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

Yu Wanran opened each box lid.

One box of gold ingots, one box of silver ingots; eight bolts of silk and satin; two boxes of fine medicinal herbs, ginseng and lingzhi; in addition, there is a set of kingfisher feather gold headdress and a set of gilded silver headdress.

Such immense wealth, given away so casually, left the entire Yu family speechless!

Ji Chunhua looked at her husband, daughter, and son with a bewildered expression.

Could it be that this third master went out and did something outrageous? Otherwise, if any one of these things were taken out, his family couldn't afford to pay for it even if they were to be torn to pieces!

"This is……"

Yu Man said dryly, "This is... Ranran saved a noble young man on the road, and this is his way of thanking her."

Yu Wanran felt quite regretful. If she had known that Yan Chengan's thank-you gift was so valuable, she shouldn't have accepted it in the first place!

However, after delivering the gifts, Yan Cheng'an took them out for dinner. He returned, still slightly drunk, and after a bath, fell into a deep sleep. He hadn't even had a chance to open the box. It was tied to the caravan on the way, so he didn't have a chance to look at it…

Is it too late to send it back to the capital and return it to Yan Cheng'an?

After a moment's thought, I realized that I owed the other party a favor, no matter what.

The family counted them again and again; there were thirty gold and silver ingots in each box, each weighing one tael. That meant that Yan Cheng'an had given them a full three hundred and thirty taels of money!

This money...

Ji Chunhua trembled involuntarily; it was burning hot to the touch!

Yu Manxiang recounted in detail the perilous journey to Beijing. While the others listened with bated breath, Yu Wenrong's eyes sparkled with admiration.

"Third Sister is really amazing!"

Thinking about the martial arts I've been learning for a few days, I inexplicably feel motivated to keep going.

Yu Wanran gave Ji Chunhua thirty taels of silver as household expenses, and kept the remaining three hundred taels as a fund for future business ventures. As for silk, medicine, and the like, she left it to the family to manage.

They can't dress too well now, because these fine silks might have to be sold. As for the two sets of jewelry and headdresses, like the butterfly hairpin given by the Duchess, they can only be kept in a high place and treasured.

Ji Chunhua slapped her thigh. With so many valuables in the house, forget about hiring someone to cook for her. She even had to keep a close eye on the next room when she went to the toilet, lest some shallow-minded person sneak into her room!

Having money in hand makes you feel at ease.

This is the most accurate depiction of the current situation of the second branch of the Yu family. Ji Chunhua made the decision without hesitation, raising the cost of hiring laborers for building the house to thirty-five cash per person.

And, for the first time ever, he asked Zhu Xiaozhen to cook all the remaining 100-plus kilograms of cured meat, which had been eaten for a month, to improve the meals for her family who had returned from afar.

The family was overjoyed, eating and looking forward to the future.

"correct!"

Ji Chunhua recalled something and said to Yu Man with lingering fear, "Honey, thank goodness we didn't rush into arranging that marriage for Ranran with the Tao family. We almost got screwed over by that damned matchmaker Wang!"

"The Tao family...which one?"

Yu Man looked completely bewildered.

"Father, it was the last time we came to propose marriage to Third Sister!"

Yu Wenrong spoke quickly and bluntly: "Matchmaker Wang said that man is an only child, and his mother is the only one in his family. If Third Sister marries into that family, she will only need to serve her husband and mother-in-law and will not have to work in the fields."

He deliberately recounted the story in great detail, thus contradicting his parents who had once been interested in him.

"Luckily, I inquired carefully! That man is a gambling addict, and his family has almost sold off all their land to pay off his debts! If Third Sister marries him, I'm afraid he'll sell her off soon too!"

Yu Wanran ate her meal calmly, using serving chopsticks to pick up two large pieces of cured meat and place them in the bowls of Zhu Xiaozhen and her daughter, who were hesitant to pick up any food themselves.

The matchmaker's eyes darted around, and she avoided the main points in her speech; it was clear at a glance that she had something to hide. Facts speak louder than words; it seemed her parents would no longer dare to arrange her marriage so casually.

Yu Man was so angry that she slammed her fist on the table and cursed Wang the matchmaker, calling her a scoundrel! Why would she harm her daughter when they had no grudge against each other?

Yu Wenbin said, "Father, don't entrust the marriage of Third Sister and Little Brother to this matchmaker Wang in the future. She's unreliable!"

Yu Man and his wife nodded together, looking at their daughter and son sitting at the same table.

The second wife's life is getting better and better; with Ranran's influence, who knows how high she'll go? Not only their daughter, but perhaps their youngest son's marriage should also be put on hold. In the future…

Perhaps the fourth wife who entered the family was someone they never dared to imagine before!

The next day, after breakfast, the family members went their separate ways and busied themselves with their respective tasks.

Ji Chunhua stayed home with Yu Xiaoxiang, while Yu, carrying a large sum of money, went to the village to recruit craftsmen to break ground. As for choosing an auspicious day, poor families like theirs didn't care.

A few thatched huts can't be turned into brick houses just because you choose an auspicious day, can they? Just get them built quickly, as long as they're habitable.

Living under the watchful eye of the neighbor every day, we have no freedom of movement.

Although Dahong Village was said to be next door, it was dozens of miles of mountain road, no closer than going to Tongcheng. To save time, Yu Wanran, along with her elder brother, sister-in-law, and younger brother, hired a mule cart. In less than an hour, they arrived at Dahong Village.

Yu Wanran gently pushed her sister-in-law, who had buried her head in her chest, as if she wanted to be a quail. Zhu Xiaozhen took a deep breath and forced herself to straighten her head and chest.

She didn't come back this time to be gossiped about by the gossipy aunts and uncles, who said she was cursed and couldn't have a son! She came with her third sister-in-law to bring wealth and prosperity to Da Hong Village!

The third sister-in-law said that anyone who dares to disrespect her will not be allowed to accept the red straw mat from the other family!

In short, she can decide who gets rich and who doesn't.

Yu Wenbin hadn't accompanied his wife back to Dahong Village in a long time. Every blade of grass and every tree seemed new to him, and he looked around curiously. A casual glance revealed a clump of red velvet grass growing in the ditch!

His heart pounded wildly, but he subtly looked away.

Yu Wenrong carried a large basket on his back, which contained writing brushes, ink, and paper that Yu Wanran had brought back from Beijing.

His third sister said he must go to school to learn to read and write, starting now by watching her keep accounts. This made him very anxious; what if he didn't have the ability?

During his conversation with his third sister, she seemed to have placed great hopes on him. He knew he shouldn't let his guard down, but...

Following Zhu Xiaozhen, the three of them, each with their own thoughts, found Hong Lizheng's house in Dahong Village.

Hong Lizheng's family is large and prosperous. Hong Lizheng is over fifty years old and has three sons and two daughters. The three families and four generations live together in a row of old adobe houses.

Dahong Village was even more backward than Qingping Village. As the village head, Hong's family was not much better off than Yu's family.

If the family doesn't separate, the large family can barely make ends meet; but once they separate, they will be instantly overwhelmed by heavy taxes, corvée labor, and military service.

Hongli was with his sons and grandsons, tidying up farm tools in the yard in preparation for the upcoming spring planting. The other women were either weaving cloth inside the house or busy cleaning the yard and preparing a simple dinner.

The arrival of Yu Wanran and her party surprised the Hong family.

Hong Lizheng had almost forgotten who Zhu Xiaozhen was. Seeing Zhu Xiaozhen timidly enter the courtyard and call him "Uncle Lizheng," he couldn't recall for a moment who this dark-skinned, thin woman was.

There's no such person in his village, is there?