Zhulan waited for Zhou Shuren to hang up the earthworm again, “If you don’t say anything, are you agreeing?”
Zhou Shuren narrowed his eyes, he would not lose, “Bet, just bet, if you lose, can you cook a meal for me with your own hands?”
Zhulan was surprised at Zhou Shuren’s request at first. She knew that her cooking was not delicious, but then she felt something was wrong. She recalled carefully that her original birthday was on the second day of August, and the same was true for hers. She asked, “Is your birthday on June 20th? Is it the same as the original Zhou Shuren?”
Zhou Shuren looked at Zhulan approvingly and responded quickly, “Well, the birthday is on the same day, so I am asking you to make a meal.”
What gifts, he really didn’t care, he just wanted to eat a meal made by Zhulan.
Zhulan was silent. She thought that Zhou Shuren, an old fox, would ask for something else for benefits, but she didn’t expect it to be this. However, she would not ask to change the bet. If she did, Zhou Shuren would think that she wanted something else to happen!
Zhou Shuren saw Zhulan nod, and his smile became even warmer. He really didn’t want to seek benefits, it’s just that the timing wasn’t right. Although Zhulan appeared to be in good health, in reality, she needed to be nurtured. It would take at least one or two years to get her body in good shape. Otherwise, if they wanted to have their own child, Zhulan’s body couldn’t bear it. She was already an older mother, and in ancient times, there weren’t good medical conditions. He wouldn’t take that risk.
In addition, they will go to Beijing as soon as he passes the provincial examination next year, and he doesn’t know whether he will be posted in the capital or be sent outside. The combination of various factors made it not a good time to seek happiness.
He had also considered having a child in two years, but Zhulan would be at risk. However, the current situation was even riskier, almost like slow, chronic suicide. He had thought that if it came to it, he would drop the idea of having a child. Though not having their own child was regrettable, he only wanted to grow old together with Zhulan.
Seeing that Zhou Shuren was distracted, Zhulan hurriedly pulled it, “Your fishing rod has moved, pull it quickly to unhook it!”
Only then did Zhou Shuren come back to his senses and hurriedly pick up the fishing rod. The fish was very strong. It must be said that between the two of them, his luck was good, and Zhou Shuren caught more than two kilograms of fish.
A moment ago, Zhulan was solely concerned with the fish not escaping. Now, seeing that the two of them were evenly matched, she was relieved. Her mindset was good, and she didn’t consider it a loss. She was willingly going to cook for Zhou Shuren since winning meant that she could finally have a cozy bed all to herself. No matter how you looked at it, it was a win for her. She would return and keep a close eye on her fishing rod.
Soon, half a day passed without any fish biting. Both of them were intensely focused on their fishing rods, and the surroundings were incredibly quiet. Every small sound was particularly noticeable to Zhulan. She turned her head to stare at the bushes behind them, and when she saw Zhou Shuren also turning his head, Zhulan gestured to him, indicating not to make any noise.
The two of them heard Wang Ru’s voice clearly, “If the matter is completed, I will give you another ten taels of silver.”
The other person lowered her voice and they could tell that it was a woman, “Ten taels of silver is too little.”
Wang Ru’s voice was a little annoyed, “If you don’t do it, someone else will do it. Someone else will do from your family.”
After waiting for a while, the situation became tense. However, the woman refused to compromise and threatened, “If you don’t add more silver, I’ll spread the word, and the entire village will know about it. Don’t think you can get away with it.”
Wang Ru’s voice was filled with anger. “Fifteen taels, don’t go too far. I’ll pay you twenty taels first, then add fifteen taels, and it will be thirty-five taels.”
“Pay thirty taels first, and it will be done. If you succeed, you will give me another ten taels.”
There was another silence, the two reached an agreement and left quickly.
Zhulan turned back and looked at the river with some speechlessness. She was bored at home and went out fishing with Zhou Shuren and met Wang Ru. She didn’t know whether to criticize Wang Ru or say that their fate with Wang Ru was really deep!
Zhou Shuren asked, “Can you recognize whose voice it is?”
Zhulan spread her hands and said, “Don’t count on me. There are many women in the village. I have been staying at home since I came here. I really can’t tell.”
Zhou Shuren was wary, “Keep an eye on the children these days, don’t let her target us.”
Zhulan nodded, “Yes.”
