Seeing that his mother stopped looking at the account book, Zhou Laoer knew that his mother was satisfied with his work, so he smiled and said, "My eldest sister also took advantage of my father's influence this year. Not only did she buy another three acres of dry land, but her brother-in-law also went to teach in the clan school, earning four hundred coins a month. Jiang Du also entered the clan school for enlightenment, and Jiang Miao now treasures her hair the most and won't let anyone touch it. The youngest twins can already walk, and the two children look alike, not big but smart."
Seeing that his mother liked listening, Zhou Laoer told her more interesting stories about the twins.
Zhulan felt relieved when she knew that her eldest daughter's family was living well. Now that her eldest daughter had accumulated a lot of wealth, her future life would not be bad.
Zhu Lan looked at Chang Lian and said, "After more than half a year in my hometown, I think you have become much calmer."
Chang Lian has thought a lot in the past six months. He had never thought about his own shortcomings carefully before, but he has figured them out in the past six months. He has been studying peacefully for half a year, and has indeed washed away a lot of his impetuousness. "Mom, your son understands your painstaking efforts."
Zhulan nodded secretly in her heart. From what she had been observing Chang Lian, she thought that Mr. Meng must be satisfied with the current Chang Lian. "Your master has been talking about you a lot recently. Bring a gift to the Meng Mansion to meet your master tomorrow!"
Chang Lian felt relieved and said, "Yes."
Zhulan saw that her two sons looked tired. They were afraid that the snow and wind would delay their journey, so they rushed all the way here. "Go back and take a shower, change clothes and rest first. We'll talk again when your father comes back in the evening."
Zhou Laoer and Chang Lian stood up and said, "Mom, we're going back first."
"Go back!"
Zhulan waited for her two sons to leave, as she still had a lot of work to do. The gifts brought by Zhou Laoer had to be unpacked and stored in the warehouse. Zhulan called housekeeper Ding and Liu Ya, and she took the list and checked it one by one.
The books and calligraphy and paintings were placed separately, waiting for Zhou Shuren to come back and take a look. After the other bottles, antiques, etc. were inspected, those that were suitable for display were taken out and those that were not suitable were put into the warehouse.
It took an hour to check everything one by one. Zhulan went to see the mountain products that Zhou Laoer brought. Zhou Laoer really collected a lot, including mountain fungus, mushrooms, hericium, bracken, day lily, etc.
Zhulan asked Liuya to take out some ferns and day lilies and send them to the kitchen so that they could have some more vegetables to eat tonight as they had had enough radishes and potatoes these days.
Yes, and we’ve had enough of mutton and pork too.
Having said that, the cabbage and radish in Lizhou City are a little more expensive than those in the mainland and the north. No matter how much cabbage the people grow in their vegetable gardens, they can all be sold, and foreign merchants often come to buy cabbage and radishes.
After Zhulan checked, Wan Jiu, who was driving the carriage for Zhou Shuren, came back first with two buckets of fish in the carriage.
Wan Jiu said: "These fish were given by the people who contracted the pond. The master couldn't accept them, so he left money to buy them. Madam, the master asked me to send them back and pick him up. Madam, I'm going to pick him up now."
Zhulan: "Go ahead."
After Wan Jiu left, Zhu Lan was circling around the two buckets of fish. These were not small buckets for fetching water, but large wooden barrels specially used to hold live fish. The fish in the two buckets were not small, each weighing more than two kilograms. Zhu Lan knew that the fish fry in the pond were all caught from the river. The big ones weighing three or four kilograms were sold directly, and those weighing less than two kilograms were raised together. It would be good if they could grow to more than two kilograms in a few months.
There are fifteen fish in these two buckets, which is more than thirty pounds. Although Lizhou City is poor, everything is expensive in winter. These thirty pounds of fish can be sold for thirty cents per pound, which is almost one or two taels of silver.
Looking at Wan Jiu's happy expression, it seems that the people who contracted the pond also made money.
Zhulan smiled and said, "I'll cook fish tonight and give you three pieces of fish. Now that everyone in the family is here, it will be a lively occasion."
Liu Ya was delighted. She hadn't eaten fish for a long time. "Okay, I'll go to the kitchen."
"Go ahead."
The servants in Zhulan's family all eat together. The Zhulan family does not need anyone to serve them when they eat. When the master eats, they also go to eat. There are more than twenty servants, and three tables and three fishes are just right.
Zhulan returned to the courtyard. Li woke up and held the purse in her hand. "Mother, this is a gift from me to you."
Zhulan was stunned. She already knew about the one thousand taels of silver. She was wondering if Li would be too proud. She didn't expect that she would be the first one to give it to her. Zhulan took the purse lightly and opened it under Li's expectant gaze. There was a silver note in the purse, which was a fifty-tael silver note. But Zhulan's heart swelled, "For me?"
Li was still a little reluctant, but when she thought of her mother-in-law's kindness to her, she felt that she should give it. "I originally wanted to go to the street to buy jewelry for mother, but my taste is not good, so I asked the head of the family to exchange it for silver notes. Mother, the silver is not much, but it is a filial piety of me and the head of the family."
Zhulan held the purse. Li was stingy because she didn't have enough money. She had no confidence and had to be stingy. But if you think about it carefully, from her to ancient times, Li would always give her gifts whenever he got money, no matter whether it was out of flattery or out of sincerity, he always gave her gifts.
The other two daughters-in-law also tried to please her, but they failed to do as well as Li did. Instead, they just talked more.
Zhulan took Li's hand. Her chubby hands had become much thinner and she could wear the jade bracelet again. Don't blame her for being partial to Li. People really care about each other. She felt Li's sincerity. This time, Li was respecting her from the bottom of his heart.
"Don't stand, come and sit down."
Li sighed, she felt her mother-in-law's happiness, "Mom, buy whatever you like."
Zhulan treats anyone who treats her well with extra kindness. Her two daughters always miss her, and she also misses her daughters all the time. Li is filial to her, and she is not a stingy person. "I have a cloak given by Master Chen's wife. Although the color is a little dark, the leather is top quality. It will suit you well with your pale face."
After Zhulan finished speaking, she motioned to Liuya to take out the cloak. This cloak was really good and she really liked it, but she just didn't like the color to remain there.
Liuya took it and Zhulan put it on Li. Although the color was a little darker, it was still quite suitable for Li. In addition, Li looked younger because she was fat, so no one would think that the cloak must be used by elderly people.
Li was stunned, "Mom."
She wasn't asking for anything.
Zhulan smiled and said, "Okay, you can take it back. It's time to eat soon and I need to change my clothes."
Li returned to her yard dizzy, wearing the new cloak. Boss Zhou saw the cloak on his wife at a glance and recognized it. Li exclaimed that the fur alone was worth dozens of taels!
Boss Zhou, "... Aren't you here to honor your mother? Why did you get a cloak back?"
Li touched the fur on her collar and was silent for a while before sitting down and saying, "Boss, this is what my mother gave me."
Boss Zhou glanced at the cloak and fell silent. He couldn't help but laugh at himself. His parents were very smart. They could see clearly what they were thinking. Boss Zhou realized that he shouldn't have any tricks. He was the eldest brother and just needed to be filial to his parents and do his duty. "Today my wife taught me a lesson."
Li: "... ...Don't be so literary. It makes me feel weird."
Boss Zhou laughed and said, "Okay, not so fancy."
Zhou Shuren came back after dark, but it can’t be said that it was dark, because the days were shorter, and the time he came back was the same as usual.