Jiang Ling was speechless. These women spread gossip far too quickly. She had only been back in Lujia Village for less than an hour, and the news that Jiang Suihe was going to study had already spread to the point that everyone knew about it.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ling frowned and said, "It's not that easy. You have to take an exam before you can be admitted to Linghui Academy. Only after you pass the exam can you be admitted."
Zhao Erleng's wife paused for a moment, then bit her lip and said somewhat embarrassedly, "I...I have a favor to ask, sister-in-law, when Suihe is in school, could our Shandian and Xiaoyu also go to study together?"
"Hmm?" Jiang Ling was slightly taken aback when she heard this. She was quite surprised, never expecting that Zhao Erleng's wife, a woman, would also have the idea of letting her child read and write.
Seeing Jiang Ling's furrowed brows, Zhao Erleng's wife quickly added, "Sister-in-law, don't worry about the tuition fee. Our family will try our best to provide the money. If we can't provide the money, then..."
As she spoke, Zhao Erleng's wife pointed to their own fields and said, "If we don't have much silver, we can use grain to pay for it when the new rice is harvested."
Jiang Ling was even more surprised when she heard this. She looked up and carefully examined Zhao Erleng's wife, and suddenly realized that there was a different kind of look in the woman's eyes.
That look seemed full of longing and anticipation. Jiang Ling felt her heart tremble slightly. She felt like she had seen that look somewhere before, but she couldn't quite place it. Nevertheless, she nodded and said, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, there's no problem with me learning to read and write."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Erleng's wife's expression seemed to deepen with longing and anticipation. She thanked Jiang Ling repeatedly until she reached the edge of her family's field, at which point she stopped thanking her.
As Jiang Ling ventured deeper into the mountains, she discovered a water source. She felt that there seemed to be many more wild mushrooms growing in the depths of the mountains. Before she had gone far, the system notifications in her mind began to ring incessantly.
Jiang Ling selected some valuable mushrooms and put them up for sale in the mall. She planned to cook some less attractive or cheaper wild mushrooms with meat for dinner.
The mint on the back hill seems to have grown quite a bit more due to the water source. From a distance, the back hill stretches out in a continuous expanse, its lush green appearance looking very refreshing.
Jiang Ling dropped her basket and squatted down to dig up mint. Before long, the basket she had brought was full.
Jiang Ling glanced at the mint in the basket on her back, then at the back mountain, and found a shady spot to sit down and ponder, saying, "There's too much mint on the back mountain now. Suihe has to stay home to study, Yaojie has been sent out by the county magistrate to find a water source, and Wenxi and Nianci are too young."
"After picking the mint, it needs to be crushed, boiled, cooled, and so on. These steps are not complicated, but they are very time-consuming. I would appreciate it if someone could help me!"
Thinking of this, Jiang Ling's eyes suddenly lit up, and she picked up her basket and walked down the mountain.
Just as she stepped out of the mountains, Jiang Ling ran into Zhao Erleng's wife, who was weeding. Jiang Ling quickly walked up to her and said, "Sister-in-law Erleng, I have something I want to discuss with you."
Erleng's wife patted the dust off her hands and said, "Sister-in-law, you're too kind. Just tell us what you need, and we'll definitely help you if we can!"
Jiang Ling nodded, took a sprig of mint from her basket, and said, "Sister-in-law, I need a lot of this 'spicy grass' from the back mountain. I was wondering if your Lightning and Xiaoyu could help me out..."
"Oh, it's just a little thing! No problem, no problem." Zhao Erleng's wife quickly interrupted Jiang Ling, pulling her neck and shouting towards a nearby spot, "Xiaoyu! Shandian! You two come here!"
Upon hearing this, the two children ran over laughing and greeted Jiang Ling politely.
"Lightning, Rain, your Aunt Jiang needs 'spicy grass'. Since you two are both free right now, go and pick some for your Aunt Jiang," Zhao Erleng's wife instructed the two children.
Suddenly, she thought of something and turned to look at Jiang Ling, asking, "Sister-in-law, how much do you need?"
"I..." Jiang Ling was a little helpless. Before she could finish speaking, Zhao Erleng's wife, who was so impatient, had already assigned tasks to the two children.
Jiang Ling quickly tugged at Zhao Erleng's wife's sleeve and whispered, "Sister-in-law, I haven't finished speaking yet!"
“I’ve been doing this job for more than just a day or two. I was thinking of hiring your two kids. It wouldn’t take any extra person or basket per day. How about I pay you two copper coins per basket?”
"Oh, sister-in-law, aren't you being too polite? What's with all this talk about coins? My Xiaoyu and Shandian have been pretty free lately anyway. Putting everything else aside, you saved their lives, how could I possibly accept this money!" Zhao Erleng's wife said, her eyes reddening.
Jiang Ling felt that one thing should be done separately. Hiring people to pick mint was the first thing Xiaoyu and Shandian did, but it was definitely not the last. In the end, everyone else would be paid, but Zhao Erleng's family wouldn't. Over time, even the best relationships would develop into resentment.
"Sister-in-law, don't refuse. I'll buy it for two copper coins a basket! If you don't want the money, then... then I don't want it!" Jiang Ling said, deliberately putting on a stern face and pretending to be angry.
Zhao Erleng's wife, worried that Jiang Ling was angry, quickly comforted her, "Sister-in-law, please don't be angry, please don't be angry. Well... okay, let's go with the price you said, alright!"
After hearing this, Jiang Ling nodded and said, "Alright, it's settled then. Two copper coins for a basket, just deliver it to my house later!"
Before Zhao Erleng's wife could say anything more, Jiang Ling was already being carried away in the basket towards her home.
After returning home, Jiang Ling quickly filled a basin with water and directed her three children to wash the mint clean with her.
Jiang Ling carefully crushed the cleaned mint, but after crushing less than a third of it, she felt her arms were sore and she could barely lift them.
"If this keeps up, I'm bound to develop superhuman arms!" Jiang Ling muttered to herself as she rubbed her aching arms.
"Mom, go and rest for a while, I'll do this!" Jiang Wenxi walked to Jiang Ling's side, stood on tiptoe, and looked up to say.
Jiang Ling shook her head and said, "Baby, go play, Mom is fine!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Wenxi did not listen to Jiang Ling. She tiptoed carefully to take down the mint-pounding tool that Jiang Ling was using, placed it on the ground, and squatted down next to it, starting to pound it continuously with a "thump, thump, thump" sound.
Jiang Ling looked at Jiang Wenxi's actions and wondered, "When did this little girl become so strong? This millstone weighs at least three or four pounds. How can a four-year-old child lift it so easily?"
The sound of pounding the mint continued without pause. Jiang Wenxi moved extremely quickly, and in no time, she had crushed more than half of the washed mint. Jiang Ling was even more surprised by the fineness of the crushed mint dregs, which were even finer than some of the mint dregs she had crushed before.
"Auntie...Auntie...Are you home?" Just as Jiang Ling was surprised, there was a knock on the door of her house.
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