Zhulan shook the banknotes in her hand and said, “Tell me, in the past, I never found counting banknotes so exciting. But now, 4,500 taels of banknotes, I still don’t think it’s enough even if I count them twice!”

Zhou Shuren hit the nail on the head, “That’s because you’ve never experienced poverty since childhood.”

Whether in modern times or ancient times, he always liked the feeling of counting money, especially the feeling of saving money.

Zhulan thought that it was true, she carried the box to the bed and took out the banknotes at home, “There are more than five thousand taels at home, when are we going to the capital?”

Zhou Shuren had made up his mind: “Wait until the jiéshùPrefectural exam is over.”

Zhulan put all the silver away and locked it up. “According to the date, the people from the clan who are going to take the jiéshù should be here in a few days.”

“Yes, this year, including Changlian and Changzhi, four people in the clan passed the xiànshìCounty Exam . This is a good sign.”

Among those from the clan who took part in the provincial examination this time, only Changlian and Changzhi were of the Chang generation, while the other two were of the Ming generation. The next generation had also risen.

The Zhou family received a sum of money, but Zhou Shuren and Zhulan were not prepared to tell anyone. Even if there were rumors outside, Changlian and Changzhi could not get in touch with them. The Zhou brothers did not know what their father had done!

The Zhou brothers only knew that more people had come to visit their home recently, including merchants and scholars. Zhou Shuren and He Juren, who were competing, had a common hobby, and Zhou Shuren wanted to learn more about antiques that traveled through dynasties, so they walked closer.

The two families interacted more frequently, and Zhulan also went to visit the He family with Zhou Shuren.

He Juren’s house was not big, it was also a two-story house, but its location was better than Zhou’s. Because He Juren liked antiques, he had quite a few antiques in his house.

It was just that Zhulan didn’t like Madam He very much. She was born into a government official’s family and was very arrogant. She was very picky about Zhulan and spoke in a sarcastic tone. Sometimes her words sounded like orders. Zhulan went to her house once and never went again.

Zhou Shuren also only interacted with He Juren and no longer visited him.

After the heat brought by Zhou Shuren passed, the Zhou family finally had some peace and quiet.

The Qian family came again. This time, Qian Shengbao brought his eldest son with him. After Zhulan and the others left, he asked, “Is it about your grandson’s schooling?”

Zhou Shuren nodded, “His grandson’s admission is one reason. Second, the Qian family also learned about my competition. They have a few calligraphy and paintings in their hands and they hoped I could help identify them.”

Zhulan immediately grasped the key point, “Qian Shengbao knows that Master Xiheng’s calligraphy and paintings are valuable now, and even if they are fake, there are still people who want them. He doesn’t want to take them to an antique shop for appraisal to avoid trouble. He wants you to identify the authenticity, and then use the calligraphy and paintings to get his grandson into a school?”

Zhou Shuren added: “They also want to use me as a matchmaker to make new friends. Recently, many people have asked me if I have any calligraphy or paintings, and why the Qian family didn’t come a few days ago. It was all planned.”

He really didn’t like being plotted against, especially since Qian Shengbao had tricked him once and failed last time. This time he wanted to take advantage of him behind his back. Qian Shengbao had no choice but to bleed.

Zhulan curled her lips and said, “The Qian family has a lot of antiques, and we don’t ask for much in return, just one antique will do.”

Zhou Shuren smiled and said, “I thought so too.”

The Qian family dared to take advantage of the situation, so don’t blame him for taking action.

The next day, Zhulan was curious. She had never been to the Qian family before, so she followed Zhou Shuren and went to the Qian family in the carriage that the Qian family sent to pick them up.

The Qian family was also Second Zhou’s in-laws’ family, so Zhou Shuren also brought Second Zhou along.

Ten miles out of the state capital, the road was not so flat. There were many villages like Qianjia Village. Zhulan discovered that Qianjia Village was a wealthy village. Most of the houses were made of blue bricks, which really lived up to the name.

Qian Shengbao was waiting at the door. Zhou Shuren helped Zhulan get out of the carriage. Qian Shengbao was stunned for a moment, but soon recovered and walked forward, “My dear in-laws, thank you for your hard work. Please come in.”

Zhou Shuren said, “Thanks for the welcome.”

