Chapter 71: Protective Color

Zhulan really felt sorry for Zhao. It was a disaster for Zhao to have outstanding looks but no background to protect her. Then she had to flee from natural disasters and famine. Human nature has no bottom line again and again. Not only must one be on guard against outsiders, but also relatives. Zhao's looks were a disaster. In the end, there was a 90% chance that she would be sold to a dirty place. She could only pretend to be herself, and crying was a good protective color. No one liked to cry when faced with natural disasters or man-made disasters. Zhao protected herself, but the protective color had been with her for a long time and had penetrated into her bones.

Zhulan squinted her eyes as she recalled. The one who was most concerned in the entire Zhou family was Zhou Laoer. She was not only blamed by the Zhao family, but also by Zhou Laoer. He must have made many moves on the Zhao family behind the scenes. It is said that a man forgets his mother after marrying a wife and loves his son very much.

After hearing what his wife said, Zhou Laoer knew that it was over and hurried to the main room. He stood at the door and saw his mother's face changing again and again. His heart was pounding and he knelt down all of a sudden, "Mom, I am wrong."

Zhulan, "......."

Zhou Laoer is indeed the smartest person in the family. He knows that she has discovered Zhao's appearance.

Zhou Laoer saw his mother approaching with an expressionless face. His mother was no longer the same as before. He was quite frightened. "Mom, I can't do anything. Zhao is too beautiful. It would be a disaster if she married into our family. If she is found out that we can't protect her, it would bring disaster to our family."

This indirectly explains why Zhao would cry for no reason.

Zhulan recalled Zhao's appearance and felt a toothache. She thought of her eldest granddaughter. Oh, she must urge Zhou Shuren to make progress. He must not only become an official but also a high-ranking official. Otherwise, a small official will still not be able to protect his child.

Zhou Laoer felt guilty. He was the first person to notice Qiu Niang's appearance. He didn't want to bring trouble to her and had never thought of marrying Qiu Niang. He just paid attention to her and couldn't control his heart. It was not easy to resist a beautiful woman. He was also a vulgar man, but he had a conscience and didn't want to bring trouble to his family, so he didn't dare to act. Later, Qiu Niang discovered him and came to him directly.

On the surface, he appears to be the most honest person in the family, but in fact, he is the most rebellious and opinionated. Especially after meeting his eldest sister-in-law, he became obsessed with finding himself a smart wife. It is said that beauties have skin but no brains. Until he discovered that Zhao's crybabyliness was just pretending, he was attracted by her intelligence and decided to exchange her for a wife for food.

Later, his mother agreed even though she didn't like it. However, Zhao couldn't stay at home all the time. He and Zhao knew very well that the more they stayed at home, the more people would be curious about them, especially the wives who were exchanged for food. They would all guess what was worth exchanging. He had no choice but to go out, and he had to go out with his mother because his mother was good at martial arts and most people didn't dare to approach her.

As for the abuse of his daughter-in-law later on and his mother becoming a wicked mother-in-law, he and Zhao really didn't expect that his mother would take the blame. At first, people in the village just thought that the crying and cowardly young daughter-in-law was unpopular and ignored them. Who could have thought that the black-hearted old woman was so jealous of his mother.

The more Zhou Laoer thought about it, the more guilty he felt. He could only kneel down as his mother didn't say anything.

Zhulan thought that if the original body was alive, she would be furious, not at Zhao, but at her son's distrust. Now it was her turn, and she felt that Zhou Laoer should be punished and kneel, and it was the original body who should kneel, not her. "Kneel down, and when you have kneeled for half an hour, stand up. While you are kneeling, think about where you went wrong."

Sons need education at most places. This adopted son has had a low sense of existence since he was young and has too little sense of belonging to the family. It is not Zhou Laoer's fault. The original couple also had a lot of problems. Fortunately, it is not too late. Now the adopted son cares a lot about the Zhou family.

Zhulan leaned against the wall with her eyes closed, calculating the time in her mind. After about half an hour, she still didn't see her cheap son get up. When she opened her eyes, she saw that her cheap son's face was not very good. His legs could not bear kneeling any longer. He nodded in his mind, knowing that he was wrong and wanted to kneel down to atone for his sins.

Zhulan smiled, her and Zhou Shuren's efforts were not in vain, "Get up!"

Zhou Laoer recalled a lot in half an hour. People are afraid of exaggerating things. Since he identified with his parents, he was used to considering many things from their perspective. He lowered his head in guilt, "Mom, I am unfilial. In the past, I only thought that mom and dad did not love me, and never looked for the reason in myself. Mom and dad have never treated me and the Zhao family unfairly, but I have never cared about you. Instead, I don't trust you and even use you. I am unfilial and I am ashamed of you."

Zhulan's smile deepened. "Wake up, I'm not angry. I have my own problems. I gave birth to many children during the war and neglected you. I apologize to you. Don't blame me."

Zhou Laoer's eyes turned red. During the war years, he was not only hungry and cold, but also afraid. However, he never went hungry. Thinking of his mother hunting for food and never saying that she was partial to him, he felt pain in his heart, "Mom, I am wrong."

Zhulan froze, her adopted son lying on her lap and crying. Even though he was acting, he was not his original self and he was still a little out of place. Her adopted son was crying, and with emotion, Zhulan touched her adopted son's hair and couldn't help curling her lips. In fact, it was not just the Zhou family's children who were changing, she and Zhou Shuren were also changing. She found that she had the feeling of being a mother and was no longer acting out a character.