Chapter 383 Different from Expectations

Boss Zhou stood aside and said, "Mom, Jinzhou City is really lively."

Zhulan turned around and said, "You don't have to accompany me, just go out for a walk."

The eldest brother Zhou shook his head and said that his father said that he and the second brother could not both leave, and at least one of them had to stay with their mother.

Zhulan, "......."

Once outside, Zhou Shuren's words are the most effective!

For lunch, Zhulan ordered a table full of local specialties. The flavors of Jiangnan cuisine are relatively light, and Zhulan likes shrimp, so she specially ordered shrimp. Yes, there were also crabs. Although it was past the crab season, they were still on sale.

Zhou Lao Da finished eating. Although it was hard to eat crabs, they tasted really good. After eating two, he had mastered the technique of eating crabs. "Mom, let's go home and buy some for Dad to try!"

Zhulan, "They are all dead when we get home, and we can't eat them if they are dead."

Zhou Lao Er said, "Mom, it won't work if you freeze it?"

Zhulan kept smiling. It's not like we can seal and freeze things nowadays, but it really wasn't possible in ancient times. Zhulan said, "Didn't you say there are dried shrimps and fish in the market? We can buy some of these."

Zhou Laoer knew that his mother had not returned, which meant that it was no use. Zhou Laoer thought that it was true. When he returned to the city, he would still be in the south for the first few days. The crabs would die and stink before they could be frozen. "Mom, I'll listen to you."

Zhulan finished her meal. "I'm going to go back and rest first. I'll go out for a walk in the afternoon. Lao Er, you and Steward Ding go to the pawnshop to ask about the farm and the land."

Zhou Laoer glanced at his elder brother, suppressed his joy and quickly responded, "Yes."

Although his mother didn't say it explicitly, after they left the house, she asked him and Butler Ding to do things all the way. He had a guess in his mind. Now letting him and Butler Ding be responsible for asking was the same as directly telling him that he would be responsible for future industries outside the province.

Zhulan glanced at Zhou Laoer. Even if she wanted to let Zhou Laoer take charge, she would not let him take full responsibility. It is not good to be too smart. Now the Zhou family's status has just changed for less than a year, and Zhou Laoer is in urgent need of proving himself so he dare not cook the books. But in the future, when he adapts to his status and has the industry to be responsible for, she is really worried about Zhou Laoer. Zhou Laoer is becoming more and more confident, and his courage will only grow.

Especially since Zhou Laoer's son is still too young, and Zhou Laoer currently relies on himself, it is inevitable that he would be bold enough to make false accounts.

Zhulan didn't want to test human nature. In order to avoid making trouble, she might as well cut it off from the root. Zhulan looked at Zhou Laoer's smile and then glanced at Zhou Laoda who was eating crabs with his head down. Then Zhulan turned around and went back to the room upstairs.

Butler Ding lowered his head. The Second Master was smart, but he was not good enough for the old master and the mistress. He had realized over the past six months that it was best not to play tricks in front of the mistress and the old master. Although the First Master was not smart, the old master and the mistress really liked him.

He didn't want to go through the trouble of reselling the property anymore and just wanted to do his job well. Anyway, as long as they worked hard and obeyed the rules, the mistress would treat servants like them well.

Moreover, he is very satisfied with the present situation. Everyone in Lizhou City who sees him calls him Master Ding!

When Zhou Lao Da saw Zhou Lao Er looking at him, he was not jealous at all. He was even afraid that industries from other places would fall into his hands. After he figured it out, he just wanted to stay with his father and mother as a filial son and didn't want anything else.

In the afternoon, Zhulan had a good rest and took Zhou Lao Da and Liu Ya shopping. It was a rare trip to the south, and Zhulan had long been thinking about the embroidery of Jiangnan, especially the double-sided embroidery.

