Chapter 362: Jealousy

After arriving in Lizhou, this was the first time Zhulan received a letter from her hometown. "Is it just a letter?"

Steward Ding said, "This is a letter delivered by express horse. It is just a letter."

Zhulan signaled to housekeeper Ding that it was time to leave. When she was the only one left in the room, she opened the letter. While opening the letter, she thought that not only was she busy this month, but the Yang family was also busy.

When Dad saw her buy a piece of mountain land and build an icehouse, he went back and bought one hundred acres of mountain land to plant fruit trees after seeing the mountain and the icehouse himself. However, the Yang family was not as wealthy as Zhulan's, so the fruit trees they bought were only three-year-old. The Yang family used the remaining money to buy ninety acres of dry land and ten acres of paddy fields. Dad's lifelong savings were basically gone.

Zhulan suggested lending money to her father, but her father disagreed and just asked her to help her parents more when she sold apples.

Because of Zhulan's action, some officials in Lizhou City followed suit and bought a lot of mountain land to grow apples. Later, a chain reaction was triggered. All the mountains near Lizhou City were sold, more people were hired, and the people nearby also earned a lot of extra income.

I opened Zhulan's letter and counted the pages. There were nine pages in total. A lot of things happened!

The letter was written by the second son. It started by saying that when the list of successful candidates was passed down, several elders in the family were so happy that they fainted. Fortunately, nothing serious happened. They said that there were many people coming and going in the house, and the gentry from nearby villages came to give gifts. County Master Dong was also very humble and was very polite to the second son Zhou.

Zhulan continued to read the next page, where Zhou Laoer wrote: "After Changlian returned home, his son was happy that his father had become the prefect, but he also regretted that he could not be with his parents to fulfill his filial duty. His son missed his parents very much. After asking Changlian and knowing that his parents were all well, his son felt a little relieved."

He then wrote about how to worship his ancestors and about selling his house in Pingzhou for 1,300 taels, saying that he would bring it with him when he returned to Lizhou in the autumn.

Zhulan was delighted to see that she had bought more than she expected. She thought one thousand taels was the maximum, but she didn't expect it to be three hundred taels more.

Zhulan continued to read. Zhou Laoer wrote, "Everything is fine at my parents' home. Yushuang seems to have grown up, but she misses grandpa and grandma very much. Mingrui has also grown up. Although he is young, his memory is good. He often asks his son where grandpa and grandma are."

Zhulan narrowed her eyes. If she wasn't her stepmother, she really wouldn't have read the letter objectively. Zhou Laoer realized the crisis and tried his best to show his filial piety!

After reading two more pages of the letter, the smile on Zhulan's face disappeared. Zhou Laoer said that they had exchanged food for Zhao at the beginning, and the Zhao family knew about the Zhou family. All the states and cities knew who the runner-up was through the report. Someone from the Zhao family came to the door, and Zhao's uncle and cousin came in person, but he drove them away.

Zhou Laoer wrote: "I have asked someone to investigate the Zhao family. I was just afraid that my parents might be worried about home, so I wrote a letter to them first. Don't worry, I will take good care of the Zhao family and take good care of my brothers and sisters."

Zhulan wrote to Zhou Laoer saying that he could handle it. Zhou Laoer then talked about Xuemei and the children. The twins were very obedient. Jiang Sheng also bought three acres of land. The remaining two pages of the letter were about Changzhi, Changlian, and Mingyun and Rongchuan who were studying. The first two had good grades in school and had grown a lot taller.

Then we talk about Chang Lian. After returning home, Chang Lian devoted himself to studying. When the Dong family asked Chang Lian to go out, Chang Lian refused. As for Chang Zhi, Chang Zhi would also come to Lizhou in autumn. After participating in the ancestor worship, Chang Zhi went to study with Xu Jinshi.

Zhulan put down the letter, feeling sad in her heart. Separation would indeed weaken feelings, especially since she and Zhou Shuren had only been in the ancient times for three years. She finally felt like parents again, but now they were separated again. During the days of separation, the only thing she missed was her children. As for the adults, she seldom thought about them because she was busy.

