Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 355: Wife is the Best_1

Chapter 355: Chapter 355: Wife is the Best_1

Zhulan drew the candlestick closer, and the map that Zhou Shuren had brought back was a detailed map of the area near Lizhou City. Zhulan first looked at the rivers, as people’s lives cannot be separated from water sources. She was even more concerned about the water source, especially when a drought occurred, making water even more important.

As Zhulan carefully inspected, the water source of Lizhou City was not abundant, supported by only one tributary. "Are you going to dig ponds?"

Building reservoirs was out of the question, the project was too massive, and there was also the absence of cement for constructing dams, a lack of technical expertise could easily lead to disasters. Ponds or pools were a safer bet.

Zhou Shuren pointed at several locations with his fingertip, "Clever. I’ve looked at the distribution of counties and towns in Lizhou; digging some ponds wouldn’t be difficult. I’m just worried that after the chaos of war comes natural disaster, and it’s better to be safe than sorry. If there are no disasters, these ponds can be contracted out for fish farming which would also generate some income, and if a drought really happens, it could alleviate the situation somewhat."

Zhulan listened with her heart in her throat; there had been no droughts these years, and she was truly afraid of them. Here, unlike in the modern day, there was no way to induce rain artificially or reallocate water using technology; in ancient times, everything depended on the heavens. "Pah, pah, let the good omens come true and the bad ones not."

Zhou Shuren laughed, "May the good omens come true."

Zhulan felt slightly reassured and continued looking at the map, "You also want to build roads, don’t you?"

Zhou Shuren nodded, "You’ve experienced firsthand how difficult the roads were on our way here. Now that we have enough labor, we can use labor in exchange for food, and also take the opportunity to develop Lizhou—it’s killing two birds with one stone."

Zhulan frowned, "Labor-intensive work means more food consumption, and the two batches of food we have left aren’t enough. We need to save enough food for several months."

Zhou Shuren put away the map, "That’s why we’ll settle half in food and half in silver. The people can’t do without some silver; with silver in hand, they can manage their household affairs. The markets in all places will gradually recover, and it’s only when the people have needs that merchants will be attracted. Only then can Lizhou slowly revive its vitality."

Zhulan thought about the silver in Zhou Shuren’s hands, "Do the Deputy Magistrate and the Circuit Intendant agree? After all, Lizhou is managed by the three of you."

Zhou Shuren smiled, "Today I brought silver and also received power granted by the Emperor. Moreover, they are really out of options and are hoping for the best from me; they won’t have any objections."

Zhulan said, "That’s good then."

As for the intrigue that might come after overcoming these difficulties, she was not the least bit worried about Zhou Shuren — it was a blessing if he didn’t scheme against others.

Lying down and thinking for a while, Zhulan turned over and said, "Actually, the government office could buy some chicks and let each household take a few. When the chicks have laid eggs, they could pay back the silver with the eggs. Pigs too, they could be raised first and, if there isn’t enough feed, the rough grains for pigs could be taken in advance from the government office, and then pay back the silver for the pigs and the food when they are sold. Of course, the households that can take them must be of good character; we can ignore those who are lazy and just wait to eat. When distributing them, we also need to sign a liability document, apart from force majeure, they are responsible for other circumstances."

Zhou Shuren’s eyes brightened, "This is a good idea, the farmers will have an extra source of income and can also repay the silver to the government office, which in turn will have surplus silver for other purposes."

Zhulan smiled, "I was thinking of buying apple trees, weren’t I? You could also buy some good-tasting fruit trees and distribute them house by house, one or two trees per family. When the apples are ripe, you can connect them with some fruit merchants for an additional income."

Zhou Shuren raised an eyebrow, "It seems you wish to transform Lizhou City into Apple Town!"

Zhulan smiled, "Right, Chuanzhou Province may have lots of apples, but it doesn’t have a catchy name. Once Lizhou City becomes known as Apple Town, many fruit merchants will come here by reputation, which could also drive the local economy. Isn’t that many birds with one stone and quite wonderful?"

Zhou Shuren kissed Zhulan’s forehead, "You’ve really helped me a lot."

He knew how to govern and would slowly solve the current problems, but when it came to creating income for the farmers, he still needed Zhulan to think of more ways. In plain terms, Graduate Meng he brought with him could only help him with governmental affairs. For economic strategies, he still needed Zhulan.

