Not only him, but Old Master Song also became suspicious.
The two of them secretly investigated but found nothing.
The men Elder Madam Song had been in contact with were all less handsome than Elder Master Song, and couldn't possibly have fathered such a good-looking child.
Che was born in Qingxi Courtyard, with no chance of being swapped.
For years he had remained in the Song manor, never going out, and with guards patrolling, unless it was a supreme master, it would be difficult to switch people without a sound.
But the Song family didn't know any supreme masters, so how could they be connected to Che?
Perhaps it was just that boys change a lot as they grow up, becoming more handsome...
Ximen Ye saw through the inquiring look in their eyes, but had no way to explain.
Natural beauty is hard to conceal, was it his fault?
If he hadn't wanted to make the Song family happier and waste less money on buying medicine, he definitely wouldn't have left Qingfeng Court.
But his cousin had already partnered with Apothecary Hall to promote the tuberculosis medicine in the Capital City, so he would be unable to keep up the pretense sooner or later. He might as well "recover" early and save the Song family some money.
The old locust tree in the courtyard had drunk too much of the medicine he poured out; if he watered it anymore, it might die!
The locust tree is considered the ghost of trees.
Originally such a tree shouldn't have been planted in the courtyard, but he did it deliberately.
Che's remains were buried under this tree. He hoped to summon Che back, to occasionally chat with him, but Che had never returned.
On the other hand, if Che could choose, he would surely want to be closer to the Song manor!
So, he directly buried Che in the Song manor.
As he recalled the past, the obsessive look in Ximen Ye's jet-black phoenix eyes grew even more intense.
While the people of the Song manor were fussing over "Song Jingche", Qi Huan had already boarded a carriage to leave the manor.
After arriving at Mingyu Tea House, she inquired about Little Shitou's situation.
"After you left, the orphanage in Mo County took in several more homeless children. Accommodation became a bit tight, and coincidentally Little Shitou and the others had turned ten, so it was time for them to go out and broaden their horizons, learn some skills," Xiu Yuan explained to her in detail. "Shi Qiao's writing is good, so he was taken as a closed-door disciple by Old Man Weng of Hengqu Academy and remains in Mo County to study."
"Apart from him, the remaining children were entrusted to me by Xiu Wen in a letter, and sent over by the Yunying Caravan."
"Shi Kuai is good at abacus calculations, and is now checking the account books of various shops with me. Once he's fully trained, he can be arranged as an accountant in the restaurant or other shops."
"Little Shitou is clever, starting as a waiter, and I'm training him to be a future shop manager."
"Qing Ke is learning to cook in the restaurant's kitchen with Chun Zhi. She's a child you personally adopted, absolutely loyal to you, and handy to use."
"Qing Guo is good at embroidery and has been taken as a little apprentice by Yuan Yuan, now busy in the clothing shop."
It was only upon hearing this that Qi Huan understood why Yuan Yuan's little apprentice always looked at her with sparkling eyes.
Qing Guo had grown quite a bit, no longer the skinny, sallow child from before, and she hadn't recognized her at first.
She had thought it was because she herself was too beautiful, captivating the young girl...
Qi Huan's cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, and she uncomfortably took a sip of tea.
By the time she came back to her senses, Xiu Yuan had already explained the whereabouts of the other children one by one.
"Miss Qi, the caravan also brought some letters."
Qi Huan looked incredulously at the box full of envelopes. There were so many!
She accepted the box as if it were a treasure, its heavy weight a measure of her old friends' affection.
She cherished every companion she had met in Mo County.
The bright and cheerful Yue Ming, the gentle and smiling Xiu Wen, the honest and straightforward Chen Jinyou, the reliable and capable accountant Mr. Xu, and so on...
There were too many letters in the box for her to read now, so she planned to read them after returning to the manor in the evening.
Closing the letter box, she changed the subject and began discussing business with Xiu Yuan.
"Please help me buy another house, sir. It doesn't matter if it's small, I'll use it to store medicines."
Once the house was bought, Qi Huan would secretly store a batch of tuberculosis medicine there.
Then, as agreed, Ximen Ye would distribute it to various places.
By then, she would not only make a small profit but also earn quite a few points.
Xiu Yuan quickly agreed: "Alright, I'll arrange it for you as soon as possible."
"Also, the greenhouse vegetables are very popular. Has Miss Qi considered expanding this business to other cities?"
Qi Huan nodded: "Of course we can. I'll store some more greenhouse film in the warehouse later, and hire the Yunying Caravan to transport it to various places."
"The cost of buying land can come from my account. The bookshop, restaurant, and clothing shop have earned quite a bit recently, so we need to quickly put it to use to generate more income."
"Out-of-season vegetables sell for higher prices, so to start with, let's focus on wealthier cities. If possible, please try to establish connections with influential officials in South Liang and Western Jin dynasty. Once we have backing, we can expand the business to other countries as well. We'll earn their silver to develop our Li Country!"
"Besides greenhouse cultivation, we can gradually open branch stores for the clothing shop and bookshop too!"
"Especially the bookshop. I heard that because of our low-price impact, several bookshops on Academy Street had to close down. Sir, you can reach out to them and ask if they're willing to join us. They could wholesale our books and sell them elsewhere. Although the profit margin is thinner, with high volume and low profit, it's still a livelihood."
After Qi Huan finished explaining her upcoming plans in one breath, she wanted to mention the matter of setting up orphanages in various places, but considering the limited funds, she had to put it aside for now.
This was still the investment and expansion period. Once her business stabilized, she would take a portion to give back to the people what was taken from them.
She planned to use about one-fifth of the net profit for charitable causes.
In her previous life, almost every successful entrepreneur participated in charitable activities.
It wasn't because they were foolish with money, but because when your abilities grow stronger, your corresponding social responsibilities also increase.
When poor, one should cultivate oneself; when successful, one should help others.
Perhaps the little bit of kindness flowing from her fingertips could rewrite the fate of some people.
"Keep it up, host! You can even rewrite our fate!" the system chimed in.
"As you do more good deeds and accumulate virtue, your points will increase, and this system will be able to upgrade to a higher level. You'll also unlock more functions and deliveries. Isn't that expanding your horizons? Host, fly bravely, and your little system will always be by your side. Let's go, go, go!"
"I know," Qi Huan chuckled, perfunctorily answering before focusing on the path ahead.
After passing through a long underground passage and arriving at the house where supplies were stored, she repurchased a large amount of greenhouse film, hot pot base, and other necessary items.
As the points decreased, the system gradually fell silent.
Qi Huan comforted it with a few words: "Every point spent today is for more points in the future! System, you need to broaden your perspective!"
"...Kicking over the host's chicken soup, this system wants some quiet time."
Theory is one thing, but actually seeing the points decrease is another matter entirely!
Moreover, ...why does only the host have the authority to block the system, and not the other way around?
The host walked along the passage to Prince An's mansion, humming a cheerful tune, in stark contrast to the system's pain of losing its beloved points.
Qi Huan climbed out of a dry well and waited for Xiu Yuan to go call Li Shuchen.
