Chapter 222: Zheng Family

Zhou Shuren looked at his sons with satisfaction, "Remember what your mother said, don't wait until you have evil thoughts and regret it later."

Boss Zhou has a strong desire to survive. "Dad, you know me best. I have a straight mind. I won't do anything to anyone who has evil intentions."

Smart, look, the first time reaction was so quick. As for whether it would let down the younger brothers, ha, the younger brothers are all troublesome and not worth worrying about!

Zhou Laoer looked up at the beams of the house. It had nothing to do with him. His wife was his, and he cared about her more than anyone else.

Chang Lian wanted to curse, "Four brothers, the second brother looks silly but is actually careful and cunning. But Zhao is his second sister-in-law. Look at how the second brother loves his sister-in-law. The second brother will not plot against his own wife."

So here comes the question, what elder brother said is referring to him, I don't care about these, but he is the one with a lot of crooked thoughts in his heart, he even plotted against the elder sister-in-law a few days ago, woo woo, this is his real brother, and mother just said we are a family, now he is cheating him.

Chang Lian saw his father looking at him, and his back went cold. He suddenly understood why his father warned him that it was okay to plot against outsiders, but not against family members. Second sister-in-law's face was indeed worth plotting against, but he really didn't think of plotting against her. He was really wronged, and he wanted to bite his eldest brother to death. "Dad, I promise you and mom, if I plot against my family in the future, I will not die a good death, and I will be struck by five thunders and my descendants will be cut off."

Zhou Shuren and Zhulan, "........"

Aren't those who have no descendants also their grandchildren and great-grandchildren?

Chang Lian saw that his parents looked unhappy and thought to himself, "Mom and Dad, I don't have any bad intentions. I am just betting on your future grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It's all right as long as I don't have any bad intentions!"

He has confidence in himself and a broader vision. After being educated by his father, he understands that if he relies on himself, he will always have the opportunity to get up even if he falls. Relying on external forces is always a small path and will be looked down upon by others, and he will not go far in the future.

Zhulan felt that Chang Lian had put her future grandson and great-grandson at risk, and that her future grandson would definitely be angry. However, Chang Lian was well educated by Zhou Shuren.

Zhou Shuren thought to himself that he was sorry to his future grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as if they had frightened their father and grandfather terribly. They must not be angry, and must not be frightened by their awful father and grandfather, as they were not ready to be reincarnated!

Chang Zhi saw that his third brother was so cruel, so he did not swear, but said quickly: "Dad and Mom, I don't like to calculate, my heart is on the book."

A year ago, he still had the energy to tease his third brother and win his mother's attention. But now he doesn't have the time. He has to study thoroughly the books his father brought back, and he also has to complete heavier homework every day than his third brother. He has no time to be distracted.

Yes, the teacher of the tribe school gave him a small stove, and he really didn't have much spare time.

After hearing these words, Zhao felt more at ease. She touched the girl's face for herself and her daughter, thinking that she was more fortunate than her. She glanced at her husband and saw that he was looking at her with a smile on his face, so she also was fortunate.

After dinner, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren went back to rest. Zhou Shuren waited for Zhulan to make the bed and said, "I'll get you some water to wash your feet."

Zhulan pulled him, "I'll go play today, you've been tired all day."

Zhou Shuren insisted, "If I don't fetch water for you to wash your feet, I always feel like something is missing."

Zhulan sat still. This guy would take the opportunity to confess his love even when fetching water. So, let him have this chance.

They fetched a basin of water and washed their feet together. Zhulan waited for Zhou Shuren to pour the water and then lay down. She felt at ease, as she could finally have a good sleep today.

Zhou Shuren also felt relieved. "By the way, I heard some news about the previous dynasty when I was in Pingzhou this time. I guess it has something to do with Zheng's family."

Zhulan perked up, "What did you hear?"

Zhou Shuren said, "What a coincidence! Winter is coming soon. The borders are always tense in winter. Let's talk about the generals who led the troops. In the previous dynasty, there was a general named Zheng. His family was demoted to the northeastern border. One year, they failed to prevent foreign invaders from rushing into the border. The Zheng family organized the people to resist. When the foreign invaders had robbed enough and retreated, the general was afraid that he would lose his life if he failed to defend the border, so he lied that the Zheng family had started a rebellion."

