"Listen carefully: if one person makes a mistake, the whole group will be punished. That means if even one of you fails, everyone has to start over. Do you understand?"

"Understood!"

"Alright, let's begin."

Zhi Mei moved a chair and placed it under the eaves for Madam Ning to sit down.

Ning Qiong, holding a wooden stick, took on the responsibility of supervising and correcting their movements.

"You! Stand up straight!"

"You! You're taking too big a step!"

With a "crack," the cup on Xiang Ning's head fell off and shattered.

"I'm sorry... I... I didn't mean it, Master..."

Xiang Ning turned pale with fright.

Seeing this, Zhi Mei placed another cup on her head and said earnestly, "Be careful this time. There are only a limited number of cups. If they all break, you won't be able to have lunch today."

Upon hearing this, the other four became even more cautious, since there were only three cups left on the tray.

That means they only have three chances to make a mistake.

Inside the West Garden, the voices of Ning Qiong and Madam Ning could be heard from time to time.

Lady Ning used the methods for teaching young ladies in their boudoirs, while Ning Qiong used the methods used by palace maids to teach concubines etiquette.

Time flies, and Tingyun and the others are making rapid progress.

Ning Yao and Ning Wenyi had agreed beforehand that they would go and take a look at the surrounding fields.

The father and daughter left the manor and headed straight for the foot of Xiaoliang Mountain.

To get to Xiaoliangshan, you have to cross that small wooden bridge. The two of them stepped on the bridge, making it creak and groan.

"Yaoyao, this bridge looks pretty sturdy. Should we rebuild it?"

Ning Yao shook her head: "Not for now. Not to mention that repairing the bridge will take a lot of time, the river is flooded right now, so it's not convenient to repair the bridge."

Ning Wenyi stepped over the railing and looked down at the bridge.

The once cracked riverbed has disappeared, replaced by rushing water.

"Dad, let's go take a look over there."

"OK."

The father and daughter crossed the wooden bridge and walked downstream along the river, eventually reaching the foot of Xiaoliang Mountain.

"Dad, this Xiaoliangshan Mountain is also ours, and it's quite large. What do you think we can do in these mountains?"

Ning Wenyi thought for a moment and replied, "There are many trees on the mountain, and if the vegetation is lush, there will be many wild animals. Why not plant some trees?"

“This mountain is high and the sun shines brightly. If there is enough rain and we have more people to take care of it, we can plant some fruit trees. Your mother loves all kinds of fruit. It would be great if we could grow some ourselves.”

Ning Yao nodded: "Then let's grow them ourselves!"

"You silly girl, I was just saying that. If we really want to plant trees, who knows if it will work?"

"Father, don't worry, I have a plan."

Hearing Ning Yao say this, Ning Wenyi said nothing more.

Anyway, my daughter is a very capable person, so I can just happily enjoy the good life with her.

I just don't know how long this kind of life can last.

Last night, Ning Wenyi received news that it seemed the Ning family had appeared in Yunxiang City.

They said it was two women, who looked like a mother and daughter, but I don't know if that's true or not.

Ning Wenyi thought about it all night but still couldn't figure out which member of the Ning family it was.

Are they actually members of the Ning family?

Or perhaps they are from the Ning family. So, are they looking for me, or has my family sent someone back into the world?

“Father.” Ning Yao interrupted his thoughts: “Last winter, we left the capital. We relied on the silver charcoal we had collected to keep warm along the way. I found that we didn’t have a single cotton-padded coat. Does the Yan Kingdom not have cotton?”

She asked this question because she found cotton seeds among the seeds soaking in the secret realm.

Ning Wenyi chuckled and replied, "Yan Kingdom doesn't have cotton; only Sheng Kingdom, thousands of miles away, does. It's not that no one in the capital wears cotton clothes, but cotton is too precious and hard to come by, so very few people can afford one."

"Ordinary cotton has been collected into the palace. No one, whether commoner, official, or concubine, may possess cotton without His Majesty's permission."

Ning Yao couldn't help but gasp in astonishment. Cotton, such a common item in her previous life, was actually such a luxury in the Yan Kingdom.

In the first year, she was in the palace, protected by silver thread charcoal and internal energy, so she didn't feel too cold.

The following year, on the way south, there was also silver thread charcoal, and his internal strength improved even more, so he didn't feel particularly cold.

So I didn't consider keeping warm during the first two winters.

Now she wants to know how people would keep warm in winter without cotton.

Ning Wenyi seemed to see her question and explained, "There is a type of hemp in Yan. The cloth woven from this hemp is quite soft, but because it is too soft, it will tear easily with the slightest force and cannot be made into clothes. So people use this soft cloth as a substitute for cotton. This is how the people keep warm."

"Those high-ranking officials and nobles mostly used clean, odorless animal furs to keep warm. So most of our luggage consisted of furs."

Ning Yao nodded, indicating that she understood: "Why don't we grow our own cotton?"

Ning Wenyi continued to explain: "We don't have their skills. Cotton is drought-resistant, and it can survive even in this drought, but we don't know how to grow it, and Shengguo is unlikely to teach this unique skill to outsiders."

"Moreover, this cotton-growing skill has greatly strengthened the Sheng Kingdom's army!"

Sheng Kingdom is located in the north, and to get there from Lingyue City, it is covered in ice and snow for most of the year.

For decades, the Sheng Kingdom has maintained a strong and well-equipped military, and no one has dared to invade it. A large part of the reason for this is that the soldiers of the Sheng Kingdom are well-fed and well-clothed.

Their unique cotton plays a significant role in this.

Ning Yao glanced at the vast land and said, "Dad, how about we grow cotton ourselves?"

Ning Wenyi couldn't help but turn his head to look at her: "Did your father not explain something clearly, or did you not hear me, daughter?"

"Cotton is unique to Sheng Kingdom. We have never let outsiders know about it, not only the seeds and seedlings, but also the planting methods. How do you grow it?"

Ning Yao looked at him with a smile: "Father, have you forgotten who I am? If I want to, there's nothing I can't do!"

Finally, she leaned closer to Ning Wenyi and whispered, "There are seeds in the secret realm!"

Ning Wenyi was overjoyed: "Really?"

After the initial surprise, he confirmed to himself, "Yes, if you say it's in there, then it must be true!"

"Girl! If you manage to grow cotton, wouldn't that infuriate those people in Shengguo?"

Ning Yao tilted her head and asked, "Why does Father have a grudge against the people of Sheng Kingdom?"

Ning Wenyi rubbed his hands awkwardly: "When the Sheng Kingdom merchants came to Yan Kingdom before, I wanted to buy some cotton to make an undergarment for your mother. Knowing that it was inconvenient in the capital, I went to Lingyue City in advance. Who knew that those people looked down on me and refused to sell to me."

"I wanted to surprise your mother on her birthday, but it didn't work out."

"It's not that I necessarily want him to sell me, it's just that his attitude was too arrogant! Dad was a little angry!"