Forced to marry a disabled man in the countryside? I'll repay you tenfold!

After the canned peaches were finished, she gave a few cans to both Professor Shen and Professor Wu Jingwen. "They're all peaches I bought at the bazaar, homemade. When fresh fruit runs out, these canned peaches will keep our mouths sweet."

Professor Wu may seem aloof, but he's actually quite nice and meticulous. When observing aquatic plants in Su Wanqing's backyard, he organized the messy experimental data into a clear table, demonstrating professionalism and efficiency.

"Alright, thank you, Xiao Su." Professor Wu took the canned food, adjusted his glasses, and got down to business. "These past few days, I've observed that the aquatic plants are indeed growing better than in the lab. If there's anything special about it… does your uncle usually pour the fertilizer water from cleaning the chicken and sheep pens near that puddle afterward?"

Su Wanqing was taken aback, then thought for a moment: "It seems so... What do you mean?"

"The legend of the aquatic plants in Sayram Lake 'eating people' is just a rumor, but it may suggest that these aquatic plants have a special source of nutrition—they may need to be rich in organic matter, or even... the nutrients from the preliminary decomposition of animal excrement to grow vigorously." Professor Wu's eyes gleamed with scientific inquiry. "I plan to conduct several comparative experiments using different concentrations of manure leachate."

The two were talking at the planting site when, just as they were finishing their conversation, Xiu'er, her eyes red, came over and knocked on the door. "Is Dr. Su in?"

Su Wanqing then said, "Then please try it again. I have something to do here, so I'll leave for a bit."

"Okay, you can go ahead and get busy."

·

Su Wanqing led Chen Xiuer back to the house at the planting site and said gently, "Xiuer, what happened? Don't be afraid, just tell me what's wrong."

As soon as she finished speaking, tears streamed down Chen Xiuer's face, and she knelt down with a thud, carrying her child on her back.

Su Wanqing was startled and quickly helped her up: "Is it about the divorce? Did Zhao Shupi bully you again?" Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case. With her connection, a shrewd person like Zhao Shupi should have some reservations.

Chen Xiuer shook her head vigorously, choking back tears, and said, "No... it was my father. He passed away half a month ago. I just received the news."

Su Wanqing: "..."

Su Wanqing was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Please accept my condolences. Do you want to go back? Don't worry, I'll take care of things at the planting site."

Su Wanqing didn't understand what Chen Xiuer's family was thinking. Why didn't they say anything when she passed away? So much time has passed, have they forgotten that they had a daughter in another place?

Chen Xiuer wiped away her tears and gave a bitter smile: "My father... well, I'm not afraid Dr. Su will laugh at me for saying this. My dad passed away suddenly, and my two older brothers will definitely fight over the house. My eldest brother's family of four is crammed into the factory dormitory and has long wanted to move into our parents' old house; my second brother's workplace is far away, and he also wants to have a house so it's more convenient for him to get to work. They'll definitely be arguing like crazy... Also, after my dad's gone, the factory will probably be able to reserve a replacement job, and they'll definitely fight over that too. In the end, they might even force my mom to give up her job, one for each son, and then my mom will have to take turns babysitting for both families—"

Su Wanqing was stunned: "These... were all sent to you by your mother via telegram?" So many words, how much would the telegram cost?

Chen Xiuer shook her head, her smile growing increasingly bitter: "My mother hasn't sent me a telegram yet. It was my two older brothers who sent it, just one sentence: 'Father passed away half a month ago, Mother is hospitalized and critically ill, return immediately.' The rest is just my guess. They've argued about the house before, and they've also fought about whose child my mother should babysit. Now that my father is gone, they'll definitely have even less time for me. And now they're suddenly telling me to go back..."

Her voice trembled, "My mother has always been in good health, how could she suddenly be hospitalized and critically ill? It must be because they were fighting over the inheritance that she was so upset! Now that she needs someone to take care of her, she remembers me, her married sister!"

They are such selfish people. They don't care about her situation. They just call on her when they need her. In their eyes, she and her mother are just tools that can be repeatedly exploited.

Su Wanqing understood. Chen Xiuer knew her family's affairs perfectly: no one notified her when her father died, as everyone was busy fighting for the family property; now that her mother was "critically ill" and needed labor, the telegram arrived.

"Don't panic," Su Wanqing calmly analyzed. "Your analysis makes a lot of sense. Besides, based on my previous assessment of your mother's pulse, she's in good health and unlikely to suddenly fall ill. There's probably another reason why I want you to go back." She paused, then made her decision.

"Well, isn't your home on the outskirts of Bincheng? Yan Shen and I are also going back to Bincheng. Let's go together, so we can look after each other on the way. You can take care of your family matters, and I'll also visit Aunt Wang while I'm at it."

She sighed inwardly: indeed, behind every "business genius" lies a messy and troublesome family drama. Chen Xiuer was no exception.

Now things are really messed up. She was still debating whether to go back to Bincheng, but she had to go there no matter what. She could also check on Aunt Wang. When she took her pulse earlier, she seemed to be in good health, but she didn't know if this incident would upset her or cause her any health problems.

In short, since Aunt Wang is her mouthpiece, she'll treat anyone who insults her with the same fervor as family. Su Wanqing still needs to take a look.

A look of surprise flashed in Chen Xiuer's eyes.

She had only planned to take leave and go back by herself, but she didn't expect that Dr. Su would be willing to come with her.

Her journey had been incredibly difficult: she had three children, her father was biased, arranging jobs for her two older brothers while sending her to the countryside. She resisted, but ultimately compromised, arriving at the Production and Construction Corps with resentment. She then got married in a daze, and nearly died during childbirth… Fortunately, she met Dr. Su, who saved her, gave her a job, and finally saw a glimmer of hope. With another six months of saving, she could rent a small room and move out; everything was getting better—but then this tragedy struck her family.

To be honest, she wasn't particularly saddened by her father's passing; but the news of her mother's hospitalization threw her into a panic, leaving her completely disoriented. She was terrified that something might have happened to her mother. Now that Dr. Su was willing to go with her… with Dr. Su's medical skills, her mother would surely be alright!

Thinking about it this way, her anxiety immediately subsided.

"Dr. Su, I really don't know how to thank you..." Chen Xiuer said, kneeling down again. "You saved me, and now you're going to help my mother..."

Su Wanqing quickly stopped her: "Alright, let's not talk about this. Since it's decided, I'll have my husband get the tickets for the earliest available ones. We also need to make some plans; the paperwork needs to be done, and someone needs to take over the work at the planting site."

Chen Xiuer nodded vigorously, her mind racing: "We can leave as early as tomorrow. I still have time today, so I can prepare the 3,000 jin of mushroom substrate. I'll ask Brother Guo to help with the packaging when we harvest. I'll ask Old Shen to keep an eye on things. I'll also prepare another 500 mushroom bags today and plant the mycelium. Brother Guo can then ship the orders according to the orders. I've already sorted out the accounts..."

She quickly and clearly outlined the work she had done during her absence, even preparing contingency plans, before asking Su Wanqing, "Do you think this will work?"