Quickly wear salted fish, she won by lying down

Chapter 1691 The Country Girl Looked Down Upon 12
Although siblings, daughters, fathers-in-law, and other relatives are very close, there are many people involved, and it still requires some money. Ordinary people won't help; at most, these relatives will come to ask for money, and giving them some is considered generous.

Therefore, these families were overjoyed to hear Master Zhou's words and immediately expressed their anticipation for good news from the Zhou family.

The reason why Old Master Zhou instructed Master Zhou to say these things to relatives and friends was because he knew that since his family had gained such immense wealth, it would be unreasonable not to give some benefits to his relatives.

But now, the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is so poor that it can't afford to give anything. Afraid that people would say they are rich but heartless, they quickly told them that the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion owes a lot of money. This way, they won't think that the Zhou family is rich and come to beg for money. They won't go back and say that they are stingy and won't even give money to such close relatives.

Now that we've taken preventative measures, if they try to take advantage of us again, we can simply say that we haven't finished paying off our high-interest loans and that we'll build them a house much later, and they won't be able to say anything to us.

After settling things at home, Master Zhou and Zhou Dalang returned on Tuesday.

Old Master Zhou told them to divide the family's land among the third and fourth branches of the family for cultivation, without charging them rent. They could just let them farm the land themselves, since it wouldn't be convenient for the Zhou family to keep it for themselves. It was better to give it to their relatives. They didn't have the money to give them any benefits right now, so this was all they could offer for the time being.

As for the house, they didn't give it three or four rooms because the Zhou family planned to renovate it when they had more money. They didn't expect it to be very nice, but at least they would have a place to stay when they went back to worship their ancestors.

Although Master Zhou and Zhou Dalang were telling the truth, their relatives and friends were still somewhat skeptical. After all, they were from the Duke's mansion, which must be incredibly wealthy and powerful. How could they possibly be so heavily in debt?
But since they said that, they had no choice but to believe it. They couldn't help but wonder if the Zhou family was stingy and afraid that they would come to their door to freeload, so they said that they owed a lot of money and had no money to use.

Thinking about this, everyone couldn't help but feel unhappy. Even if they had indeed wanted to go and beg for money before, they would now think, "They're not that kind of people. Why do we have to be so wary of them?" They would just not go—anyway, if they went, the Zhou family would definitely say that they owed a lot of debt and had no money to give them, so naturally they wouldn't go through all the trouble of making a trip for money they couldn't get.

Old Master Zhou knew that after he had asked Master Zhou and Zhou Dalang to say such things, some people might be unhappy and even think that his family was stingy, guarding against them, and deliberately saying such things. However, given the family's heavy debt situation, he could only go along with his relatives and friends to say that they were stingy and that they would build houses for everyone when they had money in the future. At that time, they would naturally dispel their thoughts about the Zhou family.

After settling things in their hometown, the Zhou family stayed home to learn about the situation in Beijing and study etiquette, and did not go out again.

Although Old Master Zhou instructed the Zhou family not to go out and socialize for the next three months, but to stay at home and learn etiquette and understand the situation in the capital, so as not to embarrass themselves by not knowing social etiquette or offending people by not understanding the situation in the capital, it doesn't mean that others won't come to them.

Putting aside everything else, the aunt who married into the Duke of England's family has returned.

He claimed he was coming back to visit his birth mother, Aunt Wang, but in reality, he just wanted to get to know Old Master Zhou and others to see what kind of people they really were.

Although she had learned about Old Master Zhou and Linlang from the servants and her birth mother and other concubines, she still didn't have a real understanding of them until she saw them in person, so she naturally came back to take a look.

Upon seeing this, she believed the rumors spread by the servants and concubines—the Zhou family, apart from Old Master Zhou and Zhou Linlang, were all fools and not worth worrying about. However, even fools have their uses; after all, sometimes, the ideas that a clever person comes up with after careful consideration may not cause as much damage as the sudden inspiration of a fool.

Grandma Zhou showed no sign of anything amiss. She simply had a servant give Old Madam Zhou a red envelope and said, "I've been busy at home and my children are still young, so it's inconvenient for me to go out. That's why I'm only coming to congratulate you now. Please don't blame me for being so neglectful."

According to seniority, Aunt Zhou is the grandniece of Old Mrs. Zhou's neighbor, which is why she refers to herself as such.

Grandma Zhou asked someone to accept the red envelope. She didn't understand why the red envelope was so thin. In the countryside, when people gave gifts, they would give copper coins, which were wrapped in red paper and came in a large bundle. Silver coins didn't look like copper coins, so they should have been wrapped in a large bundle in red paper. Why was it just a thin piece of paper?

Even though Old Mrs. Zhou was simple-minded, she knew she couldn't say anything in front of the gift-giver. So, although she was surprised, she didn't say anything. She only listened to Aunt Zhou's apology and repeatedly said that Aunt Zhou was too polite. Then she said, "Once we have learned the etiquette and are ready to go out and socialize, we will hold a banquet to return the gift. Aunt Zhou must come then."

Grandma Zhou readily agreed, then took Linlang's hand and examined it closely. She said to Old Madam Zhou, "I'm not exaggerating when I say that your granddaughter is so composed and poised. She doesn't seem like she came from the countryside at all. She's like a born noblewoman. Indeed, the descendants of our ancestors are different. Even if they were born in the countryside, they would still be so outstanding."

She meant it sincerely, because Linlang's composure far exceeded her expectations.

People might say that the Zhou family has been in Beijing for over a month and their improvement might be due to learning etiquette, but looking at the other girls in the Zhou family, it's clear that this is only Zhou Linlang's exceptional talent.

Hearing Aunt Zhou's praise, Old Mrs. Zhou smiled from ear to ear and said, "Da Ni'er is indeed very good. Her grandfather often praises her too."

Seeing that both Grandma Zhou and Aunt Zhou were praising Linlang, while the other grandchildren had different expressions, Aunt Zhou noticed it all and kept it in mind.

Her praise of Linlang at this moment was intentional, meant to incite jealousy in others.

The jealousy of fools sometimes goes unpunished; they can devise all sorts of ways to harm those who are outstanding without even lifting a finger.

There was something else she didn't say: Linlang was excellent, but she was a bit too old and not engaged yet. It wouldn't be easy for her to find a good marriage in the capital. Even if she was excellent, she might not marry as well as her younger sisters.

People in the countryside don't get married as early as the noble ladies in the city. They usually don't get married until they are around eighteen years old. So the original owner of this body is already sixteen years old and still hasn't been engaged. In the eyes of people in the capital, this is already very old.

Before they even went to the capital, the Zhou family had already planned to find a husband for the original owner of this body. But before they could even begin, such a change occurred in their family. To be honest, they were quite fortunate. Otherwise, if their family had become a duke's mansion, but their granddaughter had married a country bumpkin, they would probably feel resentful. And divorce would be inappropriate and would be bad for their reputation. So they were quite glad that they hadn't arranged a marriage for their granddaughter.