The little "rich girl" Fu Bao goes to the village every day in a sedan chair carried by two people, and everyone in the village greets her when they see her.

It is the season for spring planting.

"Little Fu Bao, are you going to check the accounts again?"

"Yes, Uncle, we've finished settling the accounts, and we're about to leave." "Uncle, you had a new daughter-in-law last year, shouldn't you have a grandson this year?"

This uncle was the old clan chief's cousin.

Uncle smiled: "Soon."

"Little Fu Bao, you're leaving so early, have you had breakfast yet? Don't go hungry," another auntie said.

"Third Aunt, I've already eaten."

Some people were jealous of Xiao Fubao's good fortune. Hu Tao, Mo Xiaomei's cousin who married into the family four years ago, couldn't help but feel angry when she saw her three-year-old daughter playing in the water by the field.

"They're both girls, but the difference is so huge. These biological daughters are worse than the adopted ones."

"Hu Tao, you know what? Ever since Xiao Fu Bao came into our village, life has been getting better and better. We've never had such good days before!"

"Little Fu Bao is our village's lucky star. Although our daughters haven't brought us good fortune, they are still our precious darlings."

“They are all pampered darlings, so why would anyone complain or be mean just because they didn’t bring good luck?”

"Besides, you can't possibly have the good fortune that Little Lucky Baby brings, even if you're jealous!"

Hearing this, Xiao Fubao felt rather proud. If she had a little tail, it would have been wagging high in the sky.

Nowadays, the people of Niushan Village see that there are many benefits to girls going to school, and since they love their daughters, they send them to school so that the girls can learn a few words.

It is convenient for people to go out and do work.

The group chattered amongst themselves, making Hu Tao feel embarrassed and increasingly angry.

"Shut up! What business is it of yours what I'm talking about with my daughter?"

As she spoke, she slammed two clumps of rice seedlings into the hole.

Others then refrained from speaking further.

Hu Tao grew even angrier.

Xiao Fubao, Cuizhu, Tuanyuan, along with two servants and two sedan chair bearers, passed through the streets of Niushan Town.

Little Fu Bao saw two familiar figures and said to the two servants:

Go and buy ten coins' worth of fruit.

"Okay, miss." As soon as the two servants went over, the two women selling pears ran away as soon as they saw them.

Little Fu Bao, imitating the rich young ladies on the street, held a Four Happiness Round Fan and delicately covered her mouth, just for fun when she was bored.

The people of the village saw this and hurriedly came to greet them.

This estate was purchased from Jia Dafu's family many years ago, and was used to grow the same fruit trees as in their home, for the purpose of supplying beverages.

In the past, it was Niu Cuihua and Niu Da who would come to check the accounts.

Seeing that her younger sister handled the granary matter very well, Niu Cuihua let go and let Xiao Fubao take care of it, and she herself was happy to have some peace and quiet for a while.

The leader of the orchard, seeing that the girl was illiterate, couldn't help but feel a little contemptuous.

Recently, due to the disasters outside, the Niu family has been busy for several months and has neglected to manage the orchard. By February, when spring was in full bloom, several kinds of fruit had ripened.

The little girl straightened her face and, like a young lady from a wealthy family in a play, carefully adopted the posture and, with the help of Tuanyuan and Cuizhu, stepped down from the sedan chair carried by two people.

At first glance, they were clearly not to be trifled with.

The person in charge was surnamed Feng, and was known as Old Feng.

Seeing that Xiao Fubao was already acting like this at such a young age, Old Feng's previous contempt faded, and he became even more cautious.

"Young lady, what brings you here?" Old Feng asked with a fawning smile.

That old man, Feng, had a rat-like face, triangular eyes with drooping corners, and a gleaming gaze. He had three buck teeth, and when he flattered someone, he would hunch over, displaying an extremely obsequious demeanor.

But this person is quite capable.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have worked as a steward for Jia Dafu's family for so many years, and then continued to work as a steward for several more years after taking over the orchard in his own family.

His father and sister didn't like him.

But I couldn't find anything wrong with him.

This time, because the weather was too cold last year, they haven't come to check the accounts since November, and it's been more than three months since they last came to find out the situation.

As soon as Xiao Fubao came down, the two servants who came with him carried a large box of copper coins, which Xiao Fubao generously distributed to the gardeners.

"This was originally intended as your annual bonus, but due to last year's freezing weather, everyone was quite busy and couldn't receive it. So, we're making up for it today."

Every year before the Lunar New Year, the Niu family would give these gardeners a string of cash and a basket of fruit. They had never received such treatment when they worked for Jia Dafu.

This year, Xiao Fubao gave each of them two strings of cash.

Manager Feng then ordered someone to bring the account books. Little Fu Bao straightened up and said seriously:

"Reunion, longing"

Tuanyuan is fifteen this year. She was only thirteen when she was bought from the matchmaker two years ago. The matchmaker, Liu, was training her to be a concubine for a wealthy family.

Therefore, it already knew some characters when it was purchased.

When they arrived at Niushan Village, Xiaofubao allowed her to go to school again, and she learned to recognize even more characters.

Tuanyuan read the account book meticulously, following the instructions.

There is no problem with the ledger.

But Xiao Fubao frowned slightly:

Why did the annual yield of oranges in the second half of last year decrease by more than 100 jin compared to the first half? Sugarcane was also less by 30-40 jin, peaches by 240 jin, pears by 50 jin, and jujubes, pomegranates, and tangerines by 40 jin each. Persimmons were also less by more than 100 jin.

"Even a ground squirrel wouldn't produce that many, would it?"

In previous years, the persimmons harvested in the second half of the year would be around 700 jin (350 kg) and the lychees around 150 jin (75 kg). Even if there were some differences, it would only be a few jin (0.5 kg) or so.

During the Chinese New Year, many families like to buy persimmon cakes to eat.

Butler Feng said:

"Young lady, as you know, last year there was a severe frost that lasted for a month or so, and it didn't thaw until the first month of this year. Many of the fruits that came out at the end of the year were dead or rotten."

"This has also led to fewer fruit trees bearing fruit this year."

Little Fu Bao said:

"If that's the case, why didn't you ask my eldest sister to investigate last year?" "And why didn't you send someone to report it?"

"I was thinking that it's getting late and the dew is heavy, and there are many people outside. I'm afraid something might happen," said Steward Feng.

Little Fu Bao slowly sipped the tea that Steward Feng handed him.

Green Bamboo Path:

"You have quite the excuse; we came here after hearing rumors." "You'd better tell the truth. If it were anywhere else, I'd believe you if there was such a severe freeze."

"But our Niushan County has only been frozen for three days, how could we be missing so much stuff?"

Manager Feng argued:

"This young woman lives in the countryside and is unaware of the devastating effects of frost."

With a "bang," Xiao Fubao's teacup landed heavily on the tray, startling Manager Feng so much that he almost knelt on the ground.

He cautiously observed Xiao Fubao's expression.

He had already found out that the owner planned to move the whole family to Dingdu this year. With the opening of a new commercial street and the construction of bridges and roads, he wouldn't have time to manage the small orchard as usual.

"You look at me, my father, my sisters, and me. We're all from farming backgrounds, not like the wealthy Jia family, who have been powerful and shrewd for generations, are you?" "Do you have such a deceitful intention?"

Manager Feng smiled and said:

"How could I possibly deceive you, young lady and the big boss? You're overthinking it! Everything needs evidence, doesn't it?" "You can't just slander me with baseless accusations."