Jiang Zhi delivered steamed buns at the post station and received an agreement as she left.

Cao Yicheng wanted to provide the bidding venue, and as a participant in the bidding, he would naturally take a commission.

Jiang Zhi agreed, as Cao Yicheng's presence would make her life much easier.

After delivering the goods to the post station, she went to the patrol camp where Zhang Juntou was located in Lihua Town.

There was a distance of more than ten miles in between, and we took a small cart pulled by Errui using mules.

This small cart is also what Xu Gensheng usually uses to buy starch and various medicinal herbs.

As usual, they first offered Zhang Juntou steamed buns, but Zhang Juntou didn't even look at them and said directly, "Sister Jiang, is the village's green grain going to be sold? What are we going to do this year? I'll definitely need to get some!"

He ate a lot of tender corn last year and still misses it.

Jiang Zhi smiled and said, "Of course I haven't forgotten Inspector Zhang. I plan to sell it through bidding at the post station."

After thinking it over, Zhang Jun praised Jiang Zhi, "Magistrate Zhang said before that with you as the village chief, Xu Family Village will definitely be better than other places."

The village just built houses, and now they're starting to imitate the city's antique market, with all this bidding.

"Tell me honestly, did Magistrate Zhang secretly give you some kind of booklet so you could understand these things?"

Jiang Zhi chuckled: "All the kids in our village know this. We have classes every day, so everyone knows everything."

It's great to have an encyclopedia in the village; everything can be attributed to Xia Xiucai, including her ability to read in public now.

Zhang Juntou shook his head and sighed, "That half-mad, half-foolish scholar? Other scholars can do what he can. Why didn't the other scholars teach more capable people?"

Jiang Zhi wasn't here to praise Xia Xiucai. She nodded to Er Rui beside her and said, "Take the things to Inspector Zhang to see!"

Er Rui understood and took out a piece of paper, handing it to Zhang Juntou: "Uncle Zhang, this is a contract we've drafted, regarding the profit sharing from mosquito coils. Please take a look!"

Zhang Juntou took the mosquito coil with a puzzled look and found that it was indeed a share of the mosquito coil profits. However, it was not a money amount for each coil sold, but rather a share of the profits from the mosquito coil workshop in Xujia Village!

He immediately became excited, wanting to accept the gift but feeling embarrassed. His eyebrows furrowed, and he rubbed his hands and face, saying, "Sister Jiang, this... I'm no longer stationed in Xujia Village, this isn't appropriate!"

Jiang Zhi said, "We discussed mosquito coil sales last year, and I even said I would give you a sales commission."

Since there's money to be made, why not expand the business and give everyone some savings?

But this inevitably makes us a target, so we're trying to bring in Inspector Zhang to protect us from the storm."

She made it clear that if the mosquito coil workshop were to expand, someone would definitely cause trouble in the future.

Last year I said that instead of asking Zhang Juntou to help with sales, it would be better to just give Zhang Juntou a 10% share of the business, so that I would be more attentive to my own business.

Moreover, as more and more people become aware of the pharmacy, it's better to be safe than sorry. No matter how skilled Xiaoman is, she is still outnumbered and needs Zhang Juntou's help.

Overjoyed to receive the money for nothing, Zhang Juntou folded the paper and put it in his bag, saying with a smile, "Since that's the case, then I'll gladly accept your offer! If Sister Jiang has any trouble in the future, just let me know. I'll also have someone keep an eye out for things."

Although Song Tingzhang from Lihua Town had promised to look after Qingquanwan Pharmacy, Jiang Zhi was still worried.

There are kind people here, as well as villains like Xu Yuxian and that "son-in-law who moved in with his wife's family." Their businesses are growing bigger and bigger, and their popularity is rising.

No matter how much money you earn, it doesn't matter; only money that's in your own pocket is truly yours.

Gaining Zhang Juntou's protection was only the first step. Jiang Zhi smiled and continued, "Inspector Zhang, you can't let your guard down in sales from now on. You need to pay even more attention to your own business!"

Having a stake in the business meant he would own it, Zhang Juntou patted his chest and assured them, "Leave this to me. I'll make sure to ask any passing caravans!"

Jiang Zhi was very satisfied. Although the mosquito coils were to be sold by the Huo family, she couldn't put all her eggs in one basket; that would be too risky.

Giving Zhang Jun a share of the profits was not only to win him over and gain his support, but also to get a sales channel for free.

The Huo family sells mosquito coils, and Zhang Juntou can find other vendors selling them as well, plus they can also be found at the post station.

Flowers bloom everywhere, and walking on several legs ensures that you won't fall and be unable to get up.

After leaving Zhang Juntou's patrol camp, Xu Errui finally couldn't help but ask a question: "Mother, our mosquito coil workshop hasn't even started yet, why did you give it away first?"

Xu Errui was puzzled by his mother's tendency to spend so much of their family's money.

Jiang Zhi calmly asked, "Er Rui, do you think it would be okay if we made money now, dressed in silk and satin, bought servants to serve us, and moved into the city to enjoy a life of luxury?"

Xu Errui frowned: "Mother, we make medicine and mosquito coils. If we leave Xu Family Village, will we still be able to make money?"

There are no medicinal herbs in the city, and the Huo family's largest pharmaceutical workshop is located in their country estate. If they were to move to the city, they would be cutting off their own foundation.

Jiang Zhi nodded: "Yes, we can't leave Xujia Village, so we need to find a way to live peacefully here. Errui, what else do you want to do with the money?"

Xu Errui thought for a moment. He wanted to eat well, wear nice clothes, build a big house, and do something else... He didn't know!

In fact, the life he is living now is the best life he can imagine.

Although I still have to work every day and wear coarse cloth on the outside, most of the work is done by others, and I wear fine cotton underneath.

In the village, they ate vegetable porridge, but when they returned to the mountains, they ate only refined grains and had meat every day. They never went hungry again, and they no longer suffered from the poverty of having only a few coins or taels of silver.

On the surface, it seems that nothing has changed, but the family owns dozens of acres of land, oxcarts, and mule carts, and they will be repairing the house next year.

Moreover, her mother has a hundred taels of silver in savings, and she receives an additional ten taels of silver every month.

He didn't know until he thought about it, and he was shocked. Faced with his mother's question, he really didn't know what to do.

Jiang Zhi didn't press him for answers. For ordinary people, the desire to have three meals a day, be warmly clothed, and lie on a comfortable bed is their only wish.

While those around you are still suffering from hunger and cold, it is safest to keep your wealth hidden and place yourself among the masses.

This is not a society governed by the rule of law; often, interpersonal relationships take precedence over the law.

As an ordinary farming family, without a strong family background or any connections to rely on, they struggled to survive every step of the way.

Now, Jiang Zhi can only use these things to firmly unite the people around her who are useful to her, build her own shelter, and weave her own network.

She didn't want to be the richest woman in the world, nor did she have the ambition to unify the world and become an empress. She was just a nobody who schemed for her own petty interests.

Life is like a play, and a play is like life; she just wanted to live peacefully until the end.

While Xu Errui and Jiang Zhi were diligently building their social network, Xu Yuxian in the city finally welcomed her husband, Du Baolin.

Ten days have passed since her sister-in-law went to the city. Xu Yuxian's facial injuries have healed and disappeared, but she looks haggard, which makes Du Baolin frown: "Yuxian, you said in your letter that you had something important to do. What is it? My business in the prefectural city is at a critical time, and I can't leave."