[BL]The Big Landlord

Chapter 30 - Abnormal

Surprise! This is a special update in celebration of Fourth of July. I hope y'all had a fun day. Now kick back and relax with another chapter of TBL. This one is longer than usual. =^-^=

Also, I have a and a list for this story. You can find them on The Big Landlord's info page under the Translations tab of the menu, or just click The Big Landlord title on the side bar (in the Updating Schedule box) to get to the info page. If you're ever uncertain of something, you can always refer to these lists.

- Muse

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Chapter 30 - Abnormal

By the time they returned to the courtyard it was almost approaching noon.

An Zi Ran called Qiu Lan over to inquire after An Yu Zhi's health.

"Young Master, the lady had an excellent appetite this morning and ate two bowls of congee," this was how Qiu Lan replied. Ever since returning from shopping two days ago, the young miss's complexion did not look good. Her appetite was smaller than usual. Yesterday night she only had one bowl of congee for dinner.

An Zi Ran was simply asking, but received such an unexpected answer. His steps into the courtyard faltered. With an unclear expression he asked, "This morning when you went to attend to the young miss, how was her complexion looking?"
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Qiu Lan thought for a bit. "She looked well. There was a bit of red in her cheeks. She wasn't pasty like she was two days ago. So this servant had the kitchen make more congee for the lady. Young Miss did not say anything. And unlike two days ago, she did not resist and ate two bowls of congee."

An Zi Ran nodded. "That is all. You are dismissed."

Qiu Lan turned and left.

After lunch, An Zi Ran returned to the study. Steward Su was quietly waiting for him inside. Without realizing his state of mood, he said, "Young Master, the ink is almost ready*. Would you like to make the gift list today?"

[*T/N: Back then, ink was prepared by grinding an ink stone with a bit of water.]

The date of the marriage was not set in stone yet, because they needed to find a knowledgeable person to choose a good day. Taking advantage of this time, An Zi Ran wants to get the list of dowry ready. An Yu Zhi was the daughter* of the first wife, and she was about to marry into a prince's palace, so the dowry must not be small. Losing face was a trifle, but if she was looked down upon after marriage, it would implicate the An family too.

[*T/N: 嫡女 di nv: "daughter of first wife." I saw the word "prostitute" in MTL and I thought I was tripping, but no they really translated it as prostitute. ]

Yesterday, before the ledgers were sent over, An Zi Ran had already finished half of the list.

The An family was a big landlord. What they had a lot of was land. There were also quite a few shops under their name. Most of them were rice shops. Only a small fraction was jewelry and fabrics and such. The scope involved was not particularly wide. Based on the An family's situation, their status was indeed too low to be rubbing elbows with the Fu family, this point could not be refuted.
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What An Zi Ran could take out for the dowry was not a lot. Ever since he made those two decisions*, the An family's assets have shrunk. The total number of monthly accounts earned was less than half that of An Chang Fu when he was alive. An Chang Fu's three concubines already gave him (MC) a piece of their minds early on, especially the second and third concubine, because they had unmarried daughters. In the future, if they wanted to get married, they will be dependant on the dowry from the An family. Since the An families assets have shrunk, then those dowries were bound to shrink.