Zhulan gets angry when she looks at Li now.
Li didn't understand what her mother meant, so she asked the head of the household, "What's wrong with mother?"
Boss Zhou wanted to touch the heart. The two of them still had the mentality of ordinary people. Today, they went to buy venison, but the price of venison had gone up again. One catty cost one tael of silver. Venison in the capital was particularly popular, so they bought one catty. Now it seems that they all thought it was their mother's idea!
Boss Zhou pulled Li and said, "Stop talking and run away!"
Li still didn't understand until the head of the household whispered to her, then Li said, "I'll go explain."
Boss Zhou got smart this time, "Don't do that. The more you explain, the less clear it becomes. I'll think it's our mother who gave you the reputation of being stingy!"
Li's heart was pounding. "What should I do? Woohoo! Mother has finally shown love for me. I hope she won't chase us away!"
Boss Zhou was depressed. He found that in his wife's heart, his mother was much more important than him, so he didn't want to pay any attention to her.
The next morning, the Zhou family received quite a few visiting cards, all of which had ulterior motives. They came to congratulate but to be frank, they all hoped to marry Wu Ming.
Zhao Bo's visiting card also arrived.
Zhulan thought that Zhao Bo was also waiting at home. Zhao Bo did well in the exam and ranked fifth. Zhao Bo is also a good candidate for a son-in-law!
There were only a lot of people at the Zhou family for one day, and then no one came anymore. It was not that they had given up on Wu Ming, but that they were all preparing for the palace examination.
The Xu family next door to Zhulan's family was also moving. The Zhou family's status had changed, and Li became more generous with the land she gave to Qi. After the Xu family moved away, Qi gave Li a pair of bottles and a screen to put on the kang.
Li came back carrying some things, "Mom, the screen is better than the one embroidered by my brother and sister-in-law!"
Zhulan looked at the wood for the screen. Now that she had money, she said to Xuehan, "When you get married, I will prepare a few screens for you."
The screen that Li got was worth at least fifty taels. The merchant family really had a lot of money.
Although she didn't go out to see the neighbors moving, she could tell from Li how much money the neighbors had.
Zhulan said to Li: "Put everything away."
Li was so grateful, "Mom, when Qi left, I only gave her some bacon that I made myself. Isn't that too stingy?"
Zhu Lan said faintly: "She won't think it's stingy, on the contrary, she will be happy that you can give her bacon."
Li didn't understand. Her bacon was worth a few silver coins. "Mom, Qi is not stupid!"
Zhulan smiled and said, "You are the only one in the family who is open-minded and has not noticed the change. Among the four classes of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, merchants are the lowest. Your father is no longer a juren, and Qi is afraid that you will look down on her. You still treat her with sincerity. Even if the gift you give is small, she will be happy."
What's more, the Xu family is just a small business family, and the big forces look down on them. It is also difficult for the Xu family to survive. As a daughter-in-law, Qi is able to make friends with Li. Although Li is only the daughter-in-law of the Zhou family, it will also be a friendship in the future. Qi cherishes her relationship with Li very much.
Zhulan did not object to Li and Qi's relationship. She also wanted to leave some room for negotiation. The fact that the Xu family simply ended their business in Beijing and moved to Pinggang showed that Mr. Xu was smart and decisive!
Zhulan likes people who are shrewd and decisive. When maritime trade is opened in the future, the eyes of the powerful will be on this piece of fat meat. She also wants to see if the Xu family can fight for a way to make money and see how capable the Xu family is.
Xue Han said: "Mother, when will you let my second and third brothers come to Beijing?"
As for Fourth Brother, well, she doesn't worry about him at all. Fourth Brother has Xu Jinshi to worry about!
Li was worried. She didn't want her brothers and sisters-in-law to come. In the capital, no one competed with her and she lived a comfortable life. If her brothers and sisters-in-law came, they would definitely snatch their mother from her. She was not as cunning as her brothers and sisters-in-law.
