Three days later, Zhou Laoer came back from Chuanzhou. Zhou Laoer did not buy a house in Chuanzhou city. He bought a house near the orchard, a house with two entrances.
Even after the house was bought, Zhao couldn't move there alone and had to wait for Zhou Laoer to return from Pingzhou.
The next morning, Zhou Laoer and Chang Zhi returned to Pingzhou.
Zhou Shuren sorted out books for Xu Jinshi, and Zhulan added some cloth to Xu Jinshi's wife. The two of them worked hard for Changzhi.
As for Xuemei, this time Zhulan did not bring anything back, but wrote a letter.
After Zhou Laoer left, Fang came to find Zhulan, and Zhao accompanied Fang.
Zhulan asked, "Is there something wrong with my mother-in-law?"
Zhou Laoer was not at home, and Fang never left the house, let alone appear in front of Zhulan. She simply claimed to be sick and hid in the yard. Zhulan knew that Fang was embarrassed, so she didn't dare to ask a doctor.
Fang clutched her handkerchief tightly, feeling pain in her heart. The Qian family sold off some antiques, and the total amount on the books was 35,000 taels of silver. She had finally swallowed 30,000 taels of silver from the Qian family, and now she had to give back 22,000 taels. The remaining 8,000 taels, and the 2,000 taels she had saved from selling jewelry and antiques, she felt a little resentful, and her mouth was very stiff, "I have disturbed you for a few days, and today I am here to say goodbye."
Zhulan, "Where is my mother-in-law going?"
Fang laughed dryly, "I'll stay at the inn first, and then buy a house to live in."
She didn't want to live in the Zhou family anymore. Her daughter had been very dissatisfied with her these days, and her son-in-law was even more dissatisfied. Now that her son-in-law was gone, it would be better for her to leave early.
Zhulan frowned. Fang went out to stay at an inn. People who didn't know would think that the Zhou family couldn't accommodate a widowed in-law. "Butler Ding is familiar with the broker. My mother-in-law doesn't have to leave in a hurry. It won't be too late to leave after buying a house."
Fang wanted to refute, but seeing her mother-in-law's slightly unhappy face, she didn't dare to say anything, "Thank you, mother-in-law."
Zhao wished she could find a hole in the ground to crawl into. When she met her mother this time, she realized that her mother was really petty. She saw herself in her mother. Just as she saw her mother, the Zhou family must have seen her the same way. She had so many petty thoughts that she couldn't show them on the surface. The more Zhao thought about it, the more embarrassed she felt.
Fang couldn't stay any longer. She was angry. Even if she was wrong, she shouldn't have sent back 22,000 taels. "Mother-in-law, I'm going back first."
Zhulan looked at Fang calmly, "Yeah."
Fang turned around and left. Zhao's face flushed. She felt so unfamiliar with her current mother. In the past two days, she had been scolding her for being useless and her husband. Her mother even wanted to take out 10,000 taels of silver and give them to them, asking them to pretend to take the silver and send it back to the Qian family. She was shocked.
Seeing her mother standing there at a loss, Yu Shuang secretly pulled her grandmother's clothes.
Zhulan patted Yushuang's hand and said to Zhao: "Butler Ding is very efficient. Go and tell him that he will get it done this afternoon. Go and buy some food and vegetables for your mother. It can be regarded as your filial piety."
Zhao stared at her mother-in-law blankly. Her mother was pointing fingers at her. No matter how many faults her mother had, outsiders only looked at the Zhou family's performance. "Mom, I'll go right away."
Zhulan waited for Zhao to leave, then said to Yushuang, "You must remember to be magnanimous. Even if you are unwilling, you must consider the overall situation and your family's reputation."
Yu Shuang nodded and understood. Grandma didn't like my grandmother, but for the sake of the Zhou family's reputation, she still advised my mother. She also knew that my grandmother was a weak person and the Zhou family was an official family. People were often willing to sympathize with the weak, especially when my grandfather was in his prime. Many people were willing to find fault with the Zhou family. There was nothing wrong with grandma doing this.
