Chapter 300: No Need for the Greeting Fee
Mrs. Chen paused, stunned. What had Lan Zhi just called her?
"Mom"?
Why the sudden change in address?
True, Liu Zhuangtou’s wife had brought her Lan Zhi’s handkerchief yesterday, so she knew Lan Zhi had agreed to the marriage.
But it wasn’t time to start calling her "Mom" yet.
She still had to give her a gift for the formal change of address.
Still, hearing herself called "Mom" made Mrs. Chen happy. She beamed and said, "It’s good that you’re back. But you don’t need to work in the fields. From now on, you can just stay home and do your embroidery."
’How could such a delicate, pampered body handle working in the fields!’
Lan Zhi squatted down, feeding firewood into the stove. "Mom, I have to go to the fields. What you and Sister-in-law can do, I can do too."
"I might be a little slow at first, but I’ll learn eventually."
Mrs. Chen and Li Chunhua exchanged a look. Lan Zhi was so different today.
She’d never even spoken this loudly before.
’Could this be the change that came with being engaged? Has she completely started to see herself as part of the Gu Family?’
’This was a good thing, though.’
Otherwise, Mrs. Chen had been worried. In the future, after she and her husband passed away, the three brothers would surely split the household. If Lan Zhi was still so helpless—unable to carry anything on her shoulders or lift with her hands, not even able to wash a bowl properly—then she feared Er Lang wouldn’t even be able to get a decent meal.
Mrs. Chen was very relieved. "Alright. As long as you’re willing to learn, I’m willing to teach you. Don’t worry if you can’t get it right away. We’ll take our time."
Just as she was speaking, Mrs. Chen suddenly smelled something burning. Her expression changed. "Lan Zhi, quick, stop adding firewood! The rice is burning!"
In a panic, Lan Zhi yanked out the burning piece of firewood she’d just added.
Mrs. Chen sighed silently. ’Well, so be it. Looks like the family will be eating burnt rice for the next month or two.’
Lan Zhi stood up awkwardly. Seeing Li Chunhua washing vegetables over there, she hurried over. "Sister-in-law, you rest. I’ll wash them."
Mrs. Chen gave Li Chunhua a look, signaling for her to step aside. ’If she’s motivated, we should all encourage her.’
Li Chunhua stood and gave Lan Zhi her spot.
The two women then watched Lan Zhi wash the vegetables. She was so careful, so meticulous, rubbing each leaf again and again. She seemed even more focused than when she did embroidery.
Mrs. Chen watched for a long while before she finally couldn’t take it anymore. She went over and said softly, "Lan Zhi, dear, that’s not how you wash vegetables. If you wash them like that, you’ll bruise the leaves, and they won’t taste good when cooked."
"Watch how I do it."
With quick, deft movements, she washed the remaining half of the vegetables, then drew a fresh basin of water and rinsed them a second time.
Lan Zhi watched from the side with great concentration and nodded. "I understand now, Mom."
That evening for dinner, the Gu Family ate a pot of burnt rice and a bowl of limp, wilted greens.
The very next morning, Lan Zhi was back in the kitchen, learning from Mrs. Chen how to knead dough.
This time, Mrs. Chen didn’t even let her try. "You don’t have the strength in your hands. You won’t be able to knead the dough. Wait until you’re stronger to do this."
After finishing breakfast, Lan Zhi followed Mrs. Chen, Li Chunhua, Gu Zhang, and Gu Qing out to the fields.
These days, they had to pick peppers every day.
After picking the peppers, they had to be laid out in the courtyard to dry.
After drying for a few days, they had to be bagged up. In short, the work was endless.
Once they were in the fields, it wasn’t long before the sun was high in the sky. Mrs. Chen glanced at Lan Zhi and saw that she was actually doing a pretty good job picking the peppers.
"Lan Zhi, go back and get a straw hat. Your skin isn’t used to the sun. It’ll peel if it gets burned."
Lan Zhi shook her head. "It’s fine, Mom. If it peels, it peels."
Right now, she actually hoped she could become a little tanner, a little uglier.