As the fuss over the Wang Youfu household hiring a wet nurse to look after the pregnant Madam Yang began to subside, certain sharp-eyed individuals in the village suddenly recalled a fact they had overlooked: the Wang Youfu family had hired a long-term farmhand.

Logically, since the family division, the Wang Youfu household only possessed three mu of paddy field and seven mu of dry land. Even if Wang Qinghua had left for the town to manage the mill, leaving Wang Youfu without help, he could manage the existing land by himself. Why hire a long-term hand now? Wang Youfu was not the type of person who would start indulging the moment he had money. Since the action defied common sense, there must be some hidden reason.

Thus, as the villagers watched Wang Youfu and Zheng Wu with deliberate carelessness, they noticed that the two of them weren't always working the Wang Youfu land but were laboring in a different patch of fields. After some discreet inquiries, it was discovered—unsurprisingly—that those fields also belonged to the Wang Youfu family.

This realization caused a stir among the populace of Wang Family Village. The Wang Youfu family already owned two shops in town, and now they had secretly acquired more land without anyone knowing? Just how substantial must Wang Youfu’s wealth be? They had already inquired, and that piece of land was fifteen mu of prime paddy field! Just these two shops and the fifteen mu of paddy land must have cost over three hundred liang of silver to acquire. Add to that the Wang Youfu family's new house and its interior furnishings, which alone would run to sixty or seventy liang.

And this was only what was known on the surface; perhaps the Wang Youfu family had quietly secured other assets unknown to anyone else! It must be said, the second batch of land purchased by the Wang Youfu family truly went undiscovered for a while. Even so, it was enough to astound the villagers. Heavens, for the Wang Youfu family to rise from poverty to such affluence in such a short time without a sound—what powerful connections must they possess? Was it really just the zhong hua (flower cultivation) they claimed? Could zhong hua really earn this much money?

The matters being discussed in the village were naturally heard by the households of Wang Youtian, Li Qiang, and the Old Residence. However, they were different from the rest of the villagers. While others doubted that zhong hua could bring such wealth to the Wang Youfu family, these three households believed it. After all, they had also benefited from it before. Now, knowing the extent of the Wang Youfu family's assets, while slightly surprised at first, they didn't really suspect any illicit connections; they knew the profits must stem from zhong hua.

When the Wang Youfu household learned about the rumors circulating in the village regarding how much land and property they had quietly acquired, they didn't react much. Although they kept this matter secret from outsiders and hadn't voluntarily disclosed it, they never intended to hide it forever. In the same village, its discovery was only a matter of time, so the Wang Youfu family remained quite composed, continuing with their daily tasks.

At the Old Residence, when Wang Youliang and Madam Tian heard the news, although they desperately wanted to secure some personal gain, ever since the Old Man had explicitly rejected them and expressed his disappointment in the couple last time, they dared not openly incite the elders anymore. Instead, they focused on devising a more secure plan first.

After the Old Man learned that his second son had secretly acquired land, he sighed to the Old Woman, "Alas, I didn't expect the second one to become so distant from us; he didn't even tell us about something as big as buying land."

The Old Woman snorted, "This second son forgets his mother once he has a wife. Didn't you see? Ever since the family split, the second one hasn't been the same toward us. It must be that his wife said something to him, coaxing him into estrangement."

The Old Man shook his head, "His wife? It probably isn't her. His wife is such an honest person; it must be something else!"

"What else could it be? It must be his wife causing trouble." The Old Woman insisted.

The Old Man pondered for a moment, "Could it be because we always asked them to support the Eldest Branch, and they grew unwilling?"

"Hmph! Was it wrong for us to ask them to support the Eldest Branch? He and the Eldest Brother are real brothers! Now that he is prosperous, must he forget his own flesh and blood brother?" the Old Woman said indignantly.

"That is true, and with his current comfortable life, helping his brother wouldn't cost him much. But when people become rich, their thinking changes from before. Aren't there so many people who become wicked once they are wealthy?" the Old Man remarked. In his opinion, perhaps Wang Youfu was fine before, but now that he was rich, his thoughts had changed, and he was unwilling to help his brother.

"This second son, we raised him all these years for nothing! Not only did we gain nothing, but now we have to endure his attitude," the Old Woman grumbled, annoyed.

