Chapter 3118: New Year's Eve in Three Places
Bai Shan listened to his complaints in a good mood, and waited until he finished before saying, "Tomorrow is the 30th, let's celebrate the New Year together?"
Bai Erlang said it was no problem and asked, "Where do we cross?"
Everyone looked at Yin Huo who was sitting beside them.
Yin Huo had no objection and said he would listen to them.
So after some discussion, everyone decided to stay at Mingda and Bai Erlang's residence because it was the most spacious.
Xiao Qian went there early in the morning to prepare, and Zheng also asked people to bring a lot of ingredients from her home. The whole mansion was filled with pleasant fragrance all day long.
Bai Shan and Zhou Man were not around today, so they were comfortably playing mahjong on the couch in the side room.
When Bai Shancai casually mentioned the salt fields, Zhou Man shouted, "We agreed not to discuss official business today."
She felt that if Bai Shan talked about business, she would not be able to hold back.
Bai Shan held back his words and changed the subject, "I wonder if our New Year's goods have been delivered back to the capital?"
Yin Huo calculated the time and said, "We should be here soon."
Because they were too busy, although the housekeeper reminded them early, they were still a little slow in preparing the New Year's goods, so they were sent out late.
Especially Yin Huo. Since the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, the Yin family has been sending letters urging him to return to Beijing, but he has always been reluctant to go back. In order not to bother his family, he even deliberately sent the New Year's goods back a few days later.
The New Year's goods that Bai Shan and his friends sent were not expensive, they were all some specialties of Qingzhou.
The Zhou family didn't care about these things. They thought it was foolish to send New Year's goods all the way to Qingzhou. Going back and forth, and then there was a backlog of goods. How much money would that waste?
So they decided to give money!
When a guard or servant went back to deliver a letter, Old Zhou and Qian would collect a box of silver and give it to the person. They would then write to Zhou Man, "Buy whatever you need. Don't let the baby starve. Get plenty of rest and don't tire yourself out."
Mrs. Liu, who was planning to pack New Year's goods for Bai Shan and the others, hesitated for a moment. Finally, she followed the Zhou family's lead and sent money. She wasn't worried about the two children going hungry, but instead said to Bai Shan, "I know you need money right now. If you don't have any, just tell your family. Although we have to separate public and private funds, if we really can't find the money for the wharf construction, your family can subsidize you a little."
The money given by Old Lady Liu could not be brought by one guard or one bodyguard, so in the end they sent a few more servants and followers to directly bring a cart of money.
It was also because of the money given by Old Lady Liu that Bai Shan had the confidence to ask Cheng Jiulang to take half of the cost.
Every household in the capital city did receive New Year’s goods from Qingzhou today.
The guards of the princess's mansion went straight into the palace and presented the gifts prepared by the princess and her husband to everyone. After receiving the news, they happily returned home to celebrate the New Year.
Bai Shan and Zhou Man consciously prepared gifts for the emperor, the prince and others, and sent them to the palace together with Mingda. They were indeed local specialties and not very expensive.
In fact, if Mingda and Bai Er were not in Qingzhou, they would not want to give gifts to the royal family if they were to send New Year's goods to the palace.
Zhou Man did not give any gifts to Xiao Yuanzheng this year, but only asked someone to bring them to relatives.
Old Zhou opened the box out of curiosity, took out a bronze mirror, and remained silent for a long time.
The guard who had returned with the New Year's gifts said, "The bronze mirrors from Qingzhou are well made and inexpensive. My wife liked them very much and bought a large bronze mirror for each of the ladies in the family."
Not only can you take pictures of your head and face, but once it is framed, you can also take pictures of half of your body, so you can see it clearly. It is a great tool for trying on clothes and jewelry.
The guard smiled and said, "Both the madam and the princess like it. I thought the young ladies would like it too, so I bought two for the family as well. Hehehe..."
Old Zhou silently put the mirror down and went to look for other things. Finally, he found something he liked. "Is this wine?"
"Yes, this was personally selected by the Master. He said it's a famous wine from Qingzhou. You can give it to my uncle to try."
Zhou Silang, one of my uncles, showed great interest. He came up and sniffed it and said, "It smells good. It must be good wine. Dad, shall we drink this for dinner tonight?"
Old Zhou also felt a little happier and nodded.
So the people of Old Zhou's family happily stepped forward to divide up the New Year's goods. Old Zhou watched them divide the goods and muttered, "Sending things back and forth is too expensive. These things are not unavailable in the capital."
Qian said, "They've all been sent back. Stop complaining. This is the children's kindness. By the way, my in-laws are also packing up their New Year's goods, right? Sanniang, come with me to invite them. It's New Year's Day today, and Shanbao and Manbao are not at home. We can't let them celebrate the New Year alone."
Old Zhoutou: "That's natural."
Liu Sanniang also agreed with a smile.
The Zhou family members were not together. Zhou Lixue and Zhou Ligu were sent out, and even Zhou Lizhong returned to his hometown.
He will take the county government exam next year, so in order to adapt better and avoid getting sick from traveling after the spring, he went home early.
Mr. Zhuang wrote him a letter of recommendation, allowing him to attend classes at the county school.
In addition to the students who were admitted through examinations, the county school did have places for auditors, but the tuition was not cheap.
For someone like Zhou Lizhong who enters outside the school term, not only does he need a high tuition, but he also needs a special person to recommend him.
Otherwise, if you don’t have strong connections, you generally can’t get in.
Mr. Zhuang now has a great reputation in Luojiang County, and the Zhou family is no longer the same as before, so when he went with the letter of recommendation, the county magistrate agreed immediately.
Upon learning that Zhou Lizhong's goal was to take the examination for a minor official in the county government, the county magistrate wanted to say, "I can find a spot for you somewhere else."
However, judging from the Zhou family's expressions, they didn't seem to want to use his back door, so he decided not to mention it for the time being.
The Zhou family really didn't want to use his backdoor. In Zhou Sanlang's words, "Everyone has their own job in the county government. If you follow his path, you will inevitably squeeze out others. Why would anyone squeeze you out for no reason?"
Zhou Lizhong felt that his uncle was right, so although it was painful, he still held the book in his hands and practiced calligraphy every day, hoping to pass the exam with his own ability.
During the New Year, Guan Lizheng went to Qili Village for an inspection and went to his in-laws' house. Seeing him squatting outside the door with a book in his hands, reciting it in the freezing weather, he couldn't help but ask, "Why don't you go inside and read? It's warmer, at least."
Zhou Erlang made tea for Guan Lizheng and said with a smile: "When it's warm, I want to sleep. It's better to be a little cool, so I'm energetic."
Guan Lizheng couldn't help but admire the Zhou family's family style and the diligence of their children in their hearts.
Zhou Man is no longer the same person he was before, and the Zhou family has become successful, but they are not necessarily arrogant because of their power. Instead, they are more diligent than poor people.
He couldn't help but said, "If it doesn't work, I have a vacancies for yamen runners."
Guan Lizheng smiled at Zhou Erlang and said, "If you need anything, you can come to me. I will take Li Zhong to the county government office."
This position was a reward from the county government to Guan Lizheng. He had been the Lizheng for quite a few years and had always been diligent, so he got this position three years ago and had kept it for a long time without using it.
Good night, today is the Ghost Festival, everyone should go to bed early. I'm missing one chapter, I'll make it up tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
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