Zhulan thought for a moment about who Qi Shi was. “The daughter-in-law of the Xu family, our old neighbors in the capital?”

Li Shi nodded repeatedly. “Yes, that’s her, Mother. I thought she had forgotten about me.”

It had been almost a year since they last contacted each other. She was regretting losing this rare friend!

Zhulan asked in confusion, “Why did you bring me the letter she gave you?”

Li Shi was overjoyed. “Mother, Mother, didn’t I make a sausage flavor that’s not available on the market? Qi Shi wants to do business in this area, saying she’ll go overseas. She asked if I wanted to sell the recipe or share the profits. She suggested I share the profits. Mother, what do you think?”

Zhulan asked, “Can I see your letter?”

Li Shi felt there was nothing to hide from her mother-in-law. On the contrary, she could feel at ease after her mother-in-law had seen it. “Mother, here you go.”

Zhulan took the letter. It was only two pages long. The content was very short. There were no unnecessary words on the two pages. First, they exchanged a few pleasantries about the New Year’s gift for Li Shi, and then they brought up the recipe.

After Li Shi created the recipe, she never sold it. She had planned to sell it after her father-in-law had passed the imperial examination, but Zhulan and Zhou Shuren went to the capital, and she was busy. When they arrived in the capital again, Zhou Shuren was busy studying, which delayed things again. Then they rushed to Lizhou City.

They were busy in Lizhou City as well, and Zhulan had forgotten about the recipe; Li Shi herself probably forgot as well.

Li Shi’s sausages were indeed excellent. Zhulan had prepared sausages as New Year’s gifts for Chen Daren and others this year. Qi Shi wrote to Li Shi, and this wasn’t just Qi Shi’s idea; selling overseas required the consent of Qi Shi’s in-laws, the Xu family.

This letter was essentially addressed to Zhou Shuren. The Xu family wanted to use Li Shi’s recipe as a stake in the Zhou family to test their resolve. If the Zhou family agreed, the Xu family would want to further their relationship. To put it bluntly, the Xu family favored Zhou Shuren and hoped to rely on the Zhou family in the future.

Zhulan received the letter. “I’ll discuss it with your father tonight and then tell you.”

She felt that contacting the Xu family at this time wasn’t a good idea!

Li Shi was much smarter now and knew that Qi Shi’s letter was not simple. “Mother, what about the New Year’s gifts that Qi Shi sent? Look at my brain, I was only thinking about getting the letter, I didn’t bring the gift list.”

Zhulan smiled, “What did Qi Shi send?”

Li Shi remembered the food clearly, “She sent all food, some cured meat, ham, and yes, some frozen persimmons and frozen pears. She said she wanted to send fresh fruit, but it was too far away, and many would spoil, so she sent frozen persimmons and frozen pears.”

Zhulan saw in the letter, “These New Year’s gifts were specially sent to you by Qi Shi; you can decide for yourself.”

Li Shi asked, “Mother, do I need to return the gifts?”

Zhulan said, “Of course, you should; you should prepare them first.”

Li Shi sighed and thought about what to return. Mutton and beef were both good. There were butcher shops run by foreign merchants in Lizhou City, and mutton in Lizhou City was much cheaper than in the interior. She could buy more and then send some vermicelli over; that would be enough.

Having decided on the return gifts, Li Shi began thinking about how to divide the New Year presents. Her parents definitely had to receive filial gifts, but as for the other branches of the family, aside from the fourth dìdì’s household, she did not want to give anything to the other two branches.

The two dìmèi no longer held any good place in her heart. Between what had happened in Pingzhou City and Zhao Shi stabbing at her feelings as soon as she arrived in Lizhou, even someone as tolerant as Li Shi had her limits. Still, for the sake of her second and third dìdì, she would have to give them at least a small share.

In the afternoon, Zhulan received a gift from Li Shi. Li Shi brought over all the meat, saying, “Mother, let’s eat the cured pork and ham together. Father and I like frozen pears and frozen persimmons, so I brought half of them.”

