Xiao Jingting and Xu Muan said goodbye to their parents and left. Not long after, Xiao Jingfeng and Mu Shuyu quietly departed as well.

The two brothers arrived outside the city one after another. Carrying such huge debts, Xiao Jingting dared not delay upon reaching the outskirts and went straight to inspect the farmland. Mu Shuyu, who had envied Xiao Jingting’s land in Tuqiu Village, was now eager to see her own and dragged Xiao Jingfeng along.

The spiritual plants originally cultivated on the farmland given by Xiao Linfeng and Wang Lu were also transferred to Xiao Jingting and Xiao Jingfeng.

Xiao Jingting inspected his farmland and found the quality quite good, and the location convenient. It seemed unlikely the frequent beast disturbances that had plagued Tuqiu Village would happen here.

After checking his own fields, Xiao Jingting accompanied Xiao Jingfeng to inspect the latter’s land. Xiao Jingfeng’s superior-grade and medium-grade plots were decent; the spiritual plants on the superior land had just been harvested, and those in the medium land were just starting to grow. The worse part was several lower-grade plots.

“How come it’s sandy soil?!” Mu Shuyu frowned looking at the crooked, poor-quality spiritual plants in the field. Sandy soil is notorious for being bad for growing spiritual plants. Many times, planting on sandy soil results in withering and death. Often sandy lands lie fallow because planting spiritual plants there often leads to losses.

Xiao Jingfeng’s face darkened with gloom. Though he did not speak, as the son given the least land by their parents, he felt uncomfortable. Discovering that all 15 acres of his lower-grade land were sandy soil made him feel even worse.

Mu Shuyu patted Xiao Jingfeng’s shoulder reassuringly, “Forget it, having land is better than none.”

Xiao Jingfeng nodded, “True.”

“Second brother, give me those 15 acres,” Xiao Jingting said, eyeing the sandy land.

Xiao Jingfeng was taken aback, “Give it to you?”

Xiao Jingting nodded firmly, “Yes, give it to me.”

“Sister-in-law, you’re mistaken. Both your second brother and I can’t take advantage of you,” Mu Shuyu said.

“Second sister-in-law, you misunderstand. I have a use for sandy soil—it’s best for growing watermelons,” Xiao Jingting explained.

Within Xiao Jingting’s jade pendant space were watermelon seedlings brought from his past life. After discovering watermelons existed in this world, he falsely claimed to have found them in the mountains and tested planting a few in Tuqiu Village. The melons were sweet and popular.

The first batch was small and eaten by family, and Xiao Jingting planned to expand cultivation and sell some. Yet before that could happen, Xiao Jingting’s parents sent people to bring him away.

Mu Shuyu was surprised, “Does the book say watermelons grow best in sandy soil?”

Xiao Jingting nodded, “Yes! Sandy soil is well-aerated, which helps roots metabolize. It has poor water retention, which raises sugar content in watermelons…”

Though Mu Shuyu didn’t fully understand the science, she admired his thorough explanation.

“I also want to grow some spiritual fruits soon—summer is coming, and I want to make chilled spiritual fruit smoothies. They should be popular,” Xiao Jingting added.

Xu Muan thoughtfully said, “Try to use local spiritual fruits. Using too many exotic fruits might raise suspicion.”

Xiao Jingting agreed, “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

Xiao Jingting hired some workers to harvest the spiritual plants left by their parents on the land, earning 12,000 taels of silver, improving their financial situation considerably.

After harvesting, he didn’t relax, but hired more workers to begin planting.

“When you’re back, how’s it going looking at shops?” Xiao Jingting asked Xu Muan.

Xiao Jingting planned to open a fruit and beverage store, so he sent Xu Muan to the city to check on suitable shops. Actually, Xiao Jingting had long planned to open a store but was worried about trouble without backing, so hadn’t acted.

“There are a few suitable places, but before that—I found the house was ransacked, and Xiaofan said his toys were touched,” Xu Muan said.

Xiao Jingting was stunned, “A thief broke in?”

Xu Muan shook her head, “Doesn’t seem like it. Nothing missing. I think someone might be after our spiritual treasures.”

Xiao Jingting: “…” Ever since it was exposed that their family’s progress came from rare spiritual treasures, many were watching them.

“Could be a family thief.” The eldest brother of the original host had always suspected he hid many treasures.

Xu Muan sighed, “Enough, don’t think about it. Let’s pack up.”

“Alright. Let’s brew some fruit wine when we have the chance. When the shop opens, we can sell it,” Xiao Jingting said.

Xu Muan nodded, “Okay.”

“Just mix in a bit of spiritual spring water—don’t use too much,” Xiao Jingting advised.

Xu Muan nodded, “Don’t worry, I understand.”

“How much is rent for a shop in the city?” Xiao Jingting asked.

