Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 144 Ideal Ah_1

Chapter 144: Chapter 144 Ideal Ah_1

The next morning, Zhou Shumo packed his belongings, ready to return home with the caravan the following day. For farmers, saving money was not easy, even though Zhulan’s family received a discount on meals due to clan relations, Shumo still spent a considerable sum of silver coins.

After Shumo left, Zhou Shuren and Ming Qing focused intently on their studies. They had passed two exams and only the final one remained.

Zhulan had repeatedly invited Wu Ning over, and Lady Li felt that she couldn’t keep her granddaughter indoors forever. Lady Li would bring Wu Ning along when cooking, and Wu Ning would help with the preparations. With Wu Ning’s presence, Xue Han also followed into the kitchen, learning the culinary arts with her little friend’s company.

Zhulan decided to befriend the Wu family not only because of Zhou Shuren’s praise for Wu Ming, but also because she genuinely liked Wu Ning. After spending time together, Zhulan found some fabric and made a set of clothes for the young girl.

Having finished the garment the next day, after breakfast, Zhulan brought out the clothes.

Lady Li hurriedly refused, "You’ve already helped us so much, we can’t accept this outfit, it’s too valuable."

Having already been given meals, they really couldn’t accept the clothes.

Zhulan pushed the clothes towards Lady Li, "I made these clothes according to Wu Ning’s measurements; if you don’t take them, Xue Han can’t wear them either. I truly like Wu Ning, this is my heartfelt gesture."

Clutching the clothes, Lady Li’s heart was heavy; if her son were still alive, they might not be wealthy, but they wouldn’t be unable to afford fabric for the children’s clothes. Yet, she and her husband had no great skills; she didn’t work every month, and her husband didn’t always assist with driving carts. The money they earned annually wasn’t much and needed to cover tuition for their three grandsons. If it weren’t for her job as a kitchen maid at the Zhou’s, which brought in some silver, her second grandson wouldn’t have been able to attend the Academy.

Wu Ning secretly squeezed her grandmother’s hand, sensing her sadness.

Lady Li came back to her senses, "I really have met a kind person, thank you, I’ll accept it with gratitude."

After seeing off the grandmother and grandchild, Zhulan lay on the kàng flipping through a book, but her mind was far from the pages. She suddenly thought of her grandparents from the modern era, something she had always been afraid to consider, and her heart ached. If they knew about her passing, her grandparents would be devastated. Sigh!

Zhou Shuren walked in and heard a sigh, "What’s wrong?"

Zhulan closed the book, "Seeing Lady Li’s care for her grandchildren, I missed my grandparents."

Zhou Shuren felt a twinge of guilt; if it weren’t for him, Zhulan wouldn’t have ended up in the ancient times, "It’s my fault."

Zhulan’s mindset had long since become calm, "It’s all fate."

You can’t escape your destiny, no matter how hard you try.

Zhou Shuren said, "On another note, I never expected we would live in the same building, let alone on the same floor."

Zhulan also twitched the corner of her mouth, "Two households in one stairwell, you were the neighbor I never met. If not for the property management saying someone lived there, I would have thought it was empty!"

Zhou Shuren laughed, "So, we really are fated to be together!"

Sometimes he would think, even if he hadn’t transmigrated, there would still have been some follow-up with Zhulan—her life-saving grace!

After chatting with Zhou Shuren for a while, Zhulan’s mood improved a lot. It was time to go grocery shopping, "What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll pick it up on the way."

Zhou Shuren had had his fill of meat and chicken, "I really don’t have any particular craving, what about you?"

Zhulan really did want, "I want to eat boiled fish, pickled cabbage fish will do too. The fish in the market have all been small these past few days; I hope today there will be big fish."

Zhou Shuren accompanied Zhulan to the market more than a few times, "Let’s go and see, then we’ll know."

Zhulan prayed, "I hope we can still find some leeks; since the last time I found them, I haven’t encountered them again."

Zhou Shuren laughed, "You bought them all last time, leeks need time to grow, they can’t just sprout up in a day or two."

Zhulan counted the days; it had been almost half a month since she last bought leeks. They should have grown by now, right? She really didn’t understand these things; best to just try her luck!

Pingzhou had two vegetable markets; one was near Zhulan’s home, and the other was to the east. Residents of West City had their own estates and rarely visited the market since they had designated people providing for them. Beicheng was too chaotic and didn’t have a designated area for a market.

Veggie farmers and hunters were willing to come to the market near Zhulan’s home because it was at the southwest junction. People from the south who were wealthy were willing to spend money, and some stewards from West City would also come to the market every now and then, looking for rare items. If they found them, they could sell at high prices.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren had specific items to purchase. Today there really were big fish; Zhulan picked out three, "How come the fish are so big today?"

The fisherman didn’t feel particularly happy about it, "The weather has warmed up, the ice on the river has thinned, and there are more fish."

That meant there were more sellers, and with the increase in fish, the prices had dropped.

Zhulan, however, was pleased; ten pounds of fish for eight coins a pound, totaling eighty coins. After giving the money to the fisherman, she went on to buy a head of pickled cabbage.

Although she didn’t find anyone selling leeks, she did come across vendors selling garlic sprouts and bok choy, but they were expensive—a pound of garlic sprouts cost forty coins, and a bunch of bok choy was twenty coins.

Zhulan thought it was too extravagant, but Zhou Shuren paid for them.

On the way back, they stopped by a sundry shop to buy some chili peppers. While walking home, Zhulan felt her purse, "Back in the countryside, I never spent silver like this before. Life in Pingzhou is too extravagant; it’s only been a month, and besides the initial expenses when we first came at Zhao Bo’s, I’ve calculated that just for snacks and vegetables we’ve spent two taels of silver."

Zhou Shuren felt even more aggrieved, "I’ve made things difficult for you. Once I become an official and we save up a bit more, I’ll make sure you can eat whatever you want."

Thinking about how Zhulan was reluctant to spend money on bok choy, he felt even worse. Although he did not specialize in agriculture, he believed that sufficient investment would yield results; he refused to believe they couldn’t grow off-season vegetables. If it really came to nothing, they could just establish an estate in the south and transport vegetables north during the winter, like how peppers were robust during shipping. Even if they got delayed, not all would spoil.

Or, in the future, he might as well aim for a position in the south!

Zhulan was becoming more and more content; she never felt that she was suffering. In her modern life, she never went to the market, and barely frequented supermarkets. Now her life was full of the atmosphere of everyday living, and she was quite enjoying it, "If I’m suffering, then what about the people who truly are in hardship?"

Zhou Shuren, "Making sure the wife lives well is what a man should do."

If Zhulan weren’t in public, she would’ve pinched Zhou Shuren’s face. Ever since he had borrowed some courage from her, despite her vigilance, she couldn’t keep him out of bed, waking up in Zhou Shuren’s arms every day. He also flirted with her, both outright and in subtle ways!

Zhulan lifted her chin and walked briskly ahead. Zhou Shuren touched his nose and followed her quickly with laughter in his eyes.

Before they reached the gate of their home, Ming Qing was standing guard. Seeing Zhulan and Zhou Shuren, he ran over a few steps, "Grandfather Shuren, Grandma, you’re back."

Seeing Ming Qing’s anxious expression, Zhulan asked, "What happened?"