In the West Garden—
Main courtyard.
The former mistress of the courtyard, Second Madam, is now imprisoned in the Buddhist hall by the head of the household.
The current second mistress is a rising star in the imperial court, the great-aunt of the Shangguan family. She has secretly fallen in love with the second master for more than ten years and has never married.
The eldest son personally visited the second son's home to propose marriage, offering betrothal gifts and formalities as if the son were a concubine!
No one knows how it was discussed, but the Shangguan family actually agreed to the marriage!
The new second mistress has been married for several days now, and she and the second master are a harmonious couple, earning the respect of the servants in the mansion...
Shangguan Qian's dowry maid, who was also her confidante, reported back to her mistress after being invited three times:
"Second Madam, Second Master said he acquired the ancient book and is staying in the study tonight. He asked me to take care of you and help you rest."
"This bookworm, after all these years, still has the same personality~"
Upon receiving the message, Shangguan Qian was overjoyed. This was the man she had longed for and waited for for over a decade!
Sure enough, his temperament remained as straightforward as it had been more than a decade ago, and he still loved the Four Books and Five Classics, unchanged.
"Second Madam, Second Master is so engrossed in poetry and books that he neglects you. I feel sorry for you."
The maidservant accompanied her mistress into the Ge family after her marriage. Although she was a secondary wife, she was treated with the same privileges as the principal wife. The entire Ge family respected her greatly and did not neglect her.
For some reason, whenever she saw the Second Master, she always felt that he wore a mask, like a hypocrite with a sanctimonious air...
She would never dare to say such a thing in front of her master, even if she were beaten to death!
"Shut up!"
Sure enough, her master got angry when she only subtly reminded him.
"How could I not know what kind of person you are, Second Master? If it weren't for the fact that you've followed me for over a decade, would I have let you off so easily!"
Shangguan Qian frowned slightly, her whole body radiating anger, and she couldn't tolerate any dissent!
"This servant knows her mistake, please forgive me, Second Madam."
The maidservant immediately knelt down, not daring to say another word.
"Get out! Don't ever come into my room again, and don't ever show your face in front of me again!"
Shangguan Qian said impatiently, then dismissed the maid and prepared to promote others to be her personal maids...
One day in the first half of July, more than a dozen horse-drawn carriages suddenly appeared at the entrance of Wujia Village.
The leader was clearly a martial arts expert. He stopped a villager, gave him a small piece of silver, and said that the head of the family had sent him to collect medicinal herbs, asking him to inform the village chief.
Wu Chutou was the one who was stopped. Upon hearing this, his eyes lit up. The pharmaceutical factory had been waiting for a long time and had sent him to stake out the village entrance for almost half a month. Finally, they had caught him!
"This way, esteemed guest!"
He immediately accepted the loose silver and led the way to the village chief's house with a smile...
The village chief treated them to fine tea and sent someone to invite Mrs. Jiang over.
After a busy wait, the two sides finally got to the point.
Jiang Yue's wound has scabbed over, and she can move freely.
Together with the village chief, they led a convoy to the pharmaceutical factory for a tour, showcasing the strength of Wujia Village.
Sure enough, after seeing the pharmaceutical production line, the group's attitude became noticeably more serious.
The subsequent purchasing went smoothly and without any obstacles.
Ge Changkong checked the purchase list given by the family head and recorded it item by item. He received 30,000 catties of medicinal herbs and paid 2,400 taels of silver.
After the payment was settled, both parties pressed their fingerprints, and the first transaction was successfully completed.
After agreeing on a time for the second transaction, Ge Changkong led his men to transport the medicinal herbs back to Jinling Prefecture without staying for lunch.
Jiang Yue didn't try to stop them, not wanting to delay their business. She was also about to start dividing the profits.
This was the first time in the village chief's life that he had seen so much silver. He hoped to live a few more years so that he could see even more silver in his lifetime!
Upon receiving the news, Da Niu took the account book to Grandpa Village Chief's house. The three of them worked on the account book, stopping and starting, without even having lunch, but finally managed to sort it out.
