This area was previously used for growing hemp, but now cotton was the most valuable crop, so any good, wide field ridges were all used to plant cotton.

Zhao Dali fertilized the cotton plants and filled soil around their roots with a hoe before stomping his feet and leaving.

The owner of an adjacent plot also came to check on his wheat and couldn’t help feeling envious when he saw the cotton on the field ridge. “Your family was allocated so much cotton seed that you’re even planting it on the field ridges?”

Zhao Dali replied, “The soil here is fertile. When I fertilize the wheat, I can also scatter some fertilizer for them. The cotton seeds we received were the same amount as yours.”

The other person didn’t believe him and leaned in to ask quietly, “I saw that many people from your Zhao family planted a lot. Did your Seventh Great-Uncle give you the seeds?”

Zhao Dali didn’t deny it.

The other person was full of envy.

Zhao Dali then said, “We have to give Seventh Great-Uncle fifty percent of the harvested cotton.”

“That’s still profitable,” the other person said. “Cotton is expensive right now.”

Zhao Dali nodded in agreement. Yes, cotton was very expensive now. What he didn’t mention was that if Zhao Ming hadn’t spoken up, Seventh Great-Uncle had initially wanted to take seventy percent, but Zhao Ming had forcefully negotiated it down to fifty percent, matching the rent collected by the court.

“Since your family is growing cotton, are you still planting mulberry and hemp?”

Zhao Dali replied, “Of course we’re planting them. I heard that cotton is only used for filling quilts and clothing. In terms of magnificence, it can’t compare to silk and satin, and in terms of affordability for undergarments, it can’t match hemp clothing.”

His family had bought a new loom, and his wife had already learned to use it. As long as the spun thread was fine enough, the hemp cloth she wove would be finer than before, and the speed was even better.

In just three days, his wife could not only weave the two zhang and five chi of cloth that needed to be submitted to the government office, but also weave the hemp cloth needed to make new clothes for the whole family.

Zhao Dali headed home, taking a detour to his family’s mulberry grove to pick a basket of mulberry leaves to bring back.

They were raising silkworms at home, though not many. Mainly his mother and the children were tending them, as they weren’t very experienced with sericulture yet. But having bought a loom, it would be too wasteful to only weave fine hemp cloth.

They wanted to take on some silk and brocade weaving work. Conveniently, his mother and three children were at home and could help raise some silkworms.

If they had talent and raised them well to earn money, they would go to the academy to learn sericulture techniques. Zhao Dali had already planned it out—once they earned money, he would send his children to Chen County to study.

Although the clan school and county school were good, they couldn’t compare to the provincial school. He had two sons and one daughter, and when the time came, he would send them all to Chen County. Just room and board and tuition alone would be a considerable expense.

Moreover, if they didn’t study well, they’d have to pay to learn some skills. If they didn’t spend their own money, then they’d be spending the court’s money and would have to sign a contract with the government office, working for them for a certain number of years after graduation. Although there would be wages, it would be much less than working independently outside.

Zhao Dali was from a collateral branch of the Zhao clan, very distantly related to the direct line. They just shared the same surname and lived in the Zhao clan fortress—oh, the fortress was no longer called a fortress now, but Zhao Family Village.

Shouting outside “I come from the Xiping Zhao clan” would still draw attention, but that was about it. To gain any real benefits, one still had to rely on true ability.

Therefore, they needed to study, practice martial arts, and learn skills!

This was the principle Zhao Dali had learned from his elders and the village chief over the past few years.

At this moment, Zhao Hanzhang was also reasoning with her daughter. She grabbed her daughter by the back collar and carried her all the way to the bathing room in the rear hall, dropping her on the ground. Rolling up her sleeves, she stripped her completely, glanced disdainfully at the mud-covered clothes that had already formed clumps, then tossed her into the pool.

Zhao Renjia was like a fish. As soon as she sank into the water, she held her breath and nimbly flipped a somersault underwater. With two kicks of her short little legs, she surfaced.

