Chapter 133: Going Home
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Zhang Yan heaved a sigh. After pulling Zhou Xiaoli to sit down beside her, she continued, “Later on, this matter was discovered by the Old Madam. She thought that she was unwilling to get married to her son, but who knew that the First Madam actually cried and said that my husband was still young and weak. If she became pregnant at this time, she would not be able to take good care of my husband.”
“She also said that she was afraid that my husband would feel terrible if she had a child. MV husband is her sister’s flesh and blood, so she can’t have a child now.”
Zhang Yan took a sip of tea and looked at Zhou Xiaoli with a smile. “Sister Zhou, after hearing this, do you think that the First Madam is an extremely good person?”
Zhou Xiaoli pursed her lips.
“If all of this is true, the First Madam can indeed be considered as a very good stepmother.”
Zhang Yan smiled. “That’s right. Not only you, but the Old Master and the Old
Madam also thought so.”
“Even my husband respected and loved the First Madam, treating her as his biological mother.”
At this point, Zhang Yan smiled. “This is the power of the First Madam. She’s very good at pretending. Even if my husband and I later discovered that she didn’t treat my husband with sincerity and even wanted him to die of illness sooner, the Old Madam and the Old Master wouldn’t believe it no matter what.”
The two of them chatted for a while before the servants came to report that the Old Madam and First Madam had left after seeing the Eldest Young Master.
Only then did Zhang Yan call her trusted maid to go to the pharmacy to get the medicine.
Now that it was late, Zhang Yan was afraid that Zhou Xiaoli and Wei Chiyu would not be able to make it back home in time, so she asked them to stay one night in the residence.
In the middle of the night, Zhou Xiaoli was woken up by a commotion. She put on her clothes and came out. She saw that Zhang Yan’s room was brightly lit, and the sound had come from her room.
Wei Chiyu also walked out of the room. When he saw Zhou Xiaoli coming out dressed only in a thin piece of clothing, he immediately put his cloak on her.
“The weather is chilly. Don’t catch a cold.”
Zhou Xiaoli glanced at him. “You’re awake too?”
Wei Chiyu nodded. He had always been a light sleeper and would wake up at the slightest movement.
As the two of them spoke, Zhang Yan’s room door opened. Two old women walked out of the room with a young woman restrained between them.
The young woman was gagged, tied up, and thrown into a carriage before the carriage left the courtyard.
Zhang Yan was dressed neatly and watched the carriage leave. When she turned around, she saw Zhou Xiaoli standing in the courtyard.
She called Zhou Xiaoli into her room.
Zhou Xiaoli finally understood what was going on. After doing the character divination, Zhang Yan already had a candidate in mind, but she did not flare up. Instead, she set up a trap tonight.
Unexpectedly, that person stepped into it.
When Zhang Yan said this, her dark eyes dimmed.
“She’s my cousin. When her family was in trouble, my family took her in. My entire family has always treated her extremely well and I treat her as my biological sister.”
“However, I didn’t expect that my kindness would become hatred in her eyes.
She said that my entire family looked down on her and pitied her. What a joke.”
Zhang Yan sighed. “Whenever she smiled at me and pretended to have a deep sisterly relationship with me, her heart was actually filled with jealousy and hatred! Even the drama shows can’t compare to her. Sister Zhou, why do you think the human heart is so complicated?”
Zhou Xiaoli said indifferently, “Even the abyss would have a bottom, but one’s heart is unfathomable. She is not worth your kindness and love.”
Zhang Yan shook Zhou Xiaoli’s hand. “Thank goodness I have Sister Zhou.”
After saying that, her gaze involuntarily fell on Zhou Xiaoli’s clothes. She looked at Wei Chiyu, who was waiting for Zhou Xiaoli outside the door in the cold wind, and couldn’t help but laugh. “Is good news coming soon for Sister and Young Master Wei too?”
Zhou Xiaoli was stunned. She subconsciously turned around to look at Wei
Chiyu, and the tips of her ears immediately turned red. She rebuked, “Sister Zhang, don’t spout nonsense. We’re just friends.”
