Zhulan was now angry just looking at Li Shi.

Li Shi didn’t understand what her mother meant, so she asked the head of the household, “What’s wrong with mother?”

Boss Zhou wanted to touch the position of his heart. The two of them still had the mentality of ordinary people. Today, they went to buy venison, but the price of venison had gone up again. One catty cost one tael of silver. Venison in the capital was particularly popular, so they bought one catty. Now it seemed that they all thought it was their mother’s idea!

Boss Zhou pulled Li Shi and said, “Stop talking and run away!”

Li Shi still didn’t understand until the head of the household whispered to her, Li Shi said, “I’ll go explain.”

Boss Zhou got smart this time, “Don’t do that. The more you explain, the less clear it becomes. Everyone will think it’s our mother who gave you the reputation of being stingy!”

Li Shi’s heart was pounding. “What should I do? Woohoo! Mother has finally shown love for me. I hope she won’t chase us away!”

Boss Zhou was depressed. He found that in his wife’s heart, his mother was much more important than him, so he didn’t want to pay any attention to her.

The next morning, the Zhou family received quite a few visiting cards, all of which had ulterior motives. They came to congratulate but to be frank, they all hoped to marry Wu Ming.

Zhao Bo’s visiting card also arrived.

Zhulan thought that Zhao Bo was also waiting at home. Zhao Bo did well in the exam and ranked fifth. Zhao Bo was also a good candidate for a son-in-law!

There were only a lot of people in the Zhou family for one day, and then no one came anymore. It was not that they had given up on Wu Ming, but that they were all preparing for the palace examination.

The Zhou family’s status changed, and Qi Shi, whom Li Shi was friends with, became more generous to her. When the Xu family moved away, Qi Shi gave Li Shi a pair of vases and a screen to put on the kang.

Li Shi came back carrying some things, “Mom, the screen is better than the one embroidered by my brother and sister-in-law!”

Zhulan looked at the wood of the screen. The real value was in the wood. Now that she had money, she said to Xuehan, “When you get married, I will prepare a few screens for you.”

The screen that Li Shi got was worth at least fifty taels, plus a pair of vases worth dozens of taels. The merchant family really had a lot of money.

Although she didn’t go out to see the neighbors moving, she learned from Li Shi that the neighbors had a lot of money.

Zhulan said to Li Shi: “Put everything away.”

Li Shi was so grateful, “Mom when Qi Shi left, I only gave her some bacon that I made myself. Isn’t that too stingy?”

Zhulan said faintly: “She won’t think you are stingy, but will be happy that you can give her bacon.”

She didn’t understand. Her bacon was worth a few silver coins. “Mom, Qi Shi is not stupid!”

Zhulan smiled and said, “You are the only one in the family who is open-minded and has not noticed the change. Among the four classes of scholars, farmers, merchants, and artisans, merchants are the lowest. Your father is no longer a juren, and Qi Shi is afraid that you will look down on her. You still treat her with sincerity. Even if the gift you give is small, she will be happy.”

What’s more, the Xu family was just a small business family, and the big forces looked down on them. It was also difficult for the Xu family to survive. As a daughter-in-law, Qi Shi was able to make friends with Li Shi. Although Li was only the daughter-in-law of the Zhou family, it would also be a worthy friendship in the future. Qi Shi cherished her relationship with Li Shi very much.

Zhulan did not object to Li Shi and Qi Shi’s relationship. She also wanted to leave some room for negotiation. From the fact that the Xu family simply ended their business in the capital and moved to Pinggang, she knew that Mr. Xu was a smart and decisive man.

Zhulan liked people who were shrewd and decisive. When maritime trade would be opened in the future, the eyes of the powerful would be on this piece of fat meat. She also wanted to see if the Xu family could fight for a way to make money and see how capable the Xu family was.

Xue Han said: “Mother, when will you let my second and third brothers come to the Capital?”

As for the fourth brother, well, she didn’t worry about him at all, because he had Xu Jinshi to worry about!

Li Shi’s heart was lifted. She didn’t want her brothers and sisters to come. In the capital, no one competed with her. She lived a comfortable life. If her brothers and sisters came, they would definitely snatch their mother from her. She was not as cunning as her brothers and sisters.

