The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

After the restaurant opened, Zhou Chu planned to have his cousin become the manager.

Zhou Chu wouldn't feel comfortable handing over this position to anyone else.

Sun Qiang is now nearly fifty years old, and as he gets older, he naturally can't keep traveling around all the time.

He had long since given up on the brokerage business, but he was struggling to find any other way to make a living.

When Zhou Chu approached him, he agreed without hesitation.

The owner of this restaurant is much more prestigious than the brokers in the real estate brokerage.

In the capital, who among those with any standing would respect human traffickers?

Moreover, Zhou Chu offered him a very high monthly allowance.

Fifty taels of silver a month.

After a month of hard work at the brokerage, this is all I earn.

The market isn't always so good every month.

"Uncle, keep an eye on the restaurant these next few days. I'm going back to my hometown."

Zhou Chu handed the blueprints to Sun Qiang.

"It's time to go back; you haven't been home for four years."

My uncle sighed with some emotion.

Who would have thought that a child who was sold to the Lu family four years ago would now be a prominent figure in the capital?

Sun Qiang witnessed the enthusiasm of those daughters of officials for Zhou Chu on more than one occasion.

He knew very well that if his nephew wanted to, he could easily marry into a family of officials of the sixth or even fifth rank.

But he knew even better that his nephew had lofty ambitions.

Yes, I haven't been home for four years.

Zhou Chu couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

In fact, over the past three years, Zhou Chu has been busy on one hand, and on the other hand, he has been intentionally avoiding this issue.

When Zhou Chu proposed selling himself, his mother was somewhat reluctant and took out some money to find him a good family.

Later, Zhou Chu's cousin told him that when he first delivered a letter to his family, the money his mother had given him was returned to them.

I accepted the money in the first place to put Zhou Chu's mother at ease.

If his mother still cared for her son, then Zhou Chu's father didn't say a word, and was even somewhat dissatisfied with Zhou's mother giving money to Sun Qiang.

Zhou Chu saw all of this.

They just didn't say it.

Over the course of those four years, Zhou Chu sent money home intermittently.

Every time Zhou's mother wrote to him, she would give him countless instructions and show concern for her son, never having any other thoughts.

But Zhou's father was different. Every time he wrote, he seemed concerned, but what he really meant was that he wanted to find a way to get money from Zhou Chu.

In recent years, thanks to Zhou Chu, the Zhou family has become a wealthy household in the area and has acquired a lot of land.

In addition, Zhou Chu had already sold himself back then, which could be considered as repaying his parents' kindness in raising him.

Therefore, Zhou Chu has deliberately avoided this issue in recent years.

With the restaurant under renovation, Zhou Chu finally had some free time and decided to go home for a visit.

I'll have to go back eventually.

After a bumpy ride in the carriage, Zhou Chu finally arrived at the entrance of his village.

At that moment, an old farmer, tired from working in the fields, sat down to rest under a tree at the village entrance.

Seeing Zhou Chu pass by, I felt that he looked somewhat familiar.

"Whose child are you again?"

The old farmer thought for a long time, but still couldn't remember who Zhou Chu was.

"The eldest son of the Zhou family."

Zhou Chu offered a reminder.

Upon hearing this, the old farmer slapped his thigh.

"Yes, yes, Zhou family eldest son, I heard you were sold to a wealthy family? You made a fortune."

The information here is delayed.

The villagers only knew that Zhou Chu had been sold to a wealthy family.

Little did they know that Zhou Chu had already been a free man three years prior.

However, Zhou Chu was too lazy to explain these things; it was pointless.

From the village entrance alone, Zhou Chu could see the original location of his home, now occupied by a large mansion.

Red tiles and white walls.

For a moment, Zhou Chu felt a sense of trepidation, as if he were returning home.

Over the years, Zhou Chu has become accustomed to keeping a low profile.

Living in a place like the capital, where high-ranking officials and nobles abound, being too conspicuous is not a good thing.