Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 308 Test of Ability_1

Chapter 308: Chapter 308 Test of Ability_1

Zhou Shuren went to the side room to knock on the door, waiting for Jiang Sheng to come out. He handed over the blanket and diaper with a dark expression, "Are the child and Xue Mei still okay?"

Jiang Sheng’s heart trembled, knowing his father-in-law was in a bad mood. Remembering Lady Li’s exhausted face, he understood why his father-in-law was taking his anger out on him, "The child and Xue Mei are both fine, Dad, you and Mom should rest early too!"

Zhou Shuren grunted and turned back to his room, where he saw Zhulan had already gone to sleep.

After Zhou Shuren blew out the candle and climbed onto the kang bed, he pinched Zhulan’s nose in the dark, resentfully saying, "You really treat Zhou family’s child as your own flesh and blood, huh!"

Zhulan, breathing uncomfortably, swatted away Zhou Shuren’s hand, mumbling drowsily, "Stop it."

Zhou Shuren chuckled softly, pulling Zhulan close. Sometimes people really do have too soft of a heart.

The next day, Zhulan didn’t get up early. When she woke up, breakfast was already made. Her legs felt a bit uncomfortable, having stood for quite some time the day before—an hour is three hours after all!

For breakfast, Lady Li had made rice porridge, stuck-together cornmeal pancakes, steamed egg custard, and stir-fried two types of greens. After breakfast, all the oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar brought from Pingzhou were gone.

Xue Mei had rested the whole night and that morning she ate five boiled eggs after drinking rice porridge. Xue Mei’s milk supply was good, and the two little ones were also doing fine.

Zhulan, while changing the baby’s diaper, asked, "The two little ones are already nine months full, aren’t they?"

Xue Mei had never really counted, but after some mental calculation, she said, "Mom, they are indeed nine months full."

Zhulan felt relieved. She wasn’t superstitious, but she remembered from her original memories that the saying about survival at seven months and danger at eight was quite accurate.

Xue Mei bit her lip, "Mom, I didn’t expect them to be in such a hurry to come out. You had a hard time yesterday because of it."

Zhulan smiled, "They know how to pick their days, both of them are fortunate."

In her heart, Xue Mei thought the two little ones indeed were blessed. Having the children at her mother’s house made her feel secure, and having her mother by her side gave her extra peace of mind. As for her husband, she didn’t trust him as much. No matter how steady he seemed, every time she gave birth, he would become extremely flustered. This time with twins, if she had been at her own house, she couldn’t imagine the chaos it would cause!

Zhulan settled the children gently, not daring to use force and being very careful with the tiny babies, "You can stay here and do your confinement with peace of mind. If I have to leave, you will still have your second brother’s family here, and with your second sister-in-law to look after you, I will be a bit more at ease."

Blinking her eyes, Xue Mei asked, "Is second brother not going back home, staying behind instead?"

Zhulan nodded, "Yes, the autumn harvest is coming up. He came back to oversee it. Jiang Sheng only needs to take care of Zhou family village’s twenty acres. That way, he can take better care of you."

Xue Mei hadn’t expected to get pregnant again. It was supposed to be their turn to take care of the family land, "It would be better if I hadn’t gotten pregnant, then second brother and his family wouldn’t have needed to stay back especially."

Zhulan said with a smile, "Even if you hadn’t gotten pregnant, your dad would have asked your second brother to come back."

Indeed, Xue Mei’s situation was one factor, but Zhou Shuren’s arrangement for his sons was more about testing the second son and Chang Lian’s ability to manage affairs on their own.

Xue Mei felt there was an issue. Although she didn’t see her sisters-in-law much yesterday, she heard some commotion early in the morning. The second wife and the younger sister-in-law seemed quite close to the eldest wife now. She hadn’t forgotten the arrogance of the younger sister-in-law, but as an out-married daughter who had given birth in her mother’s home and had caused enough trouble already, she thought it was best not to ask nor get involved.

After Zhulan left the room, Jiang Sheng came up to her, "Mom, dad is heading back to Zhou family village, and I will go back with him to get some things for the baby."

Zhulan responded, "Go ahead, I’ll take care of Xue Mei and the children."

Jiang Sheng bowed, "Thank you, Mom."

