Zhou Shuren looked at his sons with satisfaction, “Remember your mother’s words. It’s no use regretting when you’ve gone astray.”

Boss Zhou had an especially strong will to survive. “Dad, you know me best. I’m straightforward and don’t play any tricks. Whoever has crooked intentions, I won’t hesitate to take action.”

Clever. Look at that, reacting so quickly for the first time. As for whether it might trick the younger brothers, well, they’re all troublesome anyway, not worth worrying about!

Second Zhou looked up at the rafters. It had nothing to do with him. His wife was his, and he cared about her more than anyone else.

Chang Lian felt like swearing. Among the four brothers, the second brother might seem simple on the outside, but inside, he was quite cunning. But Zhao Shi was his èr sǎo! Just look at how much the second brother valued his èr sǎo. He wouldn’t scheme against his own wife.

So here came the problem. The eldest brother’s words were alluding to him. The younger brother didn’t care about these things. Then he was more crooked. He even plotted against his da sǎo a few days ago. Woo-hoo, this was my real brother. Just now my mother said as a family, this was a trap for him.

When Chang Lian saw his father looking at him, a chill ran down his back. He suddenly understood why his father warned him. It was okay to plot against outsiders, but not against family members. The èr sǎo’s face was indeed worth plotting, but he really never thought about plotting. He was wronged, he was ready to bite the Boss to death, “Dad, I promise you and mother, if I use my evil thoughts to plot against my family in the future, I will not die a good death. I will be struck by five thunderbolts from the sky and my descendants will be cut off.”

Zhou Shuren and Zhulan, ” .”

Wasn’t it their sūnzi¹ and zhòng sūnzi² who would be cut off?

Chang Lian saw his parents’ expressions were not so good and said to himself, “Mom and Dad, I don’t have any other intentions. I just want to take care of my parents’ future sūnzi and zhòng sūnzi. As long as I don’t have bad intentions, that’ll be fine!”

He said to himself He had confidence, and his vision had broadened. Through his father’s education, he understands that even if he fell down, he had a chance to get up. Relying on external forces was always a small path, and he would not be able to go far in the future if he was still looked down upon by others.

Zhulan felt that her future sūnzi and zhòng sūnzi would be angry if Chang Lian kept them in custody like this. However, Chang Lian was well-educated by Zhou Shuren.

Zhou Shuren said in his heart that he was sorry for his future sūnzi and zhòng sūnzi. It seemed that he scared your father and grandfather. Don’t be angry. Don’t be scared by your terrible father and grandfather. Don’t prepare to reincarnate!

When Changzhi saw that his third brother was so cruel, he didn’t swear, and said neatly: “Mom and Dad, I don’t like scheming, my heart is in the book.”

A year ago, he had the time to tease the third brother and vie for his mother’s attention, but now he was too busy. He needed to master the books brought back by his father and complete daily tasks that were more demanding than those of the third brother. He didn’t have the time to be distracted.

That’s right, the master of the clan school gave him a small plan, and he really didn’t have any extra time.

Upon hearing these words, Zhao Shi felt even more at ease, both for herself and for her daughter. She gently touched her daughter’s face, feeling fortunate for her. Glancing at her husband, who was looking at her with a smile on his lips, she also felt blessed.

After dinner, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren went back to rest first. Zhou Shuren waited for Zhulan to lay out the quilt, “I’m going to get water for you to wash your feet.”

Zhulan took his hand and said, “Let me do it today, you’ve been tired all day.”

Zhou Shuren persisted, “If I don’t get you water to wash your feet, I always feel like something is missing.”

Zhulan sat still, this person, even when fetching water, always finds a way to confess his feelings. Well, let’s give him this opportunity.

After fetching a basin of water, the two of them washed their feet together. Zhulan waited for Zhou Shuren to pour the water and lay down. She felt at ease and could finally sleep well.

Zhou Shuren also felt at ease, “By the way, I heard some news from the previous dynasty in Pingzhou this time. It may be related to Zheng’s natal family.”

Zhulan became more energetic, “What did you hear?”

Zhou Shuren said, “It’s quite a coincidence. Winter is coming again, and every winter the border regions are tense. This reminds me of a military commander from the previous dynasty, surnamed Zheng. His whole family was sent to the northeastern border. One year, they failed to defend against foreign invaders breaching the border. The Zheng family organized the local people to resist. After the invaders looted enough and retreated, fearing that he would be held responsible for failing to defend the border, the garrison commander falsely accused the Zheng family of rebellion.”

Zhulan asked hurriedly, “What happened next?”

Zhou Shuren continued: “Later, there was a fire in the Zheng family. All the family members died, and no one was left alive. Some said they were silenced, and some said they escaped.”

