Seeing her like this, Lu Song felt a pang of sympathy. He had bought oil lamps in town that day and quickly lit them for them.

"Hey, Song'er, there's no need to light the lamp. Lamp oil is expensive. You can keep it for yourself." Seeing that their grandson had actually lit an oil lamp, Old Man Lu and his wife hurriedly stopped him. They thought to themselves that the oil lamp should be saved for their grandson. Now that Song'er was in school, if he was busy during the day, he would inevitably have to study at night.

Lu Song ignored them and lit the small oil lamp, bathing the whole room in a yellow glow.

The elderly couple took a look and thought, "This is really good, much better than relying on moonlight!" They smiled and glanced at their grandson, thinking to themselves, "It's the grandson who's so considerate!"

Lu Song placed the oil lamp on the table, carefully took out a piece of silver from his sleeve pocket, and handed it to Old Man Lu.

"Grandpa, Grandma, this is my wages."

What? Wages?

The old couple were both stunned. A piece of broken silver must be worth an ounce or two, right?

"Grandpa, Grandma, this is my wages for working at Da Wa's house. I usually follow Da Wa to do business in the city, and I earn twenty coins a day."

I know I shouldn't take this money, and I tried to refuse, but Brother Da Wa said that all the helpers working for the Qin family, regardless of age or gender, receive wages, and if I don't accept it, they won't use me anymore!

"Grandpa, Grandma, I like doing business and I like going out with Brother Da Wa to broaden my horizons, so..." Lu Song smiled sheepishly. He never dared to tell Aunt San Niang directly that he didn't like studying, unlike Brother Da Wa. Although Grandpa and Grandma were enlightened elders, they couldn't reach Aunt San Niang's level in a short time, and this matter needed to be discussed in detail.

He has been running business with his eldest son for more than four months, and he still has one tael and eight mace of silver left. He has used the rest to buy delicious food and fun toys for his younger siblings!

These days, my family is struggling to make ends meet, and I can't just stand by and do nothing. It's heartbreaking to see my grandparents working so hard every day at their age. But I also need to have some spare change on me when I'm out and about.

After thinking it over, he gave the larger portion of the silver to his grandparents, the remaining half tael to his mother, and two qian of silver for emergencies.

Little did they know that, seeing this sentiment, the elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Lu, were moved to tears!

Old Mrs. Chen choked up, exclaiming that her grandson had grown up...

The others were unaware of what had happened in the old man's house, but Old Man Lu and his wife wanted to use this opportunity to give their family a warning. On a chosen day, they told them about their grandson handing over his wages, and pointed out that although Lu Song was a member of the Lu family, he was also a child of the eldest son's branch. The Lu family rule was that 70% of the money earned by one branch went into the public account, while the rest could be kept as private funds.

Hearing this, everyone was quite happy, since Lu Song being able to earn money meant their own families would have more money too. The second and third sons of the Lu family couldn't help but praise their nephew, and even the third son's wife dared not say anything about not waiting for him to start the meal!

She's a bit headstrong, but not stupid! Lu Song, he's working hard to earn money for his family! The new house depends on the efforts of these men!

Qin San Niang's business flourished, and her mooncakes hit the market before the Mid-Autumn Festival, quickly dominating the market. This time, she didn't build her workshop in Shili Gou; instead, Ruyi Cake Shop acquired two new ovens to handle the mooncake production.

This saves the trouble of round-trip transportation, but the store will definitely not have enough staff!

As it happened, the mixed sugar mooncakes made by Zhang caught the eye of Qin San Niang, and she immediately discussed with Old Lady Chen about bringing her eldest daughter-in-law under her wing.

Zhang was indeed capable; she could replicate the making of various mooncakes almost instantly after seeing them only once. Of course, this secret recipe was under contract. In addition, Qin San Niang also entrusted her with the making of some flaky oven-baked pastries.

