Zhulan waited for Boss Zhou to go out and looked at the account books carefully. The Li family was indeed trustworthy. Every payment was recorded very clearly. The two thick account books were full of records. Because County Magistrate Dong was a relative of the Zhou family and Zhou Shuren was the prefect of Jinzhou, no one from the two farms had ever caused trouble.
This year, God did not make things difficult for the farmers in my hometown in Northeast China. The grain harvest from Zhulan's two farms could not be considered a bumper harvest, but it was also good. Excluding the taxes given to the Li family, there was also the grain and expenses for transporting it, and the total amount of silver from selling the grain was 800 taels.
Because a lot of grain was left over and shipped over, otherwise the income would be much greater.
A sum of money came into the account, although it was not the largest, but it made Zhulan feel more at ease. At least the money for the New Year gift came out.
In the evening, Zhou Shuren came back early. His in-laws had arrived, and the whole Zhou family had dinner together to welcome them.
Zhou Shuren came back specially and changed into casual clothes to meet Li Cong. At first, his father-in-law was very nervous and reserved, but Zhou Shuren, an old fox, quickly set the pace, and his father-in-law also relaxed. By the time the food was served, the father-in-law was already able to chat and laugh with Zhou Shuren.
Li sat next to her mother-in-law, but her eyes were always on her father. When she heard her father laugh, she also grinned. Ever since her father entered the yard, he became nervous when he saw her. She felt bad but was worried about him, but now she was relieved.
Zhulan picked up a piece of food for Li with her chopsticks and said, "You haven't touched your chopsticks for a long time. This is your favorite braised pork. Eat more."
Li looked at the braised pork in the bowl and was deeply moved. Her mother-in-law still cared about her the most. "Thank you, mother."
Li was no longer worried about her father. She felt relieved and spoke in a relaxed tone, "Mom, my mom said that if the family really couldn't leave without someone, she would have come along too."
After saying this, Li was still a little sad. Her mother's family was doing better now, the family business had grown, and the family could no longer do without the elders, so her mother had to stay at home to take charge.
Zhulan knew in her heart that it would be difficult to see Li's mother again in the future. The Li family had risen, and Li Xu would have to keep a close watch on them. After all, the men in the Li family were all naive. "When Minghui is older next year, you and the eldest brother can go back to see him."
Li's depressed mood disappeared. It had been several years since she had been home. Although her mother would introduce her home every time she wrote to her, she still wanted to see it in person. She felt a little proud in her heart. She imagined the treatment she would receive when she returned to her mother's home and grinned foolishly.
Zhulan, "... ..."
It’s so disgusting. Li probably wants to go back and show off!
Zhao envied the fact that she could go back to her mother's home. When she thought of her mother, she felt very upset. Compared with her eldest sister-in-law and third brother's wife who received one letter from home per month, she only received two letters since she came to Jinzhou. One was written to her after she got the news of her difficult childbirth, and the other was written to her brother asking the Zhou family to hide the house.
Dong touched her belly. She was not envious. After the child was born, her husband said that he would go back early to prepare for the provincial examination and stay with her at her parents' home for a while.
There was envy in Su Xuan's eyes. She was envious of having parents while she didn't even have her parents' home to return to.
The table of Zhulan women finished drinking first, while the men were still drinking. The Li family all had a good alcohol tolerance, and Zhou Shuren drank quite a bit as he was rarely happy.
At night, Zhulan coaxed her son to sleep, and Zhou Shuren came back drunk. Zhulan took the washed handkerchief and handed it to Zhou Shuren, "Are you happy today?"
Zhou Shuren took the handkerchief and wiped his face with a smile on his face, "Well, I'm happy today. I haven't had such a relaxing chat in a long time. I feel relaxed."
Zhulan felt sad. Zhou Shuren had to go over everything he said outside in his mind and heart, and at home he had to act like the head of the family. So when he chatted with simple-minded people like those in the Li family, Zhou Shuren didn't have to hide anything.
Zhou Shuren took off his clothes and got into bed. "My father-in-law will be back the day after tomorrow. You should prepare some gifts. His grandchildren have all been sent to school to learn to read. You should prepare some writing materials."
After saying that, Zhou Shuren paused and said, "Yes, prepare some paper."
Zhulan couldn't help but burst out laughing. The Li family had no talent for writing, so they really needed paper.