Zhu Lan, "If you hadn't told me, I would have almost forgotten that your third brother said that Lord Jiang will be returning to Beijing in the spring!"
Zhulan considered whether to sell the house in Pingzhou City. Originally, the price of Zhou Shuren's house had increased after he became a juren. After the palace examination was over and the various states were notified, the price of the house would increase again. The house in Pingzhou City was not big and it would be a bit useless to keep it.
I just don’t know whether Zhou Shuren will stay in Beijing or be sent abroad after the palace examination. However, a house in Beijing does need to be looked for in advance.
Li's heart was in his throat. "Mother."
She disliked Dong the most. Dong was the most cunning, of course because of her status. She always felt insecure in front of Dong. Li was worried that in the future her mother would come into contact with wives of officials, and she would definitely prefer Dong, a presentable daughter-in-law.
Zhu Lan came back to her senses and said to Xue Han, "After the palace examination results are announced, we'll see where your father is in the future and then decide whether they should go to Beijing."
Li heaved a sigh of relief, "Mom, I'm going back to the house."
"kindness."
Zhulan waited for Li to leave, and asked Jingzhe to find Eryue. Jingzhe was Xuehan's maid. The little girl was smarter than her parents. Although she could not be the head maid, it was not bad to keep her.
Zhulan waited for Eryue to come in and said, "I'll give you a note in a minute. Take it and go find Mr. Deng and ask him if he has a house for sale near Xicheng. A house with two or three courtyards is fine."
Er Yue understood that the master wanted to buy a house, "Yes."
Xue Han waited for Er Yue to leave, and asked, "Mom, are you going to sell the house you live in now?"
"Well, now everyone thinks our house has good feng shui, so the money we earn from buying it can be used to move to a place near West City."
Xue Han was reluctant to leave. She liked the house she lived in now very much, especially her boudoir which was really exquisite. However, she also understood that Nancheng was not a place for her to live permanently.
Two hours later, Eryue did not come back alone, but also came with Deng Xiucai and Yazi.
Zhou Shuren and Zhulan met him. Yazi said cheerfully, "Mr. Zhou is planning to buy a house. Do you want to sell the one you live in now?"
Zhou Shuren, "Did someone ask you about it?"
Yazi smiled and stretched out his hand, "Bid five thousand taels."
When Zhulan heard this, she thought it was similar to what she thought. According to the current housing prices, the price has almost doubled.
Zhou Shuren didn't say he was selling it, but instead asked, "Do you have any good houses to sell?"
Yazi knew that this was a good place to sell, so he became more attentive. If he could help buy the house, he would get a commission of 100 taels. "Yes, there are people who are sent out of Beijing to sell houses in the west city. The houses are not big, with two courtyards. There is another one at the northwest junction. The houses are not small, but they are in disrepair. If you buy them, you need to renovate them. The two courtyards take up a lot of land. If you rebuild the house, you can build a three-courtyard house, but the cost of rebuilding is too high, so no one has bought it."
Zhou Shuren asked, "Is it gone?"
Yazi said embarrassedly, "There are really no good places left. You have lived in the capital for so long and you know how popular houses in West City are. Many officials are eyeing them. The second courtyard in West City that I just mentioned would have been sold long ago if it weren't for the small size."
Zhulan asked, "What are the prices?"
Yazi, "The smaller house in the west city is small, but the location is good and worth three thousand taels. The house in the northwest is big, but the house is in bad condition, so it will be sold for two thousand four hundred taels."
Zhulan was inspired. The house prices in the capital were the most stable. In the future, the policies towards business would be gradually relaxed, and the people's lives would be better. The house prices in the capital would only go up. "Take us to have a look!"
Since they had a carriage and a pet, it was very convenient for them to look at houses this time. They first went to a house in the west city. The house was indeed very small, not even as big as the two-story house in Pingzhou. After looking at it, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren walked out the door without saying a word.
Just as she walked out of the gate, a carriage passed by. Zhulan silently hoped that the carriage would not stop, but her wish was shattered.