Chapter 373 Generous

It was November now. Zhulan put down the letter in her hand and warmed herself by the fire. It was good to have a kang in the house. The temperature rose quickly and it was much more comfortable than when she was in the capital.

The door opened, and Xue Han came in with Yu Lu. Xue Han smiled and said, "Mom, it's snowing outside."

Zhulan stood up and walked to the door. Snowflakes were floating in the sky. She reached out and caught a few flakes. "It's really snowing. The snow came a little early this year."

Xue Han likes snowy days, but the wind is a bit strong today. "Mom, it's too cold outside, come in."

Zhulan shivered. A gust of wind made her feel really cold. Returning to the stove, Zhulan looked at Yulu warming herself by the fire and could not help laughing. Her little hands looked the same as Li's. Zhulan looked at the brazier and felt like eating roasted sweet potatoes and potatoes. Her family did not grow sweet potatoes or potatoes. Her original plan was that since the people in Lizhou City had too many potatoes and sweet potatoes, but no one wanted them even if she sold them, her family would not grow them but buy from the people, and could also exchange some money for the people.

As a result, Zhou Shuren's vermicelli recipe was given to merchants, and the potatoes and sweet potatoes in people's homes were no longer a problem. Thinking of vermicelli, Zhulan thought of hot and sour rice noodles, and called Liuya, "Go and tell your eldest daughter-in-law Lixia to buy some potatoes and sweet potatoes today. Oh, and also vermicelli and peanuts."

Liu Ya wrote it all down and said, "I'll go and tell them about it."

Since there were more vermicelli vendors in Lizhou City, Zhulan's family has eaten there several times. Most of them were vermicelli stewed with sauerkraut and vermicelli stewed with chicken. Not only did Zhulan's family buy a lot, but every household bought a lot, and foreign merchants placed orders in batches.

The prices of sweet potatoes and potatoes have gone up now, two cents per pound!

At noon, Zhulan mentioned what hot and sour noodles looked like, and we ate hot and sour noodles at noon. In fact, in Shanzhou, a state known for its vinegar culture, this way of eating is very common.

It was snowing outside. Zhulan was eating roasted sweet potatoes with hot and sour noodles inside the house and felt that her life was pretty good.

Ming Teng felt unhappy. His good days were over since his uncle came. He didn't know what was wrong with his uncle. He watched him study every day. Well, his uncle also used his own standards to demand him to study. He really didn't have the study talent of his uncle!

But he couldn't tell his grandfather. Well, even if he told his grandfather, he wouldn't care. Not to mention telling his father, his father would only tell him that there were so many people who wanted to learn from their uncle but didn't have the chance!

Changzhi grabbed Mingteng by the collar and said, "Now that you've had enough to eat and drink, let's go. I haven't memorized all the articles for today in the whole morning."

Ming Teng looked at his grandmother for help, but she just waved her hand, "......."

Ming Teng should have been taken care of long ago. After arriving in Lizhou City, she and Zhou Shuren were busy, as was Zhou Lao Da. The only one in the family who could take care of Ming Teng was Li, and Li couldn't say anything about Ming Teng. The family was big, and Ming Teng couldn't be caught even if he ran away. This kid became even more unruly and even dared to climb up the ladder to the roof and tear off the tiles.

Mingteng really thought that Changzhi was willing to take care of him. Wasn't it her who instructed her to do so? Of course, this couldn't be told to Mingteng.

The first snow in Lizhou City fell heavily, and the temperature dropped significantly after the snow. Although the weather was cold, there were still cars coming and going on the main street of Lizhou City, most of which were foreign merchants selling furs, cattle and sheep.

These foreign merchants were mobile and had no fixed shops. In previous years when there was no war, they would not stay in Lizhou City for more than a few days before leaving.

This year, the people sold their potatoes and sweet potatoes for silver, so they had some silver in their hands. In addition, many wealthy families also planted apples this year. Foreign merchants knew that these wealthy families had silver, so they stayed longer.

Lizhou City specially opened up an area in the south city and rented it out to foreign merchants.

