Early in the morning on the first day of the new year, Shen Cui took Mu Erpang and Zhou to the city to pay New Year's greetings.
In fact, logically speaking, after Zhou married into the Mu family last year, she had no relatives in the Mu family but the Shen family, an outsider relative, so she should have interacted with the Shen family.
But the original body looked down on her and would not bring her in front of others. Then Shen Cui came through. At this time last year, her relationship with Zhou was not very good.
So this was the first time that Zhou went into the city to visit the Shen family to wish them a happy new year.
She was a little nervous. Although Zheng had occasionally come to the academy in the past and had met her a few times without ever being hostile to her, Zheng's reputation for being smart and capable was very well known in the village.
And like Shen Cui, Zhou was incomplete, had few relatives, and had no experience in dealing with relatives.
"Don't be nervous, my mother..." At this time last year, Chen Cui still had a preconceived impression that Zheng was difficult to get along with because of the plot of the original book, and it would be best if she could have less connection with her mother's family.
After a year of getting along, although Zheng cannot be considered a great and good person, her love for the younger generation is impeccable.
Humans are not plants or trees. Chen Cui also developed feelings for her through getting along with her bit by bit, and truly respected her.
But Zheng's personality is indeed a bit weird. She had told her original self more than once earlier that Zhou's parents died so early, so she shouldn't have a girl with a strong fate who would bring bad luck to her family. Such a girl is not worth having!
The original body also felt that Zhou was unlucky, so he never took her back to her parents' home. He also deliberately made things difficult for her before she married Mu Yunchuan, hoping that she would give up.
I didn’t expect that this silly girl Zhou actually persisted.
"Anyway, she won't make things difficult for you." Shen Cui said with certainty. Let’s not talk about other things, Zheng is really protecting her. She might feel resentful in the future for Shen Cui taking the initiative to bring Zhou to her house, but in front of others, Zhou was brought by her, and whoever dares not give face to Zhou is also not giving face to Shen Cui, and Zheng will definitely not sit idly by.
But seeing that Zhou was indeed a little nervous, and it didn't ease up even after entering the city, Shen Cui asked tentatively: "If you really don't want to go, why not forget it?"
She didn't want to force Zhou to be close to the Shen family, but she felt that since she had never been brought as the daughter-in-law to formal occasions, it seemed as if she really disliked her like her original self.
Moreover, if Zhou really wants to establish himself, he certainly cannot be as timid as he was in the past. How can he deal with various customers in the future?
Starting training from one's own relatives is a good choice. After all, Zheng's seniority is higher than hers, and with her watching, no one will really do anything to Zhou.
But if going to such an occasion would really make Zhou uncomfortable, then there would be no need for it.
Zhou said hurriedly, "It's not that I don't want to go. I know you're doing me a favor, so you brought me along to pay New Year's greetings. I'm just a little nervous, I can handle it myself!"
Zhou herself knew that Zheng's opinion of her could actually be said to be the opinion of other people in the village about her.
For example, she was two years older than Mu Yunchuan, but she had never gotten married. On the one hand, it was because she wanted to take care of her younger brother and didn't want to get married so early. But on the other hand, it was also because everyone in the village felt that she was incomplete and unlucky. When it comes to her marriage, it's basically to be someone's second wife or even a concubine.
Later, because Mu Yunchuan passed the imperial examination and she became a scholar's wife, the villagers became more friendly towards her.
The fact that her mother-in-law was willing to bring her to socialize in public was naturally a recognition of her! She can't show her weakness!
As they were talking, the three of them had already arrived near Teapot Lane.
Shen Cui knocked on the door of the Shen family, and soon Li came over and opened the door. She first said "Happy New Year" to Shen Cui, and then smiled and said, "Come in quickly, mother has been waiting for you."
As she spoke, Li's eyes fell on Zhou.
Li and Zhou had not met many times, but she could tell that Zhou was a good, hardworking girl and had no ill feelings towards her, so she was not surprised and said with a smile, "This child looks three times prettier than before. Come in quickly."
