After exchanging pleasantries, Wang and Su finally revealed the purpose of their visit.

Su readily agreed, and the next day, when she had some free time, she went to Cui to inquire about her thoughts.

Having experienced so much, Cui had come to terms with it and no longer held the idea that her daughter couldn't marry a farmer.

These days she has also been secretly observing Jiang Laowu and thinks he is smart and of good character. If she helps him, he will surely achieve great things in the future.

She naturally agreed to the marriage.

However, she made a few demands, namely that the other party must agree that even if he becomes successful in the future, he cannot take a concubine and must devote himself to her daughter.

Another point is that the proper betrothal gifts must not be less than expected. The Jiang family is currently facing difficulties, so she can give them more time to prepare.

In addition, the six rites of betrothal, asking the name, accepting auspicious omens, presenting betrothal gifts, announcing the date, and welcoming the bride are all indispensable.

Her daughter had to be married into the Jiang family in a grand and glorious manner, riding in a bright red sedan chair.

Upon hearing this, Madam Su clicked her tongue in amazement. It was truly difficult to marry a daughter from the Guo family.

Although she was amazed, she still relayed Cui's words to Wang verbatim, letting her consider it herself.

At first, Wang's expression changed when she heard Cui's request, but considering Guo Xinyi's identity, she felt that Cui's request was not excessive.

It's just that their family is too poor.

She sighed and first consulted with her husband.

Jiang the Butcher was originally a very burly man, but now he is so thin and bony that his back has become hunched.

Looking at her husband's expression, Wang felt a pang of sadness and couldn't bring herself to say the rest of her words.

I always felt that telling him would only add to my husband's burden.

"Why are you crying?" Jiang the butcher asked with heartache when he saw his wife wiping away tears. "We've made it through such difficult times on the road, and now we're settled down. Our daughter is here with us, and she's so successful. Why are you still crying?"

Thinking of her daughter, Wang smiled through her tears, "I never expected that Tangtang would have such a good life."

“That’s right. I thought she couldn’t endure any hardship at home. I was worried about how she would survive the famine. But she not only survived, she also learned so much.”

After Jiang the Butcher finished speaking, he looked at his wife and asked, "Why are you crying?"

"It's nothing!" Wang sighed, and finally brought up her son's marriage.

After hearing Cui's request, Butcher Jiang fell silent.

After a long while, he said, "We need to talk to Lao Wu about this and see what he thinks."

However, we can't break our family rules. The amount of betrothal gifts his brothers gave when they got married is the same amount we'll give for his wedding. If he wants to marry Miss Guo, then he'll have to figure out the extra betrothal gifts himself.

Wang said, "That makes sense."

Although the elderly couple doted on their daughter, they treated their sons equally.

Otherwise, the wives wouldn't be so obedient.

When Jiang Laowu returned from the lime kiln, Wang called him aside and told him about Cui's request and the opinions of the old couple.

Jiang Laowu said, "Mother, don't worry, I'll figure out the betrothal gifts myself. You and Father don't need to worry about it. But could you please ask Aunt Cui if she could give me a little more time to prepare the betrothal gifts?"

Seeing that her son was sensible, Wang felt relieved, but at the same time, she couldn't help but worry, "With war raging outside and us hiding in this valley, how are you going to prepare the betrothal gifts?"

"Don't worry, Mother, I have my own plans." After saying that, Jiang Laowu wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned to look for Jiang Tangtang.

Jiang Tangtang has compiled some information on planting medicinal herbs and is explaining the planting experience to the Lu family, while also teaching her son to read.

Seeing that she was busy, Jiang Laowu did not interrupt her. He sat down on the stone slab next to her, intending to talk to her after Jiang Tangtang finished her work.

Seeing his expression, Jiang Tangtang guessed that things weren't urgent, so she didn't stop and continued to explain to the Lu family some things about identifying medicinal herbs and what to pay attention to when planting them.

After Jiang Tangtang finished delivering what was scheduled for that day, she turned to him and asked, "Fifth Brother, what did you want to see me about?"

Jiang Laowu had originally come up with a way to make money and wanted to ask Jiang Tangtang for advice. However, after listening to Jiang Tangtang talk about medicinal herbs for a long time, he had a new idea in mind.

"Little sister, you now know about medicine and understand the etiquette of medicine?"

Jiang Tangtang nodded, "Fifth Brother, are you interested? Would you like me to teach you?"

Jiang Laowu scratched the back of his head sheepishly and said, "This is a business deal you prepared for the Lu family, right? Am I being inappropriate?"

Jiang Tangtang raised her hand, "Look at where we live, there's so much wasteland that can be developed, and so many mountains. Even if the whole village went into this business, there wouldn't be a problem."

Moreover, the Lu family simply doesn't have enough manpower to handle it all. She will inevitably have to develop the entire village into a medicinal herb cultivation program in the future.

Hearing her say that, Jiang Laowu felt relieved. He had originally planned to take some time to go into the mountains, hunt some game, and exchange it for money to prepare for the betrothal gifts.

However, if he could learn to identify medicinal herbs from his younger sister and pick them while hunting, then he would have another source of income.

When Jiang Tangtang learned of his plan, her eyes lit up.

She had always wanted to go back into the mountains to explore the mountain that contained iron ore, but because Lu Shiyan was not in the valley, she had not been able to find a suitable person to accompany her.

If Fifth Brother takes her with him when he goes into the mountains, it would kill two birds with one stone.

Moreover, by using the excuse of selling medicinal herbs, she could more easily take things out.

"Fifth Brother, take me with you when you go hunting in the mountains. You hunt and I'll gather medicinal herbs. Once the herbs are sold, you can give me half."

“No, you should be paid for all the herbs you collected.” Jiang Laowu quickly refused; he couldn’t take advantage of his sister.

Jiang Tangtang said, "Medicinal herbs can't just be picked and sold; they also need to be processed. Besides, picking medicinal herbs is hard work. When I need your help, Fifth Brother, don't be shy with me."

Jiang Laowu couldn't refuse, so he had to agree. But in his heart, he thought that when the money was bought, he would give most of it to his sister, keeping only a small portion for himself. He also wanted to treat his youngest sister even better in the future.

However, the two of them didn't have time to go into the mountains for the time being. They would only have time once the lime kiln was built and lime was successfully produced.

The successful lime firing made the villagers even more excited. They were all full of energy and felt that their future life was full of hope. They also admired Jiang Tangtang more and more.

Of all the people in the valley, Guo Xuantong was probably the only one who was unhappy.

She had been waiting for Jiang Tangtang to fail at burning lime for the past two days.

But to everyone's surprise, the final news was that Jiang Tangtang and the villagers had successfully produced lime.

How could that be!

The process of burning lime was a secret that even her maternal grandfather's family hadn't been able to crack. The Cui family was one of the most powerful clans in Jiangzhou, with countless talented individuals, and they had been trying to figure it out for years without success. How could a village woman like her possibly know it?

How could she possibly know so much?