Zhulan smiled with her eyes curved, "I haven’t even asked you yet. I remember you mentioned that the prefect of a direct-ruled territory and the Deputy Magistrate of the direct-ruled territory have the same powers, and the rank of the Deputy Magistrate is like that of the Magistrate. Now the Deputy Magistrate of Lizhou City lives in the back of the government office, haven’t you talked about something else when you arrived?"

Zhou Shuren, "With the Emperor’s regard and the connection to Wu Chun, the Deputy Magistrate naturally brought it up. Right before I left, he mentioned that he could move out, but I refused. I told him that I had already bought a house, and although his rank is higher than mine, even though authority doesn’t look at rank, he came before me, so both emotionally and logically, he shouldn’t move out."

Zhulan hooked the corners of her mouth, "If you didn’t have the right to use the silver on the road, and if Wu Chun wasn’t your influential nephew, Chen Chen, the Deputy Magistrate, wouldn’t have brought this up at all."

Zhou Shuren laughed, "That’s right. They know that the new prefect is a freshly appointed second-place scholar and they don’t know how much trouble that could be. They felt relieved seeing me. In the end, it’s the Emperor who is formidable. Frankly speaking, Chen Chen is also someone meant to constrain me."

Zhulan stretched her waist, "It’s a good thing our dynasty doesn’t have regulations against officials buying houses and settling down in their jurisdiction. Although we’re only allowed to buy one house, no more than four shops, and the land not exceeding two hundred mu, I’m quite content."

Although there were many backdoor dealings, allowing shops and land to be registered under attendants, relatives, and others, and there were quite a few doing so in Pingzhou City, Zhulan had no intention of doing that. She would rather invest in other Prefecture Cities.

After chatting for a while with Zhou Shuren, both of them grew tired. Zhulan fell asleep in a daze first, and Zhou Shuren went over what Zhulan had said in his mind, making sure he wouldn’t forget before he finally embraced Zhulan and went to sleep.

The next morning, lying on the warm brick bed, Zhulan hadn’t slept so comfortably in a long time. Opening her eyes to see Zhou Shuren dressed, she asked, "Why did you get up so early?"

Zhou Shuren was genuinely unaccustomed to the feeling of going to work. Being used to waking up naturally at home, he yawned, "The government office has a lot of issues waiting for me. Yesterday, there were already many commoners waiting at the office door for their grain. I have to go to the office now."

Zhulan put on her shoes and got out of bed, "Aren’t you going to have breakfast?"

Without even guessing, she knew that once he got busy, he definitely wouldn’t have time to eat. Could he go the whole day hungry? Zhou Shuren was not young anymore, and his body could not sustain this kind of toll.

In reality, Zhou Shuren had gotten up a bit late. If he had risen earlier, he could have had his breakfast, but he would not tell Zhulan that he hadn’t awakened, "I’ll skip breakfast. During lunch, I’ll have a chicken killed and a few dishes prepared to send to the office. It’ll be like treating the Deputy Magistrate and the others to a meal."

Zhulan wrapped herself in clothes and went out, "You shouldn’t skip breakfast either. There are a few leftover cornmeal buns from yesterday, and I’ll cut a sausage for you to eat in the carriage."

Saying this, Zhulan went out. Xing Hua was lighting the fire in the kitchen. Zhulan took two cornmeal buns and a sausage, wrapped them up, and went back to the courtyard to hand them to Zhou Shuren, "Make sure to eat your breakfast."

Zhou Shuren felt heartwarmingly content inside, "I’ll make sure to eat it all."

After sending off Zhou Shuren and washing up, breakfast was ready. They had finished the last meal so thoroughly that for breakfast there was porridge and sticky cakes; there wasn’t a single egg at home. Lady Li had cut some sausage and cabbage to boil together for soup.

After breakfast, the members of the Yang family had rested the night and somewhat revived their spirits. Zhulan, along with Xue Han, personally escorted her parents to Wu Chun’s house.

Wu Chun’s house had a three-section courtyard, just as big as he wrote in his letter. Since Zhulan had a lot to attend to, once she saw her parents settled, she took her daughter back home.

With the Yang family gone, the Zhou residence felt very empty, so empty that you could walk without encountering anyone.

Zhulan fell silent; she needed to hire more servants. Turning to Xue Han, she commanded, "Go call your elder brother here. Ask him to find a broker from the broker office."

Xue Han, "Mother, aren’t you going in person?"

Zhulan tapped her daughter’s nose, "Silly girl, your mother is now an official’s wife. It wouldn’t be proper for me to go to the broker office myself given my changed status. Go call your brother."