As she spoke, Li took out a handful of peanuts from her pocket, stuffed half to Mu Erpang and the other half to Zhou, letting them eat them with relish.
Her equal and affectionate attitude immediately calmed Zhou's nervous mood. She and Mu Erpang called her "Auntie" together.
Just like last year, many relatives had come to the Shen family's main hall to pay New Year's greetings.
Fortunately, Zheng and Old Man Shen were of higher generation, so most of the relatives were of the same generation as Shen Cui, and only a few were elders who required her to call them specifically. I saw her once last year and she still remembered most of it.
But when it came to Zhou's turn, all the people sitting in the room were her elders, and she needed to call them one by one. Shen Cui was helpless - she was that kind of person, she didn't care about relatives or anything like that, and didn't make a special effort to remember who was who. And she herself had only met these people once, which made her even more confused.
But fortunately, Mu Erpang started calling for help before Zhou. His memory now far exceeds that of children of the same age, and it is easy for him to recognize a few uncles and aunts he has met.
Zhou and Mu Erpang are of the same generation, so just address him as he does.
Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and called everyone over one by one.
Although those relatives were still smiling, they only talked to Erpang, saying that he looked taller and thinner than before, and asked if studying was very hard for him. He didn't pay much attention to Zhou.
They didn't think that the two were incompatible. After all, Zhou had been married into the Mu family for some time. Although Mu Cheng disappeared, that was before the marriage, and nothing bad happened afterwards. Mu Yunchuan even passed the examination and became a scholar. Besides, the Zhou family is separated from them by several branches, so no matter how hard they try, they can’t defeat them.
But they had dealt with Mu Yunchuan in their early years. At that time, the young Mu Yunchuan was not as tactful as he is now. He could not hide his emotions well and treated them lukewarmly.
Now that Zhou was the wife of a scholar, she probably looked down upon them, her non-blood relatives, so no one started a conversation with Zhou, lest they get the cold shoulder during the New Year.
As for Zheng, who was sitting at the top, she was already giving Chen Cui a glare! This is because Chen Cui brought Zhou to the house without saying hello.
Chen Cui was still drinking tea. Seeing that no one was paying attention to Zhou, she called her over to peel peanuts for her.
Zhou peeled one and she ate one. Zheng glared at her for a long time, but seeing that she was pretending to be blind, there was nothing she could do. She turned around and called Zhou to her side, took her hand affectionately, and said with a smile: "I have spoiled your mother-in-law since she was a child. She is a mother and a mother-in-law, but she still doesn't know how to do things. The family depends on you to take care of it. You have worked hard in the past year..."
When Zheng touched Zhou's hand, she found something wrong. Although Zhou's hands had the softness that is unique to young people, they were very rough, and had many cuts from frostbite and chapped skin. These hands are not as good as those of young girls and wives of the same age, and are even worse than those of this old woman!
People are made of flesh and blood. Zheng couldn't bear it anymore. There was a bit of genuine pity on her face. "Your hand...what do you usually do at home?"
Earlier, she had indeed instigated her daughter to embarrass Zhou before the marriage so that she would back off. But since Zhou has married into the family and they have become a part of the family, it is natural for the mother-in-law to discipline her daughter-in-law, but she cannot also treat her daughter-in-law as a human being! Just like she has become increasingly dislikeful of her eldest daughter-in-law, Chen, in recent years, but she didn't say that she had tortured Chen to this extent.
Just as Zhou was about to say that she didn't do anything, Chen Cui had already put down her tea bowl and replied, "I do everything. Not to mention washing clothes and cooking, I also take on jobs like washing and mending. Even in the coldest days of winter, I have to soak my hands in cold water for the whole day."
Zheng looked at Chen Cui disapprovingly, thinking that she shouldn't say such things in front of others. Although these words were praising Zhou for her diligence, didn't they also reveal Chen Cui's laziness?
