Chapter 245: Chapter 147: Slipping In Secretly

Inside the Zhao Mansion, after the banquet, the guests began to bid farewell, either heading home or attending to their own business.

Gu Gaoxu and Gu Ziye, however, were not leaving. They were going to stay at the Zhao Mansion.

Lu Yuan had insisted that since they were in Taiping City, there was no way he would let Gu Gaoxu and Gu Ziye stay at an inn.

No matter how comfortable an inn might be, it couldn’t possibly compare to the accommodations at the Zhao Mansion!

The Zhao Mansion had plenty of rooms, so after clearing out a few guest chambers, Gu Gaoxu and Gu Ziye were settled in.

Once the guests had dispersed, the Zhao family servants began clearing the leftovers from the tables.

Song Meiqin and Zhao Qiao’Er supported Lu Yuan on either side, ready to take him back to his room to rest.

They told Su Liyan to take her mother back to her room first; they would be the ones to look after Lu Yuan.

For the past two months, Su Liyan had been taking care of all of Lu Yuan’s daily needs. It was about time the other two women had their turn.

Having had some light wine, Lu Yuan wasn’t actually drunk.

The wine here was either fruit wine, flower wine, or rice wine—none of which were particularly intoxicating.

Only wealthy families drank fruit and flower wines.

Common folk drank homemade fermented rice wine. This was made by mixing steamed glutinous rice, a yeast starter, and clear water, then making a "dimple" in the center of the rice mixture, sealing it, and letting it ferment for about three days.

Lu Yuan had grown accustomed to these kinds of drinks.

Still, they weren’t as good as Maotai. If he had the time, Lu Yuan could brew his own.

The most important part of brewing your own alcohol was proper sterilization. You wouldn’t want your homemade brew to poison your people instead of getting them drunk.

After being helped back to his room by the two women, Lu Yuan feigned drunkenness.

What else could he do?

He was facing two women who were eyeing him like tigers.

He couldn’t just get pinned down by them the moment he walked in the door, could he?

Zhao Qiao’Er and Song Meiqin saw right through his little act.

Although Zhao Qiao’Er and Song Meiqin hadn’t experienced such things themselves, they had seen enough of the world to know what was what.

On any given day, they could overhear the neighbors chattering away, sharing all sorts of household gossip.

Seeing Lu Yuan "pass out" on the bed, the two women exchanged a look.

Zhao Qiao’Er’s not-so-small hand shot out, grabbing a handful of flesh on Lu Yuan’s side and giving it a sharp twist.

Lu Yuan thought to himself, ’Why does everyone like pinching me now?’

Song Meiqin took off Lu Yuan’s shoes and started tickling the soles of his feet.

Lu Yuan couldn’t hold back any longer and burst out laughing. He sat up and pulled both women into his arms, one in each hand.

Looking at his two women, Lu Yuan’s heart swelled with delight.

Lu Yuan said, "I’m so tired. Let’s rest today, just rest..."

"Hmph! After waiting so long for our precious sweetheart to come back, all you know is ’rest’!" Zhao Qiao’Er said, displeased. "If it weren’t inconvenient for me right now, I’d see to it you didn’t get a day’s rest!"

Lu Yuan felt helpless. This Aunt Zhao of his was nearly 1.9 meters tall. If she got serious, he’d really have to use every trick in the book to subdue her.

Song Meiqin, ever the reasonable one, didn’t press the issue. She said to Lu Yuan, "Then you should get a good rest today. Tomorrow, let’s go check on the factory we started."

"Oh, right. We should go take a look," Lu Yuan replied quickly.

The two women each planted a loud kiss on one of Lu Yuan’s cheeks. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Leaving a faint teeth mark on his face...

Song Meiqin pulled Zhao Qiao’Er toward the door, saying, "Come on, sister. Let’s go. Our man just got back, let him rest for a bit. We’ve missed him, but it’s not like he’s going anywhere."

The two women let Lu Yuan off the hook for now, exiting the room and closing the door.

Lu Yuan lay down and stared at the ceiling, taking a deep breath. ’Nothing beats your own bed.’

’I’ll just sleep. Skip dinner. Just get a good night’s sleep tonight.’

’Tomorrow, I’ll swing by the factory, check on the vegetable garden, take a look at the mine, handle some official business at the Government Office...’

’I just got back, and there’s so much to do!’

Lu Yuan spent half the afternoon in his room, studying the various books the system had given him, then slept for the rest of it.

