Zhou Ping naturally did not dare to rashly enhance the aptitude of his unborn child while out in the wild. Kicking his stirrups, he urged his mount into a gallop, racing back toward his home. The horse bounded across forests and over rocks, traversing the rugged terrain as if it were level ground.

In just half an hour, he arrived before the grand gates of the Zhou family manor. A young servant quickly hurried forward to take the reins, leading the horse toward the stables in the rear courtyard to feed it hay.

Now that the family was rising in the world, they could no longer let their own kin handle all the exhausting chores. This was especially true since his sister-in-law had been found to be with child a few months prior. Had they not hired some domestic servants, the entire burden of managing the household would have fallen onto Chen Nianqiu.

Thus, Zhou Ping had purchased two male servants and three maids from a reputable broker. They were all thirteen- or fourteen-year-old children from impoverished families with clean backgrounds, making them much more reassuring to employ.

Passing through three sets of gates, he reached the inner courtyard. Madame Huang was currently chatting with her daughter-in-law and Chen Nianqiu, flanked by two maids who stood attentively at their sides.

As for the last servant, she had been assigned to attend to Zhou Changhe's daily needs and, more importantly, to oversee his studies.

Zhou Ping cast a fleeting glance at Lin Cuilian's belly. She was only three months into her pregnancy, so there was nothing yet to be seen.

Even so, a quiet joy welled up in his heart. That was the continuation of his family's bloodline-his elder brother's second child. If the babe was born safe and sound, their third generation would no longer consist of a single, fragile seedling.

Furthermore, his own wife was now carrying his child. The more prosperous their population grew, the more flourishing their clan would become in the future.

On Chen Nianqiu's side, there was absolutely no visible change. Had the System Panel not displayed the information, he would still be entirely in the dark about her condition.

"Ping'er is back. Come, sit down quickly," Madame Huang called out the moment she spotted him.

"Husband."

"Brother-in-law."

Chen Nianqiu and Lin Cuilian greeted him in turn, while the two maids lowered their heads and respectfully called him "Second Young Master."

Although Zhou Hong now managed all of the estate's practical affairs and Zhou Dashan rested at home without troubling himself with day-to-day matters, the patriarch was still alive. As long as Zhou Dashan breathed, he remained the master of the house, while Zhou Hong and Zhou Ping were the young masters.

"Mother, Sister-in-law," Zhou Ping acknowledged them with a nod. Then, turning his gaze to Chen Nianqiu, he spoke softly, "Qiu'er."

Chen Nianqiu looked up, a trace of confusion in her eyes. For Zhou Ping to address her so tenderly, he surely had something important to say.

She stood up and approached him, asking in a worried, low murmur, "What is it? Did something happen up on the mountain?"

When she had first married into the family, Zhou Ping had barely spent any time at home, roaming the wild hills and forests every single day. At the time, she had felt a twinge of despair, fearing she had misjudged his character.

It was only later, when she discovered him painstakingly drawing maps late into the night, that she understood his profound foresight and felt a surge of joy.

Drawing maps of the wilderness was a sensitive, secretive matter that Zhou Ping hid even from his parents and sister-in-law, yet he made absolutely no effort to conceal it from her. This complete, unreserved trust had caused the affection between them to deepen by the day.

"Have you felt any discomfort lately?" Zhou Ping inquired gently.

"Nothing unusual, really. I have just felt somewhat fatigued these past few days, and I have little appetite for food or tea..." Chen Nianqiu mused, but she suddenly caught herself.

Lately, an inexplicable weariness had indeed clung to her, her meals had lost their flavor, and her body felt slightly warmer than usual.

She had not paid it much mind initially, but with Zhou Ping questioning her so pointedly, her mind raced. Though she had never experienced it herself, a woman naturally picked up such knowledge from listening to others. A sudden realization dawned upon her.

She might very well be with child.

"Husband..." Chen Nianqiu's eyes shimmered with a ripple of emotion. Her gaze held a mixture of profound joy and anxious trepidation, and a sheen of tears even began to well up.

The joy was natural; she was carrying his child, a babe that would inherit half the bloodline of her fallen Chen family. In this lifetime, the chances of her personally avenging her clan were slim, but she could record the grievance in the family annals to pass down to future generations. Perhaps when the Zhou family eventually rose to prominence, a descendant would claim that blood debt.

