Chapter 198: About Uncle
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Later, Zhou Wan’s family circumstances improved, but Zhou Lan, having been suppressed by Old Madam Jiang, no longer dared to resist them. Even though Zhou Wan was now in a position to support them, he felt helpless without his sister’s advocacy. He was afraid that any rash action would give rise to idle gossip.
Zhou Wan was brimming with ideas to help his sister, but he had to restrain himself.
This was a tragedy of the times. Even if one has sons, without money or power, one can still be oppressed by others.
If Jiang Xia remembered correctly, both of her maternal grandparents were still alive.
Her grandfather was named Zhou Tian, and her grandmother was Hu Ying. Both were in their sixties.
Although the two elderly people had grandchildren.
At that moment, Zhou Lan heard a voice and walked over. Seeing Zhou Wan, a flood of memories about him swept over her.
Zhou Wan and his wife had been childless for all these years.
She wasn’t sure if Zhou Wan’s health was too poor, or if his wife was physically unfit. Regardless, they had suffered two miscarriages. Zhou Wan was hesitant to let his wife get pregnant again, so the matter of having a child was perpetually delayed.
Zhou Lan was the eldest sister in the Zhou family, with just one older brother and two younger sisters: Zhou Hua and Zhou Ling.
Zhou Lan and her second sister had both married into another village, and their lives were far from ideal. The elderly couple of the Zhou family didn’t want their youngest child to endure further hardship, so they arranged a match for Zhou Ling within their own village, with Xu Niu.
Zhou Wan had a distaste for the old Jiang family, hence he rarely visited his sister’s home. It was Jiang Chuan who held a deep affection for Zhou Lan and would occasionally bring his family back for a visit.
Since they had transmigrated here, their family hadn’t gone back to visit, and Zhou Wan hadn’t seen them in quite a while.
Seeing his brother-in-law now, Zhou Wan felt quite different compared to before.
“Didn’t we go to the wrong place? Is this Jiang Chuan’s house?” Zhou Wan asked the man in front of him, sounding uncertain.
If not for Jiang Chuan’s unchanged appearance, Zhou Wan might have turned around and left.
Especially Zhou Lan—where was her previously cautious demeanor?
As soon as Zhou Wan entered the house, he started to take in the changes inside.
He still remembered that their family used to live in a cramped, cluttered room in the old Jiang’s house. The room was damp and dirty, barely habitable. Now they lived in a spacious house with a yard—it was a total transformation.
Indeed, if it weren’t for the villagers who guided them, they would never have believed that their sister could live in such a place.
“Why not? Brother, don’t you hope that we live a good life?” Zhou Lan smiled at Zhou Wan and ushered him and Xu Niu into the house. “If it weren’t for your brother-in-law’s firm decision to separate from the old Jiang family, we would still be suffering.”
Worried that Zhou Wan would ask more questions, Zhou Lan hastily said to Jiang Chuan and Jiang Xia, “Go, go to the room and fetch some water. Your uncle and aunt have come from afar, they must be thirsty.”
“Alright, I’ll go right away.”
Everyone in the family got busy, fetching water, arranging things. It was a whirl of activity.
The water that Jiang Chuan’s family drank now was mostly from Jiang Xia’s interspace water, which tasted a bit sweeter than regular well water. Jiang Xia purposefully mixed it when pouring, and added a touch of sugar for good measure.
After Zhou Lan transmigrated, she had been preoccupied with finding a way to survive for her family and had almost forgotten about her relatives. Now, seeing Zhou Wan, her memories of her family came rushing back, and Zhou Lan was almost moved to tears.
In Zhou Lan’s memory, her family had always been very supportive. Even though her brother disapproved of the old Jiang family, whenever their family visited, they still treated them with good food and drink.
So, for the present Zhou Lan, she was still more than happy to have them as relatives.
“I heard from others a few days ago that you had separated from the family. They said that the old Jiang family didn’t even give you a grain of rice. 1 thought about keeping it from my parents and secretly coming to see you. But I didn’t expect someone to tell my parents. My mother was so upset she almost fainted, and my father was left speechless.”
This wasn’t an exaggeration from Zhou Wan. Although the Zhou family had many children, the old couple regarded each child as their heart and soul. Any trouble concerning their children deeply distressed the old couple.
Especially Jiang Xia’s grandmother, Hu Ying. Upon hearing the news, she was so agitated that she could hardly stand, fussing and wanting to come see Zhou Lan. Her daughter had always been tender-hearted, and without a grain of rice, no fields, no house, she couldn’t imagine how they were going to survive..