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

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: The Low-Key King_1

Zhulan and the others had walked away before she returned to the main house. She too was covered in a fair amount of snow, and after changing her clothes and washing her hands thoroughly, she took the prepared chicken soup to see Lady Zhao.

Zhulan estimated the time, darkness had fallen, and Lady Zhao’s childbirth went smoothly, taking about four hours. Despite having no rest, Lady Zhao lay there watching the child, ”Second Eldest, give your wife the chicken soup first and let her rest.”

Zhou Lao’er took the bowl, ”Mother, you have also been tired all afternoon. I’m here, so you should go back and rest first!”

Zhulan was not physically tired but mentally drained, her heart clenched the whole time. She sat by and watched the sleeping child, waving her hand, ”Wait until your wife has finished the chicken soup.”

Lady Zhao’s smile never left her lips, she was completely reassured after birthing a son, her daughter would have the support of a brother in the future, and if she herself had brothers, her mother might not have been sold off, and those with designs on her would have had some reservations. Ultimately, living as a woman was too hard.

After Lady Zhao had her soup, Zhulan turned to Zhou Lao’er, who was doting on his son, ”Keep an eye on your wife. Yushuang is staying with her aunt, and as for the child’s name, wait for your father to choose it.”

Zhou Lao’er hesitated, ”Naming him ’Cloud Teng and Rain Shun’ would be good enough.”

Zhulan, ”Wouldn’t that be the same pronunciation as Chang Zhi? And ’Rain’ isn’t really appropriate for the occasion. Better wait for your father to choose!”

Zhou Lao’er was not hung up on the matter, ”Mother, you should also rest soon. I can take care of everything tonight.”

From what Zhulan remembered, it was also Zhou Lao’er who took care of his wife during the birth of their first child. He was one of the few husbands who truly doted on his wife. Zhulan didn’t try to be strong, ”Alright, I leave it to you.”

Zhulan had just returned to the main house when she remembered that Lady Li said she would make sausages even tastier than Wang Ru’s. She immediately got up and put on her shoes to head to the big house, ”Lady Li.”

Lady Li shivered, fearing her mother-in-law had come to settle accounts, ”Mother, I was wrong. I will never panic again.”

Zhulan hummed, ”Don’t just talk; act on it. Today, it’s fortunate Lady Zhao’s due date was within these days. Otherwise, it could’ve been dangerous. If anything had happened to Lady Zhao and the child, see if Chang Yi would not fight you to the end. Tomorrow you should buy a hen and four pig trotters out of your own pocket and apologize personally to your sister-in-law.”

Lady Li wanted to object, after all, were not Lady Zhao and the child fine? But upon meeting her mother-in-law’s eyes, she quieted down, ”Mother, I understand.”

With every word she spoke, her heart ached, as it was her own silver being spent!

Only then did Zhulan say, ”Let me taste the sausages.”

Lady Li did not dare to sample them herself; after making the sausages, she always put them away, ”They’re in the kitchen.”

In these past days, Lady Li had managed to acquire Wang Ru’s sausages and had already replicated Wang Ru’s formula. While the profit on sausages was high, unlike the simpler kimchi which involved smaller interests and nobody cared much about, the sausage recipe was a different matter. Even though it wasn’t particularly complex, the vast profit meant that Wang Ru sold to the Shi family, and Zhulan vaguely remembered that Shi Qing was backed by an imperial merchant, a name that held some deterrence.

In ancient times, there were many capable people, not just Lady Li who could replicate formulas. Many could do so, but only those with clout dared to openly challenge the Shi family with the original recipe.

The Li family, not having the clout, couldn’t sell the original recipe; to touch upon those interests would mean the Shi family could easily accuse them of theft and take their lives, as the lives of the lower classes were as worthless as weeds, a reality both stark and brutal. The sausages made from the original recipe would only be eaten within the family. Driven, Lady Li thoroughly devoted herself to developing a new recipe, ignoring the village bustle to focus on sausage-making.

Zhulan broke off a piece and her eyes brightened, it was indeed tastier than Wang Ru’s sausages for sale, with a richer flavor and better texture, ”Not bad.”

Lady Li’s eyes beamed with joy; a new formula meant silver coins.

Zhulan’s feelings were mixed. Lady Li had strong creativity, and unfortunately, even though they were a scholarly family at present, there were no capable Zhou clansmen to protect the family, and they lacked the power to make anything happen. Still, low-key was best until they had the capability, yet Lady Li also needed encouragement, ”Well done. We’ll discuss more when your father returns.”

Lady Li was also aware she was not smart, except when it came to food. She felt she deserved a reward, ”Mother, we have stored some sausages at home. Can we take out some earlier made sausages for a meal?”

Zhulan, her heart pleased with the birth of a new grandson, agreed, ”Alright, tonight we’ll slice two plates of sausages. With the leftover pancakes from lunch, and some corn porridge, that will suffice.”

Lady Li, ”Alright, Mother.”

Upon exiting the kitchen, Zhulan saw the snowflakes gradually stop; with no snow disaster, she felt relieved.

With Lady Li no longer making sausages at home, she began wandering around the village again, coming back with gossip from Wang Ru’s household. Wang Ru had introduced new flavors of sausages.

Zhulan counted the flavors; in less than a month, Wang Ru had replicated almost all modern flavors. There was no life-saving debt anymore; merchants chased profits to the fullest, the Shi family was squeezing Wang Ru dry, and whether Wang Ru knew it or not, Zhulan felt she must be well aware, but unfortunately, there was nothing she could do!

At the Wang family, Wang Ru saw off Shi Qing’s steward and then frowned bitterly. Shi Qing was truly villainous enough, cursing him as an ungrateful wretch while counting the diminishing silver coins, wishing she could tear out his heart.

Wang Ru took a deep breath and regretted her decision. Had she known Shi Qing’s malicious intent, she would have sold the recipe outright instead of sharing the rights for a twenty percent stake. Naively believing that owing her a life debt would prevent Shi Qing from exploiting her.

She had forgotten the details of the novel, but she remembered some characters. The Shi family belonged to the imperial merchant class, wealthy and well-connected. Shi Qing, though an illegitimate son, was the only boy and had taken over part of the family wealth.

How could it be possible that her sausage recipe only brought her fifty taels in a month? Shi Qing clearly saw her as an ignorant village girl. Thinking of the six recipes she had already given, directly selling them could have fetched several hundred taels each without issue.

Now she was anxious. If she couldn’t produce new recipes, Shi Qing might just kick her to the curb, and the future share of the silver would be lost.