But the rice would soon be in his hands. Thinking of this, Qi Yu felt a warmth in his heart. He picked up the woman and put her on the bed, gently placing her down. Then he found some clothes, dried her hair, and lay down beside her. Her breathing, sometimes deep, sometimes shallow, came from her, and she actually fell asleep.
Li Xiaoxiao smiled and nestled into the man's chest to fall asleep.
The next day, Qi Yu got up early to go to school. Li Xiaoxiao got up after sleeping in, washed up, got dressed, tied her hair up and fixed it with a hairpin. When she went out, she saw four little ones practicing horse stance in the yard. The four little ones were covered in sweat, but they insisted on not stopping.
Bai Han was the youngest among them. At five years old, he was already adept at stirring up trouble. "Today I will defeat you all. From now on, I will be the number one expert in the world, and I will be your leader."
Now is the age when children are very competitive. If one or two children can continue to practice martial arts, it may only be their determination to become stronger and their great hatred. But if it is a competition among a group of children, the other children will also become more and more motivated.
Competition is human nature.
“But you’re the youngest, we’re definitely stronger than you.” Gu Huaichen retorted defiantly. However, he had been captured before and had suffered a lot of injuries. Although he had rested for a while, he was still a bit weaker than the two siblings who had been training for two months. Before long, Gu Huaichen was the first to collapse.
While the others were still training, Gu Lan was unusually sitting to the side eating snacks. Li Xiaoxiao's new crispy strips, made of some unknown material and sweet potato, were very chewy, refreshing, and sweet. In just a few days, she developed some new recipes. Now, the reputation of Suixin Pavilion is growing, and there are hundreds and thousands of people asking for wine.
"Master Li, you've finally woken up. Business at Suixin Pavilion is booming right now. Could you perhaps produce a little more of the Immortal Phoenix Wine you brewed earlier? According to market estimates, two ounces of this wine can sell for ten ounces of silver."
Gu Lan's face was flushed. In the past few days, she had often come to the Li family's house for meals by carriage. Unknowingly, her health was better than before. The leg that used to hurt as soon as she put down was gradually able to hold on for a while.
Li Xiaoxiao had not deceived him, and his master was very likely the legendary chosen one. Following her would also bring him good fortune. Thinking of this, Gu Lan became even more excited. At least before his master became powerful, he could become her right-hand man. What were those people from the Rongguo Duke's Mansion compared to her?
"Don't release that wine yet. Instead, release the wine that was previously mixed with crab, called 'A Little Drink for Pleasure,' which will cost two taels of silver. The quantity will be slightly more than double that of the previous wine, and only fifty servings will be sold per day."
As Li Xiaoxiao gave instructions, she yawned. There wasn't much wine left in her space, and fifty servings would be just enough to buy more. It seemed she would have to build a winery.
Life is tough, I sighed a little. Now I have to get busy again.
It seems I'll have to go to Old Wu's place again today. I need to take charge of the winery myself. I'll also go to Manager Min's place to buy some medicinal herbs. My husband and Gu Lan's health has improved enough; it's time to prepare them for medicine.
"The wine is stored in the warehouse. Come with me." Li Xiaoxiao led him to the warehouse and called out, "Kids, come and help move the wine."
During the day, there were hardly any people in the Li family. Steward Hu and Chen Xueqing were busy at Suixin Pavilion, while Gui Sujuan, Shan Yunfang, He Chunying, and Widow Dong were busy with papermaking. However, the number of people was still insufficient, and the Li family needed to recruit more people. They could only choose from within the village, and the group of people brought by Old Wu was the most suitable.
The road still needs repair; there are so many things to do.
Before long, the children joined in carrying the wine onto Old Wu's horse. There was too much wine, so they had to take precautions. Li Xiaoxiao had to go to Old Luo's place to ride in an oxcart and inquire about some things.
Arriving at Lao Luo's oxcart, as soon as they got on, Lao Luo, full of energy, asked, "Madam Li, are you going to Yunli County today? What would you like to know?"
As soon as Li Xiaoxiao sat down, she said, "Old Luo, why don't you switch to a horse-drawn carriage? The oxcart is just too slow."
Old Luo shook his head and stroked his beard. "What Lady Li said makes sense, but I, Sun Luo Zhichun, need to get married and I need to raise four taels of silver as a betrothal gift. It's not easy to have four taels of silver, and I can't bear to part with it."
"My grandson is getting married!" Li Xiaoxiao had a sudden inspiration. "Uncle Luo, do you have any other family members? I'd like to find someone to help transport the Li family's goods. I'll provide the cart and horses."
Upon hearing this, Lao Luo's cloudy eyes cleared up a bit. "My son is capable. He works as a carriage driver. He accidentally startled the carriage in the city, disturbing the young lady in the sedan chair, so he went home. Now he has a good place to go."
"Would three taels of silver a month be acceptable?" Li Xiaoxiao asked again. Old Luo's face was flushed with pride. This treatment was the same as that of a stable boy for an official's daughter.
"Yes, I'll discuss it with my son when I get back."
Old Luo was getting more and more into driving the oxcart. He didn't tell the truth. His son had been stabbed in the eye by that rich girl with a sword. Although he had to pay several dozen taels of silver in compensation, all the money was spent on medical treatment. His son still had some residual vision problems. Although it wouldn't affect his ability to continue pulling the cart, many employers were hesitant to hire him because of his eye injury.
But after thinking it over, Lao Luo decided to be honest and told the whole truth. Li Xiaoxiao didn't care at all, saying, "It's okay, just bring it over when the time comes."
Old Luo became increasingly excited, telling Li Xiaoxiao about the people in the village and the important events that had happened. The more he talked, the happier he became.
Li Xiaoxiao listened all the way, and stopped the car at Old Wu's door in the village. As soon as Old Wu saw her, he got up to welcome her.
"Madam Li, you've finally arrived. What kind of furniture do you need to customize today?"
Since Qi Yu brought Li Xiaoxiao to the shop, orders have increased. He also takes on some of the orders for making oil paper for the Li family, resulting in a surplus. Now that he's married and living a happy life, his wife is pregnant and has a sweet tooth for sour foods today, so he guesses they'll have another son.
Looking at Li Xiaoxiao now is like looking at one's own ancestor.
"Here's the thing, I need to expand. Do you have any reliable people? I need to build a new winery and I need to find some trustworthy people and sign confidentiality agreements."
Old Wu readily agreed, willing to help find people. He also wanted to open a winery. His eldest son used to be addicted to drinking, but somehow after buying crabs and wine from the Li family that day, he stopped drinking heavily and started helping with the work. Of course, he would help with such a good thing.
"Speaking of which, Madam Li, now that the winery is finished, could we make an exception for our own family members?" Old Wu said jokingly.
"Of course." Li Xiaoxiao nodded, and without lingering any longer, she finished arranging her affairs and headed to Manager Min's pharmacy.
Along the way, there are many more snack stalls, and the Li family's oil paper is also used in the streets and alleys. Recently, orders have surged, and there are simply not enough people in the family to keep up with the demand.
We still need to find some people to help with production; Chen Xueqing has recently brought back quite a few orders.
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