Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 166: The Bet_1

Chapter 166: Chapter 166: The Bet_1

Zhulan had never seen such a large gathering of relatives celebrating a birthday in modern times. Nowadays, not many blood relatives attend grandpa’s birthday banquet. Instead, it’s mostly business partners. There are few who truly care, so the celebration lacks warmth, unlike in ancient times when even distant relatives were part of the family. Since Yang’s family was local, there were even more relatives around, making the house exceptionally lively. Even speaking in a low voice, one wouldn’t be able to hear oneself.

After chatting for a while upon her arrival, the mats for paying respect were ready outside, and everyone proceeded to the main hall. All the guests were outside because the hall was too small to accommodate even Yang’s own family standing inside.

The birthday honoring ceremony began, with Yang Zhumu and his spouse being the first to kneel and present their birthday gifts. Both branches of the Yang family had decent wealth, though not as substantial as Zhulan’s family, but the gifts were still generous. The older brother’s family had prepared a wolf fur mat and a pair of silver bracelets—quite valuable gifts indeed.

Then came the second son, Yang Zhulin, with his wife, who brought an embroidered table screen and a smoking pipe. Zhulan’s second sister-in-law was skilled at embroidery, making the screen quite valuable and a significant birthday gift as well.

Finally, it was the turn of the youngest daughter Zhulan and Zhou Shuren. Zhulan had prepared six birthday gifts, including an expensive set of gold jewelry and a cloak that dazzled the onlookers. Now everyone truly believed in the depth of Zhulan’s family’s wealth.

Lady Sun cared not for the gold jewelry but clung to the clothes, fully aware of her own daughter’s reluctance to sew. Although the embroidery was simple and not particularly fine, every stitch and thread represented her daughter’s filial piety. "Good, good," she exclaimed.

Old Master Yang was also chortling with joy as he could finally wear clothes made by his beloved daughter, something he had never dared to hope for before.

Zhulan had earnestly embroidered each stitch, and seeing how pleased the elders were, she smiled and said, "If father and mother are pleased, I will make more clothes for you in the future."

Seeing the needle pricks on her daughter’s hands as she accepted the clothes, Lady Sun said with a pained expression, "Mother really can’t bear it. You all get up quickly."

Lady Sun was genuinely delighted with her son-in-law. She had never expected that he could become a Scholar and bring such honor to the family. The more she looked at her son-in-law, the more pleased she became!

Afterward, it was time for the grandchildren to pay their respects. Among the grandchildren, Wu Chun had the most substantial foundation, but to consider his siblings’ feelings, he didn’t give overly expensive gifts. The grandchildren mostly presented practical and consumable items.

The side of Zhulan, as grandsons and granddaughters-in-law, brought gifts that were quite similar. Although Zhulan didn’t specifically remind them to elaborate in their birthday greetings, the children knew what was expected. The Yang grandchildren, not as scholarly as those from the Zhou family and considering the joyous occasion of the birthday, didn’t want to overshadow their cousins, so they stuck to standard congratulatory phrases.

After the direct descendants, it was the turn of the younger relatives. There truly were many children, and Zhulan watched as her mother almost finished distributing an entire basket of red envelopes.

Zhulan also received a red envelope, which upon opening, was found to contain "broken silver" amounting to about one or two taels. The grandchildren’s red envelopes each contained a hundred coins, while the great-grandchildren received fifty each, amounting to a considerable sum of "Silver Coin" for Zhulan’s household.

Today, many gifts were received, and likewise, a sizeable amount of "Silver" was given out.

The birthday banquet included ten dishes, all rich and perfect. Zhulan and her husband accompanied her parents at the table. Zhulan was too occupied to focus on eating because Zhou Shuren had become a Scholar and achieved fame, and also because Zhulan had met many relatives with the surname Sun.

As the banquet concluded, the table scraps were taken home by the women from each table. After seeing the guests off, the old couple, having been busy all day, were utterly exhausted and rested.

Extra tables had been set up for the banquet, leaving two tables with untouched food. The eldest sister-in-law gave Zhulan a pork knuckle, a small basin of chicken, and a basin of pig’s trotters. Zhulan did not hesitate to accept; the food would be perfect for hosting the Clan Leader for dinner that evening.

By the time Zhulan and her family arrived home, everyone in the village was preparing dinner. The Clan Leader and his wife stayed for the meal before heading back.

After the birthday banquet, even with Zhulan’s dismissal of suitors and rumors that she wouldn’t permit Chang Lian to be seen, visitors seeking marriage proposals didn’t cease. Even Zhou Wangshi had come to probe, but it was only after Zhulan resolutely declined to meet suitors that no more came calling.

