After arriving in Lizhou, this was the first time Zhulan received a letter from her hometown. "Is it just a letter?"
Steward Ding said, "This is a letter sent by express horse. It's just a letter."
Zhulan signaled to housekeeper Ding that it was time to leave. When she was the only one left in the room, she opened the letter. While opening the letter, she thought that not only was she busy this month, but the Yang family was also very busy.
When Dad saw that she bought a mountain and built an icehouse, he personally inspected the mountain and the icehouse and went back to buy one hundred acres of mountain to plant fruit trees. However, the Yang family was not as wealthy as Zhulan's, so the fruit trees they bought were only three-year-old. The remaining money of the Yang family was used to buy ninety acres of dry land and ten acres of paddy fields. Dad's lifelong savings were basically gone.
Zhulan suggested lending money to her father, but her father disagreed and just asked her to help her parents more when she sold apples.
Because of Zhulan's actions, some officials in Lizhou City followed suit and bought a lot of mountain land to grow apples. Later, a chain reaction was triggered. All the mountains near Lizhou City were sold, more people were hired, and the people nearby also earned a lot of extra income.
I opened Zhulan's letter and counted the pages. There were nine pages in total. A lot of things happened!
The letter was written by the second brother. When the list of successful candidates was passed down, several elders in the clan were so happy that they fainted. Fortunately, nothing serious happened. They said that there were people coming and going in the family, and the gentry nearby came to give gifts. The magistrate of Dong County was also very humble and polite to Zhou the second brother.
Zhulan continued to read the next page. Zhou Laoer wrote: "After Changlian returned home, his son was happy that his father became the prefect, but also regretted that he could not be with his parents to fulfill his filial piety. His son missed his parents very much. He asked Changlian and knew that his parents were all well. Only then did his son feel relieved."
He then wrote about how to worship ancestors, and also wrote that he sold his house in Pingzhou for 1,300 taels, saying that he would bring it over when he came to Lizhou City in autumn.
Zhulan was happy when she saw it and bought more than she expected. She thought one thousand taels would be the maximum, but she didn't expect it to be three hundred taels more.
Zhulan continued to read. Zhou Laoer wrote: "Everything is fine at my parents' home. Yushuang seems to have grown up now, but she misses grandpa and grandma very much. Mingrui has also grown up. He is not very good at remembering things, but he often asks his son where grandpa and grandma are."
Zhulan narrowed her eyes, if she was not her stepmother, she would not have read the letter objectively. Zhou Laoer realized the crisis and tried his best to show his filial piety!
After reading two more pages of the letter, the smile on Zhulan's face disappeared. Zhou Laoer said that Zhao was known to the Zhao family when they were exchanged for grain. All the states and cities knew who the runner-up was through reports. Someone from the Zhao family came to the door, and Zhao's uncle and cousin came in person, but he chased them out.
Zhou Laoer wrote: "I have asked someone to investigate the Zhao family. I was just afraid that my parents would be worried about home, so I wrote a letter to them first. Don't worry, I will take care of the Zhao family and take good care of my brothers and sisters."
Zhulan wrote to Zhou Laoer that he could handle it. Zhou Laoer then talked about Xuemei and the children. The twins were very obedient. Jiang Sheng also bought three acres of land. The remaining two pages of the letter were about Changzhi, Changlian, Mingyun and Rongchuan who were studying. The first two mentioned had good grades and had grown a lot taller.
Then we talk about Chang Lian. After returning home, Chang Lian devoted himself to studying. The Dong family came to ask Chang Lian to go out, but Chang Lian refused. As for Chang Zhi, Chang Zhi would also come to Lizhou in autumn. After participating in the ancestor worship, Chang Zhi went to study with Xu Jinshi.
Zhulan put down the letter, feeling sad. Separation would indeed weaken feelings, especially since she and Zhou Shuren had only been in the ancient times for three years. She finally felt like a parent again, but now they were separated again. During the days of separation, the only thing she missed was her children. As for the adults, she rarely thought about them when she was busy.
