"This saying comes from 'The Story of Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin.' Simply put, the village chief is telling us that while we are being filial to our own elders, we should also be kind to the elders of other families, and while we are being kind to our own children, we should also be kind to the children of other families! Is that what the village chief means?" Jiang Zhishan calmly came to the village chief's rescue.

"That's right, that's exactly what Jiang Tongsheng just said. Why did I say that..."

The village chief started rambling on and on, and although everyone was a little helpless, they didn't dare to speak up because he was the village chief. Jiang Ling, who was listening nearby, almost fell asleep. She quickly whispered a reminder: "Village chief, you're going off-topic!"

Reminded by this, the village chief quickly steered the conversation back on track. He coughed lightly and said to everyone, "Everyone, Granny Cao had an accident this morning. If it weren't for Little Knife Mother discovering it in time, there might have been serious problems. So, Jiang came up with a solution: to gather the four elderly people in our village together..." The village chief then carefully explained the whole incident to everyone in Lu Family Village.

After everyone listened, they nodded and began to discuss. Just then, the village chief continued, "Of course, taking care of the elderly is not unpaid, but you can rest assured about that. The cook will earn 15 copper coins a month, mainly responsible for three meals a day and washing dishes! The caregiver will earn 200 copper coins a month, working in shifts every two weeks. We are hiring three people in total!"

"One hundred and fifty copper coins for cooking three meals a month? That's at least two taels of silver a year!"

"Yes, yes, we work so hard farming, and in the end, we only get this much!"

"Hmm, this is a great job! I'm signing up!"

After hearing the village chief's words, the whispers among the crowd grew louder. It was clear from their conversation that many people were very interested in both positions.

"Quiet! Quiet!"

Seeing that the discussion was getting a bit loud, the village chief quickly began to organize discipline. He continued, "Also, the four elderly people's several acres of land need someone to take care of them. This isn't for free; it will be distributed proportionally at harvest time!"

"Wow, is that true?"

"This...this...could it be that it's been sold?" Wang Laizi, who was standing to the side, heard this and his eyes lit up as he muttered to himself.

The village chief glanced at Wang Laizi and immediately sensed his ulterior motives. He then said meaningfully to the crowd, "The land deeds are still in the hands of the elders. They are responsible for their own profits and losses. Of course, if they take good care of the land, they will receive a reward at the autumn harvest!"

Upon hearing the words "there is a reward," everyone's eyes lit up again.

"Those who want to participate, go to Gousheng to sign up. The final selection will be made based on everyone's usual performance, and the final list will be posted on the big tree at the village entrance! Alright, meeting adjourned!" the village chief said.

As soon as everyone heard the meeting was over, they practically took off and rushed towards Gousheng. In less than a minute, a large crowd had gathered around Gousheng.

Jiang Ling wasn't really interested in the registration process, since the final list would be decided by her and the village chief. So she simply took Jiang Zhishan and her two children home.

The mala tang business gradually stabilized, and the customer base became more stable. Jiang Ling began to think about whether to add something, because if she kept eating this, even she herself would get tired of it, let alone the customers.

Thinking about this, Jiang Ling began to ponder, but this was ancient times, not modern times, and the lack of electricity, in particular, caused many of Jiang Ling's ideas to fail.

Just then, the puppy that Jiang Ling had previously adopted suddenly appeared in the yard, dragging a pheasant with it.

Jiang Ling looked at the pheasant whose throat had been bitten off, then at her own iron pot, and an idea immediately popped into her mind.

"That's right! We can make teppanyaki! The ingredients are similar to those of mala tang, but the taste is different. Besides, how could such a thing exist in this era!" Thinking of this, Jiang Ling felt a surge of joy.

The next morning, Jiang Ling went to the blacksmith's shop and handed him the drawings she had made the night before. The blacksmith looked at the smooth iron plate with a handle and asked curiously, "Sister-in-law, what are you going to do with this?"

"Oh, it's dried vegetables. Iron conducts heat quickly!" Jiang Ling replied vaguely.

Fortunately, the blacksmith wasn't a gossipy person. He took the money, made an appointment with Jiang Ling, and then started working diligently.

The hot pot business was booming again today, but Shen Congxin seemed a bit distracted and almost got burned by the scalding hot pot several times. Seeing this, Jiang Ling quickly told her to go and rest.

After passing the restaurant and seeing that there were no other diners, Jiang Ling walked over to Shen Congxin and asked, "Congxin, what's wrong? Why are you so distracted today?"

"Auntie, do you think my father doesn't like me?" Shen Congxin asked, pouting with a sad expression.

After hearing this, Jiang Ling didn't know how to answer her. She didn't know much about the Shen family, but after thinking for a moment, she said, "From the bottom of my heart, I think most parents in the world love their children!"

"But Aunt, why... why hasn't my father come back yet?" Shen Congxin said, suppressing her disappointment.

Jiang Ling finally understood. It turned out that after the letter was sent, Shen Congxin's father had not appeared. Jiang Ling thought for a moment and asked, "Do you know where your father went this time?"

“Ye Cheng,” Shen Congxin nodded in reply.

"Yecheng? It seems like it takes at least three days by boat, but I've heard it's a big and prosperous place. I could go and explore business opportunities! See if there's anything new or interesting there!" Thinking of this, Jiang Ling patted Shen Congxin's shoulder and comforted him, "Auntie will go to Yecheng for you and see if I can find your father!"

"What? Really? Really? Can I go with Auntie?" Shen Congxin immediately asked, her eyes wide.

“No, think about it carefully. If we travel by water, we’ll have to go to the dock in Guangping County. Everyone there needs to register before boarding a boat. And you’re the eldest daughter of the Shen family. When the Shen family came looking for someone before, I reckon half the people in Guangping County already know you. If they find out, it will be a real problem!” Jiang Ling patiently comforted her.

“Hmm…Auntie is right. In that case, Auntie, you should give this to my father. Then he will know that you won’t lie to him!” With that, Shen Congxin took off the jade pendant from her neck and placed it in Jiang Ling’s hand.

Jiang Ling examined the jade carefully. It was shaped like an adorable little rabbit, with a rich, vibrant green color that was both pure and pleasing to the eye. It was a standard old mine icy jadeite, crystal clear and obviously very valuable. The words "From the Heart" were also engraved on the back of the jade pendant.

[Beep: Top-quality old mine icy jadeite found, priced at 50,000 taels!]

A voice popped out of Jiang Ling's mind. Jiang Ling was startled when she heard it. She carefully put the jade away. If she lost it, how many bowls of spicy hot pot would she have to sell to buy it back!