Zhou Shuren drank the wine silently. It was indeed hard work. If children were born one after another, it would be a burden of a large sum of money. In ancient times, raising a child was not just about bringing him up, especially for a family like theirs, the birth of each child represented a large sum of money.
Ran Zheng said quietly, "This aristocratic family really doesn't have as many children as yours. This is the advantage of having only a legitimate wife. There are fewer fights in the harem, and there are rarely any accidents when the children are born."
Even in the Ran family, many of their sons and children had accidents, and he had not even counted the ones that died in the womb.
Zhou Shuren sighed, "Everyone has desires. Once they get something, they want more."
There is nothing wrong with the legitimate wife protecting the rights and interests of the legitimate sons and daughters. There are many conflicts in the harem of a large family, and concubines want to get more, so struggle is inevitable.
Ran Zheng couldn't even control himself, let alone his son and grandson. He picked up the wine glass and said, "I really admire you."
Zhou Shuren took good care of his son and grandson. No matter how many temptations he encountered, Zhou Shuren's son managed to hold on.
Zhou Shuren thought to himself, it was not that he was so powerful, but that he was an outsider, so he had no scruples. At that time, he did not care about his sons, and he was really rude. His grandchildren were brainwashed since childhood, and the power relations were clearly explained to him. Coupled with the foundation of his sons' married life, it was natural for him to succeed.
Ran Zheng looked at Zhou Changzhi, "Your fourth child has really changed a lot. He has become more mature and stable, and is becoming more and more like your third child."
Zhou Shuren is very relieved, "The children will grow up, and he loves me."
Ran Zheng laughed, "Back in Jinzhou, your fourth child left a very deep impression on me."
Zhou Shuren curled his lips and said, "Drink."
Ran Zheng drank the wine and continued, "Your fourth son is a young scholar. He has accumulated so many years and is now mentally mature. Will he be eliminated next year?"
"Well, get ready for next year."
Chang Zhi has been preparing for many years. He has nothing to prepare in terms of knowledge and is mentally mature. There is nothing he can do to stop him. He has high hopes for Chang Zhi. This kid should be able to win him the top spot!
Ran Zheng congratulated him and said, "You will be able to relax more in the future."
The Zhou family has a really good foundation, and with the prosperity of their descendants, this is a sign of prosperity. In a few generations, as long as they don't commit suicide, they will definitely be among the big families in the capital. He thought of the Ran family, and his heart was burning with excitement.
In the afternoon, the Ran family left, and the Zhou family received a letter from their hometown. After reading it, Zhou Shuren handed the letter to his wife, "Take a look."
Zhulan took the letter and looked at it, "Where is Zhou Wangshi?"
Zhulan looked at it carefully again and confirmed that Zhou Wangshi had really passed away. Considering her age, she was indeed very old. Zhou Shuren was of a higher generation, so she had always ignored Zhou Wangshi's age. According to the age calculation, Zhou Wangshi lived longer than her father and mother.
Zhou Shuren, "Birth, aging, sickness and death. As we get older, we will meet more often in the future. The letter said that the old patriarch is ill."
Zhulan felt touched, but not too much. The Zhou family had been away from their hometown for many years, and her impression of Zhou Wangshi had become much more vague. She felt more emotional and a little sad. "The letter said that the person had been buried."
Considering the time it takes to deliver the letter, sending someone back from their home wouldn't be able to help much.
Zhou Shuren said, "Ask Steward Ding to go back, mainly to see the old clan leader, and to bring back the book for Ming Qing. Ming Qing will also have to go to the battlefield next year. There are also some supplements for the body, so you should prepare some."
Zhulan: "Okay, I'll arrange it now."
Zhou Shuren called housekeeper Ding and said, "You don't have to rush back. Buy some land and rebuild a house in Zhoujia Village. This time it's not like building an old house. Go back and build it according to the size of the mansion in the capital, and bring more people back."
After a pause, he continued, "This time when you go back, renovate the Zhou clan's ancestral hall and clan school. Just give the money directly to the clan leader."
Steward Ding didn't want to leave the capital, he was afraid that someone would take his position, but this was the master's trust in him, "Yes."
Zhou Shuren was thinking in his mind that he couldn't leave the capital, so he had to prepare some backup plans as soon as possible. The Zheng family's house would have to be returned sooner or later. Zhou Shuren stroked his beard, rebuilding such a big house was not really a backup plan, it was just built for show, he still had to choose another place as a backup plan.
Zhulan came back soon, holding a box in her hand, "I've chosen it, can you see if there's anything else I need?"
Zhou Shuren opened the box, "That's enough."
Zhulan was handed over to housekeeper Ding, and Zhou Shuren took his wife with him, "It's boring in the room, let's go sit in the yard for a while."
Under the tree in the yard is their favorite place. There are two rocking chairs placed together. Rocking in the rocking chairs is so comfortable. This shows how they will live in their old age in the future.
Zhou Shuren said, "Ran Zheng mentioned several of his grandchildren to me."
Zhu Lan turned her head and said, "What do you mean? They want to get married? There is no suitable girl in our family. The grandchildren of the Ran family are not young anymore, and the youngest, Ran Xun, is also quite a bit older than Yudie."
Zhou Shuren's mouth twitched, "You think too much, that's not what I meant."
Zhu Lan coughed, "You can't blame me for this. My first reaction when I heard this was marriage. What does Ran Zheng mean?"
Zhou Shuren stroked his beard, "Ran Zheng hopes that I can give some pointers to his eldest grandson. Next year, his eldest grandson Ran Xun will also be on the stage."
Zhulan said: "Can't he teach himself?"
Zhou Shuren's tone was full of pride, "He can indeed teach, and he himself has good knowledge, but not everyone who has learned well can teach others. He envies me for being able to teach children. Look at Rongchuan and Changlian, this is very convincing."
Zhulan smiled, "Yes, yes, you are the most capable."
"That's right. We still have Changzhi. However, the competition this time is quite fierce."
Zhu Lan felt heavy in her heart, "Yes, not to mention the several big families in the capital, there are many maternal families of several princes this year, especially the Chen family and the Feng family. These two families are all legitimate branches and legitimate sons, and the Qi family also has them."
Zhou Shuren stroked his beard and said, "It's hard to say what will happen to the Feng family next year."
Zhulan rocked the rocking chair, "This person is talented, but he is also influenced by his family. He can't hide away when something happens to his family."
Zhou Shuren closed his eyes and said, "I'm thinking whether I should let Mingyun take the exam for the scholar next year."
Zhulan, "Why do you have this idea?"
"I was thinking, since people are already eyeing Mingyun, it would be better to make him more famous. With more attention, people would be less likely to take action rashly."
Zhulan frowned, "No, don't you think there are too many targets? Mingyun and Changzhi both have to go back to their hometown to take the exam. They are not taking the exam in the capital."
Zhou Shuren said dimly, "Yeah, it's really frustrating. It would be great if we could take the exam in Beijing. The two of you really have too high a goal. Forget it, let's just wait and see. Who knows, maybe we'll get the result in the next two or three years."
Zhulan didn't want to think about anything now. She just wanted to relax, close her eyes and feel the breeze. This feeling was really good. However, after a while, she heard snoring. She turned her head and saw Zhou Shuren snoring in his sleep.