Sister-in-law Zhang was a smart woman, and she naturally understood what Jiang Jiuniang meant. Tears welled up in her eyes instantly.

In fact, her family's life was quite difficult at the beginning. After all, the money they had saved up was used up on the way to escape famine, and they had nothing when they came back. They lived in despair.

But when Old Lu returned to the village to relocate the graves, he gave quilts and rice to every household in the village, and even secretly gave her family a sum of money. Zhang's gratitude was beyond words.

It was thanks to the things and money given by the Lu family that her family had a chance to turn their lives around. Afterwards, they bought Zhang Youwei a set of equipment for setting up a stall, and he started a small business on the street. Life gradually got better.

Of course, they were better off than other families in the village. After all, the couple gritted their teeth and sent both of their sons to school. They didn't expect them to pass the imperial examinations and return with official titles. They just hoped that their sons could learn more characters, broaden their horizons, and have a better chance than their peers when faced with the same opportunities.

Back then, Old Man Lu was the only literate person in their area. He could give his children better-sounding names than ordinary people, and people who wanted to write letters to relatives far away could also come to Old Man Lu for a source of income.

Aunt Zhang thought that this was a better life than she had ever dared to dream of before, but she never expected that Jiang Jiuniang would bring her such a big surprise when she came back.

Not only was she, a peasant woman, put in charge, but she was also specially asked to call on reliable relatives from her maternal family to help with the work. This was nothing short of a blessing for her.

"Don't worry, Jiu Niang, I will definitely not let you down."

She said this to Jiang Jiuniang, but also to herself; she couldn't let Jiang Jiuniang down.

Jiang Jiuniang nodded and said, "I can entrust these things to you because I believe in your abilities. There's still plenty of time. I'll teach you slowly over this period of time, and I'm sure I can teach you well!"

We can't completely rely on people from the capital to teach Zhang's wife. After all, they don't have that deep a relationship with her, and coming from such a prosperous place as the capital, they must feel somewhat resentful. If we were to start teaching Zhang's wife management from scratch, who knows how much resentment she would harbor.

"Okay! But if I want to do things well, don't I need to be able to read first? Am I still old enough to learn?"

Aunt Zhang's face flushed with excitement; she was both nervous and thrilled.

Although she knew the future would be difficult and there would be many problems she would have to face, she knew in her heart that this was her chance to change her family's fortunes. As long as she did things well and the family's income increased, she could send her two sons to better academies, give her daughter more confidence, and ensure that she wouldn't suffer too much mistreatment in her husband's family after she got married.

"Learning to read is still very necessary. I will teach you slowly. After I leave, the children at home can teach you. They can reinforce what they've learned by teaching you, which will also help their studies. By the way, sister-in-law, isn't Niu Niu learning to be an accountant? I'll see what she's capable of another day. After all, I'm looking for an accountant. If her master is willing, he can also try it out. I'll calculate the salary according to the rates in Jingzhou."

Since it's a chain store, the benefits and treatment are definitely the same. Of course, people who were originally from the capital but were sent to work in distant places will receive additional benefits for those sent to distant places. Otherwise, no one would do it. Jiang Jiuniang has considered these things quite thoroughly.

Hearing her say that, Sister Zhang knew without asking that the wages would definitely not be low, after all, Jingzhou was so close to the capital, which was a very prosperous place.

She knew what to say when she got back. She would find some time to go back to her parents' home and mention it to her sisters-in-law and friends, hoping they would agree that she had worked hard to live a better life.

After talking for a while, Sister Zhang went home. Jiang Jiuniang thought it over carefully and decided to go to the village chief's house that evening.

If you want to build a workshop in the village, you definitely can't bypass the village chief, and it would be better to give the village chief a few slots, which would be more conducive to harmonious development.

After learning of her plan, Lu Baichuan said, "You stay home and rest, I'll go."

She insisted, "I want to go."

She knows more about business matters, and it's just a casual visit, not a big deal.

What else could Lu Baichuan say? He could only tell Gou'er to study hard at home, while he and his wife took a few pounds of meat to the village chief's house.

At this time, everyone had just finished dinner. Some people were resting and chatting at the door, while others went home to sleep. After all, they were exhausted after working in the fields all day.

When the two arrived at the village chief's house, the door was open, and the village chief's children were still playing outside. When they saw Jiang Jiuniang coming over, they immediately became quiet and stood still.

Jiang Jiuniang was puzzled, thinking that she was not some kind of monster, so why were these children so afraid of her?

Just as they were about to ask what was going on, one of the little girls asked, "Third Master, Third Madam, do you need to see my master for something?"

The little girl looked to be about eight or nine years old. She looked up at the couple and spoke with great respect and seriousness.

Jiang Jiuniang nodded, casually took out a handful of candy and stuffed it into her hand, saying, "We've come to talk to the village chief about something. Is he home?"

"Yes, I'll go get him!"

The little girl grinned; she was recently losing her baby teeth, and her missing teeth looked particularly comical.

The children stood quietly to the side, and Jiang Jiuniang gave them candy while asking, "Are you afraid of me?"

The group of children nodded and then shook their heads. Another little boy said, "My grandfather said that Madam is pregnant and that we should all stay away from her so as not to offend her."

These children have always been reckless, and fearing they might offend someone important, the family simply instructed all the children to stay away from Jiang Jiuniang, or to stand quietly and not run around when they saw her. The Lu family was the benefactor of their entire village, and they couldn't repay kindness with enmity.

Jiang Jiuniang was deeply moved. Everyone had put their hearts into it. Although they didn't interact very closely, they still cared about each other.

So, they were given another handful of candy.

At this moment, the little girl came out with the village chief, followed by the rest of her family. They knew they had come to visit, so the whole family came out to greet them.

"Please come in, distinguished guests!"

The village chief smiled broadly, his face crinkling with wrinkles, and bowed respectfully.

The village chief is in his fifties and is one of the few elderly people in the village. After all, many elderly people did not survive the natural disasters of that year, so he is considered one of the more fortunate ones.

He was able to become the village chief because of his age, and when he moved here with his family, he also gathered a lot of villagers. Everyone came together, which saved the government a lot of trouble, so he was appointed as the village chief.

Jiang Jiuniang, being a sweet talker, immediately said, "Uncle Village Chief, you're too kind. We're all from the same village, there's no need for such formalities. We came here tonight to discuss something with you. We're so sorry to bother you so late at night. This meat is for the children to nourish themselves."

As he spoke, he smoothly handed the meat that Lu Baichuan was carrying to the village chief.