Wang Qingchen had no time to concern himself with Wang Youliang’s activities; he simply called the other three towards the academy. However, Wang Qingtong hesitated slightly. After all, Wang Youliang had promised him half the money from the flower sales. Now that the two flowers had fetched forty taels of silver, and the money was entirely with Wang Youliang, he worried that Wang Youliang might go back on his word—that half share was a significant sum!

Wang Qingchen noticed Wang Qingtong still standing frozen and turned back. "Qingtong, if you don't hurry, you'll be late."

Wang Qingtong recalled the master’s punishment, stomped his foot, and followed Wang Qingchen and the others. As for the money, he would ask the family about it after school. They wouldn't go back on their word, would they? Consequently, Wang Qingtong was absentminded all day, constantly worrying about whether his family might renege on their promise.

Wang Qingchen felt secure leaving Wang Youliang alone for a specific reason. He had absolute confidence in the flowers he cultivated using his spatial resources. He believed that as long as Boss Xue and Steward Xu weren't fools, they wouldn't drop him to cooperate with someone else. After all, finding someone who could grow flowers as well as Wang Qingchen could would be quite difficult.

As expected, after Wang Qingchen and the others left, although Wang Youliang tried desperately to butter up Steward Xu, the steward remained unmoved, feigning ignorance despite understanding the true intent. Wang Youliang was on the verge of stating his purpose outright, but he was skillfully shut down by Steward Xu’s lukewarm response. Wang Youliang was so enraged he nearly spat blood.

Finally, Steward Xu used the excuse of being busy to send Wang Youliang away, after which Wang Youliang returned from Boss Xue’s residence.

Upon returning, Madam Tian’s eyes lit up when she saw the forty taels of silver Wang Youliang brought back. However, remembering the purpose of his visit, she hastily asked, "Husband, did you manage to establish a good relationship with them today? Can we start earning money through this channel from now on?"

Wang Youliang gulped down a mouthful of water fiercely. "Don't even mention it. That Steward Xu only beat around the bush; not a single clear answer. It infuriated me!"

"That can’t be right. After all, can planting flowers like ours really be worse than what that little brat Qingchen manages? Qingchen has never worked the fields a day in his life. If he can grow things, surely we can too? Did you even explain this to them?" Madam Tian pressed.

Wang Youliang burst out, "Did I not explain it? They claimed it was decided by their boss, Boss Xue, and he couldn't do anything about it. Since they said that, could I really make them change their own employer's mind?"

"Then what should we do?" Madam Tian looked distressed.

"Alas, why wasn't the main boss, Boss Xue, here today? If he were, we could just ask him directly to switch who cultivates the flowers—making it us instead of that second branch—and that would be wonderful..." Wang Youliang sighed.

Madam Tian also felt displeased, but after a moment, she thought of something and murmured to Wang Youliang, "Husband, do you know where Qinghua has been lately?"

Wang Youliang looked puzzled. "Where? Where else would he go? Hasn't he been following his father to the fields?" Wang Youliang added dismissively, "Besides, where he goes has nothing to do with us. Right now, we need to figure out how to contact Boss Xue."

Madam Tian was quite unhappy with his attitude. "How can it have nothing to do with us? Did you know, Aunt Liu went to the general store in town today and actually saw Qinghua working there as a helper! Isn't that strange? What is that second branch trying to achieve? Their lives aren't that bad now; why would they send their son to work there? What prospects could he possibly have?"

"What? You're saying Qinghua is working as a helper in a general store in town? Which general store?" Wang Youliang was also slightly surprised.

"I didn’t ask specifically, but Aunt Gui often goes to the one just east of Xiangman Lou. She says they never short-weight customers and even give a little extra when you buy things," Madam Tian said.

Wang Youliang pondered for a moment, finding a flicker of understanding. "That shop belongs to his third aunt’s brother’s family. Qinghua working there must be through his third aunt’s connections. But why would the second branch send their son there? Their family isn't starving."

"Who knows? They bought a shop in town and still make their son run errands. I truly don't understand how their minds work," Madam Tian pouted, then paused before asking, "Do you think we should send Qingyun over there too..."

"Wait, you just said they bought a shop? Bought a shop, running errands..." Wang Youliang muttered to himself, then slapped his thigh suddenly. "I know what’s going on. The second branch definitely wants their son to learn how to run a business."

"Run a business? Husband, you think the second branch is opening a shop? But didn't they rent out their shop? Besides, didn't they promise to let us use that shop once the lease expired?" Madam Tian exclaimed in shock.

