Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!-Chapter 81: Nemesis _1

In the following days, Zhulan consciously paid attention to the movements next door and learned that Wang Ru took an ox cart to the county every day. She didn’t know how Wang Ru managed to persuade Wang Laosi, but seeing him strolling around the village with his hands clasped behind his back, no longer downtrodden as he had been days before, it seemed likely that Wang Ru had come up with some way to make money.

Zhulan calculated the days, figuring Zhou Shuren should have arrived in Jiangnan by now. The North had donned its silver drapery, and she wondered what sort of scenery the ancient South must be showcasing. She envied Zhou Shuren!

In Jiangnan, Zhou Shuren had been there for three days and had gained some understanding of the ancient region’s immense wealth. There were famous establishments everywhere, and the number of spending dens along the river was as numerous as cow hair. He also witnessed the extravagance with which the prodigal sons of bankrupt merchants spent money – tossing Silver Notes around as if they were mere paper.

Zhou Shuren had plans in his heart and knew that the Armed Escort Agency would only stay in Jiangnan for ten days. In three days, he got to know some scholars and demonstrated his eye for antique appraisal. Initially approached by those who were skeptical, once his true abilities were recognized, the number of people requesting Zhou Shuren’s services grew.

Zhou Shuren marveled at how plentiful scholars were in Jiangnan. The scholarly environment played a role, but importantly, so did Silver Coin. With the economy being the most developed in Jiangnan and families having extra money to afford educational expenses, the number of scholars naturally increased. The downside was that the Imperial examination in Jiangnan was the most difficult to pass.

Time flew quickly. After spending eight days in Jiangnan, Zhou Shuren had completed ten jobs and earned one thousand taels of Silver Coin. He also appraised antiques for some minor officials free of charge, who rewarded him with books and ink.

Zhou Shuren didn’t feel the slightest embarrassment at being looked down upon. Being underestimated was a fact, as he hadn’t even attained the rank of Scholar. While merchants might pay him respect, those with true status didn’t regard Zhou Shuren as significant.

He also incidentally sold a good number of the family recipes, though mostly to small merchants. The only significant sale was to a merchant from the foreign clans of Tubo: instead of taking Silver Coin, he traded for a gemstone and later converted the gemstone into Silver Coin.

The Li family’s trip to Jiangnan reaped a rich harvest of one hundred and twenty taels of Silver Coin.

Zhou Shuren intended to undertake antique appraisal just this once to earn some household assets for property investments. He would not continue in the future, for doing it once without gaining official recognition was fine, but doing it repeatedly could tarnish his reputation and negatively affect his chances in the Imperial examination. After his return, he planned to diligently stay home, study, and prepare for the exams.

On the last day, Zhou Shuren, accompanied by his father-in-law, went on a shopping spree. He also pawned the jewelry Zhulan had given him. Antique pearls were indeed valuable; a pearl necklace along with a pair of high-quality bracelets fetched one hundred and fifty taels.

With the fifty taels he had brought and the one thousand four hundred taels in his possession, after spending a mere twenty taels on travel expenses, Zhou Shuren had plenty of Silver Coin in hand and didn’t hold back on his purchases. Eventually, he hired a horse carriage from the Armed Escort Agency and filled it with several large boxes of goods.

The Li family bought less, but considering the rarity of their trip to Jiangnan and how things were cheaper than in the North, they still purchased a box full of items.

As Zhulan finally waited at home for Wang Ru to success in making sausages, Zhou Shuren embarked on his journey back with the Armed Escort Agency.

Since learning about Wang Ru’s knowledge of her daughter’s role as the female lead, Zhulan had been on guard, anticipating Wang Ru’s scheming. She did not know if it was because Xue Han had severed ties with Wang Ru, making it difficult to calculate her moves, but Wang Ru had been behaving quite earnestly.

When the sausages were ready earlier than expected, Zhulan realized that it was not that Wang Ru didn’t want to scheme against the Zhou family; she was actually considering collaborating with the Illigetimate Son on the sausage venture. In the novel, the first product Wang Ru started with was spicy kimchi. It was only after the kimchi stopped being profitable that she gradually developed the sausages. Unfortunately, due to the deviation of the plot caused by Zhulan and Zhou Shuren, spicy kimchi was plentiful everywhere, forcing Wang Ru to release the sausages early.

Lady Li became terribly agitated when she couldn’t taste the sausages, feeling especially aggrieved, "Mother, I’ll go buy some sausages. That girl Xue Han won’t sell to me personally and even told people that she’d refuse to sell to anyone who gives me a taste. Moreover, she’s not just withholding sales from me but also from our family and my maternal family. Isn’t this bullying?"

Zhulan silently observed Lady Li. Given what had happened with the spicy kimchi, she wouldn’t want to sell to Lady Li either if she were Wang Ru. Lady Li seemed to have a knack for ruining everything for Wang Ru!