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

Yu Wanran nodded: "Dad, you and my eldest brother are good at farming. I know the methods. I'll give it a try and it will work."

It is better to teach people to fish than to teach people.

Only when family members can continuously create value can the Yu family prosper.

She reminded Yu Man and the others: "Cultivating Dendrobium officinale is very complicated, and it may not be successful. I will write down the method when the time comes, and you can read it repeatedly, think about it, and experiment slowly."

Yu Wenrong suddenly realized that this was meant to make him learn to read properly. It turned out his third sister had already considered this. Sure enough, everyone's eyes turned to him, and Yu Wenrong braced himself.

"Third Sister, don't worry about writing the prescription. No matter how many words it is, I promise I'll teach Father and Eldest Brother every single one!"

Yu Wanran's eyebrows curved into crescents.

She had her own businesses to run. Cultivating things like red velvet grass and dendrobium officinale was left to her family as a way to make money. She couldn't help her father or brothers whether they could become wealthy through this.

She knew nothing about farming; she only obtained the recipe by chance in her previous life. That's why she strongly advocated that Yu Man buy the estate.

It would be perfect to use one's own secluded estate to experiment with various precious medicinal herbs.

After dinner, Yu Man and his two sons went to work in the fields, full of energy. Yu Wanran helped Zhu Xiaozhen tidy up the kitchen, then went back to her room to get paper and pen and recorded her recent expenses and income in her ledger.

She planned to let her mother and sister-in-law run the shop in Huangshan County on a trial basis first. Once the time was right, she would hand it over to them completely.

As for myself, I can't just sit here and do business.

Her goal is to have branches in all the major cities and towns of the Great Zhao Dynasty, and even expand overseas. However, opening shops without suitable talent is impossible. Next step: while running her businesses, she'll also recruit loyal personnel!

She took out another piece of paper and listed dozens of names on it. After thinking for a moment, she crossed out a few. Finally, she circled the first name.

Zhong Yeliu.

This is a woman.

In her previous life, she was one of her most capable subordinates, and also her only female subordinate.

Whenever she went to sea, she would entrust the rear to Ye Liu. In other words, if she were gone, the wealth and connections she had accumulated would be inherited by Ye Liu.

Both remained unmarried and childless throughout their lives, sharing a deep sense of kinship. Their common ideals and bond allowed them to weather storms together for twenty years. Though not blood relatives, they were closer than blood relatives.

I wonder what happened to Ye Liu after she was ambushed and died at sea in her previous life.

After a moment of wistful contemplation, she estimated that Ye Liu's appearance was imminent. Her next step was to rush to the place Ye Liu had mentioned and take her in ahead of time. And, incidentally, to change the tragic trajectory of Ye Liu's previous life.

Just as she finished collecting the ledgers and lists, she heard a noise in the courtyard. It sounded like a strange man was talking to Ji Chunhua.

Yu Wanran got up and peeked out through the window. It turned out to be two constables in blue robes. They exchanged a few words with Ji Chunhua and then left.

She went out and called to Ji Chunhua, whose face looked a little pale.

"Mom, what's the matter?"

"It's about the incident where someone came to our house to kill and set fire. The authorities have reached a conclusion. They said it was a villain who intended to rob and kill us."

Ji Chunhua glanced back at her and sighed, "The two villains who were sent to the authorities couldn't withstand the torture and committed suicide in prison. The yamen sent someone to inform us that the case is closed!"

What a mess!

Ji Chunhua was still shaken, thinking about how terrifyingly powerful the Duke's mansion was. Fortunately, she couldn't afford to offend the Yu family, so she could at least avoid them. She was just saddened by how her perfectly healthy child had completely changed after returning to the Duke's mansion.

Strange...so strange it's terrifying!

Yu Wanran was not surprised at all by the government's handling of the matter.

Prefect Wei was a mediocre and incompetent man. His performance in governing the local area was unremarkable, and he failed to do what the imperial court hoped he would do to restrain the Duke's Mansion.

