Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!

Chapter 270: Chapter 270 Picking Up a Bargain_1

Zhulan shook the silver note in her hand, ”Tell me, why didn’t I find counting notes so exciting before, but now, even after counting 4,500 taels of silver notes twice, I still don’t think it’s enough!”

Zhou Shuren hit the nail on the head, ”That’s because you’ve never been poor since you were young.”

He liked the feeling of counting notes, whether in modern times or ancient times, especially the feeling of saving money was particularly good.

Zhulan thought about it and it was indeed the case. She climbed onto the kang with the box and took out the family’s silver notes, ”We have more than 5,000 taels at home now, when are we going to the capital?”

Zhou Shuren had already planned, ”Wait until the Metropolitan Examination is over.”

Zhulan locked up all the silver after putting it away, ”Counting the days, in a few more days, people from our clan participating in the Metropolitan Examination should be arriving.”

”Yes, this year we have four people, including Chang Lian and Chang Zhi, who passed the County Examination in our clan, a good omen.”

This time, among those from the clan participating in the Metropolitan Examination, only Chang Lian and Chang Zhi belonged to the generation with the prefix ’Chang’, while the other two were from the generation prefixed ’Ming’. The next generation was also starting to rise.

The Zhou family had received a sum of Silver Coin, and neither Zhou Shuren nor Zhulan planned to talk about it. Even if there were rumors outside, Chang Lian and Chang Zhi hadn’t heard about it yet; the Zhou brothers didn’t even know what their father had done!

The Zhou brothers only knew that there had been an increase of visits to their home recently, with merchants coming to the door and some scholars. Zhou Shuren and Graduate He, who shared common hobbies, got close because of their mutual interest. Zhou Shuren also wanted to further his study of antiques across dynasties, so the connection grew closer.

The more the two families interacted, the more Zhulan, following Zhou Shuren, also visited the He family.

The residence of Graduate He wasn’t large, also comprised of two courtyards, but located in a better position than the Zhou family’s. Because of Graduate He’s fondness for antiques, there were quite a number of them in his home.

However, Zhulan didn’t like Mrs. He very much. Mrs. He, born a Mr. Guan’s daughter, carried an air of arrogance about her, very critical of Zhulan. Her speech was also laced with sarcasm and sometimes her words sounded almost like commands. Zhulan, after visiting once, chose not to go again.

Zhou Shuren also interacted only with Graduate He and didn’t visit anymore.

Once the excitement brought by Zhou Shuren faded, the Zhou family became peaceful once more.

The Qian family visited again, this time Qian Shengbao came with his eldest son. After Zhulan and the others left, he inquired, ”Is it still about enrolling your grandson in school?”

Zhou Shuren nodded, ”Enrolling my grandson is one thing, and secondly, the Qian family has also heard about my contest. They have some paintings and calligraphy they would like me to help appraise.”

Zhulan immediately grasped the crux, ”Qian Shengbao now knows that Mr. Xi Heng’s paintings are valuable, and even the forgeries are in demand. He doesn’t want to take them to the antique shop for appraisal to avoid trouble, so he wants you to verify their authenticity, and then use the paintings and calligraphy to secure his grandson’s place at the Academy?”

Zhou Shuren added, ”He also hopes to make connections through me. Lately, many people have been inquiring if I have more paintings or calligraphy. Why the Qian family didn’t come earlier is all part of their calculations.”

He didn’t like being schemed against, especially since Qian Shengbao had tricked him once before. Having failed to achieve his ends last time, Qian Shengbao still hoped to gain an advantage behind his back without shedding blood this time; there would be no deal without some cost to Qian Shengbao.

Zhulan’s mouth curled at the corner, ”The Qian family has many antiques, and the compensation we ask for is not much, just one antique will do.”

Zhou Shuren smiled, ”That’s what I was thinking too.”

If the Qian family still dared to take advantage, they shouldn’t blame him for taking a firm hand.

The next day, curious Zhulan, who had never been to the Qian family home, followed Zhou Shuren on a carriage sent by the Qian family to visit them.

The Qian family was also the family of Zhou Shuren’s second elder brother’s wife, so Zhou Shuren also brought along his second elder brother.

After leaving Prefecture City for ten miles, the road became rougher; the Qian Family Village consisted of quite a few villages, and Zhulan noticed that it was a wealthy village – many houses were made of green bricks, truly living up to the surname.