Zhulan said: “So you guess that Zheng’s natal family was this Zheng family?”

Zhou Shuren nodded and said, “Before I went to Pingzhou, didn’t I inquire for two days? Although I didn’t investigate deeply, I got a general idea. The Zheng family arrived at Li’s village forty-five years ago. It was said that they were refugees fleeing at that time, coinciding with a major snow disaster. Many people had to leave their homes to survive. After the disaster passed, many didn’t return to their ancestral lands. The Zheng family stayed in Li’s village, and the timing matched up. It’s probably not wrong.”

Zhulan calculated Zheng Shi’s age. This year, she was fifty-two years old, so subtracting forty-five years, she would have been seven at the time. She was also a child of the military commander back then. “No wonder Zheng Shi’s health is not good. Being exiled to the border and fleeing in snowy weather during the disaster, she was fundamentally injured from a young age!”

Zhou Shuren sighed, “In ancient times, one person’s wrongdoing could implicate the entire family. They could be lightly exiled back to their ancestral home, or more severely, sent into exile at the border. Even worse, adult men could be executed, and their descendants forced into servitude. Women would suffer even more tragically.”

Zhulan looked crestfallen. “Did you forget about the punishment of exterminating three generations?”

Zhou Shuren added solemnly, “And there’s also the punishment of exterminating nine generations.”

Zhulan sighed and didn’t want to talk about heavy topics, “Then why bother asking about the Zheng family? ?”

Zhou Shuren shook his head. “We can be fairly certain now. No need to inquire further. The Zheng family has had a hard time settling down. If it weren’t to avoid trouble, we wouldn’t have bothered to inquire. This is enough.”

Zhulan nodded, “You say, was the Zheng family punished unjustly?”

“At the end of the dynasty, there were many unjust cases. But it was the generals with military power who bore the brunt. The Zheng family was the victim of the power struggle.”

Zhulan sighed and decided not to dwell on it anymore. She yawned, feeling genuinely tired. Snuggling into Zhou Shuren’s arms, she drifted off to sleep, feeling drowsy.

Zhou Shuren kissed Zhulan’s face and fell asleep with satisfaction.

Zhou Shuren returned to the village, and the next day, the Patriarch came to visit. Before Zhou Shuren went to Pingzhou, he had asked the Patriarch to help investigate which family was selling land. Now that the autumn harvest was over and all the land taxes had been paid, the Patriarch noticed Zhou Shuren’s visits and replied to his request.

Zhou Wang Shi also came together, and Zheng Shi happened to be at Zhulan’s house as well. Zhou Wang Shi asked, “Isn’t it too much for your family to buy fifty acres of land at once?”

In the past few years, with favorable weather, the farmland was not cheap at all. The best irrigated fields cost ten taels per acre, while medium-quality ones were priced at eight taels per acre. Surprisingly, the prices for lower-quality land remained unchanged. However, the prices for good dry fields rose by five taels and two qian, making it two hundred and sixty-two taels for fifty acres of dry land. For Zhou Shuren’s family, who needed twenty acres of irrigated land and thirty acres of dry land, it amounted to a considerable sum of money!

Zhulan smiled and said, “Not much.”

She wanted to buy more, but unfortunately, she didn’t have enough money. She and Zhou Shuren calculated an account. If he was admitted to the Juren Examination next year and the results came out before the autumn harvest, they would be exempted from land tax. It was equivalent to earning extra tax money on fifty acres of land. After careful calculation, if there was no tax on fifty acres of land, the grain harvested from fifty acres of land could earn almost eighty taels.

Once they harvested the land the next year and sold it, they would earn an additional eighty taels. With the money they had accumulated, they would be able to buy a small estate near Pingzhou.

Seeing Zhulan say this, Zhou Wang Shi thought she was worried about it for nothing. At the same time, she calculated that Zhou Shuren’s family was too rich. Chang Lian’s wedding gift was almost three hundred taels. After buying the land, they still had to keep money to live on. Come on, Zhou Shuren’s family had over a thousand taels of silver!

Zhou Wang Shi thought it was advantageous for her family to have a son who was the Lizheng. She often took advantage of this situation to benefit herself. Still, over the years, she hadn’t managed to save much money and forced a dry laugh, deciding not to say anything. She was filled with jealousy!”

Zheng Shi put down the cup in her hand and asked the Patriarch’s wife, “Has the Patriarch heard about whose family sold their land?”

(End of Chapter)

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Footnote

1. Son of son i.e. Grandson
2. Great-grandson. I am guessing from the son’s side because grandson from daughter’s side is called different.