Because Wang Ru disrupted the atmosphere between the two, she fished for a while and then left. In the end, Zhulan lost, falling short by two fish. Zhou Shuren walked away victoriously, and Zhulan, in her innocence, believed that there could be cheating everywhere. It wasn’t in vain that he occasionally told jokes to amuse Zhulan and, taking advantage of her distraction, manipulated the fishing rod.
Zhulan looked at the proud Zhou Shuren and curled her lips. She really pretended that she didn’t notice it. She didn’t notice it once or twice. There were too many times. She was originally a martial arts practitioner with sensitive senses. She just looked at Zhou Shuren and thought he had succeeded in cheating. She watched happily without saying a word. She would not admit that she was a little bit reluctant to let go of Zhou Shuren’s arms!
On the afternoon of the second day, before Zhulan could be on high alert, Zhulan knew what Wang Ru was planning. Suspecting that her ears had heard it wrong, she asked Zhou Wang Shi, “Someone wants to adopt Wang Ru?”
Zhou Wang Shi was Village chief’s mother. This time the trouble came to their house, she watched the whole scene, “Yes.”
Zhulan felt that Wang Ru would not simply adopt herself out, so she quickly asked, “Which family wants to adopt her?”
Zhou Wang Shi hesitated for a moment and then continued, “In the village, there are two households of outsiders. One is surnamed Wang, and the other is surnamed Qian. They arrived together. The Wang family doesn’t have a strong bloodline, and their only son, who had just married the Qian family’s daughter, passed away from an illness before their child could be born. The Qian family’s daughter couldn’t handle the shock and had a difficult childbirth. Do you remember this incident?”
Zhulan ransacked her memories, and indeed, this incident had caused quite a commotion. She continued, “It was a big scandal back then. The Qian family went so far as to confront the Wang family directly. The elderly couple from the Wang family were already in poor health, and this added shock was too much for them. They both passed away last summer. So, you mean, Wang Ru was adopted by the Wang family, who had no heirs left?”
Zhou Wang Shi nodded and said, “Yes, it was the Qian family who brought this up. Qian’s elderly lady cried, saying her daughter cried and lamented in her dreams every night, expressing her desire for a daughter. She even left behind a pair of characters, and one of them is ‘Wang Ru.’ The elderly lady became even more convinced. After that, she went to Fourth Wang’s house, and this whole issue reached my son. Fourth Wang absolutely refused, and Qian’s elderly lady cried and made a scene.”
She had a headache after hearing this and finally sent the person away. She didn’t want to stay at home for fear that the Qian family would come again, so she came out to chat with Yang Shi.
Zhulan’s tense heart eased, understanding that Wang Ru’s intention was adoption. She sighed in relief and said, “Naturally, Fourth Wang wouldn’t agree. Wang Ru is like a cash cow, and all the good days Fourth Wang has enjoyed are thanks to her. He can’t bear to part with her.”
She really despised Fourth Wang. He used to make sausages himself and sell them, but unfortunately, he didn’t stick with it for long. Fourth Wang quickly adopted the life of a master, and now, the entire Wang family didn’t do any work. They relied entirely on Wang Ru for their income. Every time she saw Fourth Wang’s smug look, it was truly irritating.
Zhou Wang Shi said sarcastically, “You should have seen how angry Fourth Wang was at that time! He wanted to hit someone and even threatened to kill anyone who robbed his daughter!”
Zhou Wang Shi changed the subject and said, “I’m just telling you, I think Wang Ru is behind this. This girl is very evil. I kept staring at her. Wang Ru seemed to have expected that he wouldn’t agree, and she was still watching the show leisurely!”
Zhulan thought that Zhou Wang Shi was indeed sharp and had spoken the truth. She said, “It seems like adoption is just a matter of time.”
Zhou Wang Shi had already guessed this, which was why she was even more reluctant to stay at home. She even told a few daughters-in-law to go out and not stay at home. She said to Zhulan, “You mentioned that Wang Ru and Master Shi have a somewhat unclear relationship. If Master Shi is really interested, why didn’t he take her away?”
T/N Hiiii Sorry for the delay in posting recently. Last week was the biggest festival in my State, Durga Puja which is the worshipping of Mother Durga, a Goddess. Anyway, my husband came, so I was pretty busy going out and eating !!!! Will surely catch up on the missed chapters.
BTW, do comment and tell how are you liking the images! I am using Bing image creator AI to create these.
