Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 370: Will Not Complain

Chapter 370: Chapter 370: Will Not Complain

Lady Li obediently stretched her arm out for the doctor to check her pulse, and the doctor, stroking his beard carefully, quickly withdrew his hand and congratulated with a smile, "Congratulations to the eldest lady, you are indeed pregnant, almost two months along."

Zhulan paused for a moment and then said with a smile, "We will have a new addition to the family, what a joy, Liu Ya, give the doctor some celebratory money."

Zhulan now kept some loose change in the Money Box, and over the past half-year, her trust in Liu Ya had grown; now, Liu Ya was allowed to handle Silver Coins, which was previously forbidden.

The doctor received two silver taels as congratulatory money and another two as a consultation fee. After mentioning what the pregnant woman needed to pay attention to, Steward Ding escorted the doctor out.

Lady Li only recovered her composure after the doctor had left, murmuring, "So I really am pregnant..."

Zhulan observed Lady Li’s condition was not very good. Indeed, Lady Li was under a lot of stress. Although Lady Li, like Wu Chun’s wife, Mrs. Wu, was a loud-voiced peasant woman, since Wu Chun was a General personally appointed by the Emperor, serving as second-in-command of the stationed troops, no one dared to disdain Mrs. Wu openly even if they wanted to.

It was different for Lady Li; her eldest son had no official rank and no scholarly honors. In the end, Lady Li’s confidence came from her son. Despite appearing carefree, she too could feel anxious, and with Mrs. Zhao and Lady Dong coming to visit, her anxiety had heightened even more.

Zhulan said kindly to Lady Li, "You are now carrying a child, so whatever you wish to eat, tell the kitchen, and for anything you want to buy, tell mother, and I will find it for you."

As she spoke, Zhulan gestured to Liu Ya to bring over the Money Box. Zhulan opened the Money Box and took out two silver ingots of five taels each and handed them to Lady Li.

"Take these ten taels of silver," Zhulan said. "There are many shops on the streets now, including those opened by merchants from foreign clans. Buy whatever you like."

Zhulan felt that giving Lady Li silver money would greatly improve her mood. Over the past half-year, they hadn’t skimped on giving her silver, but Lady Li stubbornly refused to spend any.

Lady Li, clutching the two silver ingots, asked, "Mother, can I really spend this?"

"Of course, you can!"

Lady Li, tears welling in her eyes, began to cry again, "Mother, you are truly too kind to me."

Zhulan was silent; Lady Li’s emotional swings were somewhat extreme. Ah, what was once a cheerful Hanhan had become a crying child under the weight of her stress. "Alright, it’s getting late, you all should go back and rest."

Zhou Shuren was enveloped in the joy of soon becoming a father again, thinking, "Stop crying, let’s go back and rest."

Lady Li dodged Zhou Shuren’s hand, "I’m holding the silver myself, take your hands off."

Zhou Shuren, "...."

He had only wanted to support his wife.

Zhulan couldn’t help but laugh; at this moment, she was still concerned about the silver. It seemed her anxiety wasn’t too severe after all.

An hour later, Zhou Shuren came back. Zhulan asked, "What did you have for dinner at the government office?"

Zhou Shuren washed his face, "The meal prepared by Mr. Chen was naturally excellent, their Jiangnan Chef’s cooking is truly exceptional."

Zhulan had also tasted the meals from Mr. Chen’s family; indeed, they were exquisite and delicious. Among the officials in Lizhou Prefecture City, the richest was Mr. Chen. Not your average nouveau riche, Mr. Chen was genuinely wealthy. The collection of rare books in his home wasn’t scant, with some solitary editions worth up to ten thousand taels. Even setting aside these rare books accumulated over generations, the family’s property was astounding. Zhulan had always thought that they owned just one tea plantation; she was surprised to learn that Mr. Chen’s family had not one, but two tea gardens.

Plus, considering the shops and estates they owned, Mr. Chen’s family was truly rich.

Speaking of which, Mr. He’s family also had silver, but it was Mr. He’s wife, Lady Li, who had the silver, which came from her father.

