The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 780 - 769: The Plan

Chapter 780: Chapter 769: The Plan

Junior Ms. Qian had certainly never done it before either; the Zhou family would never bear to eat beef, and the restaurant did not serve such a dish. However, she was braver than Zhou Liulang.

Believing that all meat was the same, once Zhou Liulang mentioned how Zhiwei Restaurant prepared beef, Junior Ms. Qian began washing the beef and then sliced it directly with a knife.

Zhou Liulang watched on the side, completely dumbfounded.

Manbao looked at her sister-in-law and then at Sixth Brother, and couldn’t help but say, "Sixth Brother, you’re really clumsy. You’ve been watching at Zhiwei Restaurant for so long and still haven’t learned anything."

Zhou Liulang: ... He was just a kitchen assistant in Zhiwei Restaurant; when the owner made some important seasonings, they would avoid them and certainly not teach them how to cook the dishes. How much could he learn? It entirely depended on self-understanding, where could he receive the kind of hands-on teaching he got here?

He felt he was already quite amazing, having always been studying seriously and keeping their methods in his heart.

Only, there was always a bit of a difference between what the eye saw and what the hand did.

Zhou Liulang coughed lightly and said, "Let’s wait until Sister-in-law has made it."

Junior Ms. Qian didn’t think there was anything wrong with what she was doing—if the meat was cut in the right places and stewed correctly, then it wouldn’t taste bad.

Since it was the New Year’s Eve dinner, the whole family pitched in. Ms. Qian was also directing in the kitchen, while the other sisters-in-law went in and out of the limited kitchen space. This left Manbao, who had nothing to do, standing out conspicuously.

Ms. Qian then shooed her out, "Have your Sixth Brother stay and help, you go out and play."

Zhou Liulang: "...Mom, I want to go out and play too."

"Play what? How old are you and you still want to play? You’ve been studying for several months in Yizhou City, so let us see what you’ve learned. Stay and help your sister-in-law cook..."

Mainly because, apart from Junior Ms. Qian, it seemed that Zhou Liulang had the best culinary skills at home.

There was no rule in the Zhou family saying men couldn’t cook, so Ms. Qian didn’t hesitate to enlist Zhou Liulang’s strong arms.

The New Year’s Eve dinner was always eaten early. As soon as it was late afternoon, Zhou Dalang and the others had set up two large tables in the courtyard.

Since the fifth and sixth children were old enough to sit at the table, he estimated that squeezing together would be difficult, so he moved out another small table to place beside it.

Old Zhou sat on the threshold smoking his pipe and said, "Wait until the second day of the New Year is over, and then you all can go to the big market and bring back another table."

Manbao sat next to her father, counted the number of people in the family, and nodded in agreement, "We do need another table. Dad, isn’t it a tremendous sense of achievement to see so many people eating dinner every night?"

"Achievement my foot, it’s all noisy and nearly driving me crazy." As he spoke, the fifth and sixth children were caught by the fourth child fighting over something and each received a smack. The sixth child began to cry from the injustice, and seeing his brother cry, the fifth child immediately opened his mouth and started howling as well. Old Zhou said, "See, it’s noisy and now there’s crying, right?"

But Manbao always felt that her father’s tone carried a hint of pride.

"Dad, if you’re bothered by there being so many of them, then you should let them branch out into their own households."

"That won’t do," Old Zhou’s face suddenly became serious, and he said sternly, "Branching out is only possible if your mother and I are gone. Right now, your Sixth Brother isn’t even married, and you’re not wed yet; how could we split the household?"

"Sixth Brother doesn’t lack the silver to get married. When the time comes, you and Mom can just give him his share," Manbao felt that waiting for Sixth Brother to get married might take who knows how long. She said, "After the family splits, you and mom can just live with me and Dalang and sister-in-law."

Zhou ErLang happened to pass by and, hearing this, smacked the back of her head, chiding, "Second Brother has spoiled you for nothing. Why are you only thinking about Dalang and sister-in-law?"

Old Zhou saw him exerting so much force and immediately waved him off with disgust, "Go on, go on. Your sister here is sympathizing with me and your mother. If you lot were more considerate, you wouldn’t cause us so much worry, and no one would bring up splitting the household."

Manbao stealthily stuck her tongue out at Zhou Er behind Old Zhou’s back.

Old Zhou turned around and touched her head, asking, "Did that hurt?"

Manbao shook her head. "Second Brother didn’t use much force."

Old Zhou laughed and said, "Your mother and I don’t need your concern. You just need to study hard, learn the skills from your teacher, and make something of yourself..."

He paused and then discreetly glanced at the kitchen before whispering to Manbao, "If you learn some great skills, you might as well not marry and bring a son-in-law into our family. Your dad won’t stay with Dalang and sister-in-law, he’ll stay with you and help you take care of a son..."

Manbao: "...Dad, you sure have wild ideas."

Old Zhou squinted with laughter and said, "Of course. Especially since you have a different status, you’re a reincarnated fairy. How could you marry into someone else’s house and be wronged? I couldn’t help but blabber, but you know, during this time, many families have come to propose marriage. I haven’t taken a liking to any of them. Those families don’t read as many books as you do, and their abilities do not match yours. You’d have to go there and wait on in-laws, take care of sisters-in-law and cousins—how could that be right? Better to bring one in. When the time comes, just pick a plot of land in the village, build a big house, and I’ll have your brothers each give up two mu of their land for you..."

Old Zhou said this and inwardly clenched his teeth, expressing his extreme reluctance, "Dad’s Yongye Fields will be yours too. Bring a son-in-law back home, and your mom and I will move in with you to help watch over the house. He wouldn’t dare to mistreat you; you’ve got six brothers."

Manbao was stupefied. "Dad, you’re even giving me your own fields. Are you serious?"

Old Zhou said with anguish, "I really don’t want to give it to you, but who’s to blame since you’re a girl and the imperial court doesn’t allocate land to daughters?"

Manbao: "... Does Mom know?"

"Dad just thought of it and hasn’t had the chance to talk to your mother yet," Old Zhou always felt that his wife would not agree, so he dared only think about it in his midnight dreams. He wouldn’t share these inner thoughts with his sons, but he couldn’t help blurting them out to his daughter.

He quietly conspired with Manbao, "Keep this secret for Dad for now; don’t tell your mother."

After pondering, he added, "And don’t tell your sister-in-law either."

Manbao’s heart, initially leaping with excitement, settled down, and she could only nod, "Alright then. But Dad, don’t just pick any son-in-law for me. I want to choose for myself."

"I know, I know. Your dad isn’t that foolish. The one you’ll spend your life with should catch your eye and be someone you can talk to," he said.

He had always been more than patient with even Sixth, so of course he wouldn’t wrong Manbao.

Yet Manbao was no longer naive and said softly, "Dad, those I take a fancy to probably won’t come into our family as a son-in-law."

Old Zhou, however, had boundless confidence in his daughter, saying, "Manbao, you’re a reincarnated fairy. If you had told Dad ten years ago that ten years later, our family could eat meat every other day and have not only chicken, duck, fish, and meat on New Year’s Eve dinner but also lamb and beef, Dad would have thought you were dreaming. But look..."

Old Zhou pointed to the bustling courtyard and said with emotion, "The way our family lives now feels no worse than Old Master Bai’s."

Manbao: "...Dad, you really have confidence."

"That’s not something I said; Mr. Zhuang mentioned it."

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