Chapter 5: First Encounter with the Zhou Manor

  The next day, Master Zhou Shiming summoned all the ladies to the main hall.

  Master Zhou Shiming had married five wives, each with different personalities. The first wife, Madame Zhou Sun, was his original partner. She was over 40 years old and had been married to the Zhou family for over 30 years. Her personality was calm and reserved, not given to idle chatter, a feudal and conservative old woman, who was the mother of Zhou Tianhao, with high prestige in the mansion. In her early years, she helped Zhou Shiming start his career, and the Zhou family's current prosperity also owed some credit to her. For nearly ten years, she had been keeping a vegetarian diet and praying for peace in the Zhou household. Now, all major and minor matters within the Zhou household were managed by her.

  The second lady's name is Jiang Yuxin, over 30 years old, with a dignified appearance and medium build. Although she has put on some weight, she looks very astute and elegant. She was originally the daughter of a wealthy merchant in Jiangnan, skilled in managing industries. After marrying into the Zhou family, she helped Old Master Zhou take care of various shops and became the reliable assistant of the master of Zhou Village.

  The third wife's name was Wang Yue. Less than a year after marrying into the Zhou family, she died. Everyone in the household said that she had been frightened to death by secretly visiting the Garden of Repayment.

  The fourth lady's name was Sun Lianxiang, 24 or 25 years old, born into a landlord family. She usually wore light pink dresses that trailed on the ground, with a slender waist cinched by a cloud-patterned belt, making her appear even more delicate. A seven-treasured coral hairpin adorned her hair, setting off her face like a lotus flower. Her features were stunningly beautiful, with a pair of phoenix eyes full of charm and yet also exuding an air of majesty. Her black hair was styled in an elegant coiffure, ornate and stately, and her red lips always seemed to be hinting at a faint, subtle smile.

  Master Zhou gathered everyone together and said to the ladies, "With the arrival of Fifth Mistress Jingya, you have gained another good sister. From now on, all of you sisters must get along well and take care of each other. Our family's business is large, and only if we put our hearts in one place and work together can the Zhou family prosper forever. Today's matters at the manor are almost done. Although the Zhou estate cannot compare to those of princes and high-ranking officials, it is still much larger than ordinary households. We will take her out for a stroll and familiarize her with the situation inside the manor." She turned to Madame and asked, "How has your health been lately?"

  "These past few days have been busy with matters at the mansion, and my body is still a bit weak. Today, let Second Brother and the others go accompany him, I won't be going."

  "Alright, let's get started then." Zhou Zhuangzhu got up and led everyone on a tour of the Zhou estate. Starting from the main hall courtyard, Old Master Zhou introduced the situation of the Zhou estate to the five madams one by one...

  On the main street, Young Master Zhou Tianhao of the Zhou Mansion was distributing cooked rice to beggars and poor people who couldn't afford a meal with Butler Liang Xingchu. People lined up in an orderly manner, holding their bowls to receive the rice. "Don't worry, fellow villagers, everyone will get some," Tianhao said as he handed out the rice.

  The people in the queue and the crowd around them were all talking about it: "Old Master Zhou is really a great philanthropist!"

  "Our kids at home haven't eaten for several days, if this goes on, won't they starve to death?! This food came just in time!"

  "A few days ago, my old father was ill and we had no money at home. It was also Old Man Zhou who helped us out. I really don't know how to thank him!"

  ……

  County Magistrate Ge Zhenbang passed by this place, saw the situation and couldn't help but praise: "If our county town had a few more good households like the Zhous, my days would be much easier! The kindness of Master Zhou is truly admirable!" He turned to the several yamen runners beside him and said: "Let's go, I still have something to ask for Master Zhou's help. Let's make a trip to the Zhou's house."

  The Magistrate of Ge County rode his horse to the entrance of the Zhou Mansion, where the gatekeeper hastened to greet him and invited him into the main hall. After serving tea, the steward instructed the gatekeeper to inform Master Zhou.

  Mr. Zhou heard the family report that the county magistrate had come to visit, and instructed the second lady: "I won't go sightseeing with you all, you should accompany Little Wu well and make her happy!" The second lady replied: "Don't worry, sir! Everything is fine here." Mr. Zhou bid farewell to the ladies and went to the main hall to see the county magistrate.

