Xiao Qing motioned Zhou Shuren to sit down, "Try the freshly brewed tea."
Zhou Shuren was indeed cold. He sat down and poured himself some tea. He smelled it and thought, "Hmm, good tea." "Does the master have any instructions?"
Xiao Qingzhen didn't have any instructions. Before the New Year, Zhou Shuren had reformed a lot of things. Things that were relatively messy before were now much simpler. "There's nothing important at the beginning of the year. The most important thing right now is the salary."
Zhou Shuren counted the days, and it was indeed time to pay salaries. At the beginning of the new year, some were promoted and some were demoted. "Then I will go back first."
Xiao Qing nodded, and waited for Zhou Shuren to leave before looking at the door in a daze. The emperor's old age was visible to the naked eye. He didn't want to go to court, not only because he had a good subordinate, but also because he wanted to hide. During the grand court meeting, he stayed in the palace and felt that the emperor was very nervous. At this time, the more capable you are, the more you will be feared, so he is willing to delegate more power.
Zhou Shuren returned to the house, and Qiu Yan said, "Happy New Year."
Zhou Shuren replied, "Happy New Year."
They are of the same level and the two families didn't visit each other during the Chinese New Year.
In the academy, Liu Feng and Ming Yun chatted and said, "I got a lot of money, you know!"
Mingyun was stunned. He really didn't know. "I haven't heard of it."
Liu Feng thought about it and thought that it must be something that Lord Zhou didn't mention. He briefly explained the source of the property and said, "I asked my uncle to deal with some antiques and exchanged them for a lot of silver. My mother wanted to change to a bigger house and buy more land."
Mingyun was happy in his heart. Liufeng's family was rich and his sister would have a better life in the future. As for Liufeng's uncle, he didn't worry about him because he had his grandfather above him. "What about the farm and land in Shen County?"
Liu Feng replied, "My mother meant to sell them all. Mother doesn't like Shen County. I mean to keep them. What do you think?"
Mingyun was surprised. He didn't expect that Liufeng would not discuss with Lord Hu, but wanted to listen to his opinion. "I think your approach is right. Only with the land and the manor of Shen County can you and your cousin live a stable life."
Otherwise, the Gu family will definitely think too much, and once they think too much, they will come to Beijing. For now, it is better to have less contact.
Liu Feng was very happy. "I thought so too. Every year when I go to sell grain, my uncle will help me. The land in Shen County has no impact on me."
Mingyun saw Liu Qi looking at him, and reached out to take out the jade pendant, "Come with me after school today to change the jade pendant."
Liu Feng picked up the jade pendant and said, "This jade pendant is rare. Why do you want to change it?"
Mingyun curled his lips and said, "It's not appropriate for me to bring it."
Liu Qi gritted his teeth. Zhou Mingyun said that on purpose. He was reluctant to part with the jade pendant. So, he would secretly redeem it after school.
In the afternoon, Zhulan listened to the gossip that Su Xuan brought back. Su Xuan was not only the fourth daughter-in-law of the Zhou family, but also the county lord. Because of her relationship with the Zhou family, Su Xuan had a lot of social engagements. Since the beginning of the new year, she had attended several banquets.
Zhulan heard the news and asked, "Are you sure it's true?"
Su Xuan nodded, "Mom, this news is not wrong. Several heads of the Du family got into trouble at the beginning of the year, and some were directly dismissed from their official positions."
Zhulan blinked her eyes, "Duke Ning's Mansion has taken ruthless action."
Su Xuan didn't like the Du family. The Du family relied on the Ningguo Mansion to gossip about their family. "It was very lively yesterday. The old lady of the Du family cried, made a fuss, and even hanged herself. I heard that she was sick. The wife of the prince has been at her parents' home and has not returned to the Duke's Mansion!"
Zhu Lan really didn't know about this news, mainly because she didn't pay much attention to the Du family. "Have you heard that the Duke's Mansion sent someone over?"
