Hong Erniang traveled around last year and discovered that the further north you go, the more crops are grown.

Many of them were things she had never seen before in her life; they were very rare.

The southernmost part has rivers and seas teeming with fish and shrimp, while the northernmost part boasts a variety of crops. The most unfortunate place is Changning County, which is neither in the south nor the north, and is nestled deep in the mountains, with virtually no contact with the outside world.

He Tiantian then told him all about how she had bought land to grow grain and how she had been raising livestock.

Hong Erniang felt as if she had opened the door to a new world. "Sister, after hearing what you said, I was originally planning to buy ten acres of land, but now I want to buy twenty acres."

Besides growing cotton, she also wanted to grow some grains for herself.

"Stop, Sister Hong, don't think of farming as so simple. You've bought so much land, you definitely can't farm it all yourself, so you'll have to hire people. And the wages for hiring workers aren't low these days," He Tiantian calmly analyzed for Hong Erniang.

Hong Erniang frowned, as if it were indeed the case.

She's never farmed before, so planting cotton next year will be a lot of trial and error, which is quite a lot of work. I doubt she'll have time to worry about all that if she gets busy.

Forget it, you can't get fat overnight. She should just stick to growing cotton.

Hong Erniang was speechless, then urged, "Good sister, you're right. Let's hurry and buy the land while there's still time."

He Tiantian took Hong Erniang to the village to find Zhao Tingzhang. It was just the time when the village school had just let out.

The children, each carrying a small cloth bag or schoolbag, walked home in groups of three or five.

Hong Erniang was overjoyed to see these children.

She asked in surprise, "Girl, your village has a school?"

Before coming to Changfeng Village, Hong Erniang had heard about the village's dilapidation and poverty. She had already mentally prepared herself.

But when she arrived, she found that Changfeng Village was not what she had imagined.

The mud houses in the village must have been built recently, especially the impressive brick house at the village entrance. It's even more beautiful than the houses in the city.

Moreover, the fact that there was a school in the village, allowing children to attend school, proved that every household had surplus grain. Otherwise, how could the children afford to go to school?

Speaking of reading, this is a regret in Hong Erniang's heart.

She didn't have such luxurious conditions when she was a child. Later, she learned to write and read on her own by following her teacher.

Looking at the children's smiles, He Tiantian felt a sense of healing.

"The school was funded by the village head, and the cost of hiring the teachers was covered by the village. However, our head is a good person; he genuinely cares about the people in the village."

We walked and introduced things along the way.

Hong Erniang suddenly realized that living in the village was much happier than living in the city.

The two arrived at Zhao Tingzhang's house, where the family was having breakfast.

Zhao Tingzhang squatted alone in the courtyard, holding a bowl, watching Zhao Xiaohe write while drinking the thin porridge in his bowl.

Zhao Xiaohe took a tree branch and wrote the names of all his family members on the muddy ground in the yard.

Zhao Tingzhang was very happy that someone in his family could write.

He asked with satisfaction, "Xiaohe, look how well you write. Do you want to be like your brother Zhao Yan, pass the imperial examination, and go to the academy in the city to study?"

Everyone thought Zhao Xiaohe would say something that would move his father, but to their surprise, Zhao Xiaohe shook his head vigorously after hearing it.

“Father, do you think it’s so easy to pass the preliminary examination? I definitely won’t pass!” Zhao Xiaohe said immediately, and Zhao Tingzhang looked embarrassed.

"Besides, I don't have the ability to settle down and study like Brother Zhao Yan. I want to earn money to raise horses and be a groom!" Zhao Xiaohe said firmly, looking at the white clouds in the sky.

"Cough cough..." Zhao Tingzhang choked on the porridge in his mouth, his face turning red.

He thought that after studying for so long, the child would have undergone some changes in his thinking.

But to everyone's surprise, his determination to become a stable boy remained unwavering.

Good heavens, is the Zhao family not worthy of producing a scholar?

Enraged, Zhao Tingzhang took off his shoes and was about to throw them at Zhao Xiaohe. It seemed this kid was asking for trouble.

"Chief Zhao." He Tiantian called out from outside, interrupting Chief Zhao's actions.

When Zhao Xiaohe saw that it was He Tiantian, he quickly got up and ran over.

"Auntie, when did you get back? Has Xiaomingzhu returned yet?" Zhao Xiaohe looked very happy.

"You're back, at home. Oh, by the way, the rabbit fur scarf I promised to bring you, you can go get it from home yourself," He Tiantian said with a smile.

"Okay!" Zhao Xiaohe took off running.

Zhao, the pavilion chief, put the bowl he was holding inside the house, and Liu came out at that moment.

Watching Zhao Xiaohe run like a rabbit, she scolded him slightly, "This child, ever since he made some money doing business with your Shi Tou, he's become quite the big shot at home, showing off in front of me and his father."

Although Chen and Zhao were very happy inside, they both pretended to be very calm on the surface.

They wanted to let Zhao Xiaohe know their stance, to warn him not to assume that just because he was making money now, he could continue to make money in the future, and to always remain vigilant.

“Xiaohe is still young, but those few months selling preserved eggs were indeed tough,” He Tiantian said.

Zhao Tingzhang was well aware of his child's hardships. However, despite the hardships, he still made sure Zhao Xiaohe went to school every morning.

If you don't endure the hardship of studying now, you'll suffer the hardship of life later.

“I won’t say anything else. Sister-in-law, come to my house another day, and we’ll have a good chat,” He Tiantian said to Chen Shi, then looked at Zhao Tingzhang and continued, “Tingzhang, I came to see you today because I want to buy some land.”

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