Zhulan took Li and Boss Zhou to visit the stalls of foreign merchants. The gems of foreigners were different from those in the local area. Because it was a border town, the prices were much cheaper than in the mainland. Zhulan bought some red gems and planned to keep them for her granddaughter to wear as a headdress.

Li was rare and generous and bought some broken gems.

The main thing to look at in Zhulan Street is fur. There are not many fox and mink skins on the stalls. Most of them are wolf skins and furs of large carnivorous animals.

Zhulan also saw bear skins. The price was also eye-catching. Even though the price in the border town was cheaper than in the inland areas, it was still very expensive in Zhulan's eyes. A skin cost three hundred taels.

These foreign merchants prefer to exchange many items in half for silver and half for food.

In the eyes of these foreign merchants, they could make some money by bringing the grain back. This was because the land of foreigners was not suitable for planting, and the grain of their own dynasty was not enough to be self-sufficient. The grain that foreigners could buy was very little. In addition, the imperial court stipulated that grain merchants were not allowed to sell large quantities of grain to foreign merchants. Foreigners were even more short of food. The price of grain in foreign countries was almost as high as the price of meat.

Zhulan walked around twice and selected some nice rabbit and sable skins. She kept the top-quality skins for her dowry, and sent the second-rate skins to the needlework room to sew cloaks.

Zhulan calculated the days and transferred some money to the needlework room so that when Zhou Laoer and others arrived, each of them would be able to get at least two sets of clothes and a cloak.

The most common items sold by foreign merchants are beef and mutton, especially mutton, which is the best-selling meat. They are all live sheep that have been slaughtered on the spot. The beef is not steer beef, but some yak meat, which is quite good when made into beef jerky.

Zhulan asked housekeeper Ding to buy a lot of mutton and beef. Now that the temperature outside is low, they can freeze them in a large vat without having to worry about them going bad. Since they bought a lot, they also prepared some New Year's goods.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed, and the apples and meat that Zhou Shuren sent to Beijing had arrived in Beijing.

Zhou Shuren gave away a lot of apples and pork. These apples and pork were given to the government by the people, and the government gave silver as the equivalent of buying them.

Some fruits were damaged by the freeze, but there were still quite a few apples left, and the pork was not afraid of freezing and was not damaged. In addition to these, there were also a few baskets of vermicelli.

The emperor picked up the cut apple and ate a piece. "It tastes good."

The room was dry. The apples that had just been brought in from outside were cool and refreshing. The sweet and sour taste was very appetizing. The emperor was somewhat reluctant to give them to his ministers.

The prince saw his father signaling him to taste it, so he took a piece and said, "It's really good."

The emperor said quietly, "Fruits are very expensive in winter, and the tribute we bring each year is not enough to eat. Let's keep all the apples and divide the vermicelli and pork. You decide."

Prince, "........Yes."

Could he say that he had expected this result? The fruits were indeed very expensive this year, and he felt bad about sharing these big and good apples.

The emperor wiped his hands and said, "Our Lord Zhou deserves a reward. He is very good at using my gifts to pressure others. Send him some of the tea and tangerines that were offered as tribute this year, and pick out a piece of uncarved jade from the storehouse. Oh, and send the title deed of the gifted house as well."

"yes."

The prince raised his eyebrows. It was rare for his father to be so generous. The jades in the warehouse were not small. As for their sources, well, they were all confiscated from the homes of the ministers. Where did they get them? They were all taken during the rebellion, and in the end, they all became the property of his father.

Having said that, even if Lord Zhou had abilities in the past, my father would not have paid much attention to him. If Lord Zhou did not do a good job, someone would have replaced him. But now Lord Zhou not only does a good job, but also has far exceeded my father's expectations. This time, my father has really taken it to heart. Not only has he stopped keeping him hanging, but he is also willing to reward him.

In Lizhou City, Zhulan and her daughter were muttering, "According to the date, your second brother and his party should be here soon."

Xue Han was also worried: "Mom, will we be delayed by the snow on the way?"

There are two more

(End of this chapter)