Chapter 301: A Son Does Not Dislike His Mother’s Ugliness
After dinner, Zhulan was ready to rest. After washing up, she fell asleep in a daze. She opened her eyes when she felt someone beside her. She saw Zhou Shuren washing up and about to go to sleep. "You're back."
Zhou Shuren had a headache. It wasn't because he drank too much, but because he had been listening to a lot of nice things all day and his ears were buzzing. His head was particularly painful because of the noise. "Go to sleep. I'm going to sleep too."
Zhulan was used to holding Zhou Shuren while sleeping. After Zhou Shuren lay down, she hugged his waist and fell asleep again in a daze.
Zhou Shuren chuckled. Zhulan had been sleeping restlessly just now, but now that he was back, she finally felt at ease. This trust and reliance made him feel no pain no matter how hard it was. He hugged Zhulan tightly, kissed her forehead, and said softly, "Good night, wife."
The next morning, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren woke up. Neither of them planned to get up. They were really tired yesterday. Zhulan said, "There will be no shortage of people today."
Zhou Shuren said, "After these few days of work, we will go back to our hometown. I have 200 acres of land under my name that is tax-free. I want to buy another 20 acres, so that we can have a total of 100 acres. Then, we can buy another 20 acres of dry land and give it to the clan school for free, as a subsidy for the clan school's writing materials and paper."
Zhulan understood Zhou Shuren's intention. As the first person to be promoted in the clan in recent years, the Zhou family would need more support from clan members in the future. Moreover, Zhou Shuren also wanted to win over the Zhou clan. Originally, the interests of the clan members were intertwined. In the future, it would be much safer to trust clan members rather than outsiders when employing people.
Zhou Shuren's free land provision to the clan school was the second step in winning over the clan members. The first step was to gain their favor within the clan over the past two years.
Zhulan asked, "What about the remaining eighty acres of land?"
Zhou Shuren said, "I originally wanted to give it to the Yang family. I mentioned it to my father, but he refused to agree. He even scolded me. He said that the Yang family doesn't need the money from taxes, and that they will be better and better in the future, so I don't need to worry about it."
Zhulan was jealous of the original body. The original body really had a good father and a good mother. "Dad was also thinking about us. Dad was afraid of trouble in the future."
Zhou Shuren nodded. "So I'm not going to give the remaining eighty acres of land to my family members or to Li's family. I plan to keep the eighty acres of land and buy some land near the capital so that I can have more food in the future."
Zhulan stretched her waist and said, "From what you said, you are not ready to accept the land that is offered to you?"
Zhou Shuren nodded, "If our family didn't have any connection with the Jiang family and Xu Jinshi, I would have accepted it because I was confident that I could control the people who gave the gifts. But now I can't. A large part of the gifts were given by the Jiang family and Xu Jinshi, and I can't check them one by one. It's better not to accept any of them."
Zhu Lan laughed, "I don't know you. You don't want to accept it because you think it's troublesome."
This person also wants to take it easy and not be so tired. Zhou Shuren has worked really hard in the past two years. The Zhou family is what it is today because of Zhou Shuren's hard work. After the failure, the fate of the Zhou family has completely changed.
Zhulan felt sorry for Zhou Shuren, "No matter what you want to do, I will support you. I will take care of the financial matters in the future, and you won't have to worry about the family anymore."
Zhou Shuren rested his forehead against Zhulan's and said, "From now on, the money in the family will be handed over to my wife."
Zhu Lan kissed Zhou Shuren's lips and said, "Please set up the platform for me soon. Don't worry, I'll be there for you in the future."
Zhou Shuren thought the atmosphere was very good and was about to make some moves when Boss Zhou knocked on the door, "Dad, the second uncle from the clan leader's family wants to leave now."
Zhou Shuren, "........"
He felt that he and Boss Zhou were in conflict, and that Boss Zhou was more annoying than a light bulb!
In his heart, Zhou Shuren had to accept his fate even though he cursed a lot, but his face was particularly gloomy.
Outside the door, Boss Zhou shrunk his neck. He didn't want to call his father, but his second uncle refused to eat breakfast and insisted on leaving. He was also desperate. He just hoped that his father would forgive him because it was not easy for him to be the eldest brother!
Zhou Shuren opened the door and glared at Boss Zhou, but Boss Zhou kept his head down, looking very coy.
Zhou Shuren, "........"
It’s amazing that the boss actually used this trick to deal with him!
