Zhou Shuren coughed, signaled Eryue to stop the car, and said to Eryue: “Tell me to look for Zhao Bo’s name on the list.”

Eryue said: “Ok.”

Eryue got off the carriage, and shortly after, the carriage driven by Lichun also came to a halt. Eryue quickly returned and said, “Master, the Eldest Young Master got off the carriage to go check the results of the announcement.”

Zhou Shuren said, “Let’s go back!”

Er Yue drove the carriage again. Although the wind outside was chilling, Er Yue’s heart was burning. His master was a Gongshi. As long as he passed the palace examination, he would be an official if he was lucky. If the master was an official, they, the servants, would be looked up to by others outside.

When they got home, the people who brought the good news had already come. South City had the most merchants.

The Zhou family had a Huiyuan in the imperial examination and a Gongshi, which was a great joyous event. Even before Zhulan and Zhou Shuren came back, there was an endless stream of people coming to congratulate them.

Zhulan pulled back the curtain and took a look. She was delighted. “I never thought I would make a fortune when I bought the house. No, it should be two fortunes. Our house has good feng shui. Just look at it. The house that was originally worth 2,600 taels can now be worth twice as much!”

Zhou Shuren laughed, “This time Wu Ming will have enough money to buy a house.”

Zhulan thought that it was true. Zhulan smiled and said, “He is the Huiyuan this time. He can get a lot of money after the palace examination. It’s really enough!”

This time it was not about passing the imperial examination, so the gifts delivered to your door must be presentable, otherwise, it would be embarrassing.

Zhulan’s heart was burning with excitement. Nancheng also had its advantages. Zhulan stroked her chin and decided that she would sell the house after the palace examination. Well, she had made a lot of money this time. She would look for a good house. To be honest, she preferred the rewarded houses because they had a good location and a large space. It was a pity that she could only dream about it.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren got out of the carriage. The people who came to give gifts this time were mainly nearby neighbors. Zhou Shuren and Wu Ming thanked them in the front yard, and Zhulan returned to the backyard.

Today, all the guests were men, and no women came. Li Shi happily came forward to greet them, “Mother.”

Zhulan looked at Li Shi and said, “Open your mouth a little smaller, I can see your throat.”

Li Shi quickly covered her mouth, then reacted, “Mom, no matter how wide I open my mouth, you can’t see my throat!”

Zhulan untied her cloak, “Oh.”

Li Shi looked at her mother-in-law, still not understanding what she meant.

Xue Han whispered, “Mom meant to keep a low profile.”

Li Shi covered her mouth to show that she understood, but she just wanted to laugh. Oh, she had taken several glances just now. There were so many gifts. Dad received a lot when he became a juren, and now that he is a Gongshi, he must receive even more.

Li Shi touched the cloak on her body. Hey, she also had a cloak!

Zhulan sat by the fire and warmed herself. She was so cold from sitting in the carriage after the trip that she felt chilled all over.

Xue Han poured some ginger tea, “Mom, drink some tea to warm yourself up.”

Zhulan didn’t answer. “I drank a lot in the carriage, and now I don’t want to drink anything.”

She had a stomach full of water now, and her bloated stomach felt very uncomfortable.

Xuehan put down the ginger tea and curiously asked, “Mother, is there a bàng xià zhuō fū¹ today?”

Zhulan, hearing this, was quite curious herself and replied, “No, there isn’t.”

Li Shi exclaimed, “The plays are all lies!”

Zhulan smiled and said, “The opera is not a lie. It did exist in the past, but it doesn’t exist now. However, many people are planning to take Wu Ming home to be their son-in-law!”

Li Shi said quietly, “My daughter is just too young. If Yu Lu was ten years old, I would also want her to marry Wu Ming!”

Don’t mention how regretful her tone was.

Zhulan, “.”

Li Shi was quite ambitious and even wanted to become Huiyuan’s mother-in-law!

Zhulan waved her hand, “Okay, wait until the eldest comes back, and you two can buy some venison. Today we can also be extravagant.”

Li Shi swallowed nervously. Every time she visited the butcher shop, she would linger by the venison for a while, longing for it for nearly half a year. “Mother, are we really going to buy venison to eat?”

“Yes, my mother is happy today.”

She was really happy. The price of the house could double, which was a lot of money. Good things are happening all the time these days!

Li Shi happily went out to wait for the head of the household.

Xue Han laughed, “Mom, saozi is very happy every day!”

“Yes, in fact, she is the most clear-headed. By the way, why don’t I see your dàjiù?”

Xue Han, “After the person who brought the good news left, my uncle went to my biǎogē’s house. I think he will be back soon.”

Zhulan held Yulu in her arms. Yulu looked like a little meatball. Children tend to gain weight easily, and after arriving in the capital, Yulu’s weight increased sharply. It was especially comfortable to hold her in her arms.

No one came to the house in the afternoon. The Zhou family had only been in the capital for a short time, so those who came to give gifts just left after giving them, without any need to entertain them.

Zhulan counted the gifts that had been sent to her. The merchants in the capital were very generous. All the gifts they gave her were good things. However, they were all for Zhou Shuren, and most of them were inkstones or pens and ink.

Zhulan said, “We won’t have to buy pens and ink for a few years.”

Zhou Shuren thought so too. “Although they are all good, they are not precious. Wu Ming has collected a lot. Let’s keep the better ones and deal with the rest!”

Zhulan, “You are knowledgeable about these things, so you can stay here and let the boss handle the things. We only brought the boss and his wife with us to the capital. In half a year, the boss will be able to handle things on his own.”

The environment was really a test of one’s character. Pingzhou was just a provincial capital, and the place where the Zhou family lived was full of ordinary people, so the Boss had not been trained before.

After arriving in the capital, the houses were full of merchants. Eldest Zhou had learned some skills in speaking differently to different people. In addition, Boss and his wife were very honest and straightforward, so smart people liked to make friends with people like him.

In just half a year, the eldest had gotten to know quite a few people. Whenever he went out, there were always people calling him “Master Zhou”!

Zhou Shuren, “Okay.”

Zhulan added: “The time for the palace examination has also come. It will be on the tenth day of next month. Do you need to prepare?”

Zhou Shuren shook his head. “I have prepared everything I should prepare. There is nothing else to prepare.”

Anyway, he knew that he had no chance of winning the first place, well, the third place, either. His original face was not really handsome, just a little better than an ordinary person. He missed his original appearance!

Zhou Shuren looked at Zhulan with a bit of frustration. He looked older with his beard, while Zhulan took good care of herself, especially after her family became wealthy. Zhulan was really willing to spend money on her face!

Zhulan felt uncomfortable being stared at, “Why are you staring at me?”

Zhou Shuren curled his lips, “Because you are beautiful!”

Zhulan was speechless. Her original appearance was indeed good-looking, but she couldn’t really be called beautiful.

Zhou Shuren laughed, “Let’s go, dinner should be ready. By the way, you said you were willing to buy venison, why didn’t you ask Li Shi to buy more?”

Zhulan, “.”

She didn’t expect Li Shi to be so stingy as to only buy one jin. Well, she didn’t tell her, but since Li Shi always bought five jin of meat, she thought she would buy at least five jin. Who could have thought that Li Shi would only buy one jin!

Each person ate a jin of venison with one chopstick. Li Shi didn’t even taste the flavor. “Mom, when will we buy venison again?”

Zhulan pursed her lips and turned away. She was cheated by Li Shi again today. A pound of venison, those who didn’t know would think it was her instruction. Even her eldest brother seemed hesitant to speak, and everyone thought she was not generous!

(End of this chapter)

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Footnote

1. Catching husbands after the results are announced