Chapter 249 Good Vision

Zhulan put down her needle and went out. Dong was holding a box in her hand. Zhulan motioned for Dong to sit down and asked, "What do you want to talk to me about?"

Mrs. Dong put the box on the table, opened it, and took out the land deed. "Mom, this is the land my father gave me as a dowry in Lijia Village, 50 acres. I heard from my husband that our family divided the land among the people in Lijia Village to help grow food. I would like to ask you to find someone who is willing to help grow the land for me."

Zhulan glanced at the fields. The land was in Dong's name. Dong had to pay taxes for the land herself. The taxes for fifty acres of land were not small. She and Zhou Shuren dared to do this because Zhou Shuren had confidence in Zhongju.

Dong's property was purely a dowry, and she had to manage it herself. Whatever she managed in the future would be her own money. Zhulan had to make it clear, "Your land has been taxed and you get the crops you planted. If the year is bad, there won't be much left. If the year is good, there won't be much left either. You'll earn less money every year. You should think carefully about it."

Dong also considered the account, but she was too young, and her husband was not even a scholar. According to the regulations of this dynasty, she could not use slaves, and she had no one to manage the affairs. Her husband also had to study. Although she would earn less, she had her parents to support her, and no one dared to covet her food. She was happy to save trouble, "Mom, I have figured it out. My husband and I are young, so it doesn't matter if we earn less. We also want to save trouble."

Zhulan thought that, of the three daughters-in-law, except for Li, the other two were people with big ideas. "Since you have figured it out, mother will ask your father to ask, and we will talk about it when you return home tomorrow."

Mrs. Dong thanked her and said, "Thank you, mother."

"We're all family, you're welcome."

Dong picked up the box and said, "Mom, I'm going back to the yard now."

"Go ahead."

Dong went out with the box in her arms, believing her husband's words and trying not to get close to her mother, as her father-in-law wouldn't like it. When she came, she thought her father-in-law was reading in the study, but she didn't expect him to be in the room. Even though she didn't see him, she knew that if her father-in-law wasn't reading in the room, her mother would have let her in.

The study room in Zhulan's house is just a decoration for Zhou Shuren. Zhou Shuren is not an ancient person and prefers to read books casually. Reading is tiring for the brain, and it would be even more tiring to stay in the study room. It is more comfortable to lie down.

Zhulan went back to the house and told Zhou Shuren about it. Zhou Shuren said that he knew about it and would let the boss handle it. This would be a good thing for Lijia Village. There would be no need to pay taxes, and as long as they helped with farming, they would have food. Last time, Zhulan's family had 60 acres of land, and many people asked when Zhulan's family would buy more land, and they all hoped to help with farming.

It’s a pity that Dong’s fields are near Lijia Village. If they were in Zhoujia Village, they could also benefit Zhou’s poor relatives.

Dong returned to the room. Her husband went to study, and she sorted out her dowry. Now that she was no longer a lady, she had to do it herself. Fortunately, she was mentally prepared. She comforted herself and started to sort it out.

The cloths were arranged according to the amount of dowry, and the washbasins and shelves that were used had already been taken out by the maid and placed in the bridal chamber when the dowry was delivered.

The main thing was to pick out the jewelry that could be worn currently and put the rest away. Some of the headwear was not suitable for her as a white-body lady, so her mother prepared them in advance for the future.

Now that everything is sorted, I feel a sense of accomplishment.

Finally, it was the silver at the bottom of the box. There were two boxes of silver bars, 200 taels in each box, a total of 400 taels, and a small box of gold ingots of 50 taels. Among them, 200 taels of silver were the original betrothal gift. My parents openly gave me a dowry of 700 taels, and secretly stuffed me with 1,000 taels of silver notes.

The total value of her dowry was three thousand taels.

The dowry included makeup given by my elder sister, mainly jewelry. My elder brother and sister-in-law did not give much, because they knew that as a daughter born in old age, my parents would definitely give me a lot of dowry.

In fact, her dowry could have been much larger, but when her elder sister remarried her brother-in-law, in order to avoid being looked down upon, her father gave half of the family fortune to her elder sister in one go. When she was still young, her mother taught her how to manage the household. Although the Dong family was wealthy, they had several brothers to look after them, and the annual expenses were high, so they really couldn't save much money in a year.

Mrs. Dong didn't know that the window of the study was open and Chang Lian had been standing by the window watching. Chang Lian was observing his wife's temper. Seeing that Mrs. Dong was busy and didn't get angry or complain, Chang Lian was happy in his heart. He thought that she was hardworking and not spoiled. He liked his wife more and more. He got up and added water to the kettle, and took out tea leaves to make tea, so that when Mrs. Dong came back, she would have tea to quench her thirst and would have hot water to wash her face and hands.

Zhulan didn't know that the newlyweds were testing each other. She was preparing a return gift for Mrs. Dong tomorrow.

Zhou Shuren contributed his handwritten books, which he brought back from Jiangnan. The county grandfather did not have it on his bookshelf. Zhulan moved out the screen that her second sister-in-law gave her. This was Zhou Shuren's chance for the Yang family. The eldest and second brothers expressed their gratitude. The eldest brother gave him ginseng he found. Because Zhulan liked the screen, her second sister-in-law embroidered it for her. However, because it took too much effort, she did not send it to her until the New Year.

These two items were not bad at all, and Zhulan added the leftover mutton from the wedding banquet, and some other things, making a total of six items. This clearly gave Mrs. Dong enough face and also showed Zhulan's satisfaction with her daughter-in-law.

At lunch, Zhao's eyes were a little red and swollen, and Zhou Laoer's eyes were bloodshot. It was obvious that Zhulan not only touched Zhao, but also Zhou Laoer. As a man, Zhou Laoer naturally wanted to give his wife the best, but Zhao was the daughter-in-law he exchanged for food, and his mother didn't like her at first, so he didn't dare to mention it. Later, his mother didn't scold Zhao, and he also wanted to keep a low profile and wait until the child was older.

Now that his mother has mentioned it herself, he feels sad. His mother is the same as his father. Although she doesn't say that she cares for them, she always cares for them with her actions. That's why his mother must live longer than his father. It's not that she is unfilial to his father, but he feels more and more that if his mother passes away first, he won't have to worry that his father is not his biological father anymore. He is afraid that his father will die with her.

Dad loves mom's strength. No matter how you look at it, she might do something that would make her buried with him. He has dreamed of this scene several times and was so scared that he couldn't sleep for several nights. So, such a good mom must live a long life.

Zhulan felt Zhou Laoer's admiration for her, and Zhao seemed to treat her as her own mother. Well, her thoughts were worth it.

The next day, Mrs. Dong returned to her parents' home. When Mrs. Dong saw the return gifts, Zhulan was moved again.

After leaving the house and getting in the carriage that the Dong family came to pick them up, Mrs. Dong lowered her voice and said to her husband, "I will definitely treat you as well as my mother did in the future."

The return gift from her mother not only gave her face, but also gave face to her mother. There must be a lot of people at her home when she returns to her parents' home today. Some come to bless her, and some come just to laugh at her. Every family has a few annoying people, and her family has quite a few.

Chang Lian chuckled, then looked down at Yang Yang, who was solemnly promising something. Why did he find her so cute? He couldn't help but pinch her face, "I believe you."

Dong's face flushed. Except for the time when her husband held her all night in the bridal chamber, they had not had any more intimate actions. But why did she think her husband looked so good when he smiled? Her father had no taste in choosing a husband for her eldest sister, so her brother-in-law came to her on his own. Unexpectedly, her father had good taste in choosing a husband for her!