But then again, Song iqin’s personality wasn’t the type to just sit around and do nothing all day.
In Zhao Qiao’Er’s words, both she and Song iqin were born to work and couldn’t enjoy a life of leisure.
From the very beginning, Zhao Qiao’Er had raised this large family all on her own.
And as for Song iqin, it was her forr mother-in-law.
Every day, she would be bossing Song iqin around, ordering her to do this or that.
Song iqin had been busy like that for over a decade. If you suddenly told her to relax, how could she possibly stay idle?
Seeing that Song iqin was willing to go, Lu Yuan grinned and said:
"Tomorrow, I’ll teach you. We’ll give it a try first.
If you feel tired later on and don’t want to do it anymore, we’ll just find soone else."
Such considerate words from Lu Yuan naturally filled Song iqin’s heart with imnse happiness.
She looked at Lu Yuan, her voice sweet and cloying:
"Okay~~"
Watching this from the side, Song Chi blinked and couldn’t help but crack a smile.
Seeing his sister acting so feminine and in love, Song Chi was naturally overjoyed.
Although it made him a little queasy, he was still very happy.
His poor, long-suffering sister finally didn’t have to endure like before.
Especially the way she used to suffer, with no hope in sight.
...
After everyone returned to the Zhao Family residence, they had another dinner.
This ti, with nothing else on his mind, Song Chi grabbed Lu Yuan and started a drinking bout.
In the end, it was Song iqin who felt bad for Lu Yuan and quickly shooed Song Chi away.
’After all, my little brother drinks every day in the military camp. How could my man possibly outdrink him! What if he drinks himself sick?’
That night, Song Chi took a carriage back to the Provincial City.
Before he left, he was so drunk he could barely stand, but he still hadn’t forgotten to co to Taiping City on the seventeenth to pick up the cannons.
...
「The next morning.」
Song iqin, smiling, linked her arm with Lu Yuan’s. The two of them boarded a carriage and headed straight for the factory outside the city.
You know, it was funny.
It felt just like a young couple on Earth commuting to work together in the morning.
After they arrived, Lu Yuan began showing Song iqin around, explaining everything to her.
After two or three consecutive days of this, Song iqin started going to the factory by herself every morning.
The old steward hadn’t left the factory yet.
During the day, if there was anything Song iqin didn’t understand, she would ask the old steward.
And if there was sothing even the old steward didn’t know, she would wait until she got ho in the evening to ask Lu Yuan, as long as it wasn’t urgent.
Song iqin was exceptionally smart.
Plus, Lu Yuan had truly judged correctly—Song iqin had a natural talent for managent.
By around the ninth day of the first lunar month, she didn’t even need the old steward anymore.
The old steward returned from the factory and no longer spent his days there.
It was about ti for the old steward to co back anyway.
In another five or six days, it would be the fifteenth of the first lunar month.
After the fifteenth, the mbers of the Zhao Family who had returned to their hotowns for the new year would all be coming back.
Once they returned, it would be ti to resu mining the Spirit Stone Mine.
As the steward of the Zhao Family, reopening the Spirit Stone Mine was naturally the top priority.
For the next four or five months, the old steward would basically be focused entirely on this matter.
Naturally, Aunt Zhao would also be busy for a while.
The only ones in the household who were still idle were Lu Yuan and the pregnant Su Liyan.
In truth, Lu Yuan wasn’t the type to stay idle either.
Mainly, the system had given him so many things that there was simply too much to go through.
With the factory settled, Lu Yuan had so free ti recently and had started reading *Shennong* again.
He didn’t have any particular goal at first.
He just figured that everything the system gave him was valuable, and he shouldn’t let anything go to waste.
He decided to at least look through it all.
But as he read, he grew more and more interested and just kept on reading.
...
「On the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.」
The mont Song iqin entered the room, she smiled at everyone and said:
"Oh my~~
Have you all been waiting long?
I’m so sorry. There was a lot to do at the factory, and I got carried away."
As Song iqin spoke, she quickly took off her black cloak.
But Zhao Qiao’Er, sitting at the dinner table, couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
"Don’t you know today’s the fifteenth?
You couldn’t co ho earlier for dinner? We’ve been waiting for you for over an hour!"
At that mont, Su Liyan quickly handed a small hand warr to Song iqin.
Cradling the hand warr, Song iqin smiled at Su Liyan.
"Liyan~ Are you mad at your Aunt Song?~"
Su Liyan pulled Song iqin to the table to sit down, pursing her lips into a smile.