Zhulan followed him into the Qian family’s house. The house was quite large. Qian had been a servant in a wealthy family and did not like farmers’ houses. The house was built similarly to those in the city.

Zhulan went all the way to the main courtyard. Fang Shi didn’t know Zhulan had followed her. She stood in the courtyard for a moment, then quickly put down the basin in her hand and wiped her hands. “Mother-in-law is here. Please come in.”

Zhulan followed Fang Shi into the house. Zhulan sat down and Fang Shi said, “Mother-in-law, please sit down first. I’ll go make some tea.”

Zhulan was indeed thirsty, “I will trouble you, mother-in-law.”

Fang Shi was glad that Yang Shi could come, “It’s no trouble, no trouble.”

Zhulan looked around the room. It was very clean, with a bluestone floor, cabinets made of good wood, and needlework used by Fang Shi for making clothes on the kang.

After a while, Fang Shi came back. Zhulan listened to the noise and saw that Fang Shi had made a pot of tea outside. She sighed in her heart.

Fang Shi was the second wife and had no biological daughter-in-law to serve her. She said they were filial, but that only meant they would not bully her anymore. They could not serve her. When there were guests at home, Fang Shi still had to run around.

Fang Shi came in with tea and snacks. “My cooking skills are not very good. The snacks were bought by the head of the family in the city. They are Ruyi snacks that are very popular in the city. Mother-in-law, please try them.”

Zhulan was indeed a little hungry. “Mother-in-law, you are too modest. My cooking skills are really bad.”

At least Fang Shi could cook a table of dishes, but she couldn’t.

Fang Shi smiled. She knew it was true because her daughter had told her that Yang Shi’s cooking skills were really bad.

The curtain in the room opened again, and a boy of more than three years old came in, “Mom, Dad asked me to come and meet my aunt.”

Fang Shi pulled her son over and introduced him, “This is my youngest son, Qian Keqi.”

Zhulan looked at the little boy. He looked like Fang Shi and was quite down-to-earth. Well, the name was not bad either, at least it wasn’t tacky.

She took out a purse and said, “This is from Auntie. Take it.”

Zhulan put one or two taels of silver coins in her purse, which she specially prepared when she came.

The little guy took the purse. It was probably the first time he received a gift. He was so happy and thanked her with a smile, “Thank you, Auntie.”

Fang Shi motioned for her son to go out first, and when he left, she said, “This kid is in the front yard following the nephews’ enlightenment.”

Zhulan didn’t ask why only Qian Shunqing came to see her, thinking that Old Man Qian had stopped her, “Did the family invite a master?”

Fang Shi nodded, “We can’t invite a xiùcáian entry-level licentiate who had passed the college exam. Xiucai enjoyed officially sanctioned social privileges such as exemption from statute labour, access into local government facilities and limited immunity against corporal punishments. , we can invite a tóngshēngAn entry-level examinee who had passed the county/prefecture exams. .”

Zhulan smiled. Qian Shengbao was really generous. He didn’t send his grandchildren to private schools but started one for them at home. He wanted to send them to academies!

The following topic was dominated by Fang Shi. She didn’t want to talk about her past, nor did she want to talk about her days in the Qian family.

She was happy to hear about her daughter and grandchildren.

Zhulan was also happy and didn’t need to find topics to talk about. She just wants to chat. She liked children. She had taken care of Yushuang and Mingrui a lot, and the children were a lot of fun.

Don’t be fooled by Yushuang’s quiet and gentle appearance. This girl was very cunning and had cheated on Mingteng many times. Mingteng was still a fool. For him, Sister Yushuang was the best.

At noon, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren stayed for lunch. There were only Zhulan and Fang Shi at Zhulan’s table. When the meal was being served, Zhulan also saw the daughters-in-law of the Qian family. They were all shrewd people. Their eyes kept moving around. They tried to ask Fang Shi to stay several times, but Fang Shi probably didn’t keep any of them after hearing Qian Shengbao’s words.

Zhulan was happy and relaxed, and the two of them ate more freely. The Qian family was indeed rich, and there were twelve dishes, including goose, lamb, and roe deer meat.

Fang Shi saw that Zhulan ate more goose meat, “Does your mother-in-law like goose meat?”

(End of this chapter)

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