Yang Zhumu's face smiled more when he mentioned his wife. "Your eldest sister-in-law is very good. She can't stay idle at home. She takes me to the orchard every day. She is in better health than me. She also urges Wuchun to have more children. She thinks that our eldest family has too few grandchildren and can't compare to your second brother's family."
Zhulan felt sad when she heard this. Her eldest and second brothers both had three sons and one daughter. After Wu Dong died, her eldest brother only had two sons left. Naturally, he couldn't compare to his second brother's family. "Too many children means a lot of worries. When they grow up, they will have to get married and marry off their daughters. It's too much trouble."
Yang Zhumu had been looking at his sister as he spoke. He had seen his sister's drooping eyebrows just now. His youngest son was a hurdle in his heart, and he couldn't let his sister suffer as well. He smiled and changed the subject: "Over the years, your family has accumulated wealth quickly. Every year when we receive your New Year gifts, my second brother and I would talk about how much money it cost."
Yang Zhulin continued, "Second brother, I have to tell you something. You have to save your money. Your brother-in-law is a high-ranking official. Your grandchildren's betrothal gifts and dowries will not be small. We are all family. Don't give such expensive New Year gifts in the future."
In the past few years, the annual gifts have mostly been fish and shrimp, as it doesn’t cost much for the sister to eat these because she has a fishery. But in the past two years, most of the gifts have been ginseng, a precious tonic. The brothers are happy that the sister cares about them, but they are also worried about her.
Zhu Lan smiled and said, "Oh, you guys are really worried. I've been the head of the family and I know what's going on. We have collected too many precious tonics. Don't worry, big brother and second brother."
This is the truth. She has been receiving tonic medicine during the festivals in the past two years, and she only gave some to her eldest and second brothers as New Year gifts. She knew that her eldest and second brothers were reluctant to spend the money, and she hoped that her eldest and second brothers would live long, at least longer than her.
Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren didn't know that his elder brother-in-law and his party had arrived. Instead, he was looking at the invitation letter, which had been sent to the Ministry of Revenue.
Apart from Li Zhao, no one else would openly send a letter to the Ministry of Revenue. Li Zhao was particularly open.
Zhou Shuren shook the invitation, the invitation to Li Zhao’s birthday ceremony. Minister of War, this birthday is not an easy one, he didn’t want to go, especially since Li Zhao had called him!
How come he has a good relationship with Li Zhao? What does it mean that he can't be outdone when he attends Li Zhao's birthday party for the first time? How come he is so popular? Well, he is indeed very popular at the moment.
Zhou Shuren has always been a rip-off. From Lizhou all the way to the capital, he is the only one who cheats people. Li Zhao is openly asking for a gift, and it has to be expensive!
Qiu Yan was envious. He had never received any invitation from the Minister of War's family, and he had never caught Lord Li's eye.
Zhou Shuren felt Qiu Yan's envious eyes, "..."
If Lord Li had not sent it to the Ministry of Revenue, he would have found a way to pretend that he had not received it. The feeling of cutting meat was really bad. He only liked to cut other people's meat. Li Zhao specifically cheated him!
When Zhou Shuren left the yamen, he had a stern face, and when he got home, his face was still not looking better. Steward Ding wanted to mention that his two uncles were coming, but he didn't dare to.
Zhou Shuren returned to the yard with a gloomy face. When he saw his eldest and second uncles, their faces changed immediately. He smiled and said, "Brother, why didn't you send a letter in advance when the second brother arrived? I could take a leave to pick you up at home."
Yang Zhumu and Yang Zhulin looked at each other. They saw clearly that their brother-in-law had a gloomy face just now. Yang Zhumu was the eldest brother. He said, "We know you are busy in the Ministry of Revenue, so we didn't send the letter in advance. You looked unhappy just now. What happened?"
Seeing his two uncles were worried, Zhou Shuren smiled and explained, "There is nothing wrong with the Ministry of Revenue. Now the Shangshu has given me a lot of power. I am doing well in the Ministry of Revenue. I look gloomy because I don't want to give gifts."
