Zhou Shuren had already boarded the carriage, but Chang Lian was still standing there dumbfounded. He frowned. “Aren’t you leaving yet?”

Chang Lian didn’t even need to wait for Fenmo’s reply and quickly boarded the carriage they had come in.

Fenmo, “…”

Since their mistress left, he noticed that the masters in the house didn’t dare to breathe loudly. Well, they, the servants, didn’t dare either!

Back at the Zhou residence, the whole family was waiting for dinner. Zhou Shuren was in a good mood. Not only did he have an extra 20,000 taels of silver for the construction of Lizhou, but he also refused the attempts to win him over. Zhou Shuren thought about this year’s tax revenue. The potatoes and sweet potatoes in the granary had been replaced with corn and other storable grains. The taxes from merchants in the second half of the year had also been considerable. Although some of the counties below still had virtually no tax revenue, the overall situation in Lizhou was still good.

Zhou Shuren silently calculated. With the New Year approaching, he wondered if there would be any year-end bonuses or anything. Zhou Shuren took a sip of wine. The Emperor was so poor that he would be happy to receive any generous rewards. He shouldn’t even think about year-end bonuses.

Zhou Shuren was in a good mood, and the atmosphere in the main hall was relaxed.

The only one who was conflicted was Chang Lian. He had only heard how powerful the old man was before, but today he had seen him in person. He wanted to toast his father, and his hand was itching to do so, but his mind wouldn’t dare, and he felt very frustrated.

The events at the restaurant didn’t even need to wait until the next day; all the officials in Lizhou City knew about them.

Chen Daren opened his mouth wide. “Say it again; I didn’t hear you clearly.”

The servant fell silent. It wasn’t that Daren hadn’t heard clearly—he simply didn’t believe it. The servant repeated it once more, feeling a bit emotional inside. Zhou Daren was not only a good official but also a devoted husband. He couldn’t help but glance at the Old Master—after all, the concubines in his own household had all been sent as gifts!

As for Zhou Daren saying he had misheard, he did not believe it at all. That kind of excuse might fool the common people who didn’t understand, but not him.

Chen Chen waved for the servant to leave. After the servant left, he couldn’t help but curse, “Zhou Shuren is amazing! He swindled twenty thousand taels in one go!”

Chen Chen¹ thought about why Zhou Shuren dared to do such a thing and finally fell silent. Chen Chen was jealous. Zhou Shuren had the people’s prestige and the Emperor’s favor; that was Zhou Shuren’s confidence. He couldn’t compare. He was sour.

At the He residence, He Daren was speechless for a long time. He was far inferior to Zhou Daren. However, Zhou Daren was truly ruthless. He Daren was happy again. Zhou Daren’s prestige was too high, and his rise was too fast. But he still felt a pang of jealousy. A rapid rise makes one jealous!

The men thought Zhou Shuren was shameless and ruthless, while the women were jealous of Zhulan, who was away from home. Zhulan had gone from being envied by the women in her hometown to becoming the object of envy for all the women in Lizhou City!

Zhulan truly didn’t know; she just noticed she’d been sneezing a lot that night, which frightened Eldest Zhou and Second Zhou, who kept asking if she’d caught a chill. Zhulan said no, but they didn’t believe her, so Second Zhou insisted on fetching a doctor.

Zhulan was extremely speechless—how could she not know whether she had caught a chill or not? “Do you all take me for some seventy- or eighty-year-old muddle-headed fool? Would I not even know whether I’m sick or not?”

Eldest Zhou, relieved after seeing the doctor off, said, “Mother, please have pity on your son.”

For the past few days before he left home, he’d been constantly threatened by his father!

Second Zhou didn’t even want to recall his father’s threats; they were genuinely afraid of being punished by their father when they returned home.

“Go back and rest, everyone!”

The next morning, Zhou Shuren received 20,000 taels of silver notes as soon as he arrived at the yamen. He handed them to Chen Daren for deposit. “Now we have the money to build the ice cellar.”

Chen Daren gave him a thumbs-up. “Zhou Daren, I admire very few people, but I truly admire you. I’m convinced, completely convinced.”

He then happily took the silver notes. Although he had some money in the account, a portion had to be sent back to the capital, leaving little. Who knew what the situation would be like next year? He was so worried that he was losing hair. Now he had the silver.

