Chapter 400 Surprise

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye it is April. It is another year of college entrance examination. Fortunately, thanks to Zhou Shuren's subsidy policy, there are many students in Lizhou City who take the examination for the title of scholar this year, and not all of them are from Lizhou and have returned from other places to take the examination.

There were one hundred people who passed the provincial examination, and thirty of them were selected as scholars. Compared with the south of the Yangtze River, the passing rate in Lizhou City was very high.

Zhulan didn't pay much attention to the college entrance examination. She was more concerned about Li's belly. Li was pregnant for more than nine months and was about to give birth.

Although Li had given birth to three children, Zhulan was still worried.

Zhou Shuren came back a little late today. This year was the day when the college examination results were announced, and Zhou Shuren met with the students on government stipend and others.

Zhou Shuren looked very happy, "It's worth my effort to provide subsidies. Guess how many of the thirty scholars are from other places."

Judging from Zhou Shuren's smile, Zhulan knew the ratio must be very low. "Eight people?"

Zhou Shuren shook his head, "Five. Only five people who came back from other places passed the exam. Haha, great, the students from this state have lived up to my expectations."

Zhulan was really surprised. Those who could return to their hometown from other places to take the Tongsheng exam were either from an official family or had a wealthy family. Zhulan knew the local students in Lizhou City. If it weren't for the subsidy that Zhou Shuren wanted, there would be few people taking the exam this year.

This can be considered Zhou Shuren's political achievements. Zhulan's eyes sparkled, "How many of these 25 people do you think can participate in the provincial examination next year?"

Zhou Shuren narrowed his eyes, "Of these twenty-five people, the oldest is only thirty-five years old, and the youngest is twenty-two. They are all in a very good age group. As long as they have a good mentor, they should all be able to participate in the provincial examination next year."

Zhulan smiled. No wonder Zhou Shuren was so happy. No one would complain about poor political achievements. Zhou Shuren was no exception.

After the college entrance examination, there was a heavy rain in Lizhou City. Spring rain is as precious as oil. After the heavy rain, the apple trees also bloomed.

This year in Lizhou City, children no longer search for wild vegetables all over the mountains and fields. Instead, they run and play in the fields. During his day off, Zhou Shuren took Zhulan for a walk around the neighborhood. Zhulan was proud of Zhou Shuren.

It was at this time that Li's parents arrived at Zhou's house.

Zhulan wrote a letter to Xuemei, asking her to go to the Li family to tell them that, firstly, Li had not seen her parents for two years and Zhulan wanted to give her a surprise. Secondly, Zhulan also wanted to talk to the Li family as she still trusted the Li family more.

Zhulan welcomed Li Xu into the house and asked Liuya to inform Li. Li was stunned when she arrived at the main courtyard. She rubbed her eyes and said, "Am I dreaming?"

Li Xu had tears in her eyes. She looked at the lady's clothes and knew that she had not been offended. Then she saw the lady slap her. Li Xu's tears stopped, but she still looked silly. "How could you do that to me? Does it hurt?"

Li's eyes turned red, "It hurts, oooo, mother, you are so kind."

Li Xu stretched out her hand to hold the daughter, fearing that Li would hit her stomach. However, she stretched out her hand and watched the daughter rush into the arms of her mother-in-law.

Li Xu, "......."

How could she have the guts to become the daughter of her mother-in-law?

Zhulan was stunned, but soon came back to her senses and patted Li on the back, saying to Li Xu: "This is crazy because of happiness."

Li Xu, "......."

If her mother-in-law didn't explain, she still didn't feel heartbroken. But now she is heartbroken. Staring at the upset daughter-in-law, she and the head of the household hurried away worriedly. Well, this girl treats her mother-in-law as her mother. But she smiled in her heart again. It's good to be a mother. The silly girl can only live a good life if the mother-in-law protects her.

Li straightened up. She was really excited. Her parents must have been invited by her mother-in-law. Otherwise, according to her parents' personalities, they would definitely not come to see her just because she gave birth. Not only were they reluctant to spend money, but they also didn't want to be poor relatives of the Zhou family. Her parents were afraid that the Zhou family would dislike the Li family.

Li held her mother's hand and said, "Mom, you and Dad have worked hard along the way."

Li Xu's rough hands touched the tender hands of her daughter. "Traveling is not hard at all. It is much easier than farming at home. In fact, I am able to leave you because of your blessing."

With fifty taels of silver from the concubine and the jewelry she sent back, she felt confident. Even if she was not at home, her daughter-in-law would take good care of the family in order to get good things from her. Moreover, after the family bought the cow, her sons would be much more relaxed, so she had nothing to worry about.

Zhulan said, "Stop standing and talking. Mother-in-law, please sit down."

Boss Zhou hurriedly helped his father-in-law to sit down. After his parents-in-law sat down, he helped Li to sit down, and finally sat down himself.

Li Xu's smile deepened. "Mother-in-law, I didn't even recognize you just now. I haven't seen you for two years. You look younger and younger."

Zhulan coughed. Lately, she has become more willing to look in the mirror. Now that she is one year older, she is afraid of having more wrinkles. "I am already 40 years old. I am old."

Li Xu was telling the truth. Compared to her mother-in-law, she looked old. Her mother-in-law really hadn't changed much in the past two years. "My mother-in-law is still very young. I am old. I am already fifty years old. I am grateful to my mother-in-law for being able to come to Lizhou City today. Otherwise, I would have stayed at home all my life."

Zhulan smiled and said, "I invited you here because, first, Li is about to give birth. She has suffered a lot during this pregnancy. Although she looks carefree, she is also concerned about her family. Second, I want to discuss something with my in-laws."

Mrs. Li Xu didn't expect to be the head of the family. The women in the Li family were the ones who took care of the outside affairs. Who could have prevented the men in the Li family from being honest? "Xuemei has told us everything. Just tell us what you want to do."

Zhulan held Li Xu's hand and said, "Our two families are relatives."

Zhulan didn't say the rest.

Li Xu understood what her mother-in-law meant. The Li family was no longer servants of the Zhou family. This time they were in a cooperative relationship.

Li Xu was completely relieved. Although the Zhou family's status had changed, their attitude toward their in-laws had not changed. She once again admired her mother-in-law's good vision.

Mrs. Li Xu clapped her hands and said, "Look at my memory. I also brought a lot of pine nuts and other mountain products. I remember that my mother-in-law loves to eat them. There is nothing good at home. Please don't dislike them, mother-in-law."

"Don't mind, don't mind. You can't buy it in Lizhou City. It's a good thing."

When Zhou Laoer came, he harvested a lot. After Lord Chen ate the food, he took a lot away. Each family took a little, and their own family would have eaten all of it by April. When Zhou Laoer went to Pingzhou, Zhulan specifically asked him to harvest more!

Zhao's face turned even redder when she heard this. Her mother didn't bring anything when she came, and she hasn't sent anything since she moved out. She knew her mother had a lot of money. When she compared her mother with her eldest sister-in-law's family, she felt embarrassed.

Seeing the tiredness on Li Xu's face, Zhu Lan said, "My dear, you have worked hard all the way. Please take a rest first. We can talk about something tonight."

Li Xu was indeed tired. She was already over fifty, and she was afraid that if the young lady kept rushing around, her body would become weak. "Mother-in-law, I'm going to rest first."

"Okay, tell the boss what you want to do, and you can enjoy the blessing of being a son-in-law."

Li Xu smiled and said, "Okay."

Li cried out, "I'm about to give birth."

There is another chapter today that will be posted after midnight together with tomorrow's chapter. Don't wait if it's too late. Read it tomorrow morning~

(End of this chapter)