Because of the donations of grain and supplies triggered by Zhulan's painting appreciation banquet, several families sent their old clothes and grain to Zhouhou Mansion. The two Ninghou Mansions alone sent three carts of old clothes and four carts of grain.
This is not even the entire Ning family, but only the amount of two marquisates.
The Wang family has fewer, and the servants don't have many old clothes either. The old clothes of the house-born sons are left for their younger brothers and sisters. Of course, for the sake of decency, they usually won't wear them in the mansion after they are 50% worn out.
The servants' old clothes were not given for free, they were converted into silver. The masters' clothes could not be donated because the fabrics were of different grades, and the children would not be able to wear them even if they were donated.
As the number of masters increased, the Zhou family had many servants, and also had some children. The Zhou family had been enjoying many happy events over the years, and the servants had many opportunities to double their monthly wages throughout the year, so they all had some family wealth.
After Zhulan looked at the clothes of each family, she found that the Zhou family's servants had the best old clothes, which were basically 70% new. The next best was the Ninghou Mansion, which had 65% new, and then the Wang family.
Zhulan focuses on family. The Yu family suffered a great disaster in the previous dynasty, and the accumulated wealth was said to have been confiscated. After returning to Dingzhou, they have been keeping a low profile. They must have hidden a way out, otherwise the Yu family would not have developed so well.
The old clothes of the Yu family servants were 50% new, and the number was not large. The Yu family had just arrived in Beijing, and the servants did not bring much with them. However, they donated five carts of food, including two carts of fine grain.
Zhou Lao Da stood beside his mother and reached out to touch the fine grains. "New rice."
It’s fresh grain that hasn’t been mixed with stale rice. There’s very little fresh grain in grain shops on the market nowadays, so the Yu family is very generous.
Zhulan said: "The Yu family took this opportunity to thank our family."
"Thank you, family?"
"Well, if I don't invite the Yu family, the Yu family can't participate in charity and won't get a good reputation. If I bring the Yu family to charity, Mr. Yu and his wife can quickly integrate into the circle of women in the capital through me."
Who did she invite? The Ning family was the Empress Dowager's maternal family, the Wang family was a prominent family, the Ran family was Concubine Ran's maternal family and the eldest princess's in-laws. The Yu family had some face with everyone, so they would be taken care of when they met them at banquets in the future.
The Yu family naturally wanted to express their gratitude and sent more food in the hope that the Zhou family, as their leader, would look better.
Boss Zhou pondered the taste and said, "The Yu family is quite insightful."
"The Yu family can enter the capital again. The Yu family understands everything. Okay, you can register here and send it to the Ministry of Revenue. Lord Zhang will receive it."
Zhou Laodao said: "Mom, you have been out for a while. The weather is very cold. You should go back and rest."
Zhulan did not turn back, but continued to instruct, "Send someone to the farm to pick some vegetables, and catch some geese to send to a few families. Everyone wants our family to take the lead in gaining reputation, so we should return some gifts. Gifts are not important, but the thought behind them."
Boss Zhou understood, but he hesitated, "Mom, my son left some geese to lay eggs, and there aren't many left to eat."
Zhu Lan sighed, "I know that too. Geese are rare. You can catch them if you want."
Several families own farms with sheep and pigs, but not necessarily geese. Even if there are, there are not many and they have been eaten up long ago. This is unlike the Zhou family, because Shuren likes to eat geese, so they raise a lot of geese on the farm and still have some in stock.
Boss Zhou treasures his geese very much. "Mom, I'll go and see them myself later."
He now treasures Zhuangzi's living things. The sheep cannot be moved as they need to be kept for breeding. There are still a few pigs that can be slaughtered, and there are quite a few chickens and ducks. Oh, and there is also Zhuangzi's big-headed cow, but the cow cannot be slaughtered.
Boss Zhou pursed his lips. It had been a long time since he had eaten fresh beef. Alas, his family had contributed a lot to the imperial court's breeding.
At the Ministry of Revenue, Zhang Jinghong received Boss Zhou, "Why did the prince come here in person?"
