The men surrounded Xia Xiucai, asking him all sorts of questions.

Although Xia Xiucai had mental issues and sometimes spoke incoherently, making his words unclear to the group of farmers.

But it didn't dampen everyone's spirits; after the jokes and banter, they still made sure to complete today's praise task.

"What the scholar said is very true. I've only heard about it from people in the county town. Oh my! Those people are all from the county government." Li Laoshi slapped his thigh, speaking with great excitement.

He had been to the county government office with Jiang Zhi, and now he talks about the county government office all the time.

“Honest brother, you’re wrong. This scholar is no less capable than those county officials. It’s just that nobody in Xu Family Village knows him. There’s a saying, isn’t there? Oh! A luminous pearl falling into a cesspool…” Xu Gensheng had to disagree.

Before he could finish speaking, someone slapped him on the back, making him jump up with a cry of pain.

Xu Genqing cursed and swore: "What nonsense are you spouting? If the scholar is a luminous pearl fallen into a cesspool, what have we become!"

"Hahaha!"

"Well done!"

Among the crowd, Xia Xiucai still didn't smile, but the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, making his expression a little more lively than before.

In the past, he would have left impatiently in such a noisy environment.

Perhaps it's because he was too active and wanted to be still, or too still and wanted to be active. After putting down his book, he found the farmers' conversations quite interesting.

Compared to the praise-filled groups on this side, the women on the other side were much quieter.

They were peeling cotton bolls around a basket, praising them highly.

"Aunt Liu, with all this cotton, you can make a few more new quilts. Alas! My family grows so little, it's only enough to sell for a few hundred coins!"

Pi peeled cotton bolls, her hands and mouth never stopping, but judging from her beaming expression, she didn't seem to mind that there weren't enough.

Cotton is much more expensive than growing grain. Although we grow less, we take good care of it, and the cotton bolls are plentiful, which makes my in-laws very happy.

They said selling cotton would help repair the house, making this winter easier.

The basket of cotton in front of you belongs to Xu Genyou's family.

In the spring, Jiang Zhi said that rubbing manure balls could be used to grow corn and cotton. He also planted some cotton quilts because he needed them, and learned how to manage them as well.

Now, my aunt's cotton field is managed by Tian Gui. He grows it well, and his is not bad either. They can't harvest all the cotton themselves, so they take it over here when there are many people.

When Tian heard Pi's praise, she just smiled and didn't say anything more, but she was feeling very uneasy.

When the two families divided their property, the land was also divided. Now, this cotton is planted on the land belonging to my sister-in-law.

If my sister-in-law, Wang Xiaoju, finds out, she might come back and cause trouble at any time.

But what you fear most is what happens. Neighbors and fellow villagers share land, and everyone knows where each family is from.

No sooner had Pi finished speaking than Qin interrupted, "I remember your cotton field belongs to Xiaoju. Genbao is a cotton carder, so it's good to let him use his family's skills. This cotton is just enough to give her a whole bed."

Tian was never good with words, and now her face turned bright red; she didn't know how to respond.

Unexpectedly, Pi glanced at Qin and said with a smile, "Aunt Qin is quite generous. Did Xiao Ju help carry a basket of manure or hoe a clump of weeds? She wants a quilt for no reason. I say this is what a daughter-in-law should do to show filial piety to her mother-in-law."

It's said that two kinds of people can't sleep in the same bed. Pi is a lively person, and like Xu Gensheng, he's a quick-tongued person.

She used to say whatever she thought and even spoke up for Xu Changshou.

Now that her husband has taken her under his wing, she knows who is close and who is distant, and she will even take things back to her own home. Wang Xiaoju doesn't want to go back to the village, so why should she still miss the good things about the village?

Qin felt uncomfortable after being rebuffed, and her expression turned unpleasant.

But the women around her were laughing and talking about other things, and no one cared about her mood at all.

Qin was still furious during the day.

The cotton from Tian Gui's family next door was also plentiful, its white blossoms covering the entire drying yard, making her extremely envious.

But now she dares not act wildly and curse like before, and can only keep an eye on her daughter-in-law Lianhua at all times.

To prevent Lianhua from running off to the Tian family to help that pregnant woman if I didn't keep an eye on her for a moment.

I originally came here just to relieve my boredom, but now that I'm being bullied, I can't sit still anymore, so I'm making an excuse to leave.

But she felt unwilling to leave like that, so she wandered around outside the drying shed alone, peeking out furtively.

While others didn't care about Qin's reaction, Li Laoshi in the crowd did.

He listened to the casual conversation, but his eyes kept glancing outside.

What is that woman trying to do? Is she in a hurry to pee or holding in her poop?

Jiang's wife entrusted her with the important task of guarding the warehouse, so she had to keep it "safe," "clean," and "tidy."

I sweep the area several times a day, and no one is allowed to secretly poop or pee indiscriminately!

………………………………

Jiang Zhi soon learned about the village's evening gathering.

An idea immediately came to her mind.

The next day, he went to the village and first found Li Laoshi: "The villagers come here to cool off in the evening. You have to keep a close eye on them and make sure they don't play with fire."

Originally, gatherings were not allowed in the warehouse, but since there was no suitable place for leisure in Xujia Village, and people often talked about things here, they got used to coming over.

Fortunately, it was filled with leaves and straw, so there's no need to worry about theft; the only concern is fire.

Li Laoshi patted his chest and said, "Sister Jiang, you can rest assured. I don't need to tell you, even the little kids in the village who are taller than the wooden bucket know that anyone who touches the flint will get a good beating from their father."

Nowadays, Xujia Village is just a big, dry place, and everyone is keeping a close eye on their fires, afraid that a single fire will burn it down.

Jiang Zhi always asks this question. After checking the baskets and piles of leaves and grass powder in the warehouse, she knows that the villagers are not slacking off.

Last time, we sent 10,000 mosquito coils to Huo Family Pharmacy and also sent some mosquito repellent and mosquito coils to Zhang Juntou. We're not making mosquito coils anymore, but we haven't stopped preparing raw materials.

After making a quick look around the warehouse, Jiang Zhi headed straight for Xia Xiucai's house.

Because of the hot weather and scorching sun, Xia Xiucai built another thatched shed outside his house.

There was a pile of mugwort and various grass scraps and leaves next to it, all of which were waste from making mosquito coils. The smoke drifted out and drove away mosquitoes, which was a way to make use of waste.

Inside, several women were sitting, all doing needlework with the scholar's wife. They were all very serious, and no one was laughing or joking.

Upon seeing Jiang Zhi arrive, everyone greeted her: "Village Chief!"

"Auntie!"

"sister in law!"

Jiang Zhi glanced over at the five or six people; they were all young wives from the village, along with two little girls.

Among them were Tian Gui's Tian Tao, Xu Genyou's Chunxi, and Xu Genqing's Lianhua.

Jiang Zhi nodded. Very good. She can learn some embroidery skills steadily. Having a skill will give her something to rely on in the future.

When Xia's mother saw her arrive, she quickly went to greet her: "Jiang sister, it's very hot. If there's anything you need, just let Errui tell you. It must be tiring for you to come all this way."

Since his daughter-in-law started embroidering fan surfaces, his son, although still mostly sitting quietly every day, has become more emotionally stable and no longer shouts out his memorizations every day. At this point, he can even help his grandson practice calligraphy.

When Jiang Zhi arrived, she saw Xia Xiucai writing calligraphy for Xia Yuan. Peeking over, she saw that Xia Xiucai had excellent handwriting!

She became increasingly enthusiastic, thinking it would be a waste not to have such a talented person as a teacher.