Chapter 2043 Heard
Zhou Lijun said as a matter of course: "That's what he said."
She said, "Not only do I know about this, my eldest brother, second brother, and fourth uncle all know about it too."
From the capital to the grassland, they have to pass through so many places along the way. They have to purchase and ship goods continuously, so they have to stay together every day. Especially after entering the grassland, in order to guard against the horse caravans, everyone sleeps together.
She is a girl and can have her own tent, but she is surrounded by their tents. Wouldn't they gossip when they sit around the campfire at night?
That’s all the serious stuff I have to say, I can’t talk about it for long.
So as time went on, not only did the uncles and nephews know the details of the Xiang family, but Xiang Mingxue also knew the details of their Zhou family.
What's more, the two families' biggest secrets overlap, and they have all been solved publicly. What else can't be said between the two families?
Feng Shi heard this and became thoughtful. "That means I know everything about him..."
When Zhou Lijun heard this, she was afraid that her mother would arrange the marriage for her directly, so she quickly said, "Mom, such a big thing should be asked by my aunt, right?"
She is still in charge of her younger sister-in-law's official land and the family accounts. To be honest, if it weren't for the secular prohibition, she really wouldn't want to get married, mainly because she is living a good life now.
Unfortunately, if she really never gets married, it would be difficult for her to do business in the future, especially business that requires contact with female relatives.
Zhou Silang hurried to find Xiang Mingxue.
Xiang Mingxue had already asked the kitchen for some food and wine in advance. When he saw him coming, he extended his hand and said, "Sit down."
Zhou Silang walked up silently, sat down, and stared at him.
Xiang Mingxue poured him a glass of wine and, before he could ask, he openly admitted, "I want to marry Lijun."
Zhou Silang: ...I treat you as a brother, but you want to be my nephew-in-law?
but……
Zhou Silang looked at Xiang Mingxue seriously. To be honest, after going in and out of the grassland with him twice, he still agreed with this marriage in his heart. Otherwise, he would not have praised Xiang Mingxue in front of his second brother and sister-in-law.
However, he couldn't cheat his niece, so he drank the wine in his glass, put it down and asked, "Do you like my niece?"
Xiang Mingxue nodded without hesitation. He paused and explained, "Actually, I used to really treat Lijun as my niece. After all, according to Doctor Zhou, I am indeed a generation older than her."
He didn't have impure intentions from the beginning.
Because of Zhou Man, Xiang Mingxue has always been on equal terms with Zhou Silang and others of the same generation. But last year, when they entered the grassland together, Zhou Silang asked his nephew to call him uncle to show their closeness. When Zhou Lijun wanted to follow suit, Xiang Mingxue felt awkward.
He has met many people, but there is only one girl as capable as Zhou Lijun, and that is Zhou Man.
But Zhou Lijun's ability is different from Zhou Man's. Zhou Man is just like them. She was trained as a scholar, so she is smart and capable, but people always ignore her gender and interact with her as if she were the same kind.
But Zhou Lijun was not like that. He could see the tenacity of women in her. She had all the constraints and prejudices that women were subject to today, and he could feel that she was also trying hard to break free from these constraints.
But Zhou Man is different. She is too open-minded and casual. She never takes these things to heart, so she doesn't suffer from this pain. But how many people in this world can be like this?
I'm afraid she's the only one.
There are very few women like Zhou Lijun. At first, Xiang Mingxue felt pity for her, thinking that this girl was smart, tough, and willing to endure hardships, which was better than most men in the world.
Later, we went into the grassland together for more than two months. I saw him every time I looked up and every time I looked down. I don’t know when I couldn’t help but look at him more.
In fact, the main reason why Xiang Mingxue hesitated was that it was difficult to bring it up.
Just as Zhou Silang said, he is several years older than her and is of a different generation than her. Even though their two families are not relatives, given their previous friendship with Zhou Man, the two of them are not very suitable for each other.
But after hearing what she and Zhou Liwei said today, he couldn't help but take action.
On the way back, he had made up his mind, "If she is willing to marry me, I will let her do whatever she wants and will not restrict her to the backyard."
Zhou Silang certainly knew his second niece's ambition and ability. If you think about it carefully, Zhou Lijun's business ability is no weaker than his. The money the family earned from this trip with her last year was three times that of the previous year. A large part of the reason was that she made money by purchasing and selling goods along the way.
He stared at Xiang Mingxuewen, "Are you serious? After we get married, you're willing to let her go out to do business, or even go to the grassland with us?"
Xiang Mingxue nodded, "As long as she wants to go."
Zhou Silang, upon hearing this, rubbed his chin and thought for a moment before asking, "Do you mind if she helps run her family's business after she gets married?"
Xiang Mingxue: ...
He stared at Zhou Silang. The two looked at each other for a long time. Finally, he said to Mingxue, "Brother Zhou Silang, aren't you afraid that she will take all the money from her parents' home and give it to her husband's family?"
Zhou Silang waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about that. We will definitely sign the contract when the time comes. She also has a share in it. There are account books. Besides, she is not that kind of person."
The last sentence seems to have been added at the last minute.
Xiang Mingxue thought for a moment and said, "That depends on what she wants."
Zhou Silang became excited, patted his shoulder across the table, and said with satisfaction: "Good brother, it's worth my praise in front of my second brother and his wife."
He said happily, "If our two families really get married, we can do business together. Then we might even be able to open a trade route on the grassland."
Many large businesses entering the grassland have their own fixed cooperative tribes, and they always agree on the time for transactions. This is their own trade route.
Xiang Mingxue shook his head and chuckled, "I'm afraid not."
He said, "I can't take the imperial examination, but my son can, so I don't want to expand my business too much. If Zhou Sige makes two more trips, you should consider giving some of the profits to your subordinates to offset their wages. That way, if the court investigates, it will only be a few errands run by so many of you. Plus, your family has a lot of land, so your household registration shouldn't be affected."
Zhou Silang: "The imperial court didn't restrict merchants from taking the imperial examinations."
Xiang Mingxue himself had originally been admitted to the provincial academy to study, aiming for the position of examiner, so he naturally knew. He said, "Although there are no restrictions, there are still some differences. Children from humble backgrounds, noble families, and aristocratic families are all treated differently when entering officialdom, not to mention the sons of merchants. Officials from merchant families rarely reach the third rank, and even fewer reach the fifth rank."
Basically, he is isolated from the position of prime minister.
Therefore, Xiang Mingxue would not allow his descendants to be discriminated against in this way.
Zhou Silang was still confused, but Zhou Lijun outside the door was stunned.
See you at 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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