"I'm the one with the least time at home, so I came here in person. Is my father here?"
Zhang Jinghong glanced at the vehicles. Oh, there were so many of them. "The Minister has stayed in the palace after the court session and has not left yet."
When Zhou Laoda heard that his father was not there, he hurried to the farm and asked, "Master Zhang, this is the list. Where do you think I should unload it?"
Zhang Jinghong had already cleared out several rooms, "Prince, please come this way."
Boss Zhou signaled the boy who was carrying the things to follow him, and when everything was moved down, he said, "I'll go back first."
Zhang Jinghong personally escorted him out of the Ministry of Revenue, "Have a safe journey, my prince."
Boss Zhou brought so many horse-drawn carriages to the Ministry of Revenue, which attracted a lot of attention in the capital. Before Boss Zhou got home, those who were asking for information had already known about the donation of old clothes.
Because of Zhou Shuren's proposal in the morning court, some people sneered at Zhou Shuren's hypocrisy, some people admired the Zhou family, and then nothing happened, no one donated anything.
Zhou Shuren left the palace in the afternoon. He had lunch with the retired emperor. When he returned to the Ministry of Revenue, he saw a room full of old clothes. There were quite a lot of them. He asked Zhang Jinghong to find someone to separate the men's and women's clothes and classify them by size. There were not many cotton-padded clothes sent, and most of them were summer clothes.
Zhou Shuren already had an idea in mind. The emperor took out money from his private treasury to set up an orphanage. After all, the emperor was just a figurehead, and it would be embarrassing if he didn't pay the money. So he took out 20,000 taels of silver in one go. With this money, he could do a lot of things.
At the Yu family, when Liu saw the gifts from the Zhou Marquis Mansion, the smile on Liu's face deepened. The Zhou family was willing to take the Yu family, and the return gift was proof, "Try the dishes of the Zhou Marquis Mansion tonight."
The Yu family had just arrived in Beijing, and there was a war last year. No farms near the capital were for sale, and their prices were instead driven up to sky-high prices. The Yu family currently has no farms in the capital, and their roots are still in Dingzhou.
This year, due to food shortage, it is even more difficult to buy vegetables in the capital. The Yu family is wealthy, but there are few vegetables they can buy with money. They are happy to see the vegetables today. Life without vegetables in winter is too sad, especially for the Yu family living in the south.
Bai, the wife of Master Yu, asked, "Mother, is there any marriage proposal for Marquis Zhou's granddaughter?"
Liu looked at her eldest daughter-in-law, "Are you talking about Miss Zhou Si?"
Bai nodded, "Yes, Miss Zhou Si, what do you think?"
Naturally, Liu was very satisfied. Miss Zhou Si had good character and appearance, but she had never thought about her son. How to say it, it was not that she thought Miss Zhou Si was not good, but that she was too good. The Queen had praised her for that. Miss Zhou Si's biological father was also very capable, and the Master had praised him last year.
As for her own son, no matter how partial Liu was to her own son, she had to admit that her son looked silly when he smiled, and she felt that he was not worthy of the other party. The eldest daughter of the third branch of the Zhou family, Miss Zhou Si, could become the clan wife.
Bai was also feeling uncomfortable. She didn't want to marry a powerful brother or sister-in-law, but the Yu family had been away from the capital for too many years. In Dingzhou, the Yu family was almost completely powerful, but they ran into obstacles everywhere when they came to Beijing.
Bai remembered that her husband said that the Yu family escaped the conspiracy because of Marquis Zhou's words. Is there any more suitable in-laws than the Zhou family
Bai thought for a moment and said, "Mother, my second brother's personality requires a wife who can take charge of the family."
Liu said quietly, "You and I are making it sound so easy. That is the Zhou Marquis's Mansion, and it is a hereditary Zhou Marquis's Mansion. The Marquis is powerful, and his son is also promising. There are many noble families eyeing Miss Zhou Si, and the Yu family is not outstanding."
Bai choked. Yes, the Zhouhou Mansion might not look down upon the Yu family. Bai was depressed and did not mention it again.