Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 201: Undesirable Mother-in-Law_1

Chapter 201: Chapter 201: Undesirable Mother-in-Law_1

Zhulan felt the guiltiest. Just so happens that on the way past the wine restaurant to the grain shop, Zhulan took a detour and bought two pig’s trotters. Upon arriving at the grain shop, she saw Lady Li looking pitiful squatting by the shop door. Zhulan, feeling guilty, was the first to speak, "Hop on the cart quick, I just ran into your dad going to the market again, so that’s why I’m late. Mom bought your favorite pig’s trotters; you must have been anxiously waiting, huh!"

Lady Li had the words in her mouth shoved back in. Her mother had said everything there was to say and even gave her a sweet date; even her grievance dissolved. She truly felt wronged just moments ago, thinking that her mother had forgotten her; she had waited for nearly two hours. Now sitting on the ox cart and hugging the pig’s trotters handed over by her mother, she sniffed them—oh how fragrant. Her mother remembered her after all, and she smiled with bared teeth in delight.

Zhou Lao Da watched as the mother bluntly lied; she had clearly forgotten Lady Li. Yet he received a threatening glance from dad and, seeing how easily his foolish wife could be consoled, which brought a dopey smile on her face, oh, among the family, she was the least shrewd. He decided not to take advantage of her naïveté and to cherish her more instead. It wasn’t out of guilt; after all, he had forgotten his wife too.

On the way home, a light rain began to fall from the sky. Not long after the ox cart had set off, the light rain turned into a steady one. Fortunately, Zhulan had brought rain gear because she loved ancient umbrellas, especially bamboo umbrellas. Even though the ones from Jiangnan were a bit pricier than the local ones, she had bought ten in one go regardless.

The only downside was that the umbrellas came in no varying sizes; they were all single-person umbrellas.

Now, with Zhou Shuren added to the party, Zhulan picked up her daughter and said to Zhou Shuren, "You hold one, and I’ll hold another while carrying the little one."

Zhou Shuren held the umbrella, finding his daughter in the way. If the daughter hadn’t come, he could’ve brought one less umbrella, and he could be sharing an umbrella with Zhulan. Regretfully, he withdrew his gaze to look at the fields by the roadside.

Xue Han looked up at the top of the umbrella—yup, no gaps—until she felt her father’s gaze shift away and then she sneakily peered at him. Alas, she had been deemed a nuisance again, wasn’t their cherished family phrase "the beloved eldest daughter" supposed to be true? Snuggling closer to her mother, she whimpered inwardly; mom truly was the best. She vowed to pray every day, hoping her mother would live to a ripe old age!

By the time they got home, the rain had turned into a downpour; even with the rain umbrellas, their lower halves were still soaked. Lady Li was in the most awkward state; she had to protect the glutinous rice flour she had bought, getting a good part of her upper body wet.

After changing clothes, Zhao Shi knocked on the door carrying Ginger Soup, "Mom, I saw it started raining so I started brewing some ginger soup. You and dad should drink a bowl to chase away the chill."

Zhulan picked up the bowl, "Did you take some over to your sister-in-law yet?"

Zhao Shi knew very well, regardless of mother’s fondness for her, mother still worried more about her sister-in-law. It’s the same principle that a squeaky wheel gets the grease. Mother might complain about the sister-in-law, but she still kept her in mind. It was just unfortunate that she couldn’t change her character, but nevertheless, she envied her sister-in-law, for the foolish were blessed indeed. Taking the empty bowl, she said, "The head of the house has brought some over, and I just delivered some to sister on my way here."

Zhulan smiled, "You’re always so thoughtful. Your sister-in-law is careless; she would never think to make ginger soup at home. In the future, whatever she overlooks, I’m counting on you to take care of."

Zhao Shi smiled faintly, "I’ve got it, Mom. I’ll be on my way now."

She feared that listening too much would stir up jealousy towards her sister-in-law. Despite openly criticizing her, Mom never made the sister-in-law change her ways, which only made her feel more sour and envious. She had never imagined that she would one day be so envious of her sister-in-law.

Zhou Shuren caught the emotions in his second daughter-in-law’s tone, and once the door was closed, he leaned in close to Zhulan, "Didn’t you hear that? The second daughter-in-law is getting a bit jealous."

