Guo Xuantong sneered repeatedly upon seeing this.
How could lime be made by burning stone? This Jiang woman is a fool who pretends to know everything.
The way she looked at Jiang Tangtang couldn't help but carry a hint of arrogance, along with an undisguised mockery and pity.
Jiang Tangtang was speechless, unsure of what she had done to warrant such both mockery and pity from her. However, she had many things to attend to and was too lazy to bother with it.
Fortunately, building a lime kiln is not too difficult. After explaining the precautions to her two older brothers today, she won't have to worry too much as long as they are in charge.
Next, we'll be busy with clearing land and building houses.
As Jiang Tangtang opened the system, Madam Wang came over and handed her a rice ball, saying, "Daughter, stop busy and come eat."
After waiting for Jiang Tangtang to take it, she took out two duck eggs from the bottom of the basket and handed them to her, saying, "Your mother-in-law asked me to bring these for you. She's treating you quite well now, so you should treat her well in the future."
Jiang Tangtang scoffed inwardly. If she hadn't fabricated the identity of a disciple of a deity and improved her family's life through the system, how could the Su family have been so kind to her?
However, she wasn't that averse to it. In her view, the most stable relationship between people is the exchange of benefits.
She readily agreed with Wang, peeled another egg and fed it to her, saying, "Mother, have some."
Wang repeatedly refused, saying, "No need, you eat it yourself."
Jiang Tangtang insisted, "I have two here, one for each of us."
Wang could not refuse, so she accepted it.
Even though they were just boiled duck eggs, Wang thought every bite was sweet.
On the other side, when Jiang Laowu saw Guo Xinyi coming with her mother to deliver food, a smile involuntarily spread across his face.
He walked up to Guo Xinyi in a few steps. "The road here is difficult to walk on. What brings you here?"
Guo Xinyi blushed and said shyly, "Just walk a little slower."
Jiang Laowu said, "It's too sunny here. Don't come next time. The mountain path here hasn't been cleared yet. It wouldn't be good if you encountered a snake on the way."
Guo Xinyi glanced at his handsome face, then shyly looked away and said, "It's okay. I have a stick in my hand. I heard that if you tap the snake with a stick before leaving, it will scare it away."
Watching the two get along, Wang's eyes showed both satisfaction and worry. She wondered whether she should ask Cui for a marriage proposal when she got back today.
Girls care about their reputation. If she doesn't propose marriage to someone else beforehand, it's considered immature of her to see them getting along with her son.
But considering Guo Xinyi's identity, she hesitated again.
She knew the identities of the Cui family, mother and daughters. Although Magistrate Guo was dead, she had heard that the Cui family was a large merchant family in the Jiang clan, and that the mother and daughters had fallen on hard times.
When the group returned to the Cui family, they realized that her son was not good enough for the girl.
The two are not a good match in terms of social standing, and I'm afraid Guo Xinyi will regret it later. If she does regret it, her son will be heartbroken.
Thinking about how successful her daughter had become, Madam Wang asked Jiang Tangtang for advice, "What do you think of Miss Guo the Second?"
Jiang Tangtang naturally witnessed Guo Xinyi's interaction with her fifth brother. She remarked, "He's better than her sister. However..." She paused to think carefully, then added uncertainly, "I remember my fifth brother was engaged, wasn't he?"
Jiang Laowu was only one year younger than Jiang Laosi, and according to his memory, Jiang Laowu was also engaged.
Her mother is arranging a marriage for her fifth brother again, but no one knows what happened.
When the topic of Jiang Laowu's arranged marriage came up, Wang's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. "It was arranged before, but then there was a drought and famine, and that girl from the Zhang family came to our house to borrow grain."
We saved up all the food our family had to give her and lent her twenty catties, but the Zhang family girl actually complained that we hadn't lent her enough. A few days later, she came to our house to borrow again, and when we said we really couldn't afford any more, she accused us of being stingy and threatened to break off the engagement. So the marriage was called off.
Speaking of Zhang Chunhua, she was from the same village as them, and she watched her grow up!
Wang never expected that she had misjudged the Zhang family; they were actually such a family.
Because she misjudged the first time, she became more cautious this time.
Jiang Tangtang comforted him, "Every family is struggling during a famine. That Zhang girl borrowed grain but still complained it wasn't enough. She's just being unreasonable. It would have been better if she had just gotten rid of her. Fifth Brother deserves better."
“Your fifth brother is just a rough man, and our family is like this now…” Wang knew her daughter was trying to comfort her, and couldn’t help but sigh.
"Mother, don't worry, things will get better and better at home." Jiang Tangtang said, "Besides, Fifth Brother is so outstanding, who wouldn't be good enough for him? That Zhang girl broke off her engagement for a little grain, she might be regretting it now!"
Wang laughed and said, "In your eyes, your fifth brother is naturally perfect in every way."
“Mother, I’m not speaking up for him just because he’s her sister. Look at Fifth Brother, he’s not only good-looking, but also smart and capable. I only had to explain the lime kiln construction to him once, and he understood it. With him helping to manage the lime kiln, my life is much easier. My Fifth Brother will definitely amount to something in the future.”
Wang was delighted by her daughter's words, and the worry in her eyes gradually disappeared.
Jiang Tangtang said earnestly, "Mother, if Fifth Brother likes Miss Guo, you should go and arrange a marriage for him. Don't worry, our Jiang family will definitely get better and better, and Fifth Brother will be successful and not unworthy of her."
"I'll ask your fifth brother later."
In this era, marriages were arranged by parents and matchmakers, and generally speaking, parents had the final say in their children's marriages.
However, Wang and Jiang's father were quite open-minded, and since Jiang Laowu's first engagement was not satisfactory, Wang would prioritize his opinion.
After lunch, everyone continued working on building the lime kiln until dark. Only then did Wang have time to ask her son, "Are you interested in Miss Guo? If you are, I'll find a matchmaker to propose marriage to her. If you're not interested, stay away from her and don't ruin her reputation."
Jiang Laowu was a little embarrassed, and after a while he said in a low voice, "Our family doesn't even have a house to live in right now, how could we have the nerve to go and propose marriage?"
Wang said, "It doesn't matter if we don't have a house. Just work harder! We'll be able to afford to build one eventually. But if you continue to associate with each other like this without first arranging a marriage, then we're being unreasonable."
Jiang Laowu said, "Thank you for your trouble, Mother."
"You brat, don't be so polite with your mother."
Wang turned around and packed a basket of things, then went to the Lu family's house. She wanted to ask Su to help her find out what Cui was saying.
Of course, after experiencing the famine, the Jiang family's conditions were not as good as before. In fact, there wasn't much to give away. Besides food made from wild vegetables, there was also a small earthenware pot of pheasant soup in the basket.
This is a stew for Wei Ying tonight to help her produce milk. She was thinking that she might go to the Lu family's house, so she picked out a big chicken leg and put a few pieces of chicken into the earthenware pot in advance.
When Madam Su saw what Madam Wang was carrying, she declined, saying, "Mother-in-law, you're being too polite. You've come all this way, why bring anything?"
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