“Yes,” Jiang Ji nodded openly.

Jiang Nan patted his brother’s shoulder like a little adult, comforting him. “You’ll see him again next year.”

Jiang Ji rubbed his head and smiled again. “Right, next year.”

After twelve days of travel, they returned to their familiar home. By now, it was already November.

On the country road outside the village, the villagers saw a convoy approaching from afar, with guards accompanying it.

“Is that Jiang Ji and the others coming back?”

“What Jiang Ji? You should call him Duke!”

“Right, right, Duke! Is it them?”

The village head squinted into the distance and thought he recognized Lu Jiu at the front.

“It’s them! Everyone, come with me to welcome the Duke home!”

He shouted, tossed aside his hoe, and ran toward the road. The other villagers followed, rushing to the roadside. As the convoy drew near, they all dropped to their knees.

“Welcome home, Duke!”

Their voices rang out loudly.

Lu Jiu froze for a moment. Jiang Ji and the others, hearing the noise, leaned out to look, and when they saw the villagers kneeling in unison, they were stunned.

“Stop the carriage.”

The driver immediately pulled the reins.

Jiang Ji jumped down and ran over. “Village Head, Uncle Tugen, what are you doing? Get up, get up!”

The village head and the others stood, grinning. “You’ve become a Duke now. We can’t neglect proper etiquette. We had to kneel to welcome you.”

“No need for all this formality. Just treat me like before,” Jiang Ji said with a smile. He glanced at the fields. “I’ve been gone for over two months. How’s everything in the village? Have the sweet potatoes, corn, and potatoes been harvested?”

“They have, they have,” the village head said cheerfully. “Just like you instructed, we dried off the moisture and stored them in the cellars. The corn’s all been dried too. The rice harvest is done as well. We raised ducks in the fields, and each mu yielded over five hundred jin.”

“That’s great. Sounds like things went well,” Jiang Ji said happily. “Soon, the court will send people from other regions to purchase seeds, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn. Make sure the rice is processed with winnowing machines to remove the empty grains. Everyone should be prepared.”

“Yes, Prefect Xu already issued orders. During harvest, we cleaned out the empty grains as instructed.”

“Good. Village Head, uncles, we’ve been traveling for over ten days. We’ll head back to rest first. Another day, we’ll host tea and snacks. Come by then.”

“Alright, alright, go get some rest.”

The villagers stepped aside, smiling as they watched them return, clearly overjoyed.

Jiang Ji and the others didn’t get back into the carriage. They walked home instead.

By evening, school had let out. Read the full chapter at HololoNovels.com. Jiang Nan spotted Dazhu under the big tree and immediately ran over, shouting, “Dazhu, we’re back! We brought you something really fun, it’s called a diabolo!”

Dazhu asked excitedly, “What’s that?”

“It’s something you spin on a string and can toss into the air! Come back with us, I’ll teach you how to play.”

“Okay!” Dazhu said, then asked curiously, “Is the capital fun?”

“It is! So many people, and it’s huge. You can’t even finish exploring it in a day.”

Jiang Ji watched Jiang Nan, Jiang Bei, and Dazhu ahead, then glanced at the fields and villagers on both sides. He felt a quiet sense of emotion.

The capital was wonderful, prosperous, and convenient. But returning to this familiar land, he felt his whole body relax.

A completely different kind of peace.

When they reached home, Lu Shun and the others, having heard of their return, came out to greet them.

“Duke, you’re back.”

“Young Master, Madam, Miss, Young Masters!”

Jiang Ji smiled. “We’re back!”

They were ushered inside amid cheerful chatter.

Seeing so many people returning together, Sister Guihua laughed and hurried toward the kitchen. “I’ll go cook more food right away!”

Han Qingshan, who hadn’t seen his daughter in quite some time, had returned with Yu Yang. Seeing this, he said, “We’ll help too.”

“Good, good, put your things down and come over,” Sister Guihua replied.

Xiang’er ran into Han Qingshan’s arms. “Father! Brother Yu Yang!”

“Ah!” Han Qingshan hugged her and patted her head. “Feels like my girl has grown taller again.”

Xiang’er giggled. “Not that fast.”

Everyone laughed. Xiang’er quickly went to help Jiang Xia with her luggage. “Miss, I’ll carry this.”

Jiang Xia handed her a lighter bundle. “Then take this one.”

Everyone returned to their rooms to freshen up. Lu Jiu and Lu Wen arranged accommodations and duty rotations for the guards.

