She’d hit the jackpot!
Well, well, so Granny Zhou fell for that—she’d found the trick.
Once Granny Zhou left, Lin Shiqi met Zhou Lang’s look of disgust.
“Who knew you were so sycophantic and good at flattery? You never said a single nice word to me before. Tsk tsk tsk, how hypocritical!”
Lin Shiqi chuckled. “I can say pleasant things to a person, but how am I supposed to say them to a dog?”
Zhou Lang…
“Lin Shiqi, you can’t say anything good.”
“Right back at you.”
Zhou Lang began to eat.
Because the old fool Zhou Lao Si used to eat like a child—throwing tantrums and scattering food everywhere. The Zhou family had many mouths to feed, and there wasn’t enough room for everyone at one table anyway. Old Man Zhou disliked the fool’s table manners, and since he couldn’t properly discipline his descendants, he had him eat in his own room, fed by his child bride.
After taking a bite, Zhou Lang looked up at Lin Shiqi.
“You didn’t spit in my food, did you?”
Lin Shiqi said, “Thanks for the reminder. From now on, I’ll spit in it every day…”
“No need for that.” Zhou Lang continued eating.
Before long, Third Sister-in-law Liu Shi came to deliver the egg drop soup.
Seeing Lin Shiqi carefully wiping Zhou Lang’s mouth, she smiled, set down the soup, and left again.
Once Liu Shi was gone, Lin Shiqi tossed aside the handkerchief and wiped her hands repeatedly, as if she’d touched something filthy.
Zhou Lang wasn’t to be outdone, spitting a few times to ward off bad luck.
The two were evenly matched.
Zhou Lang ate with elegance and composure, even when hungry.
It was a grace ingrained in his bones—even in such dire straits, he remained poised and noble.
Lin Shiqi glared at him, urging him to hurry up.
The more she glared, the more he deliberately dawdled, eating slower and slower.
“What a pity—such a handsome face, wasted on that dog Zhou Lang.” This fool husband’s looks were truly impeccable: sharp features, handsome brows, bright eyes, and a tall, sturdy build.
With a face like this, he’d leave today’s hottest celebrities in the dust back in the modern world.
Even the Zhou Lang of his past life couldn’t compare.
In The First Young Preceptor of Dayu, the male lead Zhou Qinan was described as handsome and refined.
How could he match even half the charm of his foolish fourth uncle?
Thinking of this Zhou Qinan, Lin Shiqi felt a headache coming on again.
Zhou Lang ate, ignoring Lin Shiqi entirely, as if she were just a passing fart.
“Dog Zhou Lang, now that Granny Zhou probably won’t sell me off, what do we do next?”
“Take it one step at a time. First, figure out the Tongxin Lock.” Zhou Lang replied without pausing his meal.
“Alright.”
Lin Shiqi nodded.
She had to admit, in critical moments, two heads were better than one.
Dog that Zhou Lang was, at least he was a grasshopper on the same string as her.
After Zhou Lang finished eating, she cleared the dishes and went out to have her meal.
It was the first time since crossing over that she sat at the table with the Zhou family.
When Granny Zhou said she’d wait, she waited—the dishes were all set out, everyone was seated, and no one touched their chopsticks.
When Lin Shiqi arrived, the sisters-in-law all looked at her with scrutinizing gazes—some puzzled, some curious, some resentful…
If it were the original owner, she would have hung her head long ago, not daring to meet anyone’s eyes.
Lin Shiqi smiled openly and gracefully at them. “I’m late, sorry about that. My husband eats rather delicately, so he was a bit slow.”
At this, everyone was surprised.
Even Old Man Zhou and the other men of the Zhou family, who hadn’t been looking at her before, turned to look.
Lin Shiqi maintained her composed smile, neither humble nor overbearing.
Everyone couldn’t help but reassess Lin Shiqi.
Only Granny Zhou wasn’t all that surprised. She had Lin Shiqi sit at the very end of the table.
The Zhou family had many members, and on ordinary days the long table would be completely full—this was a spot squeezed out for her.