Zhulan, “If you hadn’t told me, I would have almost forgotten that your third brother said that Lord Jiang will be returning to the Capital in the spring!”

Zhulan considered whether to sell the house in Pingzhou City. Originally, the price of Zhou Shuren’s house had increased after he became a juren. After the palace examination was over and the various states were notified, the price of the house would increase again. The house in Pingzhou City was not big and it would be a bit useless to keep it.

She just didn’t know whether Zhou Shuren would stay in the capital or be sent abroad after the palace examination. However, a house in the capital did need to be looked for in advance.

Li Shi’s heart was in his throat. “Mother.”

She disliked Dong Shi the most. Dong Shi was the most cunning, of course, because of her status. She always felt insecure in front of Dong Shi. Li Shi was worried that in the future her mother would come into contact with wives of officials, and she would definitely prefer Dong Shi, a presentable daughter-in-law.

Zhulan came back to her senses and said to Xue Han, “After the palace examination results are announced, we’ll see where your father is in the future and then decide whether or not they should go to the capital.”

Li Shi heaved a sigh of relief, “Mom, I’m going back to the house.”
“Go ahead.”

Zhulan waited for Li Shi to leave, and asked Jingzhe to find Eryue. Jingzhe was Xuehan’s maid. The little girl was smarter than her parents. Although she could not be the head maid, it was not bad to keep her.

Zhulan waited for Eryue to come in and said, “I’ll give you a note in a minute. Take it and go find Deng Xiucai and ask him if he has a house for sale near Xicheng. A house with two or three courtyards is fine.”

Eryue understood that the master wanted to buy a house, “Yes.”

Xue Han waited for Er Yue to leave, and asked, “Mom, are you going to sell the house we live in now?”

“Well, now everyone thinks our house has good feng shui. The money earned from selling it is just enough to buy a house near West City.”

Xue Han was reluctant to leave. She liked the house she lived in now very much, especially her boudoir which was really exquisite. However, she also understood that Nancheng was not a place for her to live permanently.

Two hours later, Eryue did not come back alone but also came with Deng Xiucai and Yazi.

Zhou Shuren and Zhulan met him. Yazi said cheerfully, “Zhou Gongshi is planning to buy a house. Do you want to sell the one you live in now?”

Zhou Shuren, “Did someone ask you about it?”

Yazi smiled and stretched out his hand, “Someone offered five thousand taels.”

When Zhulan heard this, she thought it was similar to what she thought. According to the current housing prices, the price has almost doubled.

Zhou Shuren didn’t say he was selling it, but instead asked, “Are there any good houses for sale?”

Yazi knew that this was a good deal, so he became more attentive. If he could help buy the Zhou family’s house, he would get a commission of 100 taels. “Yes, there are houses for sale in the west city for people who were sent out of the capital. The houses are not big, but they have two courtyards. There is another one at the northwest junction. The houses are not small, but they have fallen into disrepair. If you buy it, you need to renovate it. The two courtyards occupy a lot of land. If you rebuild the house, you can build a three-courtyard house, but the cost of reconstruction is too high, so no one has bought it.”

Zhou Shuren asked, “Anything else?”

Yazi said embarrassedly, “There are really no good places left. You have lived in the capital for so long and you know how popular houses in West City are. Many officials are eyeing them. The second courtyard in West City that I mentioned just now would have been sold long ago if it weren’t for the small size.”

Zhulan asked, “What are the prices?”

“The smaller house in the west city is small, but the location is good, so the price is three thousand taels. The house in the northwest is large, but it is in bad condition, so they are asking for two thousand four hundred taels.”

Zhulan was inspired. The house prices in the capital were the most stable. In the future, the policies towards business would be gradually relaxed, and people’s lives would be better. The house prices in the capital would only go up. “Take us to have a look!”

Since they had a carriage and horse, it was very convenient for them to look at houses this time. They first went to a house in the West City. The house was indeed very small, not even as big as the two-story house in Pingzhou. After looking at it, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren walked out the door without saying a word.

Just as she walked out of the gate, a carriage passed by. Zhulan silently hoped that the carriage would not stop, but unfortunately, her wish was shattered.

(End of this chapter)

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