If it weren't for Xiao Wang's proactive, secret alliance with him, and his occasional use of him to send trivial messages to the capital, making the court believe they could control Tongcheng, Prefect Wei would have been dismissed from his post long ago!

The Wei family's further hopes rest on Wei Baifeng.

However, Wei Baifeng prided himself on being a talented scholar from Tongcheng. In the previous twenty years, Yu Wanran had never heard of a Jinshi named Wei Baifeng who had passed the triennial imperial examination.

A glint of light flashed in her eyes.

Stripped of his glamorous image, he was just an ordinary scholar!

At dusk, the Yu father and son returned exhausted, their faces grim. Yu Wenrong secretly went to Yu Wanran and eagerly reported the situation.

"Third sister, it's been so many days, and the red velvet grass hasn't sprouted at all. Some of the seed holes have been dug up, and the grass seeds inside have rotted."

Yu Wanran was taken aback. She was a complete novice when it came to farming and couldn't offer any good advice. But Yu Wenrong looked at her expectantly, with a trusting and hopeful expression.

After pondering for a moment, he spoke up: "Red Velvet Grass, isn't it a grass? Is it really that difficult to grow? Aren't you all being too anxious..."

"Also, how about we bring back some soil from the back mountain of Datong Village? Maybe the red velvet grass, like people, recognizes its home and therefore chooses its soil carefully?"

She used the red velvet grass as a metaphor for a person; if an old farmer had used that analogy, he would have laughed at her to death!

But Yu Wenrong thought it made sense. How could his third sister's words be unreasonable? He slapped his thigh and ran out to tell his troubled father and brothers what she had said.

Yu Man firmly believed that her daughter's extensive knowledge stemmed from her literacy. Since there was no better solution at the moment, she decided to do as her daughter suggested. It was a desperate measure!

The next day, the father and son drove to Datong Village, dug up a truckload of soil from the back mountain, and brought it back to mix into their own fields.

On the way, we met the Hong family, who were very hospitable and asked if they would come back to buy red velvet grass again.

Although it's been cleared away now, weeds are like wildfires—they can't be burned out completely; they grow back in the spring. Who knows, they might sprout up again next year?

Yu Man didn't rule out any possibility of a definitive answer.

If Boss Wei wants it, but they can't grow it, then Datong Village is their hope.

They noticed that Hong Lizheng's family was beaming with joy, but heading in the wrong direction. Upon further inquiry, they learned that Hong Lizheng was arranging a marriage for his youngest son and had built several new brick and tile houses at the other end of the village. They had gone there to prepare for the new house.

Yu Man felt a great sense of relief.

At first, they doubted whether they were doing Datong Village a disservice, but now that they think about it, they have indirectly improved the material life of the villagers in Datong Village.

I never thought that Hong Lizheng would be able to get his child married so quickly.

Their success today is due to Ranran's knowledge of this business route, which gave them the opportunity to make their fortune.

Yu Wanran did not stay at home to observe the hundred-day memorial service. After resting for two days, she mounted her horse, bid farewell to her family, and left Qingping Village alone for Pingyang City in Wuhe Prefecture.

This time, she carefully disguised herself, dressed in men's clothing, and arrived at her destination without any incident.

Pingyang City was located near the border of the Great Zhao Dynasty, and was an important town in the northwest. It was not as prosperous as the capital, nor did it have as large a population as Huangshan County. However, the people here were known for their fierce and unruly nature, and many merchants came and went.

Occasionally, one can spot exotic merchants with heterochromatic eyes and curly hair; their caravans often include alluring exotic beauties. Their appearances always attract a large crowd of onlookers.

Because it was a vital trade route to the outer lands, the town's sex industry was particularly prosperous. Even the underground black market was rife with the slave trade.

Young women walking alone here should be careful. You might wake up one morning to find yourself in a slave trading cell!