I have the best bloodline

The sugarcane juice was placed on the square table, and wisps of steam, along with the aroma of fructose, wafted through the air.

"Ha~"

Su Yan picked up the sugarcane juice and drank half of it in one gulp. With a satisfied expression, he fed the rest of the sugarcane juice to the other little foxes.

These little foxes are real heroes. Su Yan has been able to travel freely in the countryside recently thanks to them, allowing him and Zhou You to move around without any obstacles in the city or the countryside. If anyone dares to stop or drive him away, Su Yan can simply throw a dozen foxes directly into the homes of the villagers.

A whole bunch of foxes ran into the landlord's house, and the landlord's entire family was so scared they almost peed their pants.

Unlike Su Yan, the landlords didn't know how to communicate with foxes in their language or understand their health. Fearing the foxes might die suddenly in their homes, the landlords quickly agreed to Su Yan and Zhou You's visit, hoping they would soon stop the foxes' unpredictable flying antics.

The landlord was very open and honest, even revealing how many chickens he had given to the tenant farmers.

Su Yan didn't know about other regions, but after visiting the flower-growing area these past few days, he observed that the relationship between the landlords who owned vast amounts of land and their tenant farmers was a rather primitive cooperative one. The landlords rented their land to the tenant farmers to manage, and after deducting the taxes collected by the Red King, the landlords took the lion's share, while the tenant farmers took a smaller share.

The most common division is 70/30, but some extremely hardworking tenant farmers can even get 60/40.

If the share of profits is too low, the tenants will complain. They'll say, "It doesn't matter whose land we cultivate next year, so who do you think you are?"

If you just sit there and take the lion's share, and utter a single word of complaint, your farmer grandfather will object!

The northern part of the flower area has more grain crops, but the southern part is dominated by various fruits and flowers. Some safe areas near the Red Prince's Mansion grow high-value products, such as artificial spiritual plants and livestock and demon beasts. The manure of the livestock can be composted to nourish the spiritual plants.

The flower city where Su Yan resides is located in the southernmost part of the city. Its main crops are vegetables, fruits, and flowers, as well as some artificial spiritual plant cultivation crops controlled by clan forces.

After several days of visits and on-site investigations, Su Yan had some ideas, though not entirely mature, regarding ways to improve the financial situation of Flower City.

First of all, as the magistrate of the flower county, the biggest resource I can use is: sugar!

The sugarcane fields here are measured in tens of thousands of acres. Apart from a portion used for sale, the vast majority is processed into rock sugar, granulated sugar, or icing sugar and sold to caravans.

In the Xia Dynasty, sugar was priced similarly to salt, both being high-profit businesses.

However, these existing things cannot be considered as his own financial achievements. Therefore, Su Yan plans to increase the value of sugar through deep processing, opening up a brand new track for the revenue of Flower City.

Things like various exquisite pastries, jams, and canned fruits that can be mass-produced.

Hmm. There are fig trees here too. We can collect some resin to make chewing gum, to replace the clove gum that the people of Xia Yu commonly used to get rid of bad breath. While clove gum is excellent at eliminating bad breath, the taste is comparable to chewing raw pepper—a very irritating experience.

These are all ideas that Su Yan has come up with to increase the value of sugars after visiting and observing local crops in recent days.

Just like the white flour from his previous life, Su Yan roughly knew how to make high-, medium-, and low-gluten flour by mixing wheat flour and corn starch. Knowing the recipe, Su Yan had plenty of time to have people slowly adjust it.

Su Yan wasn't worried about failing to generate revenue. After all, the losses from the failure would fall on the shoulders of the Flower and Plant Administration. All he needed to do now was to think boldly, take the official seal of the Flower and Plant County Magistrate, and go to the merchants to borrow goods on credit.

The mess he made was filled by the Red King. After clarifying the logical sequence, Su Yan's fox-like courage swelled into dragon-like courage.

If you're bold enough, the Red King can give you maternity leave!

"Brother Zhou, didn't I recently win an award? You said you'd use my name to advertise our crops, and with Princess Wuxi promoting our products, what do you think of that?"

Su Yan turned his back to Zhou You to observe the farmland irrigation system, gradually refining his plan for generating revenue in his mind. Then, as if he had thought of something, he turned around and asked the old man Xia Yu if his identity was a good opportunity.

As the most handsome and distinctive fox among all the foxes in Xia Yu's Ten Thousand Foxes this year, I should have some reputation to promote my own candy products, right?

"At that time, we will label our products with the certifications of Emperor Wusheng and the First Handsome Fox of Xia Yu."

