Jiang Ling was deep in thought when she was startled by Granny Zhu's sudden appearance. She turned to Granny Zhu, frowned, and asked, "Granny Zhu, why do you say that?"
Grandma Zhu looked at Jiang Ling nervously, rubbed her hands together, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke her mind.
In her early years, Granny Zhu lived deep within the palace. Only those who have experienced it can understand that feeling. It was alright if she encountered a good master, but what if she encountered a sharp-tongued and mean master?
She herself would live a life of constant fear and trepidation, but Granny Zhu was the latter. She still remembered her master's sharp and mean-spirited appearance. Even after so many years, she still trembled whenever she thought of it.
The fact that one person had to do the work of several people, and that they would be beaten or scolded for even the slightest mistake, made Grandma Zhu's days filled with terror.
Even late at night, Granny Zhu dared not sleep too soundly, lest her master call her and she did not hear him, she would be beaten again.
But now that she's at Jiang Ling's house, not only does she no longer need to sleep with a bunch of people, but she also doesn't need to do anything herself. All she has to do every day is prepare three meals!
But she didn't relax at all and remained cautious, worried that if Jiang Ling ever told her to get lost, she might really die far from home.
After listening to Grandma Zhu's account, Jiang Ling smiled slightly. Ancient people were not like modern people; class distinctions were very strict. However, she felt that at least in her own home, she had to break these rules.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ling said to Grandma Zhu, "Grandma, you don't need to be so reserved when you come to my house. I'm just a farmer, so we can treat each other as equals! In a few years, if you don't want to stay anymore, I'll give you some money so you can live out your old age in peace. If you want to continue staying with me, there are nursing homes in our village that can also provide for you to live out your old age in peace!"
"The reason you feel idle is because you were too busy before. My home is small and has few rules, so don't think too much about it in the future!"
Jiang Ling's words brought tears to Granny Zhu's eyes. She wiped her reddened eyes with the corner of her clothes and couldn't help but feel fortunate that she was so lucky, having both escaped the deep palace and gained a peaceful life.
Although Grandma Zhu strongly refused Jiang Ling's idea of making breakfast, Jiang Ling still helped Grandma Zhu with the preparations.
Jiang Yaojie, who had just gotten up to use the restroom, was somewhat surprised to see this. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked, "Mom, why are you making breakfast here?"
Jiang Ling glanced at Jiang Yaojie and said calmly, "Why can't I make breakfast! Our family comes from a farming background. Even if I'm a sixth-rank Anren now, does that mean I don't need to do farm work? Yaojie, although we're living a good life now, we can't forget our roots!"
Jiang Ling's words made Jiang Yaojie blush slightly. He touched his nose and said, "Mother, I understand!"
The bird's nest on the stove had just finished cooking. Jiang Ling pointed at the bird's nest with her chin and said, "Take this to your wife. You're about to become a father, don't you know how to cherish your wife more?"
Jiang Yaojie felt a little embarrassed by what Jiang Ling said, and quickly went over to pick up the bird's nest to leave. When Granny Zhu saw this, she reached out and stopped him, saying, "Young Master, let me do it!"
Jiang Ling gently patted Granny Zhu and said, "Let him go by himself. He's a grown man with hands and feet, how can he be so lazy? When I wasn't home, you old ladies took too much care of them!"
When Granny Zhu saw that Jiang Ling had spoken, she couldn't disobey, so she could only put the bowl back on the stove and turn to attend to her own business.
After breakfast, Jiang Ling went to the village chief's house.
The village chief was lying on a deck chair, studying the planning map that Jiang Ling had given him yesterday. When he saw Jiang Ling arrive, he quickly sat up and placed the planning map on the table to exchange pleasantries.
After a few pleasantries, Jiang Ling and the village chief began an "informal discussion." Jiang Ling carefully explained all her plans for Lujia Village, leaving the village chief speechless.
"Jiang... Jiang Shi... are you telling the truth?" The village chief looked at Jiang Ling in surprise.
Jiang Ling wasn't too surprised by the village chief's expression. She sat there quietly, waiting for him to recover from his shock.
"Then... what should we do first?" After a few minutes, the village chief finally came to his senses and stammered.
"Raise the money!" Jiang Ling said succinctly.
The village chief was completely baffled by Jiang Ling's two words. He frowned and asked, "Huh? What does that mean?"
“Look, if the village chief wants to plan according to my blueprints, it will definitely require a lot of money. Even if we take out all our savings, it will probably be just a drop in the bucket. Why don’t we mobilize everyone to contribute this money, and then distribute the profits to the villagers according to the proportion at the end of the year?” Jiang Ling explained.
“Hmm… Madam Jiang, that may be true, but… what is there to do in our Lu Family Village? And what if we lose money?” the village chief said after considering for a moment.
Jiang Ling wasn't surprised by the village chief's words. She had considered these things before. Thinking of this, Jiang Ling shared her thoughts: "It's precisely because our village doesn't have anything fun that we need to find ways to develop it. For example, the flower garden I mentioned before. I bought some flower seeds in Qingzhou. These flowers have a very fast growth cycle and can bloom in less than a month. Village chief, just think about it, wouldn't all the young ladies and wives love it?"
"Also, I noticed that our peppermint balm business is doing very well in Qingzhou. I mentioned before that I plan to develop some floral scents, so that the ladies and wives can pick their own fresh flowers and bring them to our workshop for processing. This way, we can take the market by storm!"
The village chief was somewhat bewildered by Jiang Ling's words, but he ultimately concluded with one sentence—listening to Jiang Ling is absolutely the right thing to do!
Thinking of this, the village chief nodded and said, "Alright, I'll listen to you. I'll go and rally everyone right away!"
After saying that, he was about to walk towards the gate when Jiang Ling quickly reached out to stop him, saying, "Village Chief, Village Chief, I haven't finished speaking yet! Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Now that we have things to do, we need food too. I plan to turn this place into a food street, selling snacks for tourists! This area will be for accommodation, not only for tourists, but also for business people..."
After Jiang Ling finished explaining all her plans with a dry mouth, the village chief had only three words in his mind at that moment—"I'm going to get rich!"
However, a practical problem soon presented itself to the village chief.
“Mrs. Jiang, I’m not trying to discourage you, but I still have to say what if we lose money?” The village chief knew the situation in Lu Family Village well. Although it was better than before, the years of famine and disaster had made him fearful.
"This is our first year of trial operation. To put everyone at ease, we'll cover the losses. If we make a profit, we'll share the profits; if we lose money, we'll return the principal to them!"
"That won't do!" Before Jiang Ling could finish speaking, the village chief urgently objected.
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