Zhulan drying her hair, "I did hear it, but what can we do? Zhao Shi keeps too many things bottled up; she’s drawn a circle for herself that I can’t breach. Relationships are a two-way street, and she’s locked herself in. What can I do? A mother-in-law who’s too understanding just tightens the pretense. Besides, ancient times didn’t need mothers-in-law to be understanding!"

She was certain that showing too much understanding towards Lady Li and Zhao Shi would probably terrify Lady Li into some kind of disorder, and as for Zhao Shi, it would only make her overthink, given that Zhao Shi was too clever.

Zhou Shuren had only asked in passing and then lay down on the kang, "Rainy days are so comfortable; it’s been a long time since it felt this cool."

Zhulan frowned, "Cool for today, but once the rain stops, we’ll suffer. The humidity and the heat will make it even more unbearable."

Zhou Shuren counted the days, "There are only a few more days until the end of the hottest period. After that, the weather won’t be so hot. And since there wasn’t much rain in the early summer this year, I reckon it’s going to rain for a few days. Once the high temperatures break, I can finally have some comfortable days."

For a person who was already heat-intolerant, running outside every day this summer without suffering a heatstroke was nothing short of a miracle.

Zhulan habitually responded, "It’s still very hot in September. No, wait, this is the ancient times, not the modern era. In modern times, the greenhouse effect has caused abnormal weather, but in ancient times, the climate patterns were accurate. Plus, this is Dongbei, and the temperature drop is indeed noticeable. Whew, life is finally comfortable."

Zhou Shuren didn’t have to come home every day drenched in sweat anymore. His undergarments were unwashable, soaked through with perspiration—a testament to his hard work. Zhulan examined Zhou Shuren carefully, "You seem to have lost weight again."

She reached out to touch Zhou Shuren’s arm. It was indeed slimmer, which pained her heart.

Zhou Shuren, however, didn’t seem to mind. Enduring hardship was the way to become somebody significant. The suffering he endured today laid the foundation for the future. Not wanting Zhulan to worry, he pursed his lips, "Kiss me, and I’ll gain the weight back."

Zhulan knew Zhou Shuren was teasing her, but she still leaned down and kissed him. Zhou Shuren’s eyes darkened, and with a big hand, he pulled Zhulan into his embrace. This was a rare opportunity of happiness delivered right to his doorstep, how could he not take advantage of it!

This time, they were undisturbed. Zhulan’s lips swelled up, and her face was as red as if it had been scorched by fire. She glared at Zhou Shuren, "We’ll be having lunch soon. How can I go out looking like this?"

She really feared Ming Teng might ask. After all, she was his grandmother and she had her own dignity to uphold.

Zhou Shuren, thick-skinned, teased her, "Who would dare to say anything with me here?"

Zhulan glared at Zhou Shuren. He might be shameless, but she certainly wasn’t as thick-skinned as him, "Go fetch me a basin of cold water."

Zhou Shuren was all talk, but he did care about Zhulan’s feelings. He put on his shoes and went out, "I’ll go get the water right now."

Before long, he brought back the water. Zhulan used a cloth to apply it until her lips returned to normal.

Watching the heavy rain outside, Zhulan grew anxious, "The river won’t breach its banks, will it?"

"No, the water dam was rebuilt this year. Magistrate Dong is actually quite reliable. It’s his hometown after all. They didn’t cut corners during the repairs. Plus, the north rarely floods. Even two more days of rain won’t be a problem."

Zhulan was reassured. Hearing Lady Li call for a meal, she put down the cloth and checked several times until she was sure her lips looked normal again. Then she followed Zhou Shuren to the main hall for the meal.

They had bought pig feet, which Lady Li, strong as she was, chopped into small pieces. Each person could get a piece from the two pig feet. The green vegetable was sweet potato leaves stir-fried with lard, accompanied by cold shredded radish salad. The staple was cornbread mixed with white flour.

Due to the heavy rain, there was no need to go to school that afternoon. Zhou Shuren, who was rarely at home, took the students who were studying for their exams with him instead.

In the afternoon, the rain lightened to a steady downpour and continued until bedtime without stopping.

The sky remained gloomy the next morning, and the rain that had briefly paused started again after breakfast.

Lady Li looked up at the sky, "Mother, it looks like the rain won’t stop today. Will Mr. Hou still come? Should I still go buy meat?"