Chapter 367: The Visitor
In order to avoid being embarrassed, Zhulan arranged flowers with her daughter in the past two days. She clearly remembered that when the girl learned flower arrangement from her, her flower arrangement was only beautiful, but there was no artistic conception in the matching.
Zhulan took a closer look at the vase with the most votes and smiled. This girl was very clever. She matched it according to the shape of the headpiece, and the red flower in the middle was the finishing touch.
Zhulan handed the votes and the list to Hua and said, "We can't give out the first prize this day."
In one sentence, we know who won first place.
Hua looked at the list and the number of votes quickly, her face froze. She thought the best work was from the concubines. Although she seldom taught concubines, she believed that concubines from official families had some aesthetic taste.
Miao was also unhappy in her heart, because her daughter was not as good as the girl from a farming and reading family.
Xue Han was very surprised, she thought the headwear was beautifully matched and eye-catching, she didn't expect to win. Her expectations were not high, as long as she didn't embarrass her parents.
Hua and Miao laughed dryly and said congratulations in a dry voice.
Afterwards, the two wanted to show off their daughter, and wanted to perform all the arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Unfortunately, Zhulan's family didn't have music or chess. As for writing and painting, Xuehan was not afraid at all. Xuehan had been very self-disciplined since she was a child, and she had been writing big characters every day. Xuehan's calligraphy had already had its own style.
As for painting, Zhulan likes painting and often pulls her girlfriends to paint together. Practice makes perfect, and Xuehan has some talent.
Hua and Miao were so upset that they decided to go home and teach their daughters personally. Xue Han also aroused the jealousy of the young ladies from official families.
Xue Han was destined not to become friends with the daughters of the two families.
The banquet had sixteen dishes, and there was nothing to fault with them. Hua said dryly, "Mrs. Zhou is so thoughtful. Thank you for your hard work."
Zhu Lan said politely, "As you should. Hua Yiren, please."
Everyone had their own thoughts during the meal. After witnessing Zhulan's shrewdness today, no one would look down on Zhulan anymore. Not only did they not dare to look down on Zhulan, they were also very polite to the Yang family and did not dare to look down on the Yang family for being rude behind their backs.
After the banquet, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren saw everyone off. After everyone had left, the couple smiled at each other.
In the Chen family's car, Hua told the story of what happened in the backyard. "Mr. Zhou's wife is very cunning. I have been angry all day."
Chen Chen covered his chest with his hands. He was still thinking that he could relieve the pain in his heart from his wife's mouth, but now it hurt even more.
When Hua saw her old man's expression, she sighed and said, "In the future, let's just live in peace with the governor's family!"
Chen Chen pursed his lips and said, "Yeah."
In the He family's carriage, He Yun talked about what happened in the front yard, and Miao talked about the wonderful things in the backyard. The couple looked at each other and thought, Lord Zhou and his wife cannot be messed with!
After just one banquet, everyone knew what kind of person Zhulan was, and all the bad rumors about her disappeared.
Zhulan received many invitations one after another. Except for some positions that were too low, all the invitations for positions above the sixth rank were received.
In the following month, Zhulan attended an event a few days ago and completely integrated into the circle of officials' wives in Lizhou City. She also brought Wuchun's wife, Wu, to join her.
Zhulan and the wives of officials in Lizhou City were only friends for the sake of face for a month, but none of the wives caught Zhulan's eye. However, Xuehan did make a friend, the daughter of Zheng Hong from the Zheng family, whom she met when she went to the Yang family. The daughter of Zheng Hong was one year younger than Xuehan. The sons of the Zheng family all had good martial arts skills, and the daughters were all pampered.
The little girl Zheng Yu, Zheng Hong’s eldest daughter, is one year younger than Xue Han. However, because she is the eldest daughter, she is much more stable than Xue Han.
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye it was August. The weather in August was really hot. The only thing that made Zhulan happy was that the watermelons and melons she planted were about to ripen. Because they were planted from seeds, they would mature later, until September.
In Lizhou City, not only Zhulan's family planted watermelons, but the Yang family also planted a lot. Some wealthy families followed suit and planted some as well. There were really a lot of watermelons and fruits in Lizhou City.
In the past two months, Zhou Shuren has made full use of the labor force. Roads have been repaired, ponds have been dug, and some farmers' dilapidated houses have been demolished and rebuilt.
The villages near the entire Lizhou city have changed dramatically. Although the government no longer employs servants, the people are smiling all the time as the high-yield crops of sweet potatoes and potatoes are about to be harvested, and Zhou Shuren's reputation has increased even more.
The families of the people who participated in the hiring had more or less some money. There were more merchants in Lizhou City in the past two months. Not only were restaurants opened, but inns were also opened. From time to time, foreign merchants came to Lizhou City, and the prices of the shop that Zhulan bought also increased.
When Zhou Shuren returned home at night, he saw Zhulan sitting at the table writing. "What are you writing? Why are you so focused?"
Zhulan was so focused that she jumped a little. After a moment's pause, she said, "The watermelons and melons are about to ripen. I thought of writing some promotional flyers to let the nearby cities know that we have late watermelons and melons in Lizhou City."
Zhou Shuren took a bite of the watermelon in his hand. The watermelons at home were all bought in Chuanzhou City. Zhou Shuren counted the days and wondered, "Is the watermelon in Chuanzhou going to be sold out?"
Zhulan nodded, "Chuanzhou planted the rice seedlings in the fields ten days earlier than us. I asked the eldest brother to check it out. In a few days, there will be no watermelons left to sell."
Zhou Shuren ate the watermelon and washed his hands and said, "Are our apples ripening soon?"
Zhulan smiled and said, "We have to wait a little longer, around the end of October."
Zhulan visited the orchard in person and found that the high price she spent to hire the fruit farmers was worth it. The fruit trees were well taken care of and the fruits were good. Although the fruits were not very large due to the ancient varieties, the harvest was still quite a lot. Zhulan couldn't help but calculate how much money she could earn this year.
Zhou Shuren picked up the promotional slogan written by Zhulan and asked, "Are you going to send people to promote it near inns in various states?"
Zhu Lan nodded, "Foreign merchants are rich, and they are all gathered in the inn. They are also well-informed. If they can't eat so many late watermelons and melons, they will naturally inform their companions. Merchants from our dynasty will also pay attention to the movements of foreign merchants, and naturally attract more merchants to Lizhou. As long as you take the merchants to the fields, you can see the orchards. Merchants will come to buy the fruits before they are ripe."
In ancient times, fruits were valuable and the production was low, so people would only complain about throwing away too few fruits, not too many.
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "Your publicity saves the government a lot of trouble."
Zhu Lan smiled and said, "The government has a lot of things to do. You should also publicize the plan to build Lizhou City into the Apple State in the future. Only by spreading the word can more people know about it and attract more fruit merchants to come."
Zhou Shuren nodded and was about to speak, but Butler Ding knocked on the door and said, "Master, Madam."
Zhou Shuren asked, "What's the matter?"
It’s almost dark, no one should be coming!
(End of this chapter)