Chapter 313: Calculating to the Bone

The next day, Ming Teng ate while standing, knowing that he would be beaten when he returned home in the evening. After breakfast, Ming Teng went riding a horse no matter how painful his butt was. Even the steady Mingyun had a gleam in his eyes.

Zhou Shuren had finished all his work and really had nothing to do. Of course, he would not let Zhulan go back on her word and he pushed everything off even if there was anything to do.

Zhulan thought Changzhi would also be interested in horse riding, but Changzhi didn't care at all. After dinner, he asked Zhou Laoer to harness the carriage and took the carriage back to Zhoujia Village.

There was no vegetable garden in the house, but the space was quite large. Zhou Shuren took a few children to ride horses in the garden.

The horses they bought were not good horses to begin with, and they were specially used for pulling carriages. Horses are very gentle and friendly, so the children became even braver. Mingyun learned how to ride a horse and even dared to trot, which made Zhulan's heart skip a beat.

Horse riding is not only liked by boys, but also by girls. Zhulan is quite talented in riding horses. She learned it with Zhou Shuren at her mother's house. Zhulan rode for a while while holding her two granddaughters.

Xue Han's eyes sparkled, "Mom, I want to learn too."

Zhulan didn't think it was bad for girls to learn horse riding. If girls learn horse riding, they will be able to ride a horse when they need it in the future. "That's good."

Zhulan carried her daughter up and taught the little girl the key points. Xuehan was talented and courageous, and she wanted to run away as soon as she mastered the key points.

The children had a lot of fun playing in the morning.

Zhulan sat on a chair and watched the children play with a smile on her face. The ancient times were bustling and full of energy.

Zhou Shuren played with the children for a day, and went to meet his friends in the county the next day.

Zhulan was also busy with her work. After a few days, they would return to Pingzhou.

Zhulan first made cotton-padded clothes and small shoes for the two children, and then asked Zhou Laoer to collect a lot of mountain products to bring back for eating in Beijing.

Then Zhulan went back to Zhoujia Village again and visited her parents twice. However, the atmosphere in her parents' home was not good. The three grandsons of the Yang family were all fighting in the war. The war was not over yet, and the Yang family was always worried. The waiting was the most exhausting thing.

By the time Zhulan had met the people she was supposed to meet and had prepared everything she needed to prepare, eight days had passed.

During this period, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren went to the county lord's house. Dong Linshi did not mention Zhulan's punishment of Dongshi and was still very warm to Zhulan. Zhulan was generous in her gifts and Dong Linshi was also generous in her return gifts.

I guess she heard from Mrs. Dong that she liked furs, so Mrs. Dong Lin replied with furs, and they were all top-quality furs, including two fox furs!

When Dong came back from her parents' home, Zhulan found that Dong was more sensible than before, or in other words, better at hiding her thoughts than before.

On the fifteenth day of Xuemei's confinement, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren set off back to Pingzhou.

Zhulan gave all the silver locks for her two children to Xuemei. When the children's third birthday was coming, because they were twins, Zhulan did not hold the celebration for fear of upsetting the children. The full-month celebration had to be held, so Zhulan gave all the silver money for the two children's full-month celebrations to Zhao, and gave the full-month banquet to Xuemei.

Finally, Zhulan left 15 taels of silver to Zhao, which included the monthly allowance for their family of four, as well as some silver for rice and household expenses.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren left. Yushuang and Mingrui cried particularly hard, but Jiang Du and Jiang Miao were used to it. They knew that grandma and grandpa were not grandpa and grandmother, so it was normal to be separated.

But Yu Shuang and Ming Rui can’t do that. Although grandpa and grandma went away before, they knew they would be back soon. But this time, they don’t know how many months it will take for them to come back!

While Zhulan felt sad, she thought in her heart that they were all good children. She opened her eyes only after the carriage had gone far away and she could no longer hear the crying. The crying made her feel very uncomfortable.

On the way back to Pingzhou, Zhulan felt listless and had no energy. Only after returning to her home in Pingzhou did she calm down.

Without the second son's family, the Zhou family seems to be missing a lot of people. The second branch didn't have much presence before, but now that they are not at home, they have a presence.

The first one is Boss Zhou. Without Second Brother Zhou, Boss Zhou has to do everything on his own.

The next one was Dong. Without Zhao's help, Dong had to take on a lot of work.

The next morning, Zhulan asked Li and Xuehan to pack their luggage and prepare to set off for the capital.

Zhou Shuren found a carriage team and set off in seven days. He had already informed Zhao Bo and Wu Ming that Zhulan and Zhou Shuren would not take the family carriage when going to the capital this time.

One was left for Zhou Laoer in his hometown, and the other was left for Chang Lian.

Zhulan brought a lot of things with her to Beijing this time, including a whole cart of mountain products and some useful things. She also counted some of the gifts she had received and took them with her. She also picked some for Dong to keep, to be used among the family members in the future. The rest of the gifts were sealed in boxes and locked in the house, and she took the key with her.

This was the best thing about the ancient times: no one except thieves dared to open things locked by the elders.

The most important thing after returning to Pingzhou is to buy slaves. The place to buy slaves in Pingzhou City is in Dongcheng. Zhulan only found out after she came back that the officials had forced a lot of slaves to come to Pingzhou City some time ago.

This brings us to the emperor's great purge. In several prefectures to the north, one-third of the officials were killed, and the rest were confiscated and exiled. The property of these officials was confiscated, and slaves were also part of the property, so naturally they had to be sold. Every prefecture pawned some of their property off.

Many merchants like to buy from these government slaves because they are well-behaved and knowledgeable.

It's a pity that the emperor of this dynasty was a calculating person. Even though the goods could be sold out in one state, he insisted on dividing it into several states. As a result, more people came to sell, and naturally the highest bidder got it, so he made more money.

Zhulan was also very tempted, but she didn’t know if she would be lucky enough to buy it because it was so popular.

Besides, she found out a little too late; the good ones had all been picked up.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren went together. Zhulan felt bad seeing the slaves waiting to be sold, and she reminded herself again how dangerous survival was in ancient times.

Yazi knew that Zhulan needed a family, and Le's eyes narrowed. Buying a family of servants would get the most. "Madam, you came a little late. The good ones have been bought. There is only one family left that is a bit older. Please take a look."

Zhulan followed the broker into the yard. The accommodation conditions were actually quite acceptable. The servants waiting to be sold were all kept clean and tidy. Zhulan thought so too. These people were all money, and in order to make more money, they would not be treated too harshly.

There were eight people in the family standing in the yard. The old couple looked to be in their fifties, a couple looked to be in their thirties, and there were four children, three boys, the oldest was almost twenty years old, the youngest was about eight years old, and a girl looked to be about ten years old.

Zhulan looked carefully. The family's hair was neat and tidy, and they stood very properly. Zhulan understood why this family was left out. The two old people were too old and could not do much work. In the big house, people of this age were basically left alone. Moreover, the old lady was very thin and looked not in good health. There were four children, and the two younger ones were too young and could not do much work. Naturally, no one wanted this family.

(End of this chapter)