Zhulan had lunch with her family before returning home. When she got home, all four of her sons were standing in the room. Her daughters-in-law, having been scolded, were curious but dared not come over.

Zhulan sat down to warm up for a while, then said to her four sons, “I really am going to Jiangnan.”

Boss Zhou was genuinely worried about his mother, especially since traveling in the winter was too arduous. “Mother, is there anything you need me to do?”

Zhulan sensed her eldest son’s sincere concern and raised an eyebrow. She realized he had reverted to his old ways, back to how he was when she first arrived. Since Zhou Shuren’s identity changed, his concern had become somewhat tinged with ulterior motives. It seemed Li Shi’s actions had taught him a lesson. “You can’t handle this time. Since all four of you are here today, I’ll tell you everything. I plan to buy two estates in Jiangnan. This was planned long ago.”

Second Zhou had been in Lizhou City for seven days and had figured out some of the family’s accounts. He estimated that, including the silver he brought back, the family had over five thousand taels. He was truly shocked. He had heard from Chang Lian that his mother had bought another house in the capital. He hadn’t expected his family to have so much money. He also knew about the orchards and land—all of which were now worth money. Once converted into cash, wow, their wealth was truly substantial.

Hearing his mother mention buying two estates, Second Zhou’s mind started working. Keeping money in hand was indeed less profitable than buying estates. As long as there wasn’t a year of famine, the income from estates was basically fixed each year, providing two stable sources of income annually, accumulating little by little.

Second Zhou excitedly said, “Son will go with Mother!”

He knew that his mother, like his father, was inflexible in persuading him; it was better to go with her and broaden his horizons.

Chang Lian wanted to go, but swallowed his words; his teacher was currently instructing him, and he couldn’t leave.

Chang Zhi wanted to go; he truly loved Jiangnan. The scenery was beautiful, and there were many scholars. He hadn’t had enough of his last visit. “Mother, please take your son with you.”

Zhulan rolled her eyes inwardly. She wouldn’t take Chang Zhi with her. She was going to Jiangnan for important matters; she didn’t want to worry about Chang Zhi. “You still have to teach Ming Teng and Ming Rui. You stay.”

Chang Zhi was unwilling. “Mother.”

Zhulan: “I was originally going to talk to your father and ask him to let you see the books he received.”

Chang Zhi, “…”

Half a sentence! Wasn’t this a threat?

Zhulan sipped her tea, smiling as she looked at her youngest son. Having more books at home was good; it would make it easier for her to control Chang Zhi’s fate.

Chang Zhi laughed, “Mother, don’t worry. When you come back, I’ll make sure Ming Teng can recite the poems, and Ming Rui can recite the Thousand Character Classic.”

Boss Zhou was speechless.

Second Zhou was speechless again.

This was revenge!

Zhulan smiled and said to the eldest and second Zhou, “You two are going with me. Oh, and Steward Ding too. I’ll be away in Jiangnan, so Chang Lian will take care of things at home.”

Boss Zhou breathed a sigh of relief; he could take good care of his mother if he went with her.

Second Zhou was delighted; his mother was taking him along. He had long wanted to be in charge like his elder brother.

Zhulan then said to Chang Lian, “In a few days, the river ice will be solid. Remember to hire people to collect ice and put it in the small ice cellar. For the larger ice cellar, store frozen well water in wooden buckets.”

She had two ice cellars: one for summer ice and the other for clean water, prepared for drought conditions.

Chang Lian replied, “Mother, I’ve got it.”

That evening, Zhulan instructed her daughters-in-law: Li Shi should focus on her pregnancy, Zhao Shi should manage the kitchen, Dong Shi should take over the sewing room, and Xue Han should manage the backyard.

Zhulan didn’t really trust her two daughters-in-law much; she trusted her daughter more.

After making these arrangements and spending two days packing the household belongings, everything was ready, and Zhulan prepared to depart.

That evening, Zhou Shuren was unusually nagging: “Be careful not to catch a cold on the way. If you feel even slightly unwell, call a doctor. It’s okay if the journey is slow; just take good care of yourself.”

The more he talked, the more worried Zhou Shuren became. He really wanted to go with Zhulan. This time was different from his first trip. Back then, their feelings were hazy, and they didn’t feel so reluctant to part.

