Song Xiaoyu raised her head, holding the rusty, dull knife, and pointed to the upper reaches of the river. "The fish up there were still lively and jumping around. I saw that they were fine, so I used a fork to spear them up."

"You went to the river again! I told you there are piranhas there, don't go in the water!"

Song Xiaoyu rolled her eyes and decided to ignore her.

Li Qiang's wife tried to calm him down, saying, "Didn't he say he used a fork to sling the person up? He definitely didn't go into the water. You're worrying too much."

Zhang Xiue didn't say anything, but went to the side to add firewood.

Qin Xiaoniang was weak at the moment, so drinking some fish soup to replenish her strength would be very good. Song Xiaoyu was also a thoughtful person.

Is there any salt left?

"That's all, just this little bit left." With that, Li Qiang's wife handed over the last bit of salt.

Song Xiaoyu frowned. "It seems we really have nothing left. After we finish eating, I will work as much as possible and try not to hire those women to make these sixty oil-paper umbrellas."

"Third Uncle, although we can finish this little bit of work today with a little effort, we can't limit ourselves to this. If we take on more manual labor in the future, we'll earn more money. Even if we hire some short-term workers, we're not letting them work for free; we can still earn a commission."

Zhang Xiu'e nodded repeatedly, indicating her agreement with Song He'er's suggestion. "Yes, I think He'er is right. There's no need to be too rigid. Only when we have money in our hands can we live comfortably in the future. However... there's still something I don't understand."

Song He'er had already guessed what Zhang Xiu'e was going to ask next. She wanted to know if these people could contact them, and whether they would also contact another group of people in private, which would be detrimental to them.

After all, there's only one business partner. If all the work is distributed among them, it's hard to say who will make money and who will starve.

"Third Aunt, I know what you're worried about, but although merchants are cunning, they still keep their word. Haven't we already signed some documents? I believe he won't renege on his debts."

Zhang Xiue sighed and could only give up for the time being. "That's true, but we're trapped in this little world now. Others have the opportunity to manipulate us, but we don't have the chance to complain about them. So, we can only leave it at that for now... It's no use thinking about it too much."

Song He'er naturally had no reason to worry; she believed Jiang Huaifu wouldn't lie to her.

Even so, she would never stop there. She would seize the opportunity to get to know more Nanzhao people and create opportunities for doing big business in the future. She was not going to live her life in a daze.

Finished oil-paper umbrellas take up a lot of space; when piled up in abundance, they easily attract the attention of women.

A moment later, sure enough, a woman with an average appearance but dressed neatly walked over from not far away.

Judging from their appearance, they were not the same group as those who had caused trouble a few days ago and those who had initially driven them away.

"I wonder if you gentlemen are doing these tasks at the behest of the officers and soldiers?"

Li Qiang's wife was displeased to see that she had come with ill intentions and asked such a question right away.

"Is there something you need, madam?"

"Uh... I don't mean any harm, I just wanted to ask. But don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I... I just want to ask where these jobs are found. I also want to earn some money to buy food for my child."

The woman was very sincere and had a very approachable appearance, so Li Qiang's wife didn't make things too difficult for her.

"Who else is in your family?"

"I...I have an elderly mother-in-law who is over eighty years old, and a baby crying for milk...Kind people, I am really desperate. Without food, I have no milk, and my baby is crying from hunger. I beg you to have pity on me. I can endure any hardship and do any kind of work. Even just a bite to eat would be appreciated!"

Seeing her pleading look, Li Qiang's wife felt a little sorry for her, so she shifted her gaze to Zhang Xiu'e.

Human hearts are made of flesh and blood, and besides, they all have children. Hearing that this young woman was suffering so much, they naturally wanted to help her.

This is nothing like those crazy, shrewish women who were always looking for something better, being so unreasonable and domineering. Even if someone like that starved to death, they wouldn't be given a single penny.

“Here’s what we’ll do: you come here every day to work, do as much as you can, and we’ll pay you. Or if you need anything, you can tell us in advance, and we can exchange it for you when you deliver the goods,” Zhang Xiu’e said.

Upon hearing this, the woman immediately knelt down and kowtowed, tears streaming down her face, "Thank you so much, kind people! I don't want money! I just want food!"

Song He'er stepped forward, helped her up, and asked softly, "What's your name?"

The woman choked up for a long time before stammering, "My name is Ruizhen."

"What kind of business did your family do before? Why were you punished here?"

The woman named Ruizhen seemed to be recalling sad things again, and tears streamed down her face.

“My husband is a minor county magistrate, but he is of questionable character. Last year, before the Lunar New Year, he took several concubines, all of whom were prostitutes. Their behavior was extremely indecent, and they even flirted with the official in the street. When these rumors reached the palace, the official was so angry that he ordered the concubines to be beaten to death. Several lives were lost! The matter was brought to the Dali Temple... and our whole family was demoted.”

As Song He'er listened, she felt indignant. Indeed, men are all animals who think with their lower bodies. Once they get involved with women, they don't care about any sense of propriety or shame. They'd rather risk their lives for a moment of pleasure! It's truly despicable!

"And now? Where is your husband? How come you're all alone with the children and your mother-in-law? Could it be that he..."

Ruizhen shook her head. "He took several concubines, used the only silver in the mansion to bribe the soldiers, and now he has settled down on the hillside, living alone with them."

Zhang Xiu'e, with her fiery temper, rushed over from a short distance away upon hearing this, shouting, "Is he even a man? He's enjoying himself on the mountain while you're left here to suffer! What's worse, he doesn't even care about his own mother! This kind of person should die!"

A mocking smile appeared on Song He'er's lips.

Aren't there plenty of men like this? Wasn't that the same way her biological father abandoned her and her stepmother?

Ruizhen sniffed, wiped away her tears, and looked at Zhang Xiue, replying, "I have to go back now, otherwise my mother-in-law will scold me again. We didn't find any wild vegetables today, so we're afraid we won't have anything to eat..."

Thinking of wild vegetables, Song He'er recalled the group of crazy women who wanted to monopolize the woods, so she asked, "How come we didn't find any wild vegetables? You live right in front of us, closer than us. If you went there early, you should have found some!"

"But...those...those..."