Zhulan brought out 10,000 taels this time. When the accounts were divided, Zhulan kept 7,000 taels for herself. She took them all out this time. At first, there were 5,600 taels in the Zhou family's account. After the expenses, there were 1,800 taels left. The money was added to the account again after the watermelons and apples were sold. After deducting the expenses, the total amount on the account was 5,000 taels. Zhulan brought out 3,000 taels, and the family kept 2,000 taels.

Zhulan decided to buy two manors, one in her name and one in Zhou Shuren's name.

In the embroidery workshop, Zhulan looked at the double-sided embroidered screen with curiosity. She was really tempted, but the price was too shocking. A floor-length double-sided embroidered screen cost more than a thousand taels, and the screen that Zhulan liked started at a hundred taels.

Zhulan endured the pain and bought two small screens, some fans and handkerchiefs, spending more than three hundred taels of silver in the show shop.

Boss Zhou took a deep breath. This was really worth the money. "Mom, did we buy too much?"

Zhulan replied, "Not much. I only saved some dowry for your elder and younger sisters. I haven't saved any for Yushuang and Yulu yet!"

Zhulan no longer hides ordinary things from Boss Zhou. She tells him whenever she gets the chance. Now that she tells him, she is telling him directly that she has saved a dowry for Xuemei. Although she does not need to tell her sons, it also shows her trust in Boss Zhou.

The first reaction of Zhou Lao Da when he heard the news was to grin and giggle. Although his parents were strict with him and his sister, they still cared about them. Even when his eldest sister got married, his mother gave her some dowry. His second reaction was that he also had a daughter, and he couldn't rely on his parents for her marriage. He and Li also had to make some preparations. After some calculations in his mind, he and Li decided that the money they had was only enough to buy a few screens for the daughter!

Zhulan went to the fabric shop and bought some cloth, then went to the grain shop and bought some lotus seeds, coix seeds, etc.

The purchased items were delivered to the inn, packed and ready to be taken away when you return home.

As for some dried fish and shrimps, just buy them when they are gone.

Zhulan returned to the inn. Zhou Laoer and Butler Ding also came back. Zhulan sat down to rest for a while before asking, "Did you find out everything?"

Zhou Laoer said, "There are farms, but they are not very big. The largest is less than 200 mu, and the smallest is 100 mu. Moreover, there are no continuous plots of land, only scattered fields of a few mu."

Boss Zhou asked, "The information of the dental clinic is all available. Have you asked the nearby counties?"

Zhou Laoer nodded and said, "Yes, I asked. I only know the situation of the entire Jinzhou village. As for the land, I only know the situation near Jinzhou City."

Zhulan asked, "Have you asked about the price?"

Zhou Laoer took a deep breath, "Mom, the land in the south is more expensive than in the north because there are two crops a year. One mu of dry land costs ten taels of silver, and one mu of paddy land costs fourteen taels. A farm has a yard for the owner and a house for the tenants. The largest farm has two hundred mu of land, and the house costs two thousand three hundred taels. The smallest farm has one hundred mu of land, and costs one thousand three hundred taels."

Zhulan wants to buy a large estate with a starting area of ​​400 acres. The larger the estate, the more stable the income. On the contrary, the income of a small estate fluctuates greatly.

Zhulan didn't want to go any further south. The further south she went, the denser the population would be, and the smaller the village would be. Of course, there were some remote places in the south, but the roads there were difficult to travel, and it would be difficult to transport them. It would be better to stay in Jinzhou City, which had convenient transportation and fertile land.

The big estates of the future will be bought in the north. Who is to blame for the sparse population in the north?

Zhou Laoer asked, "Mom, shall we go check it out tomorrow?"

Zhulan said, "Look, go and make an appointment with the agent. Go there early tomorrow morning. Don't look at the small manors. Look at the big manors with 200 acres of land."

Zhou Lao Er, "Hey!"

Zhulan thought that although there was a gap between reality and expectation, it was good to be able to buy it.

(End of this chapter)