Her mother had put her in water to swim shortly after she was born. She swam five or six times every ten days, so rising and sinking in water and breathing had become as instinctive to her as eating and sleeping, even more practiced than walking.

At least she had learned to swim before she learned to walk.

So at this moment, she could float on the water while talking to her mother, and when her mother’s hand reached for her, she could whoosh down into the water, emerging from the other end of the pool a moment later, laughing gleefully.

Zhao Hanzhang’s face darkened. “I’m talking to you. Did you hear me or not?”

Zhao Renjia rolled slowly through the water like a barrel, taking time to reply, “I heard. I won’t bully them next time.”

Zhao Hanzhang took a deep breath. Seeing that she had cleaned herself, she beckoned to her.

Zhao Renjia swam over unsuspectingly. Just as she approached, Zhao Hanzhang’s hand shot out with quick reflexes. Zhao Renjia reacted swiftly too, diving down sharply to swim away, but the next instant she was grabbed by the leg and lifted up.

Zhao Renjia was stunned as water droplets flowed from her face into her hair and dripped down. Zhao Hanzhang lifted her up, grabbed her arm, and carried her toward a wooden couch nearby.

The palace maids had long since spread out a large bath towel. As soon as Zhao Hanzhang set her down, they immediately dried her off, dressed her in clothes and shoes and socks, then placed her on the ground to stand face-to-face with Zhao Hanzhang before bowing and withdrawing.

The bathing room instantly contained only mother and daughter again.

Zhao Hanzhang stood with her hands behind her back, looking down at her daughter who only reached her thigh. The child was carefully stealing glances at her mother, her eyes darting about nimbly, who knows what scheme she was plotting.

Zhao Hanzhang asked, “Mingming, do you think you can defeat Zu Daozhong and Zhao Jue and the others?”

Three-year-old Zhao Renjia couldn’t yet distinguish between reality and pretense, saying, “I won. I’m like Mother—my martial arts are unrivaled, with no one able to match me.”

“You certainly have confidence. Your mother’s martial arts are indeed unrivaled with no one able to match me, but you’re still far from my level. Zu Daozhong and the others, even the youngest, are three years older than you. You fought four of them alone and won, and you’re telling me you won through your own ability?”

“I did!”

Zhao Hanzhang shattered her illusion. “I saw it. Your fist hadn’t even reached Zu Daozhong’s body when he went splat and fell backward.”

Zhao Renjia froze, then her face flushed red and her eyes welled up with tears. “Why did they lie to me?”

“Probably because your mother is the Emperor, and also, you’re both small and cute,” Zhao Hanzhang said slowly. “But you must remember, if you rely on being small, you’ll eventually grow up. A three-year-old child acting cute is adorable, but a thirty-year-old acting like a child is detestable.”

“So you can’t rely on those latter two things forever, which leaves only one thing—that your mother is the Emperor,” Zhao Hanzhang paused, making sure she could understand before continuing. “But you must remember, relying on someone else’s status to bully others, when that support disappears one day, it will be as terrifying as mountains collapsing and the earth splitting.”

“What does mountains collapsing and earth splitting look like? Does Mother not giving me support mean you don’t love me anymore?”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded. “When the Ministry of Works blasts a mountain someday, I can take you to see mountains collapsing and earth splitting. If one day I don’t let you rely on me anymore, it must be because you did something that even I, as your mother, cannot tolerate. I love you, but I cannot go against moral principles.”

She didn’t care whether Zhao Renjia could fully understand, and after speaking, turned to leave. “Keep today’s words in your mind, whether or not you can understand them.”

Zhao Renjia followed closely at her heels and happily agreed.

Because her legs were short, she had to take several steps for each one her mother took, so she simply started hopping and skipping, picking flowers and plucking grass all the way as she followed her mother toward the main hall.

Fu Tinghan saw that she had already changed out of her muddy clothes and become clean and refreshed, and only then breathed a sigh of relief.

But seeing her so happy, for some reason, images of her rolling in the mud with a group of officials’ children kept flashing through Fu Tinghan’s mind.

He couldn’t help but say, “She’s so happy—how about we have her start learning to read?”