Zhulan asked, "What happened next?"

Zhou Shuren continued, "Later, a fire broke out in the Zheng family's home, and the entire family died. Not a single person survived."

Zhulan asked, "So you guess that Zheng's maiden family is the Zheng family?"

Zhou Shuren nodded and said, "Before I went to Pingzhou, didn't I ask around for two days? Although I didn't investigate in depth, I know roughly that the Zheng family came to Lijia Village 45 years ago. At that time, they were said to have fled here. There was also a snowstorm that year, and many families left their hometowns. After the disaster, many did not return to their ancestral homeland. The Zheng family did not return and stayed in Lijia Village. The time is right, so I guess it can't be wrong."

Zhulan calculated Zheng's age. This year, he is 52 years old. Minus 45, he is 7 years old. He was also a governor back then. "No wonder Zheng is in poor health. He was demoted to the border and fled during the snowstorm. He was injured since he was a child!"

Zhou Shuren sighed, "This is the bad thing about ancient times. If one person made a mistake, the whole family would be implicated. At the very least, they would be banished to their ancestral home. At the worst, they would be exiled to the border. Even more serious, they would be beheaded, their descendants would become slaves of the government, and their women would suffer misery."

Zhu Lan was listless, "Have you forgotten about the extermination of the three clans?"

Zhou Shuren, ".......and extermination of nine clans."

Zhu Lan sighed, "It was not easy to survive in ancient times. By the way, are you still going to inquire about the Zheng family?"

Zhou Shuren shook his head, "It's basically certain. Let's not ask. It's not easy for the Zheng family to be stable. If we didn't want to avoid trouble, we wouldn't ask. This is enough."

Zhu Lan nodded, "Tell me, are the Zheng family wrongly accused?"

"There were many unjust cases at the end of the dynasty, especially the generals who held military power were the first to bear the brunt."

Zhulan sighed for a while, and then stopped thinking about it. She was really sleepy, and fell asleep in Zhou Shuren's arms in a daze.

Zhou Shuren kissed Zhulan's face and fell asleep contentedly.

Zhou Shuren returned to the village, and the next day Chief Zhou came. Before Zhou Shuren went to Pingzhou, he asked the chief to help him find out who was selling land. Now the autumn harvest was over and the land taxes had been paid, and Chief Zhou came to reply.

Zhou Wangshi also came along. Zheng Shi was also at Zhulan's house. Zhou Wangshi asked, "Isn't it too much for your family to buy fifty acres of land at once?"

The weather has been good in recent years, and land is not cheap. The best paddy field is ten taels of silver per mu, the medium one is eight taels of silver per mu, and the second-best one is five taels of silver. The price of good dry land is five taels of silver per mu, but it has increased by five taels and two cents this year. Fifty mu of dry land costs two hundred and sixty taels. Zhou Shuren's family needs twenty mu of paddy fields and thirty mu of dry land. This is a huge sum of money!

Zhulan smiled and said, "Not much."

She wanted to buy more, but unfortunately she didn't have enough money. She and Zhou Shuren did some calculations. If she passed the imperial examination next year and the results came out before the autumn harvest, she would be exempt from the land tax, which was equivalent to earning an extra 50 acres of tax. After careful calculation, she found that she could earn about 80 taels of silver by not paying taxes on 50 acres of land.

In this way, money makes money, and when the land is harvested next year, the land can be sold, and the money in hand can be just enough to buy a small farm near Pingzhou.

When Zhou Wangshi heard Zhulan say this, she thought, forget it, she was worrying in vain. At the same time, she calculated that Zhou Shuren's family was very wealthy. The engagement gift for Chang Lian was almost three hundred taels, and after buying the land, there would still be money left for living. Zhou Shuren's family had more than a thousand taels of cash!

Mrs. Zhou Wang thought that she had taken advantage of her son and often received benefits. She had not saved much money over the years. She laughed dryly and did not intend to say anything. She was jealous!

Zheng put down the cup in her hand and asked the wife of the clan leader, "Has the clan leader found out who is selling the land?"