It was November now. Zhulan put down the letter in her hand and warmed herself by the fire. It was good to have a kang in the house. The temperature rose quickly and it was much more comfortable than when she was in the capital.
The door opened, and Xue Han came in with Yu Lu. Xue Han smiled and said, "Mom, it's snowing outside."
Zhulan stood up and walked to the door. Snowflakes were floating in the sky. She reached out and caught a few flakes. "It's really snowing. The snow came a little early this year."
Xue Han likes snowy days, but the wind is a bit strong today, "Mom, it's cool outside, come in."
Zhulan shivered. It was really cold when a gust of wind blew over. Returning to the stove, Zhulan looked at Yulu warming herself by the fire and could not help laughing. Her little hands looked the same as Li's. Zhulan looked at the brazier and felt like eating roasted sweet potatoes and potatoes. Her family did not grow sweet potatoes or potatoes. Her original plan was that the people in Lizhou City had too many potatoes and sweet potatoes, but no one wanted to sell them. If her family did not grow them, they would buy from the people and could also exchange some money for the people.
As a result, Zhou Shuren's vermicelli recipe was given to merchants, and the people no longer had to worry about selling their potatoes and sweet potatoes. Thinking of vermicelli, Zhulan thought of hot and sour rice noodles, and called Liuya, "Go and tell your eldest daughter-in-law Lixia to buy some potatoes and sweet potatoes today. Oh, and also vermicelli and peanuts."
Liu Ya noted it all down and said, "I'll go and explain it right away."
Since there were more vermicelli merchants in Lizhou City, Zhulan's family has eaten several meals there, most of which were sauerkraut stewed with vermicelli and chicken stewed with vermicelli. Not only did Zhulan's family buy a lot, but every household bought a lot, and foreign merchants placed orders in batches.
The prices of sweet potatoes and potatoes have gone up now, two cents per pound!
At noon, Zhulan talked about the appearance of hot and sour noodles, and we ate hot and sour noodles at noon. In fact, in Shanzhou, a state capital known for its vinegar culture, this way of eating is very common.
It was snowing outside. Zhulan was eating roasted sweet potatoes with hot and sour noodles in the house and felt that her life was pretty good.
Ming Teng felt unhappy. Ever since his uncle came, his good days were gone. He didn't know what was wrong with his uncle. He watched him study every day. Well, his uncle still used his own standards to demand him to study. He really didn't have the same talent for study as his uncle!
But he couldn't tell his grandfather. Well, even if he told his grandfather, he wouldn't care. Not to mention telling his father, his father would only tell him that there were so many people who wanted to learn from his uncle but didn't have the chance!
Changzhi grabbed Mingteng by the collar and said, "Now that you've had enough to eat and drink, let's go. I haven't memorized all the articles today in the whole morning."
Ming Teng looked at his grandmother for help, but she just waved her hand and said, "..."
Ming Teng should have been taken care of long ago. After arriving in Lizhou City, she and Zhou Shuren were busy, as was Zhou Lao Da. The only one in the family who could take care of Ming Teng was Li, and Li couldn't win over Ming Teng. The family was big, and Ming Teng couldn't be caught if he ran away. This kid became even more unruly and even dared to climb the ladder onto the roof and tear off the tiles.
Ming Teng really thought that Chang Zhi was willing to take care of him. Wasn't it her instructions? Of course, this couldn't be told to Ming Teng.
The first snow in Lizhou City fell heavily, and the temperature dropped significantly after the snow. Although the weather was cold, there were still cars coming and going on the main street of Lizhou City, most of which were foreign merchants selling furs, cattle and sheep.
These foreign merchants were mobile and did not have fixed shops. In previous years, when there had not been wars, they would not stay in Lizhou City for more than a few days before leaving.
This year, the people sold their potatoes and sweet potatoes for silver, so they had some silver in their hands. In addition, many wealthy families also planted apples this year. Foreign merchants knew that these wealthy families had silver, so they stayed longer.
Lizhou City specially opened an area in the south city for rent to foreign merchants.
