Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

Lord Lu stood frozen in place, his heart churning with an unprecedented bitterness and guilt.

He always thought that with his wife's early death and his busy official duties, he would neglect Lu Hao's upbringing and cause him to resent him, distance himself from him, and reject him when Lu Hao grew up.

But she never imagined that this seemingly unruly and prickly son harbored such deep love and respect in his heart, carefully leaving him a hard-earned boiled egg as the most precious gift.

Seeing this, the village head quickly stepped forward to add, his tone sincere: "Lord Lu, you have truly misunderstood Young Master Hao'er. This child has really changed a lot in the village. Not only does he take the initiative to work, but he also went back to the county office to ask you to send the village children writing implements, hoping that they could study properly. He is really not the spoiled child who used to throw tantrums."

Master Liang and Chief Clerk Yan echoed this sentiment, stating that Lu Hao's actions in the village these past few days were entirely truthful.

As Lord Lu listened, his expression grew increasingly complex, and his guilt intensified—he had been terribly wrong, mistaking his son's stubbornness for unruliness and his filial piety for rebellion.

Just then, a man dressed in coarse cloth, carrying the little girl who had been crying loudly, ran over quickly. Upon seeing Lord Lu, he knelt down with a thud, his voice urgent and fearful: "This humble subject greets Lord Lu! Lord Lu, please forgive me! It was my daughter's fault for being so ignorant; it wasn't that Young Master Lu bullied her!"

Lord Lu quickly stepped forward, helped the man up, and softened his tone: "Get up and let's talk. What exactly happened?"

The man stood up, holding his daughter, and explained apologetically, "My lord Lu, my wife has been seriously ill recently. My daughter is young and doesn't understand, so she believes in the saying 'the dead turn into stars,' hoping her mother will get better. What you said earlier, sir, is true, but my daughter couldn't accept it and cried. It's not that you've bullied her; it's that I didn't comfort her beforehand, causing you to suffer. Please forgive me!"

The little girl seemed to understand, but she leaned against her father and whispered, "Lord Lu, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have cried. It wasn't my older brother who bullied me."

With the truth revealed, Lord Lu was completely convinced that he had wronged his son, and the guilt and self-blame in his heart almost overwhelmed him.

He looked into the distance, his expression complicated. He wanted to find Lu Hao immediately and apologize to him, but he was new to Yangqu Village and didn't know the village roads at all. He didn't know where Lu Hao had gone.

Aunt Liu, who was standing nearby, quietly approached Tang Susu and whispered, "Susu, don't worry, Young Master Hao'er didn't go far. I just saw him go back to your house."

Tang Susu nodded and quickly turned to Lord Lu: "Lord Lu, I know where Young Master Lu went. I'll take you there."

Upon hearing this, a hint of urgency flashed in Lord Lu's eyes, and he quickly nodded, "Alright, thank you for your trouble."

Afterwards, Tang Susu led Lord Lu, the village head, and others towards her home.

Throughout the journey, Lord Lu appeared solemn and walked hurriedly, his heart filled with remorse for his son.

When we arrived at the entrance of Tang Susu's courtyard, we found it bustling with activity. Dozens of villagers were busy with their tasks: some were carrying soil, some were mixing mud, some were making bricks, and some were drying bricks. Everyone was working with great enthusiasm, and the courtyard was piled high with semi-finished mud bricks, creating a lively and bustling scene.

Lu Hao was mingling among the villagers, dressed in tattered coarse cloth clothes with his sleeves rolled up. He was holding a kitchen knife and helping Zheng Tieqiang chop dry grass. Although his movements were not very skilled, he was very serious. His face was covered with mud and his clothes were worn, but he blended in with the villagers around him without any sense of incongruity. He no longer had the pampered demeanor of the county magistrate's son.

When the villagers saw Lord Lu and his entourage enter, they turned pale with fright, put down their tools, and knelt down on the ground with a thud. They didn't dare to breathe or continue working. The entire courtyard instantly became silent.

Seeing this, Tang Susu quickly spoke up, gently reassuring everyone, "Everyone, please get up. Lord Lu is here to inspect the village, not to assign blame. You can rest for a while, and continue working after we finish talking."

Upon hearing this, the villagers dared to cautiously stand up, heads bowed.

He hurriedly walked to the corner of the courtyard and stood far away, not daring to approach or make a sound. The courtyard was soon cleared out, leaving only Lord Lu and his entourage, as well as Lu Hao, who was still standing in the same spot and refused to turn around.

"Hao'er." Lord Lu looked at his son's back, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible guilt and probing, and called out softly.

But Lu Hao seemed not to hear. Instead of turning around, he suddenly threw the kitchen knife in his hand on the ground with a loud clang, turned around and ran towards the backyard. He hid on a grass mound in the backyard, his back to everyone, still sulking.

Lord Lu looked at him, his eyes filled with helplessness and guilt. He wanted to step forward, but he didn't know how to start the conversation.

Seeing this, Tang Susu quickly said to Lord Lu, "Lord Lu, please wait a moment. I'll go and persuade Young Master Lu. He's just upset for a moment, he'll be fine once he calms down."

After saying that, she went into the backyard alone, leaving Lord Lu and the others to wait in the courtyard.

In the backyard, Lu Hao squatted on a grass mound, hugging his knees with both hands, burying his head in his chest, his shoulders trembling slightly.

Tang Susu walked over gently and sat down beside him. Her tone was gentle, and she didn't offer much advice, but simply stayed quietly by his side.

After a long while, Lu Hao finally raised his head, his eyes red and his face still wet with tears. He stubbornly said, "I did nothing wrong. I won't apologize to him. He never understands me. He only scolds and punishes me. He never listens to my explanations."