Zhulan looked at Li Shi’s cheerful face. She understood that she had brought all the meat, since everyone had a small kitchen and couldn’t cook. But bringing half of the frozen persimmons and pears was a bit much. “Why don’t you keep some?”

Li Shi touched her belly. She wanted to keep more, but the baby in her belly wouldn’t allow it. Yu Shuang was still too small to eat anything too cold. Ming Teng and Ming Yun could eat, but they didn’t live in the courtyard, so they would take the food out to share. After thinking it over, she decided it was better to give it to her mother-in-law.

Li Shi shook her head, “I’ve kept half of the rest, and that’s enough for us.”

Zhulan looked at the half quantity of the gifts Li Shi had brought and chuckled. Even the usually stoic Zhulan was angry; Zhao Shi and Dong Shi had hurt Li Shi. “I accept your filial piety,” she said. That evening, after dinner, Zhulan thawed some frozen pears and sat on the kang (heated brick bed) with Zhou Shuren, shelling pine nuts and chatting about the Xu family. Zhulan asked, “I’ve said everything I needed to say. What are your thoughts?”

Zhou Shuren placed the shelled pine nuts in front of Zhulan. “If Pinggang weren’t a battleground for various forces, the Xu family could easily side with us. But now, I’m barely considered one of the Emperor’s confidants, and I don’t know how many powerful figures…” “They’re watching me closely, so I don’t dare to make a move easily, especially in the most chaotic part of Pinggang.”

Zhulan smiled, “So, Li Shi and Qi Shi should continue their relationship, but the formula can’t be used as an investment; it can only be sold.”

Zhou Shuren smiled and said, “Hmm.”

The next morning, Zhulan explained her decision, “Selling the formula will save us trouble, but the price will be set by the other party.”

Li Shi was obedient; she wasn’t as clever as her mother-in-law and father-in-law. If her mother-in-law said to sell, she would sell. Moreover, letting the other party set the price was a form of compensation for her because her mother-in-law knew that Qi Shi wouldn’t offer a low price.

Li Shi grinned and said, “Hmm.”

Zhulan gestured for Li Shi to sit down. Soon, Madam Hua, wife of Chen Daren, and Madam Miao, wife of He Daren, arrived. The two had planned to come together.

Madam Hua and Madam Miao arrived one after the other. Since testing Zhulan’s abilities, Madam Hua hadn’t caused any trouble. Sitting down, Madam Hua said directly, “We’ve been waiting for you to come back.”

Miao Shi continued, “We’ve been waiting to see the jewelry Lord Zhou had made for Sǎozi. We came over uninvited today just for that. Sǎozi, why not take it out and let us broaden our horizons a little?”

Zhulan had already prepared it, and Liu Ya, acting on instructions, brought it over. Zhulan smiled and said, “It’s all here!”

Madam Hua’s family was wealthy and had seen many fine things. She herself possessed quite a few pieces of high-quality jade. She regretted coming to see it, feeling even more distressed. The Emperor’s gifts were naturally of the highest quality; none of the jade she possessed could compare. Madam Hua said wistfully, “Sister-in-law, I truly envy you. You could clearly carve…”

“It’s a family heirloom, yet Master Zhou is willing to have it carved into jewelry for you.”

Miao Shi sighed, thinking that even if she pressured her husband to buy more jewelry, he couldn’t afford such expensive pieces. “Sister-in-law, you’re so lucky.”

Zhulan also had vanity, especially when everyone knew that Zhou Shuren loved her dearly; she felt happy. Zhulan took a sip of tea. “He didn’t only carve jewelry for me; he also carved some for himself.”

Hua Shi asked, “We’ve never heard of that before. Does your sister-in-law mind telling us?”

Zhulan thought of the thick stack of invitations at home and squinted, saying, “No, he used the material from carving bracelets to carve quite a few jade pendants and hairpins to match my jewelry.”

Hua Shi was speechless. Miao Shi was speechless again.

The two were drinking tea to cleanse their palates, but they felt nauseous listening to this.

Hua Shi thought to herself, “My husband doesn’t like Master Zhou, and he complains about him when he gets home. I finally understand how he feels. Yang Shi is even more annoying than before.”

(End of Chapter)

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