Zhulan waited for Zhou Shuren to hang up the earthworm again, “If you don’t say anything, are you agreeing?”
Zhou Shuren narrowed his eyes, he would not lose, “Bet, just bet, if you lose, can you cook a meal for me with your own hands?”
Zhulan was surprised at Zhou Shuren’s request at first. She knew that her cooking was not delicious, but then she felt something was wrong. She recalled carefully that her original birthday was on the second day of August, and the same was true for hers. She asked, “Is your birthday on June 20th? Is it the same as the original Zhou Shuren?”
Zhou Shuren looked at Zhulan approvingly and responded quickly, “Well, the birthday is on the same day, so I am asking you to make a meal.”
What gifts, he really didn’t care, he just wanted to eat a meal made by Zhulan.
Zhulan was silent. She thought that Zhou Shuren, an old fox, would ask for something else for benefits, but she didn’t expect it to be this. However, she would not ask to change the bet. If she did, Zhou Shuren would think that she wanted something else to happen!
Zhou Shuren saw Zhulan nod, and his smile became even warmer. He really didn’t want to seek benefits, it’s just that the timing wasn’t right. Although Zhulan appeared to be in good health, in reality, she needed to be nurtured. It would take at least one or two years to get her body in good shape. Otherwise, if they wanted to have their own child, Zhulan’s body couldn’t bear it. She was already an older mother, and in ancient times, there weren’t good medical conditions. He wouldn’t take that risk.
In addition, they will go to Beijing as soon as he passes the provincial examination next year, and he doesn’t know whether he will be posted in the capital or be sent outside. The combination of various factors made it not a good time to seek happiness.
He had also considered having a child in two years, but Zhulan would be at risk. However, the current situation was even riskier, almost like slow, chronic suicide. He had thought that if it came to it, he would drop the idea of having a child. Though not having their own child was regrettable, he only wanted to grow old together with Zhulan.
Seeing that Zhou Shuren was distracted, Zhulan hurriedly pulled it, “Your fishing rod has moved, pull it quickly to unhook it!”
Only then did Zhou Shuren come back to his senses and hurriedly pick up the fishing rod. The fish was very strong. It must be said that between the two of them, his luck was good, and Zhou Shuren caught more than two kilograms of fish.
A moment ago, Zhulan was solely concerned with the fish not escaping. Now, seeing that the two of them were evenly matched, she was relieved. Her mindset was good, and she didn’t consider it a loss. She was willingly going to cook for Zhou Shuren since winning meant that she could finally have a cozy bed all to herself. No matter how you looked at it, it was a win for her. She would return and keep a close eye on her fishing rod.
Soon, half a day passed without any fish biting. Both of them were intensely focused on their fishing rods, and the surroundings were incredibly quiet. Every small sound was particularly noticeable to Zhulan. She turned her head to stare at the bushes behind them, and when she saw Zhou Shuren also turning his head, Zhulan gestured to him, indicating not to make any noise.
The two of them heard Wang Ru’s voice clearly, “If the matter is completed, I will give you another ten taels of silver.”
The other person lowered her voice and they could tell that it was a woman, “Ten taels of silver is too little.”
Wang Ru’s voice was a little annoyed, “If you don’t do it, someone else will do it. Someone else will do from your family.”
After waiting for a while, the situation became tense. However, the woman refused to compromise and threatened, “If you don’t add more silver, I’ll spread the word, and the entire village will know about it. Don’t think you can get away with it.”
Wang Ru’s voice was filled with anger. “Fifteen taels, don’t go too far. I’ll pay you twenty taels first, then add fifteen taels, and it will be thirty-five taels.”
“Pay thirty taels first, and it will be done. If you succeed, you will give me another ten taels.”
There was another silence, the two reached an agreement and left quickly.
Zhulan turned back and looked at the river with some speechlessness. She was bored at home and went out fishing with Zhou Shuren and met Wang Ru. She didn’t know whether to criticize Wang Ru or say that their fate with Wang Ru was really deep!
Zhou Shuren asked, “Can you recognize whose voice it is?”
Zhulan spread her hands and said, “Don’t count on me. There are many women in the village. I have been staying at home since I came here. I really can’t tell.”
Zhou Shuren was wary, “Keep an eye on the children these days, don’t let her target us.”
Zhulan nodded, “Yes.”
