Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 319: Returning to the Dynasty_1

Chapter 319: Chapter 319: Returning to the Dynasty_1

Zhulan burst into laughter, "She’s happy with her purchases, but she spent quite a bit of silver, didn’t she? The more silver she spends, the more it hurts!"

Zhou Shuren, "...... deserved!"

Zhulan, "....."

This person really doesn’t think big, he’s too petty.

Ming Teng burst in, "Grandma, Grandma, what did you buy?"

Zhulan, used to being called grandma, smiled and pointed at the table, "There are little lanterns, and sugar figures, you and Yushuang can share them!"

Ming Teng made a sound of agreement and happily ran to the table, looking over each item. When he smiled, he looked just like Lady Li, with eyes that almost disappeared in his cheerful expression.

As Ming Teng held a sugar figure, he thought that it was best to be with grandpa and grandma. He had fun all the way to the capital, and there were so many fun things there. He would definitely have to show off to Yushuang when he got back!

Xue Han came in holding Yu Lu, and Ming Teng beckoned to his sister, "Come over here, quick."

Xue Han held Yu Lu and came to the table, where Ming Teng started dividing the items for his sister.

Zhulan watched with a smiling face; it was good that the boy did not keep everything for himself. In the end, although he really liked the last item, he still gave it to his sister.

Lady Li wouldn’t think of buying toys for her sons or daughters; whatever she bought was for her own use. This mother’s heart is truly big!

Zhulan sent the two children out to play and asked Xue Han to record the day’s expenses.

Xue Han tallied the accounts and inhaled sharply, "Mother, we’ve spent fifteen taels just today."

Zhulan smiled, "You can’t calculate it that way; we bought a lot of grain today, which will last for several months. It can’t be counted as a single day’s expense."

Xue Han was still shocked and felt that the expenses in the capital were too high.

Zhulan took out some broken silver and placed it in a small wooden box to hand to Xue Han, "From now on, you’ll manage the household expenses. Oh yes, you will also handle the monthly allowance for Xing Hua and the others."

Even after buying Maids and young Servants, it was necessary to provide them with a monthly allowance. Ma Qiang and Lady Mawei could not be of much help, but they couldn’t be shortchanged either, three hundred Copper Coins a month. Ma Eryue and Xing Hua received an additional hundred Copper Coins, Li Chun and Yu Shui earned three hundred fifty each, Jing Zhe followed Xue Han’s lead with two hundred, and Chun Fen, being too young to help, did not need a monthly allowance yet.

The Zhou family’s monthly allowance had also increased. Zhou’s eldest had four sons, each receiving one Silver Coin a month, the daughters-in-law were also given one Silver Coin, the grandsons and granddaughters each got half a Silver Coin, Xue Han as the eldest granddaughter also received one Silver Coin, and Rongchuan was treated just like the eldest Zhou’s children.

When it came to allowances, Zhulan thought about Lady Dong’s allowance, which did not resemble that of an official’s daughter. Only after inquiring did she learn from Lady Dong that it was Mr. Dong who had set the allowances—fifty Wen for granddaughters, one hundred Wen for grandsons, as the old man wanted his descendants to understand that making money wasn’t easy and to hope they would be frugal and economical.

Although the rule was good, there was always a way to bend it. Lady Dong said that their children didn’t rely on their monthly allowance to live; they received plenty of money for the Lunar New Year, which was usually enough for the whole year.

The rules of the Dong family did have some effects; the Dong children all knew their allowance was small, and each time they received it, they were reminded of the difficulties of earning money.

Xue Han was excited, she was going to help manage the household for her mother. It was the first time she could be of help to her mother, "Mother, I will manage it well."

"Mother believes in you."

An hour later, the eldest couple returned home. Lunch in the capital was their first meal since arriving, and it was worth celebrating as the conflicts in the Northwest were coming to an end. Lady Li had bought plenty of meat and vegetables, planning to prepare a lavish meal.

Even though it was not winter yet, the capital had no shortage of green vegetables like spinach, crown daisy, and rape. Lady Li had bought some of each.