Sometimes, when a person is overworked, they’ll get drowsy just from looking at a book.

After dinner time passed, Lu Yuan still hadn’t come out to eat.

After everyone else finished dinner, Song Meiqin helped Su Liyan into their room. They had already agreed to sleep in the same room tonight.

With summer approaching, Zhao Qiao’Er claimed she was afraid of the heat and wanted to sleep in a bed by herself, saying it would be cooler.

Thus, Zhao Qiao’Er had rejected the idea of the three women sharing a bed.

During dinner, Lu Yuan didn’t feel like getting out of bed.

He hadn’t slept in such a comfortable bed in a long time. Just lying there felt good enough.

In the middle of the night, Lu Yuan woke up. Having napped all afternoon, he now found himself wide awake.

Lu Yuan lay naked on the bed, without any covers.

The weather had warmed up, so there was no need for a blanket at night.

Unable to sleep and not knowing what to do, he just stared blankly at the ceiling.

The Spirit Stone Lamp in the room flickered with a faint light, just bright enough to make out the arrangement of the various objects inside.

Just then, the door to Lu Yuan’s room let out a CREAK.

Lu Yuan knew someone had come.

He knew exactly who would be entering at this hour, but he didn’t make a sound or move.

’I wonder what she’s planning to do?’ Lu Yuan thought. ’I’ll just pretend to be asleep and see how she acts.’

The person who entered was none other than the true mistress of the Zhao Mansion—Zhao Qiao’Er.

Zhao Qiao’Er entered stealthily, her belly protruding.

It turned out that Zhao Qiao’Er couldn’t sleep and had no one to talk to.

No one knew if Zhao Qiao’Er truly wanted to sleep alone for the coolness or if she had other ideas in mind.

She had nowhere else to go, so she came to Lu Yuan’s room.

Seeing Lu Yuan asleep, Zhao Qiao’Er very carefully sat down on the bed.

As she sat, Lu Yuan could clearly feel the mattress dip.

It was her weight pressing it down.

This was a proper bed, not a heated brick kang. Now that it was summer, Lu Yuan had no need to sleep on a kang anymore.

The Zhao Mansion was huge and had plenty of rooms. He could sleep on a warm kang in the winter and find a cooler room for the summer.

Zhao Qiao’Er lay down beside Lu Yuan without moving.

Her bulging belly did indeed make things a bit inconvenient for her.

If this were before, Zhao Qiao’Er would have definitely pressed herself tightly against him.

One hand would be resting on his chest, one leg bent and draped over his body.

Lu Yuan was wide awake. He knew what Zhao Qiao’Er was thinking, and he knew what she wanted.

Lu Yuan pretended to be asleep and rolled over, his "paws" landing right on Zhao Qiao’Er’s body.

Zhao Qiao’Er was startled by his sudden movement.

She thought her precious sweetheart had woken up, but when she turned to look, she saw Lu Yuan was sound asleep and snoring softly.

"Hmph, my precious sweetheart. Even in his sleep, he won’t let himself lose out."

Zhao Qiao’Er pouted, thinking this to herself.

Lu Yuan couldn’t keep up the act any longer. Suppressing the grin on his face was as hard as controlling the kick of an AK Rifle.

Zhao Qiao’Er felt the unsteadiness in Lu Yuan’s breathing and seemed to realize something.

"Hehe, Miss Zhao, your precious sweetheart isn’t asleep," Lu Yuan suddenly said, his hands clenching and unclenching.

Lu Yuan’s voice made Zhao Qiao’Er’s body tremble in surprise.

"You’re so bad, precious sweetheart! Pretending to be asleep!"

Zhao Qiao’Er said, lightly slapping Lu Yuan’s hand.

Lu Yuan’s room was still some distance away from everyone else’s.

The only room relatively close was the one Gu Ziye was in.

Zhao Qiao’Er hadn’t seen Lu Yuan in two months.

She was like parched earth, cracked and dry, in desperate need of a hearty, drenching rain.

SPLASH... SPLASH...

It was a night of thunder and rain for the two of them.

And it went on for the entire night.

Lu Yuan rubbed his eyes and said to Zhao Qiao’Er, "It’s already light out. Get dressed and let’s go eat. I have to go out and about today."

Zhao Qiao’Er had finally gotten her fill of her precious sweetheart’s "meat."

Completely satisfied, a very docile Zhao Qiao’Er picked up her clothes from the bedside and put them on.

