Zhou Shuren looked at his sons in a state of disbelief with satisfaction, "Remember what your mother said, don't wait until you have evil thoughts, or it will be too late to regret it."
Boss Zhou has a strong desire to survive. "Dad, you know me best. I have a straight mind. I won't do anything to anyone who has evil intentions."
Smart, look, the first time reaction was so quick. As for whether it would let down the younger brothers, ha, the younger brothers are all troublesome and not worth worrying about!
Zhou Laoer looked up at the beams of the house. It had nothing to do with him. His wife was his, and he cared about her more than anyone else.
Chang Lian wanted to curse, "Four brothers, the second brother looks simple on the outside but is actually very thoughtful and cunning. But Zhao is the second sister-in-law. Look at how the second brother loves his sister-in-law. The second brother will not plot against his own wife."
So the question is, what the eldest brother said is referring to him, and I don't care about these things, so he is the only one who has a crooked heart. He even plotted against the eldest sister-in-law a few days ago. Woo woo, this is my real brother, and just now mother said we are a family, and this is cheating him.
Chang Lian felt a chill on his back when he saw his father looking at him. He suddenly understood why his father warned him that it was okay to scheme against outsiders but not against family members. His second sister-in-law’s face was indeed worth scheming against, but he really hadn’t thought of scheming against her. He was really wronged and wanted to bite his eldest brother to death. “Dad, I promise you and mom that if I ever have any evil intentions to scheme against my family in the future, I will not die a good death. I will be struck by lightning and my descendants will be cut off.”
Zhou Shuren and Zhulan, "... ... .."
Aren’t their grandchildren and great-grandchildren also included
Chang Lian saw that his parents looked unhappy, and thought to himself, "Mom and Dad, I don't have any bad intentions. I just want to put your future grandchildren and great-grandchildren on the line. It's all right as long as I don't have any bad intentions!"
He has confidence in himself and a broader vision. After being educated by his father, he understands that if he relies on himself, he will always have the opportunity to get up even if he falls. Relying on external forces is always a small path and will be looked down upon by others, and he will not go far in the future.
Zhulan felt that her future grandson and great-grandson would definitely be angry because Chang Lian had put them at risk. However, Chang Lian was well educated by Zhou Shuren.
Zhou Shuren thought to himself that he was sorry for his future grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It seemed that he had scared your father and grandfather terribly. Please don’t be angry. Don’t be scared by your awful father and grandfather. You are not ready to be reincarnated!
Changzhi saw that his third brother was so cruel, so he didn't swear, but said quickly: "Dad and Mom, I don't like to calculate, my heart is on the book."
A year ago, he still had the energy to amuse his third brother and win his mother's attention. But now he doesn't have the time. He has to study thoroughly the books his father brought back, and he also has to complete heavier homework every day than his third brother. He has no time to be distracted.
That’s right, the teacher of the clan studies gave him special lessons, and he really didn’t have any extra time.
After hearing these words, Zhao felt more at ease. For herself and her daughter, she touched her daughter's face and thought her daughter was more fortunate than her. She glanced at her husband and saw that he was looking at her with a smile on his face. She also felt fortunate.
After dinner, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren went back to rest. Zhou Shuren waited for Zhulan to spread the quilt and said, "I'll get you some water to wash your feet."
Zhulan pulled, "I'll go play today, you've been tired all day."
Zhou Shuren insisted, "If I don't get you water to wash your feet, I always feel like something is missing."
Zhulan sat still. This guy would take the opportunity to confess his love even when fetching water. So, give him this chance.
They fetched a basin of water and washed their feet together. Zhulan waited for Zhou Shuren to pour the water and then lay down. She felt relieved, as she could finally have a good sleep today.
Zhou Shuren also felt relieved. "By the way, I heard some news from the previous dynasty when I was in Pingzhou this time. I guess it has something to do with Zheng's family."
Zhulan perked up, "What did you hear?"
Zhou Shuren said, "What a coincidence! Winter is coming soon. The border is always tense in winter. Let's talk about the generals who led the troops. In the previous dynasty, there was a general named Zheng. His family was demoted to the northeastern border. One year, they failed to prevent foreign invaders from rushing into the border. The Zheng family organized the people to resist. When the foreign invaders had looted enough and retreated, the general was afraid that he would lose his life if he failed to defend the border, so he lied that the Zheng family had started a rebellion."
