Zhulan nodded, "I didn't plan to take it at first, but I couldn't bear to leave it behind. However, taking everything would be asking for trouble, so I only took some from each bundle. I took mostly silver taels, as the original body had a woman's love for jewelry and took quite a few pieces on the sly. It was also fortunate we were far from the village, otherwise it would've truly brought disaster upon them."
Zhou Shuren's mouth twitched. His wife's original incarnation was quite foolhardy, to say nothing of her parents. It was fortunate that they had some leftover wealth after double-crossing each other, or discovering his in-laws would have been just a matter of time. But they'd been left with no choice, either be silenced permanently, or be remembered and have your entire family wiped out.
Zhulan also felt a twinge of unease, "Later on, I heard some news that the soldiers came back accusing the bandits of the deed. They even wiped out a few bandit lairs and looted the area's wealthy homes to near nothing before never returning."
Zhou Shuren pointed to the family's wealth, "Did you exchange the jewelry you brought?"
Zhulan laughed out loud, "It wasn't me. The original body indeed brought back jewelry and was scolded by mother-in-law. Mother-in-law only took the silver, telling her to hide the rest until after the chaos ended, to take them out later. Unfortunately, mother-in-law passed away. The original body, holding it in her heart, never dared to fetch it, she really did listen to mother-in-law's words. Even after mother-in-law's death, she didn't dare tell her husband. Mother-in-law said not to tell, so she didn't."
Zhou Shuren also laughed, "The original master of this body is a blessed one, with a mother supporting him from above and an obedient daughter-in-law below."
Zhulan rolled her eyes inwardly, obedient to mother-in-law rather than to him. "Don't flatter yourself too much," she said, lowering her voice, "I'm planning to dig up the things tomorrow and re-hide the ones in the house. It's not safe to keep everything in the house; a single thief could take it all. It's better to have several hiding places."
Zhou Shuren agreed, looking around at all the holes in the room filled with silver coins. He felt uneasy too, "I'll listen to you."
Zhulan only put the jewelry back on the beam for now and planned to hide the rest tomorrow. For today, she placed everything in the kang cabinet. After busying herself, she was too exhausted to move and didn't want to get up once she laid down.
Zhou Shuren frowned, it was better to have a teammate who could live for a long time. "Your body needs to be well-nourished and taken care of."
Zhulan moved a little, "Hmm, I will take good care of myself and strive to live up to seventy 'people who can live for a long time'."
Eighty was too much to hope for, but seventy wasn't too bad. It wasn't that she lacked confidence in herself, but rather in the medical conditions of the ancient world!
Zhou Shuren swallowed the words at the tip of his tongue as the person beside him fell asleep from exhaustion. He chuckled softly; he had suddenly become a grandfather with a three-generation leap and now had another person by his side. He thought he would be unable to sleep alone due to habit, but soon he too drifted off.
The next morning, Zhulan woke up early. She really didn't dare to be woken by her daughter-in-law, fearing any rumors might spread. She wanted to change her situation and got dressed to go out into the fields.
Before leaving, she casually touched Zhou Shuren's forehead to check for fever. Reassured, she swiftly left the house.
Zhou Shuren opened his eyes, waking up instantly at the slightest motion. He touched his forehead and a warm feeling flickered in his eyes. For so many years, this was the first time someone had shown concern for him.
Zhulan was the earliest to rise, with the daughter-in-law still asleep. Thinking of the hidden jewelry, she headed straight for the old tree at the back of the house. The items had been buried there for over a decade, and they weren't easy to dig up, something that couldn't be done in haste. Even with high walls around the yard, she couldn't hide the activity from her family.
Everyone thought they weren't wealthy, so the household was calm. If they saw the jewelry, the scheming would increase. It seemed there was no rush to act.
With this in mind, she didn't bother to look any further. She went to the toilet on her way and then fetched the grains for breakfast. She had just started to cook the medicine when Lady Li came out the door.
"Mother, you're up?"
The tone was one of surprise, and the eldest daughter-in-law felt troubled too. The original body had been unhealthy and hadn't been able to rise early, having to replenish her brain and endure the envy and hatred of the village women!
Zhulan didn't dwell on the troublesome thoughts and hummed a response, "I've taken out the grains. I'm preparing medicine, and you'll make breakfast. We'll have rice porridge this morning."
Lady Li's eyes widened, exclaiming, "Rice porridge for the whole family?"