Zhulan digested the news and asked, "Do the found servants of the Yun family know where the housekeeper is?"
Mrs. Zhao was in a trance. After listening to her mother-in-law's question, she came back to her senses from the news that her mother had married again. She clutched the handkerchief in her hand and waited for her father-in-law's reply.
Zhou Shuren said: "Steward Qian is a native of Pingzhou. When the Yun family left, Steward Qian took his family back to his hometown of Qianjia Village, which is about an hour's drive from Pingzhou."
Zhulan was surprised. She thought it would take a lot of trouble to find someone. She never expected that Zhao Bo helped to inquire about it. It was only two days before and after, and the person was found so easily. Zhulan couldn't help but think that he was probably not the protagonist. , so there aren’t that many twists and turns to deal with.
Seeing that Mrs. Zhao was still dazed, Zhulan asked Changyi, "I didn't expect to find someone so soon. When do you plan to go to Qianjia Village?"
Zhou Laoer has considered various possibilities, but he really has not considered that his mother-in-law will marry again. This has somewhat disrupted the plan. He originally discussed with his wife, saved money to redeem her, and then rented a small yard for his mother-in-law to live in. Now it is an advantage Father-in-law, oh, no, listen to what dad said. My father-in-law is a member of a large family, and my mother-in-law is a stepmother!
Zhou Laoer looked at his wife, come on, she hasn't digested the news yet. She's been dazed for a long time, and she probably still has to accept it for a while.
Zhou Laoer supported his wife and said, "Father, mother, let's go back to discuss it first and come back later."
Zhulan, "Go back!"
Mrs. Zhao is a thoughtful person, so she needs to think about it for a while.
Zhulan waited for Zhou Laoer and his wife to go out and said, "There must be other news. Now that they are gone, we can talk about it."
Zhou Shuren knew that he couldn't hide it from Zhulan, "There is indeed news. Well, Zhao's mother entered the house pregnant and gave birth to a boy. He is three years old this year. Moreover, the housekeeper Qian's family is quite large, with three sons and not a stepmother. It’s a good idea, especially since the stepsons are grown and Mrs. Zhao has no family, her life will probably not be very good.”
Zhulan calculated the age of Zhao's mother. Zhao was twenty-two this year. Zhao's mother should be about thirty-seven or eighty-year-old. She gave birth to a boy three years ago. She was an advanced maternal age in ancient times. "Zhao's mother gave birth to a child. It's okay."
Zhou Shuren said, "Zhao Bo didn't mention it, so it should be fine."
Zhulan sighed, "Zhao's mother's life is really bad. Her previous husband sold her, and her next husband has a big family, and her son is young. Her life is really hard."
"It's better than selling yourself as a slave and pinching yourself in someone else's hands."
Zhulan thought about it, and then she became worried again, "Zhao's mother married Butler Qian. I guess the housekeeper fell in love with her at first sight, so she didn't bring her back to the house. Zhao's mother has been sold for more than thirty years, and she is still very charming. Cun, one can imagine that Mrs. Zhao will do well as a daughter. The Qian family is a mess, and those who can be housekeepers are smart. It may not be a good thing to recognize a relative. "
Zhou Shuren naturally thought, "Wait a minute and see what Chang Yi says."
He also wanted to test the second child to see if he could think of this.
Zhulan rolled her eyes and raised the corners of her mouth, "I have an idea."
Zhou Shuren raised his eyebrows and asked, "What can I do?"
He really doesn't have any good ideas. The main thing is that he is a scholar. If he is a candidate, he can control his relatives and take advantage of them. It is not common to borrow help. It is more reliable to have his own ability.
Zhulan said mysteriously: "Keep it secret."
After a while, Zhou Laoer came by himself. Zhou Laoer said: "Dad, I have discussed with Mrs. Zhao. I will go to Qianjia Village first. If my mother-in-law is doing well, we will wait for dad to get to know each other after he wins the imperial examination." ”
He also thought that both Chang Lian and Chang Zhi were admitted to the examination, and there were three scholars in one subject. Chang Lian and Chang Zhi were young and very impressive, but he did not have much confidence in whether the two younger brothers could pass the examination. They were relatively weak. He said that he believed that his father would win the exam.
