When they returned, the oxcart was already full of people, and several of them seemed to be looking apprehensive.

"I heard that the house of the wealthy Wang in Wangba Village next door was robbed, a lot of grain was stolen, and several of his servants were injured."

"Were those who stole the grain refugees or bandits?"

"Of course they were bandits; there were no refugees at that time."

"Bandits entering the village to rob grain is not a good sign; there may be a famine this year."

"The possibility of famine this year is unlikely. The rice in the fields is growing well and there is plenty of water. We also have waterwheels for irrigation, so we will not have a complete harvest."

"This year, there is a drought in the north, and the government may increase taxes. Most of the grain collected will have to be handed over. How much can you keep?"

The people on the bus fell silent. The taxes had been getting heavier and heavier in recent years, making it hard for ordinary people to breathe.

Zhao Xian didn't feel this deeply. As a scholar, he was exempt from taxes and corvée labor. Within five degrees of kinship of the Zhao family, no one had to pay taxes, which greatly benefited the Zhao family.

“Our family has long since run out of food, so even if bandits rob us, they won’t target us.”

The people on the oxcart fell silent. The fact that bandits were out robbing grain meant that even they were having a hard time. It would become common for bandits to come down from the mountains to rob grain in the future, and who knows, one day they might even rob their own homes.

Before long, the oxcart arrived at Shuixian Village, and the villagers got off one after another.

After everyone had left, Zhao Xian said to Liu Erleng:

"Uncle Erleng, from now on, please deliver a few vegetable jars to town for me every day. I will pay you ten coins a day, and the cost of your transportation will be extra."

Paying ten coins a day would amount to three hundred coins a month, not even counting the cost of riding in the oxcart. Liu Er was pleasantly surprised.

"Okay, it's settled then. Just like today, I'll pick up the goods at your doorstep this morning."

"Okay, then I'll have to trouble you, Uncle Erleng."

When the two brothers returned home, Grandma Zhao and Zhao Youcai had already brought over 200 jin of chopped oxtail grass. The 100 jin of oxtail grass at home had also been chopped and was just waiting to be pickled.

Li Chun'e was a little worried when she delivered two jars of pickled vegetables to town, but she was relieved to see that the two brothers brought back empty jars.

As soon as Zhao Xiaoshan entered the courtyard, he closed the gate. He had been trying his best to restrain himself on the oxcart, but now that he was home, his joy was evident.

"Mom, we made a lot of money today, look!"

After Zhao Xiaoshan finished speaking, he quickly took off his shirt, revealing that his waist was wrapped with money.

Grandma and Zhao Youcai aren't outsiders. The family still needs to help them earn money, so it's okay for them to know that they have so much money.

Zhao Xian took the money pouch off Zhao Xiaoshan's waist and placed it on the table.

Li Chun'e was a little excited. She opened the money bag, her hands trembling slightly.

The money bag was full of genuine copper coins. Both Old Mrs. Zhao and Zhao Youcai stared wide-eyed; they had never seen so much money before.

Zhao Xian poured all the money onto the table, quickly counted out 1,200 copper coins, put them into a money bag, and handed it to Old Madam Zhao.

"Grandma, this 1200 coins is to pay for these 200 catties of dried beef offal."

"Xian'er, these beef tripe haven't even been made into kimchi yet, why are you in such a hurry to pay me?"

"Grandma, as long as you bring the dried beef offal, I will pay you. The pickled vegetables you make sell very well in town, and you don't have to worry about finding a market for them."

"Alright, I'll take the money. Let's hurry back to work and bring it over again tomorrow."

The old lady clutched the money bag to her chest and prepared to leave with Zhao Youcai.

"Grandma, you must keep the money safe. I heard that bandits have come into the village to rob grain. Keep the money safe and don't show off your wealth."

Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Zhao clutched the money in her arms even tighter.

After seeing off Grandma Zhao and Zhao Youcai, the family began pickling vegetables. This time, they needed to pickle 300 jin (150 kg), which significantly increased their workload.

By the time all the kimchi was pickled, it was already afternoon. The whole family was exhausted; the 300 jin (150 kg) of kimchi had filled six jars.

They ate a little something haphazardly and then sat down to rest. It seemed the meat they bought would only be cooked that evening.

After resting for a while, the family continued working, some carrying water, some chopping firewood, and others picking a large amount of wild mustard greens.

Seeing that the whole family had gone out, Zhao Xian began to consider his next steps. Making kimchi in this way not only failed to increase production, but was also very tiring. He had to change his business model.

Grandma's family has seven members, a large yard, and a well. We can easily entrust them with the task of removing the alkali from 300 jin of kimchi, while a few of us in the family focus on pickling the kimchi, making our lives much easier.

You can also pickle vegetables in the morning, afternoon, and evening, which makes things more organized and easier.

With that in mind, he decided to go to Old Mrs. Zhao's house to discuss this matter with her.

At this moment, the Zhao family was busy. In the morning, after the old lady and Zhao Youcai sent away the dried beef tripe after it had been dealkalized, Wu was still grumbling. She was worried that the family had worked so hard for so long, and they would definitely not get paid.

When the old lady took the 1,200 coins back, Wu was overjoyed. Not only could the cowpeas be made into pickles, but they could also make money.

Having earned so much money all at once, what did this little bit of hard work matter? The whole family was in high spirits, and the old lady began to divide the work.

The three granddaughters were in charge of picking the wild vegetables, Zhao Youcai was in charge of chopping firewood and carrying water, Grandma Zhao and Madam Wu were in charge of sorting and cleaning the wild vegetables, and Grandpa Zhao was in charge of starting the fire and boiling water.

"A pound of pickled vegetables can sell for eighteen coins in town, but the scholar only gave us six coins. He's too stingy."

"Mother, could you talk to the scholar and ask him to give us nine coins a pound, or at least half?" Wu muttered to herself as she worked.

"Shut up! Xian'er made us do the dealkalization of the bok choy because we're family."

We delivered the alkali-dried vegetables to them, and they still needed to pickle and ferment them, which required adding a lot of ingredients, many of which we had never seen before. That would cost a lot of money. After the pickles were made, they had to be taken to town to sell.

That kind of work isn't hard work. They pay you six coins per pound, and you still complain it's too little. Don't you realize that if you let other people in the village do it, they'd be scrambling to do it even for just one coin?

The old lady's words were reasonable and well-founded, so Wu stopped talking.

Just then, someone knocked on the courtyard gate. The family immediately tensed up, quickly covered the cowherd with a large straw mat, closed the kitchen door, and then opened the courtyard gate.

Seeing that it was Zhao Xian, the family was relieved and everyone continued working.

Zhao Xian thought this was a good idea; his grandmother's family was very careful to keep it a secret.

"Xian'er, what brings you here?" The old lady asked, a little uneasy.

“Grandma, I have to pickle 300 catties of kimchi every day and make 100 catties of dealkalized beef broccoli. My family can’t handle it all, but I don’t want to ask outsiders to do it.”

"Grandma, could you dealkalize and dry 300 jin of *Niu Ben Cai* (a type of mustard green) every day? If not, I'll think of another way."