That’s not right. She missed Xuemei a lot. Every time she bought something for Xuehan, she would think of Xuemei. With Xuehan around, she also bought a lot of things for Xuemei.

Zhulan replied directly without waiting for Zhou Shuren to read the letter, because even if Zhou Shuren read it, he would not reply personally. Now Zhou Shuren's heart is filled with the common people, and there is even less room for his adopted son.

In the house of Lijia Village, Zhou Laoer and Chang Lian sat opposite each other. Zhou Laoer was now always accompanied by the second old man of the Zhou family whenever he went out. His clothes were all newly made with materials from the capital, so no one dared to look down on him even though he had an honest face. There had been many banquets recently, and Zhou Laoer had gained weight.

Zhou Laoer drank tea and said, "I don't know whether the letter has reached Lizhou, and I don't know what the situation is like in Lizhou City."

He was worried about whether his father could handle the affairs of Lizhou City.

Chang Lian now completely worships his father. "The emperor values ​​father. Father will definitely find a way to deal with the problems in Haolizhou City. You will know when you receive the reply."

Zhou Laoer put down his teacup. He really wanted to go to Lizhou City right away. He envied the eldest brother. He used to think being the eldest brother was miserable, but now he wished he was the eldest brother. "I don't know if the eldest brother can help my parents."

Chang Lian was silent, "Big Brother is no longer the Big Brother he used to be."

When he saw his eldest brother again, it would be difficult for him and his second brother to cheat him. After more than a year of independent training and hands-on teaching from his parents, he was very jealous of him.

Zhou Laoer also fell silent. It turned out that his parents preferred Hanhan more. That’s right, when they met again, Hanhan was no longer Hanhan.

Zhou Laoer thought of Wang Laosi. In the past, Wang Laosi could make him angry to death, but now Wang Laosi flattered him and called him Master Zhou Er for a joking reason, and would never brag about the benefits of dividing the family property again.

In the room, Zhao and Dong were sewing handkerchiefs. Zhao was in a good mood. This time, Dong no longer had any advantage. The eunuch's rank was higher than that of Dong County's master, and he was also valued by the emperor.

The head of the household said that there were many officials in the city who had never seen the emperor in their entire lives, but my father-in-law not only saw him, but was also given an important position. Look at how Dong took care of Chang Lian and how she was particularly respectful to her, her second sister-in-law.

Zhao was happy for a while, but then she became depressed again. In the past, when she was with her mother-in-law, she could compete with her eldest sister-in-law for her mother-in-law's attention. Now, only her eldest sister-in-law was in front of her mother-in-law. Could it be that fools are blessed? God loves fools?

Dong had already experienced the gap. Ever since her father-in-law passed the imperial examination, her parents told her that she was the daughter-in-law of the Zhou family and nothing else. Her future status would also depend on the Zhou family.

Not only did my father-in-law become the runner-up in the imperial examination, but he was also appointed as the prefect of Zhili Prefecture as soon as he took office. My dad said that as long as my father-in-law could stabilize Lizhou City, his future would be limitless.

Now when she returns to her parents' home, her brothers and sisters-in-law all call her the Second Madam of the Zhou family instead of "little sister". Thinking of the faces of her sisters-in-law and how they had troubled Chang Lian's relatives, they not only came in person to pay tribute but also gave her half of the money they earned from forcibly selling the prescription, a total of one thousand taels!

It's a pity that my husband said that all the money belonged to my eldest sister-in-law. All the money from selling the recipe was given to her. My father-in-law and mother-in-law both warned me that I could scheme against outsiders but not against family members. This one thousand taels would be given to my eldest sister-in-law when we arrived in Lizhou City.

As for why I didn't let my second uncle write in the letter, the reason is very simple. My husband and my second uncle are jealous of my eldest brother and his wife, so they naturally don't want to tell them the good news.

Not to mention her husband, she is even jealous of her elder sister-in-law. Fortunately, she will be able to go to Lizhou City in a few months!

(End of this chapter)