Since we are already here, we might as well take all of them back.

Thus, the next day, Wen Xiuyi announced to the Wen family members that he and Wen Yao were going on a long journey.

"What for? Why are you suddenly going on a long journey out of nowhere?" The most worried one was Madam Luo. Wen Xiuyi aside, Wen Yao had never traveled far from home before, so it was inevitable for her to feel anxious.

Wen Xiuyi then explained that they were going out to search for fertilizer.

Upon hearing this, Madam Luo almost took off her shoe to slap Old Man Wen with the sole.

"Fretting over these matters all day long! Are you their father or their mother that you have to meddle in everything? Why can't you ever stay still? Why can't you ever keep that big mouth of yours shut? Huh?" Madam Luo let out a furious tirade, scolding Old Man Wen right in the face.

Old Man Wen simply let his old wife vent. Only after she finished did he look at Wen Xiuyi and ask, "Can it be found?"

Wen Xiuyi nodded. "I read about it in a book before. Yao-yao and I will go out and give it a try. We'll be back in four or five days at the earliest. During this time, teach them the methods I showed you earlier on how to distinguish good and strong seedlings from bad ones, and let them judge for themselves. If they truly want to salvage their crops, they can follow my instructions. If they aren't willing, then forget it."

Such matters fundamentally relied on mutual willingness.

Madam Luo added a caveat, "Make sure to spell out the ugly truth to them beforehand: our family does things this way. The method has been given to them; whether it works depends entirely on their own fortune. Don't let them come back and blame us later if the yield fails to meet expectations."

Old Man Wen knew that his old wife was sharp-tongued but soft-hearted, so he quickly agreed, "Yes, yes, absolutely. I will definitely make everything clear."

Madam Luo glared at him, knowing he was only stirring up trouble for their son.

"Forget it, I'll go with you then."

Old Man Wen chuckled foolishly. With his old wife around, he only needed to play the good cop, since the bad cop role would be handled by the old woman anyway.

Having settled the matter, Old Man Wen looked at Wen Xiuyi and asked, "When are you leaving? Do you really have to take Yao-yao with you? Can't you go by yourself?"

Of course Old Man Wen knew what his old wife was worried about, and he wasn't entirely at ease letting Wen Yao run wild with Wen Xiuyi either. A young girl, wandering about aimlessly—even though this girl's courage was bigger than the heavens.

"Then I'll let Xiao-jun come with me."

Old Man Wen immediately backtracked, "Better let Yao-yao go with you then. Don't delay Xiao-jun's important business."

Wen Yao: ?????

Grandfather, can the bond between grandfather and granddaughter still be saved?

Old Man Wen received another slap from Madam Luo. Looking at Wen Xiuyi, Madam Luo said, "Isn't Wen Nong at home during this period? Have him go with you."

Wen Xiuyi's mouth twitched. Wen Nong? Could Wen Nong pull things out of thin air?

"Mother, Yao-yao wants to go herself. She also wants to get out and look around, to see if she can drum up any more profitable businesses for our family. Yao-yao, tell me isn't that right?" Wen Xiuyi hurriedly signaled to Wen Yao with his eyes.

Wen Yao clutched the old lady's hand and coaxed, "Grandma, just let me go with Dad. I promise to listen to Dad and not run around blindly."

"You really want to go?" Madam Luo frowned.

Wen Yao nodded like a pounding pestle. "Mm-hmm."

After a moment, Madam Luo sighed, glared at Wen Xiuyi, and warned, "You'd better take good care of the child. You're a father now, so don't be so reckless in what you do."

"Yes, yes, I'll listen to you entirely, Mother."

In the end, Madam Luo still wanted Wen Nong to tag along so that Wen Xiuyi would have an extra pair of hands to order around, but Wen Xiuyi didn't dare bring him—if he did, his secrets would be exposed in no time.

Under Wen Xiuyi's insistence, Wen Nong stayed home to help with the farmwork, while Wen Xiuyi took Wen Yao to the agency to rent a horse-drawn carriage and head to the prefecture city.

As for the other members of the Wen family, those who had never held any decision-making power did not deserve a voice; they only needed to obey.