As evening fell, the drums and gongs sounded in Wujia Village. The money was being distributed! The money was being distributed! This batch of medicinal herbs had been sold! A major pharmaceutical merchant from Jinling Prefecture had sent someone over!
For a time, families who had sold medicinal plants but had not yet received payment all brought their receipts and lined up at the village entrance!
When Wu Dalang arrived, there were already four long queues at the village entrance.
He was tall, and his gaze went over the heads of many villagers to the platform made of tables at the very front.
Behind the platform were the third brother's wife, the village chief, and his eldest daughter!
A sense of pride welled up within me.
He heard the villagers queuing around him say:
"Look, isn't that Wu Dalang's eldest daughter? I must say, she looks really impressive now!"
"Of course! She has a wonderful third aunt who not only teaches her the work herself but also imparts the secret recipe for the dishes. She'll probably inherit her mantle someday!"
"Tsk tsk, Mr. and Mrs. Wu are going to be very lucky when they get old!"
"Stop talking, I'm calculating how much silver I'll get~"
"Ahem, alright, alright, I won't say anymore. Let me do the math for my family too; this year has truly been a bountiful one!"
Clutching the fruits of his months of hard work at the old house, Wu Dalang thought to himself, "Indeed, a bountiful year!"
On the table at the very front, there were piles of broken silver and copper coins.
The old village chief sat to one side, squinting, with lists and ledgers in front of him, occasionally muttering to himself.
The woman in the middle counted and counted, then produced the corresponding amount of silver.
The written documents were inspected and collected by Chiang Kai-shek, then marked with an "x" in vermilion ink and stored in a box for record-keeping.
On the left and right sides were the factory workers, a protective "wall" formed by the men to prevent anyone from "taking advantage of the chaos" and to protect the safety of the factory manager and the others.
"Wu Dazhu received 21 taels and 600 copper coins for 300 catties of medicinal herbs."
"Wu the Axe—four hundred catties of medicinal plants, received twenty-eight taels and eight hundred copper coins."
"Wu Damao received 43 taels and 200 copper coins for 600 catties of medicinal herbs."
"Wu Dalang, you received 140 taels of silver from the two thousand catties of medicinal herbs."
......
After a long while, the accounts were cleared, and all the families who sold medicinal plants to the pharmaceutical factory received their share of the money.
Jiang Yue received the most, and at the same time, she bore the greatest risks than anyone else.
It is what everyone expects and they are completely convinced.
The village chief received the pharmaceutical factory, which was the 10% that the Jiang family had promised to give to the clan—240 taels of silver.
"Happy to cooperate!"
Jiang Yue stretched with a smile. Her back was a little itchy, probably from the healing of the scars. She would apply some anti-itch ointment when she got home.
"Happy, happy, go home and have dinner, rest well, and don't take any more risks!"
The village chief couldn't stop smiling. Wu Family Village owes its current prosperity to the wisdom and talent of the Jiang family!
Follow smart people, you can't go wrong!
This clever man sometimes loves to take risks. Last time he went into the back mountain, he almost lost his life, and it gave him nightmares for several days!
"Okay, Uncle~"
Jiang Yue shrugged guiltily, then noticed her daughter was home from school and beckoned her to come to her side.
"Mother~"
Qingyao, carrying her small satchel, ran quickly into her mother's arms.
After being affectionate enough, she peeked out and called out sweetly:
"Grandpa Village Chief~"
"Little one, you have such a sweet tongue. Here, Grandpa has some candy. I'll give you a bag."
Upon seeing the younger generation, the village chief's affection for them was evident. He lamented that his son hadn't given him a granddaughter to enjoy, and thus he doted on Jiang's youngest daughter.
"No, no, Grandpa Village Chief, please save it for Brother Youyin!"
Qingyao covered her mouth and quickly refused. Her front teeth had finally grown in, and she dared not indulge in sweets again!
"Hehehe~"
The village chief smiled broadly, the afterglow of the setting sun bathing everyone in a golden glow...
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