After hearing Chen Xiaobei's explanation, Chen Dachun finally felt at ease. "Alright, then I'll take a few people to go with them."
Chen Dachun then selected Chen Dayong, Chen Daqiang, and others. Their crops had already been harvested, and they had nothing else to do.
This trip to Longwang River was much easier. Chen Xiaobei arranged for all the horse-drawn carts and donkey carts.
Two donkey carts and two horse-drawn carts, carrying Zhou Quan, Chen Dachun, and others, along with a large amount of supplies, set off.
Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun was increasingly impressed with Chen Xiaobei when he saw him display his assets, which included two horse-drawn carts.
"I never imagined that this Hetou Village, which looks so run-down, would have such considerable wealth."
Liu Rumei took the opportunity to say, "Yes, Your Highness. He led the villagers in planting vegetables, catching fish, and even collecting medicinal herbs from the mountains, earning a lot of money."
After hearing Liu Rumei's introduction, Xiao Jingyun became even more interested in Chen Xiaobei.
"Excellent, then let's go to the village and have a look."
Xiao Jingyun, accompanied by Liu Rumei, Xiao Qing, and others, left the courtyard and strolled through the village. Not far away, Sanqiu approached them.
News about Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun had already become a popular topic of conversation in the village. Seeing Liu Rumei by his side, Sanqiu immediately recognized him as the Crown Prince.
With that thought, he quickly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and knelt before Xiao Jingyun, saying, "This commoner greets Your Highness."
Xiao Jingyun raised his hand and said, "No need for ceremony. Please rise quickly."
As he spoke, he turned to look at Liu Rumei.
Liu Rumei was also unfamiliar with this Chen Sanqiu. However, since she had encountered a villager, she could ask him some questions.
"Brother, may I ask your name?"
Seeing Liu Rumei's politeness, Sanqiu became excited, a smile filling his face. "My name is Chen Sanqiu. Miss Liu can call me Sanqiu. I wouldn't dare accept the title of 'brother'."
Liu Rumei did not engage in further pleasantries and directly stated, "It's like this, the Crown Prince wishes to tour the village. Could you please guide us?"
Seizing such an excellent opportunity to get close to the Crown Prince, Chen Sanqiu readily agreed.
"Of course! Your Highness, what would you like to see?"
Xiao Jingyun's mind stirred. "I heard that your village engages in planting vegetables and catching fish. Could you take me to see it?"
Without a word, Chen Sanqiu led Xiao Jingyun towards the riverbank, and as they walked, he began to boast, "In the past, during the off-season, villagers would either go to the city for labor or stay idle at home. Later, I made some fishing nets and taught them how to fish. Initially, I intended for them to catch fish for themselves, but I never expected it to become a skill that could earn them a good amount of money."
Chen Sanqiu's self-praise immediately piqued Xiao Jingyun's interest.
"Excellent! Your teaching them to fish is a virtuous deed."
Receiving the Crown Prince's praise, Chen Sanqiu became even more animated.
He spoke with great enthusiasm, spattering with saliva.
Meanwhile, Liu Rumei, standing beside them, frowned. She felt something was not quite right. Although she hadn't investigated the fish selling in detail, she knew that selling fish was a recent development.
Listening to Chen Sanqiu's rambling, Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun observed him discreetly.
He looks like a cultured person. He must have studied, right?
In these times, a scholar is a rare sight.
Standing by the small river, Xiao Jingyun surveyed the area and immediately spotted Chen Xiaobei's fish pond.
"What is that?"
"Oh, that's a pond. It rained these past few days, and the water from the mountain flowed down to form it."
Chen Sanqiu deliberately downplayed it. "Your Highness, let me take you somewhere else."
Chen Sanqiu turned to lead Xiao Jingyun back to the village, just as Cui Hongyu emerged from the courtyard.
Cui Hongyu intended to take advantage of the recent rain to sow more seeds in the vegetable patch, hoping to harvest whatever she could.
Upon seeing Cui Hongyu, Chen Sanqiu appeared quite flustered.
However, Liu Rumei was very friendly and waved to her from a distance. "Sister Hongyu, where are you going?"
"Oh, I'm going to the vegetable patch to sow some seeds."
As she spoke, Cui Hongyu hurried forward and approached Xiao Jingyun, respectfully bowing to him.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
Xiao Jingyun nodded and casually asked, "What is Minister Chen up to again?"
The title "Minister Chen" startled Cui Hongyu. This was how the Emperor addressed his ministers and nobles. Chen Xiaobei was merely a commoner.
"Your Highness, my husband is just a commoner and does not deserve the title of minister."
Xiao Jingyun chuckled. "It matters not, it matters not. Chen Xiaobei, I say, Chen Xiaobei."
Cui Hongyu bowed again to express her gratitude. "Thank you, Your Highness. My husband is planting vegetables outside the village."
Hearing that Chen Xiaobei was also planting vegetables, Xiao Jingyun became interested.
"Oh, he's also planting vegetables? Then I must go and see."
He then turned to look at Chen Sanqiu.
Chen Sanqiu understood Xiao Jingyun's implication, which was to ask him to lead the way.
But he first needed to find out where Chen Xiaobei was. With that thought, he smiled and looked at Cui Hongyu. "Sister Hongyu, where is Brother Xiaobei?"
Cui Hongyu had no good feelings towards Chen Sanqiu.
However, in front of Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun, she did not want to appear overly displeased. She simply replied indifferently, "He's in the field by Brother Dachun's house."
Upon hearing this, Chen Sanqiu's face lit up with joy. "Your Highness, this Village Chief Chen is truly remarkable! He's taken on tens of acres of land to plant vegetables."
"I will take you there right now."
While Chen Sanqiu spoke carelessly, Xiao Jingyun listened intently and frowned.
Taking on tens of acres of land would be a major undertaking. Logically, Chen Sanqiu should have known about it upon hearing about planting vegetables, yet he still had to inquire about Chen Xiaobei's whereabouts. This suggested that Sanqiu was not familiar with the village's affairs.
Relying on her woman's intuition, Liu Rumei immediately sensed that Cui Hongyu's attitude towards Chen Sanqiu was neither warm nor cold, but indifferent.
If that was the case, what was the point of having Sanqiu guide them? With this thought, she stepped forward and affectionately took Cui Hongyu's arm.
"Sister Hongyu, let's go. We'll go together."
She then gave Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun a meaningful look, and he understood that she was suggesting Cui Hongyu lead the way.
He remained calm and bowed again to Liu Rumei. "Hongyu is just a common villager. Miss Liu should simply call me Hongyu."
Hearing this, Xiao Jingyun immediately felt a degree of admiration for Cui Hongyu. She was a very polite woman.
She also seemed educated, as she understood the proper forms of address.
In those times, it was not easy for a girl to be educated.
This indicated that Cui Hongyu's family must have been wealthy.
Seeing the Crown Prince fall silent, Liu Rumei spoke again. "Your Highness, let's go now."
Fearing that he would lose his role as a guide, Chen Sanqiu quickly added, "Yes, yes, I'll lead the way, I'll lead the way."