Xu Gao talked with the old lady in the room for a long time. When she left, the old lady gave Xu Gao a somewhat worn purse and told her to look at it when she got back. After Xu Gao returned to his courtyard with the purse, he hid in his room, opened the purse, and took out a thick roll of silver notes. He counted them and found that they amounted to a full ten thousand taels of silver. He was filled with mixed feelings.

Ning Shi spent less than 20,000 taels on Xu Gao's dowry, and also gave him two small estates in the suburbs, several shops in the city, and 8,000 taels of silver as his bottom-box. Now the old lady actually gave him another 10,000 taels. Xu Gao wanted to go and express his gratitude to the old lady again, but then he thought that it would be a bit deliberate, so he didn't go.

After Xu Gao told Ning about the silver notes, Ning went to the old lady's courtyard to sincerely apologize. In the days before Xu Gao's wedding, even Zhang Zhaoci felt that Ning's appearance was unusual. She originally thought it was because she was getting married, until the old lady secretly told her about the silver notes she gave to Xu Gao, and Zhang Zhaoci suddenly realized the truth.

Zhang Zhaoci smiled and said to the old lady, "Old lady, with me here, you can give whoever you want and how much silver notes you want. As for your estates, Xu Di has re-planned them for you. You won't see any returns in the next year or two, but just wait and see. I guarantee you'll be the richest old lady in the entire capital."

The old lady smiled and said, "I'm so old now, I don't know what tomorrow will bring. What's the point of making so much money? I can't take it with me when I die. I just hope that my children and grandchildren can be strong and have a smooth life in the future."

The old lady had two estates in the suburbs of Beijing, where she usually grew ordinary crops. The people on the estates were originally from the Yongyi Marquis's mansion. They were good at strategizing and had decent martial arts skills, but when it came to farming, they were always a little inferior to the people on other estates.

When Xu Di was planning the estate for Wei Lang's eldest sister, Wei Juan, he also brought out one of the old lady's estates. That estate had hot springs. Xu Di had visited it last autumn and made some plans for it, specifically to grow a kind of rouge rice. This rice is highly nutritious and expensive, and it is a type of rice that many wealthy families like to buy.

Zhang Zhaozhi helped find the seeds for Rouge Rice. The seedlings have just been cultivated. Xu Di invited a master who specializes in growing this kind of rice from the south to help with the seedling cultivation. After training the people on the estate properly, it is estimated that the Rouge Rice will be harvested in a while and then it can be sold for money.

Zhang Zhaoci said with a smile, "Look at what you're saying. Now that you have money, you can do whatever you want and give it to whomever you want. Isn't that wonderful, old lady? Let me tell you, the point of life is to live it to the fullest. Look at our mansion, things are getting better and better. I heard that Hua Ge'er and the others are working very hard at school and will become pillars of society in the future."

The Xu family not only set up a home school for their daughters, but also a clan school for the Xu family. Marquis Yongning knew the benefits of studying, but unfortunately, only Xu Di succeeded in his studies. His other children were not as good. His younger brother Xu Qi's two sons also had no interest in studying. Apart from the heir Xu Wei, the others all obtained their official positions through donation.

If the son's generation is not up to par, what about the grandchildren? Lord Yongning has hired a great teacher to rectify the atmosphere of the clan school. Some students in the clan school have already passed the county-level examination and want to try their luck in the provincial-level examination this year to see if they can pass the provincial-level examination.

After returning home, Xu Di did not go to the clan school to study. Instead, he studied at home. Putting aside the fact that he had a father who was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), that was the key point. Xu Di already knew how to study normally. Most importantly, Xu Di really did not want to go to the clan school and study with a bunch of children. Xu Di had his own study rhythm and wanted to follow his own pace.

The old lady waved her hand and said, "I'm too old. Even if my grandchildren achieve great success in the imperial examinations, I probably won't live to see it."

Zhang Zhaoci frowned and said, "Grandma, what's wrong with you today? I wanted to tell you something happy, but you always ruin it for me. Alright, alright, I'm a doctor, and a highly skilled one at that. Do you think I can't tell how you're feeling? Take good care of yourself, don't overthink things, and you'll live to be a hundred."

The old lady nodded and said, "I am so glad that your grandfather arranged your marriage with Rao'er back then."

Zhang Zhaoci thought for a moment and said, "Grandmother, why did you think of arranging a marriage between me and our Third Master? Our family doesn't only have our Third Master as the only male member."

Hearing this, the old lady chuckled and said, "You two are about the same age. Besides, Rao'er is an illegitimate son, unloved by his father and mother. And you have a somewhat unruly personality. Look at my two daughters-in-law, which one is easy to deal with? Giving the family name to Rao'er is just not a very good name. In fact, you two can live a good life together."

Zhang Zhaoci nodded repeatedly as she listened, saying, "Grandma, I'm not trying to be mean, but your two daughters-in-law are really something else."

There's no need to say much about the eldest daughter-in-law, Wu. The second daughter-in-law, Wu, is a rather assertive person, especially towards her daughters-in-law. She has always been quite strict with them. When they first got married, she made her daughters-in-law establish rules. Zhang Zhaoci felt that if she were to become the daughter-in-law of the second mistress of the mansion, there would probably be a big fuss. Zhang Zhaoci is not a person who can tolerate such things.

The old lady laughed and said, "Alright, alright, you granddaughter-in-law, coming here to criticize my daughter-in-law. If outsiders knew, wouldn't they laugh at us? Where is Brother Bai when you came here yourself?"

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