But now it was different. He wished Zhulan could be wherever he was. The more Zhulan wanted to leave home, the more anxious he became.

Zhulan held Zhou Shuren’s hand. “Look at you. How old am I? Can’t I even take care of myself?”

Zhou Shuren took a deep breath to calm himself down, but he just couldn’t. Damn this ancient era! He missed his phone, missed video calls; then at least he could know if Zhulan was alright. He said sullenly, “I really don’t want you to leave.”

But he also knew that he would never have the chance to take Zhulan to Jiangnan again unless he retired. But by then, they would both be old and unable to withstand long journeys. Besides, Zhulan also wanted to help him, and he had no reason not to support her.

Zhulan touched Zhou Shuren’s face. Fortunately, Zhou Shuren stopped talking; otherwise, she really wouldn’t have wanted to leave. But she couldn’t rest easy without seeing the estate with her own eyes. And then there was Jiangnan, which she longed for. This was probably her only chance, because not only did Zhou Shuren have a premonition, but she did too—a transfer to Jiangnan was out of the question.

The next morning, Zhou Shuren’s eyes were bruised. Zhulan, with Liu Ya in tow, boarded the carriage, pulled back the curtain, and looked at Zhou Shuren. Hmm, she didn’t want to leave. She glanced at Chang Lian, who had stayed behind, and felt a pang of sympathy for him. It was best not to provoke Zhou Shuren; otherwise, without her, Chang Lian would be on his own.

There were four carriages in total, each filled with luggage for the journey. Zhulan had a servant with her this time, and everything was ready, so they could finally travel comfortably.

Zhou Shuren didn’t get into his carriage until it was out of sight before heading to the yamen. Since Zhou Shuren wouldn’t leave, Chang Lian and the others didn’t dare to.

Without Zhulan, Zhou Shuren truly felt like a stepfather at this moment.

Chang Lian stamped his feet, shivering from the cold. He told himself he wouldn’t go near his father until his mother returned. After a while, he took a servant to the Meng residence.

Li Shi, dressed warmly, didn’t feel cold, but she was particularly downcast. The person who had been kindest to her in the family was gone; she needed time to recover.

Zhao Shi was happy that her husband had gone with her mother. She planned to make a new dress for her mother-in-law and hurried into the courtyard.

Dong Shi sighed. Her mother-in-law was gone; who could she please now?

Because Zhulan wasn’t in a hurry to leave, she found an inn in the county town that evening. Now that she had the means, Zhulan didn’t want to mistreat herself.

At the Zhou family’s dinner, Zhou Shuren didn’t eat in the main hall. He went straight to his room and had the servants bring the food there, forbidding anyone from entering during the meal.

Zhou Shuren brought back two boxes. He opened them and took out the red silk he had bought earlier. The silk was cut to Zhulan’s measurements. Zhou Shuren could sew, but tailoring was a challenge for him.

Zhou Shuren had watched Zhulan make clothes many times, and combined with his own sewing experience from the modern orphanage, he could sew together the cut fabric.

If he could buy a wedding dress, he would have preferred to buy one directly rather than have Zhulan wear something he sewed; he wanted to give Zhulan the best.

Unfortunately, he bought the fabric under Zhulan’s name. Buying pre-cut fabric was fine, but buying a wedding dress directly was a bit much.

Lighting four candles, Zhou Shuren held his needle and thread, thinking to himself how romantic he was and how deeply moved Zhulan would be. With that thought, he sewed with great enthusiasm.

Zhulan had no idea Zhou Shuren was doing needlework. Living alone, she was clearly uncomfortable; human habits were truly terrifying. Without Zhou Shuren around, she appeared to be asleep but was actually in a semi-awake state.

Well, the next day, on their journey, Zhulan spent the rest of the trip catching up on sleep in the carriage.

Time flies, and five days passed in the blink of an eye. Zhou Shuren’s clothes were finished, and although they weren’t very pretty, they were still quite good. Zhou Shuren received some newly made jewelry and headdresses; they were beautiful but too expensive. He had spent all the money he had swindled from foreign merchants.

Zhou Shuren thought Zhulan would be happy and smiled, but soon he became unhappy again. The reason was simple: Zhulan had been gone for several days and hadn’t written him a single letter!

(End of Chapter)

---