There is always trouble around a widow.

Not to mention ancient times, even in the time and space of Jane Ning's previous life, people before the 1990s were not very accepting of divorce. Divorced women who were not disciplined were easily criticized, not to mention a widow with an unrelated man living in her home. The neighbors would spit at her and she would be drowned in the spit.

So Jian Ning could understand Cao. From ancient times to the present, society has not been very tolerant of women. It was not until the emergence of commercial housing that the neighbors in a building were isolated and no one would judge you whether you are a widow or bring a man home.

"Madam!" Niu San came over. "My Lord has taken Commander Huo and the others to the Nanshan Orchard. He sent me to inform you."

"I see. We'll go check it out later." Jian Ning said, then she remembered and asked him, "Did he take the two kids with him?"

Niu San said, "Both young ladies went with them, along with Brother Baiguo and the two little foxes."

"Okay, got it. Go ahead and do your thing. Thanks for making the trip."

Niu San was stunned for a moment, then quickly clasped his fists and said, "This is my duty. I don't deserve your thanks, Madam. I'm leaving now."

"That's enough. We mother and I will take care of the remaining delicate work." Cao patted herself with a piece of cloth and said to Jian Ning with a smile, "Let's go. My family and I will go to the mountain with Madam to take a look."

"This golden nest or silver nest is still not as good as my own doghouse!" Coming out of the room, Cao looked at the clean courtyard and said happily.

Jian Ning took her arm and said, "Your family is the first to come back. Once there is one, there will be two. I believe that those who have been trying to make a living outside will come back one after another. Danyang will surely regain its former prosperity."

"That's right. With you and my lady around, even the dirt can be turned into gold." Because Cao's husband passed away early, she only had one son, Xu Dali. Perhaps because she only gave birth to one child early, and because her living conditions in Yancheng were good in the past few years, although she was forty-eight years old, she looked like she was in her early forties. She looked more like Xu Dali's sister and very young.

Jian Ning and his group were only halfway there when Ding Youtian and his companions reached the orchard. Over the past ten years, the trees on the mountain had been uprooted and taken home to use for fires for warmth. It was the first time Huo Jincheng had seen the bare mountain. Seeing his face grow serious, Ding Youtian patted him on the shoulder and pointed to the uneven, bare hills to the right.

"When we first arrived, there was no green at all. All we could see were rocks and yellow sand. Now, the half-yellow, half-green grass is sprouting again. It's several times stronger than it was two months ago, and it will only get better and better."

Huo Jincheng nodded. "I'll send someone to buy some trees nearby. When I return to the capital and report to His Highness, I'll send people to buy saplings from various places and ship them over."

Ding Youtian's eyes slanted, and then he smiled and tapped his chest. "So, on behalf of the people of the entire county, I thank you, Uncle Huo. Let's go and take a look at the White Fruit Garden over there."

Guoguo and Baimei were already chasing each other in the orchard, with two little silver foxes following them happily. This orchard was also named Baiguoyuan by Ding Youtian. Every time they came back, they would run around like crazy for a few times, as if declaring their sovereignty.

They were having a lot of fun, and the treasure ingots were floating around. These two little silver foxes probably forgot that they were foxes, and their every move was just like that of dogs.

"Why is it called the Hundred Fruit Garden? They grow so many different fruit seedlings, but it looks like they only grow one kind of fruit." Huo Jincheng estimated that there were over a thousand fruit seedlings in the orchard. "Where did you buy these fruit seedlings from?"

"Haha." Ding Youtian smiled and nodded his chin towards Guoguo and Baimei playing in the garden. "It's Bai, which means white and black. Baiguo Garden is named after them."

Huo Jincheng raised his eyebrows and looked at him sideways, "But that red fruit I tasted at your house last year?"

"Exactly. My wife collected the fruit cores and soaked them every day in a secret water she concocted. They actually sprouted. Isn't that miraculous?" Ding Youtian winked at him proudly. "The good thing I told you about happened to this fruit."

"What do you mean? You want me to sell the fruit for you?" What kind of good thing is that? No matter how delicious the fruit is, how much can it sell for?

Huo Jincheng's expression turned cold.

"It's not just about selling fruit. My wife plans to lead the people to make a 'Ginkgo Cough-Relief and Beauty Cream' out of the fruit. It's both delicious and nourishing. We'll sell it in cans to noble ladies and businesswomen in various prefectures, and in bulk to ordinary people. Don't you think this is a good idea?"

"That's fine. If you don't care, I'll hand it over to someone else."

Huo Jincheng glared at him, "What did I say to you just now? Which ear did you hear me say I had no intention of doing this? You can sell them in the capital first. I'll take as many as you make. I'm afraid all the ladies in the palace will like them. I'll let my sister, the Crown Princess, take the lead in paying the money. It's a deal!"

As soon as Jian Ning and the others came up the mountain, they heard Huo Jincheng's arrogant words. "Wow, the Crown Princess is his sister?" Cao secretly twisted her tongue, quietly tugging at Jian Ning's sleeve and looking at her, asking her, "Is what Huo Jincheng said true?"

"Words are not enough. Pay the deposit first." Jian Ning said with a smile. After shouting, he tilted his head and whispered in Cao's ear, "It's true. The current Crown Princess's surname is also Huo. She is his biological sister."

Oh my, Cao was so excited that her heart was boiling with emotion. The Crown Princess would become the Empress in the future. She chanted Buddha's name in her heart.

"When have I ever owed you less than half a penny?" Huo Jincheng turned sideways and looked at Jian Ning. "Just focus on making the product. You won't be short of the deposit."

"It's not me who pays it, it's the people who work. This is to accumulate merit for you. Don't be ungrateful. You are a grown-up now, you should understand things." Jian Ning said with a smile.

Mrs. Cao was a very particular person. At noon, the family had lunch at Jian Ning's house. After returning from the mountain, they found two women they were familiar with and asked them to help prepare dinner for Jian Ning's family and Huo Jincheng and the others.

She slaughtered the two chickens she had brought back from the government office to entertain the guests. She knew she would earn enough money to buy some chicks later. She was a widow who had raised her son on her own, so she was naturally capable, as deft as any of the Tians or Changs.

Cao's daughter-in-law Xiuqin was also a good worker, and the two women who helped were equally skillful. Xu Dali, who was in charge of taking care of the baby, followed his mother's instructions after the baby fell asleep and went to the neighbor's house to borrow tables, chairs and benches and set them up in the yard. When the fiery red afterglow of the sunset poured into the yard, two tables of food were set out.

When Jian Ning and his group arrived, Tong Bajin and Erlangzi each had a jar of wine in their arms. Most women in the north can drink a little, and Cao and the two women helping in the kitchen were among them. After taking a sip of the wine, the three of them didn't recognize it as Yunshan Cui, but Xu Dali knew it.

"Could this wine be 'Yunshan Cui'?" Xu Dali had heard of it when he was often out on escort missions, and he immediately recognized it as Yunshan Cui.

Is Yunshan Cui so famous now? Ding Youtian was moved.