Yet, having never walked this path before, and having heard tales that childbirth was a perilous journey through the gates of the underworld, how could she not feel anxious and afraid?

"I hunted a wild deer today. Later, I will have Chunlan prepare it to nourish your body," Zhou Ping comforted her gently.

Over the past few months, using hunting as a guise to scout the wilderness, he had brought back an abundance of venison, wild rabbit, and other mountain delicacies, all of which were used to fortify his family's health.

"In a few days, I shall have a physician brought to the manor to give you a proper examination."

"I will defer to your wishes, Husband."

Having given his assurances, Zhou Ping turned to leave. He intended to check on his elder brother and nephew, finding it somewhat awkward to linger in the women's quarters of the rear courtyard. However, a slender hand suddenly tugged at his sleeve.

"Husband, if the child is born safely, what name shall we give them?"

Zhou Ping pondered for a brief moment. "If it is a boy, he shall be called Zhou Minghu. If it is a girl, we shall simply use the character Yuan."

"Zhou Minghu... Zhou Yuan..." Chen Nianqiu murmured the names twice under her breath. Though she did not comprehend the underlying meaning behind his choices, she could tell they were exceptionally refined, bearing none of the coarse vulgarity typical of common village folk.

Zhou Ping had not chosen these names on a whim; they carried the weight of his grand ambitions.

Having spent these months traversing the wilderness, he had gained a clear view of the entire layout of the surrounding dozen miles.

Baixi Village was hemmed in by mountains on all sides, with only a few narrow mountain passes leading to the outside world. Looking down from the ridges, the terrain resembled a massive earthen bowl, with the village sitting at the very bottom.

Meanwhile, the Baixi River snaked through the land. No matter how far one stood, under the glare of the scorching sun, the water gleamed with a brilliant, silver light. In Zhou Ping's eyes, it looked exactly like a dried-up lake or sea, leaving only a meager, turbulent stream behind.

Naming his child Minghu-Bright Lake-expressed his desire that the child would one day swallow Baixi Village whole, claiming this entire domain for the Zhou family!

As for the character Yuan, it referred to both a soaring bird of prey and a kite flying high against the wind. It embodied his profound hopes for his daughter-that she would never be like a common peasant girl, forever bound to labor in the heavy soil of the countryside.

Zhou Ping walked toward the eastern wing, but once he reached a secluded corner out of sight, he stopped.

[Descendants]: 1

[Aptitude]: Unranked (+)

This was the state of his System Panel. With a sharp flick of his intent, the ten points of Ding Fire vanished instantly. In their place, the text shifted, and the child's aptitude transformed into Low Grade.

Glancing back to see that Chen Nianqiu was still conversing normally with Madame Huang without showing the slightest sign of distress, Zhou Ping let out a long sigh of relief.

He had refrained from upgrading the child's aptitude while on the mountain out of fear that a sudden alteration might cause an adverse reaction in Chen Nianqiu's body. By doing it right here, he could immediately step in to care for her if any anomalies arose, ensuring no disaster would occur.

After observing her for a while longer and confirming that everything was truly perfectly fine, he finally set his mind at ease and proceeded toward the eastern wing.

Now that his offspring possessed the aptitude for cultivation, his family would no longer have to wage a desperate, bloody struggle against the local clans. They merely needed to manage their affairs quietly. In a dozen years or so, Baixi Village would naturally fall into the hands of the Zhou family.

After all, without an immortal cultivator to back them, the Zhou family would have to ensure that every single generation produced exceptionally shrewd and capable leaders just to suppress the Wang, Sun, Qian, and Liu families.

But now that his descendant had the talent to tread the immortal path, they only needed to wait for the child to grow and become a true cultivator. That alone would guarantee the clan's prosperity for decades to come.

Inside the eastern wing, Zhou Hong and his young son were sitting together, fully engrossed in some task.

If one were to ask who within the Zhou family had undergone the greatest transformation, it was undoubtedly this father and son duo.

As the old saying goes, wealth and status are the finest nutrients for a man's bearing. In the span of just a few months, Zhou Hong had become an entirely different person. He no longer wore coarse hemp or tattered rags; instead, he wore garments crafted from fresh, fine silk, which lent him an unmistakable air of dignity.

