Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Zhou Shuran’s Visit

They didn’t want anyone in the main family to know about their new business. They were already a little indignant that the pair of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Chen Huayun and Liu Hua, had imitated their business.

Alas, competition in terms of business was normal and there was nothing they could do about it. They could only compete with each other in terms of quality and taste.

As the main family often made trouble for them, even they had become cautious around Zhou Shuran.

"Elder Sister, I am sorry. I don’t know that you have guests here." Zhou Shuran apologized profusely. "Please continue, I won’t disturb you anymore."

With that, she turned around, heading to the main house. She had something to say to her elder sister, and seeing that only the twins were in the kitchen, she had taken the liberty to search around the place herself.

She realized she had been too rude.

"Shall I, Mrs. Zhou?" Shun Zi asked, in case she wanted to find her sister first. They could still wait for a while.

Zhou Anran nodded. "Please, check the quality, Old Shun."

As Shun Zi and the men stepped forward to check the paddy rice, Zhou Anran was a little uneasy because of her younger sister’s appearance.

A few minutes later, Shun Zi and others turned around. Shun Zi and a satisfied look on his face while his men had an unconcealed expression of shock.

"Mrs. Zhou, we will stay here for a while to pick the best seed for our first batch." Shun Zi told her. "It’s alright if you leave to deal with your matters, we will take care of choosing the seed ourselves."

Zhou Anran thanked them and went out. This Shun Zi really had such a keen sense. He realized something was bothering her.

She walked toward the door and stepped out, but a moment later, she reappeared again. "Old Shun and the two brothers, we have provided some drink and refreshment outside. Feel free to try them!"

She made sure that they had heard her words after they responded. With that, she turned around and left.

Zhou Shuran was sitting in the living room alone, staring at something with dazed eyes. The moment Zhou Anran stepped into the house, she snapped back to her senses. "Elder Sister."

After a while, Zhou Anran sat in front of her. Suddenly, Zhou Shuran became nervous upon receiving her sister’s stare.

She shoved the woven basket to her sister. "I brought you something."

Zhou Anran fell silent for a moment before she took the basket from her sister.

Once she opened the cloth covering the basket, the items inside were revealed: a dozen chicken eggs and mung beans which seemed to be of high quality at first glance. The latter could be used as seeds.

The moment she saw these items, she was sure that her younger sister had delivered them without Chen Huayun’s knowledge.

"Does Mother know about this?" Zhou Anran asked, putting the woven basked back to the table.

Zhou Shuran pursed her lips tightly. "Elder Sister, I didn’t get these things from home."

Seeing her younger sister’s hesitation, she simply waited for her to speak further and didn’t interrupt. Zhou Shuran bit her lip, trying to organize her words.

"Elder Sister, the paddy rice you gave me has such a high quality." Zhou Shuran began. "You gave me and our parents a total of thirty jins because I helped you with the harvest. I didn’t give the paddy rice to our parents."

She lowered her head. "You know how Mother is..."

As soon as she sees something good, she will want to snatch it for herself, and she will insist even more if the things were yours. Zhou Shuran silently added in her heart, not daring to say these rebellious thoughts out loud.

"I purchased these things with the money I earned from selling the grains." Zhou Shuran took a pouch from her clothes.

"Don’t worry, I also bought another thirty jins to replace the paddy rice. The quality is still decent although it’s not as good as the ones from your fields."

She shoved the pouch to her elder sister’s hand. "Take it, Elder Sister."

Zhou Anran took the pouch and began to feel the item inside. A few seconds later, she tossed it back to Zhou Shuran’s lap. "Keep it for yourself."

There were a few copper coins within that pouch, probably the money she had left from selling the grains.

"But..." Zhou Shuran hesitated, wanting to give the pouch to her elder sister again.

Zhou Anran took a deep breath and sighed, massaging her temples. "I gave the paddy rice to you, so you are free to do whatever you want with it. Besides, how can a young girl like you have no savings of her own?"

"Don’t tell Mother about the money," she added.

There was a vague sense as if she was leading her younger sister astray, but with a mother like Chen Huayun, Zhou Shuran would need the advice.

"Elder Sister... thank you." Finally, Zhou Shuran didn’t refuse anymore. She also made a promise. "I won’t tell Mother about your paddy rice too, you don’t need to worry about it."

"As for Eldest Brother... Father is teaching him things... so, he has been quite busy lately." Thinking of Zhou Shiming’s recent ambition, Zhou Shuran swallowed and didn’t say anything more.

The two talked for a few more minutes before Zhou Shuran left. The twins peeked their heads into the room, studying their mother’s expression.

There was also a small head who imitated them, her pair of lively and curious eyes wandered around.

Zhou Anran chuckled. "Let’s go check on Old Shun and the rest. They should have finished by now."

She picked up Xiao Qingya and walked into the room at the back. Everyone in the room turned to them.

"Mrs. Zhou, we have decided to take two hundred jin." Shun Zi motioned to the heap of paddy rice sheaves they had sorted out.

He gave Zhou Anran the money, and then told his men to transport the things at the earliest in the morning.

When the twins went to sell their scented sachets in the village market, Shun Zi already opened his shop—he was too quick.

The first customer was someone they knew quite well.