Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 111 Balance_1

Chapter 111: Chapter 111 Balance_1

Xue Mei coughed, "Mother, I don’t want to come back to live."

Zhulan was stunned for a moment, frowning, "That won’t do. It’s not that mother doesn’t love you, but if you move back to your parents’ house right after separating from your husband, it won’t be good for your reputation or for the family. If you’re worried about the children, they can stay, but you and your husband can’t."

With a flushed face, Xue Mei really had no intention of clinging to her maternal home, "Mother, what I mean is not to live at home. I heard from an aunt in our clan that a family in the clan moved to the county, leaving their house vacant for rent. Jiang Sheng and I are considering living in Zhoujia Village, which is not only convenient for copying books, but also allows Jiang Sheng to consult with father frequently."

Zhulan suddenly understood. That’s what she was thinking; she had been planning how the couple should live their lives all the way here, and the couple had been grinning awkwardly the whole time. It turned out they had already made up their minds. However, moving to her mother’s village immediately after separating from her husband’s family wouldn’t be good for her daughter’s reputation either.

Xue Mei guessed what her mother was thinking, "Mother, we have enough reasons. Jiang Sheng is consulting with his father-in-law to study for the Scholar examination, and we also don’t have any land. If people really talk, we will come back to help during spring planting and fall harvest without any issues."

Zhulan didn’t blindly agree and went out to find Zhou Shuren. She didn’t understand the ancient customs as thoroughly as Zhou Shuren did. When she went out, she saw Zhou Shuren with a stern face, and the son-in-law with his head down; Zhou Shuren already knew his daughter’s thoughts, "What do you think?"

Zhou Shuren furrowed his brow. There was already a boy raised by his maternal grandparents in the family, and it had been his own idea to separate the family. It would seem as if he was being overbearing if his eldest daughter and son-in-law moved over right after the separation. After pondering, "Moving over is fine, but not until after the spring farming season."

At least until he passes the Scholar examination this year, the reason for consulting on literature would be more convincing, and no one would gossip about Jiang Sheng’s family moving there.

Jiang Sheng quickly understood his father-in-law’s intention. His father-in-law was more knowledgeable than him, and the Scholar title wasn’t a problem. Knowing that his own thoughts weren’t comprehensive, he hurriedly said: "The son-in-law was too anxious, causing trouble for the father-in-law."

He was truly impressed by his father-in-law’s scholarship; otherwise, he wouldn’t have had the thought, and he knew it wasn’t good.

So it was settled. They still needed to buy the daily necessities. Zhou Laoda went to buy a cartload of chopped firewood first, and after unloading the cart, he took Zhulan and Xue Mei to the county.

They bought rice casks, water jars, jars, bowls, chopsticks, and the like in the county, and then they procured all the seasonings. Lastly, they bought fine grains.

Zhulan also spent money on eggs, meat, and vegetables like radishes and cabbage, filling a cart full of items before returning to the Jiang family.

Zhou Shuren, accompanied by Jiang Sheng, bought second-hand tables, chairs, bowl cabinets, water buckets, carrying poles, and the like in the village, trying to get everything complete so as not to be ridiculed for borrowing.

Zhulan gave her daughter additional two hundred wen, Xue Mei herself spent around a tael of silver, and Zhou Shuren supplemented another two hundred wen. The family separation cost a total of one tael and four hundred wen of silver.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren tried to prepare everything as completely as possible for their daughter. They were coming to see their several children as their own and were hoping everything was taken care of so that the children wouldn’t suffer.

This made the daughters-in-law in the Jiang family red with envy. Whose daughter isn’t considered water spilled upon marriage? But look at Zhou Xuemei; they felt as if they were picked up, and even with envy, there was no way to get involved in the separation. With the brother’s family having the support of his in-laws, they did not dare to stir trouble or ridicule.

As for regretting the separation later? Not really. Even without the separation, the Zhou family wouldn’t have been this helpful, and conversely, it might have doubly pressured the Jiang family into supporting Jiang Sheng’s studies. It was better to be comfortable as they are now.

Jiang Sheng stayed at home to tend the fire and watch over the house, while Xue Mei went back with her family to the Zhou residence.

For the books that Jiang Sheng had to copy at home in the future, Zhou Shuren didn’t trust the original books to be taken and copied, so Jiang Sheng copied the first two volumes, and he and Rongchuan copied the remaining two. The copies that Jiang Sheng took back were hand-copied versions.