The next day, Wen Yao and Wen Xiuyi packed a few changes of clothes, and amidst the endless instructions and warnings from Old Man Wen and Madam Luo, they boarded a cart heading into town. There, they rented a carriage from Agent Deng and set off toward the prefecture city.

As the superior city to Misty Cloud Town, the prefecture city was actually not very far away; it took about a day to reach it by carriage.

However, because Misty Cloud Town relied on the river, most people chose water routes for travel due to the convenience, while land routes existed but were used infrequently.

Agent Deng worried that the father and daughter wouldn't handle the carriage well, so he even provided them with a driver. Thus, traveling by stops and starts, they finally arrived at the prefecture city by the afternoon of the second day.

The prefecture city certainly lived up to its name, being far more prosperous than Misty Cloud Town. The father and daughter spent a night there and devoted another day to exploring the city, buying gifts for everyone in the family, before finally turning their minds to how they could bring out the compound fertilizer and have someone pack it up to be hauled back.

Ah, tight schedules were truly a bother.

Fortunately, the carriage driver sent with them was an old hand under Agent Deng. Knowing they wanted a temporary space to store some goods, he led them to an agency in the prefecture city that had friendly ties with Agent Deng. For a rent of one silver tael per month, they rented a secluded small courtyard. Since it was only meant for storage, they had no high demands—as long as it had a few rooms to keep out the wind and rain, it was enough.

Furthermore, with this house rented, if they needed any other items in the future, it could serve as a transit point. Most importantly, the location was remote with no neighbors nearby, making it exceptionally suitable for doing things in secret.

Leaving Agent Deng's driver at the inn, the father and daughter used going out as an excuse, directly rented another carriage, and headed to the rented courtyard.

Upon opening the door, they were dumbfounded. There were four rooms, and although the doors and windows were intact, the courtyard was completely overgrown with weeds, clearly having been uninhabited for a long time.

"This place is great. No one would ever imagine what might be inside here," Wen Xiuyi said, quite satisfied.

Wen Yao held the keys and opened the doors to the various rooms. Inside were dust and cobwebs everywhere, with tables and chairs overturned—a truly daunting sight at first glance.

"Dad, stop studying the scenery. Clear out a corner first so I can put the stuff down." Wen Yao had bought a pile of things inside her space. Although the space was large enough and didn't take up room, every time she went inside, she had to pass by a massive heap of compound fertilizer, and the smell—let's not even talk about it.

Once the two of them cleared out a corner, Wen Yao unhesitatingly brought out all fifty bags of compound fertilizer in one go, instantly filling half the corner.

Taking advantage of her space's convenience, Wen Yao had even transferred all the fertilizer into burlap sacks.

Wen Xiuyi hadn't seen these items in a very long time, and seeing them felt like meeting old comrades; even the pungent smell no longer seemed unpleasant to him.

"Let it sit for a couple of days, then we'll find someone to haul it back," Wen Xiuyi patted his hands and said with deep satisfaction.

With a major worry resolved, Wen Xiuyi instantly felt immensely relieved. If people asked where the goods came from when they transported them back, he would just say he found them out on his travels. As for where he found them? Apologies, classified information; ask again and they wouldn't get to use any.

He refused to believe he couldn't keep them in line.

Returning to the inn, Wen Yao clattered and produced several more items from her space. Seeing the shape of the cases, Wen Xiuyi found them immediately familiar.

"A stethoscope? A sphygmomanometer? Why did you bring these out?" Wen Xiuyi was stunned. The fertilizer was simple; since no one could figure out its composition anyway, they could just stick to their story.

But these medical instruments—at a glance, they were definitely not things that belonged in this era.

Wen Yao looked entirely unconcerned. "They're already out anyway. My brother misses these old companions of his so much, so I might as well bring them back for him together."

She had completely given up caring; let come what may.

Thinking about it, Wen Xiuyi decided she had a point.

"Then you'll probably have to conjure up another set," Wen Xiuyi said, rubbing his chin.

Wen Yao raised her head. "Why?"

Wen Xiuyi chuckled mischievously. "Forgot? Your brother now has a master obsessed with medicine. If he finds out your brother has these fine gadgets, he'll be pestering your brother day and night."

Wen Yao: "..."

How could she have forgotten about Dr. Jin?