Wang Qingchen, having been dragged off for a while by Wang Qingtong, returned feeling it was uninteresting, just as Wang Qinghua came back from delivering New Year's gifts to Old Second Luo's.

Wang Youfu led the ox out to graze, and while Yang Shi was busy in the kitchen, Wang Qingchen called Wang Qinghua and Caiyun over to begin learning characters.

Since Wang Qingchen started studying, every day after returning from school, he taught his brother what he had learned. Although it wasn't as detailed as the tutor's instruction, Wang Qinghua's focus wasn't on achieving official rank but merely on literacy and understanding principles, so what Wang Qingchen taught was sufficient for him. Sometimes, he would also practice writing; one couldn't just recognize characters without being able to form them. As for Caiyun, she was sporadic in her efforts, but Wang Qingchen only required her to recognize characters. Yang Shi would teach her the rest anyway; for instance, Caiyun was already learning needlework from Yang Shi.

After finishing with Wang Qinghua, Wang Qingchen asked him to practice writing and then turned to Caiyun to teach her characters. Watching Caiyun painstakingly recognize the characters, her focused expression truly merited praise, but thinking of the results, Wang Qingchen rubbed his forehead. He had to teach slowly with patience, terrified of upsetting her. After all, the one time Wang Qingchen had raised his voice slightly, Caiyun had become aggrieved and cried, forcing Wang Qingchen to soothe her afterward. Although Caiyun had apologized later, Wang Qingchen desperately wished to avoid such an experience again.

By lunchtime, Wang Qingchen noticed they were having white rice, which, in the parlance of farming families, was precious. This was the first time Wang Qingchen had eaten white rice since arriving here. In his previous life, he hadn't considered eating white rice anything to envy, but now he deeply understood how difficult it was to afford a meal of it. Wang Qingchen nervously ate several mouthfuls.

Caiyun was also less composed, but her agitation wasn't over the white rice; it was over the duck Yang Shi had cooked that day—real, fragrant meat! Yang Shi placed the duck heart into Caiyun's bowl, causing Caiyun's eyes to curve into crescents of joy. This wasn't just because the heart tasted good, but because there was only one; eating it gave her a feeling of superiority over everyone else.

The family finished their midday meal with grease coating their mouths and bellies distended. Wang Qingchen thought about how many people in his past life had clamored to avoid greasy food and seek bland meals. Now, if anyone uttered such nonsense in front of him, he would argue fiercely. He knew how rare a meat meal was now; even Wang Youfu felt their family was relatively well-off, yet they rarely ate meat. This was not only because meat was expensive but also because the frugal habits of farming life meant they spent sparingly even when they had money.

Lying in bed after lunch, Wang Qingchen squinted his eyes. The white rice was indeed fragrant, but alas, there was too little of it. He wondered when they would have it again. If only the rice stalks he harvested from his spatial dimension could be used—or perhaps he could secretly take some out to cook somewhere secluded? But eating alone wasn't right, and besides, the spatial dimension seemed to only contain unhusked rice stalks, not milled rice... Right, how did one mill rice?

Wang Qingchen pondered this, realizing this era lacked rice milling machines like in his previous life. Did he have to use a pestle and mortar to pound the rice, as seen on television in his past life? That sounded incredibly troublesome! Wait, there was another way to mill grain: the stone roller mill. Stone mills should have existed quite early, but this place diverged slightly from ancient China, making Wang Qingchen uncertain. He decided to ask Yang Shi.

Yang Shi was inside teaching Caiyun needlework and looked slightly puzzled when Wang Qingchen approached. "Weren't you supposed to be taking a nap?"

"Mother, I just wanted to ask how today's rice was milled," Wang Qingchen said sheepishly.

"With a stone roller mill, of course. The village used to have one, but it broke down when you were very little; no wonder you don't remember it," Yang Shi recalled.

"If the stone mill broke, why not buy another one?" Wang Qingchen inquired.

"A stone mill of that size costs several taels of silver. The villagers wouldn't agree to pool money to buy one. Moreover, operating a stone mill takes considerable effort. Later, a water mill opened in town, and villagers took their grain there for milling, so no one brought up the matter again," Yang Shi explained.

"There's a water mill in town? It must be powered by draft animals, right?" Wang Qingchen asked.

"Yes, if the millers did all the grinding themselves every day, wouldn't they work themselves to death!" Yang Shi laughed.

Wang Qingchen considered this. Perhaps their family could open a mill. Not only could they earn money processing grain for others, but later they could process their own harvest and sell the milled product directly. They could even sell the milling service, as selling unhusked rice, wheat, and so on directly wasn't as profitable. Furthermore, when they had a surplus of grain, he could take small amounts from his spatial dimension each time without arousing suspicion.

On the other hand, his elder brother was about to be married, and soon there might be more children. They couldn't remain without any occupation or enterprise; they certainly needed to earn money to support the family. With a mill, his elder brother could manage it first. Although his parents would support his brother's family indefinitely, having his own funds would make a difference; after all, living off others wasn't easy.

