Chapter 365 Disappointment

Zhulan took out the drawings she had drawn and said, "Tomorrow I'll ask a craftsman to polish some special wooden vases and bamboo baskets. Do you think I'll do a good job?"

Zhou Shuren took a stack of drawing paper and said, "I have to admire that your drawings are getting better and better."

"Thank you."

After looking through them, Zhou Shuren said, "The wooden vases are all well designed. Mrs. Zhou, your tea party will surely be a great success."

Zhulan took the blueprint and said, "I thought so too. My preparations will be completed in two days. When will you take a break?"

Zhou Shuren sat down and said, "Four days from now will be the day for rest."

"That's great."

Zhou Shuren also thought it was great, as he was finally going to get the book he had been thinking about for a long time.

The next morning, Zhulan asked Guyu, the eldest son of housekeeper Ding, to find a carpenter. There were many carpenters in Lizhou City, and those who worked in Zhou's mansion liked to work in the mansion. Not only were their meals provided, but their money was also settled every day. If they did not eat their meals in the mansion, they could take the food home. This rule made many people inquire if there was any work available in Zhou's mansion.

Zhulan asked housekeeper Ding to look at the shop again. Zhulan had some requirements when choosing a shop. First, the shop must be large in area. Second, the location must be good, even if it is a little more expensive.

The people of Lizhou City were settled, and they had more or less some silver in their hands. With silver, there were demands. Within a month, there were many more merchants in Lizhou City, mainly cloth merchants and grocers. At least the people no longer had silver but could not buy soy sauce and vinegar.

With more merchants, Lizhou City also became more lively. The prices of shops and houses increased a lot, especially the houses. Some far-sighted wealthy families from nearby states came to Lizhou City and bought many houses.

As for the shops, most of them are waiting and watching, waiting for more merchants to appear before making a purchase.

Butler Ding is a celebrity in Lizhou City and is very recognizable. He first selected a few suitable ones and came back to introduce them to Zhulan. Zhulan took a carriage to see the shops. All of them were located on the main street. According to modern calculations, the area of ​​one shop was about 150 square meters, and some were about 120 square meters.

Zhulan chose two shops of 120 square meters because the two shops are connected. Not only can the two shops take care of each other in the future, but if there are businesses that need a larger area, they can be connected and the rent can be earned more.

The two shops were really cheap, costing only one hundred and ninety taels in total. After including the fees for the broker, the total amount was two hundred taels.

Most of the shops in Lizhou City are now vacant. Zhulan is not planning to do business. Although many officials like to invest in merchants or register the business under the name of outsiders, Zhulan is not planning to do so.

She kept her shop and planned to rent it out next year. In fact, she liked the farm and land more than the shop. There was one advantage of being an official. As long as Zhou Shuren was in office, they would never have trouble selling the farms they had, and they would not have to worry about being ripped off by merchants.

Zhulan bought two shops in Lizhou City purely for investment. She believed that after the autumn harvest, the prices of both houses and shops in Lizhou City would soar.

There is one advantage of the frontier prefecture city, which is that it is convenient for trading with foreign races. Our dynasty has crushed the foreign races but has not banned trade. As long as Lizhou City has items that attract foreign merchants, the tax revenue of Lizhou City will soar.

Apples are not only scarce in this dynasty, but even more scarce in foreign countries, especially in winter when dried vegetables are good for foreigners, not to mention fruits.

When Zhulan dug the ice cellar, she never thought of transporting her own apples to the north to sell. There were good buyers nearby, so why go so far away?

Time passed quickly, Zhulan's invitations were delivered to the residences of officials in Lizhou City, and Zhulan's family had completed all preparations.

All the female members of the family were invited to the garden. The weather in June was not particularly hot, so it was just right to entertain the guests outside.

The front yard is where Zhou Shuren entertains his colleagues.

As for food, the pastries were all made by Li's kitchen, and the dishes and wine were all from a predetermined menu. Zhulan didn't get much information, and her only source of information was Zhou Shuren. Zhulan really had no idea who liked what flavors, so in order to avoid any inconsiderateness, the table had twelve dishes, four spicy dishes, four salty dishes, four sweet and sour dishes, and four light dishes. Several kinds of wine were also purchased.

This time Zhulan invited everyone of high rank. There were quite a few high-ranking officials in the provincial capital. The female relatives all brought their daughters and maids with them. Fortunately, Zhulan's family had a big garden, otherwise it would have looked crowded.

Among these ladies, Zhulan was concerned about the wife of Tongzhi, Hua Yiren, and the wife of Tongpan, Miao.

The wife of Tongzhi Chen Chen, 42 years old, is not tall, speaks softly, is from the south, and is a bit thin. Well, all the ladies who came today are a bit thin, this is because they are vegetarians, and even after more than a month of maintenance work, they haven't gained much weight back.

The wife of the Tongpan, Ms. Miao, was thirty-five years old. She was good-looking and not short. Her every move was rhythmic. She was born into a wealthy family. She was very good at taking care of herself and looked to be around thirty years old.

Zhulan looked at the two of them, and Hua and Miao also looked at Zhulan.

Hua was surprised. She heard from her husband that Lord Zhou came from a farming and reading family. So in her opinion, Lord Zhou's wife was a vulgar peasant woman. Even though Yang's nephew became a general, it could not change his previous family background. Especially since Zhou and Yang went to Lizhou City and either bought land or farmed, she and Miao looked down on them.

Even though her husband said that Lord Zhou was extremely cunning and capable, that only represented Lord Zhou. She still despised Zhou Yang.

She had been waiting for Yang's invitation to watch the fun, and at the same time use Yang's vulgarity to suppress Lord Zhou. If Lord Zhou came to Lizhou City, her husband would have no chance.

She came here to see the joke, but she was shocked. Yang was obviously a few years younger than her, but how come she looked like ten years younger? Not to mention her appearance, what about her demeanor?

How can she be said to be from the countryside? She looks more like someone from an official family than anyone else like her.

Miao gathered her thoughts and thought, let Yang and Hua fight, since she doesn't like either of them. At least it seems that Yang is not a simple person now!

Zhulan and the others sat down and said with a smile, "I have been in Lizhou City for more than a month, but I have never had the opportunity to meet you all. Today I specially organized a tea tasting party, and I hope you all can taste it."

Hua Shi felt a little upset when she heard the voices of agreement. She used to hold her in her arms. She put down the fan in her hand and said with a smile, "I am a tea lover. I have a tea garden at home. I wonder what kind of tea Lady Zhou got? I think Mrs. Zhou must have got good tea. I must taste it carefully today."

Zhulan kept smiling. She was looking for trouble. She used to sympathize with Lord Chen, but now she no longer sympathized with him. She hoped that Zhou Shuren could get more books out.

Miao covered her mouth with her fan. This was right. Should she try to smooth things over? Forget it. It was better to just watch the show.

(End of this chapter)