Because Wang Ru disrupted the atmosphere between the two, she fished for a while and then left. In the end, Zhulan lost, falling short by two fish. Zhou Shuren walked away victoriously, and Zhulan, in her innocence, believed that there could be cheating everywhere. It wasn’t in vain that he occasionally told jokes to amuse Zhulan and, taking advantage of her distraction, manipulated the fishing rod.
Zhulan looked at the proud Zhou Shuren and curled her lips. She really pretended that she didn’t notice it. She didn’t notice it once or twice. There were too many times. She was originally a martial arts practitioner with sensitive senses. She just looked at Zhou Shuren and thought he had succeeded in cheating. She watched happily without saying a word. She would not admit that she was a little bit reluctant to let go of Zhou Shuren’s arms!
On the afternoon of the second day, before Zhulan could be on high alert, Zhulan knew what Wang Ru was planning. Suspecting that her ears had heard it wrong, she asked Zhou Wang Shi, “Someone wants to adopt Wang Ru?”
Zhou Wang Shi was Village chief’s mother. This time the trouble came to their house, she watched the whole scene, “Yes.”
Zhulan felt that Wang Ru would not simply adopt herself out, so she quickly asked, “Which family wants to adopt her?”
Zhou Wang Shi hesitated for a moment and then continued, “In the village, there are two households of outsiders. One is surnamed Wang, and the other is surnamed Qian. They arrived together. The Wang family doesn’t have a strong bloodline, and their only son, who had just married the Qian family’s daughter, passed away from an illness before their child could be born. The Qian family’s daughter couldn’t handle the shock and had a difficult childbirth. Do you remember this incident?”
Zhulan ransacked her memories, and indeed, this incident had caused quite a commotion. She continued, “It was a big scandal back then. The Qian family went so far as to confront the Wang family directly. The elderly couple from the Wang family were already in poor health, and this added shock was too much for them. They both passed away last summer. So, you mean, Wang Ru was adopted by the Wang family, who had no heirs left?”
Zhou Wang Shi nodded and said, “Yes, it was the Qian family who brought this up. Qian’s elderly lady cried, saying her daughter cried and lamented in her dreams every night, expressing her desire for a daughter. She even left behind a pair of characters, and one of them is ‘Wang Ru.’ The elderly lady became even more convinced. After that, she went to Fourth Wang’s house, and this whole issue reached my son. Fourth Wang absolutely refused, and Qian’s elderly lady cried and made a scene.”
She had a headache after hearing this and finally sent the person away. She didn’t want to stay at home for fear that the Qian family would come again, so she came out to chat with Yang Shi.
Zhulan’s tense heart eased, understanding that Wang Ru’s intention was adoption. She sighed in relief and said, “Naturally, Fourth Wang wouldn’t agree. Wang Ru is like a cash cow, and all the good days Fourth Wang has enjoyed are thanks to her. He can’t bear to part with her.”
She really despised Fourth Wang. He used to make sausages himself and sell them, but unfortunately, he didn’t stick with it for long. Fourth Wang quickly adopted the life of a master, and now, the entire Wang family didn’t do any work. They relied entirely on Wang Ru for their income. Every time she saw Fourth Wang’s smug look, it was truly irritating.
Zhou Wang Shi said sarcastically, “You should have seen how angry Fourth Wang was at that time! He wanted to hit someone and even threatened to kill anyone who robbed his daughter!”
Zhou Wang Shi changed the subject and said, “I’m just telling you, I think Wang Ru is behind this. This girl is very evil. I kept staring at her. Wang Ru seemed to have expected that he wouldn’t agree, and she was still watching the show leisurely!”
Zhulan thought that Zhou Wang Shi was indeed sharp and had spoken the truth. She said, “It seems like adoption is just a matter of time.”
Zhou Wang Shi had already guessed this, which was why she was even more reluctant to stay at home. She even told a few daughters-in-law to go out and not stay at home. She said to Zhulan, “You mentioned that Wang Ru and Master Shi have a somewhat unclear relationship. If Master Shi is really interested, why didn’t he take her away?”
T/N Hiiii Sorry for the delay in posting recently. Last week was the biggest festival in my State, Durga Puja which is the worshipping of Mother Durga, a Goddess. Anyway, my husband came, so I was pretty busy going out and eating !!!! Will surely catch up on the missed chapters.
BTW, do comment and tell how are you liking the images! I am using Bing image creator AI to create these.
