Zhulan had never seen so many relatives gathered for a birthday celebration in modern times. When modern grandfathers celebrate their birthdays, there are not many blood relatives present. Instead, the attendees are mostly business partners. There were very few genuinely enthusiastic people, unlike in ancient times. In the past, even distant relatives were considered family, and Yang Sun’s family was from the same village, so there were even more local relatives. The house was particularly lively, and you couldn’t hear what people were saying because of the loud chatter.
Zhulan came in and chatted for a while. The mats for the birthday ceremony outside were ready. Everyone went to the main hall, while the outsiders stayed outside because the hall was too small. Even among Yang’s family members, there wasn’t enough room for everyone to stand.
The birthday greetings began. The old man and the old lady took their seats. Eldest Yang, Yang Zhumu, and his wife knelt down first to give birthday gifts. The two sons of the Yang family had family backgrounds. Although they were not as rich as those of the Zhulan family, they were not thin. The eldest family prepared wolf skins. A cushion and a pair of silver bracelets, a valuable birthday gift.
After that, the Second son Yang Zhuolin, with his wife, paid their respects. They set up embroidered table screens by themselves and even had tobacco pipes. The second Sister-in-law of Zhulan had done exquisite embroidery on the screen, which was worth a good sum of money, and the birthday gift was also quite valuable.
Finally, it was the turn of Zhulan and Zhou Shuren. Zhulan prepared six birthday gifts, including a set of expensive gold jewelry and a cloak. Her eyes flashed at the excitement, and this time everyone believed that Zhulan’s family was really rich.
Sun Shi did not look at the gold jewelry but touched the clothes without letting go. She knew that her daughter did not like to do needlework. Although her embroidery was simple and not particularly good, every stitch and every line showed her daughter’s filial piety, “Okay, okay.”
Mr. Yang was also very happy. He could finally wear decent clothes made by his daughter, which he had never expected before.
Zhulan embroidered the clothes with sincerity, stitch by stitch, and made the clothes special. Seeing that the two elders liked it, she smiled and said: “Dad and mom like it. I will make more clothes for Dad and Mom in the future.”
Yang Sun Shi just saw the needle marks on her daughter’s hand when she received the clothes. She couldn’t bear it and said, “Mother can’t bear to see you like this. Please, get up quickly.”
Sun Shi was really happy to see her son-in-law. She didn’t expect that her son-in-law could become a xiucai, and it made her look good. The more she looked at her son-in-law, the more she liked him!
Then came the birthday wishes from the grandchildren. The one with the strongest foundation among the grandchildren was Wuchun. However, to make sure that his other brothers didn’t feel bad, he didn’t give anything too expensive. What the grandchildren gave them was food.
On Zhulan’s side, the gifts from her grandchildren were quite similar. Although Zhulan didn’t specifically instruct them to say a lot of birthday wishes, the children understood the situation. The younger generation in the Yang family had not done as well in their studies as the Zhou family, and since this was a joyous occasion for the birthday celebration, they didn’t want to make their cousins feel uncomfortable. So, they all followed the conventional script and offered their birthday wishes.
Next came the great-grandchildren, and there were quite a few of them. There were both older kids and toddlers, and their youthful voices and innocence brought immense joy to Grandmother Yang.
The direct bloodline birthday celebrations are over, and it was the turn of the younger relatives. There were so many children. Zhulan looked at the basket of red envelopes prepared by her mother and almost all of them had been handed out.
Zhulan also got a red envelope, which was about one tael of broken silver. The red envelopes for the grandchildren were one hundred wens, and the great-grandchildren’s red envelopes were fifty wens. Zhulan’s family alone got a lot of silver.
Today her parents received a lot of gifts but also gave out a lot of money.
The birthday feast consisted of ten delicious and perfectly prepared dishes. Zhulan and her husband sat with her parents, and Zhu Lan wasn’t just focused on eating. This was because Zhou Shuren had recently become well-known for passing the provincial examination and achieving the title of xiucai. Additionally, Zhu Lan had also memorized the names of many of the Sun family relatives.
At the end of the birthday banquet, the leftovers from each table were taken home by the women at each table, and the guests were sent away. The old couple were exhausted after a busy day and could not wait to rest.
There were extra tables for the birthday banquet, and there were still two tables of untouched dishes. The sisters-in-law gave Zhulan an elbow, a small pot of chicken, and a pot of pig’s trotters. Zhulan was not polite, and it was just for the Patriarch to have dinner in the evening.
When Zhulan’s family arrived home, everyone in the village was cooking dinner, and the Patriarch and his wife were invited for dinner before going home.
