Song Yun increasingly felt that his initial decision was correct; after all, he would be staying in this remote and impoverished place for another year. He really couldn't stand eating pig swill every day.

Just then, Mo Zhu's voice came from outside, "My lord, Madam He requests an audience."

Song Yun's eyes lit up, and he ordered, "Quickly, invite her in." He also had something to discuss with Madam He, but he didn't know if she would agree.

He Tiantian followed Mo Zhu in. Song Yun put down the book in his hand and politely stood up to greet her.

"Is there something you need, Sister-in-law He?"

He Tiantian recounted the whole story with a hint of apology, then quietly observed Song Yun's reaction, only to see his brows furrowed deeply.

After a pause, Song Yuncai spoke again, "It's like this, mining areas are inherently unsafe. If you take the two children with you, I'm afraid..."

Children love to play and cause trouble; if something happens, he can't take responsibility.

"Director Song, don't worry, my two children are very well-behaved. Besides, I see that the food in this mine is always the same two dishes, so I'm thinking of taking some of the newly bought cabbage and radishes to pickle some side dishes, which will make the food more appetizing," He Tiantian suggested, just in time to notice that there were several large vats in the kitchen.

“Pickling sauerkraut is hard work, and it’s good that my two daughters are here to help wash and prepare the vegetables. Otherwise, Erhua’s mother and I would be busy for a long time,” He Tiantian continued.

Song Yun nodded, feeling that there were no other concerns. "Alright, since it's a physically demanding job, Mozhu, you should go and help out too."

Although he didn't know what pickled cabbage was or had never eaten it before, Song Yun thought it must be delicious, given He Shi's culinary skills.

Mo Zhu, standing to the side, trembled. The adults actually wanted him to pickle sauerkraut... The thought was terrifying.

The first thing He Tiantian did upon returning to the village was to take the half-finished handkerchief to Zhao Tingzhang's house.

Zhao Tingzhang was in charge of the entire village, and people would come to him for almost everything, big or small. He Tiantian knew that the original owner of this body was unpopular in the village, and even if there were jobs that could earn money, the women wouldn't pay any attention to her.

Around noon, the entire Changfeng Village was quiet, and light snow had begun to fall. He Tiantian took the handkerchiefs to Zhao Tingzhang's house.

"Sister-in-law, is the village head home?"

The gate to Zhao Tingzhang's house was not closed, and his wife was washing clothes in the courtyard. Hearing someone arrive, she looked up at the gate.

A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes, then she smiled kindly and stood up. "What's wrong, Maruko's mom? Is something the matter?"

She had overheard her husband talking about Zhao's daughter-in-law a few days ago. Liu felt a pang of jealousy; after all, He was carrying Zhao's child, and that old woman Zhao was truly wicked, so heartless.

"I... have something to discuss with the head of the pavilion." He Tiantian stood at the door without coming in.

Liu shook the water off her hands and warmly invited He Tiantian in.

"You've come at the right time. My old man is smoking his pipe inside." With that, Liu pushed open the door and called out, "Old man, Wanzi's mother wants to see you."

When He Tiantian entered the room, Zhao Tingzhang was sitting on a low stool. He casually tapped his pipe on the ground before putting it aside.

"What's wrong, Maruko's mother?" Zhao Tingzhang asked, looking up.

He Tiantian opened the bundle she was holding and took out thirty semi-finished handkerchiefs.

"What is this?" Liu stared in disbelief. This fabric was fine linen; ordinary people were lucky to afford coarse linen. Where did He get the money to buy this?

“I got these from a cloth shop in town today. Village head, here’s what I was thinking: could you see if anyone in our village is good at needlework? Here are thirty handkerchiefs in total, and I’ll pay five coins for each one I embroider.”

She would pay 150 coins for making 30 handkerchiefs, and would still make a net profit of 300 coins from the trip.

Three hundred coins a month is already a remarkable thing in the village.

"What? Maruko-chan, you mean you'll get five coins for each of these handkerchiefs you embroider?" Liu was very surprised. She looked at the sample and felt that the handkerchiefs were not difficult to embroider; she could embroider one in seven days.

Zhao Tingzhang also stood up and carefully picked up a handkerchief to examine it.

Liu quickly snatched the handkerchief back from Zhao, scolding him, "Be careful, if you get the smell of smoke on your hands and it gets dirty, you won't be able to sell it."

Zhao Tingzhang coughed awkwardly, "Wanzi's mother, your idea is not bad. It's freezing cold now, and the women in the village don't have much to do besides housework. They would definitely be happy to earn some money in their spare time."

Keeping these women busy will reduce some of the trivial matters, and he'll have some peace and quiet. He won't be dragged into every little thing, like a chicken with a missing feather, just to get justice.

“However, cough cough… Dahe Niang’s embroidery is quite good, why don’t you take a look?” As he spoke, Zhao Tingzhang asked Liu to go to the inner room to get the handkerchief she had embroidered earlier.

He Tiantian examined it carefully, even though she didn't know anything about embroidery. However, the things that Dahe Niang embroidered were the same as those sold in Hong Er Niang's shop, so following that standard would definitely not be wrong.

"Alright! Then I'll trouble you, Pavilion Chief and Sister-in-law, to find a few more skilled embroiderers. These handkerchiefs need to be finished by the end of the month. But I have a favor to ask, and I request that you, Pavilion Chief and Sister-in-law, not tell anyone that these handkerchiefs are mine."

"Alright, alright, don't worry, Maruko's mother. I can embroider half of these handkerchiefs by myself. I'll find a few more people to help me later, and I guarantee I'll deliver the handkerchiefs to you before the end of the month," Liu Shi assured, patting her chest.

The subsidies my husband receives as the village head are simply not enough to feed the whole family. If we could have this kind of additional income, that would be wonderful.

After seeing He Tiantian off with a beaming smile, Liu hurried towards her eldest daughter-in-law's house. Her eldest daughter-in-law's embroidery skills were just as good as hers, so she was sure she could do it well.

As soon as He Tiantian got home, she started washing the cabbages and radishes she had bought, and Zhao Denglong quickly came over to help.

"Mother, where did you get the money to buy so many vegetables?" Zhao Denglong stared at the cabbages and radishes scattered on the ground, her eyes sparkling. So many vegetables, enough to eat for a long time.

He Tiantian patted Zhao Denglong's head. "Isn't your mother working as a cook in the mine now? Director Song there is a very nice person. He paid your wages in advance."

"Wow, that's great! Now the little rabbits will have carrots to eat." Zhao Wanzi clapped her hands happily, grabbed a carrot, and went to feed the rabbits.

"Also, you two will come with me when I go to work. Today we'll pickle some sauerkraut at home, and tomorrow we'll go to the mine where they'll pickle even more. You two need to learn carefully," He Tiantian carefully instructed.