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

Chapter 892: Chapter 892: Make a Fortune in Silence

Zhulan, ”Hmm, he’s recently been going to the Xu family to learn foreign languages. Every time he learns something new, he comes back and brags to me about it. I have to say, this kid does have a knack for languages. He speaks them quite convincingly, even though I don’t understand a word.”

Zhou Shuren chuckled, ”You don’t understand?”

Zhulan glared, ”Initially, I only knew English. I don’t know the other foreign languages. Chang Li is now learning some everyday phrases from the neighboring countries. It’s normal that I don’t understand.”

Zhou Shuren stopped laughing and coughed to change the subject, ”From the looks of it, sending Chang Li out was the right decision.”

”Hmm.”

In the following days, the activities of the Ministry of Revenue were an open secret, and soon everyone knew what the Ministry was up to. And, frankly, this first-time handling of antique calligraphy and paintings was quite exciting.

Zhou Shuren had already sent away several waves of inquiring friends, and even Zhulan at home had numerous visitors.

The Ministry of Revenue didn’t specify when exactly, keeping everyone’s appetites hanging. Right now, the hottest topic in the capital was who would be the luckiest.

Zhou Shuren was shameless in his secret dealings, while Zhang Jinghong admired openly from the sidelines, impressed beyond words.

Zhou Shuren wasn’t afraid of Zhang Jinghong snitching; he knew that even after witnessing the whole process, Zhang Jinghong wouldn’t dare to make a peep.

In the palace, the Emperor was quickly informed about Zhou Shuren’s actions and was speechless for a long while. In the end, he pretended ignorance, comforting himself by thinking of it as supplemental rewards for the Zhou family.

The Crown Prince, upon hearing this, grew thoughtful. It was foolish not to take advantage of a good deal, and he thought it might be a good idea to leave the palace early and have a chat with Zhou Shuren.

In the next two days, the Ministry of Revenue booked a teahouse nearby their office and arranged everything inside. They set a date with no entrance restrictions—anyone could attend.

Zhulan couldn’t go in person, but she sent Jin Yan with all the signs explained to Shen Xing. Twenty thousand taels of silver were well spent as long as they were spent.

Because you could take the boxes home to uncrate, there really was nothing to worry about.

Inside the teahouse, Zhou Shuren stood upstairs, looking at the attendees. Several princes had arrived, and the Crown Prince was a bit late.

Not many officials had come. Today wasn’t a rest day, and even if it were, not all the officials would have the day off. Today mostly saw the sons of officials attending, all on a mission.

And then there were the merchants. Merchants had silver, which was why there was no entrance threshold.

Zhou Shuren was cunning. The boxes were graded, with cheaper ones having a lower chance of containing valuable items, while more expensive ones had a higher probability.

Therefore, those who were not short on silver all aimed for the expensive boxes.

Zhou Shuren had marked them, though, all in the medium and low-grade ones, to be safer. There was no need to compete for the expensive boxes.

Qiu Yan stood beside Zhou Shuren, his face complicated as he looked at him, ”It seems the boxes prepared for today won’t be enough.”

Zhou Shuren was unconcerned, ”Anyway, it’s only the first day; there are two more days to go.”

However, most of the really good items had been placed in the first day’s lot.

This event didn’t need Zhou Shuren to preside over it; as long as someone was there to register the sales and collect the silver, it was fine.

The Crown Prince had a good spot and could look up to see Zhou Shuren. Thinking back to their chat a couple of nights ago, the Crown Prince felt pleased, especially upon seeing several of his annoying younger brothers eyeing the most expensive boxes.

Soon the gong sounded, and the event began.

The Second Prince stood still, ”Crown Prince, elder brother, you’re the eldest. Won’t you choose one first?”

The Crown Prince, ”I’m just here for the fun; you all go ahead.”

He never thought about doing it himself. Someone had been arranged to handle it, and he wasn’t foolish—earning money quietly was much better.

