CH 88

Zhulan was the calmest person in the family. When she walked to the box, a box of fabrics, half made of muslin and half made of silk, was neatly folded. The compacted fabric was enough for the whole family to wear two or three clothes. “Why did you buy so much?”

“Southern styles become obsolete quickly, and the inventory of the cloth shop was cleared years ago. Many fabrics are cheap, so we bought more.”

Zhou Shuren said regretfully: “Our family is a farmer family. Even if I am a Tongshen, it wouldn’t be of much use. I can’t wear a lot of materials, otherwise, I could have bought you some expensive materials to make clothes.”

Zhulan complained about ancient times, and there were regulations on the fabrics for clothes, and she looked at the pens, inks, books, and books. Some tea boxes, she knows a little about brush and ink, as her grandpa loved brush calligraphy and taught her some by the way, the boxes are worth a lot of money, “You bought these too?”

Unexpectedly, Zhou Shuren can’t save money. How much did all these cost?

Zhou Shuren understood Zhulan’s hidden meaning and explained, “The pen, ink, paper, and inkstone are the rewards for helping to people identify antiques. The books were borrowed and copied by me, and I also bought second-hand books. Many scholars in Jiangnan really brought back some rare books at home.”

Zhu Lan flipped through the books and indeed found some pages with worn edges and many with annotations. These books were all carefully obtained by Zhou Shuren. Zhu Lan said, “You’ve worked hard.”

Zhou Shuren felt satisfied in his heart upon hearing Zhu Lan’s words, believing that all the hard work was worthwhile. He added, “The remaining two boxes are all special products.”

One box contained pastries, fans, handkerchiefs, and two pieces of good-looking sheepskin. The most important one was beef jerky. “Where did you get it?”

“Both the jerky and the sheepskin were bought from Tubo (1) merchants, and we will keep half of the beef jerky and send the other half to your father and mother. Make the sheepskin into a leather jacket for my father-in-law and mother-in-law to wear.”

Zhulan knew that this was Zhou Shuren’s special filial piety to the Yang family. Her gaze fell upon the last box, and it was no wonder that there was a strong smell. There were quite a few dried fish and the most surprising item was a ham. She widened her eyes and asked, “Do we have ham now?”

Zhou Shuren has been paying attention to Zhulan, and immediately resolved the confusion, “Ham was introduced at the end of the previous dynasty, but it was only popular among the rich and powerful. The one I got was given to me for the help I provided.”

Zhulan was very pleasantly surprised, and finally, there was some dried shrimp.

All the things seem to be a lot, but when they are actually taken out of the box, there were really not many things in the box.

Li shi was in a hurry. She was still waiting for her mother-in-law to divide the things, and her eyes had long been fixed on the fabric and fan, “Mother.”

Zhou Shuren interrupted Li shi, and opened the small box beside him, “This is for the girls at home. I bought it, Jiangnan’s jewelry is exquisite, share it with the girls.”

Zhulan saw that there were four pairs in it and thought that Zhou Shuren guessed that Zhao shi was pregnant with a daughter, “By the way, you have added a grandson. You chose a name!”

Zhou Shuren pondered, “Born in winter, this year has plenty of snow, which means auspicious snow heralds a good year, Zhou Mingrui. I hope the child will have a smooth life.”

Second Zhou grinned, his son’s name has such a good meaning, “Thank you, Dad.”

Zhulan also divided up the jewelry. Xuehan and two granddaughters each got one pair, and the extra pair was kept for another girl. Each had a pair of silver bracelets, a pair of silver earrings, and a silver lock.

Zhulan saw that Zhou Shuren was exhausted and had a hard time rushing back, and said to her Eldest, “Boss, go and bring some firewood back.” Then she asked Zhou Shuren, “Have you eaten in the morning? Let’s rest after breakfast?”

Zhou Shuren was not hungry, so he waved his hand and said, “I won’t eat, you guys eat, I’ll go back and lie down first.”

Zhulan signaled the Second child to fetch hot water for Zhou Shuren to wash and then said to Li Shi: “Make breakfast first and then go home after breakfast. Don’t forget to come back to cook at noon, and everyone else should do whatever they want.”

Li Shi stared at the two boxes filled with fabric and pastries, completely motionless. It seemed as if her eyes were rooted to the spot. Zhu Lan gritted her teeth and said, “Once I finish sorting them out, I’ll call you. There’s no use in you just standing there and watching. Hurry up and start cooking.”

Li Shi then moved her eyes and smiled flatteringly, “Mother, you can’t be partial.”

Zhulan was in a good mood because of Zhou Shuren’s safe return, “Okay, I know it.”

Li Shi confirmed that her mother hadn’t deceived her. It was only when she reached the entrance that she remembered she had forgotten to ask her father-in-law how much money her father had earned. However, her father-in-law had already entered the main room, and she didn’t dare to chase after him to ask. She could only anxiously keep thinking about it, feeling restless and uneasy.