Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 160 Resentment_1

Chapter 160: Chapter 160 Resentment_1

The Clan Leader’s family hosted the first banquet, and in the following days, a wave of invitations swept through the clan. Although Zhou Shuren was of a senior generation, there were only a few people alive who were older than him within the clan. However, since Zhou Shuren was born late, his peers were at least a decade or more older, which meant anyone older than Zhou Shuren had already invited him, and he simply couldn’t refuse to attend.

After making the rounds, even Zhulan, who had a good memory, felt her head swell. In ancient times, there was no family planning policy, and a family would have at least four or five children, if not seven or eight. Multiple generations would live together without dividing the household, which meant an abundance of grandchildren—in fact, there would have been even more had infant mortality not been so high.

Each family had no shortage of children, and for Zhulan, who visited each household to give gifts and have meals, this was a minor issue. However, she began to suffer memory problems because there were so many children, and some of them looked similar due to shared bloodlines, which made remembering them a real headache for Zhulan.

Xue Mei brought her child back to her maternal home while Zhulan was sewing clothes, and Zhou Shuren was resting. They were truly exhausted from the recent days and wanted nothing more than to stay at home and recuperate.

When Xue Mei entered the main house with her daughter in her arms, she didn’t expect to find her father lying down. Worried that he might be reading, she asked in concern, "Mom, is Dad not feeling well?"

Zhulan looked enviously at Zhou Shuren; she, too, wished to lie down. After half a month of consecutive social engagements, she couldn’t just show up to eat without bringing something. She had usually accompanied Zhou Shuren, and as a result, her embroidery work had fallen behind, so she was now rushing to catch up. "Your father has fallen asleep," she said.

Xue Mei breathed a sigh of relief that there was no illness to worry about. "Mom, Jiang Sheng and I have just moved in. We were discussing inviting you and Dad as well as brother and sister-in-law over for a meal. Would tomorrow be okay?" she asked.

Zhulan put down her needle. "Have you finished settling in after the move?" she inquired.

Xue Mei and her husband took the hint from Zhulan’s letter. The following day, they came over and immediately rented a house they had previously liked, which stood vacant because the owners were reluctant to rent it to outsiders. Thanks to the Zhou family name and the connection with Zhou Shuren, renting the house went smoothly, at fifty coins a month.

The house was along the street in front of Zhulan’s home. It was an older property with simple furnishings and five rooms. No one from the family had rented it due to the high rent of fifty coins, given its age, but the property boasted a large courtyard that was worth three plots of land—that was where its true value lay.

Xue Mei and her husband didn’t mind the rent; their goal was to move closer. Thus, they swiftly rented the house and even paid upfront for an entire year.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren were busy and couldn’t lend a hand, so Xue Mei and her husband relied on the help of the oldest and second oldest siblings.

"We finished settling in the day before yesterday," said Xue Mei. "But since you and Dad were busy, we didn’t come over to tell you. I’ve turned over the soil in the garden these past couple of days, and the oldest and second oldest brothers even helped me bring back a cartload of firewood."

Zhulan asked, "Did anyone from the Jiang family come by?"

She had always wanted to ask but her daughter, knowing that she and Zhou Shuren were busy, had not come over, so Zhulan hadn’t had the chance to ask.

Xue Mei pursed her lips. "The eunuch and my mother-in-law wanted to move in with us, but my husband disagreed. They held a grudge against us and didn’t help or even come to visit. Brother-in-law and sister-in-law were kept in check by the eunuch and mother-in-law, so they didn’t offer to help either, although they did pitch in when it came to moving our stuff."

Ever since the in-laws realized that her husband was helping out in the county government office, they no longer ignored them. Their son and daughter had become their most precious darlings. It was unfortunate that they had hurt them deeply, and they would not act as if nothing had happened. They would provide the proper support as expected, but living with them was out of the question.

Zhulan was genuinely unaware of these developments. "Your in-laws must be regretting it deeply now," she remarked.

Xue Mei felt a sense of vindication. "It’s a pity there’s no such thing as a regret medicine—they’re too late to regret it now," she stated.

Zhulan showed no sympathy for the Jiang couple and said, "Let’s have the meal tomorrow. I’ll have your eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law go over to help out. By the way, have you got all the meat and vegetables ready?"

Xue Mei was embarrassed, "Mom, the eldest sister-in-law and the second sister-in-law have been helping me a lot these days. I can do it by myself tomorrow. Preparing two tables of dishes is not a hassle."

Xue Mei hadn’t seen her sister-in-laws for some days and only recently got used to their changes. The eldest sister-in-law was deft at managing things, not at all frenetic like before, but now she seemed to be very stable.

The change in the second sister-in-law was even more significant. Although she still brushed her hair over her face, she was no longer stooped and weepy. Instead, she seemed even more imposing than the eldest, as if she had everything under control.

In the past few days, the two sister-in-laws had indeed helped her a great deal. She couldn’t take advantage of them; after all, she was a married woman.

Zhulan didn’t think as much as Xue Mei did. Her starting point was herself. Lady Li’s cooking was delicious, and although the cooking of her daughter was not terrible, she was not eager to try it either. Mainly because for the past ten days or so, she had eaten the same cooking as her daughter’s. She guessed the dishes wouldn’t be much different. She really felt like throwing up after eating stewed dishes for so many days and pondered, "Your father and I have had enough of stewed dishes the past few days, it’s always stewed chicken or stewed meat. It’s too much trouble for you to cook all by yourself. It’s better if you make something simple and light, even better if it’s pre-made. That way, you’ll save some effort."

Xue Mei’s mouth twitched slightly. She was not foolish; she knew her own cooking skills well. Her mother’s words were a wild hint that the roast chicken and stewed pig’s trotters sold at the county’s taverns were good and that buying them would be the easy main course without her needing to cook, "Mom, I’ve thought about the menu. Should I discuss it with you?"

Zhulan knew her daughter was smart and had definitely understood her hint, "Hmm."

Xue Mei, ".... De Yi Tavern’s roast chicken and sauce-coated pig’s trotters, Qi family Tavern’s braised rabbit meat and slippery fat intestines, tofu soup, fried eggs, and for the staple food, mixed noodles and steamed buns."

Zhulan felt not the slightest embarrassment, "Not bad."

Xue Mei said with a wooden face, "Mom, then I’ll head back first. I’ll come back tomorrow morning to get the tables and chairs."

"You don’t need to come to get them yourself, we’ll bring them over when we go."

"Alright."

After the elder daughter left, Zhou Shuren snickered, "Did you hear the resentment in Xue Mei’s words?"

Zhulan replied, "My resentment is the deepest!"

Every meal she had when visiting with Zhou Shuren, someone at the table would offer her food, with nearly every household serving the same dishes like pickled cabbage stewed with the fattest cuts of meat. Because they valued her and Zhou Shuren’s presence, they would enthusiastically serve her the fatty meat. Even if she felt disgusted and didn’t want to eat it, she had to smile and swallow her food. After all, they meant well by offering what they considered the best to her.

Luckily, she had encountered this situation more than once in her modern social interactions. She didn’t like Japanese cuisine, but when the client favored it, she couldn’t just refuse to eat. It would be impolite. She could smile and eat it, even if she had to vomit upon returning home, she absolutely wouldn’t let anyone see her distaste.

Now, going to her daughter’s place for a meal, as a senior, she felt it was proper to look out for her own benefit!