Zhulan followed behind him, laughing in her heart. You said the boss did something wrong, right? The boss really did nothing wrong. No matter how angry Zhou Shuren was, he could only glare at him. But the boss was also afraid. Now he didn't even dare to look at Zhou Shuren's face. Well, Zhou Shuren was sulking on his own.
Finally Zhou Shuren failed to keep the clan leader's second son. The clan leader's second son had found a car team and he remembered to hurry home, so he stayed one more day yesterday.
Zhulan hurriedly packed some cloth and cakes to take with her.
The Zhou family had just finished breakfast when the Qian family came to congratulate them. Qian Shengbao brought not only his sons but also his grandsons. The gifts given by the Qian family were expensive. Probably because they felt that they had offended the Zhou family last time and discovered that Zhou Shuren had greater potential, Qian Shengbao made up his mind to bring an antique bottle.
Zhulan didn't know the price, but she knew it was not cheap from the satisfied look on Zhou Shuren's face.
Qian Shengbao didn't dare to play tricks this time. He said in a flattering manner, "Congratulations on your wedding. I should have come to congratulate you yesterday, but I thought there would be a lot of people coming to congratulate you, so I waited until today. Don't blame me, in-laws."
Zhou Shuren looked at the antique bottle with his eyes. He was not surprised. He was not surprised at all. Hey, he had taken a fancy to this bottle the last time he went to the Qian family. Well, that's not right. It should be said that he liked many of the antiques on display in the Qian family. "What you said is out of context. Please take a seat."
Qian Shengbao's mouth twitched. If he had known that his in-laws would be so easy to talk to if he gave them antiques, he would have given them to them long ago. He had gotten a lot of antiques from the Yun family in the past. Who could blame the Shangjia family for being rich? Especially since the Yun family started out making bottles, and the wealth accumulated over several generations was really a lot.
Qian Shengbao was feeling emotional. He didn't think Zhou Xiucai would pass the provincial examination. He thought that even if he passed, he would have to take several more attempts. He thought it would take many years for Zhou Xiucai to pass. He thought he would die and never get the chance. Unexpectedly, Zhou Xiucai passed the examination in one try and ranked second. Moreover, he passed the examination at a good age. Coupled with Zhou Xiucai's scheming and means, Zhou Xiucai was the one with the greatest potential in the Zhou family!
Qian Shengbao pushed his grandchildren and said, "You haven't met Grandpa Zhou yet."
Zhou Shuren, "........"
His good mood dropped instantly. He had been listening to Mr. Zhou. Apart from his own grandson, he rarely heard anyone call him Grandpa. Well, he was obviously very young!
Zhulan was also upset after hearing this, and said to Fang: "Mother-in-law, please come in later."
Fang finally let go of the worry she had been carrying all the way. Her mother-in-law came to the front yard to pick her up, which was already a great honor for her. She didn't dare to tell her husband last time, and she was nervous this time. Her mother-in-law had become a married woman, and she couldn't help wondering if she would look down on her even more. Fortunately, her mother-in-law gave her enough face, and she and her son could live a better life in the Qian family. "Please go first, mother-in-law."
Zhulan and Fang arrived at the backyard. Zhao had already put on makeup and came out. Seeing that her mother-in-law didn't give her mother a cold shoulder and was smiling, Zhao let out a breath and walked forward with a smile, "Mom, I'll go make some tea."
Zhulan thought that Zhao was indeed a person with a lot on her mind, but she also had her merits. A son never despises his mother even if her mother is ugly. Fang used to be a servant, and even though Dong despised her, Zhao never despised her own mother. She never stopped Fang from coming to the Zhou family, and even though the Zhou family's status had changed, Zhao still cared about his own mother. Not everyone has this kind of filial piety.
You know, when a person's identity changes, his mentality will change more or less. She has warned Zhao, and Zhao knows where the problem lies. Zhao has never blamed her mother, but has been constantly changing herself. Look at the expression when she was concerned about Fang just now, and there is more smile in Zhulan's eyes.
No one is perfect, everyone has their own flaws, more or less, and she has quite a few of her own!
Zhao came in and made some tea and served some snacks. Zhulan didn't want to drink any more tea as she had drunk a lot yesterday.
This day Zhulan not only brought Mrs. Dong to entertain the female relatives, but also Mrs. Li. With the help of her two daughters-in-law, Zhulan felt a lot more relaxed.
Among those who came today were landlords, some scholars, and most of them were merchants.
(End of this chapter)