Along the way, a group of little tails followed behind us, all children from the village, the oldest being seven or eight years old, and the youngest barely able to run.

In the neighboring villages, there are a few families who can afford to raise cattle or mules to help with the work.

Shenjia Village was poor, and the arrival of a donkey was a rare occurrence. The children had never seen one before, so they followed Meng Zhao all the way, and Meng Zhao did not chase them away.

Before they even entered the house, the two children came out to greet them; their friends must have run back ahead of time to tell them.

Excitedly circling the donkey, she asked, "Sister-in-law, is this the donkey you bought?"

"Yes, with this, we'll have a donkey cart when we go to the county to sell boxed lunches in the future."

"Great, great! This way, my sister-in-law and mother won't have to work so hard."

Shen Qingyu stood next to the donkey and whispered to it, "Little donkey, little donkey, I will pick grass for you to eat every day from now on. You have to help with the housework and don't be lazy."

Meng Zhao was amused by the children's words and led them forward to touch the donkey.

Although Meng Zhao didn't recognize which family the children were from, he led them to touch the objects as well.

The children were overjoyed after touching the donkey.

It's fortunate that Meng Zhao chose this donkey with a good temper; otherwise, with so many people surrounding it, it would definitely get angry.

Seeing that it was almost lunchtime, Meng Zhao told the other children to hurry home and eat.

Meng Zhao led the donkey into the yard, tied it to a pillar, and then planned to build a donkey shed later.

The two children were at the age of great curiosity and were still circling around the donkey, unwilling to leave. Meng Zhao was worried that they would anger the donkey and make it kick them, just then she saw Shen Qinghe return.

"Second brother, keep an eye on them. They're circling the donkey and won't leave. Don't let them get kicked later."

As soon as Shen Qinghe arrived home, he saw the donkey in the yard and guessed that his sister-in-law had just bought it. After putting down what he was carrying, he walked over to the two of them and said with a stern face:

"Don't be naughty and make your sister-in-law worry. Have you finished the homework I assigned you before?"

He was usually a man of few words, but his words carried a certain authority, and the two who had been laughing and joking just moments before were instantly stunned.

Shen Qingze and Shen Qingyu lowered their heads, not daring to look at him. Meng Zhao felt a little sorry for them when he saw how aggrieved they looked. Seeing that Gu Shi hadn't finished cooking, he spoke up again.

"Qinghe, why don't you help them ride the donkey for a bit, so they can have some fun?"

Shen Qing turned his head blankly to look at his sister-in-law, who had just asked him to help, a hint of grievance in his expression. He then glanced at his sister-in-law, whose eyes were full of expectation, and sighed inwardly, finally agreeing.

Meng Zhao led the donkey out of the courtyard, while Shen Qing and the children rode around the courtyard twice each. They were finally satisfied with their ride and happily went back to help Gu Shi.

Meng Zhao led the donkey and stood outside the courtyard with Shen Qinghe. Then he took out a note from his sleeve and handed it to him.

"Second brother, take a look at this."

Shen Qinghe took the things handed to him by his sister-in-law, opened them, and stared blankly for a moment before making a sound.

"What... what is this?"

Meng Zhao smiled slightly, a hint of cunning on his face.

“A few days ago, a man who looked like a teacher invited me to cook a banquet. I was busy with the workshop and the dock and was not planning to go. But later I found out that the man was actually the instructor of the county school. You mentioned before that you wanted to go to the county school, so I agreed. While he was enjoying the meal, I helped you get this spot. However, the instructor also said that whether you can get in or not depends on yourself.”

He stood there in silence for a long time, his hand holding the invitation trembling slightly. He lifted the hem of his robe and knelt down before Meng Zhao.

This startled Meng Zhao. She had only said that to make him remember her kindness. As a modern person, she had never seen anything like this before, so she quickly went up to pull him away.

Shen Qinghe pressed himself down, not getting up, and said seriously:

"Sister-in-law, your kindness to the Shen family is like giving us a second life. If it weren't for you, Mother would never have been able to smile again, and my younger brother and sister-in-law probably wouldn't have been able to grow up healthy."

“My sister-in-law works hard at home every day, yet she still has to worry about my affairs. It is really Qinghe’s dereliction of duty.”

"I will always remember my sister-in-law's kindness and will do my best to repay her in the future."

Shen Qinghe spoke with utmost seriousness, as if he were not faking it at all. Meng Zhao was finally relieved; his fate with his parents should not be the same as in the original book.

Feeling a little relieved, Meng Zhao smiled slowly as she looked at his determined gaze and reached out to help him up.

"Alright, once you pass the imperial examination, you must repay your sister-in-law properly. Come inside quickly, Mother should have already prepared the meal."

With a heavy weight lifted off his shoulders, Meng Zhao felt much more at ease, and his mood improved significantly when he set up his stall the next day.

With a smile, he called out, "Everyone, try this braised pig's trotters with preserved mustard greens. It's been braised for almost half an hour, so it's tender and soft. Plus, the chewy preserved mustard greens make it especially good with rice."

The pig's trotters couldn't be cut into exactly the same size, so we gave three pieces for the smaller ones and two pieces for the larger ones, and the amount of preserved mustard greens was generous.

The preserved mustard greens and meat were stewed for a long time, and the meat flavor was very strong. Some diners would break the steamed bun in half and put the preserved mustard greens in the middle to eat, which was almost the same as eating meat.

A customer asked her, "What's making you so happy, Boss Meng?"

She replied with a smile, "Business has been particularly good lately, thank you all for your support."

The man looked around, thought for a moment, and said, "It's almost the Mid-Autumn Festival. Our county's new magistrate is making a big splash in his new role. He issued a decree that starting from the first of next month, the curfew will be lifted for fifteen days, and the night market will be open. Many opera troupes and acrobats want to take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune, so there are quite a few more people at the docks."

Since the founding of the Zheng'an Dynasty, a curfew policy has been in effect.

As public order gradually stabilized over the years, officials repeatedly proposed lifting the curfew and opening night markets. The imperial court then delegated the authority to its officials to decide based on the situation.

The Lunar New Year is the biggest festival of the year besides the Lunar New Year. During the Lunar New Year, the weather is cold, and most people stay at home with their goods and are not very willing to go out.

The Moon Festival falls in early autumn when the weather is pleasant. If the curfew were lifted, people would probably be happy to go out and about, which would greatly boost business.

Meng Zhao naturally couldn't let this great opportunity slip by. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, many young men and women dressed in their finest clothes would be going out to visit relatives and friends. They couldn't just sit by the roadside eating boxed lunches, could they? So what should they sell?

Meng Zhao thought about what he had the most of around him right now, and it was starch. Starch sausage is the king of modern night markets.

But if it's fried on the spot, it's dark and there are a lot of people, and it would be bad if someone got burned. Also, if there are too many people, they might not be able to handle it.

Instead of choosing something that can be made at home, which is convenient and quick, I finally decided to make hot braised skewers after considering it for a long time.

She can make the skewers at home and then bring them to the county to sell. Even if they get cold, it doesn't matter, because the weather isn't completely cold yet, and they still taste good when they're cold.

Moreover, the way of eating skewers is similar to that of candied hawthorn skewers, so you can eat them while walking.