Reborn as a Landlord

Lady Zhang was cooking when Lady Zhou, with a stern face, came out to have a look around. Seeing that Lady Zhang hadn’t used any oil or salt from the Upper Room but had brought her own, Lady Zhou said nothing and, with a slam of the curtain, went back inside. Lady He also helped pick peanuts, and when it was time to cook, she returned to her room, only coming out with a smile, leading Lian Yaya over, when the aroma of braised pork wafted into the east wing room.

Since everyone wasn’t living together any longer, Lian Manman’s mood had relaxed, and she didn’t mind these things. As for Lady Zhang, she had been accustomed to such situations for a long time and paid them even less attention.

In a while, the dishes were served on the table, just like before, with men and women eating at separate tables. Even the members of the main household who hadn’t worked were seated at the table.

The dishes at both tables were the same: a large pot of braised pork with potatoes, and another pot of dried shrimps with cabbage. The difference was a dish of fried peanuts in front of Old Master Lian, intended as a snack to accompany his drink. Old Master Lian was especially happy today and had brought out those two jars of wine onto the table, placing a wine cup in front of each of his sons. Among the grandchildren, Lian Jizu, Erlang, and Sanlang were also allowed to have a cup each.

There was laughter and jesting at the men’s table where wine flowed, while the women’s table was comparatively quiet.

Eating this meal not only rewarded everyone for their hard work but there was also an intention to bring harmony. Therefore, Lady Zhang was particularly careful, fearing that Lady Zhou would pick a fight and ruin the atmosphere.

Lady Zhou glared at Lady Zhang, then turned her glare to Lady Zhao. Both women lowered their heads.

"I’m very happy about today’s event; a harmonious family bodes well for everything," Old Master Lian declared loudly. He seemed to have had a bit too much to drink, for all the laugh lines on his face had spread out.

Lady Zhou glanced toward the head of the kang bed but, unusually, did not find fault.

Most of the meat this time was fatty, and after Lian Manman ate a piece, she didn’t continue, choosing to eat only the potatoes instead. She ladled two spoonfuls of sauce into her rice and ate it along with the cabbage. Lian Xiuxiu enjoyed her meal with relish, while Lian Huahua, Lady Gu, and Lady Chiang all buried their heads in eating. Seeing Lian Huahua repeatedly picking several chunks of fat and burying them in her rice to eat, Lian Manman recalled how Lian Huahua had disdain for eating fat when she first returned.

It must be because the meat Lady Zhang cooked was too delicious.

"Old Fourth, you made quite a bit of money from selling those garlic-flavored peanuts, right?" Lian Shouyi said, spurred on by the alcohol.

"Just the kids’ small ventures, making some money for a little treat," Lian Shouxin said with a smile.

"Old Fourth, don’t hold out on me. If you’re making a fortune, you should let everyone share in the good fortune," said Lian Shouyi as he tipped his neck back and downed a cup of wine, then picked up a large chunk of fat and chewed it a couple of times before swallowing. "Old Fourth, we’ve been busy for most of the day today with these peanuts..."

"Dad, I was just about to discuss this with you," Lian Shouxin interrupted, putting down his wine cup and cutting off Lian Shouyi. "I’ve inquired about the price of peanuts this year. It’s still twelve wen money per catty. Dad, if that’s not enough, I’ll add more."

"Add what? The peanuts aren’t dried yet, they can’t sell for that much. Old Fourth, we didn’t have the money to give you during the division, and our family still needs to get by. I won’t ask you to give me the peanuts for nothing, ten wen money a catty is fine," Old Master said.

"Dad, make it twelve wen," Lian Shouxin said with a smile.

Old Master Lian raised his wine cup, and the topic was not continued. The Fourth Household had already agreed not to take advantage of Old Master Lian and would give him twelve wen money per catty. Although Lian Shouyi felt it was not enough, selling the undried peanuts for twelve wen money a catty was still profitable, and with Old Master holding the reins, he could not say much more.

The meal went very smoothly. At the other table, Both Lian Shouren and Lian Shouyi had drunk too much and were helped down. Lady Zhang and Lady Zhao started cleaning up the table with a few of the kids.

"If I could live days like this every day, I would be content," Old Master Lian, leaning on the kang head, slurred slightly.

"It’s just a bit of mare’s urine and a few pieces of meat, see how happy it makes you," Lady Zhou muttered under her breath.

When he returned to the West Wing Room, Lian Shouxin sat on the kang and sighed.

"Dad said it would be nice if every day were like this."

Old Master Lian was not a glutton; the life he wanted was not about having wine and meat. The key point was to have his children and grandchildren all together, working in unity, eating together in a lively atmosphere, and living harmoniously. A lot had happened these days, and today’s event had brought everyone together, allowing Old Master Lian to experience the harmonious familial togetherness that he had missed for so long.

"It’s quite nice living apart like this," Lady Zhang said. "Whenever we get together, we feel especially close."

Even Lady Zhang, renowned for her virtue, after such a short period of living separately, did not wish to return to the old ways.

Getting up early the next morning, Lian Manman lifted the lid of the tile jar, took out a peanut, peeled it, tasted it, and nodded. The peanuts were indeed flavorful.

She was up early, but others had risen even earlier. In the clay yard of the Lian Family, between the east wing room and the main gate, two temporary stoves had been set up, and Lian Shouli and Lian Shouxin were lifting a large iron pot onto the stove.

This was what Lian Shouli and Lian Shouxin had decided to do the night before. Since the pots in the house were needed for cooking meals, preparing 200 catties of peanuts would be tight, so setting up additional stoves outside was much more convenient.

After a hurried breakfast and with the help of Lian Shouli and his family of three, everyone was busy boiling peanuts. A single iron pot could boil twenty-five catties of peanuts at a time. Once boiled and the water drained, the peanuts were taken up to the roof to dry. After a busy day, most of the peanuts had been dried, but the last fifty catties that were cooked were not completely dry and had to be brought inside, with plans to continue drying them the next day.

"If tomorrow is a bright sunny day, it won’t be a problem to completely dry them in half a day."

As Lian Manman thought this, she fell asleep.

When she opened her eyes the next day, she saw it was overcast outside.

"What are we going to do, it’s cloudy today and it looks like it might rain too," Lady Zhang came in from outside and said.

Lian Manman’s heart sank. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)