Zhou Shuren smiled again before leaving. Wang Ju caught up with him and said, "I've never paid attention to the orphans in Zhuangzi. I'll go check them out someday."
Zhou Shuren, "It will definitely surprise you."
The Zhuangzi now is like a school. Children from several Zhuangzis are separated according to the knowledge they have learned and attend classes on a regular basis every day. Currently, the number of orphans has reached 900.
Wang Ju became even more curious, "I'll go take a look when I have my day off."
Zhou Shuren put his hands behind his back and said, "Children from nearby villages also want to learn from me."
Wang Ju asked, "Have you collected it?"
Zhou Shuren shook his head, "No, my wife has already told the Queen Mother, but she didn't reply, so Zhuangzi doesn't dare to take in any children from the village."
Because the children in the village wanted to learn, he discussed it with his wife, and they did not expect it to develop so well and continue to develop in a good direction. As long as the time is right, it can be separated into an independent college to study skills.
At present, we need to wait and wait for the older orphans to complete their training and let the emperor see the results. Without results, the royal family will still adopt a wait-and-see attitude.
The two walked and talked, and when they reached the palace gate, Wang Ju said, "I want to send a group of Wang family members to the grassland states."
Zhou Shuren tilted his head, "What does the old man mean?"
Wang Ju glared, "My father has retired. I will be the head of the family in the future. I will also be the patriarch of the Wang family."
Zhou Shuren stroked his beard and said, "Time flies. You have become the clan leader now."
Wang Ju said sternly, "The grassland states need to develop. You are willing to let Mingyun go to the grassland. I have been watching him all year. Even if Wu Ming hadn't sent me a memorial today, I would have been ready to send my son there next year."
What he valued was trading on the grasslands, which brought considerable profits. A family inheritance could not be separated from money, so if he took advantage of the opportunity now, he could also avoid competition.
Zhou Shuren sighed in his heart, this is the heir that the aristocratic family has been training since childhood, "Now that you have made the decision, you must act quickly."
Wang Ju's eyes lit up, "With you here, I feel more at ease."
In the afternoon, Zhulan received an oral order from the palace that the emperor would take the prince and several ministers to the manor tomorrow, so she didn't need to make any arrangements.
As the person in charge, Zhulan had to accompany them. Zhulan was surprised. It seemed that she was the only woman who heard the emperor's message
When Shuren came back, Zhulan asked, "Something's wrong!"
Zhou Shuren touched his nose, his pot, "I mentioned you in the court today."
He said as he learned the words spoken in the court.
Zhulan's eyes widened, and then she became excited, "I'm finally not the woman behind you anymore?"
Zhou Shuren bowed and said, "I hope you can support me in the future."
Zhu Lan glanced at him and said, "Okay, okay."
Zhou Shuren stood up straight, "Don't be nervous tomorrow."
Zhu Lan was not nervous at all. "Don't worry, I will definitely make you proud."
Zhou Shuren has confidence in his wife, "If anyone bullies you, come back and tell me, and I will help you vent your anger."
Zhulan's eyebrows curved, "Okay."
After dinner, Zhulan sorted out Zhuangzi's account books. There were a lot of them, as well as the cutout monthly reports and finally the data for each state. She made sure nothing was missed before going to bed.
On the second day, Zhulan took Lao Da and Mingrui with her. Lao Da knew Zhuangzi very well. Mingrui often went there to teach and also opened a medical class. Zhulan brought them along to win the emperor's favor.
Zhulan left the capital after breakfast, while the emperor and others had to wait until the morning court was over. This time the emperor did not bring Zhou Shuren with him.
Zhou Shuren watched the emperor and his men leave. Wang Ju asked, "Aren't you worried?"
Look who the emperor brought with him, Lord Liu, Lord Wen and others. Not many of them are easy to get along with. Zhou Shuren just offended someone yesterday.
Zhou Shuren didn't reply, but walked away humming a little tune, thinking that his wife was easy to bully.
When Zhulan arrived at the manor, she did not tell him that the emperor would bring his ministers with him. She went to class as usual, just like she did every time she came to the manor.
The emperor arrived only half an hour later than Zhulan, who was waiting at the gate of the manor after receiving the news.
The emperor got off the carriage first, and then the others got off one after another. Zhulan brought her son and grandson to greet them, "Your Highness, I greet the emperor and the prince."
After the greeting, the emperor stepped forward and helped Zhulan to show his respect for her.
Zhulan felt more at ease and stood up and said, "This is the largest of the several manors. Should we start with this one?"
The emperor smiled and nodded, "Okay."
Zhulan motioned for her son and grandson to follow her, and said as she walked, "The class is in session now, let's go this way."
As there are more children, we no longer have large classes. Instead, we have divided the classes into small groups according to the children's learning progress. Children who are progressing fast can already make models by themselves.
Zhulan said: "The wood was picked up by the children themselves, so it won't be wasted after use. It can be burned as firewood. The children in the several villages are basically self-sufficient."
The Emperor had already seen the model of the ship and was surprised, "You learn very quickly."
“This class has the best talent.”
The emperor nodded and then went to another class. Several ministers behind him squinted their eyes and were shocked when they saw it with their own eyes.
Then we went to several nearby villages. When we arrived at the village where people were studying medicine, we saw children identifying medicinal herbs.
Mingrui was now the one explaining. He said, "The herbs used were dug by the doctor and the children from the mountains, and the rest were obtained by exchanging food from the village."
The beads in the emperor's hand were spinning rapidly, and only he knew what he was thinking.
Zhulan felt the emperor glance at her, "It's getting late, Your Majesty, do you want to eat?"
The Emperor: "Okay."
The food was served quickly, and there was fish, meat, chicken, duck, etc. on the table.
Old Master Wen hadn't found a chance to speak, but when he saw the food on the table, he spoke, "Madam just said that we should eat the food produced by the manor. Are all the food on the table produced by the manor?"
Zhulan looked at Boss Zhou, who stepped forward and said, "It is indeed produced by Zhuangzi himself. They are all raised by the children. If you don't believe me, you can go and see it."
Old Master Wen still didn't believe it. With more than 900 children in several farms and huge daily consumption, how could they have fish and meat
The emperor signaled to Eunuch Zhang to go and take a look, and Boss Zhou took the eunuch to check it out without any hesitation.
The emperor didn't move his chopsticks, and no one else moved either. Zhulan asked the steward to take the stored test papers for the emperor to check.
The emperor became interested. As he flipped through the books and witnessed the children's growth, his heart was moved. He understood that Zhuangzi's healthy development today was inseparable from Madam Zhou Hou. "Thank you for your hard work, old lady."
Zhulan smiled, "It's not hard."
Eunuch Zhang came back quickly, "It was indeed raised by the children."
Boss Zhou explained, "With a year of farming experience, we raised more this year because we have many children and they can only eat until they are 60% full, but we still have meat."
The emperor then picked up his chopsticks and started eating. How could Mr. Liu and others, who came here to find trouble, be willing to accept this
After the meal, Old Master Liu smiled and said, "More than nine hundred children cost a lot of money. Madam, can you show me how Zhuangzi can be self-sufficient?"
To put it bluntly, I just want to see the accounts.
Zhulan had expected this. "We in the Marquisate have always been open and honest. We have nothing to hide. What a coincidence that I brought everything with me today."
Boss Zhou glanced at Boss Liu who had a stiff smile. His mother's ability to mock people was no worse than his father's!