Bai Shan listened to his complaint in a good mood, and waited for him to finish speaking before saying: "Tomorrow is thirty, shall we celebrate the New Year together?"
Bai Erlang said there was no problem, and asked, "Where are you going?"
Everyone looked at Yin or who was sitting aside.
Yin may have no opinion, saying that he can listen to them all.
So everyone discussed it and decided to stay in Ming Da and Bai Erlang's mansion, because it was the most spacious there.
Mrs. Qian went over there early in the morning to prepare, and Mrs. Zheng asked people to bring many ingredients from her home. The whole mansion smelled good all day long.
Bai Shan and Zhou Man didn't see anyone today, so they nestled comfortably on the couch in the side room playing leaf cards.
When Bai Shancai casually mentioned the salt field, Zhou Man shouted: "It's agreed that we won't talk about business today."
She felt that if Bai Shan talked about business, she would not be able to bear it.
Bai Shan held back and changed the subject, "I don't know if our New Year's goods have been sent back to the capital?"
Yin or counted the time and said: "It should be here."
Because they were too busy, although the steward at home reminded them early, they were still a bit late in preparing the New Year's goods, so they sent them out late.
Especially Yin Zhi, the Yin family has been sending letters urging him to return to Beijing since the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, but he has been reluctant to go back. In order not to bother him at home, he even sent the New Year's goods back a few days on purpose.
The New Year's goods that Bai Shan and the others gave were not expensive, they were some special products of Qingzhou.
The Zhou family didn't pay much attention to these things, they thought it was silly to send New Year's goods all the way to Qingzhou. Once back and forth, it's overstocking again, so how much money will be wasted
So they decided to send money!
When there were guards or bodyguards going back to deliver letters, Lao Zhoutou and Qian Shi took a box of silver for others to bring, and wrote to Zhou Man, "Buy what you need, don't starve your child, rest more, Don't tire yourself out."
Mrs. Liu, who planned to pack up the new year's goods for Bai Shan and the others, couldn't help but hesitate for a while, and finally imitated the old Zhou's family and sent money there. She was not afraid that the two children would be hungry, but said to Bai Shan: "I know you Now is the time to spend money, if you don’t want to join hands, tell your family that although you need to separate public and private, but there is really no money for the construction of the wharf, it’s okay for the family to subsidize one or two first.”
The money given by Mrs. Liu cannot be brought over by a single guard or bodyguard, so in the end, a few more servants were sent to bring a cartful of money over.
It is also because of the money given by Mrs. Liu that Bai Shan has the confidence to tell Cheng Jiulang that it will account for half of the cost.
The families in the capital did indeed receive the New Year's goods from Qingzhou today.
The guards of the princess mansion went directly to the palace, presented the presents that the princess and the son-in-law had prepared for everyone, and after getting the news, they happily went back to their homes for the New Year.
Bai Shan and Zhou Man consciously prepared gifts for the emperor and the prince, and sent them to the palace with Mingda's. They were indeed local products and did not cost much money.
In fact, if Ming Da and Bai Er were not in Qingzhou, they would send New Year's goods to the palace, they would not want to accompany the royal family.
Zhou Man didn't give Xiao Yuanzheng any presents this year, and only asked people to bring them to relatives.
Old Zhou Tou opened the box very curiously, took out a bronze mirror from inside, and was speechless for a while.
The guard who brought back the New Year's goods said: "The bronze mirrors in Qingzhou are well made and cheap. The ladies think it's very good after using it, so they bought a big bronze mirror for every lady in the family."
Not only can the head and face be illuminated, but after the inlay is completed, the half body can be included, which can be seen clearly. It is a great tool for trying on clothes and jewelry.
The guard smiled and said: "Both the lady and the princess like it, and I think the little ladies will also like it, so the little one also bought two sides for the family, hehehe..."
Old Zhou Tou put down the mirror silently, went to search for other things, and finally found something he liked, "Is this wine?"
"Yes, this is personally selected by the owner. He said that it is a famous wine in Qingzhou. You can give it to uncles and gentlemen to taste."
One of the uncles, Zhou Lang, expressed his interest, and he came up to smell it and said: "It smells good, it should be good wine, Dad, shall we drink this for dinner at night?"
Old Zhou was also a little happier and nodded.
So the members of the old Zhou's family happily went forward to share the New Year's goods. While watching them share the things, the old Zhou head muttered, "It's too expensive to send them back and forth. It's not like there are no such things in the capital."
Qian said: "It's all sent back. You don't have to complain. This is also what the children want. By the way, the in-laws are also packing up the new year's goods, right? Sanniang, you will come with me to invite the in-laws in a while. Today is the New Year, good Both Bao Bao and Man Bao are not at home, so we can't let the in-laws celebrate the New Year alone."
Old Zhou Tou: "It's natural."
Liu Sanniang also responded with a smile.
Zhou's family members were not all together, Zhou Lixue and Zhou Ligu were released, and even Zhou Lizhong went back to his hometown.
He was going to take the county government exam next year, so he went home early in order to adapt better and avoid getting sick on the road after the spring.
Mr. Zhuang wrote a letter of recommendation and asked him to attend and study in the county school.
In addition to the admitted students, the county school does have places for auditors, but Shu Xiu is not cheap.
Those like Zhou Lizhong who didn't go in during the school hours not only need to be high-skilled, but also need to be recommended by a special person.
Otherwise, if the relationship is not strong, you will generally not be able to get in.
Mr. Zhuang is now well-known in Luojiang County, and the Zhou family is different now, so he went with a letter of recommendation, and the county magistrate directly agreed.
Knowing that Zhou Lizhong's target was to be a small official in the county government, the county magistrate really wanted to say, I can find a spot for you elsewhere.
But judging from the appearance of Zhou's family, it seemed that he didn't want to go through his back door, so he temporarily pressed it.
The Zhou family really didn't want to go through his back door. In the words of Zhou Zhoulang, "There is a radish and a hole in the county government. If you go his way, it will inevitably crowd out others. Why would you squeeze it out for nothing? "
Zhou Lizhong felt that what the third uncle said was right, so although it was painful, he still held the back of the book every day, insisted on practicing calligraphy, and wanted to pass the exam with his own ability.
During the Chinese New Year, when Guan Li was inspecting Qili Village, he went to sit at his in-law's house. He saw him holding a book and squatting outside the door to recite the book in the cold weather. ?”
While making tea for Guan Lizheng, Zhou Zhoulang said with a smile, "I want to sleep when it's warmer, and it's better to be colder, so I can be more energetic."
Guan Lizheng couldn't help admiring the Zhou family's family style and the diligence of the children in his heart.
Zhou Man is not what it used to be, and the Zhou family is in the early stages, but their family is not necessarily arrogant, but more diligent than the poor.
He couldn't help but said: "It's really not possible, I have a quota for a yamen servant."
Guan Lizheng smiled at Zhou Zhoulang, and said, "If you need anything, you can go to me, and I'll take Lizhong to the county government office for a while."
This quota was a reward from the county government to Guan Lizheng. He had been Lizheng for a long time and had been diligent, so he only got this quota three years ago, and it was useless for him to keep it.