Upon hearing Lady Ding’s words, the atmosphere instantly stiffened, and everyone in the courtyard didn’t know what to say.
Ji Xinhe scoffed, "Listen to what you just said. My siblings and I left our home with nothing, to put it nicely, we separated, to put it bluntly, we were kicked out from home. Now, we are making money on our own, and yet you vilify us as shameless? Do we all have to be like your daughter Xiulan, who’s lazy at home, living off the sale of the family’s land to survive?"
A low chuckle spread among the crowd; everyone in the village knew about the Ji family selling their land to maintain their wealth.
As Ji Xinhe’s words touched on Lady Ding’s pain point, she jumped with anger, "You shameless girl, what do you know! None of your business! Our family is selling land now, but it’s just a temporary solution. My Xiulan is going to be an official’s wife, she’s not on the same level as a lowly girl like you!"
Ji Xinhe blinked, "Going to be an official’s wife? Which great official? You’re not talking about Gao Zhiru, who was caught having an affair with Wang Er Ya and then escaped recently, are you?"
Lady Ding’s face turned beet red, "You!" This sharp-tongued, dirty girl!
Ji Xinhe then slowly said, "We, countryside girls, don’t we all work hard outside to earn money? In your mouth, it becomes a lowly girl; so are all the girls in the village lowly?"
With these words, Ji Xinhe was obviously trying to ignite a fire.
There were still many aunts and girls in the courtyard. When they heard Ding’s words, they obviously felt she had insulted them all. How could they bear it?!
"Who’s lowly?! I work in the fields by myself, never delaying even with a big belly! Unlike you and your daughter, lazy as hell, spending money all day long, Ji Dashan married you and that’s the bad luck of his eight hundred past lives! The family property handed down from generation to generation will be destroyed sooner or later by you!" Aunt Guixiang directly put her hands on her waist and started cursing loudly. She had a fiery temper, and now that her anger was aroused, she could not stand it any longer.
"Yeah! After you squander the Ji family’s land, what will you have left to eat? When it comes time to really go hungry, don’t come to us with a shameless face to borrow money!" Another wife spat as well.
"Their family is precious! Looking forward to their daughter being an official’s wife in the future! Whether Gao Zhiru has become a scholar or not is still uncertain, he’s not even in sight now. You’re still shamelessly relying on him, I think you’re the shameless one!"
All the village wives and aunts were fierce when scolding people. With their saliva, they could almost drown Lady Ding. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
Lady Ding trembled with anger, her face turning black from rage, she pointed at them, cursing, "You, you, you!"
"What about us? We’re lowly and not worthy of talking to you. You better not say anything more, just continue to stay home and wait to starve to death!" A woman said shrilly.
Lady Ding could not out-curse them, she wanted to attack but knew she couldn’t win alone, so she could only grit her teeth and shoot a fierce glance at Ji Xinhe, who was enjoying the show. "Ji Xinhe! Just you wait!"
Ji Xinhe blinked innocently, "What did I do?"
Lady Ding choked with anger, unable to speak a word, she could only grit her teeth and stomp her foot, turning around and entering the house, slamming the door shut with a loud bang, almost breaking the dilapidated door.
Ji Xinhe snorted softly, trying to compete with her?
Lady Ding left, everyone grumbled a few more words and dispersed. Ji Xinhe’s place was not hiring any more people anyway. Before leaving, they didn’t forget to tell Ji Xinhe, "Xinhe, when you need to hire more people, remember to find me!"
Ji Xinhe smiled sweetly, "Of course, I will."
---
Ji Xinhe’s pickle workshop officially started production. Hong Qin, Xiao Cui, and the others gradually learned the ropes, and the workflow became more defined. Ji Xinhe was now able to free up some time to research new pickles.
In winter, Chinese cabbages were the most abundant. Ji Dong had dug up a small garden behind their house and planted plenty of Chinese cabbage, which was now growing well. Actually, pickling Chinese cabbage was very delicious, like Korean kimchi, which was also a new variety.
Also, pickling radishes was not bad either. Radishes were not expensive and were just ordinary when eaten as is. Yet, after pickling, they became quite appetizing.
Ji Xinhe thought that since starting the pickle business, she should continue to grow and develop new varieties to open a pickle storefront in the future!
She had never seen such a store in town.
With a goal in mind, Ji Xinhe’s determination grew stronger.
Business kept getting better and better. After the pickles were introduced at Gui Lin Residence, their fame grew. Although not considered extravagant delicacies, people loved trying new things, and the taste was not bland either. The people of Lian’an Town loved the more flavorful pickles.
The success of the fermented tofu and sour bamboo shoots at Gui Lin Residence also helped boost Ji Xinhe’s business. Ji Xinhe seized the opportunity to launch her new spicy cabbage and spicy radish products.
Having experienced the launch of the fermented tofu, most people were not surprised by the new products. Instead, they were more than happy to taste the new pickles, which received very positive feedback.
Ji Xinhe’s spirits were lifted as she planned to increase the production of spicy cabbage and spicy radish.
The workshop became even busier.
Ji Xinhe had to guide the production and pay attention to detail while maintaining her stall in the street. Although she was busy all day long and exhausted, when she thought of the money she was making, she felt it was all worth it.
As night fell, Ji Xinhe finally called for everyone to stop working.
"Let’s continue working tomorrow. Everyone has worked hard today," Ji Xinhe smiled.
"What’s so hard about it? Sixty cash a day, just thinking about the money makes it worthwhile. My husband is working short-term labor in town, earning only fifty cash a day, and he’s treated like an ox; now that’s called tired!" Aunt Guixiang laughed heartily, "Well then, I’ll be going first."
"Oh, alright."
Everyone left one after another, leaving only Zheng Xiaocui still busy with her work.
Ji Xinhe wanted to take over, "Let me do it, you’ve been tired all day, go home first."
Zheng Xiaocui smiled and shook her head, "It’s fine. I still have a little bit of work left. I’ll be done soon. You can rest, don’t worry about me."
Ji Xinhe thought to herself, where could she find such a hard-working and kind-hearted girl?
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