That’s not right. She missed Xuemei a lot. Every time she bought something for Xuehan, she would think of Xuemei. With Xuehan around, she also bought a lot of things for Xuemei.
Zhulan replied directly without waiting for Zhou Shuren to read the letter, because even if Zhou Shuren read it, he would not reply personally. Now Zhou Shuren's heart is filled with the people, and there is even less room for his adopted son.
In the house of Lijia Village, Zhou Laoer and Chang Lian sat opposite each other. Whenever Zhou Laoer went out, he was now referred to as the second master of the Zhou family. His clothes were all newly made, using materials from the capital. Even though he had an honest face, no one dared to look down on him. There had been many banquets recently, and Zhou Laoer had gained weight.
Zhou Lao Er drank tea and said, "I don't know whether the letter has reached Lizhou, and I don't know what the situation in Lizhou City is like."
He was worried about whether his father could handle the affairs of Lizhou City.
Chang Lian now completely worships his father. "The emperor values father. Father will definitely find a way to deal with the problem of Lizhou City. You will know when you receive the reply."
Zhou Laoer put down his teacup. He really wanted to go to Lizhou City right away. He envied the eldest brother. He used to think being the eldest brother was miserable, but now he wished he was the eldest brother. "I don't know if my eldest brother can help my parents."
Chang Lian was silent, "Big Brother is no longer the Big Brother he used to be."
When they see their eldest brother again, it will be difficult for him and his second brother to cheat him. He is very envious of him because he has been training to be independent for more than a year and has received hands-on teaching from his parents.
Zhou Laoer also fell silent. It turned out that his parents preferred Hanhan more. That’s right, when they met again, Hanhan was no longer Hanhan.
Zhou Laoer thought of Wang Laosi. In the past, Wang Laosi could make him angry to death, but now Wang Laosi flatters and calls him Uncle Zhou Er, and he will never brag about the benefits of dividing the family property again.
In the room, Zhao and Dong were embroidering handkerchiefs. Zhao was in a good mood. This time, Dong no longer had any advantage, because the eunuch's rank was higher than that of County Magistrate Dong, and he was also valued by the emperor.
The head of the family said that there were many officials in the city who had never seen the emperor in their entire lives, but my father-in-law not only saw him, but was also given an important position. Look at how Dong took care of Chang Lian and how she was particularly respectful to her, her second sister-in-law.
Zhao was happy for a while, but then she became depressed again. In the past, when she was with her mother-in-law, she could compete with her eldest sister-in-law for her mother-in-law's attention. Now, only her eldest sister-in-law is in front of her mother-in-law. Is it true that fools have good fortune? God loves fools
Dong had already experienced a gap. Ever since her father-in-law passed the imperial examination, her parents told her that she was the daughter-in-law of the Zhou family and nothing else. Her future status would also depend on the Zhou family.
Not only did my father-in-law become the runner-up in the imperial examination, but he was also appointed as the prefect of a prefecture as soon as he took office, and the prefect of a Zhili prefecture. My dad said that as long as my father-in-law can stabilize Lizhou City, his future will be limitless.
Now when she returns to her parents' home, her brothers and sisters-in-law all call her the Second Madam of the Zhou family instead of "little sister". Thinking of the faces of her sisters-in-law and the relatives who had troubled Chang Lian, they not only came to apologize in person, but also sent half of the money they earned from forcibly selling the house, a total of one thousand taels!
It's a pity that my husband said that all the money belonged to my eldest sister-in-law. When she sold the house, all the money was given to her. My father-in-law and mother-in-law both warned her that she could plot against outsiders but not against family members. This one thousand taels would be given to my eldest sister-in-law when we arrived in Lizhou City.
As for why the second uncle was not allowed to write the letter, the reason was very simple. My husband and the second uncle were jealous of my eldest brother and his wife, so they naturally did not want to tell them the good news.
Not to mention her husband, she is even jealous of her sister-in-law. Fortunately, she will be able to go to Lizhou City in a few months!