Zhao was stunned for a moment, and the next second she couldn't help but instinctively scream out.

"What did you say? Farmers?"

Xiaoya had already retreated to the back, trembling. Oh no, she should have informed Madam beforehand, but now that Miss had said it herself, Madam would probably beat her to death.

Yan Qingxue was also timid and insecure, and could only give Zhao a guilty smile.

"Hehe... Mother, please don't be angry, don't worry, don't get upset, don't get angry. This matter... isn't it because Father forced me to do this before? He wanted me to marry into that merchant's family. I thought I would rather marry a farmer than a merchant, right?"

And so he actually met a farmer's son.

Although he was a farmer's son, he was well-educated and reasonable, and seemed to have a lot of manners and upbringing. He didn't seem like someone from a peasant background; his demeanor made him look more like a scholar.

That... he's also quite handsome, with a dignified appearance, and... wow—"

Before Yan Qingxue could finish speaking, Zhao Shi had already lost her temper, her face turning green with anger. She grabbed a teacup from the table and smashed it at Yan Qingxue.

Yan Qingxue let out a scream and nimbly dodged.

She knew that the tigress in her house would be furious if she found out.

"Mother, Mother, this matter is still far from settled, and people probably don't even want me anymore. They think I'm a crazy woman."

Zhao's hand trembled as she pointed at Yan Qingxue, her words tumbling out in anger. "Aren't you crazy? It's one thing for you to act crazy outside, and I don't mind if you do some unruly things, but you, you, you actually went too far and wanted to marry a farmer."

"If you dare marry into a peasant family, I'll beat you to death!"

Yan Qingxue stiffened her neck and gave a weak, cold snort.

"Farmers... What's wrong with farmers? I'd rather marry a farmer than marry into one of those hypocritical noble families."

"Starting today, you don't need to go out anymore. You stay home and practice the zither properly. In a while, I'll take you to Baicheng to meet the young master of the Bai family. Once I've discussed it with my family, I'll find a way to arrange the marriage for you. Forget about that farmer. You don't need to attend this banquet. Just stay home and behave yourself."

"Guards, lock the young lady in her courtyard. Don't let her out without my permission."

Xiaoya's face turned pale, and she thought to herself, "Oh no, this is bad. This time, my mistress is really angry. This is the first time in years that she has been so angry with her young lady. She actually wants to lock her up."

Normally, being imprisoned is the city lord's decision, not the madam's. For the madam to speak up like this, it means her young lady's carefree days of traveling and enjoying life are over.

From now on, I really won't need to go out anymore.

Xiaoya watched helplessly as Yan Qingxue struggled to be dragged out by the servants who came in—

"Mom, please! Let's talk this out! Don't lock me up! How am I supposed to go out? My friends are waiting for me..." Yan Qingxue's screams faded into the distance.

Zhao glanced at Xiaoya, who was cowering in the corner, and said, "Go and tell them."

Xiaoya nodded timidly, "Yes, Madam."

"Keep a close eye on her. If anything happens, come and report to me. If you dare to have any ideas or give the young lady bad advice, I'll break both your legs."

I'll keep track of this debt. If it happens again, we'll settle all the old and new debts together.

"Yes, yes, madam, this servant will remember it." Xiaoya's face was pale with fright, and her eyes still held the terror of surviving a disaster.

...

Red City, a place to settle down.

Upon seeing the rejection reply from Greentown, Anle held the post in his hand and tapped it absentmindedly on the table.

"Not coming? That doesn't seem like Miss Yan's personality. Could something have held her back?"

Anle rested her chin on her hand on the table, muttering to herself.

Yu Rong stood behind An Le, watching her sitting in a daze, interrupting her thoughts.

"The Green City Lord's Mansion wants to acquire a shop in the snack street, and has sent a thousand taels of silver to the Jincheng government."

Anle blinked and tilted her head to look at Yu Rong. "Don't you always handle these things yourself? Why don't you just handle it yourself? Why are you telling me?"

"You have a good relationship with the young lady of the Green City Lord's Mansion, so naturally we need to ask for your opinion."

Anle rested her chin on her hand and sighed.

"Why talk about personal relationships in business? Talking about personal relationships will only cost you money! Don't you understand this principle? Do I need to teach you? Just handle it the way it should be handled."

Yu Rong nodded, "Understood." Then he would proceed with the scam without hesitation.

The shops in the food street naturally need to be rented out. In fact, even if they don't come to us, the Jincheng government will still talk to some merchants.

However, since they've come all this way to our doorstep and even offered us gifts, we might as well take advantage of them. We'll accept another two thousand taels of silver as a gift before we give in.

Anle glanced at the reply in her hand, "When are you going to Greentown? If you have time, could you help me find out what's going on with that Miss Yan? Her rejection was so decisive, it's really not like her."

Yu Rong nodded, "Regarding the farmland and gardens you mentioned before, we've managed to acquire some in Hongcheng, but in Jincheng, due to a natural disaster, many farmland and gardens are temporarily unusable."

So, in Hongcheng, I bought some land here and there from various farmers, and consolidated a large area of ​​farmland in the surrounding area, which resulted in a considerable amount of land being acquired.

Anle baring his teeth, that's good news.

“You’ve done a great job. I’ll give you some seeds and saplings later. Follow my instructions, find some farmers, and plant them for me in a suitable season. Take good care of them.”

"Give me a written report on how much farmland and garden land you've harvested so I can carefully check it and calculate how many seeds and seedlings I need."

Yu Rong nodded and noted it down.

"And how's that greenhouse I asked you to set up?" Although it's hot now and we don't need it for the time being, we'll need it for growing vegetables and fruits when it gets colder.

Therefore, it's important to prepare and plan ahead for these things; otherwise, it will be too late if you wait until things cool down before starting.

She plans to build a large-scale greenhouse to grow vegetables, so that the vegetables and fruits supplied in winter will be very fresh. Being able to eat off-season vegetables will definitely be a great boon for those prestigious families. Selling them at high prices will also be a profitable business.