Rebirth of the Evil Stepmother and the Four Villainous Children

Fortunately, nothing went wrong afterwards and Dabao's apprenticeship banquet ended smoothly.

After that, Dabao was very busy. The two gentlemen agreed on a time and each of them would teach him for one day. The two old men seemed to be putting in all their effort, as if they were looking at who was teaching better and they were both working very hard.

Dabao has been so busy lately that he falls asleep as soon as he turns on his bed. Even the children at home follow their brother to attend the classes of the two teachers.

Erbao was often taught personally by Xie Wuyou, which made the relationship between Zhou Rongrong and Xie Wuyou seem much closer.

One month later.

I have to say that the efficiency of the palace is really fast. Zhou Rongrong's villa is rising from the ground, and the architectural model of a large mountain village is specially adopted, so that it will not be cold in summer.

Zhou Rongrong personally participated in the design of this villa. The courtyard is a large courtyard with five entrances and exits. It is much more magnificent than the previous Zhou residence. Xie Wuyou directly took charge of the servants in the courtyard and sent Li Ma and some loyal maids and servants to others.

Not only was a well dug in the courtyard, but spring water from the mountains was also brought in. Shuangzhuang was built in the mountains and forests, far away from the capital. The names Cheng'an Villa and Zhou Rongrong's titles were the same. The plaques were all inscribed by the emperor and stamped with his own private seal.

The Beijing Suburbs Camp is not far away, so safety is guaranteed. Now Erbao either studies with the teacher or with Xie Wuyou in the morning, and goes to the Beijing Suburbs Camp led by Xie Wuyou to study in the afternoon. He is very busy.

In order to prevent Dabao from running around, the two gentlemen unanimously decided to move to Cheng'an Villa. Mainly because they liked the environment there and it was a good place to study without being disturbed.

The villa was repaired, and Li Zhenglin and his men came, pulling a few carts filled with books from Zhou Rongrong's study and some of her drawings. Zhou Hao and Qiaoqiao also came.

Li Zhenglin didn't know that Li Xun lived here yet. After Nanny Li settled them down, Li Zhenglin sat in a rocking chair in the yard with a plate of fried peanuts on his stomach, and was eating the fried peanuts leisurely.

Li Xun appeared, and Li Zhenglin was so scared that he knocked all the peanuts to the ground and stood obediently beside the recliner. If it were his parents, he would not be afraid at all, but he was most afraid of his grandfather. Thinking back then, his grandfather also tried his best to stop his parents from locking him in the yard.

But those two people just wouldn't listen, which made his grandfather and his parents look unhappy. When he escaped, it was his grandfather who sent people to escort him out of the city and emptied the entire warehouse for him, so he had so much money.

"Grandfather, why are you here?"

Li Xun looked Li Zhenglin up and down and saw that his grandson was now sunny and cheerful, but he didn't sit or stand properly. This was the county lady's courtyard, and it was nothing for them old guys to live here, but what was wrong with Li Zhenglin, who was so young, still living here? He scolded.

"Why are you living in the county lady's courtyard? Have you forgotten what I taught you about not touching male slaves?"

Li Zhenglin replied: "Grandfather, Rongrong and I are good friends and confidants. I lived in the village for several months before. I will live here for now. I will move in when I build a small yard. But you?"

Li Zhenglin was hurrying along on his journey without knowing that his grandfather had already accepted Dabao as his apprentice.

Li Xun: "Now Dabao is my last disciple. Several children in my family are taking classes together with me. What's the problem?"

Li Zhenglin quickly shook his head and said, "No, no problem, Grandfather. The children in Rongrong's family are all geniuses. You've done a good job in accepting this disciple. Grandfather really has a good vision." As he said that, he gave Li Xunshu a thumbs up.

Just at this time, Zhou Rongrong, who had been busy outside, came back, full of anger. She sat on the stone bench in the yard, and a maid brought her tea. She glanced at Li Zhenglin and started to complain.

"I'm too busy. This is such a large piece of land, and there's a forest. Fortunately you're here. Please build me water wheels as soon as possible. The more the better. I'm organizing people to dig ditches now. Li Zhenglin, tell me, this is obviously the imperial farm, why are the people who work so lazy?"

Li Zhenglin glanced at Li Xun, meaning, you see, we really have nothing.

"Let me make it. I'll make it tomorrow after I take a rest. I have several talented apprentices following me, so it won't be too much trouble. Those who can manage the imperial farm are all related to the palace. What's wrong with being a little lazy? It's normal."

Zhou Rongrong said, "He is too lazy. He always drags his feet on the things I tell him to do, which seriously reduces my efficiency. Time waits for no one. He is even worse than Sibao's farm. I plan to change him."