Jiang Ji went back to the east wing. Just as he set down his luggage, Lu Shun entered carrying a teapot and cups.

After pouring him tea, Lu Shun reported, “Duke, all the cotton has been harvested. About thirty percent has already been processed and stored after drying. The rice, sweet potatoes, corn, and potatoes have all been harvested as well. The sweet potatoes and potatoes are stored in the cellar, the corn is hung to dry, and the rice has been placed in storage.”

Jiang Ji drank two cups of tea. “Good. You’ve worked hard these past few months. Luckily you were here.”

Lu Shun smiled. “It wasn’t hard. I actually learned a lot.”

Jiang Ji smiled, then pulled a letter from his sleeve and handed it over. “Oh right, the regent sent you a letter.”

Lu Shun quickly took it and read it.

After he finished, Jiang Ji said, “The regent said you should come work for me from now on. Are you willing?”

Lu Shun bowed. “I am willing. I will follow the Duke’s instructions.”

Jiang Ji nodded. “Then from now on, you’ll be the steward of the Duke’s residence.”

Lu Shun looked up in surprise. “Duke, I’m only twenty-two. Aren’t you worried I’m too young?”

“Not at all. I’m only nineteen. At the very least, you know the capital better than I do, right?” Jiang Ji said.

Lu Shun’s eyes lit up. He knelt and kowtowed. “Lu Shun greets the Duke.”

“Get up,” Jiang Ji said, helping him to his feet. “While there’s still some daylight, let’s go take a look at the cotton warehouse.”

“Yes.” Lu Shun always carried the keys with him. “This way, Duke.”

“Call me young master like the others,” Jiang Ji said. “It sounds closer.”

“Alright. Inside the residence, I’ll call you young master,” Lu Shun said. “Outside, I’ll still address you as Duke.”

“Fine, suit yourself.”

Jiang Ji went with Lu Shun to inspect the cotton warehouses. Read the full chapter at HololoNovels.com. There were two, one storing raw cotton, the other storing cotton that had already been cleaned of husks and seeds.

Jiang Ji opened a few sacks to check. The quality was quite good. The processed cotton had already been sorted into three grades: high, medium, and low.

“Not bad.”

At the side, Lu Shun reported the figures, how many jin of cotton had been collected, how much money had been spent, how many workers were hired and what wages were paid. He also went over all household expenses for the past two months, how much rice had been harvested, how many jin of sweet potatoes and potatoes were stored in the cellar, and how much corn there was. Without even referring to an account book, he recited everything clearly, item by item.

Jiang Ji patted his shoulder, pleased and impressed. “You really are cut out to be a steward.”

Lu Shun smiled. “Thank you for the praise, young master.”

That night, the whole family gathered again to celebrate Jiang Ji’s return.

After dinner and a bath, Jiang Ji sat at his desk and began writing a letter to Lu Huaizhou. Using a fountain pen, he filled five full sheets of paper, detailing everything happening at home. At the end, he wrote plainly about how much he missed him, then folded the letter and placed it into an envelope, planning to have it sent from town the next day.

The following day, he retrieved the indenture contracts of Han Qingshan, Yu Yang, and Xiang’er, and brought them to the county office to complete the formalities, releasing them from servitude.

According to Yu Yang’s wishes, he was registered under Han Qingshan’s household and became his legal adopted son.

When they received their household registration documents, the three of them knelt before Jiang Ji in gratitude.

“Thank you, young master.”

Jiang Ji smiled. “Get up. You’re all free citizens now. You can stay a few more days before setting out. When the time comes, have Doctor Yang and two guards from the Lu residence accompany you to the capital. The funds for opening the shop are with the regent. Just tell him, and he’ll give them to you.”

“Yes,” Han Qingshan replied with a bow.

After settling their matters, Jiang Ji spent the next few days preparing for the opening of the textile workshop. He checked the assembled machines in the tool shed and had them moved into the factory. Read the full chapter at HololoNovels.com. He personally went to town to purchase dyes, long tables of various sizes, dye vats, bamboo poles for drying, and other necessary items. Once everything was ready, he went to the county office to complete the official registration, registering the textile workshop under Jiang Xia’s name.

He then had Lu Shun draft recruitment notices. With a decisive wave of his hand, Jiang Ji said,

“Inform the village heads in nearby areas. Our textile workshop is now hiring. Anyone interested can come apply and be interviewed.”

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