Divorce with three kids? I'll build a house and eat meat, driving my in-laws crazy.

Chapter 265 Digging from the Sky
Thinking of this, Fang Xingzhi made a tough decision and squatted down, trying his best to relieve himself without making a sound.

He quickly wrapped himself up like a mummy again and slowly walked out.

"Aru, come and help me up."

Li Ruru glanced at it, instinctively took two steps back, and pointed to the basin of water next to her, saying, "Wash your hands."

Who knows where his hands touched?

No, we can't think that way.

Li Ruru tapped her head in frustration, thinking to herself, "What am I thinking, you stubborn fool?"

Suddenly noticing that Fang Xingzhi had only washed a few fingers, she immediately stepped forward and pressed his hand into the basin of water.

He said fiercely, "Wash yourself properly."

Fang Xingzhi secretly looked at her and asked gently, "Aru, are you only this mean to me?"

Apart from the Chen family, Aru seems to be very gentle to everyone and rarely acts so fiercely.

Li Ruru remained silent, only holding his hand and scrubbing it.

I washed it with soap, rinsed it twice with water, and then dried it with a cotton towel.

He then said, "Remember, next time you use the outhouse, wash your hands like this, understand?"

"Okay, I got it." Fang Xingzhi agreed with a smile. It felt really good to be managed like this.

He had only taken two steps when he suddenly stopped and cried, "Aru, my legs hurt, please help me."

Li Ruru looked astonished: Big brother, you clearly injured your back.

Fang Xingzhi explained unhurriedly, "Perhaps it's because the nerves in my back are connected to my legs; it hurts a lot now."

"I just can't do anything with you!" Li Ruru said, but her body moved with practiced ease to support him, as if afraid he would fall.

The two slowly returned to Fang Xingzhi's room, where Li Ruru helped him make his bed.

Seeing that he had somehow reapplied his beard, he teased, "Oh, are you planning to keep up the act? You're not planning to tell anyone else?"

Fang Xingzhi habitually stroked his beard: "I'll find an opportunity to tell them another day."

This is a big deal; it concerns the children's opinion of his character, so we need to discuss it carefully.

"Fine, whatever you want!" Li Ruru yawned and was about to leave.

Turning her head, she saw that Fang Xingzhi's gauze was wrapped in a messy and crooked way, so she reached out to help him fix it.

Fang Xingzhi was startled when he saw that Li Ruru was about to attack him.

With a roguish grin, he said, "What, does this mean you're agreeing to my proposal? This haste isn't very polite."

Li Ruru pretended not to hear; she was an independent woman who grew up under the red flag in the 21st century.

Who cares about etiquette? It's just a shackle that binds honest people.

Besides, she didn't intend to do anything; she just wanted to help him re-bandage.

Seeing that Li Ruru was about to lift his clothes, Fang Xingzhi hurriedly said, "No, no, no, we can't do this before we're married. It's not good for your reputation."

"What are you thinking about?" Li Ruru patted his forehead. "You old rascal."

Fang Xingzhi was slapped, but instead of getting angry, he smiled and corrected, "I'm not old."

He's not old at all, he's still doing great.

As soon as Li Ruru left, Fang Xingzhi lay down on the bed and fell asleep while still dressed as a mummy.

The night was both long and short. Chu Yu had one nightmare after another, sometimes being chased by people, sometimes encountering a giant tiger.

I woke up early this morning with dark circles under my eyes.

Shen Kuo drove the carriage alone, dressed in a short blue shirt, looking capable and light.

He dismounted and said to the Chu father and son kneeling on the ground, "Get up, both of you."

Chu Yingtian led the way with great enthusiasm, while Chu Yu was so sleepy that he almost tripped and fell.

Shen Kuo met his large, dark circles under his eyes and smiled, saying, "Young people should take care of their health and not overindulge in sex."

Chu Yu was so embarrassed that he wanted to disappear into a crack in the ground.