Caiyun watched her second brother, deep in thought and looking increasingly pleased, and grew curious. "Second Brother, what are you thinking about? Are you thinking about the duck at noon? I am too, but we have to wait until evening for the rest," Caiyun said, licking her lips in imitation.

Uh, do I look like a glutton? Wang Qingchen wondered, but to dispel the impression of being overly fond of food, Wang Qingchen shared his thoughts.

"Hehe, I was just thinking that if our family owned a stone roller mill, we could open a grinding business," Wang Qingchen said.

Yang Shi froze when she heard this. "Open a grinding business? But that requires a lot of money! And all our shops in town are currently leased out."

"True, if we open a mill, we’d have to buy another shop first," Wang Qingchen mused that this idea needed to be pursued gradually, especially since he currently lacked capital. Sigh, if only Boss Xue would come by again. But then he realized, how often did such rare, expensive flowers appear?

"Buy another shop? Where would we get the money for another shop? Not only that, but you’d need draft animals; we can't expect someone to push the stone mill—that would require too much manpower. Furthermore, our family doesn't know the first thing about business. We'd likely need to hire a manager, and managers aren't easy to find. I think opening a grinding business is quite risky. You shouldn't dwell on these things now; focusing on your studies is what matters," Yang Shi said gently.

"Understood, Mother," Wang Qingchen agreed, but he hadn't given up in his heart. After all, this was a slightly plausible method he had devised to bring things out of his spatial dimension, and he wasn't ready to discard it. However, all these plans depended on one reality: money. Since Boss Xue hadn't reappeared, he dared not use other avenues, as bringing things from the spatial dimension out improperly wouldn't bring wealth but disaster.

Wang Qingchen felt a bit dejected, but he quickly adjusted. Their living standards were much better than before anyway; this wasn't something to rush. He could plan slowly. Besides, he didn't believe Boss Xue wouldn't seek him out again; the promise Boss Xue made about needing his help in the future implied a return visit. He could afford to wait.

Little did Wang Qingchen know that Boss Xue would indeed come looking for him not long after, not only to ask for help raising the flowers but also bringing another item for him.

In the evening, the family paid their respects to the moon, and then they shared the mooncakes and various fruits used for the ritual. The Mid-Autumn Festival passed. A few days after the festival, Wang Qingchen attended the academy, but soon the school closed again because it was time for the autumn harvest.

The three branches of the Wang family worked together again this time. Perhaps because the autumn had little rain, there were no downpours, which spared them the disputes they had during the wheat harvest this year. However, the eldest branch tried to borrow Wang Youfu's ox to drag the paddy back from the fields. But since Wang Youfu hadn't bought a cart, they couldn't just strap the rice onto the ox's back, so they had to give up.

As for Wang Youfu’s fifteen mu of paddy fields, he hired a few temporary laborers from another village beforehand. He told Wang Qingchen to go oversee the work there, claiming he was visiting friends in town since he had nothing else to do at home. Wang Qingchen’s mouth twitched; how long had he been in school? "Visiting friends"—who would he visit? Everyone in his class was a little sprout!

These fifteen mu of paddy fields used the threshing ground in Yunqiao Village. Once the rice was threshed and dried, it was immediately sold through the town's grain dealer, meaning the family never even saw the harvested grain. Wang Qingchen had the rare chance to witness the entire process of ancient rice harvesting, and what made him even happier was the heavy pile of silver! After taxes, they netted an income of around eleven taels and six hundred wen. No wonder farming families in this era dreamed of becoming landlords; this income was more stable and considerable than others.

When the entire family saw the silver, they were all overjoyed. This harvest was bountiful. Wang Qingchen suggested to Yang Shi that they celebrate. Yang Shi hesitated slightly, as they had already bought meat during the busy farming season, but upon realizing the substantial influx of money, she agreed.

Since a celebration was decided, they needed to procure things properly. Yang Shi went into town and bought not only choice cuts of meat and vegetables but also wine. She cooked a lavish dinner and even made white rice.

In the evening, the family enjoyed the fine meat and dishes. Wang Youfu sipped his light wine and poured a small bowl for Wang Qinghua, stating that since he was betrothed, he was practically an adult and could drink a little occasionally.

Wang Qinghua, thrilled that his own father considered him an adult, took a large gulp and immediately choked, coughing until his face turned red before recovering slightly. However, Wang Qingchen strongly suspected the redness was due to the prolonged coughing or embarrassment.

Sipping his wine, Wang Youfu reflected that their life was becoming prosperous. The eldest was engaged, and the second was studying; if he could eventually pass the exams and gain official status, it would truly bring glory to their ancestors. As for his youngest daughter, she hadn't been a major consideration, but since the family was now somewhat wealthy, they could reluctantly prepare a dowry for her—it wouldn't look good otherwise.

The family finished eating late, but the next day they returned to normal. After all, none of them were people who enjoyed idleness; they soon returned to the fields. The grain was harvested, but the land still needed to be sown. And before planting anew, the fields had to be plowed. This was where the little bull's utility came into play.