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

Chapter 88: Chapter 88 Zhou Mingrui_1

Zhulan was the most composed person in the family; walking to the chest, she saw that half of the fabrics inside were fine cotton, and half were neatly stacked silk—a solid press of fabric that was more than enough for two or three garments for each family member. ”Why did you buy so much?”

”Patterns from the south go out of fashion quickly, and I happened to catch the clothing shop clearing their stock before the year’s end, so many fabrics were cheap. We have a lot of people in our family, so I bought more.”

Zhou Shuren said regretfully, ”Our family are farmers, even if I passed the exam for student scholars, it wouldn’t be of much use; we can’t wear many of these fabrics, otherwise, how could I buy some precious fabrics to make clothes for you?”

Zhulan criticized the ancient dress code regulations again, which dictated the materials one could wear for clothing. She turned to look at another chest filled with ink, paper, books, and some tea. She knew a little about ink and brushes—her maternal grandfather, who loved calligraphy, had taught her some. The contents of the chest were worth a considerable amount in Silver Coins. ”Did you buy these, too?”

Who would have thought that Zhou Shuren couldn’t save Silver Coins? How much had he spent on this chest?

Zhou Shuren understood Zhulan’s implied question and explained, ”The writing materials were rewards for helping authenticate items, the books are ones I borrowed and copied, or bought second-hand. In Jiangnan, scholars are numerous, and I managed to find some rare books to bring home.”

Zhulan flipped through the books, indeed some had worn edges and many included annotations—all were diligently acquired by Zhou Shuren. ”You’ve worked hard.”

Zhou Shuren felt gratified in his heart, all his efforts seemed worthwhile with Zhulan’s words. ”The remaining two chests are filled with specialities.”

Inside one chest were pastries, fans, handkerchiefs, and two pieces of good quality sheepskin; the most abundant item was dried beef. ”Where did these come from?”

Zhou Shuren replied, ”The dried beef and sheepskin were bought from a Tubo merchant; we’ll keep half the beef for ourselves and the other half will be sent to father and mother. The sheepskin will be made into coats for them to wear.”

Zhulan knew that these were specially intended as a tribute to Zhou Shuren’s parents; her eyes then fell on the last chest. No wonder there was such a strong smell, there were many sun-dried fish, but she was most surprised to see a leg of ham. She widened her eyes in astonishment—was there already ham at this time?

Zhou Shuren was paying close attention to Zhulan and immediately cleared up the confusion, ”Ham has been around since the late previous dynasty; it was popular only amongst the elite. The one I’ve got was given to me as a thank-you for helping out.”

Zhulan was delightfully surprised, and the last items were some dried shrimp.

All the items seemed plentiful, but in reality, it was the chests that took up most of the space; there wasn’t actually that much inside them.

Lady Li was particularly anxious; she was waiting to divide the items, having set her sights on the fabrics and fans. ”Mother.”

Zhou Shuren interrupted Lady Li, opening a small box by his hand, ”This is what I bought for the girls at home. The jewelry from Jiangnan is delicate. You can distribute it among the girls.”

Seeing that there were four of each item inside, Zhou Shuren thought that Zhao’s wife was expecting a girl, ”By the way, you’ve added another grandson, and he’s waiting for you to name him!”

Zhou Shuren pondered, ”Born in winter, and this year brought ample snow—a sign of a bountiful year heralded by ’auspicious snow.’ Zhou Mingrui, I hope the child will have a smooth life.”

Zhou Laodi opened his mouth in a grin—his son’s name bore a good omen, ”Thank you, Father.”

Zhulan also finished dividing the jewelry: a set for each daughter and granddaughter, with one extra set set aside in case another girl was born. Each received a pair of silver bracelets, a pair of silver earrings, and a silver amulet.

Noticing Zhou Shuren’s exhaustion from the journey, Zhulan turned to the eldest son, ”Go fetch some firewood.”

She then asked Zhou Shuren, ”Have you eaten breakfast? Shall we eat together and then you can rest?”

Zhou Shuren, lacking appetite, waved his hand, ”I’ll skip it, you eat. I’m going to lie down for a while.”

Zhulan signaled to the second son to prepare hot water for Zhou Shuren to wash up and said to Lady Li, ”Let’s get breakfast ready. After breakfast, you can head back home. Don’t forget to come back at noon to make lunch; everyone else should carry on with their work.”

Lady Li’s eyes were glued to the two chests filled with fabrics and pastries; it was as if her gaze took root. Zhulan ground her teeth in frustration, ”Wait until I’ve divided it before calling for you. There’s no use watching if I don’t share, now hurry up and cook.”

Only then did Lady Li tear her eyes away, offering a placating smile, ”Mother, please don’t show favoritism.”

Zhulan, in a good mood from Zhou Shuren’s safe return, replied, ”Enough, I have it in mind.”

Lady Li, reassured that Mother wasn’t just appeasing her, was about to leave when she remembered she forgot to ask the eunuch how much Silver Coin her father had earned. But as the eunuch had already entered the house, she didn’t dare follow to ask and could only fret and wonder.