Jiang Hexi couldn't bear to let Yan Jie move such a heavy water vat.

She found a cart and tossed it in front of him, saying, "Move the water tank onto the cart."

"You're smarter; you have a better solution than I do."

Yan Jie bent down and carried the rough pottery water vat onto the cart, then pushed the vat back and followed her to the truck that sold cabbages.

Jiang Hexi chatted warmly, "Uncle, I'll take all the rest of your cabbage."

The middle-aged man looked at her in surprise, then, with a broad smile, he picked up the remaining half-basket of cabbage.

"Young lady, I'll deliver the cabbage to your home right away."

"Uncle, I bought three large water vats. Do you think these cabbages can be put into the vats and you can help me take them back with them?"

The uncle readily agreed, "Sure, you carry the water tank to the car, and I'll transport it back for you."

Jiang Hexi handled everything with ease, and she glanced smugly at Yan Jie, saying:

"What are you still standing there for? Move it."

"I'll listen to you."

Yan Jie looked at her smug face, yet she was trying to act all haughty, and couldn't resist reaching out and ruffling her short hair.

After Jiang Hexi returned home, she hung the cabbage on a bamboo pole to dry for two days.

She ran to the camphor tree at the village entrance, and when she mentioned making sauerkraut, the old ladies and grandmothers all offered to teach her. They all rushed to the stone courtyard and helped her brew the sauerkraut.

They started the stove, boiled water in a large pot, and kept adding firewood to the fire.

“Xi-mei, Wan-wan, come over here and listen to this sound. It’s the sound that’s used to cook Xiang Shui’er.”

Grandma Xiang stood in front of the stove, reached out and lifted the pot lid. Steam billowed out, and she picked up a cabbage from the winnowing basket and put it into the boiling water.

"The cabbage must be blanched in water before making sauerkraut. Arrange the cabbages one by one in the pot, blanch them all in boiling water, then turn them over and blanch the leaves again."

Seeing that Granny Xiang was pulling her hand away from the hot water, Jiang Hexi quickly stopped her and said, "Granny Xiang, if you keep scalding yourself like this, your hand will be burned. Let me do it."

She squeezed to the front of the stove, picked up some cabbages and put them into the water, arranging them neatly despite the scalding heat.

Then, the water-washed cabbages were brought out one by one and neatly arranged in the warehouse.

The old women lined a plastic sheet in a rough earthenware jar, piled the cabbages together one by one, pressed them down firmly, and after filling the jar with cabbages, they sprinkled a layer of salt on top, weighed it down with a large stone, and sealed the jar with the plastic sheet.

Jiang Hexi didn't have to lift a finger during the entire process of filling the jars; all the cabbages were already sealed up.

To thank the grandmothers for their help, Jiang Hexi set up two tables in the courtyard and treated them to crispy sesame chicken.

She waited until everyone present had almost finished eating before she spoke:

"Mothers-in-law, how about we work together to make some money at the end of the year?"

“Okay, Xi-mei, you come up with the idea, we’ll listen to you.”

The grandmothers put down their sesame chickens and all turned to look at her.

Jiang Hexi stopped smiling and started talking about serious business, "The Spring Festival is just around the corner, and we plan to launch a batch of Canglang Village New Year's goods online. I want to lead everyone to make preserved meat New Year's goods together, such as sausages, bacon, and marinated food."

"That's a good idea."

Cui Atai took the lead in expressing her support: "Don't underestimate them just because they're older. They're all experts at making sausages and cured meats, and the taste is excellent. You can definitely let them make this without any problems."

"If the mothers-in-law have no objections, then this matter is settled."

Jiang Hexi got back to the main topic and began to arrange the tasks one by one:

"Just like when we made mooncakes, we'll all work together in the prefabricated houses. Chu Yang and Wanwan will be in charge of purchasing, while the older women will be responsible for cutting meat and making sausages."

"What the elderly women need to do is visit each other in the village, see which households raise local pigs, and ask them if they are willing to sell to us. We want to buy pigs at a high price."

"Are they willing to give it a try?"

Grandma Xiang responded enthusiastically, "Then we'll accuse them of ruining Canglang Village's New Year's goods reputation, and see how they'll get along in the village after that. That way, they won't dare not sell pigs."

"Ah Xiang—"

Cui Atai said to her, "Don't label people so easily. As long as Xi Mei pays enough, based on my understanding of the people in the village, not one of them would refuse to sell the pig."

Jiang Hexi immediately felt that her wallet was threatened.

Grandma Xiang always listened to Grandma Cui the most; whatever Grandma Cui said was the way of her.

“Grandma is right. I’ll go door to door to collect the pigs. I don’t believe we can’t reach an agreement.”

Yan Jie stood at the door, watching Jiang Hexi methodically arrange the work, when he heard Shen Yingyu behind him say:

“Xi Mei’s ability to appeal to the masses would have made her a perfect women’s director in the past.”

"It seems like we're no longer needed here," Yan Jie said with a sense of pride.

"That's true."

Shen Yingyu continued, "I mentioned the apricot gift pack to the e-commerce general manager before. They acted quickly and have already acquired a batch of apricots. Once the millet rice cakes and preserved meats for the New Year are available, they can be sold online together."

"From now on, we'll leave all these matters to the three of them to handle."

"And what about us?"

Yan Jie looked at the lively scene in the courtyard and said, "After harvesting the corn in the fields and completing the third phase of the ecological wetland park project, the rest is up to fate."

Shen Yingyu naturally understood what he meant by "leaving it to fate".

After harvesting the crops, the rent for the thousand acres of land was due, and it was time to settle the accounts. He had no idea whether the income and expenses would balance out.

After all, the investment in the third phase of the ecological wetland park project is a considerable expense, and how much revenue Canglang Village's New Year's goods will generate is still unknown.

"If we were just a little short of paying off the debt, would we still be willing to invest so heavily in the third phase of the project?"

"I think Xi-mei will surprise us in the end."

Yan Jie's gaze lingered on Jiang Hexi. "Even if there isn't one, we should still do the right and meaningful things. We don't lack the courage to start over."

[I was moved to tears. I never imagined that such words would one day come from the mouth of the King of Looks...]

[#Not Lacking the Courage to Start Over#, the flood that submerged the wheat was a watershed moment; from then on, the five members of the chaebol group all underwent their transformation.]

[Xi Mei is increasingly showing leadership qualities. With just two sesame chickens, she got the older women to help make sauerkraut and delegated all the New Year's preparations.]

They had many opportunities to turn their losses into profits, but they chose the most difficult path. Keep going, keep going, keep going, my second-generation farmers!