"Reporting to Lord Shen, I didn't sleep well last night." Is Nie Tianlei's mouth poisonous? How come everything he says comes true?

The way Chu Yu gritted her teeth and tried to defend herself seemed like a blatant attempt to cover up her mistake to Shen Kuo.

"Lord Shen, this way please." Chu Yingtian bowed and pushed open the door to a small room.

There were several workers inside, and many buckets and large basins were also placed there.

The maltose candies were scattered around, and they actually looked quite convincing.

Shen Kuo walked in and took a look around, then casually asked, "How much maltose can you make in a day?"

Chu Yingtian had already prepared his answer: "Reporting to Your Excellency, there were about a dozen barrels, but we didn't dare to make more because of the hot weather."

“Sugar won’t spoil, and if you’re worried about it melting, you can buy ice,” Shen Kuo said.

“My lord, you may not know this, but we are just a small business.” Madam Xue walked over with a swaying gait.

Chu Yingtian hurriedly said, "My lord, this is... my wife."

"Oh? Didn't you two get divorced? What, even a good horse will turn back to eat the grass it grazed?" Shen Kuo asked leisurely.

He had already inquired about Chu Yingtian's family situation; the Xue woman in front of him had recently been divorced by Master Bai.

He looked at Chu Yingtian with pity and said, "You still want this woman!"
Brother, I really admire you!

Madam Xue curtsied and said, "Lord Shen, ice is too expensive for us to afford, so we make a little bit every day and sell it."

This sounded reasonable, but Shen Kuo didn't care.

He called over a worker who was busy doing nothing and asked, "How long have you been working here?"

The man trembled with nervousness: "Reporting to Lord Shen, I...I've been doing this for several months."

Upon hearing this, Madam Xue nearly collapsed; this was not the standard answer she had taught.

"How much does your maltose cost per pound?" Shen Kuo continued to ask.

“Our small business doesn’t make money, so… we sell…” The man’s eyes darted around, staring at Chu Xiu.

Chu Xiu yawned sleepily and held up five fingers.

"5 coins a pound!"

"Oh, that's quite cheap." Shen Kuo said, his hands behind his back, his face expressionless.

He then asked Chu Yingtian, "How did you develop maltose and konjac tofu?"

Chu Yingtian had anticipated this problem. "My son saw it in a book by chance. He only wanted to give it a try, but it actually worked."

Chu Yu, slumped over with exhaustion, nodded repeatedly.

Shen Kuo then followed the group to visit their family's konjac tofu workshop, and everything looked very authentic.

This family put in quite a bit of effort to fake it.

He casually strolled around and asked a woman who was busy at work, "Where do you get this konjac from?"

This question was somewhat beyond the scope of Chu Yingtian's scope and was not part of his plan.

Madam Xue pointed to the mountain behind the house, and the woman understood and said, "It was dug from the sky."

"Huh?" Shen Kuo almost burst out laughing. "Dug it from the sky! You guys are really amazing! Can you tell me how you got up there?"

The woman realized she had said the wrong thing and quickly knelt down and kowtowed to beg for forgiveness.

Madam Xue smiled and said, "Lord Shen, she's just a village woman using vulgar language. Of course, this konjac was dug up from the mountain."

Shen Kuo looked around again. "Why don't I see any konjac grinders here?"

Chu Yingtian and Xue Shi had no idea that konjac needed to be ground; was it really that complicated?
Seeing that her parents were stumped by the question, Chu Yu pinched her thigh hard, almost crying from the pain before she regained some composure.

"We hire people to grind them and then deliver them."

"Oh," Shen Kuo responded, seemingly without suspicion.

After wandering around for a while, he touched his belly and said to Chu Yingtian, "It's almost noon, why don't you let your wife show us her skills today?"

"Yes, sir, what would you like to eat?" Chu Yingtian readily agreed. Madam Xue couldn't cook, but that didn't matter; he would have the servants prepare it and have her bring it over.

Shen Kuo waved his hand and said, "Let's make konjac tofu in the yard. I'd like to see how it's made."