Zhulan took Li and Zhou Lao Da to visit the stalls of foreign merchants. The gemstones of foreigners were different from those of local merchants. Because it was a border town, the prices were much cheaper than those in the mainland. Zhulan bought some red gemstones, intending to keep them for her granddaughter to wear as a headdress.
Li was rare and generous and bought some broken gems.
Zhulan went to the street mainly to look at furs. There were not many fox and mink skins on the stalls. Most of them were wolf skins and furs of large carnivorous beasts.
Zhulan also saw bear skins, the price of which was also eye-catching. Even though the price in the border town was cheaper than in the inland areas, it was still very expensive in Zhulan's eyes. A piece of skin cost three hundred taels.
These foreign merchants like to exchange many of their items for half silver and half grain.
In the eyes of these foreign merchants, they could make some money by bringing the grain back. This was because the land of foreigners was not suitable for planting, and the grain of the dynasty was not enough to be self-sufficient. The grain that foreigners could buy was very little. In addition, the imperial court stipulated that grain merchants were not allowed to sell large quantities of grain to foreign merchants. Foreigners were even more short of food. The price of grain in foreign countries was almost catching up with the price of meat.
Zhulan walked around twice and selected some nice rabbit and sable skins. She kept the top-quality skins for her dowry, and sent the second-rate skins to the sewing room to make cloaks.
Zhulan calculated the days and allocated some money to the sewing room so that when Zhou Laoer and others arrived, each of them would be able to get at least two sets of clothes and a cloak.
The most popular meats sold by foreign merchants are beef and mutton, especially mutton, which is the best-selling meat. They are all live sheep that are brought here and slaughtered on the spot. The beef is not yellow beef, but some yak meat, which is quite good when made into beef jerky.
Zhulan asked housekeeper Ding to buy a lot of mutton and beef. Now that the temperature outside is low, there is no need to worry about them going bad if they are frozen in a large vat. Since they bought a lot, they also prepared some New Year's goods.
In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed, and the apples and meat that Zhou Shuren sent to the capital had arrived in the capital.
Zhou Shuren gave away a lot of apples and pork. These apples and pork were given to the government office by the common people, and the government office gave silver money as the equivalent of buying them.
Some fruits were frozen, but there were still quite a few apples left, and the pork was not damaged by the cold. In addition to these, there were also several baskets of vermicelli.
The emperor picked up the cut apple and ate a piece. "It tastes good."
The room was dry, and the apples that had just been brought in from outside were cool and refreshing, with a sweet and sour taste that was very appetizing. The emperor was somewhat reluctant to give them to his ministers.
The prince saw his father signaling him to try it, so he took a piece and said, "It's really good."
The emperor said quietly, "Fruits are very expensive in winter, and the tribute we pay each year is not enough to eat. Let's keep all the apples, and divide the vermicelli and pork. You decide."
Prince, “… …..Yes.”
Could he say that he had expected this result? The fruit was indeed very expensive this year, and he felt bad about sharing these big and good apples.
The emperor wiped his hands and said, "Our Lord Zhou deserves a reward. He is very good at using my rewards to pressure others. Send him some of this year's tribute tea and tangerines, and pick out a piece of uncarved jade from the storehouse. Oh, and send the title deed of the rewarded house as well."
"yes."
The prince raised his eyebrows. It was rare for his father to be so generous. The jades in the warehouse were not small. As for their sources, well, they were all confiscated during property confiscations. Where did the ministers whose property was confiscated get them? They were all robbed during the rebellion, and in the end, they all became the property of his father.
Having said that, even if Lord Zhou had abilities in the past, my father would not have paid much attention to him. If Lord Zhou did not do a good job, someone would have replaced him. But now, not only has Lord Zhou done a good job, but he has also far exceeded my father's expectations. This time, my father has really taken it to heart, and not only has he stopped keeping him hanging, he has also been willing to reward him.
In Lizhou City, Zhulan and her daughter were muttering, "According to the date, your second brother and his party should be here by now."
Xue Han was also worried: "Mom, will the snow and wind delay us on the way?"