They would only believe Yan Qingqing if she said it; if someone else said it, they would definitely scoff. They usually just scatter wood ash on the ground as fertilizer.
Yan Qingqing then said, "Although this method is simple, it must be classified as a trade secret of our family and cannot be known to outsiders."
If anyone fails to keep the secret, they'll face the consequences from their maternal family.
Although the children didn't know what Yan Qingqing's family rules were, judging from her serious expression, they knew they wouldn't be lenient.
Besides, this is their family's secret to making money, and they're not stupid enough to tell outsiders.
Seeing that they had all taken notes, Yan Qingqing continued, "These bright futures require us to work hard to achieve them."
The most tiring job right now is washing pig offal. I know it's dirty and exhausting, so Xinniang and Yueniang are the ones who have to work the hardest. Of course, everyone helps out when they have time.
Li Xin's mother laughed and replied, "Mother, I'm not afraid of being tired as long as I can make money. The only problem is that the pig offal is a bit smelly. My sister and I will take it to the river to wash it later."
To get her to cancel the engagement, Yan Qingqing had to pay the lame man a tael of silver. Li Xinniang felt very bad about it, as a tael of silver was a huge sum of money in her mind.
Yuan Huiniang chimed in, "Mother, there's not much work to do at home right now, and Jinxiu is being looked after by my fourth brother, so I can help my sisters with the cleaning too."
Yan Qingqing nodded. At present, the amount of pig offal they need to clean is not large, and a few people can manage it.
After assigning tasks, they got to work. Yan Qingqing decided to have Li Xiangkang take Li Xiang'an and Li Xiangjian to the back mountain where they had visited last time. There were several laurel trees there, and Yan Qingqing needed the fragrant leaves from the trees to make braising liquid.
Yan Qingqing called the three of them over and instructed them, "You three must be careful when you go up the mountain, especially when you are climbing trees."
Also, check the surrounding area for animal footprints and droppings.
Li Xiangjian patted his chest and said, "Mom, don't worry, I'm best at climbing trees."
Li Xiang'an nodded and said, "Mother, don't worry, I will keep a close eye on them."
Yan Qingqing sighed and sent the three of them up the mountain. Poor children learn to be independent early, so she could only help each child become independent as quickly as possible.
Li Xinniang had already prepared a pile of wood ash and then put the pig intestines in and rubbed them carefully.
Yan Qingqing probably couldn't stand the smell because she was pregnant.
Yan Qingqing remembered the face mask from her previous life, so she called Yuan Huiniang aside and briefly explained it to her.
After hearing this, Yuan Huiniang said, "Mother, although I don't know what a mask is, I roughly understand what you're saying. I'll make one for you as you've described."
Yan Qingqing laughed and said, "Make four, you can use them to wash pig offal too."
Yuan Huiniang shook her head and replied, "Mother, this cloth is a precious thing. These four masks can be used to make a pair of shoe uppers. Although we need two bolts of cloth given by Old Madam Ding, I calculated that it is just enough to make a set of clothes for each person."
Yan Qingqing: ……
Okay, she was being inconsiderate. Two bolts of cloth are a lot, but there are many people in the family.
Yan Qingqing waved her hand and said, "Forget it, the three of you can do this work. I'll just stay a little further away."
And the smell wasn't so strong after washing.
After saying that, Yan Qingqing went back to her room.
Yuan Huiniang was startled as she watched Yan Qingqing's retreating figure, wondering if she had overstepped her bounds in managing the household.
Although the mother-in-law said she was in charge of all the household chores, what kind of mother-in-law makes demands and the daughter-in-law argues like that? Besides, all the money and fabric in the house were earned by the mother-in-law.
Thinking about this, Yuan Huiniang suddenly felt a little panicked. If her husband came back and found out that she had disobeyed her mother-in-law, would she still have a good life?
Yan Qingqing didn't think too much about it. She felt that although Yuan Huiniang's consumption philosophy was different from hers, she was right to be thrifty and manage the household well for the time being.
Yan Qingqing checked the things she had at home. She had about 15 jin of dark flour left from the last purchase, and about 3 jin of white flour left after using some to make cakes and buns.
If one pound of flour can make twelve steamed buns, this amount of flour can make about two hundred. That's enough to sell tomorrow.
However, we don't have enough bowls, chopsticks, and wooden buckets at home to set up a stall, and we have so many other things to transport to the dock.
Yan Qingqing suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed; indeed, ideals are often grand, but reality is often harsh.
Even something as simple as setting up a stall to sell food isn't that easy.
However, Yan Qingqing has never been afraid of difficulties, and she is now trying to find a way to solve these problems.
When Yuan Huiniang saw Yan Qingqing walk out of the house without saying a word, she was even more convinced that her mother-in-law was angry.
So she stammered out "Mother," but because her voice was too soft, Yan Qingqing was walking too fast to hear her.
Yuan Huiniang's face turned deathly pale in an instant, and finally she couldn't hold back her tears, which streamed down her face.
This startled Li Xinniang and Li Yueniang, who were working diligently. The two quickly asked in unison, "Sister-in-law, what's wrong?"
Leaving aside Yuan Huiniang for now, Yan Qingqing went straight to Aunt Wang's house next door after leaving the house.
Old Mrs. Wang was feeding the chickens at home when she saw Yan Qingqing arrive. She quickly put down what she was doing and asked, "Oh, it's Qingqing."
Yan Qingqing was taken aback when she heard this. It had been so long since anyone had called her Qingqing. In Canghe Village, some people called her Yan Shi, some called her Xiang Ping Niang, and some even called her Er Niu's wife.
Even now, she still feels a bit dazed when she hears the name Qingqing.
Seeing that Yan Qingqing was silent, Grandma Wang quickly asked, "What's wrong, Qingqing? Did something happen?"
Yan Qingqing came to her senses and smiled, "It's nothing, Auntie. I just wanted to borrow something from your family."
Grandma Wang readily replied, "Borrowing something? That's easy. What do you need to borrow, a kitchen knife or a carrying pole?"
The two families lived close to each other. Yan Qingqing had just separated from her family, and her home was incomplete. She often borrowed these two items from the Wang family.
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Auntie, I'd like to borrow your handcart for a bit. I'm planning to go to the city to do some small business, but I have too much stuff to carry."
Grandma Wang replied, "That's easy to say. We have two handcarts at home. Although Da Gang's skills aren't great, they're practical."
You can just take it and use it.
Yan Qingqing was surprised that Grandma Wang was so easy to talk to, and said with a smile, "Thank you, Auntie. Since Da Gang can do carpentry, I happen to have a batch of work on hand. I wonder if Da Gang would like to take it."
Grandma Wang asked with some surprise, "What kind of work?"
Yan Qingqing replied, "I only need a few large wooden barrels, three or four will do. I'll pay twenty coins for each one."
You'll also need some bowls and chopsticks, the simple kind made of bamboo tubes will do, each costing three coins, and you'll need about forty or fifty of them.
If possible, please make some for me today.
Before Old Mrs. Wang could reply, Wang Dagang's wife came out and said, "I'm free, I'm free. Second sister-in-law, wait for me, I'll go to the fields and call Dagang back."
After saying that, she ran off in a flash. Old Mrs. Wang glared at her eldest daughter-in-law, inwardly cursing her for being a snob.
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