"Hmph, what do you know? You say they promised, but there's no written agreement or anything. The shop is theirs, so who can stop them from going back on their word?" Wang Youliang grumbled resentfully.

"Then what should we do? They promised to lend us the shop, and now they’re backing out. Should we tell Father and Mother?" Madam Tian suggested.

Wang Youliang shook his head. "Let them off this time. We have more important things to do now. Remember, those flowers from the second branch can fetch a lot of money. We need to find a way to contact Boss Xue now so we can earn money from this too. By then, if we want a shop, we can buy one ourselves."

Although the couple guessed Wang Youfu’s family intended to open a shop, they hadn't realized they bought a new one; they assumed they planned to use the shop they had previously rented out.

Madam Tian was reluctant. "But, Husband, we don't even know where Boss Xue is right now! Who knows if he’ll ever come back to Qingshan Town?"

"Don't worry about that; he will certainly come," Wang Youliang said with confidence.

"But who knows when he’ll come? Maybe in a year, or two, or three..." Madam Tian muttered.

When Wang Youliang heard this, he snapped at Madam Tian, "Stop talking nonsense like that!"

Madam Tian was frightened into silence.

However, even though Wang Youliang scolded Madam Tian, he felt uncertain inside. What if it really turned out as she said, and Boss Xue didn't return for several years? Could he really wait that long? That clearly wasn't his style. Perhaps Madam Tian was right; if Boss Xue wasn't showing up, he might as well try to gain some advantage from the second branch first!

Seeing Wang Youliang lost in deep thought, Madam Tian secretly resolved that if the second branch opened their own shop, she would go to great lengths to sabotage the venture.

Meanwhile, Wang Qingchen returned from the academy that day to find two new members in the house: a little grey dog and a little black dog. The grey one was female, and the black one was male.

Ever since the house was robbed last time, Wang Youfu and Yang Shi had been keeping an eye out for any puppies in the village, never expecting they would catch two so soon. These two puppies looked like tiny little dumplings, just weaned, and were utterly adorable. They weren't shy either; if you teased them with a finger, they would wag their tails and lick it. Thus, the two puppies quickly won the hearts of the entire family. Caiyun, in particular, saw the status of her chickens and ducks plummet in her estimation following the arrival of the puppies; her heart was now entirely filled with them.

Caiyun named the two puppies simply after their colors: Little Grey and Little Black. Hearing this, Wang Qingchen couldn't help but sigh, realizing he couldn't place much hope in Caiyun's naming skills. Caiyun also volunteered for the duty of feeding the puppies. The dogs weren't picky eaters; the family's usual leftovers would suffice. However, being so small, they couldn't yet take on the task of guarding the house.

At the old residence, as soon as Wang Qingtong returned from school, he rushed straight to Wang Youliang and Madam Tian’s room. He had been worried all day that his family might refuse to give him the silver.

Sure enough, Wang Youliang and Madam Tian became evasive about their earlier promise, hinting constantly about how difficult things were at home and how much money they needed, completely avoiding any mention of giving Wang Qingtong half the money. In the end, they only managed to fob him off with a single tael of silver.

Wang Qingyi and Li Yuntai’s families were stunned when their sons brought back twenty taels of silver. Flowers that required relatively little effort to grow could sell for so much money? Naturally, after the shock wore off came joy—this was no small sum; those twenty taels could buy a great many things. Neither family was as insatiable as Wang Youliang and his wife. They were very grateful to Wang Youfu’s family, as, technically speaking, this money was given to them freely by Wang Youfu’s family.

To show their gratitude, the Li Yuntai family brought two jars of fine wine and gradually began to interact more frequently with the Wang Youfu family.

Madam Zhang was also very grateful upon seeing the silver. However, she decided not to show it immediately, instead planning to prepare an even better gift for when Wang Youfu’s family celebrated their move. Nevertheless, even with this resolution, her everyday words conveyed her thanks.

"No wonder you told me last time to take good care of that potted flower; it was such a valuable thing! Qingyi brought back twenty taels yesterday, which startled your father and me; we thought the boy had done something bad. Only after asking did we learn it was from selling the flowers. Speaking of which, we really must thank your family. If it weren't for the seeds you gave us, how could we have earned so much money all at once?" Madam Zhang said with a smile.

"Never mind you; even I was shocked when I first found out how expensive those flowers were. But don't say such formal things between us. Haven't your family helped us just as much? If we follow your logic, only your family should help ours, and we aren't allowed to help yours?" Yang Shi also laughed.

"Haha... I can't argue with you now, so I won't say more. I'll just keep the gratitude in my heart, alright?" Madam Zhang replied.

"Fine, have it your way!" Yang Shi feigned helplessness.