The White-Bone Demon of the Farm is as rich as a country

The night was deep, the stars were sparse, and Ru Yue sat at the bedside table outside the straw hut, sketching by the dim light of a lamp. She had returned home late today, and the two children were overjoyed to see their new clothes. He was even more delighted to hear that he would be taking Anping to the academy to meet the teacher in the next two days. It was a truly significant event, as someone from their family would be going to school. They were so excited and thrilled that they naturally slept late.

Ru Yue scribbled on a piece of yellowed rough paper with a burnt charcoal stick. She barely knew how to write with a brush, let alone draw. Occasionally, she paused to count on her fingers and scribble some unusual characters along the edge of the frame. Chu Ning'an emerged from the hut and asked gently, "Are you drawing the blueprints for the house?"

Ru Yue raised her head when she heard the voice, then raised her hand and pressed her brow, "Yes, Uncle Zheng will probably bring people over in the next two days. We don't have time to take care of these things, but we still have to tell them what we want and let them know how to do it."

The burnt charcoal rod turned everything black when it touched it. Seeing her face and hands covered in white and black, just like a naughty cat that had been tired and well-behaved, he couldn't help laughing out loud, "Don't push yourself so hard, the light is too dim, be careful of your eyes." He picked up the blueprint she had almost finished and looked at it carefully. It was a house with a tall gate and a large courtyard, a three-story house, a yard in front and a garden in the back. The sides of each house were marked with words that he couldn't understand. They should be words, he really didn't know what that string of symbols meant!

"Isn't this house too conspicuous?"

"We've been high-profile ever since we bought this piece of land. We're partnering with Mr. Lou on the shaved ice business, but we're going to do the sauce business ourselves. We're going to turn the empty piece of land into a workshop. It's impossible to keep a low profile, so we might as well do it all in one go. Once the house is built, we'll also hire people: laborers, security guards, and salespeople... Some can be put in the workshop's dormitories, but some will have to live in the house. We can't just stop working because we're afraid of people getting jealous."

"You're right, I'm obsessed." Chu Ning'an suddenly felt that his vision and pattern were limited. He really needed to get his own things done quickly, otherwise he was afraid that he really would not be able to keep up with the pace of this little girl.

"Your strength does not lie here, and you don't have to accommodate me. It will only delay you." Ru Yue noticed his discomfort and expressed her opinion, "You have been taught to study hard and become an official since you were young. In order to accommodate me, you put down your books and worked with me on the stall. This is not right. We should both make use of our own expertise instead of sacrificing ourselves for each other." Ru Yue looked up at him. The night was dark, but her eyes were as bright as stars.

"I understand what you mean, but I feel bad that the burden of the family falls on your shoulders alone."

"Silly boy, this is only temporary. I will train a large number of my own men, build my own business empire, and direct the affairs of the country. Why do you need me to do it myself? But the prerequisite is that you can realize your own ideals and protect my country."

"Hehe, sometimes I think you're very smart. When you were discussing cooperation with Mr. Lou and Shopkeeper Tao, you always managed to argue with reason and convince them with your logic, and everyone was happy to accept it. But sometimes I think you're stupid. Have you ever thought that one day if I really passed the imperial examination and became an official, I would despise your status as a merchant peasant girl, and even do you a disservice for the sake of my own reputation? There are many stories like this in storybooks and operas!"

"I believe Madam Chu's son wouldn't be such a person." She suppressed her smile and stared at Chu Ning'an intently. "It may seem like I'm having a hard time, but in fact, the burden on your shoulders is much heavier than mine."

He held her hand, not wanting to waste any more time on those boring topics. He would do his best to accomplish these tasks in the shortest possible time, so there was no need to put so much pressure on her. He quickly changed the subject, "I'm afraid your diagram won't be easy for those people to understand. Let's redraw it."

They were busy until the end of the hour of Hai, when they finally finished drawing the blueprint and went to sleep.