Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 379 New Year’s Gift_1

Chapter 379: Chapter 379 New Year’s Gift_1

Zhulan’s gaze was not only on Lady Zhao and Lady Dong, but also on Lady Li, her daughter, and two granddaughters; these words were meant for Lady Zhao and Lady Dong as well as for everyone else.

Inside the room, Lady Zhao and Lady Dong were already scared as quails, and Lady Li was also frightened. Suddenly, she stood up and knelt down, followed by Xue Han who pulled her two nieces to kneel. Together, they said in unison, "We dare not."

Zhulan hummed in acknowledgment, "I hope you remember the words of today. Alright, it’s getting late; you may all leave."

Once everyone had left, the room was left with only Zhulan, silent and peaceful, which eased her headache significantly. Once accustomed to tranquility, she really disliked noisy crowds.

Outside the door, after exiting the main courtyard, Lady Zhao hurried to catch up with her elder sister-in-law, "Elder sister-in-law, I just spoke without thinking."

Lady Li was no fool. She had seen plenty of officials’ daughters-in-law in Lizhou City and, with Madam Hua’s guidance beside her, she had become even more perceptive. Besides, her intuition was very accurate. Whether Lady Zhao spoke without thinking was clear to her, "Second sister-in-law, your words lack sincerity. I know you are envious of me, but what use is it to trample on me?"

Even this simpleton understood why her mother-in-law liked her, yet her two smarter sisters-in-law did not, making her realize that being too clever was not always good.

After speaking, Lady Li took her daughter Yu Lu by the hand and walked towards their own courtyard. As they walked, Lady Li thought of her parents and felt an inexplicable discomfort in her heart. It would be even more difficult to visit her parents’ home in the future, but she knew the mother-in-law would definitely send someone with New Year’s gifts. She not only needed to prepare the New Year’s gifts but also send a silver note back home, hoping that with more silver in her parents’ hands, they could live more comfortably.

Lady Zhao stood still, staring blankly as her elder sister-in-law entered the courtyard, fully aware of everything in her heart. Her sister-in-law had changed so much over the past year, with the only constant being her straightforwardness.

Lady Dong, once confident as Mr. Guan’s daughter, now knew that her father’s Seventh-rank County Official position was unlikely to rise further. She couldn’t even compare to her second sister-in-law now, who at least had a son and a daughter. She hadn’t even consummated her marriage yet!

Lady Dong no longer dared to underestimate her elder sister-in-law, who had become more enlightened over the past year. "Second sister-in-law, I still have some luggage to sort out, I’ll head back first."

Lady Zhao came to her senses, "Oh, alright."

After Lady Dong left, Lady Zhao, holding her daughter’s hand, thought about the young servant by her daughter’s side. There were some things she could not say with the servant there. It occurred to Lady Zhao that at least the mother-in-law was not particularly biased.

Zhulan rested for a while, then wrote the list for the New Year’s gifts and called for Steward Ding, "Go purchase six fat sheep, a hundred and twenty catties of yak jerky, eight pairs of big red lanterns, a hundred and twenty catties of pork, twenty-four fish, a hundred and twenty catties of vermicelli, eight sheepskins, buy eight jars of twenty-catty liquor, and lastly, eight bolts of cloth. I have written everything down clearly here."

As the in-laws were all ordinary folks who could only wear cotton and linen fabrics, eight bolts might seem like a lot, but they were not expensive.

Steward Ding took the list, "I’ll handle it right away."

Zhulan also had another list in her hand. She arranged for the purchase of nine items, rounding it up to an even ten New Year’s gifts with the addition of their own homegrown apples. She made a list for each family’s New Year’s gifts: the Li family, Clan Leader Zhou’s family, her daughter’s family, the Dong family, the Qian family, and the Jiang family, a total of six families’ New Year’s gifts.

The Jiang and Qian families would only receive six types of New Year’s gifts, lacking lanterns, sheepskin, liquor, and fabric.

The other four families would each receive ten types of New Year’s gifts as even numbers.

These were just the New Year’s gifts; Zhulan had also separately prepared clothes for her daughter’s whole family: outfits for her daughter and son-in-law, a cloak for each, two sets of clothing and shoes for each of the four children, as well as some small jewelry for her daughter and granddaughter. Lastly were the red envelops for New Year’s money.

