An Yi's idea was supported and permitted by An Dalin at home, so he left Hongcheng with An Dalin.

After An Yi left, An Ning also successfully entered the hotel in the Jincheng business district and began working as a receptionist.

The house felt much quieter without the two siblings.

Ever since Qiao Zhishu returned from the Zhong family in Jincheng, whenever Yang Shi brought up the topic of blind dates, Qiao Zhishu would immediately refuse with a headache and dread.

Having learned from these two previous experiences, he refused to meet the girl again, as refusing her would be too troublesome.

Yang refused, her face hardening.

"You can't be so afraid of everything just because you met two girls and didn't like them. How will you ever get married if you keep going like this?"

You still have Zhili below you; you can't let your own actions hold Zhili back.

"Then let Mother arrange Zhili's marriage first, and I'll think about it later."

"That won't do. The eldest son doesn't get married, but the second son does first. What kind of logic is that?"

"So if I never get married, Zhili will have to ruin his life's most important matter because of me?"

As soon as Qiao Zhishu said this, Yang Shi got furious.

"What? You're never going to get married? You dare? I bet your grandpa will break your legs! This won't do, that won't do, tell me what you really want to do?"

This Miss Zhong is a nice person, but you don't like her. We offered to find you another girl, but you refused to go. What do you want to do now?

You say that Miss Zhong is gentle, beautiful, and skilled in painting, yet you still look down on her.

"What kind of family's daughter are you looking for? A lady from a prominent family? Do you think a lady from a prominent family would even look at a peasant like you?"

As Yang finished speaking, she noticed that Qiao Zhishu's face seemed to change. She paused, secretly pleased with herself.

Ha, this silly boy, don't think she doesn't know what he's thinking. He's definitely eyeing that Miss Yan.

It wasn't that she was praising Miss Yan too much; Miss Yan was indeed very beautiful, probably one of the most beautiful girls in these cities. She had a great figure and a straightforward temperament, which she quite liked. In particular, what was Miss Yan's background? She was the eldest daughter of the city lord's family.

Her son probably had something on his mind but dared not say a word.

Just that identity alone was enough to make him feel suffocated.

However, Le Wazi had already told her this, that he would definitely find a way to get her son a government position in Jincheng. Once the Qiao family became officials, it wouldn't be impossible for them to marry her.

"Oh, right, speaking of these ladies from wealthy families, I heard from Lewa that she's recently been in contact with a few rich families in her business dealings. Why don't you take a look at those ladies from wealthy families?"

Those girls must all be well-mannered, but I don't know if they'd even be interested in someone like mine. If you really like them, how about I ask Lewa to help me make the connection?

When Madam Yang said this, it was as if she was testing the waters; she had no intention of letting her son marry a girl from another family.

Those rich girls, though they may seem well-mannered, are delicate and pampered, and they might not be easy to serve once married into the family.

She doesn't care for those delicate, pretentious girls.

There aren't many girls as cheerful and outgoing as Miss Yan.

She truly took a liking to Miss Yan at first sight.

But since her son wouldn't say anything, she could only keep quiet and not bring it up.

Since Lewazi hadn't spoken, she didn't dare to say anything here. If she accidentally messed things up and ruined such a good marriage, she would have nowhere to cry.

"Mother, can we postpone this for now? I really don't want to see the girl again at this time. There's no need to rush into marriage."

Why does his mother keep bothering him the more agitated he gets?

"Sigh, if you don't want to, then forget it." Madam Yang pretended to sigh. In fact, she didn't plan to find any other girls. Finding so many girls and having to deal with them was giving her a headache.

The two girls should have been enough to annoy him, and he should have been able to appreciate the good qualities of Miss Yan.

Anyway, she figured her son's sudden change in attitude was because of Miss Yan; otherwise, he would probably be with Miss Zhong.

But it scared her quite a bit.

Fortunately, it was stopped in time.

Next, she needs to consult with Lewazi about her next steps.

Yang sighed and left. Qiao Zhishu pursed her lips, watched Yang leave, and lowered her eyes.

What's wrong with him lately?

He felt a knot in his heart, extremely frustrated, and unable to do anything. Yan Qingxue's face kept flashing through his mind. Could it be that he really... had feelings for Yan Qingxue?

That crazy woman?

How is that possible?

He clearly dislikes her.

But if it's because he doesn't like her, where does his frustration because of her come from?

Qiao Zhishu's life seemed calm on the surface, but her heart was in turmoil. Meanwhile, the person who had been causing Qiao Zhishu such unease was happily counting his money.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye, and she had already earned two hundred taels of silver. Moreover, because of her exceptional hard work, the Jincheng government rewarded her with some extra good things, including fruits and vegetables she had never seen before.

The food her mother was eating was quite fresh, and she really liked it.

The weather has turned completely cold, and she has rarely left the mansion recently, waiting for next spring to start planting those saplings.

Planting now would be too late, as the season is already past the right time.

She's learned and managed everything here, so she's now free to wait until next year to get back to work.

However, she also needs to handle some mundane matters, such as supervising and making arrangements for the people under her management.

With this free time, I had some free time and started replying to Bai Naijiong in Baicheng.

During this time, Bai Naijiong and she kept in touch. Bai Naijiong would send her a letter from time to time, and the letters were all about the business district in Jincheng.

"This young master Bai seems particularly interested in the Jincheng commercial district," Yan Qingxue said, tilting her head as she looked at the letter Bai Naijiong had written for her.

In the letters, the words "Jincheng Commercial District" are always mentioned, almost eight out of ten sentences.

Yan Qingxue tapped her fingertips lightly on the table, her eyes thoughtful.

"Little Sprout, I think I mentioned the Bai family before, do you remember? What do they do? Are they involved in any business?"