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

Chapter 261 Running away from home
Shen Kuo stopped and looked at him leisurely. "Oh, then tell me."

A torrential rain caused varying degrees of damage to wheat crops in many counties.

The situation is relatively better in the southern areas, where the wheat matures and is harvested earlier.

Some people sold their goods for money, most people paid their share of grain, and those who kept the rest were carefully stored away.

The insect and moisture control measures were done well, which saved this year's harvest and allowed us to escape disaster.

In areas further north, the wheat was washed away by torrential rains before it was ripe, collapsing into the mud and unable to rise, resulting in a sharp reduction in yield.

In places that are neither in the south nor the north, like Pyongchon County and Pyongyang County, many farmers didn't even have time to harvest their produce, and what they did harvest sprouted shortly after being left out.

The imperial court's disaster relief funds have not yet been allocated, and Shen Kuo has been quite worried about this lately.

Hearing Chu Yingtian mention having a disaster relief method, he became interested.

Chu Yingtian took out a letter from his pocket: "I sent a letter to you a few days ago, but I don't think you received it."

Then I'll deliver it to you personally today.

Shen Kuo opened the letter, glanced at it, and squinted as he asked, "You mean you can make maltose from sprouted wheat?"

“Yes, that’s right.” Chu Yingtian nodded, then added when he saw his son, “This was mainly my son’s idea.”

As a parent, he understood better than anyone the importance of planning for his son's future.

Although being a mountain head was a bit of a waste of his talents, he was still quite satisfied with the high pay and low workload.

My son is still young, but he will surely have a bright future.

With just a little help, his son can climb higher and farther.

Shen Kuo looked at Chu Yu with amusement: "Then tell me, how exactly was it done?"

What a joke! He just visited Li Ruru's maltose workshop today.

Now suddenly someone jumps out and says that all of this is his doing.

Does this person think he's a fool?

Chu Yu didn't expect Shen Kuo to ask that question. He stammered for a long time and looked at Chu Yingtian with a bitter expression.

Chu Yingtian quickly came to his son's rescue, saying, "Lord Shen, it's hard to explain in a short time; the process is a bit complicated."

Why don't you come to my house tomorrow and see for yourself?

"You mean, you made the maltose at home?" Shen Kuo asked.

"Yes, that's right." The Chu father and son answered in unison with certainty.

Shen Kuo twitched the corner of his mouth; these two were quite good at putting on an act.

"Since you know how to make maltose, you must be able to make konjac tofu without any problem, right?" Shen Kuo asked again.

Without thinking, Chu Yu replied directly, "Of course, konjac tofu is much easier to make than maltose."

This stuff can also be used for disaster relief; it's delicious and inexpensive, and the raw material is simply konjac, which grows abundantly on the mountains.

Chu Yu was a master of lying, even adding a lot of detailed descriptions.

Those who are unaware of the truth may indeed be deceived.

Shen Kuo smiled and said, "In that case, I'll go there tomorrow."

Chu Yingtian hurriedly said, "How could I let you make the trip yourself? I'll send someone to pick you up tomorrow."

Shen Kuo waved his hand: "No need, I just like walking. Okay, don't block my way if you don't have to."

Chu Yu and his son respectfully performed the kneeling ceremony, but Nie Tianlei said, "Hey, hey, don't kneel before me, I'm afraid it will shorten my lifespan."

Chu Yingtian looked up at him and felt that he looked somewhat familiar.

They were so busy talking to Shen Kuo that no one noticed Nie Tianlei.

Chu Yu suddenly remembered something and reminded Shen Kuo, "Lord Shen, the person beside you is not a good person."

Shen Kuo didn't know Nie Tianlei, but he heard that Li Niangzi had saved him and let him stay at her house.

Nie Tianlei also owns shares in that konjac tofu workshop, so he must be a decent person.

At least it was verified by Li Ruru's entire family and the village head.

"Oh? Really? Tell me what happened?" Shen Kuo stopped and asked with interest. Chu Yu stood up and said, "This man's name is Nie Tianlei. He was wicked and harmed the mistress of the house, so his own father kicked him out of the house and severed their father-son relationship."

He is disloyal and unfilial, a complete scoundrel. Lord Shen, please don't be fooled by his appearance.

Nie Tianlei sneered: "The mistress? She doesn't deserve it! She didn't hesitate to use herself to frame me so that her son could rise to power."

She doesn't deserve for me to call her "Mother."

He said self-deprecatingly, "My so-called father was no good either. He blamed me without even knowing the facts and expelled me from the family genealogy."

My so-called mistress has been chasing me all the way, trying to kill me.

I'd rather not have parents like that; it's better to sever ties so I won't be bound by so-called filial piety.

Nie Tianlei stayed at Li Ruru's house for a long time. Apart from asking him about it the first time, Li Ruru never thought of reopening his wounds again.

Now, when facing strangers, Nie Tianlei is the one who takes the initiative to reopen his wounds.

He suddenly felt a sense of relief, and said with pursed lips, "Mr. Shen, would you like to go for a walk in front, or stay here and listen to these two dogs barking?"

He still addressed Shen Kuo as Mr. Shen, pretending not to know that he was the prefect.

They can get along better if they don't treat him like a prefect.

Shen Kuo said, "Let's go and take a look ahead. The barking dogs are too noisy and annoying. I don't want to listen to them."

Chu Yu was called a dog to his face, and he barked angrily, "Who are you talking about? Who's the dog?"

Nie Tianlei: "Whoever calls me that gets to do it!"

Chu Yu didn't want to fall for his trick, but she couldn't help but say, "I didn't say anything wrong. A disloyal and unfilial scoundrel like you doesn't deserve to live in this world."

Nie Tianlei leaned closer and whispered, "Yes, you deserve it, you deserve it the most! I wish you a harem of wives and concubines, but none of them truly love you; a house full of children and grandchildren, but none of them are not your bloodline."

And, I wish you sweet dreams tonight.

"You..." Chu Yu's face turned ugly, and he pointed at Nie Tianlai, too angry to speak.

Nie Tianlei swept past like a cold wind, and Chu Yu felt a chill run down her spine, inexplicably worried that his words might come true.

Chu Yingtian asked, "Son, what did Nie Tianlei say to you? You don't look too good."

Chu Yu said, "It's nothing. He just wished me sweet dreams."

"He... has a problem."

"Yes, there's a big problem."

"Let's go back and get ready."

Lord Shen is coming to inspect, and they've been making all sorts of boasts. They can't afford to mess things up tomorrow.

Chu Yingtian asked, "Son, can you get your hands on maltose and konjac tofu?"

Chu Yu: "That's easy. You can buy these things at Bai Family Restaurant and other shops."

Let's buy some more basins and buckets to make it look as real as it could possibly be.

Chu Yingtian said with a look of satisfaction, "My son is still the smartest."

Shen Kuo and Nie Tianlei returned to Li Ruru's house, and neither of them mentioned what had just happened.

Chu Xiu looked towards the door and asked, "Isn't my master with you? Where did he go?"

Shen Kuo said, "He was still at the door when I left."

It was getting late, and Fang Xingzhi still hadn't returned home, which made Li Ruru very worried.

He still hadn't returned after a while.

Li Ruru, carrying a lantern, led her whole family to search the village.

The group searched and called out, but half an hour passed and there was still no sign of Fang Xingzhi.

Li Ruru asked anxiously, "What's wrong with this old man Fang? Did any of you offend him today?"

Fang Xingzhi wouldn't disappear without a reason; something must have happened.

Shen Kuo hesitated for a long time before speaking, "It's you. You offended my master. He must have been angry with you and ran away from home."