Entering the month of June, the seedlings that Lady Li had raised in the room were ready to be transplanted to the vegetable garden. With some free time, Zhulan helped her two daughters-in-law with planting. Despite seeming like a simple task, it turned out to involve quite a bit of knowledge. After finishing with her own, Zhulan went on to help plant in her eldest daughter’s much larger garden, which would be a waste if not utilized.

Since Xue Mei and her husband had just moved in and hadn’t prepared seedlings, they directly sowed seeds, which would likely result in a lower germination rate. They’d have to wait for the seedlings to emerge and then reseed. As a result, their vegetables would be ready later than those from pre-prepared seedlings, but the advantage was that their harvest would last longer.

After helping her daughter with the planting, Zhulan’s enthusiasm for gardening waned.

In modern times, she was busy with scarce leisure time; coming to the ancient era, to adapt, she kept herself taut. Following Zhou Shuren to Pingzhou, she remained busy until suddenly she found herself bored, clueless about what to do next.

As for learning characters, she had recognized most of them and could read her writing, having studied quite a bit of classical Chinese in high school textbooks. Zhou Shuren had taught her a fair amount, and she had read some books and understood the meanings; she had no intention of taking the imperial examinations. These were enough to utterly outdo Ming Teng, so she could become an educated grandmother and wasn’t inclined to delve too deeply anymore.

After Li Xia, the children in the house could no longer be kept indoors; they were only seen at mealtimes. The yard fell quiet, and Zhulan was at a loss for what to do.

This was Zhou Shuren’s nth time hearing a sigh; he set down the book in his hand, "Bored?"

Zhulan lay there, playing dead, "Mhm, gossiping isn’t my thing, and I haven’t thought of anything interesting to do for the moment."

Zhou Shuren was actually the opposite of Zhulan; he particularly enjoyed a leisurely lifestyle. He felt that he had been negligent as a husband. After pondering for a while, his eyes brightened, "Do you know how to fish? Let’s go fishing by the river?"

Zhulan sat up, "I know how to fish. My grandfather taught me hands-on!"

Zhou Shuren silently mourned the missed opportunity; he had wanted to teach her hands-on. With regret, he said, "Then let’s go fishing. I’ll get a couple of fishing rods ready."

Zhulan pretended not to understand the sad implication and urged, "Hurry up then."

When the topic of fish came up, she actually started to crave it. Although the fish weren’t as plump as in autumn, what made them special was that they were all truly wild, and the flavor was genuinely good.

Zhulan changed into clothes that could get dirty, and Zhou Shuren had already prepared two fishing rods.

Zhou Shuren hurried along with Zhulan, glad in his heart that the grandson had gone out to play, or else their world for two would be gone.

In the yard, Zhou eldest and Zhou second exchanged glances, thinking to themselves that their father truly doted on their mother!

By the river, there were only a few children playing; the pair found a spot further away. Zhou Shuren took care of the fishing worms for bait.

Zhou Shuren waited for Zhulan to cast her fishing rod and said, "Fishing like this is boring—how about a competition?"

Zhulan snorted, "Do you think I’m stupid? Seeing how skilled you are, I know you’re an expert. I’d never bet on a game I knew I’d lose."

Zhou Shuren raised an eyebrow, "Fishing relies on luck too. Sometimes, the most skilled person can’t match someone with better luck."

Zhulan silently regarded Zhou Shuren, "Then tell me, saving you and coming to ancient times with you—is that good luck or bad luck?"

Zhou Shuren, "....."

This question was tough to answer—any response would be a trap!

Zhulan’s fishing rod twitched; she widened her eyes and, ignoring Zhou Shuren’s response, picked up the rod and slowly played the fish. It didn’t take long before she saw the fish, no wonder it was putting up a fight—it was not small. Zhulan smiled, eyes shining, "At least two pounds."

As the carp was lifted up, Zhulan looked at its size and laughed, "Let’s compete, then. If you lose, you’ll have to go back to your own quilt to sleep."

She had been mulling over this for a while. During winter days, Zhou Shuren was like a furnace; sharing a quilt was truly comfortable. But as the weather grew hotter, Zhulan couldn’t bear it anymore. Zhou Shuren’s vitality made her sweat, forcing her to be good and kick off the covers!

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shuren couldn’t accept it. Cuddling with Zhulan was cold in winter, but in summer, holding Zhulan was cooler. He certainly didn’t want to be in his own quilt!