Zhulan felt something was amiss. Zhou Shuren was the Zhīzhōu, and she was his wife. Logically, someone should have already inquired about Zhou Shuren through her. They’d been here for so many days, and she didn’t even meet the wife of the Tóngzhī. This was a bit unreasonable.

Zhou Shuren chuckled softly, “Have you forgotten what I told you? Before we arrived, all the officials in Lizhou were vegetarians?”

Zhulan had indeed forgotten. Ever since Zhou Shuren came to Lizhou and began eating meat, the Tóngzhī and officials from various prefectures sent their servants out to buy meat that very day. As a result of this continuous buying, merchants saw a business opportunity, and two more butcher shops opened in Lizhou.

There were many officials of various ranks in Lizhou. Although officials received salaries and gifts, which gave the impression that they had a substantial amount of money, the frequency and value of the gifts they received and gave also suggested that their salaries and family savings were still being used for travel. Not all officials were good at managing their wealth; very few owned their own estates and still needed to buy meat from outside.

Zhulan chuckled. “You mean, they’re all waiting for me to host a banquet and invite them?”

Zhou Shuren nodded. “Yes, both the Tóngzhī and the Tōngpàn are watching me closely. Whatever I do, they imitate—afraid of overstepping in any way. Besides, I’ve been here for a month and have basically brought stability to the people. My reputation among the common folk is quite high now, so they don’t dare play tricks with me, let alone extend an invitation to you.”

Zhulan reached out and touched Zhou Shuren’s face. His face was thin and dark, making his already ordinary appearance even less striking. During his month in Lizhou City, for the first five days, Zhou Shuren was busy distributing grain and understanding the situation throughout the prefecture. Then, when the seeds arrived, he was busy distributing grain and planting for spring plowing. Although the seeds weren’t plentiful, they represented the people’s hope for the year.

Before spring plowing was even finished, he hired surplus labor to repair roads and ponds. Zhou Shuren was personally involved in all of this, not even working in the yamen. He was out every day, personally inspecting the villages and visiting farmers of good character.

“This past month has been exhausting,” Zhulan said, her hands moving from his face to his body, feeling only bones. “I’ve been trying to nourish you every day, but it hasn’t been very effective. Please take it easy on your body!”

Zhou Shuren held Zhulan’s hand, looking at the dark ceiling, his heart heavy with sorrow. His success in the imperial examinations, his wedding night, had all been shattered by the Emperor’s cruel hand. Since then, he hadn’t had a moment of peace. On his first day in Lizhou City, seeing the people carrying their children to receive grain, he felt a pang of guilt, thinking how selfish and cold-blooded he was. He stood there for a long time, motionless, until the people who had received the grain confirmed it was edible and not adulterated. Then, one person knelt, and they all knelt before him, calling him “Your Honor.”

At that moment, his heart sank even deeper, not with joy. He truly realized that he wasn’t there to complete a mission, not to survive or save his life; he also wanted to do something for the people.

The result was that he didn’t even want to look at his own face anymore. He also wants to present his best self. Hmm, it had to be postponed again. He really should take good care of his health.

Zhulan didn’t wait for Zhou Shuren’s reply. “What are you thinking about?”

Zhou Shuren smiled. “I was thinking of taking you for a walk around the neighborhood when I have some free time.”

He felt he should surprise Zhulan, and then coughed.

Zhulan felt sorry for Zhou Shuren. “You don’t need to take me for a walk. There’s nothing to see. I’ve been going out of town a lot these days, and I’ve seen everything I need to do.”

Zhou Shuren touched Zhulan’s hand. He felt sorry for Zhulan, and he felt sorry for her too. “You’ve worked hard at home.”

Zhulan said, “I’m not tired. By the way, I bought five-year-old fruit trees. Although the price was higher, the fruit farmer said that five-year-old apple trees are in their peak production period. Even if some flowers were damaged during planting, there will still be a lot of fruit this year.”

Zhou Shuren chuckled. “Then I’ll wait to eat apples.”

Winter apples were a delicacy in the north. He didn’t eat much last winter. Thinking about how he didn’t even want to eat apples now, he actually missed them in ancient times!

Zhulan asked, “When do you think I should invite the wives of the Tóngzhī and the Tōngpàn?”

“That depends on you. Invite them whenever you have time.”

Zhulan wanted to gather some information first, but then she thought that these were all newly transferred officials, and given the scarcity of shops in Lizhou City, these ladies rarely went out, making it difficult to get news. “Let me think about choosing a date.”

She couldn’t just not invite them; they were all waiting for her, and social interaction was very important for the ladies.

“It’s getting late, go to sleep!”

The next morning, Zhou Shuren took a carriage to the yamen, while Boss Zhou took Lichun to the mountains outside the city. The fruit trees had been planted, and many people had been hired to weed and water them; Zhou Laoda was going to oversee the work.

Zhulan, on the other hand, was thinking about what excuse to use to invite them. Flower viewing? Tea tasting?

They didn’t have any flowers at home, but they did have tea—tea bestowed by the Emperor, which Zhou Shuren had never been willing to drink. Hmm, this could be leveraged.

Zhulan considered not inviting the ladies individually, but also inviting the Tongzhi and others. Things were basically stable now; they hadn’t had a day off in a long time, so they could finally rest. She would mention it to Zhou Shuren when he returned.

Zhulan was troubled again. Tea tasting required teaware, and her own home lacked even fine bowls and plates, let alone proper teaware. She had left all the porcelain she bought in the capital there, fearing it would break during the journey.

Besides, tea tasting couldn’t be just about enjoying the scenery; it also required some money.

The garden in her house was quite nice, but a bit monotonous. Hmm, organizing a respectable tea banquet was truly a headache.

Moreover, there were no porcelain merchants in Lizhou City; she would have to buy from Chuanzhou. Zhulan’s heart bled. Of the 5,600 taels of silver, 3,500 taels had already been spent on land and saplings.

And to make matters worse, she had bought five-year-old fruit trees, each costing one tael of silver. She bought 2,800 trees, plus a hundred as a bonus to prevent spoilage, and with transportation and labor costs, 3,500 taels were gone.

Digging ice cellars was a small expense; two ice cellars cost 150 taels, leaving only a little over 1,800 taels in the family account. She hadn’t even bought a shop yet, and now she needed to spend more money on teaware, plates, and bowls.

Oh, right, she hasn’t bought her Zhuangzi yet! This money was going to disappear like water; it really wasn’t going to last long. Zhulan thought of her three houses again. Now, everyone knew about Pinggang; her houses must be worth many times more. With the income from these three houses, why should she bother calculating her money?

Liu Ya knocked on the door and said, “Madam, the steward is here.”

Zhulan said, “Come in.”

Steward Ding held letters in his hand. “Madam, this is a letter from Old Master Yang, saying it’s from our hometown.”

Zhulan took it and saw several letters, each quite thick.

(End of Chapter)

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