In the future, their own children would also use hand-copied editions. The original books were to be sealed and stored by Zhou Shuren.

The night before they had a good meal, knowing that tomorrow the two children would go back to live with Xuemei. After Xuemei’s plan fell through, it was natural to take the children back, to avoid any opinions from the sister-in-law, and to try not to cause any trouble for their parents.

Early the next morning, Zhulan packed things for her eldest daughter. The family’s clothes these days, an old cotton quilt, spicy pickled cabbage and sausages made by Lady Li, Zhulan also grabbed a laying hen, and finally, she stuffed two taels of silver pieces into her daughter’s hands.

Xuemei felt embarrassed eating and taking things from her maternal home, turning red, "Mother, I already feel so guilty, please don’t give me any more silver coins."

Zhulan thought that probably all mothers have the urge to give their children extra support. She especially understood the Yang family’s continuous support of the original body. If it weren’t for the fear of her son-in-law becoming lazy, she would want to give even more, "If you don’t take it, it means you find it too little."

Xuemei felt a sour nose, "Mother, you know that’s not what I mean."

Zhulan’s eyes carried a smile, "Mother knows, Mother will just support you this year. Next year, once Jiang Sheng becomes a Scholar, Mother won’t subsidize you anymore, alright?"

Unfortunately, she thought, unless Jiang Sheng becomes a Scholar by birthright, there would still be no silver coin or rice subsidy; only government granary students received silver and allowances from the Imperial Court each year.

So they still needed Zhou Shuren’s help!

Xuemei had confidence in her husband, knowing her mother’s kindness, and accepted the silver coins, "Thank you, Mother."

Zhulan did not personally see her eldest daughter and her family off. She let her two eldest sons do it. Her grandchildren had formed a bond, and the two children cried loudly, making Zhulan’s heart fill with mixed emotions. With the particularly sweet-tongued Jiang Zhu gone, it felt like several children were missing, and she had no energy, so she lay down to rest.

Zhou Shuren came in with a book and saw Zhulan staring blankly, so he came over and sat down, "Let’s prepare to pack our luggage tomorrow, and then we’ll head to Pingzhou."

Zhulan was surprised, "Aren’t we waiting until after the Chinese New Year?"

Zhou Shuren said, "No need to wait, shops will be harder to buy after the New Year."

Zhulan became anxious. The annual rent for a shop wasn’t a small amount of money; one shop could cover the family’s expenses for a year. Silver coins stored away didn’t earn money, only by buying a shop could money generate more money. "I’ll arrange it. Shall we leave tomorrow?"

Zhou Shuren smiled, "I’ll go tomorrow to find a horse carriage and a caravan; even in haste, it’ll take a day or two to depart."

Zhulan was no longer anxious, "Aside from us two, who else do you plan to bring with us on this trip?"

Zhou Shuren had already thought it through, "When I’m not here, the eldest must support the family and also manage Lady Li. The second can make up for the eldest’s shortcomings. Chang Lian and Chang Zhi’s studies should not be interrupted, nor can we take Rongchuan. Rongchuan is not suitable for receiving special treatment. This time, we will only bring Xue Han alone, also to protect our daughter from being targeted by Wang Ru while we are away."

Zhulan calculated the time. It would take seven or eight days round trip to buy the shop and get everything settled. For several days in her absence, she needed to seriously deal with Lady Li, so the "monkey" wouldn’t assert dominance in the "tiger’s" absence.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren were people of action. Early the next morning, Zhou Shuren went to the county and found a horse carriage and caravan heading to Pingzhou. They would set off the day after tomorrow. The border of Pingzhou was a transportation hub, less wealthy than the south but very stable, and with the caravan, there would be no need to worry about safety issues.

At home, Zhulan took out enough grain for eight days and counted out one hundred copper coins for emergency household needs. She gave the silver coins to Lady Li and the grain to Zhao’s family.

Lady Li had quite a lot of silver coin on hand and wouldn’t clutch desperately to one hundred wen money. Besides, everyone had New Year’s money. In case of problems, it wouldn’t be because of a lack of silver coins. It was all the same to Lady Li whether she had the silver coins or not. Zhao’s family had their own plans, holding the grain to checkmate Lady Li. Lady Li loved to play smart and would definitely think that Zhulan had secretly instructed Zhao’s family to keep an eye on her. Zhulan had added a lock for Lady Li; in her absence, Lady Li wouldn’t dare to make a move.