Zhulan said softly, "The Emperor specifically hopes they would willingly donate from their own pockets, but you stabilized the situation and didn’t scheme against them."

Zhou Shuren, having changed his clothes said, "Why do I feel like the Emperor would prefer to confiscate their properties?"

Zhulan, ".....You’re right."

Zhou Shuren stretched his back, "Harvest season has begun. Today’s tax collection is arranged, so I can relax for a day or two."

"I thought you would write a Zhezi to request a tax exemption for this year but I didn’t expect you to apply for only a ten percent tax."

Zhou Shuren said, "It’s not good to exempt taxes directly. If you exempt this year’s, they’ll hope for a continued exemption next year. This year we’re only collecting ten percent, and if we collect just a bit more next year, they won’t be unwilling, but if we exempt it once and then attempt to collect fifteen percent later, complaints will abound."

Zhulan sighed, realizing such is human nature. She changed the subject, "This year, we have dug ponds, the irrigation water for the fields is sufficient, and with favorable weather, it’s a year of good harvest."

When the seeds were distributed initially, one-third were sweet potato seeds, one-third were potato seeds, and of the remaining third, half were corn, and the rest were soybeans, among others.

Even after paying ten percent in taxes this year, while they might not be well-fed, at least they won’t starve.

Zhou Shuren not only made rounds outside the city but also visited several nearby counties. Indeed, it was a bountiful year, and he even checked on the pigs they were raising. Because one could obtain coarse grains for pig feed from the government office, the pigs were growing well. Indeed, every seven days, a Government Official specifically went from house to house, so the villagers dared not divert the grain meant for the pigs.

He didn’t need to seek out merchants because the merchants came to him. Sausages were in high demand, as pork was always in shortage.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren lay down, and just before falling asleep, Zhulan remembered that she had forgotten to tell Zhou Shuren that they had another grandson or granddaughter. Oh well, she thought, I’ll tell him tomorrow.

The next day, when Zhou Shuren heard the news, he acknowledged it and then let it go. In Zhou Shuren’s heart, having another grandson meant teaching one more and preparing an additional bridal gift. Another granddaughter meant... well, that one more dowry needed to be prepared!

Time flew by quickly, and before they knew it, the harvest season had ended. Zhulan’s family didn’t grow potatoes or sweet potatoes; they grew corn, wheat, and rice in their fields. The land in Lizhou City truly wasn’t as fertile as that of Dongbei, and the yield of the crops was really low.

If Lizhou City didn’t develop other industries, even without war, it would remain at the bottom among all the direct-ruled territories.

Zhulan’s family didn’t sell their grain, instead, they dried it and stored it all in the grain storage.

Zhou Shuren’s tax collection had also been gathered. Ten percent of the grain wasn’t much, but Zhou Shuren had stipulated that the ten percent of grain had to consist of one-third sweet potatoes, one-third potatoes, and the remainder could be corn or other crops; they were not allowed to pay with only sweet potatoes or potatoes.

The main reason was that sweet potatoes and potatoes could not be stored in the granary, as they would sprout within a year if not used.

Zhulan watched Zhou Shuren frown. "The grain tax has been collected; what’s there to worry about?"

Zhou Shuren said in a low voice, "The tax has been collected, but most of it is sweet potatoes and potatoes. I’m thinking of sending someone with silver to learn how to make vermicelli, then come back and teach some merchants who want to start a vermicelli business. Of course, they can learn for free on the condition that they trade grain from the granary with potatoes and sweet potatoes."

Zhulan liked eating spicy and sour rice noodles, as well as potato noodles. It never occurred to her to buy some vermicelli to eat at home. "You’ve thought everything through, so why are you still concerned?"

Zhou Shuren laughed, "I’m worried about whom to send with the silver to learn. It’s not easy to choose the right person."

Zhulan realized indeed it was a difficult choice, and she patted Zhou Shuren’s shoulder, "I can’t help you with that; you’ll have to think it over slowly yourself!"