Zhulan saw the post in Zhou Shuren's hand, took it, glanced at it, and patted her husband's hand. Zhou Shuren had rarely won against Lord Li.
The Yang Zhumu brothers didn't understand and were completely confused.
Zhou Shuren didn't want to show in front of his uncle that he liked to cheat people and didn't like to be cheated, so he changed the subject, "It's nothing serious, I'll go change into my official uniform first."
Yang Zhulin looked at his brother-in-law's official uniform with envy, "Shuren looks so handsome in his official uniform."
Zhulan laughed, "Second brother's words are what Shuren likes to hear the most."
Tonight's meal is particularly sumptuous. The Yang family ate more mutton in Lizhou, so they changed the taste. Today there is venison and some other foods that are hard to find in Lizhou.
While Zhou Shuren was changing his clothes, the food had already arrived.
Zhou Shuren came out, "Chang Lian hasn't come back yet?"
Zhulan looked at the time and said, "According to the usual time, you should have arrived home by now. If you don't come back to eat, I will send someone back. You must have been delayed by something."
Zhou Shuren frowned and called Jinyan, "Go and welcome Chang Lian."
Jinyan, "Yes."
The person Yang Zhumu wanted to see the most was Chang Lian. Chang Lian was the most promising of his brother-in-law's sons. Wu Chun said that Chang Lian would be very successful in the future, and he was always thinking about him. "Chang Lian is also very busy."
Zhou Shuren, "Don't worry about him, brother. Let's eat first."
Brother Yang Zhumu shook his head, "We are not hungry, there is no rush to wait a while."
Zhou Shuren wasn't hungry either. The welfare of the Ministry of Households has always been the best. He ate a lot of fruits in the afternoon. "Then wait a while."
Yang Zhumu was very concerned about Chang Lian, "Next year will be the three-year assessment, will Chang Lian be assigned an official?"
Zhou Shuren was happy, "I haven't seen you for a few years, and you understand me a lot now."
Yang Zhumu was a little embarrassed. "I heard it all from Wu Chun. Chang Lian has a good relationship with Wu Chun and they have been communicating with each other. I know more. Do you have any plans as a father?"
Zhou Shuren did not hide it from his brother-in-law, "I plan to send Chang Lian abroad. I have worked my way up here. With me in Beijing, Chang Lian does not have to worry about not being able to return to Beijing. Being sent abroad can hone people. If you want to be a good official, you have to go to the grassroots to understand people's livelihood."
He hoped that Chang Lian would be a good official. He did not expect Chang Lian to be praised by future generations. His most basic requirement was to be a good official who cared about the people.
Yang Zhumu was a little surprised, "I thought you would let him be an official in the capital."
Zhou Shuren did not explain much to his brother-in-law. First, the situation in the capital was complicated. Second, there were not many official positions in the capital, and even fewer suitable for Chang Lian. In addition, with his high expectations for Chang Lian, sending him away was the best arrangement.
Yang Zhumu said with some regret: "I thought about joining the army back then. If I had gone to the battlefield, maybe I could have arranged a future for my son like you did."
This was the first time Zhulan heard her elder brother mention this. "Brother, have you ever thought about this?"
Yang Zhulin said, "My eldest brother and I both learned martial arts, so naturally there was blood involved. But we had too many concerns, and Dad only had three of us. My eldest brother told me about his idea, but in the end he didn't dare to tell Dad."
Zhulan thought it was fortunate that she didn't mention it, otherwise, she wouldn't know whether her elder brother was still alive. Swords and knives were merciless on the battlefield, and so many souls could not return home.
They chatted for a while, and time passed little by little. This time, not only the Yang Zhumu brothers were worried about Chang Lian, but Zhulan and Zhou Shuren couldn't help but frown. Why didn't Chang Lian come back yet, and Jinyan didn't send back any news