Chapter 42 - 42 31 Rules

Words : 1441 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

42: Chapter 31 Rules 42: Chapter 31 Rules The Zhou Family hadn’t eaten dinner yet, but the meal was all prepared, obviously they were waiting for them. As soon as they reached the entrance of the village, Datou led his younger brothers and sisters who were yowling and rushed over. They didn’t care that the cart was still moving, they scrambled to climb on it with all hands and feet. Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang saw it, their eyes creased into smiles. While scolding them, they took the opportunity to stretch out a hand and piled the children onto the cart. From afar, Old Zhou saw the smiles on their faces and knew the trip had been a success; he turned around with his hands behind his back and went back inside. Junior Ms. Qian led the two sisters-in-law to move the table in the hall to the courtyard. It was getting a bit dark inside the house, and it’d be wasteful to light the oil lamps when it was still bright outside, so it was better to eat outside. Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang, one holding the cloth bag with money and the other carrying a big rooster in a basket, rushed towards the house. Before they even entered, they shouted, “Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law, we’re having stewed chicken tonight!” Junior Ms. Qian, without raising her head, said, “Wishful thinking, you two. Every time you come back from town, you want to eat chicken? The chickens at home are for laying eggs.” Zhou Liulang had already rushed to her, turning his back to let her see the basket behind him, and said loudly, “Not the house’s chicken, this one.” Junior Ms. Qian, seeing the sorry state of the chicken, exclaimed, “Where did this chicken come from? Stolen, stolen?” Junior Ms. Qian widened her eyes, wondering if, after Silang learned gambling, the two younger ones had learned to steal chickens? What, next time they were going to steal dogs? Junior Ms. Qian couldn’t help putting her hands on her hips, but Zhou Liulang was displeased. Turning around, he said, “Sister-in-law, do I look like that kind of person? This chicken was given to us.” Relieved, Junior Ms. Qian then hefted the wretched rooster out of the basket, weighing it, realizing it was quite heavy. She couldn’t help but ask, “Who’s the fool here? Even if this chicken looks a bit miserable, it’s still meat, and so fatty too, to just give it away to you.” Zhou Liulang chuckled, “I also think he’s a bit foolish. But some say we still got the short end of the stick. Anyway, it’s a long story. Sister-in-law, better to kill and stew the chicken first. This is especially for mother’s recuperation, brought back by Manbao.” Junior Ms. Qian glanced at the time and said, “Let’s leave it for tomorrow night.” She looked closely at the rooster in her hands, muttering to herself, “Actually, if we raise it a bit, maybe it could still...” Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang’s eyes widened as they seemed to see the chicken meat moving farther away from them. Without a second thought, they turned and called out to Manbao who had just entered the yard, “Manbao, Sister-in-law wants to raise the big rooster to sell it, you better persuade her.” Junior Ms. Qian gave the brothers a glare. Manbao, not caring that the cart hadn’t stopped, rolled down from the cart, then clattered her way to Junior Ms. Qian’s side, hugging her arm and shaking it, “Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law, let’s kill the chicken, it’s for mother’s recovery. Roosters are good for vitality and blood, maybe mother will get better after eating it.” Ms. Qian walked out of the door lazily, laughing, “Manbao, don’t bother your sister-in-law, it’s late. If we’re going to kill it, we might as well wait until tomorrow.” “No, look, there’s still light, we will light a fire to eat at night, it’s not late.” The children were also looking on eagerly. Old Zhou said, “Alright, since it’s the children’s filial gesture, let’s do it tonight. It has to be done either sooner or later, and this chicken doesn’t look spirited. It might die by tomorrow.” Manbao nodded repeatedly, “Dead chicken doesn’t taste good.” Junior Ms. Qian went to slaughter the chicken; Ms. Feng and Ms. He quickly went to help, one boiling the hot water on the stove, and the other preparing the ingredients for stewing the chicken. There wasn’t much to pair with the chicken in the house now, but they could go pluck a couple of big radishes to dice and stew together with it. The three sisters-in-law were busy in the kitchen; Zhou Dalang and the others reported today’s events to Old Zhou in the courtyard. How much the grain sold for, how much was spent on medicine, the remainder was handed over to Old Zhou, and Old Zhou then gave it to Ms. Qian. The Zhou Family’s finances were always managed by Ms. Qian. The Zhou Family’s lands were neither too few nor too many; in good years, there might be a surplus. Fortunately, they had plenty of labor; apart from farming, they could sometimes take on odd jobs to save some money. The family had saved up this much money thanks in large part to Ms. Qian, as she was the one who managed the household affairs, including who did what work and how it was done. Even Old Zhou listened to her. Ms. Qian took the money, counted it, and noted the amount in her mind. Turning around, she noticed Manbao was gossiping with the children in a circle. She couldn’t help but smile gently and asked Zhou Dalang, “Manbao didn’t cause you trouble today, did she?” Zhou Dalang glanced at Manbao, who was sticking out her little butt and whispering something to the children, causing an outcry. He hesitated and then said, “Father, Mother, today in the county town, Manbao also made a good amount of money.” Old Zhou ah-ed in surprise and said with a smile, “Did Manbao’s flower baskets sell?” Zhou Dalang replied, “More than that. She also traded a big rooster and in one go made three coins of silver.” Old Zhou and Ms. Qian were stunned and hurriedly called Manbao over to ask about it. Manbao was proudly trolling her cousins at that moment. When asked by her parents, she puffed up her chest even more and proudly recounted everything they had done in the county town that day. She grew up listening to stories, her parents told her stories, her brother and sister-in-law told her stories, Mr. Zhuang told her stories, and even Keke often recounted stories to her. Recently, she had come into contact with storybooks and had slightly grasped the art of storytelling, so with gestures and vivid descriptions, everyone was engrossed in listening. Especially Datou and the others who had never been to the county town, they may never have been there, but listening to their little aunt’s descriptions and imagining it in their minds, they felt as if they had visited too. Having spoken enthusiastically, Manbao got thirsty and Ms. Qian quietly poured her a bowl of water. After drinking, Manbao’s eyes sparkled as she said, “Mother, you don’t know, there are so many people in the county town, so many! Next time, shall I take you there?” Ms. Qian smiled slightly, “What would I do in the county town? It’s fine if you all go.” Zhou Dalang’s eyes slid from Manbao’s little cloth pouch to the cloth bag that Zhou Wulang was holding and said, “Mother, isn’t it risky to let the children carry so much money? What if they lose it?” Ms. Qian also said to Manbao, “Manbao, give the money to mother, and I will take care of it for you, alright?” Manbao shook her head, “I want to take care of it myself, I’m an adult now.” Ms. Qian smiled slightly and touched her head, “You’re also part of our family, do you know our family rules?” Manbao shook her head. Ms. Qian explained, “When your brothers and sisters-in-law earn money outside, they have to hand over sixty percent to the public fund. If you want to keep your own money, that’s fine, but you have to give up sixty percent.” Since it was the rule, Manbao had no choice but to agree. After a moment of thought, she said, “Alright, but I need to count how much there is first.”

Chapter 42 - 42 31 Rules

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