As the sun was setting, Jiang Ling arrived at the Lu Family Ancestral Hall with mugwort, cocklebur, and ground alum and realgar. After patiently demonstrating, Jiang Ling distributed the alum and realgar to everyone in Lu Family Village.
After everyone thanked them and left, the village of Lujia was destined to be brightly lit tonight.
Only the village chief and Jiang Ling remained in the Lu family ancestral hall.
The village chief took a deep drag on his pipe and asked anxiously, "Jiang, this method..."
Jiang Ling knew what the village chief was worried about. There was still more than a month before the crops in the fields were ripe. Since the discovery of the water source, the people of Lujia Village had been relieved and had not been deliberately controlling the grain production. If a pest infestation were to occur, it would be a devastating disaster for Lujia Village.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ling nodded firmly and said to the village chief, "Don't worry, village chief, this method will definitely work! But I hope we never have to use it!"
The village chief nodded helplessly, puffing on his pipe, and said nothing more.
After returning home, Jiang Ling got busy again. It wasn't until 9 PM that she dragged her tired body out of the kitchen. Looking at the table full of peppermint paste and peppermint syrup, she couldn't help but think about which step could be "outsourced".
The next morning, Jiang Ling was dragged out of bed by a knock on the door, her eyes swirling with dark circles. She yawned and pushed the door open, where she saw Afu, a waiter from Hua Cui Lou, and a waiter from Yu Chu Lou standing at the front door of her house.
Jiang Ling rubbed her sleepy eyes and handed out everything that each person needed. After the three thanked her, they disappeared from Jiang Ling's sight.
Just as Jiang Ling rubbed her eyes and was about to go back to her room for a nap, Zhao Erleng's wife pushed open their front door.
"Sister-in-law Erleng, I need to talk to you about something!" Jiang Ling greeted Zhao Erleng's wife as soon as she saw her.
"Oh, don't be so polite, just tell me what you need!" Zhao Erleng's wife greeted Jiang Ling with a smile.
"Then... could you help me find five more quick and efficient people? I need five more people here!" Jiang Ling said.
"What? What? Sister-in-law Jiang, you spend at least 20 copper coins a day!" Zhao Erleng's wife stared wide-eyed in surprise upon hearing Jiang Ling's words.
Jiang Ling pointed helplessly to her shoulders and dark circles under her eyes and said, "There's no way around it. I can't handle it all by myself. I'm exhausted every day, so I might as well find a few people to help me make things easier. There's no end to the money I can earn!"
Zhao Erleng's wife was confused, but she didn't say anything and nodded, "Okay, Sister-in-law Jiang, don't worry, I'll find you five more honest and reliable people! What about the working hours?"
"Just like you, one hour a day, but it's best to start earlier," Jiang Ling replied.
Jiang Ling was a little tired when she got home, but she still mustered her energy to make breakfast for the children: a pot of thick millet porridge and a few simple pickled vegetables. The meal looked simple, but the children ate it with great relish.
After breakfast, Jiang Ling took the children to the back mountain to collect some mugwort, cocklebur, and some dry grass, planning to make more grass balls before the locusts arrived.
The midday sun was scorching, and Jiang Ling, worried that the children would suffer from heatstroke, stopped what she was doing and led them toward her home.
Just as she reached her doorstep, the village chief came running up, panting. Jiang Ling frowned and looked at the sweat-drenched village chief, asking, "Village chief, what's the rush to see me about?"
The village chief wiped the sweat from his brow and said to Jiang Ling, "Let's go to the Lu Family Ancestral Hall!"
Jiang Ling frowned in confusion. Seeing the village chief's slightly serious expression, she didn't ask any further questions. She handed her basket to Jiang Suihe, gave her a few instructions, and then followed the village chief toward the Lu family ancestral hall.
Outside the Lu Family Ancestral Hall, a carriage was parked. Though small, its body was made of black walnut wood and appeared quite sturdy and stable. The roof was an arched canopy, with supple rattan stretching across a single piece of cowhide, painted in the color of black walnut wood. The wheels were large, made of fine purple nanmu wood, and the central axle was a single piece of ebony.
Jiang Ling looked at the carriage outside the door with some curiosity. She didn't seem to have heard of any relatives in Lujia Village being high-ranking officials or prominent figures.
"Mother!" A somewhat familiar voice reached Jiang Ling's ears.
Jiang Ling was overjoyed and quickly looked up. Jiang Yaojie poked his head out from inside the gate of the Lu family ancestral hall.
"Yaojie!" Jiang Ling quickly stepped forward.
As soon as she stepped inside, she saw Magistrate Duan smiling at her. Jiang Ling immediately bowed and greeted him, but Magistrate Duan waved his hand and said, "Please rise, Jiang. There's no need for formalities between us!"
"Thank you, Magistrate!" After saying that, Jiang Ling hurriedly walked to Jiang Yaojie's side. It had been more than half a month since she last saw Jiang Yaojie. He seemed to have gained some weight and become fairer, and his complexion looked much rosier. Presumably, Jiang Yaojie had been doing quite well in the past half month.
But Jiang Ling still couldn't control her emotions, and she hugged Jiang Yaojie tightly, her eyes immediately reddening.
“Jiang Shi… Jiang Shi…” The village chief seemed worried that Jiang Ling’s actions would anger Magistrate Duan, so he quickly stood next to her and whispered a reminder.
"It's alright, the scene of mother and son reuniting is very touching!" Magistrate Duan waved his hand and said.
Just as Jiang Ling was about to say something, an extremely anxious voice came from outside the Lu family ancestral hall.
"Village...Village Chief...No...Something bad has happened!" The person who came was Lu Wangde, the father of Lu Xiaoyu and Lu Shandian. His face was pale and he ran in a panic towards the Lu family ancestral hall. When he ran in, he tripped on the steps of the ancestral hall and almost fell.
"Lu Wangde, how old are you? How can you be so unreliable!" The village chief, worried that Lu Wangde's behavior had angered Magistrate Duan, quickly reprimanded him.
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