The day after Jiang Zhi returned was Li Laoshi's wedding, so she didn't even have a chance to rest before busying herself with being a wedding guest.

Li Laoshi had previously said he wanted to use a bridal sedan chair for the wedding, but Xiaomanye persuaded him to stop: Although it is not forbidden for widows to remarry, it is better to keep a low profile and not be too ostentatious, so as to save face for Lianhua and Genqing.

Li Laoshi had no choice but to set up a few tables of food and drink.

Before the lotus flower had even emerged from the moon, Xu Genqing found an excuse not to come.

But Qin Shi was dressed in a red wedding gown and wore a silver hairpin, both of which were newly acquired.

Li Laoshi went to the door to greet her, and Liu Shi, Jiang Zhi, and several nephews' wives came to see her off.

The wedding was both lively and low-key, with every household in the village giving a gift of money.

Li Laoshi was so happy that he got drunk after being given only two drinks by Xu Gensheng and the others that he was carried into the bridal chamber. The next day, he kept complaining that the alcohol was very strong and that his legs were weak when he walked. He insisted on staying in the room and refused to come out.

Xu Gensheng and the others were not about to let him go, and they forcibly dragged Li Laoshi out of bed.

As a result, those few bastards were chased by Qin Shi for several paddy field ridges, and the commotion made the villagers laugh so hard they rolled on the floor.

In Xujia Village, the rice harvest is done collectively by everyone, with each family working like a whirlwind.

Qin had to go home every day to take care of Lianhua. Li Laoshi had no land, but he used his work points to ask others to collect grain for Xu Genqing.

When everyone was repairing their houses before the Lunar New Year, Li Laoshi had accumulated the most work points, and now he wants the villagers to pay him back.

The villagers laughed and scolded him for being a useless stepfather, whose stepson didn't even call him "father" and was still clinging to him.

Li Laoshi chuckled and said, "Money can't buy my happiness. As long as Sister Qin is happy, that's all that matters!"

The village was filled with lively entertainment every day, and laughter echoed through the fields. Jiang Zhi had no time to pay attention to it, as she was busy with the medicine shop.

Now, to complete the task assigned by Magistrate Zhang, we need to make medicine for the army in preparation for the seasonal diarrhea that will occur in autumn, commonly known as "autumn dysentery".

After returning from the county, Jiang Zhi told the Xu family about Xiao Tian.

Upon hearing that Xiao Tian had become a junior general, and a member of the elite Tian Teng Army with numerous military achievements, Xu Changming laughed heartily: "Has our Xu family all made contributions? We're all generals, aren't we?"

He knew that Nie Fantian and several young people from the Xu family had joined the army, and now Xiaotian was a general, so the others in Xujia Village must have all become officials.

Jiang Zhi shook her head: "I haven't heard any news about them!" Fatty Jiang indeed didn't mention anyone else.

Grandpa Xiaoman was silent for a moment, then sighed: "Being an official is not easy. You should ask if they are still alive! And who is that Xiaotian? Do you still think he would be good to us?"

Xu Changming scratched his head, the joy on his face disappearing: "Sigh, Changhe, Dayong and the others..." He didn't say anything more.

Jiang Zhi recalled what she had heard in her dream: of those who followed the male protagonist into the army, probably few of them were still alive.

When Xu Gensheng, Xu Genqing, and the others learned that Xiao Tian had become a junior general, they were not excited, but instead showed worry.

To them, Nie Fantian was not a member of the Xu family.

Xu Xiaogu's behavior and Nie Fantian's background are like thorns stuck in the hearts of the Xu family.

It's a disgrace that the Xu family has produced such a person!

Moreover, the higher Nie Fantian's position, the more likely he is to hate Xu Xiaogu in the future, and even the entire Xu family village will resent him.

Anyone with a clear head knows this is a potential danger.

That's all I said about Nie Fantian's situation, just to give the village a little something to talk about and remind them that everyone still has to live their own lives.

Jiang Zhi needs to produce a large quantity of pharmaceuticals, so she has arranged jobs for several people in the village.

Once the weather cools down, the workshop stops making mosquito coils.

Moreover, the corn and rice have already been harvested, and the remaining farm work is to dig peanuts, pick cotton bolls, dig sweet potatoes, and the planted ophiopogon japonicus will not be ready for harvest for another year. This will free up manpower to grind herbs for the pharmacy.