Lu Yuan and Zhao Qiao’Er left the room together. This moment was witnessed not only by Gu Ziye, but also by Song Meiqin, who had come to call Lu Yuan for breakfast.

Gu Ziye shot Lu Yuan a fierce glare, expressing her displeasure at the noises that had come from his room last night.

Before Song Meiqin had even reached the pair, she called out, "Well, well, sister! I can’t believe it! You couldn’t resist sneaking into our man’s room after all."

Zhao Qiao’Er wasn’t about to admit it. She retorted, "What are you talking about? I was just waking our precious sweetheart up for breakfast, that’s all."

Song Meiqin wasn’t a three-year-old. How could she believe such a ridiculous lie?

Song Meiqin hadn’t gotten her turn yesterday, so she started bantering playfully with Zhao Qiao’Er, both of them vying jealously for Lu Yuan’s affection...

Lu Yuan stepped between the two women and said, "Easy now, easy. I’ll be sure to pay all my debts."

’Sometimes, having three or four wives is really tiring on the back, huh?’

’Honestly, if it weren’t for the few Secret Manuals the system gave me for strengthening my body, I really wouldn’t be able to handle these two women.’

’These two women are quite something. Knowing how good my constitution is, they just grab on and don’t let go.’

’But then again, am I cultivating these Secret Manuals just for physical pleasure? That doesn’t seem right, does it?’

’For now, it looks like this is how it’s going to be.’

’After a few days, once the two of them have cooled down a bit, life should get easier, right?’

Lu Yuan took one in each hand and dragged them off to eat, afraid they would start fighting for his favor right then and there.

At the dining table, Su Liyan’s mother said to Lu Yuan, "Son-in-law, I’ve been away for so long this time, I should be heading home."

"Mother, all our relatives back home have been settled with jobs, what’s the point in going back? My wife’s baby will be born in a few months. My own parents passed away early, so I’ll have to trouble you to help take care of things," Lu Yuan replied.

That was true. When Su Liyan gave birth, she would need an experienced elder to help care for her.

Her son-in-law had been extremely good to her family. Now that his own parents were gone...

Su Liyan’s mother was more than willing to take care of her own daughter. After all, besides this, there wasn’t much else she could do to help Lu Yuan.

Su Liyan’s mother said with a helpless sigh, "The few acres of wheat back home are almost ripe. Once I go back and harvest it, I’ll return. There’s still time."

Hearing this, Lu Yuan said, "That’s easy to solve. I’ll just find some people to harvest those few acres of wheat for you."

Su Liyan’s mother continued, "Good son-in-law, you’re a scholar. Naturally, you don’t understand farming."

"At this time of year, every household has their own fields and has to go home to harvest wheat. It takes more than half a month to do just a few acres. Especially with all the summer rain, everyone is incredibly busy."

Indeed, the hottest time of the year was also when everyone rushed to harvest the wheat.

The wheat was harvested by hand, stalk by stalk, and then spread out on the threshing ground.

It had to be dried and stored before it rained, otherwise it would get damp and spoil.

Lu Yuan thought about it. That was true. In his previous era, everyone used wheat harvesters.

A single machine could harvest eighty to a hundred acres of wheat in a day.

On flat, vast wheat fields, a single machine might even harvest around two hundred acres in a day.

Things were different now. Harvesting by hand alone took a very long time.

Since it was hard to hire farmhands, and he couldn’t just order the Mansion Guards to do it—they weren’t here for farm labor, after all.

Su Liyan’s mother couldn’t let Lu Yuan be put in a difficult position over this, lest it damage his reputation. So she insisted on returning to Changliu Village to do it herself.

Lu Yuan had seen a wheat harvester before. It had a rotating drum at the front, a thresher in the middle, and something to chop the straw.

For the driving mechanism, there was no need for him to create a manual transmission. He could just use Spirit Stones to convert power and make it fully automatic.

A simplified wheat harvester. It wasn’t exactly difficult, but it wasn’t easy either.

It didn’t need any fancy configurations, it didn’t need to be huge and impressive, and it didn’t need the efficiency to harvest a hundred acres a day.

Even with an efficiency of just twenty to thirty acres a day, it would be like a Divine Artifact to these people.

Lu Yuan could try to build a wheat harvester as a gift for his mother-in-law.

At the table, Lu Yuan said to Su Liyan’s mother, "After Aunt Song and I go see the factory today, I’ll help you solve this problem."