Zhulan was the calmest person in the family. She walked to the box, which was filled with cloth, half of which was fine cotton cloth and the other half was some silk cloth, neatly folded. The compacted cloth was enough for two or three sets for each person in the family. "Why did you buy so much?"
"In the south, patterns go out of style quickly, and the cloth shops were clearing out their stock before the New Year, so a lot of cloth was cheap. Since we have a large family, we bought more."
Zhou Shuren said regretfully, "We are a peasant family. Even if I get the title of Tongsheng, it won't be of much use. Many of the fabrics are unwearable. Otherwise, how can I buy you some expensive fabrics to make clothes?"
Zhulan complained about the ancient times, where there were regulations on the fabrics used for clothes. She looked at the box containing pens, ink, books, and some tea. She knew a little about pens and ink, as her grandfather loved calligraphy and taught her some. The box was worth a lot of money. "Did you buy these too?"
I didn't expect that Zhou Shuren couldn't save money. How much money would this box cost
Zhou Shuren understood Zhulan's hidden meaning and explained, "The brushes, ink, paper and inkstone were rewards for helping me identify the books. I borrowed books and copied them, and I also bought second-hand books. There are many scholars in Jiangnan, so I really took out some rare books from my family."
Zhulan flipped through the books and found that there were indeed flying edges and many annotations. These books were all made with great effort by Zhou Shuren. "Thank you for your hard work."
Zhou Shuren felt relieved. After hearing Zhulan's words, he felt that all the hard work was worth it. "The remaining two boxes are all special products."
In the box were cakes, fans, handkerchiefs, and two sheepskins in good condition. The largest amount was beef jerky. "Where did it come from?"
Zhou Shuren said: "We bought the beef jerky and sheepskin from the Tibetan merchants. We kept half of the beef jerky and gave the other half to Dad and Mom. We made the sheepskin into fur coats for Dad and Mom to wear."
Zhulan knew that this was something Zhou Shuren had specially gifted to the two elders of the Yang family. Her eyes fell on the last box. No wonder it smelled so strong. There were many dried sea fishes. The most surprising thing was a ham. She widened her eyes. Is there ham now
Zhou Shuren had been paying attention to Zhulan, and immediately solved his puzzlement, "Ham existed at the end of the previous dynasty, and it was only popular among the rich and powerful. The one I got was given to me by someone who did me a favor."
Zhulan was very surprised, and in the end there were some dried shrimps.
All the things seem to be a lot, but they are actually just boxes. There is not much in the boxes.
Li was so anxious. She was still waiting for the things to be divided. Her eyes had already been fixed on the cloth and the fan. "Mom."
Zhou Shuren interrupted Li and opened the small box beside him. "I bought this for the maids at home. The jewelry from Jiangnan is exquisite. Please share it with the maids."
Zhulan saw that there were four couples inside, and Zhou Shuren thought that Zhao was pregnant with a girl. "By the way, you have a grandson, and they are waiting for you to name him!"
Zhou Shuren pondered, "Born in winter, with plenty of snow this year, it's a sign of a good harvest. Zhou Mingrui, I hope the child has a smooth life."
Zhou Laoer grinned. His son's name had a good meaning. "Thank you, Dad."
Zhulan also divided the jewelry, giving one portion to her daughter and two granddaughters, and keeping the extra portion for future girls. Each of them received a pair of silver bracelets, a pair of silver earrings, and a silver lock.
Seeing that Zhou Shuren was exhausted and tired from the journey, Zhulan said to the boss, "Boss, go get some firewood."
Then he asked Zhou Shuren, "Have you eaten breakfast this morning? Let's have breakfast together and then rest?"
Zhou Shuren waved his hand as he had no appetite, "I won't eat anymore, you guys eat, I'll go back and lie down for a while."
Zhulan signaled the second son to get some hot water for Zhou Shuren to wash up, and then said to Li: "Make breakfast first, and then go home after breakfast. Don't forget to come back to cook at noon, and everyone else should do what they should do."
Li looked at the two boxes of cloth and pastries without moving her feet, her eyes seemed to be rooted. Zhulan gritted her teeth, "Wait until I divide them up and call you. If I don't, it's useless for you to see them. Hurry and cook."
Li then moved her eyes and smiled ingratiatingly, "Mother, you can't be partial."
Zhu Lan was in a good mood because Zhou Shuren returned safely, "Okay, I know what's going on."
Li was sure that her mother did not coax her. She just remembered when she reached the door that she forgot to ask her father-in-law how much money her father had earned. But her father-in-law had already gone into the house, so she did not dare to chase him to ask. She could only worry about it anxiously.