Having learned so much, Zhang felt somewhat uneasy, thinking to herself how much Da Wa's mother trusted her! Her resolve hardened; she had to keep the recipe safe and work diligently to earn money for Da Wa's mother. Although she had signed a confidentiality agreement, which stipulated a hefty fine for leaking the recipe, she was determined not to reveal it!

Seeing that her eldest daughter-in-law had also shown her face in front of Da Wa's mother, Old Mrs. Chen breathed a sigh of relief. That's right, she had initially asked Zhang to make mixed sugar mooncakes as a way of returning a gift, but she also had her own selfish motives. If she could gain Da Wa's mother's approval and have her stay as a helper, no matter if it was just a short-term job, not to mention the wages, they could also be closer emotionally, right? At the very least, she could help her grandson.

From this perspective, Old Mrs. Chen is a woman of great wisdom!

Qin San Niang didn't just want Zhang Shi to do a short-term job; in the future, oven-baked pastries would be sold at Ruyi Pastry Shop long-term. Mu Chun had already been transferred to the tavern, and the kitchen at Ruyi Pastry Shop was already under strain.

Zhang's skills were excellent, her character upright, and her mind quick-witted; naturally, she would be entrusted with important responsibilities by Qin San Niang...

With the words her mother had told her still lingering in her mind, Zhang finally made it home, stumbling along the uneven path.

Seeing his wife looking so distraught, Lu Laoda couldn't help but ask, "Song'er's mother, what's wrong with you? You're acting like you've seen a ghost in broad daylight!"

She glared at her husband, too lazy to argue with him, and said, "How dare you talk like that? Hurry up, I need to talk to my father and mother."

Upon hearing this, Boss Lu knew the importance of the matter and quickly put down the broom in his hand, pointed inside, and said, "They're all inside. Let's go in."

As they spoke, the couple hurried inside. For some reason, Boss Lu felt that this time it definitely wouldn't be a bad thing.

In the past year, they have been played by fate several times! Fortunately, everything is fine now, but he will not let those who have caused his family sadness and grief off the hook!

Old Mrs. Chen was mending clothes on the porch when she saw her daughter-in-law walk in. She was a little surprised. Shouldn't she be helping out at Da Wa's house right now? Didn't she say yesterday that Da Wa's mother was going to sell mooncakes? She must be making quite a lot, right? Those mooncakes taste good, so there's no worry about them selling! She had secretly guessed how much each pound of mooncakes would sell for. If she didn't sell enough, she wouldn't even break even!

Old Man Lu stopped what he was doing and looked at the couple.

Zhang didn't beat around the bush; this matter needed to be settled quickly, otherwise she would feel uneasy.

"Mother, Father, I have something to tell you! Starting tomorrow, I will no longer work at Da Wa's house."

Upon hearing this, Boss Lu hurriedly asked, "What happened? Did you mess things up?"

"Stop arguing, let your wife finish what she has to say!" Old Mrs. Chen patted her eldest son on the shoulder, not missing the hint of joy in her daughter-in-law's eyes.

"Yes, yes, wife, tell me slowly."

“Mother, Father, Da Wa’s mother wants me to work as a pastry chef at a shop in the county town, so I don’t have to go to her house tomorrow. It’s thirty copper coins a day, and there’s an oxcart to take me there morning and evening! I want to go, but I’m worried I can’t do too much work at home…”

This was the first time Zhang had realized that her craftsmanship was actually so valuable!

Old Mrs. Chen slapped her thigh, interrupting Zhang, and thought to herself, "What a wonderful thing this is!"

"Yes, we definitely have to go! It's such a great job, you couldn't find one even with a lantern. We're still here at home, aren't we? The kids are all grown up and sensible, they can help out on weekdays, so don't worry about it!"

Even if they are too busy, they can't let their eldest daughter-in-law go out to earn money. Firstly, this job is very respectable, and secondly, it can greatly alleviate their family's predicament and help them better integrate into Shiligou.