Thinking of the high-yield rice in Longtan that bent the stalks under the weight, Chen Gu said, "They've already harvested the first season of rice. Dad, do you know how much the yield is per mu?"

"One hundred and eighty." Chen Xianming replied without hesitation. Longtan had large tracts of high-quality farmland, so high yields were not surprising.

"No, the yield is 200 jin per mu."

A mocking look flashed across Chen Xianming's face. "What a joke. Even the best veterans under our command can only produce a dozen or eighty at most."

“Father, you used to say there are heavens beyond heavens and people beyond people, but now that person has appeared, you still refuse to believe it. Look at this in front of you?” Chen Gu said, pointing to the threshing machine in front of him.

"really?"

Chen Gu kicked off his shoes, pulled up his coat to show him, "You taught your son to see for himself, and I saw it myself in the fields."

Chen Xianming took two steps back in disgust. "Put your shoes on, what kind of appearance is this? What's the meaning of what happened over at Longtan?"

After putting his shoes back on, Chen Gu casually wiped his hands on his clothes, which immediately made Chen Xianming want to throw him out.

"The city lord of Longtan County asked me to inquire whether you are willing to cooperate with them," Chen Gu said.

Chen Xianming downed the tea in his cup in one gulp and slammed it down on the table.

"Butler, prepare the car, we're going to Longtan."

Nanzhou Prefecture.

"Mother, I know I was wrong. Please plead with Father for me to let me out. I'm getting sick from staying cooped up in the house all day."

Yu Xunmei clung to her mother's arm, acting coquettishly, her voice soft and gentle.

Yu's mother tapped her forehead with her finger. "You, are you trying to fool me again?"

"How could that be? From now on, your daughter will always listen to you, Father, and will never cause you any trouble. If I fail to do so, may I be struck by lightning... um."

Yu Xunmei's fair and beautiful face was puffed up with anger. She was about to raise her hand to swear when her mother covered her mouth.

"What nonsense are you talking about, child? As long as you don't do anything reckless again, how could your mother not help you?" Yu's mother was truly heartbroken over this daughter.

When I was little, I was a lovely and adorable girl, but I don't know when it started, my personality became more and more eccentric.

“My mother still loves me the most.” Yu Xunmei hugged her mother tightly.

"Your parents only have you and your older brother as their children. After you get married, you must think more about your older brother and never do anything reckless."

Yu Xunmei's face stiffened, her charming and cute demeanor vanished in an instant, and the clarity in her eyes gradually turned into a thick, unyielding hatred.

Why must she be married off? Isn't the Yu family wealthy enough?

With the help of her mother and father, Yu Xunmei was released from confinement, but she was not allowed to leave the mansion at will. They even specially found an embroiderer to teach her needlework, hoping that she could make clothes and shoes for her husband before she married into Cangwu.

Yu Xunmei had no choice but to study diligently every day.

Inside a side courtyard of the Yu residence, Yu Qiutao loosened her grip on the purse she had been clutching tightly; it contained only fifty taels of silver she had left.

"Brother, are you sure they're not lying to you?"

Lin Zhaohui snatched the money bag forcefully. "That man is also the manager of Yu Family Manor. He said this business is a sure thing, and he only brought me in because of you. He definitely won't lie to me."

"That……"

Yu Qiutao wanted to say something more, but Lin Zhaohui waved his hand impatiently.

"I can't stay in the inner courtyard for long; it wouldn't look good if someone saw me."

With these fifty taels, he was confident he would recoup his investment quickly. As for the manager of the estate trying to recruit him into the business, that was completely fabricated.

With no connections and no capital, who would want to associate with him in this unfamiliar place, Nanzhou Prefecture?

Working for the Yu family, if it weren't for his sister's pregnancy, anyone could easily trample on him.

Yu Xunmei stepped through the hanging flower gate and saw Lin Zhaohui's figure disappear at the end of the corridor. She had a smile on her face, and her beautiful eyes were even more crescent-shaped when she smiled, but the smile did not reach her eyes.

The maidservant shivered inexplicably at the sight, but forced herself to ask, "Miss, what makes you so happy?"

Turning her gaze away, Yu Xunmei glanced at the maid beside her and said indifferently, "It's nothing. I'll go sit with Aunt Yu for a while. You wait for me here."

The maid felt a chill run down her spine from her gaze and immediately took a few steps back, bowing respectfully with her head lowered.

"yes."

She has been sleeping very soundly at night lately, almost all night long. She is afraid that her mistress will complain to the madam about her dereliction of duty and she will be punished. Therefore, she turns a blind eye to many of her mistress's strange behaviors and does not report them to the madam one by one.

Yu Qiutao was sitting in the room, feeling sullen. After becoming a concubine in the Yu family, she only received two taels of silver a month, which almost entirely went to support her family. Her brother and mother would also come to beg for money every few days.

Looking at the few pieces of jewelry in the jewelry box, she let out a long sigh.

Why is Aunt Yu sighing all by herself?

The sudden sound startled Yu Qiutao. When she turned around and saw that it was the young lady, she quickly stood up, holding onto the table, and bowed to her.

"The young lady has arrived."

Yu Xunmei covered her mouth with a handkerchief, a hint of disgust flashing in her eyes. This country bumpkin's manner of bowing was so awkward and vulgar.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you, so I came to see you." Yu Xunmei pulled her hand and sat her down on the chair.

She glanced at Yu Qiutao's increasingly pregnant belly, then looked around at the room's furnishings. "Why is the room so plain? Has your brother not come to see you for some time?"

Yu Qiutao lowered her head, her eyes filled with both sweetness and resentment.

"The lady said that I am pregnant now, so she doesn't allow the master to come to my room anymore."

"How dare she be so bold? Will my elder brother listen to her?" Yu Xunmei knew perfectly well what kind of person her elder brother was.

Upon suddenly hearing someone speak up for her, Yu Qiutao's eyes welled up with tears, and her tone became even more aggrieved.

“Every day when the master came back, she would have the maid call him away early.”

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