and stew lotus root and pork ribs soup in the evening.

Zhou Laoer and Chang Lian dug up a lot of lotus roots. The two of them had nothing to do, so after digging the lotus roots, they took the children fishing.

Zhulan divided the lotus roots she dug out and took out three pork ribs. She said to Li, who was washing the lotus roots, "We'll make lotus root and pork rib soup tonight. Take these back to your mother's house and let your mother have a taste of them."

This morning, Li's parents sent over two large baskets of vegetables. The in-laws are so sincere.

Li grinned, "I'll send it over in a moment."

Lotus root is a delicious thing. My mother-in-law didn’t dig much to eat last year, so she’s been thinking about it since she came back!

It was almost dark when Zhou Shuren came back. The whole family was waiting for him to come back for dinner. Li prepared a big pot of lotus root and pork ribs soup. The children were so hungry that they ran to the gate several times, waiting for grandpa to come back for dinner!

Zhou Shuren came in, "Oh, pork rib soup, this is a good thing to nourish the body."

Zhulan looked at Mingteng eagerly, "We're waiting for you to come back for dinner!"

Zhou Shuren sat in the main seat. He was very hungry after running all day. He poured himself a bowl of pork chop soup, took a sip and said, "Let's eat."

Zhulan took a sip and thought that Li’s cooking skills had improved and the dish was better than last year.

As Jiang Sheng drank the soup, he sighed in his heart again. His two boys really knew how to choose the right day to be born. It was just a matter of whose family would be most comfortable for them to be born in!

My daughter-in-law is in confinement at my parents-in-law's house. She eats well and uses good things, so her milk supply is naturally good. The two little ones are so blessed.

If his father-in-law and mother-in-law didn't come back, he would be the only one to take care of his daughter-in-law during the confinement period. The food he cooks isn't very good, and he really won't be able to take good care of his daughter-in-law during the confinement period!

After the meal, Zhulan looked at the girl, who had drunk two big bowls of pork rib soup and eaten a bowl of rice porridge. This was multiple meals a day, as the girl ate five meals a day.

Xuemei also felt that she had eaten a lot, her face flushed, "Mom, I don't know what's wrong, I'm just so hungry."

Zhulan was clearing the dishes. "You're really weak after having two children. It's normal for you to eat more. I will definitely nourish you when I'm home."

Xuemei felt even more embarrassed. She had chicken soup last night, pig trotter soup at noon, and pork ribs at night. Her mother had to spend a lot of money to take care of her while she was at her mother's house. Besides, she was the only one who depended on her for her family of four. "Mom, you have to feed and nourish me, so it must have cost a lot of money!"

Zhulan, "Just take care of yourself and take care of yourself. This little money is nothing. It's not even enough to buy the leather I brought back for you!"

Speaking of the things she brought back for the eldest lady, Zhulan really brought a lot.

Xuemei, "..........."

She was indeed thinking in vain. Her father was a rich man, and as a daughter of a noble family, she had received many gifts in his honor, not to mention her father in Pingzhou.

Zhulan sat aside and told Xuemei what she had brought: "Your father became a big boss and many people came to give him gifts. I received a lot of skins. I kept all the good ones, but there were some skins that were not so good. I divided them up and brought you a mink skin. There are also three more, one for each of your three sisters-in-law. But I didn't give them any."

She just wanted to see Li worried and anxious. Zhao had leather sent by a wealthy family, and Zhao made a cloak with it. Dong had enough, but Li was the only one who didn't. Well, she just wanted to tease Li.

Xuemei saw that her mother's eyes were full of smiles and knew that her mother was teasing her sister-in-law again.

Zhulan continued, "I won't go into detail about the cotton and fabrics I bought for the children. I made a set of silver bracelets, silver locks, and silver collars for the children. I didn't expect you to make a set for them after giving birth to two children. I also gave Miu Miu a head flower and some popular toys from Pingzhou City, and Jiang Du some pens, ink, paper, and inkstone."

What the Zhou family has the most now is pens, ink, paper and inkstones. They received quite a few gifts this time. As for the toys, they were all wood-carved toys with many small mechanisms. Zhulan played with them for a while after buying them, and was impressed by the wisdom of the ancients. Many of the mechanisms were very ingenious. She couldn't help but take them apart, and then she couldn't put them back!

I brought it back now and bought it again.

Xuemei counted in her heart that her mother had brought back a lot of things for her!

Zhulan chatted with Xuemei for a while, then she was startled when she pushed the door open and glared at Li, "Why didn't you make any noise outside?"

Li looked at her mother-in-law with resentment, "Mom, I heard everything. You have already divided the skins."

Zhulan, "......"

It’s amazing that Li actually eavesdropped.

Li saw that her mother-in-law's eyes were not right, so she responded, "Mom, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. My sister-in-law was washing dishes and waiting for you for a long time but she didn't bring the dishes back, so I came to check."

Unexpectedly, when she heard her mother say that the skins had been divided, she realized that her mother had been teasing her!

Zhulan knew that she had misunderstood Li. Li did not dare to eavesdrop, "Take the bowl from here!"

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

Zhulan walked out with a slow pace. From the corner of her eye, she saw Li drooping his head and curling his lips. "I'll give it to you when I get back."

Li grinned, "I know that mother loves me."

Zhulan, "........"

She seemed to have been fooled. Li had learned her lesson and even learned how to act pitiful. Well, it seemed that the fool at home had figured out her tricks. This was not good!

Zhulan returned to the room, Zhou Shuren raised an eyebrow, "Are you in a good mood?"

Zhu Lan approached Zhou Shuren and said, "I'm telling you, I was tricked by Li."

Zhou Shuren put down the book in his hand and sat beside Zhulan, untying her hair and asked, "Are you still happy?"

"I think it's interesting so I'm happy. Have you bought the land for the clan school today?"

Zhou Shuren untied Zhulan's hair and took the comb to comb her hair. "I bought it and it has been transferred to you."

"Any news about the 20 acres of land our family wants to buy?"

"There is no land near Lijia Village, but there is one in Zhoujia Village. I am thinking of buying it and exchanging it with someone to make a piece of 40 acres of land. What do you think?"

Zhulan had no objection, "It's good, it's easier to manage if they are connected into a piece."

Zhou Shuren added, "Next year, I want to entrust 40 acres of Zhoujia Village land to the tribe members as a way of helping them grow crops."

Zhulan knew that Zhou Shuren had already selected the people he would use in the future. "What about Jiang Sheng?"

"Every year, they help us harvest crops and distribute the seeds in the spring."

Zhulan heard this and asked, "We don't need Jiang Sheng to manage the seedlings anymore?"

"Well, there are too many plots of land, and it's too troublesome for Jiang Sheng to take care of them all by himself. It would be better to distribute the seeds at the beginning of the year. Each person would be responsible for as much seeds as he is responsible for. This would save Xuemei and her husband a lot of trouble."

Zhu Lan said, "This is good. Jiang Sheng has two more children, so he doesn't have as much energy as before."

(End of this chapter)