Chapter 3502 Mr. Zhuang 17
Mrs. Zhuang became thoughtful.
So when the children came home from school that afternoon, she, who had never asked them about their homework, waved her hand and called them over with a serious face. She said, "Great-grandfather and grandfather will be back soon. You go and recite your lessons to them. If you do well, I'll make you a delicious meal tonight. If you don't, you can't eat meat tonight, only vegetables!"
The children wailed, but seeing their grandmother's serious expression, they could only lower their heads and obey.
Mrs. Zhuang thought that testing homework was just memorizing, but unlike her, Mr. Zhuang and Zhuang Dalang were scholars. A group of children ran up to them to recite, saying that they had learned it in school during this period.
Zhuang Dalang nodded in appreciation, and then asked them what they had just recited. The children looked at each other, and only one of them stammered and spoke it out, not quite accurately.
Mr. Zhuang smiled as he listened, and simply asked them to take out their textbooks, open them directly, find the sentences they had just memorized, and explain them to them one by one.
Mr. Zhuang expanded the allusions included in the story and told it to them. The group of children listened with great interest and even forgot their awe of their great-grandfather. They snuggled up to him and listened attentively.
After a few days, Lian Zhuang's wife could see the progress of the children. At least when they came home from school, they no longer just thought about digging earthworms in the flower beds or fishing in the lake. Instead, they knew how to say things like "I am Jiang Taigong, who will be King Wen of Zhou" while fishing, which she could not understand.
Mrs. Zhuang felt that if she couldn't understand something, then that was how powerful it was, and no matter how Zhuang Dalang corrected her, it was useless. But she was right, the children had indeed made great progress.
But at this time, Zhuang Dalang had not thought about staying. He was already buying local specialties and preparing to go home.
Then Zhou Man and Bai Shan brought a box of things to him. In front of Mr. Zhuang, Zhou Man opened the box and took out the things inside, saying, "Here are some of Mr. Zhuang's property."
Mrs. Zhuang, who was sitting nearby, was stunned and stared blankly.
"Mr. Stuart's salary has always been divided into two parts. He keeps one for himself and saves the other. Occasionally, he asks someone to bring it back to you. My brothers and nephews and nieces sometimes borrow some of Mr. Stuart's salary when they're short on work. We use it as an investment. It's not a lot, but it brings in some money every year."
Zhou Man took out the agreement signed by Mr. Zhuang and showed it to them. It recorded in which year he gave how much money to whom for what business, and how much share he got. There was also an account book, which clearly recorded how much money was distributed and when.
"Here are the deeds to your official land, and the accounts," Zhou Man took out several thick sheets of paper and two booklets and handed them to Zhuang Dalang. "Your official land has always been managed by my eldest brother and his family. The annual income and expenditure are recorded. However, my eldest brother is not very literate, so his records are a bit messy. Senior brother, you can take a look first. If you have any questions, come back and confirm with my eldest brother."
Zhou Man smiled and said, "The autumn harvest is almost over, and my eldest brother will be free soon, so we can take our time."
"The rest is fine, not much actually, but the income from the official land is really quite good. Not only the annual grain output, but also the pigs, chickens, fish, etc., there is a lot of output every year." Zhou Man exhaled with relief and said, "Before, my senior brother was not with the master, so these things were handled by the three of us disciples and entrusted to the family to manage. Now that my senior brother is here, it is natural to hand it over to him."
Zhuang Dalang hurriedly pushed the things back and said, "I'll leave these to you guys. I..."
"Brother," Bai Shan said seriously, "Although the three of us are no different from Master's biological children, ultimately, you are Master's biological son. These properties will be handed over to you to inherit in the future."
He said, "Master, you are not young anymore, and your energy is in the East Palace. We can't burden you with these mundane matters. Brother, instead of managing the family business for others and earning that hard-earned money, why don't you manage your own business and that of Master?"
"This..." Zhuang Dalang couldn't help but look at Mr. Zhuang, "I still have to go back to Luojiang County."
Bai Shan: "Brother, can you take care of these properties, or hire someone you trust to manage them?"
Zhuang Dalang: ...Aren’t you the ones I trust?
Mrs. Zhuang was eager to try and wanted to raise her hand to say that he was suitable.
Zhuang Dalang suddenly thought, "Should I ask the children?"
Yes, if he doesn't stay here, the children can stay. They are not young anymore and have grown a lot since coming to the capital. They look quite mature. Maybe one or two of them can stay here and take better care of their father.
The third child was already here, but he was studying here, so the eldest child...
Zhou Man said, "I'm afraid they don't have enough experience to take care of so many things. Senior brother is experienced, why don't you stay a little longer and help them sort out their business before returning?"
Zhuang Dalang hesitated.
Bai Shan immediately said, "I am also familiar with Mr. Zhang. Otherwise, my senior brother and I will write a letter back and ask for a few more months of leave."
He said, "The autumn harvest is almost over, and it's not long until the New Year. How many years have you and your husband not spent the New Year together? We three have always felt guilty because we separated you and your son. This year, please bear with me and stay for two more months to spend the New Year with your husband before leaving."
Seeing his hesitation, Mrs. Zhuang pushed him and said, "Just stay. I see that the children have become very successful students in the academy in the capital. If they continue to study for a while, perhaps they will make greater progress than their classmates when they return to the county. If they go back now, they will be delayed on the road and have to adapt to the teacher. It would be a waste of effort."
Mr. Zhuang also said, "Over the years, the Zhou and Bai families have been managing the farm for me, so it's not good to trouble them all the time."
They were in charge but were unwilling to charge Mr. Zhuang any money, so it was always free. Mr. Zhuang was fine with it, but Zhuang Dalang felt really embarrassed when he heard it, so he thought about it and nodded in agreement.
This stay lasted until the Chinese New Year, and then to the Dragon Boat Festival, and finally from the Dragon Boat Festival to the Double Ninth Festival...
Zhuang Dalang was not stupid, and since they had found an excuse to keep him until after the Dragon Boat Festival, he guessed what they were planning, but he kept silent and didn't point it out.
Zhuang Dalang stayed in the capital. Mr. Zhuang breathed a sigh of relief and began to arrange for his grandchildren and great-grandchildren according to his own expectations.
The great-grandchildren are still young, they only need to study. As for the grandson, he can only go to the county government to take the exam again and start from scratch as an official. Although he is only a minor official, his status is still good.
In the capital, there is no shortage of high-ranking officials and petty clerks. As long as you have a calm mind, anyone can make a living with their own ability.
Zhuang Dalang managed the family business and gradually accumulated wealth. Since his grandchildren were all studying in the capital, he used the money he earned to buy some land and shops in Yongzhou area of the capital. Even if Mr. Zhuang retired in the future and lost his official land, they would still have income in the capital.
By the time Mr. Zhuang was seriously ill, Zhuang Dalang and his family had already established themselves in the capital. The emperor gave the house that had been given to Mr. Zhuang to the Zhuang family and had no intention of taking it back.
With the help of Zhou Man, Bai Shan and Bai Erlang, it would be better for the Zhuang family to stay in the capital, so Zhuang Dalang decided to stay. Later, his grandsons passed the imperial examinations and became Jinshi and Mingjing, and it was only in the future that they successively entered officialdom.
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(End of this chapter)
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