After the birthday banquet ended, the Zhou family, with their wealth and newly acquired reputation, attracted a lot of attention. Even with Zhulan making it clear that she had no intention of seeking a match for her son Changlian, people still tried to approach her. Even Zhou Wang Shi made an attempt to test Zhulan, but she firmly declined, and as a result, no one bothered her further about the matter.
In the sixth lunar month, the seedlings that Li Shi had been growing inside the house were ready to be transplanted to the vegetable garden. Zhulan had some free time, so she helped her two daughters-in-law with planting the vegetables. It might seem simple to watch, but there was a fair amount to learn. After finishing her own garden, Zhulan went to help her eldest daughter’s family with their garden. It would be a waste not to make good use of the large vegetable garden at her eldest daughter’s home.
Because Xuemei and her husband had recently moved and hadn’t prepared seedlings, they sowed the seeds directly. The germination rate wasn’t very high, and they had to wait to replant seeds after the initial germination. So, the vegetables they would eat would come later than those with pre-grown seedlings. However, the advantage was that they would have vegetables to enjoy for a more extended period.
Zhulan helped her daughter grow vegetables, which were now more fresh than ever.
In modern times, she was so busy that she rarely had time to relax. In ancient times, she had been straining herself to adapt. Later, she followed Zhou Shuren to Pingzhou and was busy all the time. Suddenly she was bored and didn’t know what to do.
As for learning Chinese characters, she almost recognized them and could read the written ones. She also studied a lot of classical Chinese in high school textbooks, and Zhou Shuren taught a lot. She also read some books and understood the meaning. She was not preparing for the imperial examination. These were enough to crush Ming Teng and become a well-educated grandma, so she was not willing to learn too in-depth.
After the beginning of summer, the children at home could no longer be kept at home. They could only be seen at dinnertime. The yard had become quiet, and Zhulan had nothing to do.
After Zhou Shuren heard the sigh for the nth time, he put down the book in his hand and said, “Feeling bored?”
Zhulan lay down and straightened her body, “Well, I don’t like gossiping. I don’t think of anything interesting to do at the moment.”
Zhou Shuren was the opposite of Zhulan; he particularly enjoyed a leisurely state and felt somewhat neglectful of his duties as a husband. After a moment of contemplation, his eyes lit up, “Can you fish? How about we go fishing by the river?”
Zhulan sat up and said, “I can fish; my grandfather taught me how hands-on!”
Zhou Shuren sighed inwardly with a hint of regret. He also wanted to learn hands-on but said with disappointment, “Let’s go fishing then. I’ll go get a couple of fishing rods.”
Zhulan pretended not to understand the meaning of the sigh and urged, “Hurry, go ahead”
When it came to fishing, she was really greedy. Although the fish now were not as fat as in autumn, the valuable thing was that they were all wild and tasted really good.
Zhulan changed into a set of old, durable clothing, and Zhou Shuren had already prepared two fishing rods.
Zhou Shuren hurriedly took Zhulan and left, thinking to himself that it was fortunate their grandson had gone out to play; otherwise, their private time together wouldn’t have been possible.
In the courtyard, the eldest and second sons of the Zhou family exchanged a glance and quietly thought, “Dad really dotes on Mom!”
The two of them went to the river. Only a few children were playing by the river. The two of them found a place farther away, and Zhou Shuren was in charge of handling the earthworms for fishing.
Zhou Shuren waited for Zhulan to throw down the fishing rod and said, “It’s so boring to fish like this, how about a competition?”
Zhulan huffed, “Do you think I’m foolish? Just by looking at your skilled technique, I can tell you’re an expert. I won’t play a game where I know I’ll lose.”
Zhou Shuren raised his eyebrows, “Fishing also depends on luck. Sometimes, no matter how good you are, you can’t compare to those who are lucky.”
Zhulan looked at Zhou Shuren silently, “Then tell me, I saved you. Was it good luck or bad luck that you came here with me in ancient times?”
Zhou Shuren, “…….”
This question was difficult to answer, and no matter how you answered it, it will be a trap!
Zhulan’s fishing rod moved, her eyes widened and she didn’t wait for Zhou Shuren’s reply. She picked up the fishing rod and slowly walked the fish. After a while, she saw the body of the fish. No wonder it was so powerful. The fish was really big. Zhulan Lan smiled brightly, “At least two kilograms.”
When the carp was picked up, Zhulan looked at the size and smiled, “Let’s compete, if you lose, go back to your side of the bed.”
She had already thought about this matter, Zhou Shuren in winter was like a stove, and the quilt was really comfortable. But the weather was getting hotter and hotter, and Zhulan couldn’t stand it anymore. Zhou Shuren was full of energy, and she was so hot that she sweated, which made her kick the quilt!
Zhou Shuren couldn’t agree with that. Holding Zhulan in his arms kept him warm in the winter and cooler in the summer. He didn’t want to be in a bed by himself!
