Time flies, and in the blink of an eye it is April. It is another year of college entrance examination. Fortunately, due to Zhou Shuren's subsidy policy, there are many students in Lizhou City who take the examination for the title of scholar this year, and not all of them are from Lizhou and came back from other places to take the examination.
There were one hundred people who passed the provincial examination, and thirty of them were selected as scholars. Compared with Jiangnan, the passing rate in Lizhou City was very high.
Zhulan didn't pay much attention to the entrance examination. She was more concerned about Li's belly. Li was more than nine months pregnant and was about to give birth.
Although Li had given birth to three children, Zhulan was still worried.
Zhou Shuren came back a little late today. This year is the day when the results of the college examination are announced. Zhou Shuren met with the students on government academy and others.
Zhou Shuren was very happy. "It's worth my effort to find a way to provide subsidies. Guess how many of the thirty scholars are from other places."
Judging from Zhou Shuren's smile, Zhulan knew the ratio must be very low. "Eight people?"
Zhou Shuren shook his head. "Five. Only five people who came back from other places passed the examination. Haha, that's great. The students from this state lived up to my expectations."
Zhulan was really surprised. Those who could return to their hometown from other places to take the Tongsheng examination were either from official families or had wealthy families. Zhulan knew the local students in Lizhou City. If it weren't for the subsidy Zhou Shuren wanted, few people would take the exam this year.
This can also be regarded as Zhou Shuren's political achievement. Zhulan's eyes sparkled, "How many of these 25 people do you think can participate in next year's provincial examination?"
Zhou Shuren narrowed his eyes, "Of these twenty-five people, the oldest is only thirty-five years old, and the youngest is twenty-two. They are all in a very good age group. As long as there are good teachers, they should all be able to participate in the provincial examination next year."
Zhulan smiled. No wonder Zhou Shuren was so happy. No one would complain about having few political achievements, and Zhou Shuren was no exception.
After the college entrance examination, there was a heavy rain in Lizhou City. Spring rain is as precious as oil. After the heavy rain, the apple trees began to bloom.
This year in Lizhou City, children no longer search for wild vegetables all over the mountains and fields. Instead, they run and play in the fields. During his break, Zhou Shuren took Zhulan for a walk around the neighborhood. Zhulan was proud of Zhou Shuren.
It was at this time that Li's parents arrived at Zhou's house.
Zhulan wrote a letter to Xuemei, asking her to go to the Li family to tell them that, firstly, Li had not seen her parents for two years and Zhulan wanted to give her a surprise. Secondly, Zhulan also wanted to talk to the Li family as she still trusted the Li family more.
Zhulan welcomed Li Xu into the house before asking Liuya to inform Li. Li was stunned when she arrived at the main courtyard. She rubbed her eyes and asked, "Am I dreaming?"
Li Xushi had tears in her eyes. She looked at her daughter's clothes and knew that she had not been bullied at all. Then she saw that her daughter had slapped her. Li Xushi's tears disappeared, but she still looked silly, "How could you do that to me? Does it hurt?"
Li's eyes turned red, "It hurts, oooo, mother, you are so kind."
Li Xu stretched out her hand to stop her daughter, fearing that Li would hit her stomach. However, she stretched out her hand anyway and watched her daughter rush into the arms of her mother-in-law.
Li Xu, "... ..."
How could she be so brave that her daughter became her mother-in-law's daughter!
Zhulan was stunned, but she quickly came back to her senses and patted Li on the back, saying to Li Xu: "She is so happy that she is crazy."
Li Xu, "... ..."
She didn't feel heartbroken when her mother-in-law didn't explain, but now she is heartbroken. Staring at her upset daughter, she and the head of the household hurried on with worry. Well, this girl treats her mother-in-law as her mother. But she smiled in her heart again. It's good to be a mother. The silly girl can only live a good life if her mother-in-law protects her.
Li straightened up. She was really excited for a moment. Her parents must have been invited by her mother-in-law. Otherwise, according to her parents' personalities, they would never come to see her just because she was giving birth. Not only were they reluctant to spend money, but they also didn't want to be poor relatives of the Zhou family. Her parents were afraid that the Zhou family would change and look down on the Li family.
Li held her mother's hand and said, "Mom, you and Dad have worked hard along the way."
Li Xu's rough hands touched her daughter's tender hands, "Traveling is not that hard, it's much easier than farming at home. To be honest, I am only able to let go of you because of your blessing."
With her daughter's fifty taels of silver and the jewelry her daughter sent back, she felt confident. Even if she was not at home, her daughter-in-law would take good care of the house in order to get good things from her. Moreover, the family had bought a cow, and her sons would be much more relaxed, so she had nothing to worry about.
Zhulan said, "Stop standing and talking, mother-in-law, please sit down."
Boss Zhou hurriedly helped his father-in-law to sit down. After his parents-in-law sat down, he helped Li sit down, and finally sat down himself.
Li Xu's smile deepened. "Mother-in-law, I didn't even recognize you just now. I haven't seen you for two years. You look younger and younger."
Zhulan coughed. Lately, she has become more willing to look in the mirror. She is one year older and is afraid of having more wrinkles. "I am already 40 years old. I am old."
Li Xu was telling the truth. Compared to her mother-in-law, she looked old. Her mother-in-law hadn't changed much in the past two years. "My mother-in-law is still very young. I am old. I am already fifty years old. I can come to Lizhou City today thanks to my mother-in-law. Otherwise, I would have stayed at home all my life."
Zhulan smiled and said, "I invited you all here because, first, Li is about to give birth. She has suffered a lot during this pregnancy. Although she seems carefree, she is also concerned about her family. Second, I want to discuss something with my in-laws."
Mrs. Li Xu didn't expect to be the head of the family. The women in the Li family were the ones who took care of the outside affairs. The men in the Li family were all honest and simple. "Xuemei has told us everything. Just tell us if there is anything you want to do."
Zhulan held Li Xu's hand and said, "Our two families are relatives by marriage."
Zhulan didn't say the rest.
Li Xu understood what her mother-in-law meant. The Li family was no longer servants of the Zhou family. This time they were in a cooperative relationship.
Li Xu was completely relieved. The Zhou family's status had changed, but their attitude towards their in-laws had not changed. She once again lamented that her mother-in-law had good vision.
Mrs. Li Xu clapped her hands and said, "Look at my memory. I also brought a lot of pine nuts and other mountain products. I remember that my mother-in-law loves to eat them. There is nothing good at home. Please don't despise them, mother-in-law."
"Don't mind, don't mind. You can't buy it in Lizhou City. It's a good thing."
When Zhou Laoer came, they collected a lot. Lord Chen took a lot of it away after he ate it. Each family took a little, and their own family had eaten all of it by April. When Zhou Laoer went to Pingzhou, Zhulan specifically asked them to collect more!
Zhao's face turned even redder when she heard this. Her mother didn't bring anything with her when she came, and she hasn't received anything since she moved out. She knew her mother had a lot of money. When she compared her mother's family with her eldest sister-in-law's, she felt embarrassed.
Seeing the tiredness on Li Xu's face, Zhulan said, "My dear, you have worked hard all the way, please take a rest first. We can talk about anything in the evening."
Mrs. Li Xu was indeed tired. She was already over fifty, and she was afraid that her daughter would be exhausted if she kept rushing on the road. "Mother-in-law, I'm going to rest first."
"Okay, tell the boss if there's anything, and you can enjoy the blessing of being a son-in-law."
Li Xu smiled and said, "Okay."
Li cried out, "I'm about to give birth."