The house construction is nearing completion. The Huang family of four, who signed a ten-year contract, will be assigned to work at Qingquan Bay Pharmaceutical Factory. With more manpower, the factory can keep the fire burning continuously, with two shifts.

This time, Tian Tao and Xiao Man followed Jiang Zhi to several towns and visited other pharmacies, broadening their horizons and learning new knowledge, which gave them more confidence in managing their own pharmacies.

Although the wages for making medicine for the government this time were not much, Jiang Zhi had already arranged that when Song Tingzhang and his men were collecting herbs, the town militia would go to the villages to collect eucalyptus leaves, camphor leaves, elm bark, mugwort leaves, wild chrysanthemums, and so on. The other towns would also help collect some herbs.

Although... this has a hint of using public office for private gain and taking advantage of a crisis, it has also given villagers in various places another way to make money.

As soon as someone knows that Xujia Village wants to buy these things, someone will deliver them to the town to sell.

With other village chiefs helping with the purchasing, Xu Gensheng and his colleagues can now directly transport the goods without having to wait in the village to buy them by the pound or ounce.

Wang Xiaoju and Xu Gensheng listened attentively. This was their responsibility, and they were overjoyed to know that there would be enough raw materials.

This year marks the first year that Xujia Village has set up a workshop to make mosquito coils. At the beginning, due to a lack of experience, there were many noises, bumps and bruises, and insufficient preparation in many aspects.

The village has just solved the employment problem, but the biggest problem is still the raw materials. If the raw materials can be supplied in the future, the villagers' income will definitely skyrocket.

Xu Gensheng was even happier. After they finished collecting the herbs in the village, they still needed manpower to carry them out, which was a tough job.

Jiang Zhi was arranging various matters. Besides Wang Xiaoju and other responsible persons, there was also a person named Qin Shi who was waiting nearby.

After everyone left, Qin Shi approached with a charming smile, but Jiang Zhi pushed her away and said disdainfully, "Don't use the same tactics you used on Li Laoshi. Just say what you have to say!"

After marrying Li Laoshi, Qin Shi seemed like a completely different person. Before, she only wore a pinkish-white undergarment, but now even her handkerchiefs were so soft and delicate, always either light green or peach-pink. She wore cheap lip rouge, and her speech became more delicate and affected.

Qin was pushed away, and with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance, she slapped Jiang Zhi: "You're so annoying, what nonsense are you talking about? I have something important to say."

A fragrant breeze wafted over, instantly giving Jiang Zhi goosebumps. She couldn't help but tease, "Qin Ling, Li Laoshi must have given you a lot of trouble!"

Qin glared at him, put her hands on her hips, and said, "It's not certain who will cause trouble for whom!"

Seeing that she was still the same old village woman at heart, Jiang Zhi breathed a sigh of relief: "...Alright, alright, you're really something! Tell me, what important matter do you want to see me about!"

Qin stopped pretending to be silly and asked seriously, "The mosquito coil workshop has started making its last batch of goods. Once this is finished, what are you going to do with the big and small mosquito coils?"

The two children are currently doing odd jobs to earn a living. Once the workshop shuts down, they will be unemployed and it will definitely be inconvenient for them to eat at the villagers' homes.

Jiang Zhi hadn't really thought about this question. Seeing that Qin Shi had asked, she knew she must have some ideas, so she asked back, "I haven't thought about it yet. If there's no work at the workshop, I'll just go back to my home. It'll just mean I'll eat two more bowls of rice."

With the houses in the village renovated, Qiaoyun will also move to the village, and Nini and Caixia will also settle down. Daxiang and Xiaoxiang will be able to take care of the children.

Upon hearing that they should return to Jiang Zhi's house, Qin immediately shook her head: "No, Tan is at your house. If Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang go back, she will control them so much that they can't speak."

This is true. The Tan family never allowed Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang to speak, only to work hard, to the point of being somewhat abnormal.

Fortunately, they separated the mother and daughter when they arrived at Xujia Village. Almost three months have passed, and Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang are much more lively than before, with smiles on their faces.

If the mother and daughter were to reunite, they might end up back in the same situation as before.

Seeing that Jiang Zhi was still deep in thought, Qin immediately moved closer to her, smiling charmingly, and said, "Give me Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang! I'll have them take care of Lianhua! They'll provide meals!"