Smacking his lips, Lu Yuan pulled Aunt Zhao into another embrace. She thought he was about to start up again.

She was just about to wrap her arms around him and begin.

’To hell with it. I’ll just draw the curtains later. We’re doing this right here, right now!’

This time, however, Lu Yuan simply sucked hard on her swan-like neck.

As Aunt Zhao’s almond-shaped eyes glazed over, Lu Yuan finally let her go. He stared at her, a wicked grin spreading across his face. With a wild glint in his eyes, he said:

"You just wait, my fragrant white sheep!

Just wait a few days, and I’ll devour you completely, leaving not a single scrap behind!!"

With that, he reached out and gave her soft flesh a hard squeeze before leaving with a grin, saying:

"I’m off to work. You eat first, Auntie."

After Lu Yuan had gone, Zhao Qiao’Er came back to her senses, clutching her chest where he had squeezed it painfully.

She gazed at the now-empty doorway, her face a mixture of playful reproach and longing.

"You scoundrel... How am I supposed to eat now...?"

...

Over the next few days, Lu Yuan truly buckled down and got to work.

He was selecting a site outside the city to build greenhouses while also beginning the process of seed breeding.

Crop breeding was actually quite simple; you could find everything you needed online in the modern era, so there was no need to consult *Shennong*.

For now, Lu Yuan wasn’t doing any complex breeding. He was simply planting one batch of all the seeds he had collected from various regions.

Later, he would slowly begin to cross-breed and cultivate them.

The process required time, and a great deal of luck.

Sometimes it would succeed on the first try, while other times it might take hundreds or even thousands of experiments.

Furthermore, even after a successful cross-breed, he would need to plant several more generations to ensure the new variety was stable.

Fortunately, the greenhouses Lu Yuan was planning were massive.

He would be able to plant several hundred hybrid specimens at once, so the process shouldn’t take too long.

「January 28th. Early morning.」

The factory in the eastern part of the city was shipping out a massive amount of goods.

The three main products—tricycles, bicycles, and hand-cranked washing machines—were loaded onto ox carts and horse-drawn carriages, destined for shops all around Taiping City.

Song Meiqin was overjoyed as she watched all the factory’s goods being shipped out.

However, she had no one beside her to share the happy moment with.

Today was Su Liyan’s turn to keep Aunt Zhao company, so she hadn’t come to the factory.

Lu Yuan wasn’t there either.

Lu Yuan was currently in the north of the city.

He was directing men as they dug trenches, preparing to build the greenhouses.

「On the official road from Yanjing to Taiping City.」

A group of people on fine horses watched the passing ox carts and horse-drawn carriages, their faces etched with confusion.

’What is all this stuff?’

’Why have we never seen any of this before?’

’What are they?’

"Second Master... are you sure it’s okay for us to just sneak out like this?"

An Attendant riding beside Gu Gaoxu, who was dressed in commoner’s clothes, asked worriedly.

But Gu Gaoxu just held his head high and replied nonchalantly:

"What’s the big deal?

If my dad finds out, the worst he’ll do is drag me back home and put me in confinement for a few days. What more can he do?

I’m not scared, so what are you all so worked up about?!"

Gu Gaoxu’s words left the Attendants beside him speechless.

’That’s right, if we get dragged back, you’ll just be in confinement for a few days.’

’But we’re the ones who’ll be in deep trouble...’

Of course, they only dared to think such things, not say them aloud.

Gu Gaoxu, however, simply cracked his whip and galloped wildly toward Taiping City, which was now close at hand.

...

As the sun rose higher, a hint of warmth spread across the land.

Lu Yuan was sitting in a large tent, sipping tea and watching his men dig trenches and break ground.

Just then, a noisy commotion erupted in the distance.

Before Lu Yuan could figure out what was going on, a Zhao Family Traveler rushed over.

"Young Master, three men on three horses just arrived and trampled all over the ground we just finished digging.

We have them surrounded, but the young punk is still raising a ruckus."

Lu Yuan blinked.

’Huh???’

’Who the hell is this?!!’

’Don’t they know that Taiping City is Zhao Family territory?!’

’Are they trying to stir up trouble on my turf?!’