Second Zhou couldn’t bear to disappoint his wife, and he didn’t want her to have too many illusions. “After so many years, she may not be in Pingzhou.”
Sold as a slave, life, and death depended on the master’s family. Who knew what the situation was going to be?
Zhao Shi thought she would never leave Zhoujiacun in her whole life, but she never thought she could go to Pingzhou. In the past, there was no hope, but now there was. “I know, I know everything.”
Second Zhou looked at his wife’s appearance and felt a little worried. Fortunately, he was not taking the imperial examination, his wife did not have to socialize, and she was safe in the backyard. After thinking about it, he no longer worried at all.
In the morning, Zhulan felt the full extent of Li’s enthusiasm. She was handed chopsticks at breakfast and it seemed like Li Shi would even feed her with a bowl in hand. Zhulan asked, “Li Shi, what’s gotten into you so early in the morning?”
It felt a bit overly cautious, almost too attentive.
Mingteng swallowed the pancake in his mouth and said, “Grandma, I know it. Mom knew that there was a house in Pingzhou, so she told Dad that she would be more filial to her grandparents, and she also said that she would never separate the family for the rest of her life.”
Li Shi managed to hold up despite her son pointing out her intentions, thanks to her thick skin.
Boss Zhou couldn’t hold it anymore, his face turned red, and his brothers looked at him as if he was doing good to his parents for the sake of the house!
Zhulan, “.”
She hoped Mingteng wasn’t going to be slapped. This child will cheat his parents when he comes back!
Changlian exclaimed, “Dad, we have a house in Pingzhou, is it true or not?”
Zhou Shuren looked at Changlian calmly, “Do you think it is true or not?”
Changlian shut up. This must be true. Hey, he always thought he had to rely on himself to find a future. Unexpectedly, his family’s financial foundation became stronger and his father became a xiucai. He also became the son of a scholar’s family. Many people came to the clan school every day to please him. When his father came back, his identity had changed again. He was the son of a rich scholar’s family, and his heart was beating a little fast!
Changzhi paid more attention to Mingteng. Mingyun, who was making noises, was too lightly educated!
Rong Chuan thought to himself, no wonder Uncle Zhou and Aunt Zhou supported his education. They had real wealth. The sense of urgency became even clearer. How could he catch up to Uncle Zhou and provide a better living environment for Xuehan?
He didn’t want Xuehan to be gossiped about. He hoped to prove through his own abilities that marrying him would bring happiness to Xuehan.
After breakfast, each family member had their own thoughts. Zhou Shuren came back and wanted to go to the Patriarch’s house. So he left with the children who were going to the school.
At home, Zhulan took Zha Shi to take stock of the household items. Zhulan was afraid of Li Shi, so she gave Li Shi the gift list to sort out.
Last year, the Zhou family didn’t sell much food. Even if they had three meals a day, there was still a lot of food left in the granary because there were many rats in the countryside. Zhulan didn’t want to see rat droppings in the rice bag. When the new food came last year, Zhulan purchased a batch of water tanks specifically to hold grain.
The food of the Zhou family was mainly cornmeal. One tank can hold two hundred kilograms. There were three tanks of cornmeal and one tank of rice in the granary. Because Zhulan liked to eat white flour and ate a lot of it in winter, there were still more than a hundred kilograms left. It looked like there were about ten kilograms of millet, about one kilogram of red dates, and not much other miscellaneous grains.
Zhao made a good calculation, “Mom if we follow the three-meal-a-day rule, these grains won’t be enough to eat until new grains come out.”
Zhulan had a clear understanding. Last year, when they saved grains, they didn’t anticipate accommodating Rongchuan, and adding one more person’s food supply, particularly that of a growing young man, required a substantial amount of grain. Even though she had adjusted based on her previous knowledge of each person’s consumption, she had still underestimated it. Pointing at the three empty large containers, she said, “I’ll give you money in a while. Let your husband buy grain in batches to fill up our grain storage containers. Get 300 pounds of cornmeal, 100 pounds of rice, 100 pounds of wheat, and 50 pounds of millet. Don’t buy them all from one store, even if it’s far away. We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves.”
Her impression of how Wu’s son had died was deeply ingrained. Without natural disasters, it was challenging to procure food. If she didn’t fill the granary, the reborn version of herself, who cherished her life, would be uneasy. She had already decided that this year, they wouldn’t pay taxes on the family’s fields. She intended to keep all the grains and transport them in batches to the cellar in Pingzhou for storage.
Natural disasters in ancient times were too terrible. She didn’t want to go hungry. Life for ordinary people in the city was even more difficult than in the countryside, so it was very necessary to stock up on food.
Zhao Shi wrote down the grain that her mother told her to buy, “Mother, I have written it all down.”
Zhulan took Zhao Shi out and called Li Shi, “This is the account book of the grain at home. I have given it to you. Talk to Zhao Shi later. Learn how to keep accounts, and I will leave the food part to you in the future.”
Li Shi had no enthusiasm for life. She felt that her mother-in-law found her too bothersome, which was why she kept finding ways to keep her busy. Now, not only was she in charge of the household meals, but she also had to keep accounts, and she felt miserable. “Mother, I’m not good at remembering, and I easily make mistakes.”
Zhulan said quietly, “Last year, you were praised for being good at arithmetic, but now you say you can’t remember well. Isn’t it too late?”
Li Shi, “.”
If she could turn back time, she would definitely not be able to do it. Yesterday’s quarrel was just a hole dug for herself today!
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