Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 92 - 51: Killing the Chicken_2

Chapter 92: Chapter 51: Killing the Chicken_2
"As a mother-in-law, should I not only refuse her filial piety but also act as her manager?" Lady Zhou was annoyed, "Being the elder sister-in-law, she still covets Xiuxiu’s belongings..."
"Calm down, don’t think you’ve grasped the moral high ground again," Old Master Lian scolded Lady Zhou and then lowered his voice, "Don’t think I don’t know, last time Old Fourth’s wife pawned her hairpin for Manman to see the doctor, and you, who were perfectly fine, insisted on buying Yangrong Pills..."
"She was willing to buy them for me, and since I haven’t finished them yet, I can give them back to her," said Lady Zhou.
Old Master Lian’s mustache bristled with anger, "Does what I say in this house count for nothing? When I tell you to give money, you give money."
In the end, Lady Zhou, very unwilling, still couldn’t overpower Old Master Lian and had to take out her purse. Old Master Lian then took exactly three hundred Wen Money and gave it to Lian Shouxin.
"Just buy some rice and flour, the house has everything else, don’t buy anything else," Lady Zhou quickly advised Lian Shouxin and couldn’t help muttering under her breath, "Who is so delicate..."
Lian Shouxin was going to work the fields, so he handed the money to Lian Manman.
With the three hundred Wen Money, Lian Manman immediately went to town with Wu Lang. First, she went to the grain shop and bought twenty catties of the best Japonica rice, at ten Wen per catty, and ten catties of white flour, at nine Wen per catty. This left her with just ten Wen. The family’s chickens laid eggs every day, so Lian Manman decided not to buy eggs. She went to the grocery store and weighed out a catty of brown sugar, then headed to the meat stall and picked two large meaty bones to buy. Such bones, containing marrow, would enrich the soup when boiled. Ten Wen money was naturally not enough, so Lian Manman took out her own private money to make up the difference. She had intended to buy other things, but considering the fixed amount given by Old Master Lian, she didn’t want to draw too much attention and decided to buy just these items for now.
The two of them returned with their baskets, and to keep Lady Zhou from seeing, they brought the purchases back to the West Wing Room and then set about cooking a special dish for Lady Zhang.
First, they washed the large bones; one was salted and set aside for the next meal, while the other was scalded in boiling water, then chopped into small pieces and thrown into the pot with scallions, ginger slices, and water to start simmering. When the broth became thick and white, Lian Manman began mixing flour to make hand-pulled noodles. Wu Lang had gone to work in the fields, and Xiao Qi came back to replace him. Lian Manman had Xiao Qi collect eggs and pick some bok choy.
The aroma of bone soup wafted through the yard.
"Manman, what are you making?" Lady Zhou asked as she came over.
"Hand-pulled noodles," replied Lian Manman.
Lady Zhou lifted the pot lid to look inside and glanced at the noodles Lian Manman was rolling out, "Take a bowl to your old aunt."
"Alright."
Lian Manman agreed very readily and Lady Zhou turned away and left.
Once the bone soup was ready, Lian Manman added the rolled noodles, waiting until the soup boiled again before putting in the washed bok choy, and finally cracked two eggs into the soup.
Half a catty of noodles was given to Xiao Qi, who ate a small bowl, and the rest went to Lady Zhang.
Holding her bowl of noodles, Lady Zhang asked Lian Manman, "Did you bring a serving for your old aunt?" She had heard what Lady Zhou said earlier from inside the room.
"Mother, you’re still thinking about her at this time?"
"It’s not that I’m thinking about her. Your grandmother made it clear and if you don’t take it to her, your grandmother is sure to get angry and start looking for trouble," said Lady Zhang. She understood Lady Zhou’s temper very well.
"Mother, you always want peace, but you keep retreating step by step until there’s nowhere left to go. Watch me; as long as we hold our ground and ignore her, she can’t do anything."
Indeed, after waiting for a while and not seeing Lian Manman bring the noodles, Lady Zhou came over.
Lian Manman closed the door to the West Wing Room, took a small stool and sat in front of it, holding a worn-out kitchen knife as she chopped vegetables for the chickens. Lady Zhang needed the eggs for nourishment, and Lian Zhizhi and the others didn’t need to be asked, as they brought enough forage every day when they came back, along with grasshoppers caught by Xiao Qi, which Lian Manman crushed into the vegetables, letting the chickens eat well and lay more eggs.
When Lady Zhou arrived, Lian Manman didn’t let her in, saying that Lady Zhang needed to rest.
"Where’s the bowl of noodles you were supposed to bring your old aunt?" asked Lady Zhou.
"Grandmother, didn’t you bring any noodles yourself?" Lian Manman had already thought of an excuse.
"Don’t you already have some that you just bought?"
"That was specially allocated by Father for my mother’s postpartum care, and it’s barely enough. If we run out, there’s nowhere to get more. Didn’t Father say your injury requires you to eat light foods?" Lian Manman said righteously.
Old Master Lian, regarding the baffling incident of Lian Xiuer being beaten, only said, "It also served to atone for some of her sins." With that one sentence, he then said nothing more. Lady Zhou felt guilty, and seeing Old Master Lian acting this way, she could only drop the matter.