Zhou Shuren himself was also happy. When he heard that Li Gui had learned calligraphy today, he asked Chang Lian to take the pen and ink to give him some pointers. As a result, he was silent for a long time after reading it. The eldest brother was very emotional and said, "He is indeed a member of the Li family."
He couldn't help laughing at that time. The eldest son was thinking of his eldest daughter-in-law's handwriting.
The next day, the Zhou family would only eat together when there were visitors. After the family had breakfast, Zhulan asked the eldest son and his wife to take her father-in-law around the city, but they could forget about going outside the city.
As long as Zhou Shuren's investigation is not finished, the Zhou family is still in crisis, and they have to bring servants with good martial arts when they go out this time.
Li Cong and his son were both stunned as they sat in the carriage. They opened their mouths wide and said to their son-in-law, "Aren't we just going to walk around the street? Do we really need so many people?"
Boss Zhou didn't want to scare his father-in-law, so he smiled and said, "Dad, we usually do this, you'll get used to it."
As he said this, he pinched his wife's wrist.
Li glared at him, wondering why he was pinching her. She was not stupid, and it seemed as if she had no brains. She was furious and secretly twisted the head of the family's back.
Boss Zhou hissed. He had gained weight, and his skin had become much whiter. He was becoming fatter than a bun. It really hurt when his wife pinched him like that.
Fortunately, Li Cong didn't notice and kept muttering, "My dear, my girl, you are so blessed. No wonder your grandmother said you were the most blessed when she was alive."
Li was smiling, she also felt that she was the most blessed daughter in the Li family!
Zhulan has already asked housekeeper Ding to buy New Year's goods, so it's a good opportunity for the Li family to take the New Year gifts back with them on the way back.
The list of New Year gifts has been kept, you can just buy according to the list, but this year Zhulan has added seafood. Now it is winter, so frozen prawns, sea fish, and sea vegetables can all be stored. Zhulan's favorite is sea bass, and she also likes knife fish.
These are rare items. Su Xuan has her own fishing boat, and Zhulan ordered it directly from Su Xuan.
At noon, the eldest couple took the Li family to a restaurant outside for dinner and did not return until the evening.
Except for the fourth son who married the county lady, the other three daughters-in-law of the Zhou family were of low birth. When the farmer relatives of the Li family arrived, everyone in Jinzhou knew about it. Then, after tasting the Zhou family's attitude towards their relatives, they had to admit that the Zhou family had really good character. Even when they were rich, they did not forget their poor relatives and treated them with courtesy.
The Li family hasn't left yet. The Zhou family's grandchildren are in better shape and are just waiting for the Zhou family to open a house to entertain them.
The father-in-law was in a hurry to go home, Zhulan had prepared the New Year gifts, and Zhou Shuren also took a special leave to see them off.
The Zhou brothers and their spouses also prepared a lot of things, the second brother and his spouse also prepared some useful things, and the Chang Lian couple didn't give anything outstanding.
It was the turn of Changzhi and his wife. Changzhi took out a bundle and handed it to Li Gui. "This is the calligraphy I copied. If you copy it a hundred times, you will definitely improve. I'm giving all of this to you. If you don't have enough, write to me and I'll give you more. I don't have much else, but I have the most calligraphy I copied. Take it well."
Su Xuan's expression froze. The bundle was clearly hidden. She had the urge to cover her face. How did Chang Zhi find it? And where was the gift she prepared
Li Gui stared at the bundle, took it and pressed it in his hand. At least ten copies, and a hundred times, it would kill people!
Zhulan and Zhou Shuren, "... ... .."
The two looked at each other. Fortunately, Li was a honest man. If it were anyone else, they would have wanted to beat Chang Zhi.
Li wanted to speak several times but kept her mouth shut. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help her nephew, it was just that she really couldn’t afford to offend him!
Boss Zhou looked at his dumbfounded father-in-law and felt sympathy for the children in the Li family who didn’t like to study!
The brothers Zhou Laoer and Chang Lian not only took a step back, they also pulled their wives back.
Only Chang Zhi was very satisfied, and he looked at his wife proudly. In order to hide the books, he knew the yard very well, so it was easy for him to find the bundle. He came late on purpose because he was afraid that his wife would stop him from delivering the bundle!