Then he points at your friend and says:

"You, go get me twenty thousand bucks to spend!"

Could you do that?

Obviously not.

Besides, Lu Yuan truly felt quite embarrassed in front of Aunt Zhao.

The factory, the raw materials, and all that other miscellaneous stuff had been paid for with money from the Zhao Family.

Although Lu Yuan was certain he would make a killing later on, the fact was, he hadn’t earned anything yet, had he?

And this time, he needed to ask for quite a bit more.

Don’t think that building a greenhouse would only cost a few coins.

Did you really think a greenhouse was just a frame with a layer of plastic film thrown over it, and that was it?

It wasn’t that simple.

Even on Earth, with its highly developed modern industry, setting up a one-mu greenhouse would cost tens of thousands!

Greenhouses were very technical things. Whether it was maintaining constant temperature, constant humidity, or what have you, there were specific requirements for everything.

It was something that genuinely cost a lot of silver.

And Lu Yuan’s plan was to either not do it at all, or go big.

This time, he would need at least three to five thousand taels of silver.

The moment Zhao Qiao’Er saw Lu Yuan, the icy mask she wore in front of others melted away like spring snow under a warm sun.

Zhao Qiao’Er had long wanted Lu Yuan to come along with her.

Since Song Meiqin had Liyan to accompany her, Zhao Qiao’Er wanted her own sweetheart to accompany her too.

But her sweetheart didn’t want to move, and Zhao Qiao’Er’s affection for Lu Yuan had basically reached the point of spoiling him rotten.

It was so cold outside; she couldn’t bear to let her sweetheart come out.

Now, upon seeing Lu Yuan, Zhao Qiao’Er was absolutely overjoyed.

She had just stood up and hadn’t even said anything when Zhao Qiao’Er discovered that her sweetheart was even more enthusiastic than she was.

He came right up and hugged her tightly, nuzzling his fluffy head against her ample chest.

The nuzzling made Zhao Qiao’Er blush. She quickly looked toward the several dumbfounded accountants to the side and said:

"All of you, get out. Don’t come back until I call for you!"

The accountants nodded repeatedly, got up, and left.

But Lu Yuan kept his arms wrapped around Aunt Zhao’s slender, beautiful waist, refusing to let go.

This filled Aunt Zhao’s heart with such delight that her beautiful eyes shimmered as she said in a cloying tone:

"Oh, my."

"What’s gotten into you? Why are you burrowing into Auntie’s arms like that?"

Lu Yuan lifted his head from Aunt Zhao’s embrace and said with a grin:

"Nothing’s wrong."

"I just adore you, Auntie. And you smell so good."

Those words made Aunt Zhao’s heart overflow with sweetness.

She truly adored this sweetheart of hers to death.

Aunt Zhao quickly hugged her sweetheart back, pulling him into her embrace as if afraid he would run away.

"Oh, my dearest sweetheart..."

"Auntie adores you to pieces..."

Aunt Zhao’s voice trembled with joy as she showered Lu Yuan with affection.

And as Lu Yuan was affectionately holding Aunt Zhao’s beautiful body...

「Eight hundred li north of Taiping City.」

A barrage of cannon fire roared.

Song Chi shouted excitedly, "Light ’em up for me!"

「At the same time.」

On a distant official road, a procession dressed in incomparably luxurious attire was slowly advancing.

At the head of the procession was a youth of only fifteen or sixteen, yet he looked incredibly martial and exuded a noble air.

"Brother, what’s going on in the mountains up ahead? Why is there all that rumbling?"

The youth suddenly called out to someone in the carriage behind him.

Just then, a person poked his head out of the carriage. He was about the same age as the martial-looking youth, but he was chubby and exceedingly round.

This plump youth was wearing a Python Robe.

The plump youth in the Python Robe, who was inside the carriage, stared blankly in the direction the martial youth was pointing, then thought to himself:

’They might be suppressing bandits...’

Hearing this, the martial-looking youth shivered with a sudden jolt of excitement.

He immediately spurred his horse and cracked his whip, declaring:

"Let’s go take a look!"

With that, he vanished in a flash.

The plump youth inside the carriage looked at the people beside him, his face full of terror, and said:

"Quick, quick! Suppressing bandits is dangerous! Don’t let my little brother go, hurry up and bring him back!"

A man at his side immediately cupped his hands and said:

"As you command, Young Master Heir."

With that, a group of men immediately spurred their horses to chase after the martial-looking youth, fearing they’d be too slow.

As for the banner flown by this procession, it bore a single character:

"Yan"