Zhou Shuren called Zhulan back to life. When she woke up in the morning, she felt much better, at least not so weak anymore. She nestled in Zhou Shuren's arms and was reluctant to get up. Feeling his body temperature, she felt extremely grateful that she had someone to accompany her in this unfamiliar environment. If she were alone, she would not have recovered so quickly.
Zhulan reached out and played with Zhou Shuren's fingers. The joints of Zhou Shuren's fingers were distinct, and she could even feel the calluses from holding a pen, which showed how hard Zhou Shuren tried. Zhulan lifted Zhou Shuren's hand and compared it with her own, and her own hands seemed really small.
Zhou Shuren was worried about Zhulan and didn't sleep well all night. He woke up when Zhulan moved. Seeing that Zhulan was energetic and was shaking hands with him, he put down the worry that had been hanging in his heart all night. He put his other hand around Zhulan's waist and pulled her closer to him, and said in a gentle and sweet voice, "Are you awake? Are you feeling better?"
Zhulan's heartstrings moved, and she smiled, "Yeah, much better."
She knew that she was dreaming, one dream after another. Later, she stopped dreaming and slept more soundly. This was all thanks to Zhou Shuren.
Zhou Shuren rested his chin on Zhulan's hair and tightened his arms. He really didn't expect that he would find love one day. In modern times, he didn't believe in marriage. He had seen too many children being abandoned and was particularly resistant to marriage. He planned to live alone for the rest of his life. Unexpectedly, after traveling through time, he became a father, had a wife, and believed in love. He never told Zhulan that he was grateful to her for saving him and not letting him travel through time alone. Fortunately, he had her. With her, his heart had a place to stay in ancient times.
Zhulan just felt, "It's too tight, do you want to strangle me to death?"
Zhou Shuren chuckled, and the atmosphere from before was gone. He quickly loosened his grip, "Is it better this time?"
Zhulan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling better this time. She nodded and thought of Chang Lian, saying, "I will go find an official matchmaker today. However, Dong Chuchu is the daughter of the county magistrate. How can we pay for the betrothal gift?"
This is a worrying matter. Before County Magistrate Dong took the imperial examination, the Dong family was a landlord family with money, land and shops. Later, he became a juren and his family property became even more substantial. After he became the county magistrate, he never stopped receiving gifts, so the county magistrate had no shortage of money, but it was difficult for their family to offer a betrothal gift!
Zhou Shuren was also worried. "Our family is poor. If we give more, people won't think it's too much. If we give less, the Dong family will lose face. Besides, we have four sons. If we give more to Chang Lian to marry a wife, the eldest and second sons will inevitably have some problems. After all, it is a shared property now."
Zhulan felt weak again. "I spent a lot of money in Pingzhou, and also spent a lot on gifts for the county magistrate. I currently have 750 taels of silver and more than a dozen taels of silver. A few days ago, you said you wanted to buy some more land, and you also wanted to save some money for the family's daily expenses. How much silver do you think is appropriate as a betrothal gift?"
Zhou Shuren thought for a while and said, "Let's set the betrothal gift at 200 taels. If we prepare other betrothal gifts well, it won't seem too little."
Zhu Lan was surprised, "Two hundred taels!"
This is no small amount!
Zhou Shuren sighed, "The county magistrate has found out everything about our family. It's not good to have too little. Anyway, the county magistrate doesn't know how much money our family has. Two hundred taels should be the family assets that the county magistrate has guessed. After all, we have just bought a house and a shop, and I can't hide my expenses in Pingzhou. The county magistrate estimates that we can come up with two hundred taels, which is already good. However, the plan to buy land this year has fallen through."
Zhulan knew that Zhou Shuren was scheming. She took out two hundred taels of betrothal money, and Zhou Shuren said that it was his greatest ability. The county magistrate felt proud and would still feel guilty. After all, the county magistrate looked at the Zhou family first, and thought that Zhou Shuren had taken out all his family assets, so he would naturally be extra attentive to Zhou Shuren. This man was as scheming as a beehive, and would never suffer any loss.
Zhulan tilted her head, "Now that the betrothal gift has been settled, why don't you tell the eldest and second brothers, and Changlian, not to let him get too cocky, as if we gave him two hundred taels of betrothal gift and the family is counting on him in the future."
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will go and chop Chang Lian after dinner and will definitely not let him get away with it."
Zhulan: “… … ..Yeah.”
The two of them lay down for a while before getting up. Breakfast was ready. Zhulan had specifically asked that porridge be made for breakfast in a newly bought clay pot. Zhulan drank the porridge and ate pickles. Finally, she no longer felt nauseous. There was food in her stomach and she felt more energetic.
After dinner, Zhou Shuren called his sons over, but Zhulan didn’t listen. She wanted to change her clothes and get herself ready as she was going to the county town to find the official matchmaker.
When Zhulan came out after packing up, she saw Changlian going out to the clan school in a daze. She felt frightened. Zhulan pulled Zhou Shuren over and said, "Look how scared Changlian is. What did you say?"