Seeing that the Crown Prince had no intention of making a move, the Second Prince stepped forward to point at one of the boxes, but someone’s itchy fingers had already pressed down on it.

The Fourth Prince, Zhang Jingxi, ”First come, first served, Second Brother, you’ve been generous.”

Second Prince’s anger flared in his heart. That bastard had deliberately snatched it while watching his hands. After glowering, he turned to grab another one beside him, only to have it snatched away by the Third Prince, Zhang Jingshi.

The Crown Prince’s lips curled up. That’s why he had anticipated it would turn out this way. Instead of having his foolish brothers gang up against him, he’d rather watch the show.

Zhang Yang was caught in a bind, neither stepping forward nor back, but he too wanted to get rich. The Crown Prince, his recently discovered elder brother, had given him a sum of silver, and so had his mother, but those were the only funds he had received.

Lately, he’d spent a substantial amount of silver courting Shi Qing’s favor, so today he wanted to gamble a bit.

The Crown Prince looked at Zhang Yang, ”Aren’t you choosing?”

Grinding his teeth, Zhang Yang decided to choose. It was an opportunity, and although he hadn’t inquired how Zhou Shuren had filled the boxes, he knew that since Zhou Shuren dared to set the rules, he would not cheat, ”I’ll choose.”

With that, Zhang Yang picked a box he liked.

Zhou Shuren glanced at the boxes a few times, then looked at Xiao Qing. Zhou Shuren’s actions were not meant to be hidden from Xiao Qing, who was also in the know and had even joined in the secret manipulations.

Zhou Shuren had seen Shen Xing accompanied by two young servants. Since Shen Xing was skilful and had a clever mind, he quickly picked a box he wanted. There weren’t many choosing amongst the mid to low-grade boxes, as most crowded around the high-grade ones.

Stroking his beard, Zhou Shuren thought they must really want the Emperor to know they all had silver coins. Look at how generously they spend—three thousand taels for a high-grade box, heh, aside from the princes, many were choosing five or six boxes at once.

Shen Xing had already moved the boxes out. Upon paying the silver, they were taken away swiftly.

Of course, some chose to open their boxes right after making a selection, like several princes. Today, the Fourth Prince had terrible luck—having chosen five boxes, not a single one contained a surprise.

The Third Prince fared better. Among his four boxes, one held a surprise—a unique volume. Together with the antiques from the other boxes, he indeed made a profit.

The Second Prince’s luck exploded. Clenching his teeth, he picked three boxes, and each one contained a surprise that released all his bottled-up frustrations.

The Second Prince, Zhang Jingyang, laughed, ”Brother, now I see how much my younger brothers cherish me. Look, each box holds a surprise.”

The Third Prince felt his jaw ache in frustration. The box’s antiques weren’t as valuable as he’d hoped, making his heart hurt just looking at them.

Zhang Yang, short on Silver Coin, chose two boxes, having no intention of opening them.

Zhang Jingxi protested, ”Young Fifth, why aren’t you opening your box?”

Zhang Yang, not wanting to offend anyone, opened the box anyway, and to his surprise, the first box held a surprise, ”Haha, my luck is that good!”

He had long forgotten to hold himself back, even if the other princes wore displeased expressions.

The last box neither cost nor earned him anything, but Zhang Yang was already quite satisfied.

Out of fourteen boxes, five contained surprises. The odds were uncharacteristically high, and soon, the onlookers became excited.

In a grave voice, Zhou Shuren said, ”The Second Prince’s luck is indeed great.”

He had arranged it all. How could he not know such high odds? The original plan was a one in five chance; where would you find so many treasures!

The princes’ promotion had worked, and soon after, some in the crowd had their surprising moments. Very good, everyone’s enthusiasm had been ignited, and the guessing game was addicting. Initially, they thought the event would last until noon, but astonishingly, it ended in just two hours.

Xiao Qing spoke with deep meaning, ”They’re all masters with Silver.”

Zhou Shuren wasn’t concerned about that; he was eager to see how much his family had earned and couldn’t wait to get home to find out!