One of the two small boxes contained six books, the other contained three paintings, and the rest was gone!
Zhou Shuren looked at the free space in the box and felt that there was still room for two books and a painting!
In the palace, the emperor carefully inquired about the young eunuch Zhou Shuren's expression, asked him twice, and finally let the young eunuch go with satisfaction.
The prince wanted to laugh but finally held it back. Although his father said that Rong Chuan tried to please Zhou Shuren and didn't care, he still took note of it in his heart. He was going to get it back from the reward.
The emperor was in a good mood, indeed. He received a large sum of money, and also made some money from the antiques and paintings confiscated from his family. "The fourth son has made a great contribution this time."
The prince didn't care, "Old Four did suffer a lot this time."
Don't think that no one dares to touch you just because you are a prince. When the fourth brother was in Jianghuai, he almost got poisoned by a strong poison and even experienced several assassination attempts. If it weren't for the large number of people sent by his father, the fourth brother would have really died in Jianghuai.
The emperor did not talk about the fourth brother, "The second brother seems to be quite idle these days."
Prince, "He just wants to know the accurate information about the crowning of the king."
The emperor nodded and stopped reading the memorial.
The prince's eyes were on the memorial, but he still felt pressured. He told himself again and again not to panic, as it was only a matter of time before his brothers were crowned kings, and he would ascend the throne in the future.
In the evening, after the Zhou family had finished their meal, Chang Lian and Chang Zhi stayed in their parents' room and refused to leave. The two brothers stared at the opened box.
Zhou Shuren leisurely took out a book and flipped through it. He was soon fascinated by it. Fortunately, the emperor had chosen only rare items and did not fool him with them.
Chang Lian wanted to reach out to take it, but he didn't dare. He pushed his fourth brother and motioned for him to go.
Changzhi also felt itchy, but he was a little speechless. His third brother didn't dare, so he was even more afraid. Fortunately, he was quick-witted and saw his mother coming out, "Mom."
It was the first time that Zhulan heard Lao Si call her so sweetly. She looked at Chang Zhi looking at the book eagerly and chuckled, "Take any book you like and read it."
Chang Lian quickly stretched out his hand. Mom was very effective. If Mom agreed, Dad would definitely not object. However, Dad was too mean. He deliberately teased them just now. "Thank you, Mom."
Zhou Shuren looked at his wife with some accusation, he hadn't had enough fun yet!
Zhulan glared at Zhou Shuren. What time is it now
Zhou Shuren touched his nose, put down the book in his hand, and said to his two sons: "Take it home and read it when you have chosen it. I will put the rest in the study."
Chang Lian and Chang Zhi said in unison: "Thank you, Dad."
Zhou Shuren waved his hand, "Hurry up and go."
The two of them flew away with the book, as if they were afraid that their father would change his mind if they stayed any longer.
Zhou Shuren waited until his two sons ran away. He could still hear them playing in the yard. He said with some disgust, "He's a father, but he's acting like a child."
Zhulan was happy to hear this, "That's because they have a good relationship. They never fought before."
Zhou Shuren thought about it and felt that he was particularly great. "My teaching method is good."
Zhulan coughed and asked, "All the credit is yours?"
Zhou Shuren felt a little bit like a bootlicker, "No, they are all my wife's, my wife's."
Zhulan turned around and said, "I feel like I've lost a little weight, don't you think so?"
Zhou Shuren didn't dare to tell the truth. His wife really didn't lose weight. "Ah, she has lost weight."
"Your tone is a little hesitant."
"No, you've definitely lost weight."
Zhulan was discouraged, "Why is it so hard to lose weight now!"
Zhou Shuren said quietly, "Why is it so hard for me to gain weight?"
Zhulan, "... I think it would be better for us to sleep in separate rooms today, what do you think?"
Zhou Shuren quickly ran back to the bedroom, took off his coat and got into bed, closing his eyes tightly. He would never sleep in a separate room.
Zhulan snorted, "You don't have anything to say?"
Zhou Shuren secretly opened his eyes, "I hope all the flesh on your body will run to me, so that I can share the burden for my wife."
Zhulan was quite satisfied with this statement. "Okay, you can sleep in the room."
"Thank you, madam, for your generosity."
The next day, the Emperor kept Lord Xiao and Zhou Shuren, who had attended the morning court together with Lord Xiao today.
The emperor said, "This time, the amount of antique calligraphy and paintings is huge. Do you two have any better ideas for handling it?"
Zhou Shuren thought, isn’t it just because the quantity is large and we don’t want to sell it cheaply
Xiao Qing was a bit embarrassed. He had just processed a batch a few days ago. The quantity this time was really large, and the warehouse that the Ministry of Revenue was cleaning up could no longer hold it.
Xiao Qing, "After the New Year, we will ship them to Jiangnan for processing in batches."
The emperor was not satisfied with this method. "How about sending some inferior antiques overseas for disposal?"
Zhou Shuren replied, "What's popular overseas are jewelry, fabrics, spices, rouge and powder, etc!"
Antiques are really unpopular overseas at present. People think they are modern. And they all say antiques are from prosperous times. Many overseas countries have never been stable. Where would they get so much money to buy a decoration? It would be better to buy more food!
The emperor was very curious, "Then, my dear, do you have any solution?"
Zhou Shuren really has some, but he doesn't want to talk about it. Who made the emperor stingy? He was so stingy yesterday. "Master Qiu is in charge of handling antique calligraphy and paintings. I haven't touched them yet, so I don't have any way to deal with them."
The emperor was nervous. He only half believed Zhou Shuren's words, but Zhou Shuren's expression was too sincere. "Xiao Aiqing, go back and think about it. What good ideas do you have?"
Xiao Qing, "Yes."
After leaving the Zheng Palace, Zhou Shuren's mind was a little distracted. In the past few years, the emperor had dealt with too many antique calligraphy and paintings. In the capital, officials did not dare to buy more after buying them a few times. Even if the Ministry of Revenue sold them at a lower price than the market price, it still cost a lot of money. If he bought too many times, it would tell everyone that my family has money.
So the question is, where does all this money come from
Merchants do have money, but they won't spend a lot of money on antique calligraphy and paintings.
Soon after leaving the palace, Xiao Qing said, "The jewelry and fabrics confiscated this time can be exported overseas."
Zhou Shuren nodded. "Overseas countries have always admired domestic jewelry. Even though the price has dropped a bit since the beginning, it is still much higher than in China. After deducting the expenses, the profit is much higher than the depreciation in China."
Xiao Qing added: "For those books that are not ancient books, count them out and put them in the library when you get back."
Zhou Shuren made note of it and said, "I'll have someone count them when I get back."
Xiao Qing looked at Zhou Shuren, "You really don't have any good ideas?"
Zhou Shuren couldn't say anything. He had just denied it in front of the emperor, but now he admitted it to Lord Xiao. The emperor still didn't remember him. "I haven't had any contact with him. I really don't have any good solution for the moment."
Xiao Qing could no longer see what Zhou Shuren was thinking, so she nodded and said, "Qiu Yan has been recuperating for the past two days, so you should take care of him. I'm sorry for the trouble."
Zhou Shuren lowered his head and said, "You are the one who is working hard. This is what I should do."
In Xiao Qing's heart, Zhou Shuren is the most cunning one. You can only catch him if he lets you catch his tail. Otherwise, you can only watch!
After returning to the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren called Zhang Yang.
Zhang Yang asked, "Sir, do you have any errand for me?"