Chapter 2490 Borrowing Money
Old Zhou and Mrs. Qian had some private money, and originally thought that if the first and third wives were not able to help, they would help. But since Manbao took the initiative to lend it to them, it would be inappropriate for the two old people to interfere. Well, this is also a way to treat everyone equally.
The equally disposed couple took out their account books and carefully examined the figures on them. Old Zhou said, "I've already looked at quite a few farms and fields. Alas, the land in the capital is too expensive, and the land in Yongzhou isn't cheap either. Besides, there aren't many people selling land. I think I'd better buy this one in Yongzhou. It's not a farm, but it's sold by a wealthy family, and it's a full eighty acres."
Old Zhou took out a note, scratched his face, and said, "Seven taels of silver per mu. I asked Wutou before, and he calculated it for me, but I forgot. Anyway, it's over five hundred taels. After paying this part, we don't have much left. What else can I buy for her?"
Qian Shi didn't understand, but it wasn't a big deal. She said, "Let's buy some land."
She said, "We have received a lot of cloth from the palace and the nobles, and we can't buy anything better. So we can buy two more pieces of red cloth to pay for the wedding dress ordered by the embroidery workshop, and use the rest to buy the land for her."
The house is full of treasures, but as for a shop, this amount of money cannot buy a shop in the capital, so I can only buy land.
"After all, official land belongs to the imperial court and is not very stable. She should still have a few plots of her own," Qian said. "You can ask around in Yongzhou later. When you buy land, you can still rent it out to tenants. As long as there is land, people will never starve."
Old Zhou agreed and stood on tiptoe to talk about something else. "What do you think the Bai family will give as a betrothal gift?"
Qian looked up at him and said, "It won't be less anyway."
"But I haven't seen them buying anything recently. Are they preparing any betrothal gifts?"
Zhou Lizhong walked out of the yard and bumped into Zhou Liwei after his uncles and aunts returned to their houses. He winked and said, "You're great! You can even play the good guy for Li Jun."
Zhou Liwei blushed slightly and said, "I'm going to say this upfront. There are more people at home now, so I naturally need to explain more to avoid misunderstandings."
Zhou Lizhong nodded, turned around and said to Zhou Lijun with a smile, "I'll leave this matter to you, but wouldn't it be better to open in September? Or should we wait until my aunt gets married?"
Zhou Lijun shook his head, "That's too late. September is just right. Autumn is dry, so it's the perfect time to use moisturizing cream and whitening cream."
Zhou Li nodded emphatically, frowning, wondering the same thing as his grandfather. "By the way, is the Bai family preparing any betrothal gifts? I've been back several times and haven't seen any new gifts."
Of course there are. Madam Liu started having people move things into the newly purchased house last month.
Every few days, she would take Zheng out to the newly bought house to check the things that had been delivered.
Not to mention the house deeds and land deeds, the various ornaments, jade, porcelain, and some antique calligraphy and paintings and books that she had people prepare were also sent from Longzhou and Qili Village one after another.
Of course, when she moved, most of her things went with her to Qili Village. Only some of her things were too heavy to take away, so they were left in the old house in Longzhou.
She didn't expect that Bai Shan would get married in the capital. In order to make the betrothal gifts look good, she asked someone to go back to Qili Village to get some things, and gave them to Bai Shan together with some things left in Longzhou as a betrothal gift.
Not to mention others, even Zheng's daughter-in-law was terrified when she saw it. She couldn't help but ask, "Mother, are these for betrothal gifts?"
Madam Liu smiled and nodded, saying, "Times are different now. Whether it's Manbao or Shanbao, they've made friends with quite a few people of high status. Seeing this, we need to make some preparations for the future. Therefore, Shanbao's betrothal gift must be good, so that Manbao's dowry can also be supported."
She said, "I know what those people outside are thinking. They simply think that our Bai family has fallen on hard times, that Shanbao doesn't have a father or brother to support him, and that Manbao comes from a humble background. Although he's now deeply favored by the Emperor, he's still a bit behind the aristocratic families. This wedding, I'll let them see the depth of our two families' heritage."
The Zhou family doesn't have much background, but the Bai family does.
Based on Mrs. Liu's understanding of the Zhou family, no matter how much betrothal gifts she sends, she will probably send everything back except the cash.
And cash can also be exchanged for other more decent dowries.
Although these things changed hands from the Bai family to Zhou Man's personal property, she only has one grandson, so isn't the grandson's wife still his?
Old Madam Liu's eyes were bright, and it was time to let those people in the family see whether their branch had declined, huh.
There was a corridor separating her from Old Madam Liu. Manbao from the two courtyards was crawling over to close the window. After closing the window, she sat cross-legged on the bed, entered the space, and then counted her money.
In June, Zhou Silang returned to the capital and gave her the money from selling gems and spices, most of which was silver and the rest was copper coins.
Manbao did not put the copper coins into the space because it took up too much space. Generally speaking, she would only put a dozen copper coins in it, and if it was not enough, she would go home and put some more in.
The remaining copper coins were placed in the ear room next to hers, which she used as a warehouse, and filled with all her valuables that were difficult to store in the space.
There were several sacks of copper coins among them.
Manbao went to open the boxes. Several boxes were filled with silver. There were neatly arranged official seals and also pieces of silver that were not so neatly arranged, but the quality was still acceptable.
Manbao keeps count of the money. She wrote labels on the boxes when she counted them. She also has her own account book, so it is easy for her to know how much money she has.
She counted the money and breathed a sigh of relief when she found that there was quite a bit of it. She then freed up the space for the two boxes and threw them in the corner.
The next day, Zhou Dalang and Xiao Qianshi were called to count the silver quietly.
Five hundred taels was not a small amount of money, so Zhou Dalang put the money in two large baskets, covered them with lids, and then he and Xiao Qianshi each carried a basket and went back.
He greeted people along the way, and no one knew that there was silver in the big basket.
Manbao thought this was a great idea, so he dug out two baskets filled with silver and went to find Zhou Ligu, saying, "You have to write me an IOU on behalf of your father."
Zhou Ligu was also worried about not having enough money. He nodded immediately after hearing this. He saw the silver in the basket and asked curiously, "Why is it in the basket?"
"It's inconspicuous this way, and no one will notice it."
When Zhou Ligu heard this, he immediately lowered his voice and asked, "Aunt, can't you tell our family about this?"
Manbao asked: "What are you going to do at home? Just tell your parents."
Zhou Ligu was conflicted. "But I can't tell my third brother. He and I are best friends. I can't hide many things from him."
"Then tell him," Manbao said, "he owes me money too."
Zhou Ligu was startled and asked, "How much do you owe?"
"Same as you, both five hundred taels."
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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