Chapter 68: Dad is gone and Mom is gone

Time passed quickly, and a week went by in the blink of an eye. After paying taxes on the food in the house, half of the remaining food was sold.

The grain production in ancient times was too low. Even people like Zhulan who don't know much about farming know the modern grain production. In ancient times, if the weather was good and the harvest was good, one mu of rice, which Zhulan's family took good care of with fertile land, would only produce 320 kilograms. The corn production was slightly higher, but not much higher, less than 550 kilograms.

Zhulan's family earned a little over seven taels from selling half of their profits. After deducting the cost of seeds and other expenses, they only made a little over six taels a year, which was not enough to cover the annual expenses. There were scholars in the family, and the annual tuition for two sons was one tael and fourteen taels. Add in the cost of pens, ink, paper and inkstone, and the two sons were a huge source of money. This was just for studying, not taking part in the imperial examinations.

In ancient times, the chance of a poor family producing a noble was as rare as a rare species, and money alone was a crushing necessity.

Zhulan's food was sold, and Zhou Shuren also set off for the south. Zhulan knew that money was essential for traveling, so she gave Zhou Shuren fifty taels of silver and also dug out the jewelry that her original owner had never touched.

There were so many jewellery. My father taught me not to wear jewellery that symbolised status, so I just picked jade bracelets and pearl jewellery, and didn't dare touch jade pendants.

Zhulan dug them out and counted them. There were six pairs of jade bracelets, two pearl necklaces, a dozen red hairpins inlaid with pearls, and the rest were some miscellaneous jewelry.

Pearls were very expensive in ancient times. Those that could enter wealthy families were of top quality in both size and roundness. The jewelry in the original collection was worth a lot of money.

Zhulan bought Zhou Shuren a pair of jade bracelets of good quality and a pearl necklace. Regardless of whether they made money or not, they pawned them when they returned. The two of them had spent all the money at home and they felt anxious because they had no money in their hands!

On the first day Zhou Shuren left home, Zhulan felt dazed and had no energy to do anything. The two of them had always been tied together, and without Zhulan, they felt uneasy.

The next day, I started to have wild thoughts and had a nightmare at night. I dreamed that Zhou Shuren died and I was the only one left in ancient times. I regretted so much that I didn't follow him.

The Zhou family's sons were worried. Their father was less angry when their mother left. They were scared and feared that their father would come back and their mother would be gone.

On the third day, Zhulan felt that it was time to find something to do for herself, so after dinner she gave her assignments. "The wall of the eldest brother's house is too low. You and the second brother should find a few people to raise the wall to at least two meters."

Zhou Lao Da breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that Mom had something to do. He hadn't slept well in the past few days. "Okay, Mom."

Zhulan looked at Rongchuan, who had little sense of existence, and her grandson, who only wanted to play. She was not good at classical Chinese, but was good at mathematics. There were math questions in the imperial examinations, and math was also indispensable in her daily life. "Starting today, the whole family will learn math."

Li was frightened and immediately recalled the memory of her husband teaching her to read. She trembled all over and said, "Mom, I will be a grandmother in a few years, so I don't need to learn anymore."

Zhulan, "........"

What a ridiculous ancient time! If you calculate this way, wouldn't she be a grandmother in ten years when she is 46 years old?

Zhao's eyes sparkled. It was time to get close to her mother. She wished her sister-in-law would not learn. "Mom, I will definitely learn well."

Li glared at the second daughter-in-law, and hardened her heart, "Mom, I will learn too."

Zhulan looked at the children, "What about you?"

Rongchuan was eager to learn. He had the opportunity to study, and he studied hard even when he was sick. He knew that he started late, "Auntie, I want to learn too."

That’s right, Zhang Rongchuan called her aunt.

In the past in the village, if two families were not related and were not of the same clan, they would address people according to their age, which was very chaotic. But it was different for people of the same clan, as their generation could be directly seen from their names, and they would not be confused at all when addressing them.

Rongchuan moved in. He was about the same age as the old son. Zhulan and her husband had other ideas, so they corrected the way they addressed him.

Of course, there are also couples who cannot stand their ten-year-old children calling them grandpa. Nowadays, many people get married in their thirties. In order to avoid being worried, Zhou Shuren decided to take the scholar examination next year. If he passes the examination, he will be called Zhou Xiucai, or Xiucai's wife, and he won't have to worry about it anymore in the future.