Time flies, and the first month of the year was spent in busy visits. Throughout the first month of the year, the children of the Zhou family received a lot of New Year's money, and the most generous one was the Chen family.
In the first month of the year, Li received a reply letter from Qi. The Xu family offered a high price for Zhou Shuren in consideration of his future prospects, buying him out for 500 taels of silver in one go.
The five hundred taels of silver arrived in Li's hands in mid-February. Li gave it to Zhulan, and Zhulan carefully bought properties for the first and third wives.
Zhulan didn't go too far to buy things. She bought two shops for her eldest wife in Chuanzhou City. She used half of the remaining silver to buy land, and used the other half to dig a pond to raise fish. With the rest of the silver, she bought some wasteland to plant apple trees.
Most of the money in the eldest wife's house belonged to Li. When Zhulan was bought, it was directly written under Li's name. The land that the eldest wife bought with her monthly savings was written under the name of the eldest son.
Boss Zhou is now able to handle things on his own and can manage these fields.
For the third house, most of the money belonged to Dong. Zhulan did not buy any land, but only shops.
Because Lizhou City has built Chuanzhou into the Apple State, there are many apple trees in Chuanzhou. Chuanzhou will get better and better in the future. There is still room for investment in Chuanzhou shops in the next two years.
Zhulan also knew that Changyi bought the land and shops by himself. Zhulan really didn't want to be partial. Among her sons, the second son had too many thoughts. If we talk about being really selfish, Changlian is really not as good as Changyi.
Chang Lian is young and has the potential to be straightened out. She and Zhou Shuren have been teaching him for a few years. Although Chang Lian cannot be said to have undergone earth-shaking changes, after several strong measures, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren are satisfied with the current Chang Lian.
On the contrary, Chang Yi is obedient when Zhu Lan and Zhou Shuren are strong. Even if he is afraid of them, once he has some confidence, Chang Yi will have his own ideas.
Now the three married families all have their own industries and incomes, and there have obviously been new changes in the families.
Boss Zhou became more confident and no longer hesitated to speak in front of Zhulan.
Zhou Lao Er currently does not have to worry about Jiangnan’s industries. He can focus on his own industries and no longer cares about the power in the hands of Zhou Lao Da.
The newlyweds, Dong and Chang Lian, were probably chatting away. Sometimes Zhulan looked at them with sweetness in her eyes.
In March, Li's belly became bigger. While Zhulan was worried about Li's belly, she couldn't help but touch her own belly, but there was still no news.
Zhulan sat by the window looking out, her mind drifting away.
Liu Ya came in, "Madam, the second wife's mother and the second wife's brother are here."
Zhu Lan came back to her senses, "Second wife's mother and brother?"
Liu Ya said: "Yes, the housekeeper has asked."
Zhulan was surprised. Why would Zhao's mother Fang bring her son to Lizhou City? "Is there no one else?"
Liu Ya thought about what she saw, "Madam, there are only the second wife's mother and the second wife's brother, no one else, and..."
Zhulan felt that the Qian family would not dare to treat Fang harshly, but Fang came here alone with her child. Something must have happened. "You tell me."
Liu Ya said, "The Second Wife's mother was wearing very shabby clothes."
Zhulan pressed her eyebrows and said, "Is the Second Madam not at home? Yes, Changyi took Zhao out of the city this morning. Go and invite them over, and then send someone to the outside of the city to look for the Second Master and the Second Madam."
Willow Bud responded, "Hey!"
Zhulan sat and waited for a while. Fang was holding a tattered bundle in one hand and holding her youngest son Qian Keqi in the other. Zhulan withdrew her gaze, but before she could speak.
Fang started to cry, dropped her bag, and took Qian Keqi to kneel before Zhulan, "Mother-in-law, I finally found Lizhou City."
Zhulan, "... ..."
Zhulan was speechless. Fang was dressed very shabbily, but judging from her mental state, she had not suffered much. Moreover, Fang was very good at hiding. It was obvious that the way she was dressed was to deceive others.
Seeing that the mistress was frowning, Liu Ya hurriedly supported her and said, "The mistress doesn't like to kneel. You are the mother of the second wife. Please take a seat."
Fang's body stiffened and she said awkwardly, "I was excited for a moment, too excited."
Zhulan motioned Liuya to bring some snacks over. Zhulan looked at Fang's attitude and suddenly didn't want to ask what happened. "You've worked hard all the way here. Have some snacks first."
Zhulan drank boiled water after she finished speaking. Yes, boiled water. In order to better maintain her health, she stopped drinking tea. She has been drinking boiled water for almost three months. Even when she went out to visit, Zhulan would not drink much, just a sip.
Fang felt regretful in her heart, regretting that she had pretended too much. Fang responded and secretly glanced at her mother-in-law out of the corner of her eye. She hadn't seen her for almost two years. Even if she was living a good life, the family was still aging quickly due to the intrigues.
On the other hand, her mother-in-law's appearance had not changed much, but her demeanor had changed a lot. She didn't look like a peasant woman before. Now she sat there silently with an imposing manner. She was a little timid when she wanted to speak. Looking at her mother-in-law's clothes and jewelry, Fang lowered her head even more.
Seeing Fang lowering her head, Zhulan said, "The second son and Zhao are out today and will be back in a while. You have worked hard along the way. You and the child should go change and rest first. We can talk about anything in the evening."
Fang opened her mouth and then closed it again. She was a little afraid of her mother-in-law's aura. She was a little afraid of her when she was beaten in Pingzhou City. Now she was even more terrified. She seemed to have returned to the time when she was a servant. She dared not breathe, "Thank you, mother-in-law."
Zhulan really couldn't be enthusiastic. Fang came with a plan, "Yeah."
Zhulan waited for Liuya to leave with Fang and continued to be in a daze. She wanted to write a letter to Mr. Lu, but there was no rush.
It was an hour later when Zhou Laoer and Zhao came back. They came to see Zhulan first, and in less than a quarter of an hour, they returned to the main courtyard.
Zhulan saw Zhao's little action. Zhao pulled Zhou Laoer's clothes, and Zhou Laoer came forward.
Zhou Laoer was a little afraid to look his mother in the eye. He and Zhao Shi returned and found out that his mother had not asked his mother-in-law anything. But when he looked into his mother's eyes, he knew that she had guessed it. "Mom."
Zhulan put down the book in her hand, not reading a single chapter today, "I'm listening, go ahead."
Zhou Laoer said weakly, "Mom, Manager Qian passed away suddenly in the first month of the year. My mother-in-law couldn't stay in the Qian family with Keqi anymore, so she came to us for help."
Zhulan's eyes were filled with disappointment. "I'll give you a chance to speak again."
Zhou Laoer's heart trembled. He was talking about his mother-in-law's words. He knew that his mother-in-law was not telling the truth. Zhou Laoer looked into his mother's eyes and his heart skipped a beat. "Mom, I..."
Zhao was anxious. Her mother-in-law asked her husband to say that this was not a disgrace to her mother. Her mother's surrender to her had already made her lose confidence. She told the real reason, how could she gain a foothold in the Zhou family? "Mother, my mother felt that Master Qian had passed away and she had nothing to do with the Qian family. And because she missed me, she passed away."