Zhou Shuren summoned Zhulan’s soul. When she woke up in the morning, Zhulan felt much better, at least not so weak. She was nestled in Zhou Shuren’s arms and refused to get up. Feeling Zhou Shuren’s body temperature, she felt particularly lucky. Fortunately, she had someone to accompany her in an unfamiliar environment. If she were alone, she would not have slowed down so quickly.

Zhulan stretched out her hand to play with Zhou Shuren’s fingers. Zhou Shuren’s fingers had clear joints, and she could feel the calluses for holding the pen. This showed how hard Zhou Shuren worked. Zhulan raised Zhou Shuren’s hand and compared it with her own, which made her hand look small.

Zhou Shuren was thinking about Zhulan and couldn’t sleep well all night. When Zhulan made some movement, he woke up. Seeing that Zhulan was energetic and competing with him, he put down his worries after being worried all night and hugged her with his other hand. He held Zhulan’s waist and brought her into his arms, his voice was gentle and sweet, “Are you awake? Feeling better?”

Zhulan’s heartstrings moved, and there was a smile in her eyes, “Well, it’s much better.”

She knew she was dreaming, one dream after another. Later, she stopped dreaming and slept more soundly. All of this was thanks to Zhou Shuren.

Chin against Zhu Lan’s hair, Zhou Shuren tightened his arms around her. He truly never thought that one day he would experience love. In the modern era, he didn’t believe in marriage, having witnessed many instances of lost children, and he harbored a strong aversion to marriage. He had planned to live a solitary life and grow old alone. However, unexpectedly, after traversing through time, he became a father, got a wife, and even started to believe in love. He never explicitly told Zhu Lan, but he was grateful to her for saving him from a lonely journey through time. Luckily, with her by his side, his heart found a place to anchor in ancient times.

T/N

Awww such a sweet scene. And I love the interaction between them. Their love is growing stronger, and it is Zhou Shuren who fell in love first.

ZhuLan could only feel, “Too tight, are you trying to strangle me?”

Zhou Shuren chuckled, the atmosphere just now was gone, and he relaxed his hands, “Is it better this time?”

Zhulan exhaled, this time feeling comfortable, she nodded, thinking of Chang Lian, and said: “I will go find the official matchmaker today. However, Dong Chuchu is a young lady from the County Magistrate’s family. How should we present the betrothal gifts from our family?”

This was indeed a worrisome matter. Before Magistrate Dong passed the imperial examination, the Dong family was already a wealthy landowner with money, land, and shops. After becoming a Jinshi, their family wealth became even more substantial. Since becoming the County Magistrate, they have been receiving gifts regularly. Therefore, the County Magistrate’s family was not in need of money, making it challenging for Zhulan’s family to prepare an appropriate betrothal gift!

Zhou Shuren also felt troubled, “Our family’s foundation is thin. If we give too much, others may not appreciate it, but if we give too little, it might be embarrassing for the Dong family. Moreover, we have four sons. If we give Chang Lian more for his marriage, the eldest and second sons may feel uneasy. After all, we currently share the family property.”

Zhulan felt a little tired again, “I spent a lot of money in Pingzhou and a lot of money to give gifts to the County Magistrate. I currently have a total of seven hundred. Fifty taels of silver, and a dozen taels of broken silver. A few days ago, you said you would buy some more land and I set aside some money for the daily necessities of the family. How much silver do you think is appropriate as a betrothal gift?”

Zhou Shuren thought for a while: “The bride price is two hundred taels. If you prepare the other betrothal gifts well, it won’t be too small.”

Zhulan was surprised, “Two hundred taels!”

This was no small amount!

Zhou Shuren sighed, “The county magistrate has probably investigated our family situation. Too little wouldn’t be good, but since the county magistrate doesn’t know exactly how much money we have, he’s likely estimating our wealth. Considering we recently bought a house and a shop, and my expenses in Pingzhou aren’t a secret, the County Magistrate probably thinks that 200 taels is a reasonable amount we could produce. However, our plan to buy land this year has fallen through.”

Zhulan knew that Zhou Shuren was quite shrewd. Even though he only offered 200 taels as the betrothal gift, Zhou Shuren was leveraging his greatest skill—flattery. By giving the County Magistrate some face and making him feel like he got a good deal. No matter what, it was the County Magistrate who initially took an interest in the Zhou family. If he believed Zhou Shuren had put everything on the table, he would naturally appreciate Zhou Shuren’s efforts. People like him, with so many tricks up their sleeves, never end up on the losing side.

Zhulan tilted her head, “Now that the betrothal gift is settled, should you let the eldest and second sons know? And as for Chang Lian, don’t let him get too carried away. Make sure he doesn’t feel that by giving 200 taels as his bride price, the family has to rely on him in the future.”

Zhou Shuren smiled and said, “Don’t worry, after breakfast, I’ll chop Chang Lian with a knife, and I won’t let him float.”

T/N

Poor Chang Lian, not even give a little chance to show off

Zhulan said, “Yeah.”

The two of them lay down for a while before getting up. Breakfast was already prepared. Zhulan specifically asked to cook porridge for breakfast in a newly bought clay pot. Zhulan drank the porridge and ate pickles. Finally, she no longer felt nauseous. There was food in her stomach and she felt energetic.

After the meal, Zhou Shuren called his sons over, but Zhulan didn’t listen. She wanted to change clothes and tidy up, and she would go to the county town to find an official matchmaker later.

When Zhulan finished dressing and came out, she saw Chang Lian going out to study in a daze. He looked quite frightened. Zhulan pulled Zhou Shuren over and said, “Look, Chang Lian was so scared. What did you say?

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