Furthermore, his constant dealings with hired laborers and tenant farmers had forged a commanding presence-an authority that required no anger to enforce. His gaze had grown deep and sharp, completely stripped of his former rustic, muddy aura.

During these past months, he had organized the household's internal and external affairs flawlessly. Employing a masterful balance of rewards and punishments, he had brought all the tenant farmers into absolute submission.

"Second Brother, you've returned," Zhou Hong said, pausing his abacus as he caught sight of Zhou Ping's figure.

"Brother, there will be plenty of time for these matters in the long run. Do not push yourself to exhaustion," Zhou Ping said with genuine concern, stepping forward to hand over the newly completed map.

"I have thoroughly scouted the eight peaks and the ten miles of wilderness around us. I have marked several choice locations."

"However, you must remember one crucial detail: the western ridge borders Darong Mountain. I found tracks of large tigers there, and I even spotted a black bear. If our people ever go out to gather herbs or forage for wild goods in the future, they must absolutely avoid that area."

Zhou Hong's eyes brightened with joy as he examined the parchment. "I understand, of course."

"With this map, our family can finally dip our toes into the mountain trade," Zhou Hong remarked with a sigh of admiration. Yet, a moment later, a soft sigh escaped his lips. He rolled the map back up and concealed it in a highly secure, hidden compartment within the room. "Still, relying on outsiders brings no peace of mind. It is better to focus our efforts on cultivating our current fields first. Once Changhe grows older, we can properly initiate the business of patrolling the mountains and gathering goods."

The core issue plaguing the Zhou family at present was simply that their kin were too few.

If they possessed a sizable clan, why would Zhou Ping have to spend his silver so extravagantly? Was it not out of fear that desperate thugs might raid their manor in the dead of night? If their numbers were sufficient, they could have used Zhou Ping's wilderness maps to aggressively expand into the lucrative trade of mountain resources.

But they were simply too short-handed. In truth, were it not for Zhou Ping's formidable presence, the other factions of Baixi Village would have torn the Zhou family apart and swallowed them whole within the next breath.

Consider the four great surnames-every single one of them possessed far greater wealth than the Zhou family, yet who dared to covet their holdings? It was because they boasted massive numbers and deep-seated strength. Even without a powerful figure like Zhou Ping, no one dared to provoke them lightly.

To the side, Zhou Changhe, who was diligently copying classical scriptures, suddenly chimed in, "Father, why can't we ask Uncle Chen to help us? Or Grandpa and the others from Mother's side?"

Zhou Ping merely offered a faint, knowing smile. Zhou Hong, however, leaned down and gently, affectionately patted his son's head.

His boy was indeed far more mature, patient, and steady than ordinary children his age. For the sake of the boy's future ability to anchor the Zhou family, they were providing him with a classical education to broaden his horizons, and they did not hide these sensitive clan matters from him. Yet, at the end of the day, he still possessed the innocent mind of a child, utterly blind to the absolute malice of the human heart.

"Because their surname is not Zhou."

"And remember, you must never speak of this matter to your mother or your grandmother," Zhou Hong warned strictly.

He knew full well that while Lin Cuilian cared deeply for the Zhou family, she also held deep ties to her maternal clan.

Those maternal relatives could certainly be utilized, but absolutely not at this stage. If they were brought into the fold right now, Zhou Hong truly feared that the Zhou family's line might be subtly extinguished before they knew it.

The human heart was a treacherous abyss. If someone from his wife's side became blinded by raw greed and coveted the foundations the Zhou family had built, they might very well conspire with the other local surnames to sever the Zhou family's lineage. If that happened, what was Zhou Hong supposed to do? sever ties with his wife and slaughter his own in-laws for the sake of justice?

Furthermore, if the maternal clan gained a monopoly over the mountain herb trade, wrestling that control back from them in the future would prove near impossible. Thus, Zhou Hong would rather lock the map away in a dark drawer than allow his wife's family to stick their hands into their business right now.

Only when Changhe grew up to lead the estate, and every critical position was firmly held by a member of the Zhou bloodline, could they prevent the maternal or in-law clans from usurping their position and allowing outsiders to dictate the fate of their household.