Uncle Zhang laughed and said, "Late Autumn, I can slaughter pigs, so leave the work of making cured meat to me! I guarantee I'll make the cured meat look, smell, and taste amazing, so good that people in the county will be scrambling to buy it!"

In just two days, more than 30 households signed up to join the side business group. Lin Wanqiu divided everyone into several groups: soy sauce group, pickled vegetable group, cured meat group, and snack group. Each group selected an experienced and responsible person as the group leader to organize everyone's work. She also formulated detailed rules and regulations, such as daily working hours, product quality standards, and work point calculation methods, to ensure that the side business group could operate in an orderly manner.

The commune's old warehouse was quickly tidied up. Lin Wanqiu led everyone to divide the warehouse into several areas, which were designated as production, storage, and packaging areas. Shen Tingzhou used his spare time to help everyone build stoves, pickling pools, and drying racks. He also cut some bamboo from the mountain and wove many bamboo baskets and crates to hold raw materials and finished products.

With everything ready, the side business group officially started work. Lin Wanqiu taught everyone how to make food step by step: she taught the soy sauce group how to select soybeans, how to ferment them, and how to control the temperature and humidity to ensure the taste and aroma of the soy sauce; she taught the pickled vegetable group how to select fresh vegetables, how to pickle them, and how to mix the seasonings to make different flavors of pickled vegetables; she taught the cured meat group how to select pork, how to pickle it, and how to dry it to make cured meat with a good balance of fat and lean meat and a rich aroma; and she taught the snack group how to make sesame candy and peanut brittle, controlling the heat and sugar content to make sweet and crispy snacks.

Everyone studied very diligently, actively seeking help from Lin Wanqiu whenever they encountered problems they didn't understand. Lin Wanqiu always patiently answered their questions and demonstrated again and again until everyone had learned. After finishing his work each day, Shen Tingzhou would also come to help in the side business group, sometimes chopping wood and carrying water, sometimes tending the stove, and sometimes even helping to move the finished products to the storage area.

After school, Nian'an would also help out in the side hustle group. Although he was young and couldn't do heavy work, he would help the aunties in the snack group by handing them sesame seeds and peanuts, and he would also help pack the finished sesame candies into small bags, doing it quite well. Everyone liked this sensible child very much, and they would often give him a piece of freshly made sesame candy. Seeing him eat it with a satisfied look on his face filled everyone with joy.

As time went on, the sideline production team made more and more food products. The aroma of soy sauce filled the entire village, and the refreshing taste of pickled vegetables, the rich flavor of cured meat, and the sweet aroma of snacks made passersby drool. Lin Wanqiu knew it was time to sell these products in the county town. After discussing it with Shen Tingzhou, she decided to take some samples to the county town's supply and marketing cooperative and vegetable market to see if they could find a market.

The next morning, Lin Wanqiu and Shen Tingzhou carried baskets full of samples to the county town. They first went to the largest supply and marketing cooperative in the county, found Director Wang, and presented him with soy sauce, pickled vegetables, cured meat, sesame candy, and peanut brittle. Director Wang took a sip of the soy sauce and his eyes lit up instantly: "This soy sauce has a really rich flavor, much better than the soy sauce we sell now!" He then tasted the pickled vegetables, which were refreshing and delicious; the cured meat, which was fatty but not greasy; and the sesame candy, which was sweet and crispy.

Director Wang said happily, "The quality of your products is excellent! I've decided to cooperate with you long-term. How about you deliver 100 jin of soy sauce, 50 jin of pickled vegetables, 30 jin of cured meat, 20 jin of sesame candy, and 20 jin of peanut brittle to the supply and marketing cooperative every month, and charge 90% of the market price?"

Lin Wanqiu and Shen Tingzhou exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise and delight in each other's eyes. They hadn't expected to find such a good sales channel on their first trip to the county town. Lin Wanqiu quickly said, "Director Wang, thank you so much! We will definitely deliver on time and guarantee the product quality!"

After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, they went to the county town's vegetable market and visited several food stalls, letting the stall owners taste their samples. The stall owners all praised their products and expressed their willingness to purchase and sell them.

On their way back from the county town, Lin Wanqiu and Shen Tingzhou were filled with joy. They knew that the first step of their sideline business group had been a success. Next, they would lead their fellow villagers to work hard, produce more and better products, and enable everyone to earn money and live a better life.

Back in the village, Lin Wanqiu shared the good news about her trip to the county town with the villagers in the sideline production group. Everyone cheered and became even more enthusiastic. Aunt Wang exclaimed excitedly, "Wanqiu, thank you so much! With you, we'll never have to worry about money again!"

Lin Wanqiu said with a smile, "This is the result of everyone's hard work. As long as we work together and do our jobs well, things will definitely get better and better in the future!"

As night deepened, the warehouse of the sideline business group remained brightly lit, with villagers still busy preparing food. Lin Wanqiu watched their bustling figures, her heart filled with emotion. She knew this was just the beginning, and many challenges awaited them, but she was confident that with Shen Tingzhou's support and the villagers' hard work, the sideline business group would thrive and lead everyone to prosperity.