Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!

77: Chapter 77: The Tail Wants to Reach the Sky_1 77: Chapter 77: The Tail Wants to Reach the Sky_1 Zhulan prepared a pot with streaky pork stewed with sauerkraut, two pork ribs, and a few spine bones—the ribs for the children and the spine for the adults to gnaw on.

Along with the stuffed blood sausages, it was quite a sumptuous pork feast.

Rongchuan had also tidied up the courtyard, not a trace of pig’s blood to be seen.

The boy was meticulous in his work.

Zhulan observed Rongchuan’s hands, reddened from the cold, and felt unsettled.

While her two sons were studying inside the house, this child had never been idle outside.

Zhulan had also driven Rongchuan back to his books, telling him not to help out, but Rongchuan, lacking confidence, would have seized all the household tasks if not for Zhulan holding him back under the guise of caring for his health.

After putting away the broom, Rongchuan rubbed his hands that were both hurting and itching, saying, “Auntie, I’m going back to study.”

Zhulan, drawing from memory, knew that frostbite was common in ancient times and was especially awful to bear.

Rongchuan’s frostbite was quite serious.

Unfortunately, she was not trained in medicine, and she was as ignorant as could be regarding life skills, without a single remedy to her name.

All she could do was take note and plan to find a traditional Chinese doctor in the county town to get some medicine.

Zhulan replied, “All right.”

Rongchuan returned to his room with joy, feeling especially content.

No beatings, a room to himself, a warm kang to sleep on, warm clothes to wear, and he could read the books he longed for.

It took him a long time to be sure it wasn’t a dream.

Also, thinking of Xue Han made his ears turn red.

The neighboring Auntie Zheng would gossip about him and Xue Han from time to time, and the village gradually started to believe the rumors that he was a boy raised by his maternal grandparents.

Initially anxious, with time passing and Uncle Zhou and Auntie Zhou never offering any explanation, Rongchuan—who was not stupid—came to understand the situation.

He shifted from never daring to look at Xue Han to gradually paying attention to her.

Slapping his flushed cheeks with a smile, he continued reciting his books.

Zhulan’s family stewed a large pot of sauerkraut for lunch, regretting the absence of glass noodles.

To her surprise, the entire pot of sauerkraut was devoured by the Zhou family members—a rate of consumption that had her worried the sauerkraut wouldn’t last until the New Year.

In the afternoon, she stewed another pot of meat, this time with steamed blood sausages which made it even more aromatic.

All day, the scent of meat wafted from Zhulan’s home, tempting passersby to stop and smell, and even led to children unabashedly peering at the doorway.

Zhulan wasn’t soft-hearted; she couldn’t set this precedent because if she did, there would be no end to it.

Moreover, if children were constantly coming over, the entire village would know what her family was eating—wasn’t that just flaunting wealth?

Showy wealth was unacceptable; being low-key was the true way.

Lady Li, carrying meat, returned to her parents’ house and was back before long, not empty-handed but bringing a pound of mutton with her.

Zhulan was aware of the price of mutton in ancient times; since it was nourishing, it cost several times more than pork, twenty-five coins per jin, and even more expensive in winter, sometimes reaching thirty coins.

“It’s too precious, quickly take it back,” she insisted.

Lady Li knew her father had accompanied the eunuch to Jiangnan and that her family had sold all their spicy cabbage to the Armed Escort Agency.

Since they had stored a lot of cabbage at a low cost, just from selling the spicy cabbage, they made ten taels of silver, not to mention the profits from her father selling his prescriptions in Jiangnan.

Moreover, her grandmother had said that she was entitled to a twenty percent share of the profits from the prescriptions.

Her family was grateful to her; previously, her sister-in-law did not like her, but since the last time she shared the spicy cabbage recipe, her sister-in-law had become much nicer.

This time, she was even more solicitous, allowing Lady Li to carry herself with pride at her parents’ home.

Lady Li knew she had silver coming her way, and since her in-laws had helped her parents make money, she spoke with confidence, “Mother, never mind the cost.

Father and you have helped my parents’ family a great deal.

It’s only right to send anything, and to tell you the truth, even a jin isn’t presentable.

It should be at least ten jin to start.”

Zhulan chuckled.

Look at how confident Lady Li was, her tail almost reaching the sky!