Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 238 Tearing off the Mask_1

Chapter 238: Chapter 238 Tearing off the Mask_1

Jiang Sheng’s father, Jiang Yong, and Lady Jiangwang had both come, but Jiang Sheng hadn’t come with them. Lady Jiangwang arrived with a basket in hand, which could be seen containing roughly two jin of pork and some dried wood ear mushrooms.

Ever since Lady Jiangwang had entered the yard, her eyes seemed to be missing everything. She put down the basket and said, "Jiang Sheng didn’t even come home to tell us that the in-laws were moving. If it weren’t for us getting up early today to drive the ox cart to Zhou Family Village, my husband and I wouldn’t have known that the in-laws had moved away. This is a moving gift. The in-laws have a big family and a big business and won’t care about this little bit, but this is the best we can offer. Please don’t looking down on it."

Zhulan could hear the strong resentment in her voice. Lady Jiangwang was blaming them for not informing about the move. And that last sentence was particularly aggravating. Did she really think she was so easy-going? "In-law, what you’re saying... If that’s the case, then I must speak my mind. There are two kinds of relatives: those who share weal and woe, and those who scatter in times of trouble. The treatment for those who scatter naturally differs. Don’t you think that’s the truth, in-law?"

Lady Jiangwang’s face turned red with embarrassment. Although Lady Li hadn’t cursed, her words were more hurtful than curses. Wasn’t this directly pointing a finger at the Jiang family? Who would have expected the last incident to be unfounded, but indeed, it was she and the old man who had acted dishonorably.

She was seething with anger. First, the Zhou family had moved without informing them, obviously not considering the Jiang family as in-laws. Second, her son had moved into his wife’s family home and would be looking after it in the future. They too cared about their face, and now it looked impossible to live with their youngest son in the future. How could her heart not be filled with anger, convinced that the Zhou family was not acting honorably, and thirdly, there was her envy.

As a woman, she was truly jealous of Lady Li. She used to look down on Lady Li, but now Lady Li was high above, and this growing gap was like a mirror, increasingly reflecting her own dark side, hideously ugly.

Lady Jiangwang’s anger subsided, and for a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

Lady Li enjoyed the scene immensely. The mother-in-law was truly formidable, a few words making Lady Jiangwang profoundly ashamed. When could she ever learn a fraction of the mother-in-law’s skill?

Zhulan had not the slightest bit of fondness for the Jiang family, and she and Zhou Shuren hadn’t even considered the Jiang family worth noticing. She didn’t want to lower her dignity to argue, but that didn’t mean she would always tolerate it. She said to Lady Li, "We have received the in-law’s congratulatory gift. It’s getting late, and since the head of the family is feeling unwell, we won’t keep the in-laws and mother-in-law any longer."

All this time, Jiang Yong hadn’t said a word, since it was Zhulan who had received them herself as Zhou Shuren couldn’t get out of bed to rest.

Jiang Yong’s face turned green and white with shame. Were they being shown out by the in-laws? Should he be happy that the Zhou family had let them in, rather than leaving them standing outside the door?

Eldest Zhou knew that his mother wasn’t really angry, solely because she didn’t think the Jiang family was worth the anger. Seeing his mother pick up the teacup again, he stepped forward and said, "Uncle, this way, please."

Jiang Yong’s face alternated between pale and red, his face tensed as he stood up, shooting a glare at his wife, "Aren’t we leaving? Why stand there waiting to be chased out?"

Lady Jiangwang’s face reddened even more. At her age, in front of the younger generation, her husband did not show her any respect. How could she face people in the future?

Zhulan’s eyes were filled with contempt. Berating his wife, what kind of skill was that? She despised those who pushed the blame onto women.

Zhulan was not the least bit afraid that the two senior Jiangs, indignant and embarrassed, might return to Li Family Village and take their anger out on Xue Mei. If they were smart enough, they surely wouldn’t dare.

Zhulan waited for Eldest Zhou to return from seeing off the guests and looked at him. Eldest Zhou said cleverly, "Mother, Uncle and Auntie didn’t head towards Li Family Village when they left."

Zhulan’s mouth curled up. The old Jiang couple were smart after all, "Hmm."

Eldest Zhou felt that his mother was much scarier than his father when she got tough. Her words always went straight for the heart, aimed to tear off people’s facades, whereas his father was more direct. At least the heart wouldn’t be tormented. Jiang Sheng’s parents, once home, were bound to anger themselves sick.

When Zhulan saw the second son, Zhulan, walking in, she said, "I was just about to have your big brother look for you."

"Mother, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, your father and I discussed it last night. The house is too big, and our family is after all too small. We haven’t sold any of our grain, so we have enough to eat. You go and find four big dogs to bring home, put two at the front door and two in the back courtyard. Look for the fiercest ones."

