The Lu family talked about Lu Yu's marriage while enjoying delicious grilled fish. Qin Xiaozhou also cooked ginger soup, and everyone drank a big bowl, warming up their limbs and bones.

Outside, the rain was pouring down, and the ground in the yard was ripped with deep furrows. Wang Lan couldn't sit still any longer. "This rain is too heavy. Dayun, you and Eryun go to the back of the house and clear the stones and branches out of the ditch. It looks like it's going to rain all night."

This old house is decades old. With such heavy rain, it's hard to sleep at night. The Lu brothers took their hoes and went out to work, returning about half an hour later. The family then went to sleep to the sound of the rain.

Qin Xiaozhou couldn't sleep because of the noise. She stared at the roof with her eyes open. Although it was dark and she couldn't see anything, she couldn't help but think about what it would be like if the rafters collapsed. She wondered if they would crush someone to death. It seemed that the house construction needed to be put on the agenda as soon as possible, instead of just being a pie in the sky. If it rained like this all summer, the house might really collapse one day!

She finally drifted off to sleep as the rain subsided near dawn, and then heard sounds of people getting up from next door just as day was breaking.

Lu Yunfeng braved the light rain to go to the duck and chicken coop. It had rained heavily last night, and he couldn't hear anything happening here. He felt more at ease going to check. He had only taken a few steps toward Qingzhugou when he heard the sound of a flash flood in the distance. As he approached, he saw that the muddy flash flood had cut off the entrance to Qingzhugou. The flash flood was very rapid and could easily sweep a person away. He looked at the duck coop across the flash flood and saw ducks and geese quacking and squawking inside.

If he couldn't see the ducks, he could only go to the hillside to look at the chicken coop. The chickens and geese were noisy. He looked around and saw that the chicken coop was flooded. The fence against the mountain was covered with a thick layer of mud, all washed down from the hillside. On one side of the land, the water had eroded a ditch, from which the chickens and geese could easily crawl out. Fortunately, it was dark and the chickens and geese couldn't see, so they didn't crawl out.

Lu Yunxing also came up from the hillside. "Brother, sister-in-law is up and wants you to go to the shop. Don't worry, I can handle things at home."

Lu Yunfeng returned home, and Wang Lan was heating up steamed buns in the kitchen, muttering, "It's raining today, and the road is difficult to walk on. We'll go after the rain stops."

There's a flash flood in the river, so small boats can't navigate it for the next couple of days; we can only go by mountain path. It rained heavily all night last night, and who knows if we'll encounter a mudslide? It's safest not to go today. However, Qin Xiaozhou isn't the type to close his business just because of the weather. "If we close today because of the rain, and then close tomorrow because of the wind, how can a business last if we only work sporadically? We agree on when we'll open, and that's the rule. If we don't follow it, then anyone can break the rules I set in the future."

So Zhao Fang, Lu Yan, and Xiao Si were left at home, while only she, Lu Yunfeng, and Lu Yu went out.

The three of them, wearing raincoats and straw sandals, set off on the road to the county town. The mountain road was half mud and half stone. In the muddy parts, they often had to use tree branches to scrape the mud off their shoes after only a few steps. It wasn't until eight o'clock in the morning that the three of them arrived at the shop.

Li Ji had just arrived as well. "I was afraid that delivering it would delay your business, so I rushed on the way and some of the milk spilled out. I'll charge you less for it."

He came today pulling an oxcart, the wheels of which were covered in mud, so he went through the front door. Accompanying him was a young man of about eighteen or nineteen, who said he was his brother-in-law, named Li Yang. The young man was shy and blushed when he saw a young girl, and didn't dare to say a word.

Qin Xiaozhou was very satisfied that Li Ji kept his promise and delivered the milk today, so she didn't even look at the milk anymore. "We agreed on a price for the day, so how could I shortchange you?"

The group carried the milk inside, and Qin Xiaozhou paid him. "Be careful on your way back."

Li Ji was deeply moved. The road was difficult to travel today, and his parents had told him not to deliver the milk, as the shop might not be open because of the rain. But he insisted on delivering it. How could he break his promise just because of the wind and rain? Now he was extremely grateful that he had delivered it despite the rain. Otherwise, the Lu family's shop would not have been able to open today, and they would have kicked the Li family out once they found a suitable milk supplier.

Qin Xiaozhou changed her clothes and shoes, washed her face and combed her hair before going to the kitchen. Jing He had already cleaned up the places in the shop that had been soiled by people coming and going. He seemed to be in a good mood, smiling broadly. Qin Xiaozhou couldn't help but be infected by his happiness and couldn't help but ask, "Why are you so happy?"

Jinghe covered her mouth and laughed, "Shopkeeper, I went back to my husband's house the other day to see the children and also took the holiday money you gave me to my mother-in-law. They didn't look down on my slave status at all and treated me as well as before. My two children are also doing well and love the desserts I bring back from the shop."

Her husband's family all treated her kindly, and the children liked her and were looking forward to her next visit!

Qin Xiaozhou did not make any comments. People's hearts are the most unpredictable thing. Perhaps Jinghe's husband's family is really good, but she always felt that if you really love someone, you will feel sorry for that person and feel heartache for them. However, Jinghe has been in the store for so long, but her husband's family has never come to visit her even once.

Moreover, even if a woman is bought and sold willingly, her future is uncertain and fraught with difficulties. How could her husband bear to let Jinghe sell her?

Although Qin Xiaozhou was only focused on making money, she was also loved by her grandparents before she transmigrated. She knew what it felt like to be loved and remembered how her grandparents loved her. They worked hard for her every day, but during her winter and summer vacations, they couldn't bear to let her do heavy work in the fields. They would help her water the vegetables, do laundry, and cook, and they would think she was the most obedient and sensible child in the village, praising her to everyone they met.

She knew that her grandparents felt indebted to her and were trying their best to make up for it. However, her father died in the factory when she was four years old. It was not her grandparents' fault that the woman ran away with all the compensation money. It was just that the two old people were kind-hearted and did their best to raise her.

Jinghe wasn't asking Qin Xiaozhou to say anything; instead, she was engrossed in her own understanding, feeling that everything was worthwhile and things were moving in a positive direction.

The shop opened as scheduled, and several servants rushed over with umbrellas. Shi Tou said with a smile, "Heaven has eyes and allowed the shopkeeper to open today. Our young lady didn't get to eat your desserts the other day and is really craving them now."

"My wife is the same. She went back to the ancestral home a couple of days ago and couldn't get any food. Yesterday, when she came back, the shop was closed. This morning, even with the heavy rain, she was thinking about getting a bite of this."

Apart from the servants, few wealthy young ladies came out to sit idly in the shop on this rainy day, so after a busy morning, they began to have some leisure time in the afternoon.

Fortunately, because of the time constraints in the morning, I didn't have time to make that many cakes, and there are only eight left now.

The rain didn't stop until evening. There were still four cakes left, and more than twenty towel rolls and puddings. It would be a shame to throw them away. Lu Yunfeng said, "Let's keep them and let them cool with well water. We can eat them slowly ourselves."

"We definitely can't sell this tomorrow. Qin Xiaozhou can't allow any stale food in his shop. Take some with me, I'm going to visit Manager Chen."

Manager Chen's braised food shop and staff are all ready, and the opening is scheduled for April 8th.

When Qin Xiaozhou and Lu Yunfeng returned from Manager Chen's place, they witnessed a great commotion at the yamen gate.