"Um"

After pondering for a while, Zhou You thought of a white paper pasted on a bundle of sugarcane, with a drawing of Su Yan making a thumbs-up gesture with his real body. His brows twitched slightly as he said, "It's not that it's impossible to do it, but your reputation will only circulate among the upper echelons of Xia Yu. I don't think any lady would go to the market to buy vegetables, would she?"

“If we put up a picture of you and sell it for a few extra taels, those thrifty women won’t buy it.”

What Su Yan said did have potential, so Zhou You did not question Su Yan's statement. The first place winner of the fox tasting event would indeed create a sensation in Xia Yu.

But we don't have any products to sell! Even if we put your name on agricultural products, they won't fetch a good price!

"Who said there are no products? I've actually been thinking about this for the past few days. Think about it, Xia Yu Logistics uses storage rings for all their transport, and I..."

Su Yan looked at Zhou You with a beaming smile, about to tell him her idea, but just then, a loud shout came from afar:

"Boss, something terrible has happened! This is awful!"

A constable came running from afar, shouting some unpleasant words.

"What? Your boss is having problems again? Your boss is sitting here perfectly fine, drinking sugarcane juice." Su Yan rolled her eyes at the person who came in and said, "What's wrong?"

"Invitation. The Hua family is hosting a banquet for families from the city tonight. The Hua family's servants just delivered an invitation to our government office as well, inviting us to join them for the banquet tonight."

The constable was panting heavily from running, but he still explained his purpose very concisely: "So Boss Jun specifically sent me to the fields to find you and go back."

"The invitations were just sent today, and we're having a banquet tonight?" Su Yan asked the yamen runner.

"Yes! Boss, hurry up! Time is of the essence."

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 171 Who wouldn't be suspicious of a fox like this?

"What's the Hua family doing with nothing better to do? If they don't want to invite you, they shouldn't have invited you at all. Why send out invitations on the day of the banquet!"

Su Yan repeatedly questioned the yamen runners and was very certain that the Hua family was hosting a banquet that night. It was almost afternoon before he delivered the banquet invitation to the Hua family government office and handed it to the yamen runners. Princess Luanming frowned as she looked at the invitation the whole time and told the yamen runners to go find Su Yan and Zhou You and bring them back.

This is extremely impolite and offensive. Regardless of whether it is the custom in the southern or central states, the host family needs to send the invitations to the guests' homes three to five days in advance. For those who live far away, they may need to notify them a month or several months in advance.

Being notified to attend a banquet at the last minute usually carries a sense of intimidation or humiliation.

We have no grudges or enemies from the past, so who are you trying to impress with this show of authority?

"The Hua family might have misunderstood something?" Zhou You thought for a moment and said with a smile, "These past few days, we've been betting and winning money at the gambling den in the mornings, and then causing trouble at the landlord's house in the afternoons. The fact that we've replaced the county magistrate of the Hua family's office has probably already spread."

"The Hua family probably thinks that we new officials want to challenge their authority after taking office, so they deliberately set us up."

Even though local officials have the backing of the imperial court after taking office, it doesn't mean they don't need to get in touch with local powers. Otherwise, it would be very difficult for some new officials with little experience to implement any new policies or actions in the local area.

These are all unspoken rules, but Su Yan is not a county magistrate, and Grand Tutor Jin strictly forbids students from revealing their identities in Xia Yu City. Therefore, everyone has been ignoring the local bullies.

Su Yan and his group visited the local tyrants, but besides exhausting their initial investment, they couldn't get any help from them after just one or two casual conversations. Instead, they had to spend money to buy gifts, which was a huge loss.

“We still need to attend the banquet. The banquet hosted by the Hua family might be a mobilization meeting before the Spring Festival. Let’s go to the banquet venue and take a look!” Zhou You said.

"Regarding the invitation, they really didn't do a good job. It's just a custom for a new official to visit upon taking office, not a strict rule. If the Hua family makes any sarcastic remarks after we arrive, then Brother Su, it will be your turn to shine."

Although the fox was small, when it came to sharp tongues, Zhou You was completely subservient to Su Yan.

He hadn't forgotten how Su Yan had scolded him for having venereal disease on their first meeting at the brothel, and Zhou You still remembered Su Yan's complaints about him having bacteria.

The next day, when they tried to reclaim the venue, Su Yan scolded them again with a string of complaints.

"Me? What can I possibly do? You're not planning to betray your friend for personal gain, are you?"

Su Yan stared at Zhou You suspiciously and asked.

.....................

"Waaaaah"

Su Yan was dressed in a white robe with blue cuffs. Although he was young, he exuded a unique temperament. When he entered the city, the foxes around him were in their early twenties. But when he arrived on the streets of Flower City, the number of foxes had doubled. The female foxes around him made soft moaning sounds, and the foxes on the outer perimeter stood tall and proud as if guards, clearing the way for him.

