There is a large banyan tree at the entrance of Zhao Family Village. Under the tree is the village's largest gathering place for Bagua (Chinese astrology) symbols.

As soon as Zhao Yonggeng and his nephew entered the village, they were surrounded by a group of elderly men and women.

"Hey, Zhao Lao Er, how much money have you made? Why are you buying livestock again?"

"Don't we already have a mule and a horse at home? This donkey is weak and stubborn, what good is it?"

What could Zhao Yonggeng say?

"Hehe, uncles and aunts, could you please make way for us so that my uncle and I can go home first?"

I honestly don't know what we're going to do with this donkey; you'll have to ask my mother.

Zhao Yonggeng perfectly portrayed a mama's boy.

But to the villagers, it sounded different.

"Hey kid, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't. Why push it onto your old mother?"

After saying that, he rolled his eyes and turned his backside to make way for her.

Just kidding, who would dare to directly ask his mother? Huang Shi is capable of fighting tigers on the mountain and suppressing bandits on the mountain. Killing someone is like chopping melons and vegetables.

Are you out of your mind to gossip about her?

It's human nature to enjoy gossip, but that doesn't mean all gossip lovers are brainless.

Then a discordant voice came from the sidelines.

"Who knows what Huang was thinking? She has such a large plot of land, but she doesn't cultivate it and just leaves it to lie fallow."

They buy livestock one by one, but they don't buy anything useful.

Look at that calf, is it even a year old? What's the point of buying it, to decorate a storefront or to use it for work?

There aren't enough for actual work, and even as a facade, it looks rather shabby. Hehehe..."

The one who said this was none other than Ge, the woman who had been kicked out of the house by Huang.

This woman now feels nothing but envy, jealousy, and hatred towards Huang.

She would seize any opportunity to put down the other party, but she didn't dare to be too blatant, for fear that Huang would really come and beat her up.

So I just said a few sarcastic remarks to vent my frustration.

Who is Zhao Yonggeng? He certainly wouldn't give her any leeway.

"Oh dear, who said that? Calves can't do much work right now. But who says calves can't grow up?"

Besides, this calf is at least half the price of an adult cow.

How much money can we farmers save in a year? So, buying a calf is more cost-effective.

Those who understand will understand. As for those who don't, they'll have to think about it some more.

The journey home was a bit bumpy, but I made it home safely.

As soon as he got home, Zhao Yonggeng went to tell his mother, fearing that she would really beat him, which would hurt too much.

Mr. Huang inspected the donkey and the ox and expressed his appreciation. He was not annoyed that the calf he had bought could not work immediately.

Zhao Yonggeng finally felt relieved.

Time flies. In the blink of an eye, half a month has passed. It's now mid-September.

The houses in town are almost finished being renovated; they just need to be aired out a bit more.

Zhao Qingyan took the lead and made changes to the east wing and the rear building of the house.

The original gate location has been converted into a building. The entire east wing has been opened up and combined to create a sizable storefront.

The kitchen was built into the back of the house.

The kitchen has a back door. From the kitchen, you can access the yard.

A large gate was built at the back of the courtyard house. This way, fresh vegetables brought in for the family could be brought in through the back gate.

To ensure ample lighting in the dining area and kitchen, Zhao Qingyan opted to install glass.

The dining area has transparent glass, while the kitchen area has frosted glass.

Zhao Qingyan knew very well that putting glass on the shop window would cause a huge uproar.

After all, that's something extremely rare and hard to come by, and for her to just hang it on the window of a snack shop like that is really a waste.

For Zhao Qingyan, as long as no one steals from her, she can attract a large number of diners every day just by relying on a few glass windows, so it's not a loss.

Zhao Qingyan had calculated that even if this snack stall were open all day, it wouldn't actually make much money.

The point is to let the women in the family know that they can earn money and support the family.

A woman's confidence largely stems from how much money she has in her pocket.

Therefore, this business must continue. Once the family's financial situation improves, we will consider opening branches in other locations.

As for manpower, if all else fails, we can just do as the locals do and buy people. What else can we do?

Everything was settled, and the women were so excited they almost cried when they saw the bright and clean food stall.

In their minds, this food stall was like a launchpad.

All that's left is to choose an auspicious date for the grand opening.

The rice seedlings in the village have been successfully transplanted. Considering the shortage of manpower at home, many able-bodied young men from the village have also been hired.

Recently, rumors have been circulating in the village that Huang has gone mad, otherwise why would she insist on planting vegetables instead of grains on the family's good land?

If there's too much food and it goes bad, she'll cry.

Some people even acted as bookmakers, betting on how long Zhao Qianci could hold out before selling the land.

The Zhao family was so busy they were practically flying, and nobody really took these things seriously.

The reason why the villagers heard about her family's involvement in the village affairs was because the village chief couldn't sit still any longer and spoke to Zhao Qianci about it.

"Haha, cousin, don't worry. The vegetables grown on my family's land will sell well."

To be honest, my family is planning to open a food stall in town. We'll need a lot of vegetables every day.

If my cousin has time, he can also tell the villagers that they can raise more chickens, ducks and geese.

Once my family's food stall business takes off, we'll be collecting all of these.

Also, even if my cousin isn't coming, I'm going to go find him anyway.

My family needs soybeans, but we don't have enough manpower to go to the villages to collect them. Could you please arrange for a younger member of the family to help?

My family settled accounts at the price offered by the rice shops in town; I don't care how much my cousin's family paid. There's only one condition:

These beans must all be good, without any mold, insects, or shriveled ones.

Zhao Jinfa never expected such a good thing and immediately agreed.

As for what trouble Zhao Qian might cause after leaving home, he didn't care.

Since you humbly said it's nothing, then it's nothing.

To put it bluntly, even if a family loses so much money they can't afford to wear pants.

As long as the men in the family go up the mountain for a stroll and hunt a couple of wild boars, life won't be too difficult.

"They're all worrying for nothing."

Their lives are going very well; in my opinion, they're definitely on the rise.

Back home, Zhao Jinfa said to his wife.

"As long as they know what's going on, that's fine."

These days, all the gossiping in the village is making me a little uneasy for them.

Zhao Qinshi patted her chest and said.

"To be honest, it's all because they're bored. If they were busy, who would have time to watch other people's drama?"

"Who in our family is going to be in charge of harvesting the soybeans?" Zhao Jinfeng asked.