Zhou Shuren was very satisfied with Zhou Laoer's thorough consideration, "What if your life is not good?"
Zhou Laoer saluted, "We have thought about it. Mrs. Zhao wanted to scratch her face, but her son did not agree. The son did not dislike Mr. Zhao for hurting his face, but if the son could not protect his wife, the son would feel incompetent, so the son thought of something The solution is that the daughters of Wang Laosi’s family are getting prettier day by day. My son has observed that some of the girls are good at makeup, so he thought about whether he could fake the disfigurement on Zhao’s face. "
Zhulan looked at Zhou Lao'er, she really didn't expect that Zhou Lao'er would observe the changes in Wang Ru's girls and come up with a solution based on the changes, which was consistent with her idea.
Seeing Zhulan's reaction, Zhou Shuren knew that Zhulan was thinking of the same method, and asked Zhou Laoer, "Since you have a method, why do you have to wait until you win the exam to recognize each other?"
Zhou Laoer explained, "My son wants to be a housekeeper, and he is a housekeeper of a merchant's family. He must be very scheming. Juren is the best way to control him."
Zhou Shuren was satisfied. It’s good that Zhou Laoer can think of this. He used to be confined to his hometown, but now in the city, Zhou Laoer will get better experience. “Since you have an idea, just do it as you want. What’s the matter? If you need to come to me again.”
Zhou Laoer felt relieved when he heard that his father was satisfied with him. He was really afraid that his father would still remember what he had interrupted. "Dad, then I will go to Qianjiacun tomorrow to inquire about it."
"kindness."
Although the Zhou family didn't know about Zhao's search for her mother, they knew from Zhao's dazed appearance that something was going on with her second wife, but they didn't know what it was.
The next day, Zhou Laoer left without breakfast. The carriage was rented by Zhou Laoer yesterday afternoon. Before leaving, Mrs. Zhao stuffed some pastries into the carriage, fearing that Zhou Laoer would be hungry.
Mrs. Zhao ate breakfast absentmindedly, but Mrs. Li wanted to ask, but Mrs. Dong stopped her.
Zhulan glanced at Ms. Dong. Ms. Dong had been very close to Ms. Li in the past few days. She often mentioned Ms. Li in private. They were both daughters-in-law. Sometimes Ms. Dong’s suggestions were more useful than hers. Many, because Li's understanding is different from different angles.
The effect is also remarkable. Ms. Li is much more stable at home and knows what to ask and what not to ask.
After dinner, Zhou Shuren went to stay. Today was Jiang Ming's day off.
Zhulan was at home, and Wu Li came to the house with Wu Zhu. Wu Li brought a lot of door-to-door gifts, including two big fish and some meat in the basket.
When Zhulan saw that there was something heavy at the door, she knew something was coming. "Auntie, just tell me if you have something to do. Why do you still get so many gifts?"
Mrs. Wu and Li were not surprised. Mrs. Yang saw that she had actually wanted to come for a long time. It was just that she was abrupt last time and was a little embarrassed to come. So she delayed it for a few days and waited for some things to fade away before she came to the door. She pulled her granddaughter and said, "Auntie, it's true." If you have anything to ask for, you know that I know how to cook, and I can only leave it to the girl with my cooking skills. Nühong, I can only sew clothes, not embroidery. I saw the purse Han Yatou gave to Xuxuan, and then I know you have a talented embroiderer in your family, and I don’t want to be able to give advice to my girl, so I shamelessly came to visit.”
Zhulan smiled, "I thought it was something, but it turned out to be some advice. It's not a big deal. It's just that there's something going on at home recently. Auntie, let Wu Zhu and Xuehan lay the foundation first, and then come over and learn how to do it after the government has tried it. ?”
Zhulan only agreed after seeing Zhao's invisible nod. Otherwise, she would not have responded so happily and she would have to ask Zhao.
Mrs. Wu Li was happy in her heart, "Of course it's good. I've thanked you here."
Mrs. Wu Li sat for a while and then stood up and left. Although she no longer went out to help, she still had a lot of work at home.
Zhulan sent Mrs. Wu Li away, returned to the main room, and stopped Mrs. Zhao who was about to go back to the house, "Wait a minute, mother wants to tell you something."