Mu Yi'an's lunch was a success. Although there were only two pheasants, the soup was delicious enough. The two pheasants were shredded, simply seasoned, and tasted good. Mainly, given the conditions at this time, any meat tastes good.

The food was delivered to the school. Shao Ming and Shao Ning returned; they had eaten lunch at home. The children eating at the school were all preparing for the imperial examinations. The other literate children only attended classes for half a day; they had things to do at home in the afternoon.

"Mom, I smell meat. Did you save some for Grandpa?"

Shao Ming was very close to his grandfather, and he was worried that his grandfather, who didn't come back for lunch, wouldn't get to eat meat.

"Don't worry, Shao Ming. It's already been sent to Grandpa. Your uncle and cousin will also get some."

Mu Yi'an didn't expect that the child would still think of his grandfather. He has a good character. If he is well-educated, he doesn't know if he will be successful in the future, but he will definitely be an upright and reliable person.

Everyone in the courtyard heard Shao Ming's words. Jiang's wife glanced at her drooling second son and really wanted to slap him. They were the same child; why couldn't she think of these things? What could she do besides eat?

Regardless of the subtle disputes among the various branches of the family, Jiang's mother busied herself with preparing the meal.

Lunch went smoothly; everyone enjoyed delicious chicken, and the chicken soup with vegetables was also very tasty. The chestnuts, in particular, were sweet, soft, and delicious.

After lunch, the younger children went for a nap, while Mu Yi'an and the others discussed raising sheep in the yard.

"Second sister-in-law wants to raise sheep?"

"Yes, raise ewes to give their foals milk. Shuwen, do you know anyone nearby who sells ewes, preferably ones that have just given birth? If not, I'll have to send a message back to my parents' home and ask my older brother to inquire about it."

Mu Yi'an doesn't yet have the confidence to face the Mu family, fearing she'll be exposed. The Jiang family won't suspect anything, but the Mu family might.

"I know where I can buy ewes. Second sister-in-law, would you like to buy a few?"

"Let's buy one first. I've never raised sheep before, so I don't know if I can raise it well. Besides, one sheep produces quite a bit of milk, which should be enough for now."

Jiang Shuyun understood Mu Yi'an's idea. In this era, there was no pure cow's milk, so children should drink more goat's milk to supplement calcium, which would be good for their health.

"Shuwen, I want to buy one too. Second Sister-in-law said that it's good for children to drink more goat milk. Our Shaokun needs to be properly nourished. This child is much shorter than Shaoyun."

"You want to raise sheep too? Do you know how?"

Jiang Shuwen was surprised that his wife also wanted to raise sheep, and he felt that she and his second sister-in-law had become closer.

“I can learn, and I should be fine with my second sister-in-law by my side.”

Li Qiuniang had an inexplicable and mysterious trust in her second sister-in-law, ever since she had confronted her eldest sister-in-law yesterday.

"I've heard that goat milk is good for a child's growth and development. If Shao Kun can drink it, it would be good for him to drink more. I don't remember which book I read it in, but goat milk is good for both children and the elderly."

Jiang Shuyun made an excuse and talked about some of the benefits of goat milk. The teacher in their office had said that goat milk is the closest to breast milk, and its composition is very similar.

Upon hearing his second brother's words, Jiang Shu stopped worrying about whether his wife knew how to raise sheep.

The two families decided to raise sheep, and they couldn't leave Jiang's wife out. Whether or not she raised them was her business, but they needed to ask her.

“Raising sheep? I won’t raise them. It would require cutting grass, and my children don’t drink goat milk; it’s too strong.”

Jiang's sister-in-law, Lin Wanru, refused decisively. She didn't want to take care of the sheep; her father-in-law and his family took care of all the livestock. If she raised sheep, she would have to take care of them herself, cutting grass and cleaning up manure, which she couldn't do. Back at her parents' home, she had at most helped with kitchen work; she had never done any farm work or other chores, and she really couldn't and didn't want to.

Mu Yi'an and Li Qiuniang left Jiang Dasao's room and went to Jiang's mother's room. They needed to tell Jiang's mother about this matter.

"Raising sheep? Can you take care of them yourselves?"

Jiang's mother also knew that goat milk was good. She could tell just by looking at her second daughter-in-law. When she was pregnant, her family would send goat milk over every few days. She had fewer pregnancy symptoms, and her babies were born healthy, chubby, and strong.

“We’ll learn from them. It’s just two ewes, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Mu Yi'an also thought that she could take advantage of the opportunity to cut grass for the sheep and go out for some fresh air every day.

“If you’ve thought it through, then go ahead and raise them. There’s plenty of space in the backyard; just set aside a small area next to the donkey shed. You can buy the sheep yourselves and take care of them yourselves; they’re your own private property.”

Jiang's mother agreed to raise sheep, but she wouldn't contribute any money. The public funds were carefully managed, and not a single penny could be wasted.

The family didn't have much to begin with. In recent years, their three sons got married, and they also got married to a daughter. Their youngest daughter is fourteen years old and will be getting married in the next year or two. They will need a dowry.

"Okay, Mom, we'll pay for it ourselves."

Mu Yi'an and Li Qiuniang hadn't originally planned to contribute from the public funds; they had their own money. Although Li Qiuniang's dowry wasn't as large as her second sister-in-law's, it was still considerable. Most importantly, Shu Wen earned more; besides his fixed wages, he had additional income.

The tips received for doing errands and the year-end bonuses add up to a considerable amount, but these are not handed over to the public treasury.

With things settled, Jiang Shuyun and Jiang Shuwen began cleaning up the sheep pen that afternoon.

"Second brother, it's crooked."

"Okay, what about this time?"

"That's fine."

"Second brother, that's a door, we can't block it."

"Really? I forgot."

...

In the late afternoon, Jiang Shuyun was criticized by her third younger brother, who said that she really knew nothing but studying!

After the sheep pen was cleaned up, Jiang Shuwen took his second brother to the sheep farmer's house and picked out two ewes that had just given birth. One was big and the other was small, and they weren't cheap either, costing several taels of silver.

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