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

Chapter 373: Chapter 373: Generosity_1

It was already November, and as Zhulan put down the letter in her hands to warm herself by the fire, she thought how much better it was to have a heated brick bed in the house—much more comfortable and quicker to warm up than in the capital.

The door opened, and Xue Han came in with Yu Lu, smiling as she said, ”Mother, it’s snowing outside.”

Zhulan stood up and walked to the door, watching the snowflakes drift from the sky. She caught a few with her hand, ”It really is snowing, and early this year.”

Xue Han liked snowy days, but the wind was a bit strong today, ”Mother, it’s chilly outside, come in.”

Zhulan shivered as a gust of cold wind blew past—indeed, it was quite cold. Returning to the stove, she watched Yu Lu warming herself and couldn’t help but laugh. The little hands looked just like Lady Li’s. Looking at the brazier, Zhulan began to crave roasted sweet potatoes and potatoes. They didn’t grow sweet potatoes or potatoes at home. Originally, she had planned to buy from the locals in Lizhou City, since the people there had plenty, and with them being hard to sell, buying from the locals would also provide them with some silver.

However, after Zhou Shuren shared the vermicelli recipe with the merchants, the local sweet potatoes and potatoes were no longer difficult to sell. Thinking of vermicelli made Zhulan crave hot and sour noodles. She called Liu Ya over, ”Go and tell your eldest daughter-in-law, Li Xia, to buy some sweet potatoes and potatoes when she goes shopping today. Oh, and also vermicelli and peanuts.”

Liu Ya took note of everything, ”I’ll go tell her right away.”

Since Lizhou City had more vermicelli businesses, Zhulan’s family had also enjoyed it quite a few times with meals like pickled vegetables stewed with vermicelli and chicken stew with vermicelli. Not only did Zhulan’s family buy a lot, but other households did as well, and foreign merchants placed orders batch by batch.

Now, the price of sweet potatoes and potatoes had risen to two coins per pound!

At noon, Zhulan described how she wanted the hot and sour noodles, and by lunch, they had savored just that. In fact, in the vinegar-renowned state of Shanzhou, such a dish was quite common.

As light snow fell outside, the warmth of eating roasted sweet potatoes paired with hot and sour noodles inside made Zhulan feel life was rather delightful.

Ming Teng, on the other hand, did not share the sentiment of beauty. Ever since his young uncle arrived, his good days were over. The young uncle, God knows what got into him, oversaw his studies daily and even held him to his own standards. Ming Teng truly lacked his uncle’s talent for studying!

But he couldn’t complain to his grandfather because, well, even if he did, his grandfather wouldn’t intervene. And there was no use telling his father either, who would only retort that many people would love to have the opportunity to study with his uncle!

Chang Zhi grabbed Ming Teng by the scruff of the neck, ”Well-fed and watered, let’s go. You haven’t fully memorized this morning’s text yet.”

Ming Teng looked pleadingly at his grandmother, only to see her wave her hand dismissively, ”....”

It was about time that somebody took charge of Ming Teng. After arriving in Lizhou City, both she and Zhou Shuren were busy, and so was the eldest Zhou. Therefore, the only one in the family who could manage Ming Teng was Lady Li, and even she couldn’t handle him. With the household grown so large and Ming Teng so agile, he could run away before anyone could catch him—he’d even dared to climb up ladders and pry tiles off roofs.

Did Ming Teng really think Chang Zhi enjoyed disciplining him? It was just that she had asked him to. Of course, this couldn’t be confessed to Ming Teng.

The first snow in Lizhou City was quite heavy. Following the snowfall, a noticeable drop in temperature occurred. Despite the cold weather, the main street of Lizhou City was still bustling with vehicles—mostly from foreign clansmen trading fur and cattle and sheep.

These foreign merchants were nomadic with no permanent shops; in previous years without unrest, they stayed in Lizhou City for just a few days before departing.

This year, the locals sold their sweet potatoes and potatoes for silver, and with some silver in hand—coupled with many wealthy families planting apples—the foreign merchants knew about the silver fortunes and thus stayed longer.

A special area in South City was allotted and rented out specifically for foreign traders.

Zhulan, accompanied by Lady Li and the eldest Zhou, visited the foreign merchants’ stalls. The gemstones from the foreign clans differed from the native ones, and because it was a border city, prices were much cheaper than inland. Zhulan bought some red gemstones, planning to save them for her granddaughters’ headdresses.