Zhou immediately followed up, "Mother-in-law, you're exaggerating. Actually, there isn't much work to do at home. It's very simple. It's just cooking and simple cleaning. It only takes half an hour a day. The rest of the time, I took on so many jobs because I wanted to earn money. Mother-in-law didn't take a penny from me. She let me keep it all."
Fearing that others might misunderstand Chen Cui, Zhou continued, "My mother-in-law also taught me how to read and write, and how to do small business... In the future, I won't have to work as hard as before."
"It's good to be able to read. Once you know how to read, it will be convenient for you to do anything. What kind of business did she teach you to do?" Zheng asked following her words.
"It's just needlework. I can help people cut and make clothes. It's not worth mentioning." Zhou still answered in a soft voice.
Chen Cui helped her and said, "Don't listen to her saying 'not worth mentioning'. Just a few years ago, she made ten coats and sold them in twenty days."
Shen Cui stood up and showed everyone the big coat she was wearing, "It's just like this. We each have one in our family, and they were all made by her, quickly and well."
Mu Erpang shared her feelings and helped to say, "Sister-in-law didn't forget about us even after she made money. She bought a lot of things for the family during the New Year."
This really attracted everyone's attention. After all, everyone could do simple needlework, but a young wife of the same age as Zhou, about 18 or 19, did not have the ability to sew clothes, let alone earn money by doing so.
"The workmanship and stitching are better than what I could do at my age."
"Cuihua is very lucky. Her two sons are so successful and her daughter-in-law is so capable."
"Just now I wanted to ask, where did you buy the same jackets that the three of you are wearing? It turns out that your daughter-in-law made them."
"My family hasn't made any new clothes this year. You haven't seen anything like this style anywhere else. Tell me more about it."
"It's not easy to run a small business. Last time, my wife was cheated by someone using some kind of document and even lost her capital!"
Everyone started talking about it. Shen Cui said directly that she didn't understand it, gave Zhou a look, and sat back to drink tea.
Zhou took a deep breath and began to answer everyone's questions in a gentle voice.
Her personality is very likable, and even her original self, who is a very good person, can't find fault with her.
The relatives were originally worried that Zhou would put on airs and that was why they treated her coldly. But once they started talking to her, they naturally discovered that Zhou was a rare person of gentleness and good nature, without the airs of a scholar's wife at all.
They were all human beings who had lived half their lives, and had some ability to judge people. They could all tell that Zhou was not faking it.
To be honest, she is easier to get along with than Zheng or Chen Cui.
Later, she saw an aunt holding Zhou's hand and starting to ask if she had any unmarried cousins, so Shen Cui stepped forward and "snatched" Zhou back.
After lunch, the relatives dispersed and went to the next house to pay New Year’s greetings.
Zheng went to the kitchen to put out the fire in the stove. Chen and Li consciously began to clean up the melon seed shells and peanut shells on the floor. Seeing this, Zhou naturally wanted to help as well.
Shen Cui stepped forward and held her, then held Mu Erpang with her other hand, and shouted towards the kitchen, "Mom, it's getting late, we should go back first."
Without waiting for Zheng's response, Shen Cui grabbed their hands and ran out of the house.
Although Zhou behaved very well today and did not behave rudely in front of others, Zheng would not really blame her for making decisions on her own. But Shen Cui was a mother and a mother-in-law after all, and she did not want to be pulled aside by Zheng to be lectured on New Year's Day. It would also be embarrassing in front of the younger generation.
By the time Zheng came out of the kitchen with the fire tongs, Shen Cui and the others had already run away.
"This girl..." Zheng put her hands on her hips and scolded with a smile.
Li, who was cleaning the house, came out quickly and said, "Mother, Gang Cuihua stuffed it into my hand and asked me to pass it to you."
Li's hand was not holding anything else but a red envelope. When she opened it, she saw a silver coin worth about one or two taels inside. Of course, it was the New Year’s money for Zheng.
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