"I’m not mad~
Aunt Zhao isn’t mad either. We’re just worried about you, working so hard even on the fifteenth."
Looking at the sweet and well-behaved Su Liyan before her, Song iqin was utterly chard. She couldn’t resist pulling her into a hug and laughing.
"Aww~
Our Liyan is just the best~
But don’t you go making excuses for your Aunt Zhao. She’s definitely mad at ~"
Zhao Qiao’Er looked at Song iqin and huffed.
"I am mad at you~
Forgetting to co ho for dinner on the fifteenth. Have you worked yourself silly?"
But Song iqin just humd lightly, her voice coy like a Little Fox.
"Anyone else in this room can bla , but you certainly can’t~"
Hearing Song iqin’s words, Zhao Qiao’Er blinked her pretty eyes, a curious look on her face.
"And why is that?"
Song iqin pursed her lips in a smile.
"Isn’t it because I was busy working for you?
I’ve calculated all the factory’s production capacity and whatnot, and looked at the shops in the other county towns.
The products we were originally planning to sell on the fifteenth of the second month, I’ve moved the launch up to the second of the second month~
So tell , are you still mad at ?
You should be thanking ~"
Hearing this, Zhao Qiao’Er looked puzzled.
’Heh.
What’s she on about?
Why?’
But just as Zhao Qiao’Er was about to speak, she saw the mischievous grin on Song iqin’s face.
In that instant, Zhao Qiao’Er understood.
’What other reason could there be...
Once those goodies are sold...
...my sweetheart’s factory will start making so serious money...
And when my sweetheart makes big money...’
A blush rising to her cheeks, Zhao Qiao’Er shot Song iqin a glare.
"Stop your nonsense. Hurry up and drink so soup to warm up."
Zhao Qiao’Er said this while ladling soup for Song iqin, her face still red.
Lu Yuan, who had been reading *Shennong* off to the side, hadn’t participated in their conversation.
He simply put down his copy of *Shennong* and smiled at Song iqin.
"How is it, Aunt Song? Are you tired?"
Song iqin looked at Lu Yuan, her voice sweet and coquettish.
"Not tired~ Not tired at all~
I love going to the factory~"
Lu Yuan found it rather amusing to see her looking so adorably naive, like a little girl.
"Oh? And why is that?"
Song iqin took the bowl of pork rib soup from Zhao Qiao’Er, warming her hands on it as she spoke in that sa sweet voice:
"I don’t really know how to put it~
I just like going to the factory, that’s all~
Seeing the factory change day by day because of my decisions just makes happy~
It’s like... hmm... it feels like I’m useful, you know?~"
Song iqin didn’t explain it very clearly.
But Lu Yuan understood.
In Earth terms, she had found her purpose in life.
That’s very important.
Then Song iqin smiled again.
"Especially...
A little while ago, I raised the standard for the lunch served at the factory, so everyone gets an extra piece of fatty at.
Now, whenever people at the factory see , they call Director Song~
And it’s with genuine respect.
It’s not like before, when they’d call ’madam’ to my face but who knows what they were saying behind my back."
Seeing Song iqin’s spirits improve more and more since she beca the director, Lu Yuan felt relieved.
He had been worried that she wouldn’t be able to adapt.
After all, no matter how you looked at it, Song iqin had been a pampered lady of high society before.
But now?
She was getting up at four or five every morning, skipping breakfast, and heading straight to the factory outside the city.
It was a new factory, after all, and there was a lot to do.
But to his surprise, Song iqin was happy to go every day. She truly wanted to be there.
In response, Lu Yuan smiled and said:
"Good. As long as you’re happy, that’s what matters. But you don’t have to get up so early every day.
You’re the director, not a line worker. You don’t have to be there watching over everything every single day."
Song iqin nodded imdiately. Then, her face filled with bliss, she looked at Lu Yuan very seriously and said sweetly:
"Thank you, Yuan’Er~"
...
「The seventeenth.」
In the faint light of early morning, a solemn army, so long that neither its head nor its tail could be seen, passed silently and in perfect order through Taiping City.
「Outside the North City Gate.」
The Zhao Family’s Travelers and the Lord Soldiers were hauling wooden crates onto carriages together.
Song Chi looked around. Today, only Lu Yuan and his sister had co; no one else was there.
Then, Song Chi sidled up to Lu Yuan and whispered secretively:
"Brother-in-law, are you sure you don’t want to be a high-ranking official? You really don’t want to be the Prince Consort?"
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