Soon, Li Laoshi, having received the news, came running over excitedly.

"Sister Jiang, are you really going to buy meat?"

“Yes, you’re quick on your feet, so buy it back soon!” Jiang Zhi said.

Li Laoshi readily replied, "Okay! I'll go right away."

Oh, by the way, Sister Liu, Genbao and his wife work together quite well, they're very methodical.

He's been keeping watch over the drying shed, deliberately watching the two of them work.

Liu forced a smile: "It's good that you can do it!"

Li Laoshi went to town to buy meat, but he didn't go alone.

He has now become the king of the village children, and he is always surrounded by a large group of people wherever he goes.

Even now, when walking ten miles under the scorching sun, he has company. Xu Gen's family's children, Tian Gui's family's children, as well as the Shi and Lin families, are all completely charmed by his sweet talk.

Li Laoshi was also the most generous spender. He spent twenty coins to buy meat and tofu, and even gave each child a taste of sweet soup to win their hearts.

With these informants around, the villagers had no secrets from Li Laoshi anymore; they even knew when Qin went to the outhouse to defecate each day.

Farmhouse meal, 2:30 PM.

Li Laoshi bought meat and tofu from town, and Tian Shi cooked them into three dishes by stir-frying and braising.

Then, use the oil from the wok to make a pot of vegetable soup, add a few grains of salt, and don't waste the last bit of oil in the wok. So, you have meat, tofu, and vegetables, making for a hearty meal.

At this time, Xu Genbao and Wang Xiaoju were also called back by Li Laoshi.

It is said that there are three hardships in life: rowing a boat, blacksmithing, and grinding tofu, but cotton carding is also recognized as the dirtiest and most tiring job.

The strings resonate, and petals flutter down.

A slingshot, a millstone, a cotton fluffing mallet, and a cotton-fluffing strip are the tools a cotton fluffer uses to make a living.

After most of the day had passed, the cotton quilt was almost finished.

Xu Genbao and Wang Xiaoju had become completely different people. Their bodies were covered with fluffy fluff, not only in their hair but also in their eyelashes.

Previously, Liu had only ever seen Xu Genbao dressed in white cotton, and had never seen Wang Xiaoju do such work before.

From then on, no one could be relied on, and one had to work hard on one's own. Suddenly feeling a little sorry for them, I quickly got a handkerchief and had the two of them wash their faces and bodies.

After everything was tidied up, everyone sat down to eat.

With vegetables and meat, this meal should have been a happy one, but the atmosphere was oppressive.

Wang Xiaoju kept her head down, feeding the child, and didn't even have time to eat herself.

Tian Shi, being soft-hearted, couldn't bear to see Lei Zi suffer, so she pulled him over and said, "You should eat by yourself. You only drank a bowl of water this morning, and you've been working hard all day. I'll help you take care of the child."

After quickly filling his stomach, Xu Genbao said, "Aunt Jiang, the cotton quilt will be finished soon, I'll go right now."

Jiang Zhi put down her chopsticks and told him not to rush off: "Genbao, sit for a while longer, I have a few words to say!"

Xu Genbao knew it was time to be interrogated, so he put his bottom back on the stool. But because of nervousness, his whole body was stiff and tense. He pursed his lips and said, "Aunt Jiang, ask away!"

"Genbao, how many beds of cotton quilts can you fluff in a day? How much do you get paid?"

This is Jiang Zhi's biggest concern.

In modern times, there are machines for ginning and combing cotton. Craftsmen use fluffy cotton to make cotton wadding, which requires binding with cotton thread and reinforcing mesh. Two people can make a dozen or twenty waddings a day.

But here we need to start by manually removing the seeds...

Seeing that Aunt Jiang didn't ask why he wasn't doing farm work, but instead asked about his cotton quilting business, Xu Genbao relaxed: "I make cotton quilts in town without needing to roll the seeds, and I can make two quilts a day."

If we go to the mountains, we have to grind the seeds ourselves. With Xiaoju's help, we can make one and a half quilts a day.

He also mentioned the wages for making cotton quilts: "In town, it's fifty coins per quilt, but I haven't decided on the wages for going into the mountains yet. I'm planning to charge eighty coins."

Jiang Zhi nodded. She didn't understand the pricing for cotton processing; only professionals like Xu Genbao knew.

Liu hesitated for a moment, but when she heard about going into the mountains, she finally couldn't help but say, "You're not familiar with the people in the mountains. What if you encounter someone unreasonable? The world is not peaceful these days. What if something happens... Sigh!"

The chaos of war in Pingchuan County had just subsided, and although things seemed to have calmed down, everyone was still on edge.

Villages in the mountains are even more wary, and strangers take risks when visiting each other's homes.

Xu Genbao said, "I know a few acquaintances in town. I've been there before with my master, and now I want to go work in their village first."

Even if there's no new cotton, we can still refurbish old cotton wadding. It'll get dirty, but at least it's quick to do.

Jiang Zhi nodded again. If you go to work in a village where you know people, it's okay since you know the people and the work is familiar. One person can guide another, and you can gradually get started.

The old cotton wadding being refurbished is incredibly dirty.

Jiang Zhi then looked at Wang Xiaoju: "Are you willing to leave your child to suffer?"

Going into the mountains isn't like going to a town; you can come and go as you please. Sometimes it takes a whole day to find a decent village.

If every household wanted to do cotton ginning, they would rarely be able to go out and do it even once a month.

And how can someone who's been pampered since childhood handle all this dirty and tiring work every day? Won't she run away halfway through?

This is also what Liu is most worried about.

Wang Xiaoju gritted her teeth: "While Leiwa is still young, I'd better hurry up and earn some money so that I won't be bullied again!" As she said this, her eyes immediately reddened.

In Wang Xiaoju's case, "bullying" has multiple meanings. Previously, it was Tian Shi and Jiang Zhi who bullied her, simply because they did not meet her demands.

Now she's been kicked out by her sister-in-law from her own family, who even curses her as a jinx.

She's a scoundrel who harms her own family by living off her husband's family. She's lazy and deserves to be poor her whole life. As long as her troublesome mother is around, Leiwa is destined to be a bachelor.

She now truly understands what bullying is.

Xu Genbao suddenly stood up and knelt in front of Liu: "Mother, I want to go and earn money."

Working on the farm at home is stable, but there's no money to be made.

I'm not afraid of hardship; I want to earn money to repair my house and earn respect from others.

These words left Liu and Xu Genyou's family completely bewildered. Was this really their son who always relied on others for help with everything?

I wonder what kind of shock he and Wang Xiaoju experienced at the Wang family that made them so determined to work hard!

Liu was both worried and happy: "It's good that you two are willing to endure hardship. Why don't you try it out in the surrounding villages first!"

Since Xu Genbao and his wife are determined to make money, they should definitely be supported. Jiang Zhi also felt that they should find out more details before going.

You can ask Zhang Juntou about this. They patrol the roads and occasionally stop in villages to rest, so they naturally know which villages are peaceful and easy to get along with.

And they can help out if anything happens.

When Jiang Zhi said this, the whole family was overjoyed, and Wang Xiaoju even smiled.

Although she was going out with her husband, she was always afraid in unfamiliar places. If Aunt Jiang could find the patrol officers to help her, she would no longer worry about being in danger outside.

Xu Genbao was so grateful that he wanted to kneel down again: "Aunt Jiang, you have helped me a lot again. I want to repay your great kindness."

Jiang Zhi stopped him: "Work hard outside, and don't embarrass me again, that's your way of repaying me."