Zhulan had only been arranging flowers for the past couple of days to avoid embarrassment, so she and her daughter had arranged a few vases. She clearly remembered that when the girl learned from her, her flower arrangements were merely pretty, lacking any artistic conception or composition.

Zhulan carefully examined the vase with the most votes, a smile playing on her face. The girl had taken a shortcut; she had arranged it according to the shape of a headdress, with the red flower in the center being the perfect finishing touch.

Zhulan handed the votes and list to Madam Hua, saying, “Today’s first prize can’t be given away.”

With just one sentence, it was clear who had won first place.

Madam Hua quickly glanced at the list and votes, her face stiffening. She had assumed her daughter’s work was the best. Although she rarely taught her daughter, she believed her daughter, being from an official family, possessed a certain aesthetic sense.

Madam Miao was also unhappy; her daughter hadn’t even been as good as a girl from a farming family.

Xue Han was overjoyed. She thought the headdress arrangement was beautiful and eye-catching, but she hadn’t expected to win. Her expectations weren’t high; she just wanted to avoid embarrassing her parents.

Madam Hua and Madam Miao gave a dry laugh and offered their congratulations.

Then, they wanted to show off their daughters, wanting to demonstrate their skills in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Unfortunately, the Zhulan family didn’t have any instruments. As for calligraphy and painting, Xue Han was no slouch. Xue Han had been very disciplined since childhood, practicing calligraphy every day without fail, and her handwriting already possessed its own unique style.

As for painting, Zhulan loved to paint and often pulled her daughter into painting together. Practice makes perfect, and besides, Xue Han had some talent.

Madam Hua and Madam Miao were heartbroken and decided to go home and personally teach their daughters properly. Xue Han had already attracted a lot of jealousy among the daughters of officials.

Thus, after today’s events, Xue Han was destined never to be friends with the daughters of these two families.

The banquet featured sixteen dishes, each flawless. Madam Hua said dryly, “Madam Zhou is so thoughtful. Thank you for your trouble.”

Zhulan politely replied, “It’s my pleasure, Madam Hua, please.”

The meal was filled with unspoken thoughts. After witnessing Zhulan’s shrewdness today, no one would underestimate her. From now on, everyone would be extremely polite to the Yang family, no longer daring to speak ill of their vulgarity behind their backs.

After the banquet, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren saw everyone off. Once everyone was gone, the couple smiled at each other.

In the Chen family’s carriage, Madam Hua recounted the situation in the backyard, “Madam Zhou’s wife is extremely shrewd; I’ve been angry all day.”

Chen Chen clutched his chest; he had hoped to find some solace in his wife’s words, but now the pain only intensified.

Seeing her husband’s expression, Madam Hua sighed, “From now on, let’s coexist peacefully with the Zhīzhōu’s family!”

Chen Chen pursed his lips, “Mm.”

In the He family’s carriage, He Yun recounted the events in the front courtyard, while Madam Miao described the exciting events in the back. The couple exchanged a glance; neither Lord Zhou nor his wife was to be trifled with!

After just one banquet, everyone knew what kind of person Zhulan was, and the unpleasant rumors about her disappeared.

Zhulan received numerous invitations; some were too low-ranking officials to invite, but invitations for officials of the sixth rank and above were all sent. For the next month, Zhulan attended an event every few days, completely integrating into the circle of wives of officials in Lizhou City, even bringing Wu Chun’s wife, Madam Wu, along.

For a month, Zhu Lan maintained only superficial relationships with the wives of officials in Lizhou City; none of the wives caught her eye. However, Xue Han did make a friend—the daughter of Zheng Hong from the Zheng family, whom she met at the Yang family’s house. Zheng Hong’s daughter was a year younger than Xue Han; the Zheng family’s sons were all skilled in martial arts, and their daughters were all pampered.

Zheng Ran, Zheng Hong’s eldest daughter, was a year younger than Xue Han, but being the eldest, she was much more mature.

Time flew, and the eighth lunar month arrived in the blink of an eye. The eighth lunar month was truly hot. The only thing that made Zhulan happy was that the watermelons and melons she planted were about to ripen. Because they were planted from seed, they ripened later, not until the ninth lunar month.

Not only did Zhulan’s family in Lizhou City plant watermelons, but the Yang family also planted quite a few, and some wealthy families followed suit. Lizhou City had a good variety of watermelons and melons.

In the past two months, Zhou Shuren made sure to make full use of labor. Roads had been repaired, ponds had been dug, and some farmers’ dilapidated houses had been demolished and rebuilt.

The villages around Lizhou City all changed dramatically. Although the government no longer hired people, with the high-yield crops of sweet potatoes and potatoes about to be harvested, the smiles on the faces of the people never stopped, and Zhou Shuren’s reputation grew even higher.

The families of the hired laborers had all earned some money, and the number of merchants in Lizhou City had increased significantly in the past two months. Not only had restaurants opened, but inns had too, and merchants from other tribes frequently came to Lizhou City. The shop that Zhulan bought also saw its value rise.

When Zhou Shuren returned home that evening, he saw Zhulan sitting at the table writing. “What are you writing? Why are you so focused?”

Zhulan was so engrossed that she was startled. After a moment, she said, “The watermelons and melons are almost ripe, and I was thinking of writing some flyers to let the surrounding cities know that Lizhou City has late-ripening watermelons and melons.”

Zhou Shuren took a bite of the watermelon in his hand. The watermelons his family ate were all bought in Chuanzhou City. Zhou Shuren counted the days. “Are the watermelons in Chuanzhou already finished?”

Zhulan nodded. “In Chuanzhou, the seedlings are planted directly in the fields, and it’s earlier than in our area…” They planted them earlier than us. I had the eldest son check on them. In a few more days, there won’t be any watermelons left to sell.”

Zhou Shuren ate a watermelon and washed his hands. “Aren’t our apples ripening soon?”

Zhulan smiled. “We’ll have to wait a little longer, around late tenth lunar month.”

Zhulan had personally visited the orchard. The expensive farmer she had hired was worth it. The trees were well cared for, and the fruit was plentiful. Although the fruit wasn’t very big due to the ancient varieties, there were still quite a few. Zhulan couldn’t help but calculate how much money she could earn this year.

Zhou Shuren picked up the promotional slogan written by Zhulan. “You plan to have people promote it near the inns in various prefectures?”

Zhulan nodded. “Foreign merchants are wealthy, and they all gather at the inns. Moreover, they are well-informed. If they can’t finish all the late-ripening watermelons and melons, they will naturally inform their companions. The movements of foreign merchants will also be noticed by merchants of this dynasty, naturally attracting more merchants to Lizhou. As long as you take the merchants to the fields, they will see the orchards, and merchants will come to buy them before the fruit ripens.”

In ancient times, fruit was valuable, and the yield was low. People would only complain about the lack of fruit, not the abundance.

Zhou Shuren smiled, “Your promotion will save the government a lot of trouble.”

Zhulan smiled, “The government has a lot of trouble too. You should also promote the plan to make Lizhou City an apple-producing prefecture. Spread the word widely so that more people know, and more fruit merchants will come.”

Zhou Shuren nodded, about to speak, when Steward Ding knocked on the door and said, “Master, Madam.”

Zhou Shuren asked, “What is it?”

It was almost dark; no one should be coming!

(End of Chapter)