CH 46

Li shi’s voice was loud, Zheng shi from next door heard the movement and came to the base of the wall, stepping on the stump and climbing the wall, “Eldest zhínǚ (1), your family doesn’t do business, tell it to your aunt.”

Zhulan looked at the one-person-high fence, thinking in her heart that when Zhou Shuren goes south of the Yangtze River, she will ask the eldest and second eldest to increase the wall height, so that Zheng Shi would not like to watch her house lively every day, and she would get upset when she thought about it.

When it comes to herself, Li shi has a strict mouth, “Auntie heard it wrong, I said Sanya is doing business.”

Zheng shi was attracted by Sanya, and the number one gossip in the village never went down. “Yo, Sanya is doing business to help support the aunt’s family.

Zhulan hasn’t been wearing it for a long time, but she doesn’t dare to underestimate the ancients. People in every dynasty have their own survival instincts, especially those from the lower classes, who know best what the taboos are.

Zheng shi was a child bride (2), and her surname directly followed her husband’s. The youngest son of the Zheng family has been admitted to the school for two years at the age of eight. He doesn’t have that big ambition of sitting for the imperial examinations, but he hopes that he will be able to pass the child exam to gain benefits. Naturally, he can’t do business by himself. There are many people in the village doing odd jobs, and there was no problem at all.

As for the Zheng family, it is impossible for the younger son to marry Sanya in order to live a good life. It is necessary to mention here that the regulations for the imperial examinations for the relatives of businessmen, the son-in-law of the businessman, and the three generations of the descendants were not allowed to take imperial examinations. This directly eliminated some petty officials from marrying girls from the business family for money. As for sending the girls as concubines, there was no restriction to that because concubine-born sons were in any case debarred from sitting for the imperial exam, which of course limited their future.

Merchants and their blood relatives within the first two degrees of kinship were not allowed to take the imperial examinations, as a way to prevent the possibility of merchants using their close blood ties to gain influence within the government.

When a new dynasty was established, families with members who were literate were well aware of these regulations, in order to avoid jeopardizing their family’s future prospects and dragging down the entire clan.

Merchants were already in charge of the economy, and the previous dynasty gave them power which raised their ambitions. When the new dynasty was established, the Emperor cracked down on these ambitious merchants to quell unrest and since then, the merchant class has been suppressed to a great extent.

Zhulan frowned, the male protagonist was an official, how could he have feelings for Wang Ru? Wang Ru’s cooking spicy cabbage was just a small test of her skills. Later, she didn’t get the land from the Wang family and didn’t say she wanted to buy it. Instead, she went straight to the city and became a businessman. Besides, as the legitimate son of his family, the male lead’s sense of familial duty would be extremely strong. It seems that there are too many loopholes in the story to be reconciled.

Seeing that her mother-in-law was absentminded, what can the first daughter-in-law do? She can only remind her of the present time, “Mother, Fourth Wang is here.”

Zhulan snorted, only to realize that she didn’t know when Fourth Wang didn’t know came, “Fourth Son, Auntie mentioned that San Ya has developed some skills. You should show more concern for her and not frighten her so much. Tigers do not eat their own cubs, so take good care of her. Quickly take her back with you and don’t scare the child anymore.”

Fourth Wang’s face was hot, however, Aunt Zhou didn’t say anything bad, why did he feel that soft words can tear people’s skin more?

“Auntie, I’ll go back first and thank you on another day.”

Zhulan, “Don’t, I want to live longer, and I don’t want to be involved in your Wang family’s affairs. Please take care of your child and your mother in the future!”

“Yes, I know Auntie.”

Fourth Wang lost his heart and was angry, he pulled Sanya’s clothes and walked away in despair.

Zhulan sneered, Fourth Wang did not change for the better, and he wanted to control Wang Ru more. No wonder Wang Ru found someone else to cooperate with.

Zhulan saw Second Zhou staring at her, so she took a look at herself, “What’s wrong?”

Second Zhou shook his head, “There’s nothing wrong.”

It’s just that the mother refreshed his understanding. He doesn’t have to worry about the mother being deceived in the future, because the mother has a better sense of judgment than him.