"A pleasant cooperation, Mrs. Xiao." Merchant Yang muttered, his eyes glinting at the paper in his hand.

He didn’t forget to add, "If you don’t share the recipe with any other parties, I can add a few more silver taels."

"I will think about it, Mr. Yang." Zhou Anran nodded and revealed nothing on her face.

Merchant Yang sighed with pity. If only he could monopolize this business, a few taels of silver is nothing. Perhaps... he could bring this recipe to the Capital too.

He had wanted to spread his business there, where all the high-ranking people of this dynasty lived. Moreover, most of these people also didn’t lack money.

On the way out, Merchant Yang suddenly thought of something. Before Zhou Anran stepped out of the door, he told her, "Although I don’t know about Mr. Han’s identity myself, I will offer my advice to be careful around him, Mrs. Xiao."

He paused briefly. "He might be related to a noble from the Capital... or he might be a noble himself."

His guess wasn’t entirely baseless. Even Han Tingxun himself didn’t deny it when he tried to test the other party a few times.

Merchant Yang thought it wouldn’t hurt if he shared his findings with Zhou Anran. He was aware of her earlier action, where she was trying to gain some clues regarding Han Tingxun from him.

Zhou Anran was taken aback, and she slowly nodded, thanking him. She brought Xiao Qingya away.

As she walked away, she didn’t see a figure standing not far from the room she and Merchant Yang had used to discuss their cooperation.

"Seven taels for a recipe, that’s quite a bargain, Master." A servant praised Merchant Yang.

After sending Zhou Anran off, they went back to the room. The servant was still showering Merchant Yang with praise. The latter was trying to keep a straight face, yet the slight curl of his lips betrayed his mood.

He rewarded the servant with the sweet mouth, and soon the door was closed.

[Your mother is so clever, Little Ya. If she only sells the recipe and not the exclusivity, she could sell it to multiple people. Your family will earn more than thirty taels that old fox offered.]

The System was full of praise.

Xiao Qingya held her head high proudly, as if the System had complimented her.

[How about it? Are you still interested in an exclusive business course? You can be a successful businesswoman in no time!]

The System began to chatter again.

Xiao Qingya blinked, and then she narrowed her eyes. [System, what’s wrong with you? Why do you keep coveting my points?]

Zhou Anran stopped at a stall selling candied haws and bought a few for all her children. However, Xiao Qingya got an extra reward. She even bought some cow milk for her baby daughter.

The System fell silent and didn’t answer again. Xiao Qingya was feeling skeptical. Even the candied hawthorn no longer felt sweet anymore!

She sighed and waited for the chatterbox System to come to her and confess by itself.

In the distance, she already saw her older siblings staring unblinkingly at them. The little one couldn’t help but wave her hands at them excitedly.

Once they got closer, she seemed to see her older siblings heave a sigh of relief. She was a little puzzled, but she also didn’t dwell on it too much.

Zhou Anran could feel three pairs of intense eyes on her.

"All the soy milk has sold out?" She asked gently. "If so, then let’s go back home."

She didn’t forget to hand over the candied hawthorns to each of her children. Xiao Fenghao and others had strange looks, and their expressions fell.

"Mother, this is...?" Xiao Fenghao couldn’t help but open his mouth to ask.

"I bought you all some snacks." Zhou Anran packed their things. When she saw these sweet things, she suddenly recalled it had been a while since she bought her children some treats.

Life had been quite hard on them, and they had to save every single copper coin.

"It’s not convenient to talk here." She added.

They tried to find a hint about what was going on from their little sister. Alas, the little one was busy enjoying her candied haws.

The twins helped their mother to pack, and they couldn’t wait to return home.

Once they arrived home, Zhou Anran closed the door and windows, locking them tightly. Ever since Zhou Wenzhi hired someone to fix their doors, they were as sturdy as ever. Even the wooden doors were replaced by better ones.

Zhou Anran sat in the living room, followed by her children. The oil lamp in the corner of the room flickered, and their shadows became enlarged, somewhat bringing about a tense atmosphere.

"Mr. Yang bought the recipe from us." She took out several silver taels from her pouch and then began to explain the contents of the deal.

Upon listening to their mother’s explanation, their tense shoulders became relaxed. Their eyes shone as they gazed at the several silver taels on the table, an amount they had never imagined before.

"Mother, aren’t thirty taels a lot more than seven? Why don’t you choose the first one?" Xiao Yuxi asked, her eyes brimming with curiosity.

Xiao Yuyan proceeded to explain to her twin sister. "Eldest sister, which one is better? Selling the recipe to one party at the price of thirty taels or several parties?"

With her brows furrowed, Xiao Yuxi fell into deep thought. "Several parties can constitute ten, which means we can even get seventy taels..."

Xiao Yuxi’s eyes lit up. "Mother and Yan’er are so smart!"

Xiao Yuyan’s fair cheeks flushed slightly when she heard the praise. She looked away. Then she remembered something. "Mother, it’s actually Little Ya who thought of the recipe, how about we buy some new clothes for her?"

The family enjoyed a warm moment that night. They also started to make preparations for their harvest plan.

The next day, they received an unexpected guest early in the morning.