The New Year has passed, and the Li family should start planning for the coming year.

"When spring comes, we still need to farm the land and start building the workshop. It seems we're a bit short-handed."

Li Xushen spoke first, saying that after the New Year, spring would arrive, and the land cleared at home would definitely be planted.

“What Brother Shen said makes sense.” Li Xuming nodded affirmatively. “I talked to my mother before. This land must be cultivated. After all, the garrison will come to inspect and we still need to deliver grain. When spring comes, we can concentrate our manpower to prioritize the cultivation of the land. All the women in the family and all the boys over ten years old must go to the fields to cultivate the land.”

"The tofu business is run by two teams of men, one team makes tofu and the other goes to the fields, and they switch roles the next day."

“That works too. After the planting is finished, Xu Hai will take some people to take care of the work in the fields, while the others will focus on making tofu.”

"Don't worry. I've already put my name on the county magistrate's list regarding the bean sprouts before the New Year. Our family also has close ties with the Cao family. We've already inquired about Magistrate Lin. He's a man who cares about the people and likes to get things done. If this workshop is built, Magistrate Lin will definitely give it his full support."

Li Xuming remained calm and unhurried. He had been trying to curry favor with the Cao family all year, and now it was finally time to reap the rewards.

The Li family allied themselves with the Cao family so that they could benefit from having a powerful backer. Regardless of whether others would notice the workshop, with the Cao family's support, things wouldn't be too difficult. If they could expand further and attract the attention of the county magistrate, that would be even better. For a county magistrate who gets things done, what could be more gratifying than seeing the poor people under his jurisdiction earn money and the people live in peace and prosperity?

The others also realized what Li Xuming meant after hearing his words.

"That's Ming-ge for you, he really thinks far ahead."

Li Xuming waved his hand, which led to another matter.

"Did you try the spicy snacks that your mother made the other day?"

“It’s full of flavor, that’s what I wanted to talk about today.”

Li Xuyue was excited. He had wanted to talk to Li Xuming after tasting the food that day, but his own father persuaded him to stay. It was the New Year, and everything had to be postponed.

"These spicy snacks have a unique flavor and are excellent with alcohol."

Li Xushen wholeheartedly agreed, saying that this oily and spicy dish was perfect for pairing with alcohol.

"Even if it's not paired with anything else, it's still delicious to eat on its own. Once I tried it that day, I couldn't stop eating it." Li Xuxi was a little embarrassed. It was indeed a bit awkward to say that an adult couldn't control their mouth.

The brothers smiled amicably, and Li Xuyue patted Li Xuxi on the shoulder.

“Auntie’s cooking is always good. Not to mention you, I’m the same way.”

"What did Auntie say? Should I make it myself or sell it to her?"

Li Xushen was most concerned about this. In his opinion, he could maximize his profits by selling it himself, while selling the property would definitely result in a loss overall.

“We can do it ourselves and talk to the Gu family. We can sell only to them and negotiate higher terms.”

I collaborated with Gujia before the Lunar New Year, and it's clear that Gujia is quite shrewd. They also have a lot of products planned for release this year. Gujia has a trading fleet, so there's a good chance of collaboration between the two companies.

"Alright."

The group continued their detailed discussion, covering aspects such as the division of labor, which required careful planning.

The division of labor among the Li family members has now been established: Li Xuming is in charge of the normal production of tofu at home and oversees the overall management.

Li Xuyue and Li Xushen are in charge of business development, while Li Xuxi is in charge of material procurement. Li Qingzhang was assigned by Li Xuming and will work with Li Xuxi this year.

Li Xuhai, on the other hand, led a group of people to take charge of the farmland.

Everyone in the family has their own role, and everything is well-organized.

It snowed heavily during the two days of the Lunar New Year, but the sun shone every day after the snow.

The snow is melting quickly, and it's been excessively cold these days.

With Li Qingjun as a cautionary tale, the Li family brews a lot of ginger soup every day, and everyone drinks it three times a day.

Pan Jinhua nestled on the kang (a heated brick bed), where the quilt was warm and cozy.

Li Qingruo, worried that her grandmother would be bored, brought her two younger sisters to keep her company.

The four of them ate snacks and chatted together.

On a whim, Pan Jinhua began telling the story of the White Snake to the girls.

Bored and with nothing to do, Pan Jinhua would tell them about the TV dramas she had watched in her past life to pass the time.

"Then the white snake Bai Suzhen and the green snake became sworn sisters. Later, the two came to the human world, and Bai Suzhen found the benefactor who had saved her when she was a child."

"Grandmother, Bai Suzhen cultivated for a thousand years and became a demon. Is her benefactor still alive?"

"No, this benefactor has been reincarnated many times."

Pan Jinhua didn't miss Li Qingfei's curiosity and patiently answered her questions.

"Bai Suzhen recognized her benefactor by his scent and became acquainted with him. The man was named Xu Xian, a scholar. The two got to know each other and their feelings for each other deepened day by day."

"Wouldn't those two be engaging in illicit relations and secretly pledging their lives to each other?" Li Qingru couldn't help but interrupt. She had been raised in a traditional female manner since childhood, and women were never allowed to have illicit relations with men outside the marriage. She couldn't imagine such a scenario.

Pan Jinhua choked, not wanting to challenge the rules, so she went along with Li Qingruo's words, "What you said makes sense, so this is a story."

"The two pledged their lives to each other. After Xu Xian returned home to inform his parents, he married Bai Suzhen."

“Xu Xian does seem to have some affection for her.” Li Qingruo nodded, “Since they are mutually in love, they should get married.”

Pan Jinhua shook her head, her eyes filled with affection.

"The couple was very happy after their marriage, living in perfect harmony and enjoying each other's company, but danger was gradually approaching."

"There was a highly virtuous monk who had no liking for demons who had taken human form. In his heart, a demon was a demon, evil, and would sooner or later bring disaster to the world. One day, he met Xu Xian and smelled the scent of a demon on him. Fahai was the name of that monk. After several investigations, he finally learned that the scholar Xu Xian's wife was actually a snake demon. A snake demon's love was unacceptable to the world, let alone the fact that Bai Suzhen was pregnant."

"Fahai directly told Xu Xian Bai Suzhen's identity. Xu Xian initially didn't believe it, but gradually became skeptical. Meanwhile, Bai Suzhen's sister Xiaoqing was furious when she learned that Bai Suzhen had fallen in love with a mortal and was pregnant."

"One day, following Fahai's advice, Xu Xian gave Bai Suzhen wine containing realgar. Bai Suzhen could smell the odor, but because she loved Xu Xian so much, she drank it anyway. Sure enough, not long after, Bai Suzhen suffered from severe abdominal pain and transformed back into her original form, revealing her snake tail. Xu Xian was so frightened that he ran away from the door."

"Ah! Bai Suzhen is so pitiful!" Li Qingfei said frankly. She didn't care about love or anything like that. In her eyes, Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen were already husband and wife, the closest people in the world. Yet, she was so pitiful to be hated by someone so close.

"Grandmother, what's next?" Li Qingzhi had also taken it all in and was eager to know what happened next.

Pan Jinhua then recounted the rest of the story: Bai Suzhen stealing the lingzhi mushroom, Bai Suzhen flooding Jinshan Temple, and her battle with Fahai before being imprisoned in Leifeng Pagoda. Through these events, Xu Xian realized that he loved Bai Suzhen, regardless of whether she was human or snake.

Bai Suzhen later gave birth to a son, but was still suppressed by Fahai in Leifeng Pagoda, separating the lovers and preventing the family from seeing each other again.