Expelled from the Duke's mansion, the fake heiress is richer than a country.

"As a tree grows, it branches out; as a business grows, it splits up—that's only natural. If I get married in the future, and my younger brother gets married, are we all just going to live together in a muddled way, like a big family?"

Yu Wanran spoke with righteous indignation and stern words.

"Therefore, it is good for us to divide the profits properly from the beginning, which will help the family to be harmonious and prosperous! Moreover, I plan to separate myself and become a merchant in the future, so that it will not affect the imperial examinations of my elder brother and younger brother's descendants."

The Yu family members were scratching their heads in disbelief.

No, it seems like that wasn't what they meant at first?

Yu Wenbin's eyes dimmed, and his gaze inadvertently fell on Zhu Xiaozhen.

Does he have any descendants?

Yu Wenrong's face turned bright red, and he became shy and awkward.

Third sister, really... why are you suddenly bringing up his marriage? It's not even close to happening, no one's even come to propose to him yet!

Yu Man and her husband exchanged a glance, understanding their daughter's resolve. They knew that further opposition would only disappoint her filial piety.

"Well then, if our family really wants to go into business, we don't know anything about it, so we'll definitely have to rely on Ranran."

Ji Chunhua spoke up: "The two hundred taels is the principal that Ranran contributed; the others are just contributing their efforts. If there is any profit, Ranran should naturally take the lion's share."

She held her daughter down as she tried to get up, making the final decision.

"Ranran will take 50%, the eldest and fourth children will each take 20%, and the remaining 10% will be your three siblings' filial offering to our parents."

Yu Wenbin and Yu Wenrong did not object. They knew very well that this was a favor given to them by Yu Wanran and her parents. Yu Wanran thought about it and agreed as well.

Anyway, she's the one running the business and doing the accounting. How much profit is made, and how much is ultimately paid out, isn't that up to her?

She was even happier that her family accepted her feelings.

After agreeing on the undisclosed profit sharing, Yu Mancai finally asked the crucial question: "Ranran, how do you plan to run your business? What's the first step?"

Yu Wenrong rubbed his hands together eagerly: "Third Sister, just tell us what you need us to do!"

Yu Wanran looked at Zhu Xiaozhen, who had been silent all along.

"Sister-in-law, in the village where your family lives, is there a kind of red grass that grows? That kind of grass has leaves covered with fuzz."

Seeing that the family's attention had turned to her, Zhu Xiaozhen was momentarily at a loss for words: "Ah? Yes, yes!"

"That kind of grass does exist; it's called red velvet grass, and it's most abundant in the mountains in spring."

Yu Wenbin, worried that his wife might not be able to explain clearly, added his own explanation.

"It's quite resilient, and the leaves are very long, so the villagers use it to weave straw mats and straw curtains. Unfortunately, after washing it twice, it fades and becomes quite unsightly, so it can't be sold. It can only be used by the villagers themselves."

Ji Chunhua assumed her daughter, being from the city, would enjoy hearing such interesting anecdotes, and continued, "Your sister-in-law's village was originally called Datong Village. But because of this red grass, it got renamed Dahong Village!"

Zhu Xiaozhen finally realized she was of some use and immediately stood up: "Third sister, the bed your eldest brother and I are sleeping on now is one of those straw mats, do you want to take a look?"

Yu Wanran was quite happy: "Sister-in-law, please let me see it quickly?"

Zhu Xiaozhen immediately ran to her cubicle, with Yu Wenbin following behind. The couple worked together to lift the mattress and bring over a straw mat for Yu Wanran.

Yu Wanran took the straw mat and examined it closely. It was icy cold to the touch; this kind of straw mat was completely unsuitable for making a bed in cold weather. It was just that the Yu family was poor and couldn't afford a thick mattress, so they could only lay this kind of free straw mat on a pile of straw.

However, her current focus isn't on where her family sleeps, but rather on the information she gathered from hearsay in her previous life—which might just earn the Yu family a second pot of gold!

She looked up at her family.

"Father, Mother, Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law, do you believe me?"

"Third sister, I believe you!"

Yu Wenrong eagerly answered, pouting. Why didn't Third Sister ask him? Was it because he was too young to speak?

"Of course we believe you! Ranran, do whatever you want! We fully support you!"

Yu Man, speaking on behalf of her family, said this with absolute certainty. If they still couldn't see their daughter's exceptional qualities by now, they were truly blinded by greed and deserved to die poor!

Yu Wanran smiled slightly: "I need to test it out first. If it succeeds, this red velvet grass will be our family's first major business deal!"

The Yu family looked at her and the straw mat in her hand in disbelief.

Even after scrutinizing the worn-out straw mat with several holes, they still couldn't find any value in something like this that was left lying on the roadside and no one picked it up.

"Sister-in-law, how long have you been using this straw mat?"

Yu Wanran ran her fingers over the straw mat, looking at its mottled and faded colors. Patches of red and gray, it was indeed unsightly after fading.

"About six months?"

Yu Wenbin wasn't quite sure.

Zhu Xiaozhen answered confidently: "Less than three months!"

Although straw mats are inexpensive, they take a lot of time and effort to weave. Therefore, I don't plan to replace them with new ones.

Yu Wanran blinked and looked at them with a smile: "Could you give me some?"

"Third sister, if you like this, I'll go back to Dahong Village with your sister-in-law tomorrow and we'll cut some red grass to weave you a new one!"

Yu Wenbin quickly replied, "How could I possibly give this old straw mat to my third sister?"

"No, I just need to do some experimentation."

Seeing that they really didn't care, Yu Wanran found some scissors, cut off a piece of straw mat, and soaked it in water in a bucket. Then she poured some white vinegar into the bucket and placed a white cloth on top.

Ji Chunhua didn't know what she was going to do. But that white vinegar was precious, costing thirty coins a pound! It could last for months as a condiment, and it was such a waste to just throw it away.

However, having already spoken words of trust, she could only suppress her heartache and glare angrily at the spendthrift men who had been helping her so much without any sense of propriety.

"Alright, let's eat and sleep first, and see the results tomorrow morning."

After getting everything sorted out, Yu Wanran breathed a sigh of relief and patted the dust off her hands.

Zhu Xiaozhen then remembered that the cooked porridge had cooled down, and the chickens were kept in cages without being fed or even having a nest.

She hurriedly ran to the kitchen to reheat the food. Yu Wenbin and Yu Wenrong went to the yard to build a temporary coop for the chickens. As for chicken feed, they used the bag of worm-infested rice bran that Zhu Xiaozhen had borrowed last time.

Yu Wanran told everyone to put on their new cotton-padded clothes and not to be reluctant to wear them. Although the Lunar New Year was over and it was the beginning of spring, the spring chill was still in the air, and it would be cold for another month or two. If they got sick, more money would be spent.

The whole family, dressed in warm new cotton-padded clothes and shoes, drank piping hot porridge, feeling warm from head to toe, inside and out.

This year, I feel I've had a more comfortable Chinese New Year than all the previous ones combined.

That evening, Yu Man and his wife lay on the kang (a heated brick bed). Ji Chunhua touched the neatly folded new cotton-padded clothes and muttered to her husband.

"Honey, tomorrow go find Wang the matchmaker from the neighboring village and ask her to find a husband for our Ranran. He must be a scholar, or at least a student who has passed the imperial examinations. If all else fails, he should at least come from a wealthy family."

With her daughter's current market value, if it weren't for her getting older and the pressure to find someone better, she could still be looking for someone even better.

Yu Man frowned. Why was his wife always talking about finding a husband for their daughter? Hadn't she realized that their daughter's personality was something they couldn't control at all?