Li Xun said: "County Lady, if you change people, you might offend people."

Zhou Rongrong said respectfully: "Sir, I am not afraid of offending people. What I will do next needs to be kept confidential. I dare not hire a manager like that. If something goes wrong, he won't lose his head, but I'm afraid I will."

Li Xun said, "Being in the capital is not like being in a small mountain village. In the village, the most powerful person above you is the county magistrate, but in the capital, you don't know who is above those people. The county magistrate should be careful."

Zhou Rongrong thanked the master and said, "Thank you for your teachings, but I am the mother of your apprentice. You will definitely help me, right?"

Li Xun didn't expect this man to be so shameless, but it does make sense. His beloved disciple cares about his mother the most, so shouldn't he help him now?

"Oh, the little girl is right."

In Zhou Rongrong's place, as long as there are resources, they can be used. Whether in the past life or this life, it is a society of favors, isn't it? It is easier to get things done if there are people above you. Since she also has people above her, she can naturally get things done.

Zhou Rongrong, along with Nanny Li and the guards, went straight to Qin Zhuangtou's farm. As soon as the farmtou arrived, he secretly told her that he had connections in the palace.

When Qin Zhuangtou saw his master coming, he hurriedly took the servants to greet him. This courtyard was indeed large, a three-story courtyard with rockery, flowing water, and pavilions. It was even larger than the courtyards of some officials.

I don’t know how much money he had to embezzle to build such a yard. He is so bold.

Zhou Rongrong sat in the upper seat and looked at the village head below, not knowing what was going on in his mind. She took out the account book and smashed it directly on the face of Village Head Qin.

"Look, this is the account book you gave me. Do you think I'm blind? Can't I see that you have falsified the accounts in this account book? Very good, Mr. Qin, your majesty has given me the manor, and I am the owner of this place. You and the people around you have two choices. One is to be more peaceful, and I will give you 500 taels of silver to go home and retire. The other is that I will arrest you and report you to the authorities. You can choose."

The village head Qin looked at Zhou Rongrong who was sitting in the upper seat in disbelief. How dare a yellow-haired girl say such a thing? The village head was not afraid at all and sneered.

"Does the county lady know who Eunuch Li is?"

Zhou Rongrong asked, "Who is it that I want to hear?"

Qin Zhuangtou raised his head and said, "Eunuch Li is the eunuch in charge of the police station. County Lady, why don't we be peaceful?"

"Fuck you, let's be peaceful. You've taken money from His Majesty, and you still want me to be peaceful with you? I don't care if your boss is Eunuch Li or Eunuch Zhang. Make your choice quickly."

When Qin Zhuangtou saw the county lady swearing, he was stunned for a moment. After all, he had met many nobles, but which noble would swear?

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Zhou Rongrong didn't want to endure it anymore. She pulled out the shiny sword from Zhou Yi's waist and put it on his neck impatiently.

"Since you don't want to choose, I will choose for you. This county lady will kill you with one sword. Anyway, your indenture is with me. To be frank, you are just my servant, Mr. Qin. If I kill you, who dares to do anything to me?"

As he spoke, he really used force on the sword in his hand, scaring Qin Zhuangtou so much that he begged for mercy repeatedly.

"Choose, choose, County Master, I choose first, first."

Zhou Rongrong put away the sword, took out five hundred taels of silver and the deeds of those managers and placed them in front of him.

"I will only give you one hour. You are not allowed to take anything from this yard except the clothes and food you use."

After saying that, he gave Zhou Yi a look, and Zhou Yi followed Zhou Rongrong out. Zhou Rongrong glanced at the inner room, and seeing that no one was paying attention, he quietly said to Zhou Yi: "Pretend that they were killed by bandits, and bring the money back to me."

"Yes, mother. Oh, no, no, county lady."

Zhou Rongrong: “….”

The head of Qinzhuang was frightened by Zhou Rongrong and quickly asked people to pack up the valuables. Nanny Li also asked people to check and found that no one had taken anything away except the valuables and the five hundred taels of silver.

Zhou Yi and his other brothers followed them, and when they reached a secluded place, they identified them and took the silver bills out of their bags.

He found a cliff and casually threw the person into the deep mountains and dense forests, completely without anyone noticing.

If it was just corruption, Zhou Rongrong would not have killed these people and would have just driven them away. The real reason was that this village head relied on his connections in the palace to oppress the tenant farmers and do all kinds of evil. He was really hateful, so people wanted to kill him to avoid endless troubles.

At the same time, a letter was sent to the palace, explaining what was happening here. A eunuch in the palace dared to show off so much in front of an unknown relative outside, which showed that such things still happened in the palace.

Once it is reported, the royal family's reputation will be lost. This matter must be investigated and thoroughly investigated.

