"Okay, that's settled then. You guys get back to work. Call me if you need anything."

After leaving her contact information and getting Mr. Huo's phone number, Zuo Ling said goodbye and left.

Old Master Huo had no time to ponder Zuo Ling's strange behavior. He gathered his family together, his face serious.

“You all heard what the employer just said. Over the years, the Huo family has had it too easy, which has led some people to harbor unhealthy thoughts. If this deal goes wrong again, the Huo family will be doomed. Anyone who dares to undermine my business will be killed.”

Old Master Huo slammed his pipe twice, sending shivers down everyone's spines.

After the incident, the old man had suspects, but he just couldn't believe that someone he trusted would do such a thing.

My wife was the first to speak up: "You give the order, and we'll see what to do."

The eldest daughter-in-law raised her hand: "I'll buy meat..."

Fearing her father-in-law wouldn't allow it, she continued:

"Too many people in town know our family, so I sent my brother from my mother's side. He's a stranger, so they won't do anything underhanded."

Old Master Huo's expression softened slightly. His eldest son was being held at the police station; he felt sorry for his eldest daughter-in-law.

The second daughter-in-law also raised her hand: "I'll take care of the chickens, ducks, and fish. There are farmers in my hometown village who raise them. I'll have my dad go and catch some that are lively and jumping around."

The second daughter-in-law specifically pointed out that the animal was not alive, fearing that someone might tamper with it.

The daughter and son-in-law both expressed their opinions.

The family members all offered their suggestions.

...

Zuo Ling was looking for a suitable venue for the banquet. After inquiring around, she decided on the threshing ground in the village next to Old Master Huo's house.

The threshing ground was large, with seven or eight grain storage rooms separated from the threshing ground by a wall.

There is a well, so it's convenient to get water.

It's a short distance from the villagers' residential area, and quite secluded.

The key issue is the lack of monitoring.

They gave the village chief two bottles of highland barley wine, paid 20,000 yuan, and rented the place for three days.

I made a request: I don't want to be disturbed.

Rent it for three days for 20,000 yuan!

Rural land is worthless; this is a stroke of luck for the village chief, who can't stop smiling.

Not wanting to be disturbed is no big deal. I'll make an announcement in a bit: anyone who dares to go there, I'll break their legs.

Zuo Ling is indeed rich; the 76 million yuan in cash in her spatial storage is making her feel unwell. If she doesn't distribute some of it, it will make her delirious.

After sending the address to Grandpa Huo, Zuo Ling drove his Tank 300 around the countryside.

Buy a basket of pea shoots and houttuynia cordata from this shop, and some small chili peppers from that shop.

Lettuce, cabbage, tomato, water spinach, thick-skinned mustard greens, red mustard greens, Malabar spinach, mustard greens...

As long as they look fresh and appealing, she'll buy them all.

Not only did they buy vegetables, but they also bought bamboo baskets from other people who looked nice. The money they paid was enough to buy 10 bamboo baskets.

I saw some houses with large foliage planted in front of and behind them, but I didn't understand what they were for.

Upon inquiry, it turned out to be bamboo leaves used for making zongzi (sticky rice dumplings).

Zuo Ling was puzzled, because the bamboo leaves she had seen before did not have any patterns on them.

The village woman told her that there are many kinds of bamboo leaves for making zongzi (sticky rice dumplings).

Her family grows two varieties, one called "rice flower" and the other called "copper coin flower." Copper coin flower rice dumplings have a delicate fragrance and cost twice as much as rice flower rice dumplings.

Zuo Ling loves eating zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), and it's a great pity that there are no zongzi for sale in the apocalypse.

Anyway, it's not expensive. Buy 20,000 copper coins and 10,000 rice coins.

Back in Beijing, I made these myself, cooked them, and stored them in my storage space so I could take them out whenever I wanted.

That family not only sold bamboo leaves, but also bamboo tubes. Zuo Ling stockpiled 20,000 bamboo tubes, so she didn't have to worry about her skills when making bamboo tube rice.

The rice is placed inside, and then it's cooked in a pot.

Passing by the cherry orchard, I swallowed hard and lamented that it was a pity I hadn't come at the right time of year, when the mountains were covered in red cherries.

I bought cherry saplings in Kyoto, but I don't know if they are the same variety as the ones here.

With the mindset of "don't miss out if you're passing by," I bought 20 cherry tree saplings from the fruit farmer.

Just in time for lemon season, I bought 5,000 jin (2,500 catties) of lemons and also purchased 20 lemon saplings.

If you hoard one, you'll get two; and after two comes three...