"Heh, the courtyard is quite nicely tidied up." Li Yuehua looked it over. "We also wanted to come back and live this kind of rural life before, but I was afraid it would be too idle, so I opened a restaurant in town instead."

"You're destined to be a busybody!" Dingxiang rolled her eyes at her. "I knew you wouldn't settle for mediocrity."

Aren't you the same?

"Likewise."

The two exchanged a smile, then sniffed. "It smells so good!"

"Please have a seat." Xiao Nuan waved her hand. "I steamed some osmanthus cake; I'll go get some for you."

"What a treat!" Li Yuehua raised an eyebrow at Dingxiang.

The village chief and Aunt Hua started chattering as soon as they entered the courtyard. "Xiao Nuan, what delicious food are you making again? The aroma is wafting all the way outside the gate."

Zhang Yulan stepped forward to greet them. "Village Chief, these two are business owners who have come to invest in setting up a factory. Why don't you have a good chat with them?"

"Hello, Village Chief." Dingxiang and Li Yuehua nodded in greeting.

Seeing that no one introduced herself, Aunt Hua stepped forward and introduced herself. "Hello, I'm Aunt Hua."

"So you're Aunt Hua?"

"Yes." Aunt Hua nodded. "The recipe for the health tonic is successful. I'll get some for the two bosses to take back and try later."

“Great!” Dingxiang said. “Could we take both recipes home to try?”

"Sure," Aunt Hua said with a knowing smile. "But you have to be very careful. You can drink the improved health wine as you like, but you'll have to be careful with the other one. I'm just giving you a heads-up."

"The osmanthus cake is here." Xiao Nuan came out carrying a plate of exquisitely cut pastries.

"Wow, the food is so exquisite, we don't even dare to eat it."

"My God, what are you made of? How can you be so beautiful?"

"Have a taste!" Xiao Nuan held out a plate and let each of them take a piece.

Xiao Nuan's osmanthus cake received unanimous praise.

What was supposed to be a discussion about setting up a factory turned into a food seminar. Everyone was asking Xiaonuan what the color of the osmanthus cake was made of, and she said it was made from the peel of red radishes.

When they continued to ask for the recipe, Xiaonuan said with a grin, "Are you investing in a winery or in my restaurant?"

"With your skills, you could easily open a restaurant," Dingxiang said generously, waving her hand. "If you're willing to open one, I guarantee I'll invest in it."

"Let's talk about setting up the winery first," the village chief coughed lightly, bringing the topic back.

“We will invest in setting up a winery, but Aunt Hua’s recipe must be handed over to us,” Dingxiang said.

“No problem,” Aunt Hua said.

“We need to add one more thing,” Li Yuehua added. “Aunt Hua must not pass on the medicinal wine recipe, not even to her family.”

"OK."

"Great, that's great!" Dingxiang clapped. "As long as these two conditions are met, there will be absolutely no problem with funding. The factory and equipment will be handed over to you. Yuehua and I will register the trademark first, and you will be responsible for production. We will take care of the sales."

"Xiao Nuan, come and write a cooperation agreement with them." The village chief brought paper and pen and then respectfully gestured for them to proceed.

Su Xiaonuan wrote all the conditions for both parties into the agreement. Finally, she said to Li Yuehua and Ding Xiang, "Our friendship is one thing, but for the benefit of the villagers, I would like to add another clause to the agreement: after the two bosses obtain the formula, they are not allowed to open another factory. For the common benefit of both parties, there must be mutual constraints, not just one-sided constraints. If there is a breach of contract, the breaching party must compensate the other party for the losses. What do you think?"

The village chief and Aunt Hua were so excited that they gave her a thumbs up; Xiao Nuan had thought of things they hadn't.

"You're truly a formidable character!" Dingxiang gave a thumbs up. "I really underestimated you. Okay, with you overseeing things, I have even more confidence in our winery."

After the cooperation agreement was signed by all parties, Dingxiang handed over the first installment of start-up capital to the village chief, so that the village chief could recruit people and build the factory the next day. Su Xiaonuan would take on the role of accountant, and Aunt Hua would become the technical advisor for the factory.

Finally, Dingxiang and Li Yuehua went to Aunt Hua's house. They took two jugs of wine, and the village chief also gave them some local specialties, but they didn't accept them. They only took Aunt Hua's wine and the osmanthus cake made by Xiaonuan.

After watching Dingxiang's Santana sedan drive away, the village chief bowed to Su Xiaonuan. "Comrade Su Xiaonuan, on behalf of the entire village, I thank you."

"No, you mustn't!" Xiao Nuan quickly reached out to stop her. "Aren't you shortening my lifespan? How can an elder bow to a junior like me?"

“Little Nuan, just bear with it. Anyway, our village has become rich, and the village chief has gained prestige,” Aunt Hua said. “He might even get promoted. Our village is at the forefront of getting rich, and the village chief is the one who benefits the most.”

"What nonsense are you talking about?" The village chief glared at Aunt Hua and said seriously. "Soon, you will be the technical advisor in the factory, and also a key figure in the factory. You have to change your frivolous ways. Don't forget, words can cause trouble, especially those related to the wine recipe. Don't let them out, or you'll lose money to death."

"Put some in." Aunt Hua curled her lips. "I know how effective this is. If I hadn't kept it a secret, this recipe would have been leaked long ago. Look at my family, none of them know it. Now, only the three of us women know it."

"Then Aunt Hua, did I miss something?" Su Xiaonuan joked. "I gave you the herbal tea recipe, but you didn't tell me the medicinal wine recipe. I'm at a huge disadvantage."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now. You added that last line yourself."

"Xiao Nuan was just joking with you. Did you think she really wanted your formula?" The village chief waved his hand. "Everyone go home."

When Su Xiaonuan returned to her own yard, she saw that both children had colorful silk scarves tied around their necks and several small hair clips in their light-colored hair.

"Mersh, what are you doing? They're all boys, why are you putting all this on them?"

DouDou: Mom, am I pretty?

Guoguo: Mom, am I pretty?

"Sister-in-law, I was just playing around with them, I didn't really mean to make them look like this." She quickly went to get the hair clips from the children's heads. "These scarves are so cheap, only 50 cents each. Lan Yin gave me one before, and I thought it would be very expensive."

Su Xiaonuan looked up and saw a pile of small hair clips, small ornaments, and dozens of silk scarves on the stone table.

Why are you buying so much stuff? Are you going to set up a street stall?

"Yes. I sell them at the market on market days. All of these are from the provincial capital; you can't buy them in our town."

Aren't you going to review your lessons?

"Studying, huh?" She quickly took the silk scarves off the children's necks. "I can study and earn money at the same time. You and my brother are already carrying such a heavy burden. I don't want you to pay for my schooling."

One cannot do two things at once.

“If my sister-in-law can multitask, why can’t I?” Moxi said. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you down. I went to the provincial capital this time and came back. I think you’re right. Only by getting into university can I change my destiny. I will work hard.”