The capital had the most varieties of meat available. In the shops specializing in meat, as long as one had Silver, one could buy any desired meat. Deer meat was available too, although its price was quite touching.

Lady Li had bought ten jin of fatty meat to render into lard, five jin of pork belly, two jin of lean meat, ten jin of ribs, and ten jin of mutton.

Lady Li had also wanted to buy lotus roots but found them a bit expensive, so she didn’t purchase any.

At noon, they prepared eight dishes, with rice as the staple food.

Zhulan’s family and the Ma family ate separately; Zhulan provided the Ma family with a month’s supply of grain every month and daily vegetables, which the Ma family cooked for themselves.

With fewer servants now, they ate this way, but in the future, as the number of slaves increased, there would be a designated place for the servants to eat.

After lunch, there was still quite a lot of work to do, but fortunately, they had brought along Old Zhou’s couple, and with Xing Hua and a few others helping, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren didn’t have to lift a finger; they only needed to give orders.

In the afternoon, the lanterns that had been purchased were all hung up, the grass in the courtyard needed to be cleared, and the firewood in the woodshed had to be chopped.

It took Zhulan’s family two days of bustle to finally get the capital mansion thoroughly in order.

No sooner had the mansion been tidied up than the Zhou family received an invitation from Zhao Bo, who wanted to come and formally visit.

The next day, Zhao Bo didn’t come alone; he was accompanied by Scholar Deng.

Scholar Deng brought gifts, "It’s been several months since we last met, and Scholar Zhou is now Graduate Zhou; this is a small token of my regard."

Zhou Shuren courteously said, "Just having Scholar Deng come is regard enough, please take a seat."

A glint flashed in Scholar Deng’s eyes. He hadn’t expected this at all. Out of consideration for Zhao Bo, he hadn’t taken advantage of Scholar Zhou, and thankfully he hadn’t; Zhou had become a graduate in just a few months, a significant figure indeed!

Zhao Bo said with a smile, "Brother Zhou’s mansion is quite nice, much more exquisite than my little courtyard."

Zhou Shuren, "If it catches Brother Zhao’s eye, then it really must be quite something."

Zhao Bo exclaimed, "It’s more than just quite something; Brother Zhou, you needn’t be so modest."

Zhou Shuren humbly said, "It’s all thanks to Scholar Deng’s help!"

Zhao Bo laughed heartily, "Then you should thank him properly, ah; in a few days, the price of the mansion is going to double!"

Zhou Shuren narrowed his eyes, Zhao Bo was well-informed, indeed, "Is the Northwest conflict about to end?"

Zhao Bo lowered his voice, "Yes, it’s over; the grand army is returning to the capital, and this time they’ve captured one of the foreign clans’ leaders, a great victory indeed."

He had heard it from family members who were officials at court, who also told him that next year’s imperial examination might be related to the aftermath of the war!

Zhou Shuren thought of the Yang brothers and wondered how they were faring.

At noon, Zhao Bo and Scholar Deng drank wine at the Zhou residence. Zhulan didn’t have Lady Li prepare fried dishes; instead, they had hotpot featuring lamb and various types of mushrooms.

Zhulan also ate hotpot in the back courtyard. Zhou Shuren had seen it in the store and bought two to bring back; they were used today.

Around three o’clock in the afternoon, Zhao Bo and Scholar Deng finally left.

Zhou Shuren had also drunk quite a bit, clearly fishing for information, otherwise he wouldn’t have drunk so much. Zhulan wrung a towel to wipe Zhou Shuren’s face, "Did you pry any information out of them?"

Zhou Shuren shook his head, "Scholar Deng did let out quite a bit, but Zhao Bo is tight-lipped; he will say what he wants to say, and what he doesn’t wish to share, he won’t divulge, even if he’s drunk."

But what he wanted to extract was Zhao Bo’s words; it seemed that Zhao Bo had received training too, his lips were much tighter than before.

Zhulan said, "Zhao Bo must have brought Scholar Deng along for a reason today, right?"

Zhou Shuren nodded, "Yes, Zhao Bo wants to buy one of our properties at the current market price."

Zhulan paused in her washing of the towel, "Doesn’t Zhao Bo already have a place to live?"