"Tell me quickly what the drawbacks of the Jiang family are!" Some of the peasant women nearby had lost their patience and asked with slightly dissatisfied frowns.
"This formula can kill locusts, but the smoke is also poisonous..."
At this point, a few harsh words reached Jiang Ling's ears. Jiang Ling simply glanced at everyone and continued, "But please don't worry, I have already found a way to avoid the poison!"
As she spoke, Jiang Ling took out the face mask she had made earlier from her pocket and began to explain to everyone.
"Tch, Jiang, do you even know how expensive cotton is? You make that sound so easy."
Before Jiang Ling could finish speaking, Old Lady Lu leaped in front of her like a monkey, raising her eyebrows and showing a disdainful expression as she spoke contemptuously.
Jiang Ling wasn't annoyed after hearing this. She raised her head, glanced at Old Lady Lu, and said with a slight smile, "I'm sure everyone is also concerned about the cotton, right?"
The group looked at each other, nodded, and then quickly lowered their heads.
"Please rest assured, everyone, you don't need to worry about the cotton. I..."
"What do you mean, 'you'? You don't mean to say you've already bought the cotton for us all, do you? Aren't you afraid of biting off more than you can chew?" Old Mrs. Lu said, crossing her arms and giving Jiang Ling a fierce glare.
“Aunt Lu, you’re quite a smart woman. I’ve indeed bought the cotton for everyone! It’s sitting right in my yard!” Jiang Ling said, a victorious smile on her face as she looked at Old Lady Lu.
As Jiang Ling expected, after hearing these words, Old Lady Lu's eyes, which were the size of mung beans, widened and stared intently at Jiang Ling, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Jiang Ling couldn't help but laugh inwardly at Old Lady Lu's comical expression, but she still coughed lightly and added, "Everyone, please rest assured, I've already resolved the cotton issue. The cotton's source is clean; I earned it by selling spicy grass!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the gasps of surprise rose even higher, and the scene looked somewhat chaotic. Seeing this, the village chief quickly waved his hand to signal everyone to quiet down.
"Ms. Jiang, how do you make money from this spicy herb?"
“Mrs. Jiang, I…I also want to learn from you how to do some small business…”
"Jiang, you..."
The cacophony of voices gave Jiang Ling a headache, but she calmly explained, "My dear sisters-in-law and aunts, as you all know, the key to good food and drink is the recipe. This recipe has been passed down from our ancestors and cannot be shared with outsiders."
"Furthermore, the food and beverage business is all hard-earned money. I've just been lucky enough to make a little money recently. Have you all considered what to do if we lose money?"
Jiang Ling understood the mindset of these peasant women very well. With just a few words, she made them show a hint of fear. However, a few of the women still looked at Jiang Ling with disbelief.
“Yes, Jiang didn’t lie to you. I live next door to her. They basically get up before dawn to work and work until late at night!” Just then, Zhao Erleng’s wife, who was always quick to speak, suddenly chimed in.
"What? Erleng's wife, are you telling the truth?" one of the peasant women asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"Big Head Aunt, why would I lie to you? If you don't believe me, you can get up early and see for yourself!" Zhao Erleng's wife rolled her eyes at Big Head Aunt and said.
After Zhao Erleng's wife said that, the chattering peasant women all quieted down. Jiang Ling glanced at the peasant women surrounding her. She knew that if she didn't find something for them to do, she would definitely be envied.
The cotton wasn't cheap, and since she had bought all the cotton in the village, everyone around her would know that Jiang Ling had made a lot of money. If any of them were envious, Jiang Ling's days in Lujia Village would be filled with anxiety. Thinking of this, Jiang Ling's eyes darted around, and she quickly said to the surrounding farm women, "Sisters, I need a lot of spicy grass right now. You can go to the back mountain to pick it when you have time. I'll buy it for two coins a basket. Sister Er Leng knows about this; her children have brought it over many times!"
"Er Leng's wife, is this true?" After hearing Jiang Ling say this, two or three quick-witted peasant women immediately asked.
“Yes! We’ve sent our child there many times!” Zhao Erleng’s wife said, proudly puffing out her chest.
"Let's go pick some spicy herbs on the back mountain after the meeting! This basket is worth two copper coins!" Several farm women nearby began to whisper among themselves.
After giving a few more instructions, the village chief told everyone to go to Jiang Ling's house to get cotton in half an hour.
Seeing that everyone had dispersed, the village chief couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. He glanced at Jiang Ling and asked, "Jiang, where did you get this cotton?"
“Li Shanren from town ordered a lot of spicy herbal water from me, and I exchanged some of the silver for cotton!” Jiang Ling replied in a low voice.
“This… Jiang, sigh… you are truly a living bodhisattva in our Lu Family Village now! That bastard Lu Youren treated you like that before…” The village chief couldn’t help but sigh heavily as he spoke.
Upon hearing the name "Lu Youren," Jiang Ling felt a wave of nausea wash over her. She grinned and said to the village chief, "Let bygones be bygones. I'm perfectly fine with four children now!"
"Hmm... Madam Jiang, after we've finished dealing with the locusts, go and select a few acres of wasteland. Consider it our Lu Family Village's way of repaying your kindness!" The village chief looked up and glanced outside, speaking calmly.
After hearing what the village chief said, Jiang Ling neither refused nor agreed. She simply nodded to the village chief and went home alone.
After returning home, Jiang Ling asked her three children to divide the cotton that Afu had brought over into several portions, and then began to make peppermint balm.
Half an hour passed quickly, and a lot of people had already gathered in front of Jiang Ling's house. The village chief recorded the list of people while distributing cotton.
After giving the cotton to the last villager, Jiang Ling began teaching everyone how to make simple masks. After finishing everything, Jiang Ling was just about to sit down and rest when there was a knock on her front door.
"Suihe, go open the door!" Jiang Ling thought it was a villager from Lujia Village who hadn't received their cotton, so she quickly told Jiang Suihe to open the door.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Suihe froze on the spot as soon as she opened the door.
Jiang Ling noticed something amiss with Jiang Suihe's retreating figure and quickly stood up, walking beside her while asking, "Suihe, who's coming...?"
Before she could finish speaking, Jiang Ling recognized the person at the door. Her face immediately turned cold. She pulled Jiang Suihe behind her and questioned her in an extremely icy tone, "What are you doing here?"
"What, you've grown wings? You dare talk to me like that now?"
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