Second Zhou’s mind whirled quickly, considering who owned dogs, "Mother, dogs aren’t cheap, a full-grown big dog could cost about two silver taels."

These days, apart from hunters, only families who were well-off in the village kept dogs to guard their homestead. Buying a dog wouldn’t come cheap.

Zhulan pulled out five taels of silver, "You decide on the purchase, but they must be fierce."

Zhou Laoda was even more eager than buying a cow, as he had always loved dogs. He had wanted to raise one since he was a child but had never mentioned it. Now that he could raise four, his wish had been fulfilled. In fact, his mother didn’t need to say anything, he had already planned to propose the idea after some time.

Zhulan had plenty of tasks to keep her busy, too. The cabbages left by the Zheng family had to be chopped, pickled into sauerkraut and spicy kimchi, while the rest needed to be stored in the cellar. The large vegetable garden couldn’t be tended to in just a few days.

The vegetable garden at the old Zhou residence didn’t need to be left for Xue Mei and her husband, as they had grown plenty of vegetables at the house they were renting. The garden at the old residence was handed over to Zhou Laoda, who, with the help of Xue Mei and her husband, could manage on his own.

The spinach, which couldn’t be preserved for long, was all picked, dried, and stored in cloth bags in a dry room. The Zheng family’s house had multiple rooms and had been a residence for many years without a hint of dampness, providing Zhulan with ample storage space.

Yu Lu, though still just a little girl, helped with the work.

Sun’s wife also offered to help, but Zhulan wouldn’t allow it. In the end, unable to argue with Zhulan, Sun’s wife took on the task of cooking instead.

By noon, Zhou Laoda came back with the four dogs. He had walked to buy the dogs and returned leading them into the village. The four large dogs were especially fierce, making the whole Li Family Village aware that Zhulan’s family had bought big dogs, and now they dared not come near the house.

Zhulan’s family was busy for three continuous days before finishing tending to the vegetable garden. The courtyard of Zhulan’s home was hung full of radishes and Sakura turnips, and the spinach was directly dried on the heated brick bed. With plenty of rooms in the Zheng family house, there was a lot of space for Zhulan to work.

In the following days, Zhou Laoda and Zhou Laoda took their wives to pick up firewood in the mountains. Li Family Village was geographically closer to the mountains than Zhou family’s village, and this part of the forest was very deep.

Zhou Laoda and Zhou Laoda didn’t dare venture too deep into the woods.

Before you knew it, November had arrived. This year’s first snow was later than last year’s and not as heavy, just a light covering. A gust of wind would blow, and the snow would disappear.

Xue Mei came home with her son and daughter, and the two kids were overjoyed to be there. As soon as they entered the house, they couldn’t sit still and ran off to play with Ming Teng.

Zhulan asked, "How come you arrived on a snowy day?"

Xue Mei replied with disdain, "Mother, what snowy day is it today? It’s just a light dusting of snow."

"A light dusting is still snow. Why did you come alone today? Why didn’t Jiang Sheng accompany you?"

Xue Mei said, "Lady Jiangwang is sick, so Jiang Sheng went back on his own. It just so happened that he could drop me off at the entrance of Li Family Village on his way. If nothing else comes up, he’ll come pick us up in the evening."

Zhulan understood that her son-in-law didn’t plan to take his wife and children back to endure hardship and no longer trusted his own parents.

Xue Mei didn’t see her elder sister-in-law, "Mother, where’s my elder sister-in-law? And why isn’t Grandma here either?"

Zhulan answered, "Your grandmother gets along well with Lady Li. After breakfast, she went back with Lady Li to the Li family’s home. They should be back by noon."

Xue Mei felt envious of her elder sister-in-law. Since her parents had moved, this was only her third time returning home. She envied her elder sister-in-law, who could return to her parental home anytime. However, although she couldn’t frequently visit her parental home, she could still eat the meals cooked by her elder sister-in-law every day.

It was all because the boys at home were used to eating lunch and got tired of pastries after just two days. Why didn’t they eat at her house? The answer was simple: they didn’t appreciate her cooking. Her elder sister-in-law had spoiled the boys with her cooking. This was the advantage of coming from a better-off family. In any other family, just having food to eat would be considered good enough.

In the end, they opted for a compromise. Her elder sister-in-law would prepare the boys’ lunch in the morning and then bring it over to their home to be heated at noon so that the boys could have a hot meal when they returned.

Her elder sister-in-law always made extra, and Xue Mei knew it must be at her mother’s instruction. Their home couldn’t afford to have three meals a day like her maternal home did, so her mother was deliberately subsidizing her.

With this thought, Xue Mei felt touched. Being with a mother and being without one made all the difference. Just as she was moved by this sentiment,

Zhou Laoda came in, "Mother, the second grandson of the old master from the Zheng family has returned."