Zhulan looked at the return gift that Zhou Laoer brought when he moved into the house. The meat in the basket was mutton, all of which had been processed. The basket was full, with almost the entire sheep's meat and bones included. There were also red dates and other foods that were good for the body.
There was a lot of food, and there were also two boxes. When the boxes were opened, there was a pair of ornaments and a painting. There were two cloaks wrapped in a large cloth bag. Zhulan had been to the leather shop many times, and she could tell at a glance that they were made of fox fur. Zhao was also holding a box in her hand.
This return gift far exceeds the value of what they gave!
The Zhou family was stunned. No matter what, they shouldn't have brought back so many return gifts!
Zhou Laoda asked, "Second brother, what's going on?"
Zhou Laoer kept the secret and picked up the ornament. "Mom, does it look familiar to you?"
Zhulan took the ornament and looked at it. "Isn't this similar to the pair of ornaments I sent over there?"
The biggest difference is the color.
Zhou Laoer said, "Mother, the Yun family makes porcelain vases. Every year, they make a batch of unique vases and give them to officials of all ranks in Pingzhou. Butler Qian remembered them all. As soon as he saw the ornaments I sent, he knew they belonged to Lord Jiang's family. After asking why the ornaments were in our house, he was particularly polite to us. That's why we got so many return gifts."
Zhao opened the box in her hand and said, "Mother, this is the dowry that Mr. Qian gave me."
Zhao never expected that she would find a cheap father after recognizing him as her relative. She felt deeply moved that he was worthy of being the housekeeper. She had become valuable. Not only did he recognize her, but he also increased her dowry. He was really calculating.
Zhulan took a quick look and saw a pair of jade bracelets in the box, which looked of decent quality, two gold hairpins, and a pair of gold bracelets, which looked quite dazzling. Manager Qian invested because he saw the benefits, but she also had a rough estimate of the money in Manager Qian's hands.
The Qian family must have a lot of money, and they must have embezzled a lot of things from the master's family. The calligraphy and paintings are the best evidence.
The dowry that the Qian family gave to Zhao was dazzling, but in fact it was a drop in the bucket for the Qian family. Qian Guan was calculating in his bones. He gave a decent return gift and acknowledged his adopted daughter as his own. In the future, if the Zhou family became successful, there would be a educated relative who would be good to the Qian family. If the Zhou family did not become successful, there would be relatives in the official family, so the family would not be in a bad situation in the future. No matter how the Qian family calculated, they would not lose out.
Li stared at her sister-in-law's dowry. Well, she used to be able to suppress her sister-in-law, but now her sister-in-law has more private property than her, and she has become the last one in the family. Unexpectedly, her sister-in-law went out to recognize her relatives and even supplemented her dowry, which made her worry in vain.
Dong's frown soon relaxed. She despised the Qian family in her heart. The housekeeper of a merchant family was good at calculating even though he had become a free farmer. Fortunately, the Qian family had a clear mind. At the same time, she despised the Qian family even more. This was a perfect example of bullying the weak and fearing the strong.
Boss Zhou frowned, he didn't like the Qian family. First they bullied his brother's wife, but now that he had someone to rely on, they compensated him with money. They were too profit-oriented.
Chang Lian considered things from his father's perspective. He thought that the Qian family's cheap relatives were troublesome and not relatives with whom he could have a deep friendship.
Zhulan motioned for Zhao to put the box away, "It seems that your mother will be able to live a happy life in the future."
Zhao closed the box and said, "Yes, today the sons and daughters-in-law of the Qian family have apologized and promised to respect my mother like her own mother in the future."
Zhao thought about what her mother had said to her alone. Her mother was reluctant to leave her three-year-old brother because she knew that if she left, her brother would be the Qian family's child and could not leave. A child without his mother would be worse than a weed. Her mother also considered her and did not want to add to her burden.
Mother always thinks about her children and never thinks about herself. When she thinks of this, her heart aches.
Dad was a good person at the beginning. He was good to Mom and her. But things went badly. One winter, Dad injured his waist while trying to pull Mom out of the river. It would be difficult for them to have children in the future. Dad was not good to Mom, especially because the baby she was pregnant with at the time was stillborn and it was said to be a boy.
This is also because her mother was sold, and she was told not to hate. Her mother felt sorry for her father, and in the end just asked her to protect herself because her father had changed a long time ago. Her father sold her mother for the boy of the Zhao family. Later, she exchanged her for food, and her father didn't even look at her.
Zhao thought too much and her eyes turned red. She held back her tears. Her mother said that everything was fine now and the Qian family would respect her in the future. As long as her husband's family was better, her mother would live a better life.
Zhulan saw that Zhao was not in a good mood, so she said to Changyi, "You are tired all day, go back and rest!"
Zhou Laoer said: "Mom, let's go back first."
"kindness."
Zhulan said to Li again, "It's very cold today. We can stew some of the rare mutton tonight. You can collect the remaining mutton and jujubes."
Li's stomach was no longer short of pork, but mutton was still missing. "Mom, it's getting late. I'll go cook now."
"Go ahead."
Dong stood up and said, "Sister-in-law, I'll help you."
Li smiled and said, "Okay."
She now likes Chang Lian's wife more and more, and has taught her a lot of lessons!
As for the remaining gifts, Zhulan looked at the displayed bottles. What she got in return was not what Zhou Shuren liked. She calculated carefully in her mind. Chang Lian went out to visit, and the family gave out a lot of things, and received gifts in return. The third house also got a lot of things. The second son's family also gave out a lot when he recognized his relatives, and received some in return. Only the eldest house got nothing.
Zhulan pointed at the display bottles and said, "Boss, take this pair of bottles back and put them away."
Boss Zhou was stunned, "Mom, what should I do with it?"
Such a valuable thing is better kept by your mother.
Zhulan was too lazy to explain, "I said I'll give you the big house, so take it back!"
Zhou Laoda realized that his mother was seeking balance. She felt that the eldest wife was at a disadvantage, so she gave the bottle to the eldest wife. He realized that it was no wonder that the eldest sister never asked her mother for anything and never looked down upon her every time she came back to her mother's house! It turned out that the eldest sister was the one who understood her parents the best. Because she did not fight, her parents were fair and would naturally compensate her. She had a good reputation and her parents still remembered her. The eldest sister was really smart!
Boss Zhou was looking at Chang Zhi. Chang Zhi looked like he deserved to be the big brother. The calculating Chang Lian also had the same expression. Hey, he knew how to be the big brother in the future.
Boss Zhou was holding the box, feeling very happy. He had gained so much today.
Chang Lian and Chang Zhi didn't leave. They were waiting to see the paintings!
Zhulan saw that the two of them were staring at the painting, "Open it and have a look at it yourself, don't damage it."
Chang Zhi was much faster than Chang Lian. "Mom, don't worry. I will be very careful."
Zhulan laughed and shook her head, and Changzhi became particularly active in calligraphy and painting.
Zhulan touched the fur of the cloak. The two cloaks were given to her and Zhou Shuren. Hers was fox fur and Zhou Shuren's was sable fur. They felt good to the touch and could not be compared with rabbit fur.
Zhulan hung all the cloaks in the closet. Thanks to Wang Ru, large wardrobes are very popular now, and the Zhou family has bought quite a few of them.
Chang Zhi and Chang Lian were looking at the calligraphy and paintings. Zhulan didn't know how to appreciate calligraphy and paintings, so she just glanced at it roughly. "Well, the calligraphy is nice," and that was it. As for who signed the signature, she didn't know, but it should be a calligrapher from an imaginary dynasty.
Changzhi looked at it carefully, frowning, "Huh."