“Ah, I see.”
Zhang Yan raised her eyelids and said with a smile, but she had an all-knowing expression on her face.
Seeing this, Zhou Xiaoli was speechless. She was too lazy to explain, so she said that it was getting late and said goodbye to Zhang Yan.
Back in the courtyard, Zhou Xiaoli returned the cloak to Wei Chiyu and said angrily, “The wind is so strong. Are you stupid? Don’t you know how to go back to your room instead of standing in the wind?”
Faced with Zhou Xiaoli’s sudden ‘anger’, Wei Chiyu was stunned. He then said,
“I wanted to wait for you.”
In the end, he added, “It’s not cold.”
Zhou Xiaoli was speechless. “Hurry up and go back to your room. It’s already very late.”
With that, Zhou Xiaoli took the lead and returned to her room.
The next day, after having breakfast at the Zhao Residence, Zhou Xiaoli and Wei Chiyu bade farewell and left.
Before leaving, Zhang Yan stuffed the carriage full of gifts for Zhou Xiaoli.
Zhou Xiaoli could not refuse, so she could only accept it.
The journey was quite peaceful. When it was close to noon, the carriage returned to the village. Zhang Lan had waited at the village entrance for a long time with Zhou Xiaoyu. When they saw the carriage coming over, they hurriedly walked forward. When she saw Zhou Xiaoli get off the carriage, she immediately beamed with joy.
Zhou Xiaoyu shouted and rushed over like a small cannonball. She hugged
Zhou Xiaoli’s leg and said, “Sis, Sis, Xiaoyu almost missed you to death.” Zhou Xiaoli bent down and pinched Zhou Xiaoyu’s chubby little face. “It’s only been a day since we last met, and you already miss me so much.”
Zhou Xiaoyu nodded like a chick pecking at rice. “Yes, I have missed you.”
Zhou Xiaoli carried Zhou Xiaoyu into the carriage with a smile. After chatting with Zhang Lan, they went home together.
The coachman had to rush home as soon as possible, so he politely declined the Zhou family’s invitation to stay. After helping to move the gifts in the carriage into the courtyard, he bade farewell and left.
Not far away, Old Madam Lu was tiptoeing and stretching her neck to look into their courtyard. Zhang Lan naturally saw her too. The smile on her face immediately disappeared and she closed the door.
As winter approached, beetroots were no longer in harvest, and their sugar production work stopped temporarily.
Everyone was busy stocking up on winter supplies.
The Zhou family was also very busy.
Zhou Yu carried his ax up the mountain every day and hoarded firewood for the winter. Zhou Yu was strong and worked quickly. In a few days, they had a good pile of firewood, enough for them to last through the winter.
They had also collected two batches of grains in the alternate space. They had enough to last their family even to the next winter.
As the saying went, with food in hand, one does not have to panic. They did not panic at all this winter.
However, in the eyes of outsiders, their family had no food.
Therefore, Zhou Xiaoli and Zhang Lan went up the mountain every day to play and dig for wild vegetables and fungi. With Zhou Xiaoli around, they could often pick up pheasants and wild rabbits too.
In just half a month, they had five smoked chickens and four smoked rabbits hanging in the courtyard.
On market day, Zhou Yu went to the county city to buy a lot of food, including millet and soybeans.
However, they were all stored in Zhou Xiaoli’s alternate space as seeds to plant in the fields.
As their family worked hard, the fog at the back of the mountain gradually dissipated, revealing almost all the tea trees in the orchard.
The 30 acres of slopes that they had bought had also been farmed before winter. When spring came, they would be able to plant fruit trees and tea leaves.
While everyone was busy, a heavy snowfall silently arrived, and the sky turned completely cold.
Auspicious snow was a sign of prosperity. The snowfall was big and could be said to be a good sign.
The villagers cleared their courtyard and the road at the door despite the heavy snow. Zhou Yu also kept sweeping with a shovel and a broom.
However, the snow was too heavy. As soon as they cleared the first layer of snow, another layer had formed.
The children were the happiest. They braved the snow to play..
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