Chapter 1608: The Marquis' Mansion is Open and Unrestrained

Zhou Shuren smiled again before leaving. Wang Ju followed him and said, "I really have never paid attention to the orphans in Zhuangzi. Can I go and take a look someday?"

Zhou Shuren, "I'm sure you'll be surprised."

The manors now are like academies. Children from several manors are separated according to the knowledge they learn and attend classes at a fixed time every day. Currently, there are 900 orphans.

Wang Ju became even more curious, "I'll go check it out when I have my day off."

Zhou Shuren put his hands behind his back and said, "Children from nearby villages also want to learn from me."

Wang Ju asked, "Have you accepted it?"

Zhou Shuren shook his head, "No, my wife has already told the Queen Mother, but she didn't reply, so the village doesn't dare to accept children from the village."

Because the children in the village wanted to learn, he discussed it with his wife. They didn't expect that it would develop so well and continue to develop in a good direction. As long as the time is right, they can set up an independent college to study skills.

At present, we need to wait and wait for the older orphans to come out and let the emperor see the results. Without results, the royal family will still adopt a wait-and-see attitude.

The two walked and talked, and when they reached the palace gate, Wang Ju said, "I want to send a group of Wang family members to the grassland states."

Zhou Shuren tilted his head, "What does the old man mean?"

Wang Ju glared, "My father has retired. I will be the head of the family in the future. I will also be the patriarch of the Wang family."

Zhou Shuren stroked his beard and said, "Time flies. You have become the clan leader now."

Wang Ju said seriously, "The grassland states need to develop. You are willing to let Mingyun go to the grassland. I have been keeping an eye on him all year. Even if Wu Ming didn't make the move today, I would have been ready to send my children there next year."

What he valued was trading on the grasslands, which brought considerable profits. A family inheritance cannot be separated from money. If he took the lead now, he could also avoid competition.

Zhou Shuren sighed in his heart. This is the heir of the aristocratic family who has been nurtured since childhood. "Now that the decision has been made, we must act quickly."

Wang Ju's eyes lit up, "With you here, I feel more at ease."

In the afternoon, Zhulan received an oral order from the palace that the emperor would bring the prince and several ministers to the manor tomorrow, so she didn't need to make any arrangements.

As the person in charge, Zhulan must accompany the emperor. Zhulan was surprised. It seemed that she was the only woman in the emperor's message?

When Shuren came back, Zhulan asked, "Something's wrong!"

Zhou Shuren touched his nose and said, "I mentioned you in the court today."

He said as he learned what was said in the court.

Zhulan's eyes widened, and then she became excited, "I'm finally not the woman behind you anymore?"

Zhou Shuren bowed and said, "I hope you can give me more support in the future."

Zhulan glanced at him and said, "No problem, no problem."

Zhou Shuren stood up and said, "Don't be nervous tomorrow."

Zhulan was not nervous at all. "Don't worry, I will definitely make you proud."

Zhou Shuren has confidence in his daughter-in-law, "If anyone bullies you, come back and tell me, and I will come back to help you vent your anger."

Zhulan smiled and said, "Okay."

After dinner, Zhulan sorted out the account books of the village. There were a lot of account books, as well as the cut monthly reports and finally the data of each state. She made sure nothing was missed before going to bed.

On the second day, Zhulan took Lao Da and Mingrui with her. Lao Da knew the village very well. Mingrui often went there to teach and also opened a medical class. Zhulan brought them along to win the emperor's favor.

Zhulan left the capital after breakfast, while the emperor and others had to wait until the morning court was over. This time the emperor did not bring Zhou Shuren with him.

Zhou Shuren watched the emperor and his men leave. Wang Ju asked, "Aren't you worried?"

Look who the emperor brought with him, Lord Liu, Lord Wen and others. None of them are easy to get along with. Zhou Shuren just offended someone yesterday.

Zhou Shuren didn't reply, but walked away humming a little tune, thinking that his wife was easy to bully.

When Zhulan arrived at the manor, she did not tell him that the emperor would come with his ministers. She went to class as usual, just like she did every time she came to the manor.

The emperor arrived only half an hour later than Zhulan, who was waiting at the gate of the manor after receiving the news.

The emperor got off the carriage first, and as others got off one after another, Zhulan brought her son and grandson to greet them, "I have seen the emperor and the prince."

After the greeting, the emperor stepped forward and helped Zhulan to show his respect for her.

Zhulan felt more at ease and stood up and said, "This is the largest of the manors. Should we start with this one?"

The emperor smiled and nodded, "Okay."

Zhulan motioned for her son and grandson to follow her, saying, "The class is in session now. Let's go to the classroom."

As there are more children, we no longer have large classes. Instead, we divide the classes into small classes according to the children's learning progress. Children who are progressing quickly can already make models by themselves.

Zhulan said, "The wood is picked up by the children themselves, so it won't be wasted after use. It can be used as firewood. The children in the several villages are basically self-sufficient."

The emperor had already seen the model of the ship and was amazed, "You learn very quickly."

"This class has the best talent."

The emperor nodded, then went to another class. Several ministers behind him squinted their eyes, and were shocked by what they saw with their own eyes.

Then we went to several nearby villages. We arrived at a village where medical students were studying, and saw children identifying medicinal herbs.

Mingrui was now explaining. He said, "The herbs used were dug by the doctor and the children in the mountains. The rest were obtained by exchanging food for food from the village."

The beads in the emperor's hand were spinning rapidly, and only he knew what was in his mind.

Zhulan felt the emperor glance at her, "It's getting late, Your Majesty, would you like to have dinner?"

Your Majesty, "Okay."

The food was served quickly, and there was fish, meat, chicken, duck, etc. on the table.

Old Master Wen hadn't found a chance to speak, but when he saw the food on the table, he started talking. "Madam just said that we should eat food produced by the manor. Are all the food on the table produced by the manor?"

Zhulan looked at Boss Zhou, who stepped forward and said, "It is indeed the Zhuangzi's own product, and they are all raised by the children. If you don't believe me, you can go and see it."

Old Master Wen still didn't believe it. With more than 900 children in several villages and huge daily consumption, how could they have fish and meat?

The emperor signaled Eunuch Zhang to go and take a look, and Boss Zhou took Eunuch to check it out without any hesitation.

The emperor didn't move his chopsticks, and no one else moved either. Zhulan asked the steward to bring the stored test papers for the emperor to check.

The emperor became interested. As he flipped through the books and witnessed the growth of the children, his heart was moved. He understood that the healthy development of the manor today was inseparable from Madam Zhou Hou. "Thank you for your hard work, old lady."

Zhulan smiled, "It's not hard."

Eunuch Zhang came back quickly, "It was indeed raised by the children."

Zhou Laoda explained, "With a year of breeding experience, I raised a few more this year because the children can only eat 60% full, but they still crave for meat."

The emperor then picked up his chopsticks and started eating. How could Mr. Liu and others, who came here to find trouble, be willing to accept this?

After dinner, Mr. Liu smiled and said, "More than 900 children are expensive, Madam, can you show me how the farm can be self-sufficient?"

To put it bluntly, I just want to see the accounts.

Zhulan had expected this. "We in the Marquisate have always been open and honest. We have nothing to hide. What a coincidence that I brought everything here today."

Boss Zhou glanced at Boss Liu who had a stiff smile. His mother's ability to sarcastically criticize others was no worse than his father's!