Early the next morning, Wang Qingchen quietly slipped into town. He had intended to inform Madam Yang, but knowing she would worry incessantly—perhaps even insisting that Wang Qinghua accompany him, which would complicate matters—Wang Qingchen left without telling anyone at home.

Wang Qingchen recalled that the last time he met Boss Xue, the man had just acquired a batch of flowers, passing through Qingshan Town presumably en route elsewhere. If he went looking now, Boss Xue likely wouldn't be in Qingshan Town. Therefore, Wang Qingchen decided not to bring out the flowers from his spatial dimension; he would merely send word with someone for Boss Xue to know the orchid had survived.

Familiar with the layout, Wang Qingchen arrived at Boss Xue's residence in Qingshan Town and knocked. The door was opened by an elderly man he hadn't seen before.

Seeing a child knocking, the old man assumed it was mischievous child’s play and waved him away with a gruff shout, "Little brat, run along and play somewhere else!"

"Elder, I've come looking for Boss Xue. I managed to revive the orchid Boss Xue had last time. Could you possibly relay a message to him for me?" Wang Qingchen explained.

"You? Revived an orchid? Little kid, go find somewhere fun to be. This isn't a place for you to mess around. Shoo, shoo..." With that, the old man slammed the door shut.

"Sigh..." Wang Qingchen felt thoroughly dejected. Had Boss Xue neglected to instruct the staff left behind at the residence? In truth, Wang Qingchen was unaware that Boss Xue, observing Wang Qingchen's complete lack of horticultural knowledge, never imagined he could save the orchid and thus never mentioned it to the people left behind.

Wang Qingchen knocked again, but this time there was no response at all. He realized he needed to devise another plan. Wang Qingchen remembered meeting Boss Xue at Shopkeeper Hong's establishment, and judging by their interaction, Boss Xue and Shopkeeper Hong seemed quite familiar with each other. Perhaps he could ask Shopkeeper Hong to help relay the message.

Wang Qingchen then turned toward the Huo Family Trading Post. Inside, the same clerk from his previous visit greeted him.

"Little brother, I'm looking for Shopkeeper Hong," Wang Qingchen requested.

The clerk looked up upon hearing the voice. "Oh, it's you! Are you back to sell dried straw mushrooms?"

"Little brother, you remember me? I'm not here to sell dried straw mushrooms this time. I have something urgent for Shopkeeper Hong," Wang Qingchen said. Fearing Shopkeeper Hong might refuse to see him, he added, "It's about Boss Xue."

"Then wait here. I'll go see if Shopkeeper Hong is available," the clerk said before disappearing inside.

A short while later, Shopkeeper Hong emerged. Seeing Wang Qingchen, he smiled, "It really is you, little fellow. The clerk told me, and I didn't quite believe it. You’re looking for Boss Xue? He has a residence in Qingshan Town, I recall he took you there once. You should try asking there if you're looking for him."

Wang Qingchen offered a wry smile. "Actually, I already went there, but the person guarding the gate wouldn't believe me, thinking I was just causing trouble. Seeing how well acquainted you and Boss Xue seemed last time, I was hoping you could help me send a message. I would be eternally grateful, Shopkeeper Hong."

"What sort of message are you sending him?" Shopkeeper Hong asked, intrigued.

"Just that the orchid from last time, I managed to save it by luck," Wang Qingchen replied.

"Oh... you mean the one Boss Xue said was about to die?" Shopkeeper Hong was slightly shocked. After all, Boss Xue was an expert, yet he had misjudged. And recalling how pained Boss Xue had looked, that orchid must have been extremely valuable. If that were true, he certainly needed to be notified immediately.

"Precisely that one," Wang Qingchen confirmed.

"You're not tricking me, are you?" Shopkeeper Hong’s eyes sharpened.

"This humble one wouldn't dare deceive you! I wouldn't dare lie about something like this!" Wang Qingchen's gaze was sincere.

"I'll have someone send a letter to Boss Xue right away. But by the time he receives it, it will likely be ten days later. With travel time coming back, it'll be twenty-something days altogether. Will your flower definitely still be alive then? Won't it die?" Shopkeeper Hong inquired.

Wang Qingchen quickly shook his head. "No, no..."

"Then tell me where you live, so if Boss Xue arrives, I can send someone to inform you," Shopkeeper Hong requested.

Wang Qingchen provided his home address. Seeing Shopkeeper Hong write a letter and hand it to the clerk for dispatch, he knew the matter was settled. He profusely thanked Shopkeeper Hong before finally leaving the Huo Family Trading Post.

With his errand complete, Wang Qingchen’s mood brightened. However, he still needed to purchase one item: the orchid he had planted in his spatial dimension needed a pot. Wang Qingchen searched for a long time before finally buying a suitable planter for five copper coins at a place that sold jars and vessels.

Carrying the pot, Wang Qingchen headed to the food stall he frequented previously, planning to buy five steamed buns filled with meat to take back. Just as he paid, he overheard two men at a nearby table discussing something while eating noodles.

"I heard they're repairing the road in the neighboring county. I wonder how many people they'll conscript this time..."

"Huh, corvée labor again? There wasn't any last year."

"Exactly! After paying taxes, our common folk still have to perform corvée duty. It’s better for the scholars. Look at Scholar Li from our village; not only does he avoid duty, but he can excuse two people from his household..."

"But those who pay silver don't have to go. I heard it takes several taels of silver!"

"If my family were rich, I'd rather pay the silver. I heard people died from exhaustion performing corvée duty in the past..."