“I saw a good location. Rent is about 300 taels a month,” Xu Muan replied.

Xiao Jingting stroked his chin, “300 taels isn’t little, but you’re married to a rich man now.”

Xu Muan smiled teasingly, “But the rich man is deeply in debt.”

Xiao Jingting laughed awkwardly, “Well, I’m in the startup phase now. Once I get past this phase, I’ll be rich.”

Xu Muan smiled, “I already have some silver set aside. Renting a shop for six months is enough for now.”

Xiao Jingting nodded, “Alright.”

At Xiao Family

“Madam, no sign of it,” a man in black reported to Zheng Peier.

Zheng Peier sighed, “As expected.” Her sending people to search was more hoping for luck than confidence.

High-grade spiritual plants are hard to preserve. Without suitable equipment, their spiritual power dissipates gradually over days, especially the delicate and precious ones.

“Madam, Xiao Jingting just left, and Xiao Jingfeng left quietly too. These two brothers acting together is unfavorable for Young Master Xiao Qingyan,” the man said.

Zheng Peier gritted her teeth. She knew this well. But Xiao Jingting and Xiao Jingfeng were now very close; it was difficult to cause discord between them. She had just heard Xiao Jingting exchanged 10 acres of premium farmland for Xiao Jingfeng’s sandy land.

Fortunately, Xiao Linfeng and Wang Lu’s affection remained greatest for Xiao Qingyan.

“Xu Muan went to the city today,” Zheng Peier added.

“He seemed to be inspecting shops. Probably plans to open a store,” the man replied.

Zheng Peier narrowed her eyes, “I didn’t expect Xu Muan to be this capable. He even wants to open a store. Really, anything can happen in this world. Xiao Jingting went out once, and Xu Muan easily put him in line.”

Having confirmed the store plans, Xu Muan daily flew around the city on the fire cloud bird, busy nonstop.

Xiao Jingting was busy nurturing various spiritual plants as well.

Watermelons were not high-grade spiritual plants, but tasty. Using the Growth of All Things technique, they matured in ten days. Grapes were similar. Xiao Jingting also planted some fruit trees, but they had not grown yet.

Sitting at a table with five or six barrels of juice, Xiao Jingting invited others including Xiao Jingfeng to be tasters.

“This is grape juice, this snow cloud fruit juice, watermelon juice, green bud fruit juice…” Xiao Jingting introduced about a dozen kinds of juice, “Try them and give some feedback.”

Xiao Xiaofan clapped, “Great! You came to the right guy—I’m the best taster.”

Xiao Jingting: “…”

Xiao Xiaodong glanced at Xiao Xiaofan and snapped, “Drink less or you’ll wet the bed again. Mom just put on a new quilt.”

Xiao Xiaofan blushed, “I haven’t wet the bed for a long time. Stop saying nonsense.”

Xiao Jingfeng sampled the juices, his eyes shining.

Mu Shuyu drank some juice, looking full of admiration.

Xiao Xiaofan grabbed one kind and drank eagerly, like a thirsty man in the desert finally seeing water.

Xiao Xiaodong’s approach was more restrained; he tasted a bit of each juice, his eyes rolling—hard to tell what he was thinking.

Some juices came from fruits unique to their world; others were improved versions of Earth’s fruits.

“Jingting, your juices taste really special!” Xiao Jingfeng said.

In his previous life, Xiao Jingting had worked part-time in a juice shop and knew some recipes. Applying that knowledge here produced remarkably good results.

Xiao Jingting nodded, “Yes, I researched some juice recipes.”

“Your juices will definitely sell well,” Xiao Jingfeng said.

Xiao Jingting smiled, “Besides juice, I plan to brew some fruit wines. The prices will be higher, but it’ll be a slow process.”

Xiao Jingfeng nodded, “Right.”

“When do you plan to open the store?” Xiao Jingfeng asked.

“The shop deal is almost done; other preparations are ready. It should be within days. Second brother, I’ll need your help a lot when it opens,” Xiao Jingting said.

Xiao Jingfeng nodded, “Don’t worry.”

Xiao Xiaofan raised his hand, “I can help too!”

Xiao Xiaodong rolled his eyes at Xiao Xiaofan, “Help? What can you do? Help eat?”

Xiao Xiaofan indignantly looked at Xiao Xiaodong, “I can do lots! I can help carry things! Brother, you’re so weak, what can you do?”

“Hmph! I can help with accounting and money collection,” Xiao Xiaodong said arrogantly.

Xiao Xiaofan warned, “Brother, don’t brag! If you collect the money wrong, we’ll lose money!”

Xiao Xiaodong frowned, “How could I get it wrong?”

Xiao Xiaofan shrugged, “Who knows?”

Listening to the two children chat, Xiao Jingting raised a brow. His two little rascals were eager and spirited.

 

Edited by: Tetsu

Proofreader: Taalia

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