Zhulan asked, "What happened next?"
Zhou Shuren continued, "Later, a fire broke out in the Zheng family's home, and the entire family died. No one survived."
Zhulan asked, "So you guess that Zheng's maiden family is the Zheng family?"
Zhou Shuren nodded and said, "Before I went to Pingzhou, I asked around for two days. Although I didn't investigate in depth, I knew roughly that the Zheng family came to Lijia Village forty-five years ago. At that time, they were said to have fled. There was a snowstorm that year, and many families left their homes. After the disaster, many did not return to their ancestral land. The Zheng family did not return and stayed in Lijia Village. The time is right, so I guess it's correct."
Zhulan calculated Zheng's age. This year she is fifty-two years old. Minus forty-five would make her seven years old. She was also a governor back then. "No wonder Zheng is in poor health. She was demoted to the border and fled during the snowstorm. She must have been injured since she was a child!"
Zhou Shuren sighed, "This is the bad thing about ancient times. If one person made a mistake, the whole family would be implicated. At the very least, they would be banished back to their ancestral home. In more serious cases, they would be exiled to the border. Even more serious cases would be beheaded, and their descendants would become slaves of the government, and women would be miserable."
Zhu Lan said listlessly, "Have you forgotten about the extermination of the three clans?"
Zhou Shuren: "... And the nine clans will be killed."
Zhu Lan sighed, "It was not easy to survive in ancient times. By the way, are you still going to inquire about the Zheng family?"
Zhou Shuren shook his head. "It's basically certain. I won't ask any more. It's not easy for the Zheng family to stay safe. If we didn't want to avoid trouble, we wouldn't ask any more. This is enough."
Zhulan nodded, "Tell me, is the Zheng family wronged?"
"There were many unjust cases at the end of the dynasty, and generals who held military power were particularly hard-pressed."
Zhulan sighed for a while, and then stopped thinking about it. She was really sleepy, and fell asleep in Zhou Shuren's arms in a daze.
Zhou Shuren kissed Zhulan's face and fell asleep contentedly.
Zhou Shuren returned to the village, and the next day Chief Zhou came. Before Zhou Shuren went to Pingzhou, he asked the chief to help him find out who was selling land. Now the autumn harvest was over and the land tax had been paid, and Chief Zhou wrote back.
Zhou Wangshi also came along. Zheng was also at Zhulan's house. Zhou Wangshi asked, "Isn't it too much for your family to buy fifty acres of land at once?"
The weather has been good in the past few years, and land is not cheap. The best paddy field is ten taels of silver per mu, the medium one is eight taels of silver per mu, and the second-best one is five taels of silver per mu, which has not increased. The best dry land used to cost five taels of silver per mu, but it has increased by five taels and two cents this year. Fifty mu of dry land costs two hundred and sixty taels. Zhou Shuren's family needs twenty mu of paddy fields and thirty mu of dry land. This is a huge sum of money!
Zhulan smiled and said, "Not much."
She wanted to buy more, but unfortunately she didn't have enough money. She and Zhou Shuren did some calculations. If she passed the imperial examination next year and the results were known before the autumn harvest, she would be exempt from the land tax, which was equivalent to earning an extra 50 acres of tax. After careful calculation, she could earn about 80 taels of silver by not paying taxes on the 50 acres of land.
In this way, money can make money, and when the land is harvested next year, the land can be sold, and the money collected can be enough to buy a small farm near Pingzhou.
When Zhou Wangshi heard Zhulan say this, she thought, forget it, she was worrying in vain. At the same time, she calculated that Zhou Shuren's family was too wealthy. The betrothal gift for Chang Lian was almost three hundred taels, and after buying the land, he would have to keep some money for living. Zhou Shuren's family had more than a thousand taels of silver in cash!
Mrs. Zhou Wang thought that her family took advantage of her son's position as the head of the village and often received benefits. She had not saved much money over the years. She laughed dryly and did not intend to say anything. She was jealous!
Zheng put down the cup in her hand and asked the wife of the clan leader, "Has the clan leader found out who is selling the land?"