Lady Li, uncharacteristically generous, also purchased some small gemstones.

What Zhulan was mainly out to see was fur—the stalls didn’t have a lot of fox or mink fur, but rather mostly wolf pelts and the fur of large carnivorous wild beasts.

Zhulan also saw bear skins, the price of which was quite eye-catching. Even though the price on the border was cheaper than in the inland, in Zhulan’s eyes, it was still very expensive—three hundred taels for a single pelt.

Many of the goods sold by these foreign merchants preferred to be traded for half Silver Coin and half grain.

In the eyes of these foreign merchants, taking grain back to their lands meant another opportunity to profit, mainly because the lands of the foreign clans were unsuitable for cultivation, and the grain from the capital wasn’t self-sufficient either. The amount of grain the foreign clans could buy was very limited, and since the Imperial court had stipulated that grain merchants were not allowed to sell large quantities of grain to foreign merchants, the foreign clans were even more in need of grain. In foreign territories, the price of grain was almost catching up with the price of meat.

After walking around twice, Zhulan selected some fine rabbit and mink furs, keeping the top-quality pelts for her dowry and sending the second-rate pelts to the sewing room to be made into cloaks.

Calculating the days, Zhulan allocated Silver to the sewing room, so that when Zhou Shuren and the others arrived, each person would at least have two sets of clothes and a cloak.

The most sold items by the foreign merchants were beef and mutton, especially mutton which sold the best—live sheep were brought in and slaughtered on the spot. As for beef, it wasn’t yellow cattle meat but yak meat, which was quite good when made into dried beef.

Zhulan had Steward Ding buy a good amount of mutton and beef; the low outside temperatures meant that storing them in large jars to freeze wouldn’t spoil them, so buying in bulk also meant that the New Year’s goods were prepared as well.

Before they knew it, more than half a month had passed, and the apples and meat that Zhou Shuren had sent to the capital had arrived.

Zhou Shuren hadn’t skimped on apples and pork; these apples and pork were from the common folk who had offered them to the government office, which in turn had given Silver Coin as if they had bought them.

Some of the fruit froze and spoiled, but there were still plenty of apples left. The pork was not afraid of the freeze and didn’t spoil, and besides these, there were also several baskets of glass noodles.

The Emperor picked up a slice of apple and tasted it, ”The flavor is good.”

The room was dry, and the apples that had just been brought in from the outside were cold and refreshing. The sour and sweet taste was very appetizing, and the Emperor was somewhat reluctant to give them away to the ministers.

Seeing his father signaling him to try, the Crown Prince picked up a slice. ”Indeed, they’re good.”

The Emperor said softly, ”Fruit is quite expensive in the winter, and the yearly tributes aren’t enough to satisfy our needs. Let’s keep all the apples and distribute the glass noodles and pork instead. You handle it.”

The Crown Prince, ”.....Yes.”

Could he say that he had anticipated this outcome? The fruit really was expensive this year, and he too felt pained at the thought of giving away these large and excellent apples.

The Emperor wiped his hands, ”This Lord Zhou deserves a reward. He’s quite good at using the gifts we bestow to suppress others. This year, send him some of the tribute tea leaves and tangerines, and also pick an uncarved jade stone from the warehouse. Oh, and send the property deeds for a residence as well.”

”Yes.”

The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow. His father was rarely so generous. The jade stones in the warehouse were not small, and as for their origins, well, they were mostly confiscated from the houses of traitorous ministers, who in turn had looted them during rebellions, ultimately benefiting the Emperor.

Thinking back, no matter how capable Lord Zhou was, the Emperor had not paid him much attention. If Lord Zhou had done poorly, there were others to replace him. But now, not only had Zhou done well, he had exceeded the Emperor’s expectations by a large margin, which was truly etched in his memory. Not only was the Emperor no longer stringing Zhou along, he was willing to give rewards.

The Emperor didn’t have much actual silver, but there were indeed many treasures in the storehouse!

In Lizhou Prefecture City, Zhulan and her daughter were mulling over the matter, ”According to the schedule, your second brother and his party should have arrived by now.”

Xue Han was also concerned, ”Mother, could they have been delayed on the road by snowstorms?”