Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 357: Breaking a Leg_1

Chapter 357: Chapter 357: Breaking a Leg_1

Zhulan knew the situation clearly in her heart but still felt annoyed. They had barely arrived in Lizhou City and he had just been appointed an official. Having concubines in ancient times was truly dreadful.

Zhou Eldest had a glum face too. If Mother hadn’t laid it out clearly, he wouldn’t have even considered this matter, thinking the broker was thoughtful enough to send a few older ones to fill a shortage at home.

With pursed lips, Zhou Eldest thought about how his mother had braved the storms with his father. Weren’t these people hitting his mother right in the heart? Just wait and see how much Father cares about Mother; he will surely remember this today!

Seeing that no amount of apologizing would help, the broker knew he had to go back and inform his employer. Wait for the master to come knocking at the door, as he was just following orders anyway.

Lady Li entered the room with her mother. Now, she couldn’t stand the sight of the maids; she had only been excited about her change of status before, never considering that with the change came new dangers. "Mother, can’t our family do without maids?"

Zhulan laughed, "Rest assured, for now, no one is interested in Eldest."

Aside from being the eldest son, Eldest was good for nothing else. Were it Chang Lian, the third son, or Chang Zhi, the youngest, there might be someone interested in them.

Lady Li’s heart tightened, "Mother, what do you mean by ’for now, no one is interested’?"

"That depends on how high a rank your father reaches in his official career."

No matter how incompetent Zhou Eldest might be, as long as his father held a high position, there would still be plenty of people eyeing Zhou Eldest.

Lady Li panicked, "Mother, what am I to do? I’m not pretty, I have a loud voice, I’m overweight, and except for cooking, I can’t do anything else. Has my husband already started to dislike me?"

No wonder her husband had been going straight to bed and hadn’t talked to her properly in a long time; in her nervousness, Lady Li completely forgot that they were short on hands at home, with Zhou Eldest taking on the workload of three people, purely exhausted.

Zhulan, "....."

Lady Li truly understood herself. But indeed, this problem needed to be resolved, starting with Zhou Shuren today and her sons in the future.

Zhou Eldest walked in to get some Silver and overheard Lady Li speaking so about herself. Hearing the fear in her voice, he felt a strange discomfort. He was just an ordinary person and had never thought about despising Lady Li because his father’s status had changed, and he had become a young master. Lady Li had borne him children; he was a man of conscience and decided to have a good talk with Lady Li that night.

Zhou Eldest knocked on the door, "Mother, I’ve come for the Silver."

Zhulan was distracted by Lady Li and forgot to get the Silver. She took out two Silver Notes and handed them to Eldest. Although she hadn’t asked for the price, the broker wouldn’t dare to cheat officials; this Silver should be sufficient. "After you exchange the notes for the indenture, ask around to see if there’s any land or hills for sale. I’m thinking of buying some."

Zhou Eldest took the Silver Notes, "Mother, I’ve got it."

After Zhou Eldest left, Zhulan needed to reassure Lady Li, "Don’t scare yourself. I’m putting my word here, our family won’t entertain the idea of taking concubines. If anyone dares, I’ll have your father break his legs and then kick him out of the Zhou family."

Lady Li, who had been anxiously pacing, immediately stopped, "Mother, really?"

"When have I ever not kept my word?"

Lady Li broke into a smile; her mother-in-law had always been reliable. As long as her mother-in-law’s word stood, she had nothing to fear about her husband straying, "Mother, you’re so good."

Zhulan really liked Lady Li, look how quickly her mood improved, "Don’t keep me company, think about a few dishes for lunch, send them to the government office when your eldest brother comes back."

Lady Li was somewhat distressed, "Mother, the only things presentable left at home are cured meat and sausages; we have no other dishes. The head of the family thought of going to the market this morning to see if there were any vegetables, but there wasn’t even a shadow of a person there."

Zhulan said, "Now that we have more servants at home, I’ll have Er Yue take some people to Chuanzhou to buy some tomorrow."

Lady Li stopped worrying, "Mother, then I will go cook now."

"Wait a moment, go ahead and kill two hens, I’ll get you some ginseng later. Make ginseng chicken soup with one hen to send to the government office, and stew the other with mushrooms for us to eat."

Lady Li had been craving everything during this long and arduous journey; she’d had her eye on the hens but dared not mention it without her mother-in-law’s go-ahead. Now that her mother-in-law wanted them, she salivated at the thought, responding loudly, "Yes."

After the elder sister-in-law left, Xue Han quietly walked over and hugged her mother’s waist, "Mother, don’t be angry."

Zhulan smiled, her daughter was always so thoughtful, "I’m not angry anymore."

It was just that everything had happened so suddenly today, and she hadn’t controlled her emotions well.

Xue Han bit her lip; her third sister-in-law’s father even had a concubine, just no children from her. Snuggling into her mother’s arms, "Mother, will father change in the future?"

"No."

Zhulan’s tone was firm, not only because she and Zhou Shuren were tied together but also because she trusted Zhou Shuren.

Hearing her mother’s heartbeat, Xue Han gradually felt reassured. With her parents’ relationship being so strong, no other person would come between them. She hugged her mother’s waist tighter, "Mhm."

Zhulan patted Xue Han’s back and after a while, she saw that the girl had fallen asleep in her arms. Touching Xue Han’s small face, she realized how exhausted the girl was from traveling; even her baby fat was gone, and her features were more defined. Thankfully, a ten-year-old wasn’t too heavy, otherwise, she really wouldn’t have been able to carry her. Zhulan moved Xue Han onto the bed and covered her with a small blanket; the girl slept deeply.

Zhulan smiled, loving the feeling of raising children.

Zhulan still had tasks to attend to, counting the family’s Silver. They had spent five thousand five hundred taels in the capital on purchasing two houses, some jewelry, and lumber. From selling forty acres of land in Pinggang, they made four thousand taels, and from selling the house in South City, they gained six thousand taels, bringing their account to ten thousand taels.

The expenses coming to Lizhou Province included buying a house for one thousand taels, setting up the carriage, food, and other necessities which cost four hundred taels, and two hundred taels were given to the eldest son. In total, they were left with twelve thousand six hundred taels of Silver in large denomination, and over fifty taels in broken silver.

Zhulan was reassured after closing the account book. Although it seemed like a lot of Silver, she would need to spend several amounts in the coming days. Silver really doesn’t last long when spending; the family’s savings was still too little!

When Eldest Brother Zhou returned, Zhulan gestured for him to be quieter.

Seeing his sister asleep in their parents’ room, he thought to himself that only his little sister got such treatment. He spoke softly, "Mother, here are the servants’ indentures. The broker, wanting to show apology, offered the lowest price. Including the cost for exchanging the indentures, it all cost only one hundred and fifty taels, leaving fifty taels remaining."

Zhulan hummed in acknowledgment, "Did you find out any information about the land?"

Eldest Brother Zhou said, "There’s quite a bit of land for sale nearby, and most of it is being sold off in one or two-acre plots by people looking to make Silver to get by. The contiguous land near Prefecture City has already been purchased, but the mountainous land isn’t attracting buyers, so there’s plenty of it at a cheap price, one Silver tael per acre. If you buy up fifty acres, they’ll even throw in ten acres of wasteland."

Zhulan wondered if the gifted wasteland was included within the two hundred acres; she’d have to ask Zhou Shuren when he returned, "I see, you can go back to your work now."