As for selling another batch of medicinal herbs?

Tang Xiaoxiao doesn't plan to take this step again unless absolutely necessary.

There are quite a few people watching her now, so it's best to be cautious. Let alone City A or City D, the upper echelons of L Province are only so big. The things she deals with are simply too expensive for ordinary people; they'll only end up in the hands of a tiny group at the very top. How could the frequent appearance of rare and precious medicinal herbs in just a few months not attract attention? Tang Xiaoxiao doesn't want to get herself into trouble.

So she'll just have to wait it out for a while; she doesn't have any urgent need for a large sum of money right now. She had originally planned to take advantage of the free time before the New Year to lease out several vacant hills in the village, as her planting base is still a bit small. Now it seems she'll have to wait a few more months.

Anyway, there's so much vacant land, there's no fear of not being able to grab it. In small villages like Houtang Village, which have no mineral resources and no development value, land is the least valuable thing, and there are no outside investors. The local leaders would love for her to buy up all the unclaimed land.

......

Time flies by in the midst of busyness, and soon it's almost the end of the year again. During the New Year's Day holiday, she went home to have a reunion dinner with her parents, but left in a hurry without staying overnight. Her wish to gather her family together for a stew in an iron pot when the first snow fell was not fulfilled.

There was no way she could spare the time. Even though the company now had over forty people and everything was gradually getting on track from the initial chaos, she still had all sorts of things to do every day, to the point that she now reflexively wanted to rub her temples whenever she saw Chang Deyu's face.

Chang Deyu is also very frustrated. He's stuck with a boss who doesn't want to manage anything and just wants to be a hands-off manager. Every day, he's either grabbing people to sign documents or on his way to grab them to sign documents.

This day was the Little New Year in China, and Tang Xiaoxiao finally had some free time.

With the New Year just a week away, it's peak season for fruit and vegetable sales, with daily shipments increasing several times over compared to usual. Whether for personal consumption or as gifts, the products at "Xiaoxiao Premium Fruits and Vegetables" are top-notch, with even greater demand in Y City.

Her products have become a must-have gift for every household. Because of her great reputation, some families who usually can't afford expensive fruits and vegetables don't hesitate to spend money during the New Year season, as a reward for their family's hard work throughout the year.

So, during the period before the Lunar New Year, everyone who worked for Tang Xiaoxiao was extremely busy.

They temporarily hired over a dozen more pickers, who had to pick, weigh, and pack all the necessary vegetables and fruits before dawn every day, before the delivery trucks arrived—it was very hard work. But the labor was rewarded. Tang Xiaoxiao was a very considerate boss; the work clothes, protective gloves, and hats she provided were all of excellent quality. Not to mention, for the same amount of work, the pay for a day's work here was almost double what they would get elsewhere. Therefore, even at the end of the year, when she announced a manpower shortage, many people still eagerly wanted to work there.

The company, however, gave most of its employees a holiday. Apart from the plantation's daily fixed shipments, all company plans were suspended. A few volunteers were kept on to take turns caring for the chicken and pig farms, while everyone else could take the long New Year holiday.

Those who voluntarily stay to work overtime receive triple pay and a generous bonus from the boss, making them happy even if they can't go home for the New Year. Tang Xiaoxiao, who was once a low-level office worker herself, understands employees' psychology best. Don't talk to them about ideals or make grand promises about the future; those are all illusions. The most direct approach is to give them money. It's simple, direct, and most effective. The words "salary increase" are more useful than any motivational quote.