Zhulan had never seen so many relatives gathered for a birthday celebration in modern times. When modern grandfathers celebrate their birthdays, there are not many blood relatives present. Instead, the attendees are mostly business partners. There were very few genuinely enthusiastic people, unlike in ancient times. In the past, even distant relatives were considered family, and Yang Sun’s family was from the same village, so there were even more local relatives. The house was particularly lively, and you couldn’t hear what people were saying because of the loud chatter.
Zhulan came in and chatted for a while. The mats for the birthday ceremony outside were ready. Everyone went to the main hall, while the outsiders stayed outside because the hall was too small. Even among Yang’s family members, there wasn’t enough room for everyone to stand.
The birthday greetings began. The old man and the old lady took their seats. Eldest Yang, Yang Zhumu, and his wife knelt down first to give birthday gifts. The two sons of the Yang family had family backgrounds. Although they were not as rich as those of the Zhulan family, they were not thin. The eldest family prepared wolf skins. A cushion and a pair of silver bracelets, a valuable birthday gift.
After that, the Second son Yang Zhuolin, with his wife, paid their respects. They set up embroidered table screens by themselves and even had tobacco pipes. The second Sister-in-law of Zhulan had done exquisite embroidery on the screen, which was worth a good sum of money, and the birthday gift was also quite valuable.
Finally, it was the turn of Zhulan and Zhou Shuren. Zhulan prepared six birthday gifts, including a set of expensive gold jewelry and a cloak. Her eyes flashed at the excitement, and this time everyone believed that Zhulan’s family was really rich.
Sun Shi did not look at the gold jewelry but touched the clothes without letting go. She knew that her daughter did not like to do needlework. Although her embroidery was simple and not particularly good, every stitch and every line showed her daughter’s filial piety, “Okay, okay.”
Mr. Yang was also very happy. He could finally wear decent clothes made by his daughter, which he had never expected before.
Zhulan embroidered the clothes with sincerity, stitch by stitch, and made the clothes special. Seeing that the two elders liked it, she smiled and said: “Dad and mom like it. I will make more clothes for Dad and Mom in the future.”
Yang Sun Shi just saw the needle marks on her daughter’s hand when she received the clothes. She couldn’t bear it and said, “Mother can’t bear to see you like this. Please, get up quickly.”
Sun Shi was really happy to see her son-in-law. She didn’t expect that her son-in-law could become a xiucai, and it made her look good. The more she looked at her son-in-law, the more she liked him!
Then came the birthday wishes from the grandchildren. The one with the strongest foundation among the grandchildren was Wuchun. However, to make sure that his other brothers didn’t feel bad, he didn’t give anything too expensive. What the grandchildren gave them was food.
On Zhulan’s side, the gifts from her grandchildren were quite similar. Although Zhulan didn’t specifically instruct them to say a lot of birthday wishes, the children understood the situation. The younger generation in the Yang family had not done as well in their studies as the Zhou family, and since this was a joyous occasion for the birthday celebration, they didn’t want to make their cousins feel uncomfortable. So, they all followed the conventional script and offered their birthday wishes.
Next came the great-grandchildren, and there were quite a few of them. There were both older kids and toddlers, and their youthful voices and innocence brought immense joy to Grandmother Yang.
The direct bloodline birthday celebrations are over, and it was the turn of the younger relatives. There were so many children. Zhulan looked at the basket of red envelopes prepared by her mother and almost all of them had been handed out.
Zhulan also got a red envelope, which was about one tael of broken silver. The red envelopes for the grandchildren were one hundred wens, and the great-grandchildren’s red envelopes were fifty wens. Zhulan’s family alone got a lot of silver.
Today her parents received a lot of gifts but also gave out a lot of money.
The birthday feast consisted of ten delicious and perfectly prepared dishes. Zhulan and her husband sat with her parents, and Zhu Lan wasn’t just focused on eating. This was because Zhou Shuren had recently become well-known for passing the provincial examination and achieving the title of xiucai. Additionally, Zhu Lan had also memorized the names of many of the Sun family relatives.
At the end of the birthday banquet, the leftovers from each table were taken home by the women at each table, and the guests were sent away. The old couple were exhausted after a busy day and could not wait to rest.
There were extra tables for the birthday banquet, and there were still two tables of untouched dishes. The sisters-in-law gave Zhulan an elbow, a small pot of chicken, and a pot of pig’s trotters. Zhulan was not polite, and it was just for the Patriarch to have dinner in the evening.
When Zhulan’s family arrived home, everyone in the village was cooking dinner, and the Patriarch and his wife were invited for dinner before going home.