Zhou Shuren sipped his tea. “Chen Daren, you can admire me even more in the future.”

He had many ways to swindle money. If he weren’t afraid of incurring too much hatred, he would have directly written about donating silver in his memorial to the Emperor. Although it seemed to benefit merchants, it would actually swindle merchants across the country, and the amount of hatred would be too great. It was better not to.

Chen Daren looked speechlessly at Lord Zhou, who was drinking tea. The longer he spent with Zhou Daren, the more he realized that Zhou Daren’s skin was exceptionally thick.

Before noon, the procession of those bestowing rewards arrived. Zhou Shuren thanked them, but looking at the many officials and soldiers in the procession, he spat inwardly. They were not only here to give gifts but also to collect taxes.

After arranging for the officials and others, Zhou Shuren didn’t care about the food. What he cared about was the house deed in his hand, and oh, right, the whole piece of jade. This was truly generous!

Such a large piece of top-grade jade—if carved as a whole, it would be a treasure. However, Zhou Shuren narrowed his eyes; he was not planning to carve it and keep it as a family heirloom.

He and Zhulan had already worked themselves to the bone just to save up silver for the Zhou family, and now they were supposed to save up heirlooms too? Dream on. And even if they did save them, there was no guarantee the Zhou family’s wealth and status would last forever—who knew who would end up benefiting from it in the future. Besides, they couldn’t take those treasures with them after death, so it was better to enjoy them while they were alive.

As for this piece of jade—hmm, it was enough to carve a small chest of jewelry for Zhulan, all top-grade jade ornaments. How impressive it would be to wear them out. The only pity was that items bestowed by the Emperor could not be sold. If they could be sold, Zhulan wouldn’t have to work so hard. Zhou Shuren thought to himself that the Emperor might not have much silver, but he certainly had plenty of treasures. Although he could be extremely stingy at times, as long as it was useful to him, the Emperor could also be very generous.

Zhou Shuren was a man of action. There were many skilled craftsmen in Lizhou City. Zhou Shuren had them invited, planning to make two sets first, which was less than a third of the jade. The remaining two-thirds could be carved according to Zhulan’s own preferences when she returned.

The Emperor didn’t just reward Zhou Shuren; Chen Daren and He Daren, among others, also performed well, receiving some tangerines and a few pieces of tribute decorations as gifts, but nothing more.

The two officials, however jealous, couldn’t do anything about it, since every policy in Lizhou City was proposed by Zhou Daren.

Meanwhile, Zhulan had already entered southern territory. Today, she was to continue south by boat. It was Zhulan’s first time on a boat in ancient times, and she was quite excited, but soon she started to feel uncomfortable. The wind was rather strong today, and although traveling with the wind was fast, the swaying was also severe. Plus, Zhulan had never been on a boat before, so she was getting seasick.

Traveling south with the wind was indeed fast; Zhulan had originally expected a three-day journey, but they arrived at the port in two days.

Now that they were in southern territory, although it was winter, they were dressed similarly to those in northern autumn. Zhulan didn’t plan to continue south; Jinzhou City would suffice. Sitting on the boat, Zhulan looked around at the green vegetable fields on both sides—that was enough for her.

They checked into an inn in Jinzhou. The South was bustling, and the architecture was exquisite. Zhulan was somewhat relieved, having visited Jiangnan many times since her youth.

Eldest Zhou and Second Zhou, however, were like country bumpkins in the city, their eyes wide with wonder.

Zhulan calculated the journey; she had originally expected it to take a month, but it hadn’t. Of course, she had changed her destination and wasn’t heading south anymore, so naturally it wouldn’t take a month. Zhulan was happy; she could go home sooner. Yes, home. Wherever Zhou Shuren was, that was home.

Zhulan sent Steward Ding and Second Zhou out for a stroll. She just wanted to rest. She had chosen a room facing the street, and Zhulan sat by the window watching the pedestrians.

Jinzhou’s land was fertile, and due to its topography, floods were rare. Zhulan was increasingly satisfied with Jinzhou.

Jinzhou’s prosperity was well-deserved; unless there was war, ordinary circumstances wouldn’t affect Jinzhou.

(End of Chapter)

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Footnote

1. Chen is the surname (陈), and Chen (琛) is the given name, written with a different character but the same pinyin.