“Lin Shi is also a member of the Zhou family, a Zhou daughter-in-law. We treat all Zhou daughters-in-law equally. From now on, she eats with us.”
When Wang Shi heard this, she seemed about to speak.
In the end, she held it in.
Liu Shi smiled and took the initiative to invite Lin Shiqi to sit down.
This was Lin Shiqi’s first time seeing the full Zhou family assembled.
At the head of the table sat Old Man Zhou and Granny Zhou.
Old Man Zhou was lean, of medium build, and rather rigid.
Granny Zhou was stout, with a fierce face, a face full of pockmarks, and a pair of triangular eyes—she looked like trouble.
Then, on the left side of the table sat the eldest son’s family: Zhou Eldest, a man in his thirties, his wife Wang Shi, and their two sons, Zhou Erlang and Zhou Sanlang.
Zhou Dalang, Zhou Qinan, wasn’t home right now—he was studying at the academy. He’d already earned the Tongsheng title, and the entire Zhou family was pooling all their resources to support his studies…
On the right side of the table, the first seat naturally belonged to Youngest Aunt Zhou.
Youngest Aunt Zhou was Granny Zhou’s youngest daughter, fifteen this year, not yet betrothed or matched.
Next came Zhou Second and his wife. Zhou Second ranked second among the brothers, but he looked even older than Zhou Eldest—a weathered, haggard man, his tall frame somewhat hunched and stooped.
The second daughter-in-law, Mrs. Ruan, had somewhat dark skin and a bitter look on her face. Beside her sat her two daughters, Zhou Daya and Zhou Erya. Both girls were quite pretty, but their skin took after Mrs. Ruan—slightly dark.
At the very end sat Zhou Third and his wife. Zhou Third was also a tall, sturdy man in his twenties, with a smile always on his face, looking very kind and amiable. The third daughter-in-law, Liu Shi, was petite and delicate with a comely face, also wearing a smile.
There wasn’t enough room on the right side, so the third branch’s two children, Zhou Silang and Zhou Sanya, sat on a bench at the far end.
When Lin Shiqi arrived, Liu Shi smiled and took the little one onto her lap, freeing up a seat for Lin Shiqi.
Zhou Sanya was young, only about three years old, and was adorably cute with fair, jade-like skin.
When she smiled, her little teeth were especially neat and even.
Lin Shiqi found her utterly endearing—she had always loved small, cute creatures like this.
Unfortunately, the Zhou family had the custom of not speaking while eating or sleeping.
During the entire meal, no idle chatter was allowed.
Except for the head of the household.
Food distribution was also handled by Granny Zhou. Men could have a second bowl after finishing, but women and children were only allowed one bowl.
As for the dishes, they could eat freely, but there wasn’t much meat on the table—hardly any meat or fish at all. The best dish was a bowl of egg drop soup.
Everything else was vegetables and pickled vegetables.
Lin Shiqi finished her bowl of rice, but it was only about half full. She could see the others were the same—some were even licking their lips, eyeing the rice left in the pot on the table, but the rules were the rules, so they had no choice but to give up.
With no meat dishes and only plain vegetables and coarse grain rice, how could one bowl possibly fill anyone up?
It was just enough to keep hunger at bay.
Lin Shiqi noticed that even Granny Zhou was the same—in fact, when Granny Zhou served herself, she took even less than the others, as if trying to save a bit more for everyone else.
…
In these famine years, life was hard for everyone.
After the meal, when the dishes were cleared away, Lin Shiqi returned to her room and gossiped with Zhou Lang.
About the Zhou family’s situation, and what was going on in Taohua Village… and so on.
“In this day and age, the Zhou family has many men and quite a bit of land, yet even they have to scrimp and save just to feed the family. Life outside must be even harder. Granny Zhou is genuinely sincere toward you, her adopted son—she even plans to treat your illness, and for your sake, she didn’t sell me off either, and her attitude toward me has completely changed. Let’s just settle down and live with the Zhou family for now, taking it one day at a time…”