Jin said, "You have to pay the sixty-odd taels of silver for today's compensation, sister. Everything that happened today happened because you were going out."
Mrs. Hu's eyes widened. Her dowry included a small shop, more than ten acres of land, and some old jewelry. She and her son lived in her eldest brother's house and had always paid for their expenses. These sixty taels of silver were a huge sum of money. Her son bought the material today as a gift for his apprenticeship.
Mrs. Hu, "Sister-in-law, we don't have that much money."
Her son could read her eldest brother's books, but she had to buy the pens, ink, paper and inkstone herself. The academy's expenses were not small in a year, and with the eldest brother's birthday and some favors, she really had no money.
Jin snorted, "This is just compensation money. Besides, the young lady of the third-rank official was injured, and the master will have to come to apologize when he comes back. You have to pay for the apology gifts as well."
Mrs. Hu felt dizzy and a little shocked, and almost fell down.
In the evening, the Zhou family's dinner was very lively. Rongchuan came back for dinner today. It was a pity that it would be difficult for Rongchuan to stay overnight in the future. It was a rare occasion for him to come back, and Zhou Shuren was also happy.
Zhou Shuren looked at the calmness between the boy's brows and felt proud in his heart. Look, the child he taught has a good character. With such a big change in status, this child is still neither arrogant nor impatient. "Okay, good boy, come and have a drink with uncle."
Rongchuan still likes the atmosphere of Zhou family the most. It's not that Ning family treats him badly, but the rules are too strict. His two cousins are even more flattering to him, which makes him feel uncomfortable.
Rong Chuan held the wine glass and said, "Uncle, your kindness to your nephew is all in the wine. Your nephew will always remember it in his heart."
Zhou Shuren finished the wine in his glass. "Uncle doesn't ask you to think about the Zhou family. Just be nice to Xue Han in the future. Don't let Xue Han suffer any grievances."
Zhou Shuren and Zhulan have watched this girl grow up. They treat Xuehan better than their son. This girl has been their confidant for so many years. If the son-in-law was not Rongchuan, he would have too many ways to make trouble for the future son-in-law.
Rong Chuan's ears turned red. Thinking of the wedding date his father had told him about, and looking at his uncle and aunt, he felt guilty. He shouldn't have done that. He had always seen how much his uncle and aunt loved Xue Han. "Uncle, no matter how much I say, it won't be as good as action. I won't let you down."
When Zhulan heard this, she knew the child she had raised well. Rongchuan was interested in getting married. Zhulan understood that marriage was early in ancient times, and it would be abnormal if Rongchuan didn't want to get married at his age. But looking at Rongchuan's expression now, has this kid changed his mind
That would be great. It would be best if we could postpone it until the end of next year. We wouldn't have to worry about getting married in winter. If we postpone it until the end of next year, Xue Han would be a grown-up girl.
Just after dinner was over and Rong Chuan had left, Butler Wang came in and said, "Master, Director Hu from the Ministry of Revenue has brought his nephew to apologize and is waiting at the gatehouse."
Zhou Shuren raised his eyebrows, "It seems that the one causing trouble today is Chief Hu. What a coincidence, it's actually from the Ministry of Revenue."
Zhu Lan said: "If it wasn't the Ministry of Revenue, they wouldn't have guessed it was our family so quickly, and they wouldn't have rushed to apologize."
Zhou Shuren said to Butler Wang: "Please ask someone to go to the front yard."
Zhou Shuren stood up and went to the front yard. Zhulan also stood up and said, "I'll go take a look too."
Zhou Shuren raised his eyebrows, "Do you want to see the boy on the street?"
Zhu Lan nodded. "Although I only heard a few words, I can still guess that this child has a hard time. The purse handed to me at that time was old. This Lord Hu brought his nephew to apologize. This is interesting. I want to go and see."
Zhou Shuren really didn't pay attention to the details. His attention was on his wife and children at that time.
Zhulan and her husband walked to the front yard. Lord Hu and his nephew were already waiting in the hall, and Butler Wang served them tea.
Hu Xia felt nervous. When he heard his wife's description of the gentleman's appearance, his mind went blank. His boss's boss, no, it should be said that he might be the future Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. These officials of the Ministry of Revenue all thought when they chatted that Sir Zhou had a better chance of becoming the Minister than Sir Qiu.
He was so anxious that he didn't even change out of his official uniform and brought his nephew here. Originally, he didn't plan to bring his nephew here because his wife hated his elder sister and nephew, but he wouldn't. His elder sister has always been self-sufficient and his nephew is also sensible. It's just that his expenses are all dependent on his wife, and as long as his wife doesn't really hurt anyone, he dare not say a word.
But keeping silent doesn't mean that he is not in a clear mind. If he is not in a good mind, he will not enter the Ministry of Households. He knows in his heart that it is his daughter who caused the trouble today, and he is touched that his nephew wants to follow her.
Hu Xia heard the footsteps and saw Minister Zhou. His legs went weak. "Your subordinate greets Lord Zhou."
Gu Liufeng also hurriedly greeted him, "Greetings, Master Zhou."
Zhou Shuren raised his eyebrows. This boy was better than Hu Xia. Although he was nervous, his tone was very steady. "This is not the Ministry of Revenue. Hu Xia, don't be nervous. Just sit down."
Hu Xia was a little confused. The Ministry of Revenue had the most people in charge, so he asked excitedly, "Sir, do you know my name?"
Zhou Shuren, "Yeah."
He remembered all the people in the Ministry of Revenue. He knew Hu Xia. This person was not ostentatious and was the kind of person who worked quietly. He had been in the position of chief for many years. This time the Ministry of Revenue sent a chief to go out to sea. This was an opportunity. He remembered that among the several chiefs who did not perform well, there was Hu Xia.
But I didn't expect that this practical and hard-working man actually has such a powerful wife.
Seeing that Hu Xia didn't even dare to sit down, Zhou Shuren said, "I know why you came here. The matter was settled on the street. You can go back with the gift."
Hu Xia was unsure. In addition to guessing who would be the next Shangshu, they also gossiped and all agreed that Lord Zhou was amazing, especially since he always smiled. He was a smiling tiger and the most vindictive. He had worked in the Ministry of Revenue for so many years, hoping to be promoted to Langzhong, but he didn't want to end his career. "Sir, today I didn't educate my daughter well. I will definitely discipline her in the future. Please accept this gift."
Zhulan looked at the gift box on the table, frowned, and nodded to Mrs. Song.
Mrs. Song went out and Zhou Shuren watched her. He quickly understood his wife's intention. Mrs. Song came back quickly with a purse in her hand.
Seeing his wife nod, Zhou Shuren said, "I will not accept this gift. Also, my granddaughter only has a minor sprain. The doctor and the medicine cost less than two taels of silver. I will leave some silver for my granddaughter to calm down. You can take the rest back."
If it weren't for Hu Xia today, he really wouldn't have returned the money.
Hu Xia's hands trembled as he looked at the purse he had put down, "Sir, you can't do that."
Zhou Shuren raised his hand, "Alright, man, if I say take it back, then take it back."
Zhu Lan spoke up at this time, "We in the Zhou family are principled people, Lord Hu, please take back everything you brought."
Hu Xia still felt uneasy when he heard that Lord Zhou's wife had spoken. He felt his nephew pulling his sleeve and suddenly realized that he could no longer refute. "Thank you, Lord."
Zhou Shuren focused more on the boy. He saw all the little movements just now. "Well, it's getting late. You should go back too."