Granny Shen kept agreeing. As long as the old lady didn't blame herself like before, she was fine with anything. Besides, the old lady came from a prestigious family. She married into the Yongning Marquis's mansion with a grand wedding procession. After marrying in, she managed the household for decades. In addition, with the frequent gifts from the old Marquis and the Marquis, the old lady could be said to be the richest person in the mansion.

On the surface, the Marquis's mansion maintained its peaceful and tranquil daily routine, but the undercurrents beneath the surface were beyond the comprehension of outsiders. However, more than half a month later, the Hexi region received two cartloads of goods from the capital, which was quite unexpected.

More than two years have passed, and apart from the Zhang family sending things here regularly and irregularly, Xu Rao's family has never received anything from anyone else. This sudden delivery of two truckloads of things not only surprised Xu Rao, but Zhang Zhaoci also found it somewhat unbelievable.

Along with the car came a gift list and letters. After Zhang Zhaoci got in the car, the family of four gathered together to look at the two letters.

One letter was from the old lady, which was naturally the first to read. In the letter, the old lady thanked Xu Rao's family for the birthday gifts they had prepared for her, and also mentioned that she already knew about Xu Rao and Zhang Zhaoci's plans to find Xu Rao a wife. At the end, she said she would send them some things, and told Zhang Zhaoci to make more clothes, so that she wouldn't forget to take good care of herself just because she wasn't in the capital. She also told Xu Zhi that a young girl should wear more brightly colored clothes.

After reading the old lady's letter, Zhang Zhaoci and Xu Rao began to reflect on whether they had neglected this kind and gentle old lady. They felt that they should send things to the mansion more often in the future, especially to the old lady. The old lady was so old, she had seen and eaten all kinds of good things. What she valued most in her old age was the filial piety of her children and grandchildren.

Accompanying the old lady were the things prepared by the Marquis. Looking at the thick stack of silver notes, Zhang Zhaoci said in surprise, "Good heavens, your father has opened his own little treasury to subsidize you! Perfect timing, didn't we want to buy an estate near the capital? I'll have my family help me look at some places right now."

Xu Rao said, "Oh dear, it wasn't easy for the old man to save up his savings. Can't we earn the money ourselves to buy whatever we want? Don't touch this money yet, we can give it to him when we get back."

Zhang Zhaoci said, "What's wrong with you? Isn't it only natural for a son to spend his father's money? Why don't you want to spend it anymore?"

Xu Rao said, "With so many people in the manor, who would the Marquis give such a large sum of money to? Don't think that there are no leaks in the walls. If we really keep this money, who knows how many people will become thorns in our side. Just listen to me."

Zhang Zhaoci put away the small box containing the banknotes and said unhappily, "If we rely on you, when will we be able to buy the estate? I'd rather rely on my son."

Seeing Xu Di still fiddling with the writing implements on the table in the outer room, Zhang Zhaoci called out, "Xu Di, how much money will you make after you sell all the vegetables in the greenhouse this time?"

Upon hearing Zhang Zhaoci's words, Xu Di quickly put down what he was holding and asked curiously, "Mother, don't you usually mind my business? Why are you asking me how much money I've made?"

Zhang Zhaoci glanced at Xu Rao a few times and said, "I feel more at ease relying on my son than on my husband. I'm thinking of buying a hot spring resort in the suburbs of Beijing, so that I'll have a place to go whether I'm farming or feeling down."

Upon hearing this, Xu Di laughed and said, "It's not a problem for me to save up money to buy you a hot spring estate. I'm just afraid that if I buy you an estate, you'll have a fight with my father and run away from home. Then my father will blame me."

Zhang Zhaoci said, "Let him complain if he wants. It's his fault for not earning enough to buy me things. If he had bought them for me, I would have been too embarrassed to go to the estate he bought for me after we had argued."

Xu Rao listened and said with a smile, "Alright, alright, I understand what you mean. My salary this year isn't much, but I have a share in the woolen goods business in the General's Mansion. I promise you, I won't touch a single penny of that money. It's all yours, okay? Just take that money and buy whatever you want. I promise I won't stop you."

The wool and cashmere brought back from the trade can now be processed into high-quality wool and cashmere woolen fabrics. Thanks to the Zhang family's trading company, those wool and cashmere woolen fabrics have brought in a lot of money. When this business was initially discussed, Wei Lang and Xu Rao each took 30% of the profits, the Hexi County government took 40%, and the Zhang family took 30%. Don't underestimate this 30% share. The original price of the woolen fabrics imported from overseas was already very high. Now, the woolen fabrics made in Hexi are of good quality and lightweight, and the price is similar to those imported woolen fabrics. Naturally, more people are buying woolen fabrics from Hexi.

Thanks to this, not only Xu Rao and Wei Lang, but also the Hexi County government has made a lot of money in the past two years. Otherwise, Xu Rao wouldn't have been able to repair the county's city walls based solely on the county's various taxes.

Zhang Zhaoci said, "Men are the rakes for catching money, and women are the boxes for storing it. We're living together as a family. If you don't let me take the money you earn, who else do you want to take it? Let me tell you, the men in our family can't have any secret stashes. Xu Di doesn't have a wife yet. When he does, his wife will have to take the money he earns. Men can't have money in their hands. Who knows what kind of frivolous thoughts they'll have if they do?"

Xu Rao and Xu Di looked at each other. Xu Di sighed and said, "Alright, Father, I've been dragged into this because of you. You two should talk this out behind closed doors. I'm going to go outside and see the writing materials my grandfather sent me. In two or three years, I'll have to go back to take the imperial examination. The meaning behind my grandfather sending those things from so far away is self-evident."

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