As he spoke, he choked up, the pent-up grievances of the past few days finally bursting forth: "He only cares about his official duties, only about his political achievements, he never cares about me, and he even wants to find me a stepmother. Has he already forgotten my mother? Has he already stopped wanting me?"

Tang Susu gently patted his back and tenderly comforted him, "I know, I know, you've been wronged, Xiao Hao. Don't hold it in, cry it all out, it'll make you feel better."

Upon hearing the name "Xiao Hao," Lu Hao could no longer control his emotions. He threw himself into Tang Susu's arms and broke down in tears. Between sobs, he poured out his grievances and said enviously, "Sister Susu, I envy Yang Gousheng so much. He has a good mother, someone who loves and understands him. But I don't have that. I only have a father who only scolds me and doesn't understand me..."

Tang Susu gently hugged him, patiently comforting him and letting him cry his heart out. She didn't interrupt him or say anything more—she knew that what Lu Hao needed most at this moment was not reason, but someone to confide in, an outlet to vent his grievances.

After crying for an unknown amount of time, Lu Hao's sobs gradually subsided, and his emotions calmed down considerably.

He raised his head, wiped away the tears on his face, looked at Tang Susu, and said softly, "Sister Susu, from now on, just call me Xiao Hao. I don't want to be called Young Master Lu anymore. I want to be an ordinary person too."

Looking at the vulnerability and sincerity in his eyes, Tang Susu smiled and nodded: "Okay, Xiao Hao, I'll call you Xiao Hao from now on. Come on, let's go out. Your dad knows he was wrong, he feels very guilty, and he really wants to apologize to you."

Lu Hao hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded and let Tang Susu take his hand and walk out of the backyard.

In the courtyard, Lord Lu stood motionless, his gaze fixed on the backyard, his face filled with anxiety and guilt. Seeing Lu Hao emerge, he hurried to greet him, his tone solemn, tinged with an unprecedented apology: "Hao'er, I'm sorry, I was wrong. I shouldn't have scolded and punished you without understanding the situation, shouldn't have wrongly accused you, and certainly shouldn't have humiliated you in public. I was too rash and too stubborn. Please forgive me, okay?"

Looking at his father's sincere expression, Lu Hao's anger gradually dissipated, but he still arrogantly raised his chin and adopted a haughty posture: "If you want me to forgive you, that's fine, but you have to agree to one condition."

"Tell me, whatever the conditions, I'll agree to them," Lord Lu said hastily.

"That little girl's mother is sick," Lu Hao said earnestly, his eyes filled with kindness. "You must send the best doctor to treat her mother, and you will cover all the medical expenses. If you do that, I will forgive you."

Upon hearing this, Lord Lu was taken aback at first, then a gratified smile appeared on his face, his eyes full of praise—his son had truly grown up. He had not only become sensible but also kind and compassionate towards the people, no longer the unruly young master who only knew how to throw tantrums.

He quickly turned to Master Liang and instructed him, "Master Liang, take some men immediately to the town to fetch the best doctor and rush to the girl's house to treat her mother. All medical expenses and miscellaneous costs will be covered by the county government. Make sure her mother recovers as soon as possible."

"Your subordinate obeys!" Master Liang bowed and quickly left.

Watching Master Liang's departing figure, Lu Hao finally smiled, though still with a hint of arrogance, he had forgiven Lord Lu: "Alright, seeing how sincere you are, I'll forgive you this time. Next time, if you don't listen to my explanation, I'll never talk to you again."

"Alright, alright, next time I will definitely listen to your explanation and will never be rash again." Lord Lu nodded with a smile, his eyes full of doting affection. The huge stone that had been weighing on his heart finally fell to the ground.

The father and son reconciled, and the atmosphere in the courtyard gradually eased.

Lord Lu calmed down and, remembering the important matter that brought him to Yangqu Village, turned to Tang Susu and said solemnly, "Miss Susu, thank you for clearing up for Hao'er today, and thank you for your guidance and care for Hao'er during this time. Now, let's talk about the second crop of rice. Please take me to the fields to take a look."

"Lord Lu, you're too kind. It's all I should do," Tang Susu said with a smile and nodded. "Please follow me."

Afterwards, Tang Susu led Lord Lu to the fields again, followed closely by the village head, Yan Zhubu, and others.

Lord Lu squatted down and carefully examined the greening rice stalks and axillary buds, his eyes serious and his expression solemn.

After observing for a long time, he slowly stood up and said thoughtfully, "I remember that there was a record in ancient books in the south of two harvests of rice a year. It said that after the first harvest, more than a month later, the rice stubble could sprout ears and bear grain again, with a yield of about 100 catties per mu. However, the ancients mostly recorded it as an extraordinary phenomenon and never promoted it. No one ever actually tried it. I never thought that I could see it with my own eyes in Yangqu Village today."

Upon hearing this, Tang Susu nodded and slowly explained, "Lord Lu is right. The growth cycle of second-crop rice is very short. As long as there is sufficient water and fertilizer and proper management, it will soon be able to head and bear grain. Moreover, this year's harvest is good, with abundant rainfall and fertile soil, so the second-crop rice will most likely be successful."

She paused, then added with a touch of emotion, "Actually, in my hometown, we used to grow a second crop of rice. But later, with the advent of machine harvesting and the development of high-yield hybrid rice, which ripens once a year with a very high yield, the second crop of rice was time-consuming and labor-intensive, and its yield was not as good as that of hybrid rice, so fewer and fewer people grew it."

Upon hearing this, Lord Lu's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he said solemnly, "If the second crop of rice can truly succeed and be promoted throughout the county, and even the entire prefecture, then an extra season of grain can be harvested, solving the problem of food and clothing for the people. This would be a great thing that benefits all the people!"