Chapter 423 Do You Like It?
A large orchard brought in nearly four thousand taels of silver, and the Yang family also brought in quite a bit, almost approaching two thousand taels of silver.
The Zhou family's largest income was deposited into the account. Zhulan checked the expenses for the year. Last year, she went to Jinzhou and took away 10,000 taels, leaving 2,000 taels for household expenses.
This year's expenses for food, clothing, housing and transportation were not too much, only more than 300 taels, mainly because the material of the clothes was expensive.
The biggest expense of the year is gift-giving. The Chen family gives expensive gifts when they have money, and the Zhou family cannot be too rude in returning the gifts. This goes on and on.
I spent more than seven hundred taels on gifts this year.
There are also some jewelry. She adds one or two pieces of jewelry every time the season changes. Zhulan also ordered jade bracelets for several daughters-in-law, which is a big expense.
In addition, if they came across good leather and wood, they would save them for their daughters’ dowries.
The two thousand taels of silver have basically run out, and there is still money from the autumn harvest and the sale of apples on the account.
Zhou Lao Da stood beside his mother and saw the final calculated number. He took a breath and said, "Mom, our family earns more than 2,000 taels a year?"
A few years ago he thought ten taels of silver a year was a lot, but it has only been a few years.
Zhulan lowered her head and said, "Not much."
Zhulan really doesn't think it's a lot. Although she spent money, she also saved money, especially some furs. She can earn money by saving them now. With the increase in population and economic development, the prices of furs and wood will increase, and they will double.
Less than two years later, the price of fur increased by 10% compared to last year since the opening of maritime trade.
Zhou Lao Da covered his chest with his hands. This was not much. Mother bought industries and land for the first wife. The first wife's annual income this year was only one hundred taels. Thinking about the income, the first wife's money was too little. It was really not as good as the second wife. He did the math for the second wife. The second brother's annual income from the fruit and apple orchard alone was over a thousand taels.
The third wife of my third brother had a lot of money, and my third brother also had quite a bit. When he was in Pingzhou City, he received a lot of gifts, and it was said that he resold them on the way to Lizhou.
All the land of the third branch passed through his hands. The income from the land alone was nearly two hundred taels, not to mention some income from the shops.
Boss Zhou thought about what Li said and felt that their first wife should indeed work harder.
Zhulan calculated the bill and asked her daughter to keep it. Zhulan said to Mr. Zhou: "I have prepared all the New Year gifts. You can pack up and prepare to go back home."
When Zhou Laoda knew about the purchase of the farm, he thought about the money in the account book. "Mom, although the land in the Northeast is vast and sparsely populated, and the price of farmland is cheaper than in the South, the four thousand taels in the account book are not enough for the big farm you want to buy."
Zhulan rubbed her shoulders and stood up, taking out the house deed that she had prepared long ago. "These are the two houses I bought in the capital. One is at the border of the northwest city. It is large enough to build a three-courtyard house. I am not going to sell this house. I will rebuild it when I have enough money in the future. The other one is in the west city. The place is too small, and I am not going to keep it."
Zhulan handed the house deed to Boss Zhou, "Pinggang has been prosperous in the past two years, and the price of houses in the capital has also increased. Although not as alarming as Pinggang, our house in Xicheng can also increase by 1200 taels. When we bought it, it was 2800 taels. We should be able to sell it for 3000 taels. You can go to the capital to sell it to Mr. Deng. Add the 3500 taels I gave you, and you will basically have enough for two manors."
Zhulan had said so much, so she decided to tell him everything at the same time. "If there is any money left, you can buy another 20 acres of land near Zhoujia Village and donate it to the clan school as the expenses of the clan school."
Zhou Lao Da remembered them all, "Mom, where is the old house?"
He remembered that his mother said she wanted to rebuild it.
Zhulan hadn't forgotten that the old house was now vacant, and the eldest daughter had already bought land in Zhoujia Village to build a house. "Let's put it aside for now and talk about it next year. And don't forget to pay respect to your ancestors."
Zhou Lao Da would pay tribute to the deceased every time he went back home. "Mom, I will never forget to pay tribute to the deceased even if I forget anything else."
Zhulan smiled and said, "Yeah."
Three days later, Zhou Lao Da left with the prepared New Year gifts. Not long after Zhou Lao Da left, Zhou Lao Er and Zhao came back.
Because Zhou Laoer was going to Jiangnan, but Butler Ding was going with him.
As for Zhao, she was pregnant, and they couldn't leave her alone in Sichuan, so she came back to stay for two months.
Zhou Laoer and his wife came back with a lot of stuff. They placed two boxes of stuff in front of Zhulan. Zhou Laoer said, "Mom, I know a fur merchant. I know you like fur, so I bought some for you. Do you like it?"
Zhulan certainly liked it, "It will cost a lot of money."
These furs are all of the best quality, and three skins are worth a lot of money.
Zhou Laoer smiled and said, "Mom, I've made a lot of money this year, so don't worry about the money."
Zhulan looked at Zhou Laoer. It seemed like this was the first time she received something from Zhou Laoer in all these years. Zhulan squinted her eyes. This meant she was pregnant. Zhou Laoer was afraid that she and Zhou Shuren would favor their younger son and felt a sense of crisis.
The other box contained some cloth and food.
Zhao held a bundle in her hand and said, "Mom, we know you are pregnant. These are the small clothes I made for your unborn baby."
Zhulan had a wooden face. She almost forgot that Zhao was also pregnant and the month of pregnancy was about the same.
Zhou Laoer looked at the teacup. He also had a severe toothache. His younger brother or sister was about the same age as his son or daughter.
Zhulan took the bundle and opened it. She was silent as she looked at the small clothes in the bundle.
Zhao was worried, "Mom, don't you like it?"
She made the clothes according to her mother-in-law's preferences. Her mother-in-law liked ladies, so she bought fabrics for girls to please her mother-in-law.
Zhulan smiled and said, "I like it very much."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