Along the way, passersby, seeing Su Yan's impressive entourage, all gave way and climbed over walls and rooftops. When passing brothels and bars, his beauty attracted the attention of talented young women who repeatedly recited poems, hoping to invite the noble young man to dance with them.

"."

Zhou You and the constables walked behind Su Yan. Zhou You saw Su Yan walking again, and suddenly some background figures and green leaves that set off the flowers appeared out of thin air around him. It was just a very normal leisurely stroll, but it was as if a beautiful painting was slowly unfolding before him.

Zhou You rubbed her eyes, the previous painting-like filter completely gone: "...It's toxic."

"What's poisonous?"

Su Yan turned around, puzzled, holding a little female fox who was starting to get confused.

"without"

Zhou You shook his head and replied.

Perhaps it was the fox clan's breeding season. Although Brother Su, as a fox demon, was unaffected, a strange atmosphere, unlike anything he had ever seen before, emanated from him.

"Since Brother Zhou is free, I'd like to trouble you to help me find some food for these little guys. I'll go back to my dorm to change my clothes first."

Before they knew it, they had returned to the gate of the Flower Bureau. Su Yan asked Zhou You to give the young heroes extra chicken legs, and then walked towards the courtyard of the bureau to go back to his room to change his clothes.

As I passed by the courtyard, I saw an unnamed member of the royal family sitting in the pavilion, studying medical books.

The nameless woman had changed her clothes drastically. She was no longer dressed as a typical royal nameless woman. Instead, she wore a ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and a reflective piece on her chest made Su Yan feel like she was radiant. However, the nameless woman still wore a bamboo hat on her head, with black gauze hanging from the edge of the round hat all the way down to her shoulders, preventing others from seeing her face.

Good afternoon, Anonymous!

Su Yan raised her hand in greeting, but didn't get too close to the nameless woman. She seemed to be like Xiao Bai, a kind of Fu Rui fanatic among the Xia Yu people. Before, when Su Yan was lying on the lawn sunbathing, she picked her up, said something about giving her a physical examination, and asked her to open her mouth while she poked around in her mouth with a bamboo stick.

From time to time, it would make strange noises, and from then on, Su Yan kept his distance from the nameless person.

Good afternoon, Young Master Su.

The nameless man in the pavilion nodded and said, "The pills you asked me to refine are all on the table in the accounting office. There are eighty-two Qi Gathering Pills and one hundred and twenty-six Bone Forging Pills. I currently have three catties of spirit stones left."

The nameless woman did not participate in the financial planning, but as the Imperial Physician, she was also contributing. Su Yan gave her the spirit stones he won from the gambling house, and the nameless woman went outside to purchase artificial spirit plants to use for refining pills, increasing the value of the herbs more than tenfold. This also temporarily alleviated the urgent need for pills during everyone's daily cultivation.

If the two hundred pills were not consumed, but instead sold, a large sum of cash could be raised instantly. In addition, the nameless doctor's medical skills were indeed remarkable, and he had already begun to rob patients in some clinics in Flower City to make money.

Aside from having some strange quirks, the anonymous person was actually a pretty good accomplice.

"Thank you for your help. I just came back from the fields and I'm going to take a shower and change now. See you later."

After Su Yan finished speaking, he turned around and continued walking inside. He pushed open the door to his dormitory. The originally dirty brick floor had now been covered with a new carpet. The renovation style was exactly like that of Princess Wuxi's house, ensuring that he wouldn't get his feet dirty when he stepped on the ground after revealing his true form.

"Well"

Su Yan took off the Winter Insect Robe and shoes, revealing her true form as a white fox. She jumped onto the carpet, flipped over, turned her fair belly up, and stretched out a long yawn, even spreading out the toes on her hind legs.

Without the care of his aunt and wives, and constantly coming to the Flower City, he had countless expenses. Not only did he need money, but his companions also needed spirit stones.

Su Yan, the anonymous person, and Zhou You have been busy with spirit stones and investigations for the past few days.

Besides sorting out the accounts of the Flower Bureau, Princess Luanming and Feng Shiqi also dealt with various merchants in the city to obtain low-priced supplies. The low-priced artificial spiritual plants from the nameless man were obtained by the two of them through their constant visits to various merchants and traveling merchants at prices above the official price.

That means we bought it at close to cost price, and everyone is busy doing their own job.

"Clang!"

Just as Su Yan was stretching, a long sword, as sharp as a hairpin, shot out from the bed and hovered in front of Su Yan with a resounding clang. The red vertical pupil on the hilt stared at Su Yan, revealing a slight look of pleasure.

……

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The description of Zhou You in this chapter is actually foreshadowing, related to the appearance of the female character later, and not anything else strange.