Su Xuan sneered, "Today's banquet only discussed this matter. It is said that the door of the Duke's Mansion has never been opened, and no one from the Du family is allowed in."
Zhu Lan touched her chin and said, "If the Du family doesn't do anything in the future, there will still be some kindness. If they continue to make trouble, the last bit of kindness will be worn away."
"Who said it wasn't? The Du family has offended many people. There are people from the Yu family attending the banquet today. My daughter-in-law didn't dare to say anything when she saw the Yu family cheating her."
Zhulan thought that the Duke's Mansion had achieved two goals at once and it was also a severe blow to the Yu family.
It was time for the school to end. Mingyun and Liufeng went to Class B first. Mingyun looked at Mingteng who wanted to go and said coldly, "Take Jiang Du and the others home."
Ming Teng wilted, "Brother."
"no."
After Mingyun finished speaking, he took Liu Feng away. He would not take Mingteng and the others with him. As long as Mingteng was there, they would definitely be restless.
The academy was quite far from the jewelry shop, and the carriage took about two cups of tea to arrive. When Liu Feng got off the carriage, he saw Liu Qi's carriage following him, "Why is he here too?"
Mingyun lowered his voice and told how the jade pendant came about. Liu Feng felt that he must not offend Zhou Mingyun in the future!
The owner of the jewelry shop came out to greet them. "Please come in, gentlemen. Would you like to choose a jade pendant or a hairpin?"
Mingyun took out the jade pendant and said, "Shopkeeper, let me have a look."
The shopkeeper's eyes widened when he saw the jade pendant. This was a rare piece of jade. He took it carefully and said, "Good jade. Do you want to sell it?"
Mingyun knew that the shopkeepers would not dare to fool him. These shopkeepers knew who to tell the truth to. "No, I want to exchange for a few jade pendants."
The shopkeeper said cheerfully, "Please come in, sir."
Then he said to the shop assistant, "Quickly bring out the best jade pendant."
Mingyun didn't ask how much he could get in exchange. He just sat there waiting for the jade pendant. Soon the shop assistant came over with a tray. Mingyun didn't hesitate and directly picked out the two best ones.
The shopkeeper touched the jade pendant in his hand and said, "Young Master, you can choose another one."
Mingyun stood up and looked at the hairpins. He chose a good one and looked at the shopkeeper without saying a word. The shopkeeper felt a little painful because the hairpins were the most expensive. "Okay, I'll pack it for you right away."
Mingyun came out with a jade pendant and a hairpin, and just happened to meet Liu Qi face to face. She smiled and said, "Mr. Liu, please come in."
Liu Qi grabbed his purse and said, "Mr. Zhou, take care."
Liu Feng coughed and said, "But do you want to go back?"
Mingyun touched his purse and said, "We still have to go to the jewelry store. I want to buy a hairpin for grandma."
It was a surprise that he could exchange an extra hairpin for his grandfather today, which just saved his money. He had originally planned to exchange the jade pendants for his parents, and he would use his own money to prepare gifts for his grandparents.
Mingyun took Liufeng out after buying a hairpin. Two carriages stopped in front of them. Mingyun pulled Liufeng back a step to make sure the servant who was following them was beside them. There was no other way. His grandfather had told him that he must be careful when going out, and he always remembered that.
The curtain of the carriage was drawn, and Zhang Yang looked at the eldest grandson of the Zhou family. "Just now when I passed by, I saw a carriage from the Zhou Mansion. I thought it was Lord Zhou's carriage, but I didn't expect it to be Master Zhou."
Mingyun calculated the time and saw that his grandfather had already left the government office. He hurriedly greeted him and said, "Greetings to the Fifth Prince."
Zhang Yang felt sorry that he was not Lord Zhou. He hummed and lowered the curtain, "Go back soon."
Mingyun saw Shi Qing in the carriage from the corner of his eye and lowered his head, "Yes."