Yu Shuang understood, but she felt a little aggrieved, especially as the grandmother who was the mistress of the house, "Grandma."
Zhulan smiled, thinking that the child she taught was the best. She felt sorry for her, but the child didn't know that she had never taken Fang seriously.
In the afternoon, Butler Ding helped Fang buy a house and a shop. Zhulan was not curious about how much money Fang had, nor did she want to calculate it. Zhulan asked Butler Ding to prepare some cloth and furs to send to Fang, as this was the Zhou family's gift.
The next morning, Fang took her son to buy the house, and Zhao went with them, taking away the gifts from the Zhou family and Zhao's filial piety.
The next day, Sun brought Zhulan's sister-in-law to Zhou's house.
Zhulan asked, "Mom, is there anything wrong at home?"
Sun smiled and said, "It's spring now, and the weather is getting warmer. I can't stay at home any longer, so I came to visit you."
Zhulan smiled, "Mom, there must be something else!"
Sun was puzzled, "How did you know that?"
Zhu Lan laughed, "If you can't stay here any longer, Dad will definitely take you out of the city for a walk. Why would he let you come to my place alone?"
Sun smiled and said, "Mother is telling you the truth, you know the girl from Zheng Hong's family!"
Zhu Lan nodded, "I know, the eldest daughter of the Zheng family, a steady and successful girl."
Sun smiled and said, "It's good if you like it. I also think this girl is good. What do you think of her and Changzhi?"
Zhulan, "... ..."
She really didn't expect that the old lady came for Changzhi.
Seeing that her daughter didn't look happy, Sun asked, "Is it inappropriate?"
She thought it was quite suitable and she really liked the daughter of the Zheng family.
Zhulan explained: "Mom, let me tell you, even if Shuren is transferred to another place in the future, our family will not marry into the Zheng family."
Sun asked, "Why?"
Zhu Lan thought about how to explain it more simply. "Now everyone knows that Shu Ren is the emperor's confidant. If Shu Ren wants to move up, he can't marry into the Zheng family."
Sun was an old lady with little knowledge. She widened her eyes and said, "It will affect Shuren, so forget it. Just pretend I didn't say anything today."
Zhulan thought that she just didn't want to scare her mother. In fact, a simpler way to put it was that if Zhou Shuren wanted to retire safely, the Zhou family could not marry into a military family.
Especially Zheng Hong from the Zheng family. It seems that Zheng Hong is also the emperor's confidant. Haha, the emperor is not happy to see the marriage between the two families and the addition of the Yang family.
Mr. Zheng was optimistic about Mingyun, but unfortunately he did not expect that Zhou Shuren would be so favored by the emperor. The Zhou family received the word "blessing" from the emperor. Mr. Zheng and Zhou Shuren never mentioned Mingyun's name again in their letters.
Sun didn't dare to introduce them casually, and chatted with her daughter about other things. "Time flies so fast, a year has passed in the blink of an eye. A few days ago, your father and I went outside the city and saw many farmers buying seeds for spring ploughing."
The smile on Zhulan's face deepened. Zhou Shuren had finished digging the ice cellar. In order to finish it quickly, he hired many common people, paying each of them 20 coins a day with lunch. After working for ten consecutive days, each person earned 200 coins.
Each household has a lot of strong laborers, with as few as two people and as many as four or five, and every household has income.
The money he received before the spring plowing was just enough to buy seeds. This was all planned out by Zhou Shuren.
There was still some money left from digging the ice cellar, but Zhou Shuren did not keep it in the account. He continued to hire people to repair the embankment. Zhou Shuren had taken into account droughts and floods.
The only thing that made Zhou Shuren regretful was that no one donated money. If there was money, he would like to build a canal ten miles outside the west city!