Three years later.

Cheng'an Villa is very famous in the Great Zhou Dynasty. This villa is not only because of the county lord, but also because there are always countless new and interesting things coming out here.

As for the rice planting, potato seeds, sweet potato seeds, etc. from the villa, they are all high-yielding. In the first year, the imperial court purchased all the seeds and asked the people in the camp outside the capital to reclaim wasteland and start large-scale planting.

Soon Zhouji Seed Shop started to open in the capital, selling only seeds. The price was the same as that sold in the mountain villages. After planting, the seeds not only produced high yields but were also resistant to diseases and pests.

Every household bought Zhou Ji's seeds, and slowly Zhou Ji's seeds spread all over the country. There was a Zhou Ji logo in every county and town.

Soon the seed business became saturated, and Zhou Rongrong decided to change his strategy by embarking on the road of traveling merchants.

He started a grocery store, selling things produced in his own workshop in the villa, such as soap, paper, starch, vermicelli, dried chilies, etc.

Once it was launched on the market, it became popular in the entire market. Jiang Manman had just returned from Jiangnan and brought the account book to the palace to meet His Majesty.

Today, the skinny little girl has become a mature manager, controlling countless wealth and becoming more and more stable.

"Your Majesty, I present this month's account book for your review."

Now Manman is registered under Zhou Rongrong's name and is Zhou Rongrong's eldest daughter.

When Xie Anming saw someone coming, he looked at Manman with eyes that were almost the same as the eyes he looked at the God of Wealth. Two years ago, the county princess asked if she wanted to invest in the business. He thought about it and went back to the harem to discuss it with his wife. He felt it was feasible, so he took out 12,000 taels of silver to buy an original share.

Now, Xie Anming holds half of the shares of Zhouji Business. When Zhou Rongrong took Jiang Manman to do business in the beginning, even the county lord and the merchants in the capital would not let them in. But when they heard that His Majesty also had shares in Zhouji, who would dare to make trouble?

With His Majesty's reputation, there was not much resistance in doing business. After all, no one dared to bring bad luck to His Majesty. Unexpectedly, many grain stores opened soon, and a year later, the seeds were no longer sold.

He started selling some rare items and even had to purchase things needed in the palace from Zhouji. The initial 10,000 taels of silver now brought in more than that much gross profit in just one month.

When Xie Anming opened the account book, his face was broken with smiles. He was so happy that he didn't even notice Jiang Manman was still kneeling below him. He quickly spoke.

"Hurry up and sit down, hurry up and sit down, Manman, just sit down and report when you enter the palace."

Jiang Manman kowtowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, no, this is against etiquette."

Xie Anming said, "Then you should get up. In my opinion, among the children of Cheng'an County Lord, you and Dabao are the most polite and the most old-fashioned. You should learn from Sibao and stop being so reserved."

Jiang Manman replied respectfully: "Yes, Your Majesty, my mother has something for me to tell Your Majesty. I want Your Majesty to make a decision."

Xie Anming closed the account book and said, "You tell me."

"Mother said that now His Majesty has curbed the trend of land annexation and distributed land to the weaker people, but those people have no money, and without money they are likely to sell land or take out loan sharks. Mother's idea is for Zhouji Company to join His Majesty in this matter.

We can provide small loans at low interest rates to those weak people who have no money to farm and settle down. The crops grown by the army can be selected as seeds and sold at low prices in the name of Your Majesty. I have come here to ask Your Majesty what you think."

Xie Anming's eyes lit up. He had only done one big thing in these years, which was to control the trend of land annexation, take the land back from those people, and distribute it among them. Now the most important thing was to get things on the right track.

If this method is used, the problem can be solved by spreading the weekly diary to all the shops in Da Zhou. Even if a few people cannot repay, the loss will not be big. We just need to limit the loan amount. Five taels of silver per family is the limit.

Then he said, "It's feasible, it's feasible, it's really good, the county lady is really smart."

Jiang Manman nodded seriously and said, "Mom is the smartest person I have ever met."

Xie Anming changed the topic and looked at Jiang Manman, who had grown into a graceful young lady. She was already sixteen years old. Girls from ordinary families were either married or engaged. Every time he asked about the Lady of Cheng'an County, Cheng'an acted indifferent and said he had to see what Manman thought.

With such an outstanding child, Xie Anming thought of his unmarried fifth prince and asked tentatively: "Manman, my fifth boy, that..."

Jiang Manman understood what Xie Anming meant and quickly knelt down and kowtowed three times, saying, "Your Majesty, I just want to do what I want to do. Your Majesty also knows that I had a hard time when I was young. I really don't have any expectations or fantasies about marriage. Now I just want to see the beautiful mountains and rivers of the Great Zhou."