  As soon as he saw the county magistrate, Zhou Shiming cupped his hands and bowed, smiling and saying: "I didn't know Magistrate Ge had arrived, I'm afraid I've failed to welcome you from afar, please forgive me!"

  "The landlord is getting younger and younger, he must be well taken care of by his new young wife!"

  "That's it, that's it, who can be blamed for this? The county magistrate's arrangement is not wrong! I, the old man, thank you again!" Zhou Shiming said with a bow, "Lord Ge, you are busy with official duties, what instructions do you have today?"

  "Alas!" County Magistrate Ge's face suddenly turned gloomy. "You also understand the current state of affairs, don't you? Nowadays, Li Zicheng is leading a rebellion in the south and his momentum is growing stronger by the day; the Manchu Qing dynasty in the north is also frequently harassing our borders, and the imperial court's actions are all thunder but little rain. It's all because the national treasury is empty. Just a few days ago, the imperial court issued an order to donate funds to suppress the rebel army, and our county's share of silver is not small at all. To be honest with you, I'm worried about this."

  As soon as Zhou Shiming heard this, he understood that the county magistrate had come to borrow money. Saying it was borrowing money, in fact, it was a meat bun hitting a dog - there's no return! No matter what, this couldn't be shirked. Thinking of this, his face was full of smiles, "The Zhou family appears to be very prosperous on the surface, but actually, they are also superficially strong and internally weak. However, for the sake of the country, I will still do my best."

  "Look, I knew you were a man who understands the big picture and upholds justice. Just now, as I passed by the main street, I saw Master Lord helping to relieve the disaster victims, it's really moving for our county! Your prestige in this region is very high, you should set a good example for other wealthy families too, and advise them to contribute more to the country."

  "The old man will definitely do his best. How about I donate 3,000 silver coins first?"

  "Alright, it's settled then!"

  The master ordered the steward to prepare for Ge Xianling. Ge Zhenbang stood up and bid farewell.

  Seeing off the county magistrate, Zhou Shiming's mood was not calm. In such a world, with numerous taxes and levies, ordinary people were forced to flee their homes. It was as if Du Fu's words had come true: "The meat and wine in the vermilion gates stink, while on the roads there are frozen corpses." The common folk had no way to survive; why didn't they rise up in revolt? Where did all the silver collected by the imperial court go? He could only feel helpless and sigh...

  The Zhou residence is indeed a grand mansion with pavilions, towers, artificial hills and lakes, everything is complete and beautiful. The Fifth Lady was accompanied by the two ladies and maids, all of whom were a bit stunned. The two ladies took the Fifth Lady on a winding tour, introducing her to the people and things here. When they passed by an ancient mansion, the Fifth Lady was very curious, she asked the two ladies: "This house is so majestic!"

  "That is the Redemption Garden," said the Second Mistress.

  "What's with the name 'Redemption Garden'? It sounds so strange! Why is it called that?" asked Mrs. Wu, puzzled and perplexed.

  "This, I also can't say clearly. I heard that this house was built by the old master later on. It was named as soon as it was built. As for why? I don't know." The fourth wife asked.

  "I don't know either," replied the second lady.

  "This house has such high walls! How can there be so many doors and they're all locked?"

  "Wonderful observation, Fifth Sister! This house is rarely used, and the ancestral hall of our family is inside. Few people enter it. As for why the house was designed this way, I'm not too clear about it either." Second Madam said as she walked.

  "This mansion is so mysterious! Let's go in and take a look around?" asked Mrs. Wu with curiosity.

  "I've never been inside either. I heard that a few years ago, the third mistress was possessed by a ghost at night and lost her life. Since then, no one has dared to enter this mansion again." The fourth mistress whispered mysteriously to the fifth mistress.

  "You're such a person, always speaking without reserve, having too much to say." The second lady complained about the fourth lady.

  When Second Mistress said this to her, Fourth Mistress was so angry that she trembled with rage and let out a loud "Hmph!"

  "Second lady immediately turned around and said to the fifth lady: 'Fifth sister, don't listen to your fourth sister's nonsense. She never thinks before speaking. But in the future, it's better to ask less about this kind of thing, and don't come alone to this area.'"

  "Little sister knows, thank you for reminding me, sisters!" The Fifth Lady replied. She turned around and asked Xiao Qing, the maid who was closely following behind her: "Did you remember what all the ladies said?"

  "Got it, miss," Xia Qing replied crisply.