He Tiantian had previously heard Sister Liu praise her daughter-in-law for her skillful hands and capable nature. She kept the house very clean, inside and out.

There's one thing that Liu's wife doesn't quite understand: Dahai and Cheng Ying have been married for a year and a half, but there's still no sign of pregnancy.

Seeing how affectionate the young couple was every day, Zhao Tingzhang and Sister-in-law Liu felt embarrassed to ask.

He Tiantian even advised Liu's wife not to be too anxious.

"What's wrong, Maruko-chan?" Zhao Tingzhang asked.

He Tiantian then explained her purpose: with so many mulberries, she knew she had to mobilize the entire village to sell them, and there were only two months left. If they missed the ripening season, they wouldn't be able to sell them at all.

However, she had one condition: the villagers must not damage the mulberry trees while picking the fruit. They also had to adhere to her pricing to avoid disrupting the market and harming the interests of the villagers.

He Tiantian then explained the details of picking the fruit, emphasizing the importance of picking only the best quality fruit. In ancient times, there were many mosquitoes and moths, so food like mulberries would inevitably be eaten, requiring careful selection.

The villagers are responsible for taking the fruit they pick to the county to sell themselves; whether they sell a lot or a little is entirely up to them.

It was originally a small business with no investment, and He Tiantian didn't want to take on too much. Otherwise, she could have simply bought the fruit from the villagers, negotiated distribution channels, and sold it herself, becoming a perfect middleman.

Zhao Tingzhang was responsible for spreading this good news to everyone in the village; whether or not they could make money depended on each family's abilities.

After hearing this, Liu chimed in, "We went to the academy today, and all the fruit sold out in less than fifteen minutes! I didn't expect city people to like this." Liu smiled, as she hadn't yet had a chance to tell her family about the five hundred coins.

Zhao Tingzhang thought for a moment, "Alright, Dahai, you go and tell the villagers to wait under the old locust tree. Before it gets dark, I'll tell them about this."

"Okay, Dad!" Zhao Dahai replied and quickly ran out.

After He Tiantian finished speaking, she was about to leave. Zhao Tingzhang, Liu Shi, and Cheng Ying wanted to see her off.

"You're welcome, sister-in-law. You all go ahead with your work. I can go out by myself." Such a grand gesture made He Tiantian feel a little uncomfortable.

As soon as I stepped into the yard, a voice rang out from outside.

"Sister Liu, is the village head home?" Old Mrs. Zhao's strong voice rang out from outside.

Liu and Zhao, the pavilion chief, exchanged glances, then looked awkwardly at He Tiantian.

"Oh... I don't know why she came." Liu was so anxious that sweat was beading on her forehead.

He Tiantian hadn't expected such a coincidence, but since they'd run into each other, she figured it was fine. They were from the same village, so they were bound to run into each other again.

Without waiting for a reply from inside, Old Lady Zhao entered, supported by Madam Tao. Her youngest son, Zhao Xiangnan, was carrying two large roosters.

This kind of situation has caught Liu and Zhao Tingzhang off guard.

"This... Sister-in-law Zhao, is there something you need?" Liu asked cautiously.

After the last conflict between the two families, although Liu was quite angry at the time, she gradually let it go after thinking about it.

Old Mrs. Zhao's smiling face gradually darkened the moment she saw He Tiantian still in the room.

However, she was here today to give a gift and apologize, and she couldn't let this bitch ruin her plans.

Thinking of this, a smile returned to Old Lady Zhao's face.

“Look at this… Last time it was all my youngest daughter-in-law’s fault for being so ignorant and bumping into the village head in the fields. I, this old woman, gave Cheng a good scolding when I got back. So, I had my son go to the county to buy two chickens to apologize to the village head.” As she spoke, Old Lady Zhao gestured for Zhao Xiangnan to hand over the chickens.

"Oh dear, my family has long forgotten about that. I can't take this chicken, you should take it back," Liu quickly declined.

He Tiantian sneered from the side. This old woman really knew how to talk. Didn't she herself cause trouble that day without any righteous indignation? In the blink of an eye, she shifted all the blame onto Cheng Shi.

They really dare to do it but not to take responsibility.

Besides, if they truly wanted to apologize, they would have done so in person long ago. Why did it take so long?

I wonder what kind of wicked scheme the Zhao family is plotting.

“Auntie, it wasn’t easy for me to carry this all the way here, there’s no reason for me to take it back! If you don’t accept it, my mother will blame me for not handling things properly,” Zhao Xiangnan said sincerely.

He Tiantian thought to herself, "The Zhao family really does have the same tricks as their son."

Why should people be obligated to accept your gifts? If Sister Liu didn't accept them, it would be their fault.

In fact, Liu was truly in a dilemma. She looked at Zhao, the village head, hesitantly, "Old man, what do you think of this..."

Zhao, the village head, coughed awkwardly. "Sister-in-law, what are you doing? How can I, the village head, face everyone if they see this? You must take this chicken back with you. My family can't accept it."

"This..." Old Mrs. Zhao was also in a dilemma. She had already made a great decision to come here today to beg for peace.

"Sister-in-law, I have something to tell the whole village. Oh, and why don't you come with me to the village entrance to listen?" With that, Zhao Tingzhang led his men out.

Liu quickly followed, and Cheng Ying looked around, also afraid of making things difficult for this family if she stayed at home, so she also started to follow.

Finally, Old Lady Zhao and her family caught up. Since the village head's family was unwilling to accept the chicken, Zhao Xiangnan would have to make another trip home to deliver it.

When Zhao Tingzhang arrived at the village entrance, most of the villagers had already arrived.

So many people stood under the old locust tree, chattering away.

"What's the matter, Pavilion Chief? My family is busy cooking at this hour."

"Yes, my son will have a hot meal when he comes back from working in the mine soon."

Zhao Tingzhang walked over from behind and coughed seriously when he heard this.

"Aunt Wang, what I'm about to announce is more important than eating. You'd better listen carefully in a moment," Zhao Tingzhang said irritably.

Aunt Wang and the other woman quickly smiled sheepishly, "Chief, we were just being cheeky, please don't mind."

As Zhao Tingzhang walked forward, people in the crowd automatically made way for him.

He stood on a rock under the old locust tree, a large rock that could usually accommodate four or five adults sitting together in the shade. Over the years, the rock had long since been smoothed of its sharp edges.

"Ahem... Everyone, quiet down!" Zhao Tingzhang shouted.

The crowd fell silent instantly, over a hundred pairs of eyes fixed on Zhao Tingzhang. Even the children playing in the mud nearby stopped to watch.