Zhulan waited for Zhou Shuren to leave with Eldest Master Zhou and Jiang Sheng, then called for the second son, "You send Mr. Lv back to the county, and when you return, buy everything that’s missing at home. I’ll write you a list shortly, and you just need to buy according to it."

Second Elder Zhou said, "Mother, I’ll go harness the cart first."

"Alright, come back later for the list."

"Yes!"

Zhulan thought as she held the pen, there were indeed many things missing at home. With the daughter doing her confinement, pig’s trotters, soybeans, and crucian carp all needed to be bought for soup to boost lactation. Household essentials like oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, millet, rice, and white flour needed restocking. Some pork ribs had to be bought too, along with roast chicken, cured meats, and most importantly, the joss paper and liquor for the grave visit and fruit as well.

Although the fruits in the northeast, whether pears or hawthorns, weren’t particularly tasty, they were better than nothing.

As Zhulan considered these, she wrote down a whole page of items. With her small handwriting, she carefully counted around fifteen or sixteen items to purchase.

When Second Elder Zhou came back for the list, he glanced at it and remarked, "Good heavens, that’s quite a lot, Mother, I’ll be off then."

"Mm."

After Second Elder Zhou had taken Mr. Lv back, a few daughters-in-law of the Zhou family had things to do. Lady Li returned to her mother’s home, Lady Zhao was tidying up the second wife’s luggage. This time, the second wife’s luggage was the most significant as they were planning to stay back in the hometown. In reality, they had not brought much back with them, mainly clothes and bedding, as the house lacked nothing.

Zhulan was preparing to make some baby clothes out of the remaining fine cotton when Lady Dong knocked and entered, "Mother."

Zhulan gestured for Lady Dong to sit, "I know why you’re here. Tomorrow we’ll be visiting the graves, and the day after tomorrow, you and Chang Lian can go stay at your parent’s home for a while."

Lady Dong rejoiced, "Yes!"

She just wanted to visit her family home, and to her surprise, her mother-in-law even agreed to let her stay for a while. As long as she did not cross her mother-in-law’s boundaries, the mother-in-law was still generous to the daughters-in-law.

Lady Dong picked up the fabric, "Mother, let me help you sew."

"No need, you help me check on your sister-in-law. Call me if you need anything."

Lady Dong put down the fabric, "Yes."

Zhulan was deft with needle and thread. By the time Jiang Sheng arrived with the ox cart, she had finished making the clothes. Zhulan was quite pleased with Jiang Sheng for washing the baby’s nappies. Even in the present times, there were many men who did not involve themselves in these matters, let alone in ancient times. She thought that having a Second Elder Zhou was already rare, but Jiang Sheng, a scholar, did not mind it either, which was even more commendable.

Of the Zhou family’s four sons, Eldest Master Zhou wasn’t the proactive type; Lady Li, his wife, was capable and did things behind the scenes. Second Elder Zhou was the type who didn’t care much, and as for Chang Lian, Zhulan wouldn’t bet a penny that he would lift a finger to help. Chang Zhi, she couldn’t be certain; the boy would really invest himself in whatever caught his interest, but otherwise, he wouldn’t pay any attention at all.

When Jiang Sheng moved all the baby’s items inside the house and saw his mother-in-law about to wash the baby’s clothes, he quickly offered his help, "Mother, let me do that."

He did not dare to trouble his mother-in-law, especially with his father-in-law’s imposing demeanor, which had frightened him so much that he spent the previous night barely sleeping with his eyes open.

Now that his father-in-law had become a graduate and might even become an official in the future, Jiang Sheng was truly frightened!

Zhulan, watching Jiang Sheng carry away the basin, fell silent. Zhou Shuren must have scared Jiang Sheng yesterday.

Jiang Sheng was a diligent and clean man. As Zhulan sat in her chair watching him wash clothes, she noticed how meticulous he was. She herself wouldn’t wash clothes three times; she was accustomed to washing them twice and rinsing them three times, but Jiang Sheng washed them three times and rinsed them three times.

An hour later, Second Elder Zhou returned, having bought everything that was needed for the house. Second Elder Zhou didn’t buy too much, as his parents had decided to leave a horse cart in the old home, which would make trips to the county more convenient, and they could buy anything that was missing on the spot.