After the birthday banquet ended, the Zhou family, with their wealth and newly acquired reputation, attracted a lot of attention. Even with Zhulan making it clear that she had no intention of seeking a match for her son Changlian, people still tried to approach her. Even Zhou Wang Shi made an attempt to test Zhulan, but she firmly declined, and as a result, no one bothered her further about the matter.
In the sixth lunar month, the seedlings that Li Shi had been growing inside the house were ready to be transplanted to the vegetable garden. Zhulan had some free time, so she helped her two daughters-in-law with planting the vegetables. It might seem simple to watch, but there was a fair amount to learn. After finishing her own garden, Zhulan went to help her eldest daughter’s family with their garden. It would be a waste not to make good use of the large vegetable garden at her eldest daughter’s home.
Because Xuemei and her husband had recently moved and hadn’t prepared seedlings, they sowed the seeds directly. The germination rate wasn’t very high, and they had to wait to replant seeds after the initial germination. So, the vegetables they would eat would come later than those with pre-grown seedlings. However, the advantage was that they would have vegetables to enjoy for a more extended period.
Zhulan helped her daughter grow vegetables, which were now more fresh than ever.
In modern times, she was so busy that she rarely had time to relax. In ancient times, she had been straining herself to adapt. Later, she followed Zhou Shuren to Pingzhou and was busy all the time. Suddenly she was bored and didn’t know what to do.
As for learning Chinese characters, she almost recognized them and could read the written ones. She also studied a lot of classical Chinese in high school textbooks, and Zhou Shuren taught a lot. She also read some books and understood the meaning. She was not preparing for the imperial examination. These were enough to crush Ming Teng and become a well-educated grandma, so she was not willing to learn too in-depth.
After the beginning of summer, the children at home could no longer be kept at home. They could only be seen at dinnertime. The yard had become quiet, and Zhulan had nothing to do.
After Zhou Shuren heard the sigh for the nth time, he put down the book in his hand and said, “Feeling bored?”
Zhulan lay down and straightened her body, “Well, I don’t like gossiping. I don’t think of anything interesting to do at the moment.”
Zhou Shuren was the opposite of Zhulan; he particularly enjoyed a leisurely state and felt somewhat neglectful of his duties as a husband. After a moment of contemplation, his eyes lit up, “Can you fish? How about we go fishing by the river?”
Zhulan sat up and said, “I can fish; my grandfather taught me how hands-on!”
Zhou Shuren sighed inwardly with a hint of regret. He also wanted to learn hands-on but said with disappointment, “Let’s go fishing then. I’ll go get a couple of fishing rods.”
Zhulan pretended not to understand the meaning of the sigh and urged, “Hurry, go ahead”
When it came to fishing, she was really greedy. Although the fish now were not as fat as in autumn, the valuable thing was that they were all wild and tasted really good.
Zhulan changed into a set of old, durable clothing, and Zhou Shuren had already prepared two fishing rods.
Zhou Shuren hurriedly took Zhulan and left, thinking to himself that it was fortunate their grandson had gone out to play; otherwise, their private time together wouldn’t have been possible.
In the courtyard, the eldest and second sons of the Zhou family exchanged a glance and quietly thought, “Dad really dotes on Mom!”
The two of them went to the river. Only a few children were playing by the river. The two of them found a place farther away, and Zhou Shuren was in charge of handling the earthworms for fishing.
Zhou Shuren waited for Zhulan to throw down the fishing rod and said, “It’s so boring to fish like this, how about a competition?”
Zhulan huffed, “Do you think I’m foolish? Just by looking at your skilled technique, I can tell you’re an expert. I won’t play a game where I know I’ll lose.”
Zhou Shuren raised his eyebrows, “Fishing also depends on luck. Sometimes, no matter how good you are, you can’t compare to those who are lucky.”
Zhulan looked at Zhou Shuren silently, “Then tell me, I saved you. Was it good luck or bad luck that you came here with me in ancient times?”
Zhou Shuren, “…….”
This question was difficult to answer, and no matter how you answered it, it will be a trap!
Zhulan’s fishing rod moved, her eyes widened and she didn’t wait for Zhou Shuren’s reply. She picked up the fishing rod and slowly walked the fish. After a while, she saw the body of the fish. No wonder it was so powerful. The fish was really big. Zhulan Lan smiled brightly, “At least two kilograms.”
When the carp was picked up, Zhulan looked at the size and smiled, “Let’s compete, if you lose, go back to your side of the bed.”
She had already thought about this matter, Zhou Shuren in winter was like a stove, and the quilt was really comfortable. But the weather was getting hotter and hotter, and Zhulan couldn’t stand it anymore. Zhou Shuren was full of energy, and she was so hot that she sweated, which made her kick the quilt!
Zhou Shuren couldn’t agree with that. Holding Zhulan in his arms kept him warm in the winter and cooler in the summer. He didn’t want to be in a bed by himself!
