Time passed quickly and a week went by in the blink of an eye. After paying the tax on the family’s grain, half of the remaining grain was sold.
The grain yield in ancient times was too low. Even people like Zhulan who don't know about farming know the modern grain yield. In ancient times, the weather was good and the harvest was good. One acre of rice, which Zhulan's family took good care of with fertile land, only produced 320 kilograms. The yield of corn was a little higher, but not much higher, less than 550 kilograms.
Zhulan's family earned a little more than seven taels from selling half of the bundles. After deducting the cost of seeds and other expenses, they made more than six taels a year, which was not enough to cover the annual expenses. There were scholars in the family, and the annual income of two bundles was one tael and fourteen, plus pens, ink, paper and inkstone. The two sons were a huge source of money, and this was just for studying, without taking the imperial examinations.
In ancient times, the chance of a poor family giving birth to a noble son was as rare as a rare species, and money was an overwhelming burden.
Zhulan's family sold their food, and Zhou Shuren also set off for the south. Zhulan knew that one must have money when traveling, so she not only brought Zhou Shuren fifty taels of silver, but also dug out the jewelry that her original body had never touched.
There were so many jewellery. My father had taught me not to take jewellery that represented status, so I just picked jade bracelets, pearl jewellery and didn't dare touch jade pendants.
Zhulan dug them out and counted them. There were six pairs of jade bracelets, two pearl necklaces, a dozen red hairpins inlaid with pearls, and the rest were some miscellaneous jewelry.
Pearls were expensive in ancient times. Those that could be purchased by wealthy families were of top quality in both size and roundness. The jewelry in the original collection was worth a lot of money.
Zhulan brought Zhou Shuren a pair of jade bracelets of good quality and a pearl necklace. Regardless of whether they made money or not, they pawned them all when they came back. The two of them had spent all the money in the house and they felt anxious because they had no money!
On the first day Zhou Shuren left home, Zhulan felt dazed and had no motivation to do anything. The two of them had always been tied together, and without Zhulan, she felt uneasy.
The next day, I started to have wild thoughts and had a nightmare at night. I dreamed that Zhou Shuren died and I was the only one left in ancient times. I regretted so much that I didn't follow him.
The Zhou family's sons were worried. Their father was less angry than their mother when she left. The sons were terrified and feared that their mother would be gone when their father came back.
On the third day, Zhulan felt that it was time to find something to do for herself. After dinner, she gave the assignment, "The wall of the eldest brother's house is too low. You and the second brother should find a few people to cut the wall higher, at least two meters."
Zhou Lao Da breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that his mother had something to do. He had not slept well in the past few days. "Okay, mother."
Zhulan looked at Rongchuan, who had little sense of existence, and her eldest grandson who only wanted to play. She was not good at classical Chinese, but she was good at mathematics. There were math questions in the imperial examinations, and math was also indispensable in life. "Starting today, the whole family will learn math."
Li was frightened and immediately recalled the memory of her husband teaching her to read. She trembled all over and said, "Mom, I will be a grandmother in a few years, so I don't need to learn anymore."
Zhulan, “… … ..”
What a ridiculous ancient times! If you calculate this way, in another ten years, she will be 46 years old and will become a grandmother, right
Zhao's eyes sparkled, the time had come to get close to her mother, she wished her sister-in-law wouldn't learn, "Mother, I will definitely learn well."
Li glared at the second daughter-in-law, and hardened her heart, "Mom, I will learn too."
Zhulan looked at the children, "What about you?"
Rongchuan was eager to learn. He had the opportunity to study. Even though he was sick, he was still working hard to learn. He knew that he started late. "Aunt, I want to learn too."
That’s right, Zhang Rongchuan called her aunt.
In the past in the village, if two families were not related and were not from the same clan, they would address people according to their age and seniority in a very chaotic manner. But it was different for people from the same clan, as their seniority could be directly seen from their names, and the addresses would not be confusing at all.
Rongchuan moved in and was about the same age as their old son. Zhulan and her husband had other ideas, so they corrected the way he addressed them.
Of course, there are also couples who cannot stand their ten-year-old children calling them grandpa and grandma. In modern times, many people get married in their thirties or over. In order to avoid being heartbroken, Zhou Shuren decided to take the scholar examination next year. If he passes the examination, he will be called a scholar, Zhou Xiucai, and his wife, and he will not have to be heartbroken in the future.