This year’s New Year’s money was generous; our own grandson received one silver tael per month, and for grandchildren and granddaughters we don’t often see, Zhulan didn’t give as much — five taels of New Year’s money each, while the daughter and son-in-law each received ten taels. In truth, it was a way of providing financial support in disguise.

The daughter had been buying land for two years in a row and it’s time to prepare to buy a house. Once the daughter buys a house, the ancestral home can be rebuilt.

Zhulan not only prepared for her daughter, but also for the children of the clan school; there were many writing supplies at home. She intended to pick some to send back to the clan. The better supplies would go to scholars and young students, and the rest would be given to students at the clan school. Right, and there were also some handwritten books. This time, Er Yue brought quite a few books, and Zhulan planned to select some to be copied and sent back. As for who would do the copying, Er Yue and Chang Lian would be good choices; coming to Lizhou City, you still need to calm your mind.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the seventh day. In the seven days, all of Zhulan’s New Year gifts were ready, mainly waiting for books. Zhulan tasked Er Yue with escorting the New Year gifts back home, and Er Yue could also visit his parents.

Lady Li also made ample preparations, sending grains and meat, and buying quite a lot of fabric. Along with a set of Lady Li’s jewelry and fifty silver taels, Zhulan calculated that Lady Li sent almost eighty taels to her parental home.

All of these were reported by Lady Li and Zhulan; Zhulan genuinely didn’t take it to heart. The silver was Lady Li’s own, and if Lady Li wished to give to her parental home, she was quite happy about it. At least it showed that Lady Li was truly filial, and not just devoted to her mother-in-law.

After Er Yue left, Zhulan brought her children and grandchildren to the Yang family. Zhulan’s father had always been in good health and seldom fell ill, but this illness had lasted for some time. When the old man was sick, Zhulan wanted to stay and take care of him, but was sent away by her elder and second brothers.

It was all because the two brothers felt really embarrassed. After coming to Lizhou City, Wu Chun seldom returned from the military camp, and the Yang family relied entirely on Zhulan’s care. Zhulan managed not only the Zhou family but also looked after the Yang family, so the two brothers felt very ashamed.

Now with the silver reclaimed and having made an extra profit, the Yang family’s finances were comfortable, and they had also integrated into Lizhou City. It really wasn’t right to further burden Zhulan.

Of course, this was also Yang Dayong’s view. Yang Dayong and his wife cherished their daughter; they had already enjoyed much of their daughter’s filial piety. She had already done more than enough.

Zhulan was relieved to see her father’s health improved, despite being thinner, his spirits were good, "Dad, you’re well now, and that puts me and Book Ren at ease."

Yang Dayong chuckled, "You’ve been worried about me. I’m better now, all better. Oh, come let me take a look at my great-granddaughter and great-grandson."

Zhulan gestured for Mingyun to bring Yushuang and Ming Rui over.

Seeing the three children, Yang Dayong remarked, "Good, good, your family is now complete; a family really needs everyone together."

Zhulan smiled; this was the thinking of the elderly, hoping to have the family around, "Yes, now we are all together, a reunion New Year it is."

Madam Yang beamed, affectionately touching each of her great-grandchildren, considering that this year, thanks to her daughter, they had made quite a lot of silver coins. This year’s red envelopes for the children would also have to increase.

The old lady calculated, oh my, fortunately the daughter helped out the family, or else relying on the eldest grandson’s salary alone would not cover the Yang family’s expenses. There were many servants in the house enjoying the good life, and more silver was spent. Furthermore, the eldest grandson was a military general and had to entertain many guests during the New Year, which was another large expense.

Madam Yang held her daughter’s hand tightly; the Yang family could live dignifiedly without embarrassing the eldest grandson, all thanks to the daughter. Madam Yang felt so grateful for her daughter, "Lan, you’re still planning to go to Jiangnan, can’t you wait and go after spring next year? Travelling in winter is so hard!"

The Zhou family sons were dumbfounded; their mother had never said that!

Zhulan indeed had talked about it with her mother, during casual conversation, "Mom, now that dad is better, I’ll be ready to leave in a few days. Don’t worry, I’ll make a quick trip there and back."