"It should be much better now, right?"

"Who knows?"

Hearing their conversation, Wang Qingchen was reminded that the lives of farming families were not as peaceful as he had imagined. The recent stretch of leisure had nearly led him to believe life would remain easy forever. According to those two, corvée duty could easily be fatal, and not going required silver his family didn't have. Wang Qingchen reflected that since Scholar Li could exempt himself and family members, pursuing scholarship seemed to be the only viable path.

Upon returning home, Wang Qingchen took out the buns he bought; he had placed the newly acquired pot into his spatial dimension on the way back. Madam Yang, seeing Wang Qingchen return with more buns, inquired about the reason. This time, she didn't suspect he had fallen into bad habits like before.

"I haven't spent all the money the person who found my purse gave me last time. The money for these buns was from the remainder, and I have five copper coins left," Wang Qingchen explained.

Madam Yang hadn't expected Wang Qingchen to have leftover money from the last time, but since five copper coins remained, she let it go.

When Wang Youfu returned, he learned of the purchases and said nothing, as the money was already spent. He only told Wang Qingchen to hand over any future money to the household first and not to squander it privately.

At lunchtime, Caiyun was delighted to see the meat buns. She devoured hers quickly and then looked at Wang Qingchen with longing eyes. Wang Qingchen couldn't help but chuckle, breaking off half of his own bun for her. Caiyun took it, her eyes crinkling with joy. Looking at Wang Qinghua, who was eating his bun in small, deliberate bites, cherishing it so much, Wang Qingchen felt a pang of complex emotion.

Judging by the atmosphere at home, they likely hadn't heard about the impending corvée duty yet, but Wang Qinghua also hadn't mentioned it—after all, knowing earlier would only bring earlier worry.

That evening, Wang Qingchen retrieved the flowerpot he bought that day from his spatial dimension, filled it with some soil, and then secretly entered the dimension again to transplant the orchid into the pot.

The village learned about the conscription two days later. At that time, Wang Qingchen was learning characters from Li Yuntai. On the way home, he sensed a shift in the village atmosphere.

Back home, he found Madam Yang wiping tears from her eyes.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Wang Qingchen asked as he approached her.

"Nothing," Madam Yang replied, dabbing her eyes.

"Then why are you crying, Mother?" Wang Qingchen persisted.

"Qingchen, your father has to go to the neighboring county to repair the road. Mother is worried sick," Madam Yang said, patting his head and sighing.

"Mother, when did this happen?"

"The village head delivered the notice this afternoon. If he doesn't want to go, we can pay five taels of silver to hire someone else, but our family can't possibly raise that much money!" As she spoke, Madam Yang's tears flowed more freely.

"Mother, don't worry, Father will be fine," Wang Qingchen tried to comfort her.

Madam Yang shook her head. "You are too young to understand. Many men have had their health ruined by corvée duty. The last time your father served, he almost lost his life. This time..." Madam Yang wiped her tears again.

Wang Qingchen didn't know what to say. What was truly frustrating was that Boss Xue wouldn't arrive so soon. He hadn't earned any money yet, so even knowing the danger of the corvée duty, he had no way to prevent Wang Youfu from going.

When Wang Youfu returned that evening and learned about the conscription, his brow furrowed deeply. As someone who frequently had to perform corvée duty, Wang Youfu knew intimately how arduous and exhausting it was. He was thankful it wasn't an annual requirement, or his body would certainly be worn down.

At bedtime, Wang Youfu looked at the still-sobbing Madam Yang. Understanding her anxious nature, he tried to soothe her, "Don't worry, I won't be harmed. It’s only for a little over a month; nothing serious should happen."

It was rare for Wang Youfu to speak so gently to her, but Madam Yang was too consumed by worry to notice. "But..."

"Stop thinking about it. I will be fine," Wang Youfu said, pulling Madam Yang into an embrace and ordering, "Go to sleep."

Madam Yang could only choke back her tears and force herself to sleep.

Early the next morning, Wang Youfu gave instructions to Wang Qinghua and Madam Yang regarding the household affairs, packed a few things, and headed to the large tree at the village entrance where those conscripted were gathering.

After Wang Youfu left, the atmosphere at home became heavy. Madam Yang was constantly worried, sometimes breaking down into tears again, which greatly alarmed the three children.

Many other families in the village were in similar straits. After all, if the pillar of the family was gone, what if something irreparable happened...

A few days later, Wang Qingchen learned through a conversation with Li Yuntai that the corvée duty ranged from males aged fifteen to fifty-five. This time, the village conscription required one person from every household, unless the household had no male over fifteen. Li Yuntai’s family paid silver to avoid the duty. Wang Qingchen then noticed that his uncle, Wang Youliang, had also paid five taels of silver to be exempted. As for his third uncle's family, although they hadn't returned from Madam Zhang's maternal home yet, they had likely paid silver too. Wang Qingchen wondered if the elder patriarch had finally seen clearly which families truly needed support and which did not.

That day, just as Wang Qingchen returned from Li Yuntai's place, he was informed that Wang Youtian and Madam Zhang had returned. Presumably, Wang Youtian's injury had been treated by the "famous doctor." Madam Zhang had also brought him many snacks, likely as thanks for the previous incident.

Knowing Wang Youfu had gone for corvée duty, Madam Zhang sometimes visited Madam Yang to do embroidery or chat, which helped ease Madam Yang's anxieties that had surfaced right after Wang Youfu’s departure.