Qian Shengbao was waiting at the entrance. Zhou Shuren helped Zhulan off the carriage, causing Qian Shengbao to be momentarily startled before quickly regaining his composure and stepping forward with a respectful greeting, ”Relatives, my in-laws, you’ve had a long journey, please come inside.”

Zhou Shuren said, ”You’re too kind.”

Zhulan followed into the Qian family mansion. The great mansion was not small; having served as slaves among the rich and powerful, the Qian family did not favor the residences of farmers, so their mansion was built much like those in the city.

Zhulan made her way to the main courtyard. Lady Fang didn’t realize Zhulan had also come and was surprised for a moment standing in the courtyard. She quickly put down the basin she was holding and wiped her hands, ”My dear in-law has come, please come inside.”

Following Lady Fang into the room, Zhulan took a seat. Lady Fang said, ”Please make yourself comfortable, madam. I’ll go and brew some tea.”

Zhulan indeed felt thirsty, ”Thank you for your troubles, madam.”

Lady Fang was happy to have Yang’s company, ”It’s no trouble at all, none at all.”

Zhulan looked around the room, which was spotless. The floor was paved with blue stone, and the cabinets were made of fine wood. On the kang bed, there were needles and threads from Lady Fang’s sewing.

It wasn’t long before Lady Fang returned, having heard some noise. Lady Fang had also prepared tea for the people outside. Inside her heart, Zhulan sighed; as a concubine, Lady Fang did not have her own daughter-in-law to serve her. They might speak of filial piety, but not being mistreated anymore was the best she could expect. No one would be waiting on her hand and foot, and when guests arrived, it was still Lady Fang who had to busily attend to them.

Lady Fang brought in the tea and some pastries, ”My cooking skills aren’t very good. The pastries are bought by the head of the household from the popular Ruyi Pastry Shop in the city. Please, try them, madam.”

Zhulan was indeed a bit hungry, ”Madam, you are too modest. It’s my cooking skills that are really poor.”

At least Lady Fang could prepare a whole table of dishes; Zhulan couldn’t.

Lady Fang gave a slight smile, knowing full well. Her daughter had told her about how poor Yang’s cooking was.

The curtain of the room was pulled back again, and a boy of just over three years old came in, ”Mother, father told me to come and greet auntie.”

Lady Fang brought her son over to introduce him, ”This is my youngest son, Qian Keqi.”

Zhulan looked at the little boy, who resembled Lady Fang and seemed robust. Hm, his name was also not bad, at least it wasn’t tacky. She took out a purse, ”This is for you from your auntie, here, take it.”

Inside the purse, Zhulan had placed One Silver Angle, which she had prepared specially for this visit.

The little fellow took the purse and probably for the first time was receiving a gift, his heart filled with joy as he smiled and thanked her, ”Thank you, Auntie.”

Lady Fang gestured for her son to go out first, and after the child left, she said, ”The boy is starting his elementary education in the front courtyard with his cousins.”

Zhulan did not ask why only Qian Shunqing had come to see her, thinking that the old Master Qian must have stopped the others, ”Did the family hire a teacher?”

Lady Fang nodded, ”We couldn’t hire a Scholar, so we hired an old student.”

Zhulan smiled, thinking that Qian Shengbao really had grand plans. Instead of sending grandsons to a private school, he started their education at home from an early age, probably intending to send them to the Academy later!

The subsequent conversation was steered by Lady Fang, who was reluctant to talk about her past or her days in the Qian family. She preferred to hear about her daughter and her grandchildren.

It was easy for Zhulan, who had no need to search for topics of conversation. She chatted away, fond of the children. She had often looked after Yushuang and Ming Rui, and the children were a constant source of delight.

Despite Yushuang’s quiet demeanor, the girl was very astute, often tricking Ming Teng, who was still cluelessly doting on his dear sister Yushuang.

At noon, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren stayed for lunch. At Zhulan’s table, only she and Lady Fang dined together. When the meal was served, Zhulan got a glimpse of the Qian family daughters-in-law, all of whom seemed shrewd, their eyes constantly darting around. They made several attempts to stay through probing gestures but, having probably received a word from Qian Shengbao, Lady Fang did not keep any of them.

Zhulan enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere, and the two women’s meal was more comfortable. The Qian family was indeed wealthy, with a table spread of twelve dishes, including goose, mutton, and roe deer meat.

Seeing Zhulan eating more goose meat, Lady Fang asked, ”Do you like goose meat, madam?”