"However, we can't blame the second son entirely for all of this; the Eldest son is also at fault. The Eldest son always thinks about taking advantage of others without ever considering working hard to earn money. Have you seen him do anything proper?" As the Old Man spoke, he began thinking about how to correct the Eldest son's ways.

The Old Woman disliked hearing this, "What kind of talk is that? What is wrong with the Eldest son? He hasn't murdered or set fires, nor has he stolen chickens or dogs; how is he not good? Besides, didn't the Eldest son try to open a shop before? Wasn't it because he was squeezed out by others that he couldn't continue? How is that not doing proper business?"

"If you hadn't brought it up, I wouldn't be angry! Was he opening a shop? He was squandering money! Back then, although I knew the Second and Third Branches disapproved of the Eldest son opening a shop, I still took it upon myself to give him half the family savings. And what was the result? He lost it all!" the Old Man exclaimed angrily.

"Well... that's because the Eldest son had no experience opening a shop back then. How could he know how to run a shop right from the start!" the Old Woman defended Wang Youliang.

"If he lacked experience and didn't know how to run a shop, why did he ask us for money to start one in the first place? Didn't he know people can't get fat in one bite? Qing Tong is so young, yet he already knows he needs to learn first before opening a shop. How old is Qing Tong now, yet he understands this principle? Is he worse than a child? Alas, it's my fault for being muddled back then. If I had considered things more carefully, I wouldn't have let him waste so much of the family money, and perhaps the relationship between the three branches would be better now." The Old Man ended with a note of self-reproach.

Hearing this, the Old Woman didn't know how to defend Wang Youliang anymore; she could only blame him for not living up to expectations—his own son, at such a young age, could figure things out that he failed to grasp.

"Let it go, Old Man. It's been several years since then. Let's stop bringing it up again, lest it causes further dissatisfaction between the Second and Third Branches," the Old Woman advised.

"Hmph, you think I don't know that? I'm only saying this to you today. How could I normally bring up this matter! However, we'll let this drop, but I still need to find a way to correct the Eldest son's nature. We can't always let him think about taking advantage of his brothers. Once or twice might be acceptable, but too often, the brothers will grow weary, after all, they also have families to support," the Old Man stated.

"Correct him? How can you correct him? I don't think the Eldest son's nature is truly bad; at least he won't suffer losses later. And even if we try to correct him, at most, we can only remind him often. What else can we do? Or have you thought of what you plan to do?" the Old Woman inquired.

The Old Man shook his head, "I haven't figured out exactly how to do it yet, as such a nature isn't changed by simply deciding to change it. But until I decide, I won't mention helping or supporting them anymore, lest he starts thinking about taking advantage again. Besides, the Eldest Branch isn't starving right now; they are just not as well-off as the Second Branch and the others."

"Since you have decided, I have nothing more to say. However, I do have another matter to discuss with you. Qingyun’s wife is pregnant. Although we cannot hire someone to wait on her like the Second Branch did, we must still treat her well in other aspects. I was thinking that we shouldn't shortchange her on food, because what she eats will nourish our great-grandchild. So, I plan to use my own money to ensure Qingyun's wife is properly nourished. What do you think?" the Old Woman asked.

The Old Man nodded upon hearing this, "Yes, Qingyun’s wife is carrying the first child of the next generation; she must be well cared for. Let's proceed as you suggest. We will provide the money to nourish her body well."

"Aye!" the Old Woman replied.

Luo Yin, at this time, knew nothing of these matters. She was still inside the house doing needlework, having already finished many little dudou (baby vests) and tiny clothes for a child.

Since her last discussion with her mother about the issue of bearing a son or a daughter, she had been in a state of anxiety. Even though Wang Qingyun had assured her that he and the elders did not mind whether the child was male or female, Luo Yin still felt anxious. Upon hearing that Madam Yang was pregnant and even hired help to attend to her, Luo Yin felt a sting of sadness. Both were pregnant, yet others had a much easier time—not worrying about gender and having attendants. Pregnant women are naturally prone to melancholy, and in this comparison, Luo Yin felt even more that even with a pregnancy, no one valued her. If she gave birth to a daughter, what then?

As a result, Luo Yin quickly lost weight, which greatly worried Wang Qingyun. Fortunately, the Old Woman guessed the general reason after seeing her condition, promptly purchased many supplements, and visited frequently to comfort and reassure her. This allowed Luo Yin to begin believing that bearing a son or daughter was truly acceptable, and she gradually recovered. (To be continued)