The eldest sister-in-law became rich by farming in the mountains

Xu Yingtao also asked about the subsequent replenishment of peppers and learned that if she placed a large order, the shopkeeper would apply for more peppers from the county branch. If the county branch did not have any, the head office in the state capital would not be short of herbs and she would just have to wait a little longer.

Xu Yingtao was filled with awe and looked up at the plaque of the clinic, which had three large characters "Jishitang" inscribed on it.

It turns out that this small clinic is a chain store.

It's amazing.

She promised the owner of the clinic that she would continue to order chili peppers for the next six months, at least half a pound a day, and other spices would also be purchased gradually. The owner of the pharmacy was so happy that he introduced himself as Luo and asked Xu Yingtao to call him Manager Luo in the future.

After all, the population of the small town is limited, and patients seeking medical treatment and medicine only cost a few dozen coins a day. If someone suddenly appears who can order half a pound of medicinal materials every day, he can be considered a big customer.

For this purpose, Shopkeeper Luo also grabbed a handful of red dates and dried hawthorns and handed them to Xu Yingtao, allowing them to eat them on the way.

On the way back, Xie Bai took over the task of pushing the cart, Xie Li was responsible for carrying the big rooster, Jiang continued to carry her burden, and Xu Yingtao became the hands-off boss and feeder.

From time to time, she would stuff a red date or hawthorn slice into the mouths of the mother and her two daughters. Every time they ate the latter, the family would shrink in pain and then burst into laughter. The laughter echoed in the mountains and forests, startling countless birds.

The boring journey home also became full of joy because of this little taste.

After sharing the snacks, Xu Yingtao spat out the date pit in her mouth and suddenly became in a singing mood, singing: "Wumeng Mountain is connected to other mountains, and the moonlight sprinkles on Xiangshui Beach..."

The mother and her two children were stunned and stopped to look at her.

Xu Yingtao was still immersed in the high-pitched and passionate melody. After walking for a distance, she realized that no one was following her. She quickly turned around and saw the mother and her two daughters looking at her with the same expression.

"What's wrong?" Xu Yingtao looked puzzled.

Jiang said, "Cherry, your folk song may sound strange, but it's nice to listen to."

The two siblings nodded vigorously, obviously agreeing.

Mountain song?

Xu Yingtao understood and said casually, "My mother taught me."

Jiang had more respect for her mother-in-law whom she had never met, but at the same time she couldn't help but sigh. What a capable woman, who was good at crafts and folk songs, but left the world so early. It really shows how unpredictable things are.

As soon as the thought that life is unpredictable came into her mind, Jiang naturally couldn't help but think of her late husband and eldest son, and her mood visibly dropped.

Xu Yingtao quickly changed the subject and said, "Everyone, hurry up. I'll make spicy chicken for lunch. I guarantee you'll want more."

The first one to respond was Xie Li. Upon hearing that, she hugged the big rooster and rushed forward.

He turned back and urged Xie Bai: "Brother, hurry up. You are the slowest walker. Otherwise, I will push the cart and you can carry the chicken."

Xie Bo suddenly felt his self-esteem hurt, so he gritted his teeth and kicked his legs to speed up.

Jiang was interrupted by this and pulled herself out of her sadness. She hesitated and said, "Yingtao, is what you discussed with Shopkeeper Luo before true?"

Xu Yingtao nodded: "Of course it's true. Cornus officinalis fruit is not easy to pick, and the taste is also lacking. It's just right to use chili peppers as a substitute. Our business is small now, and when it grows bigger in the future, half a pound of chili peppers will not be enough."

Although she had no idea about the geography and climate of this time and space, she could infer from her original body's memory that this place was hot and humid in summer and cold and wet in winter. This rainy, foggy and humid climate was perfect for eating chili peppers.

Hearing this, Jiang stumbled and asked in surprise, "Can our business still grow?"

Xu Yingtao quickly reached out to support her: "Of course, otherwise where would we get the money to build a house and buy land? Besides, Xiaobai will get married in a few years, and Ali will get married. After paying off the debt, I also want to send my two children to school. All these things require money."

You can't do without earning more.

Jiang's lips trembled for a long time before she uttered a sound: "Cherry, pinch me, am I dreaming?"

The scene described in those few words unfolded before her eyes like a dream, so beautiful that she could hardly believe it.

Xu Yingtao laughed: "Mom, calm down. I'm just drawing the pie in the sky. You can be surprised when you see the real money in the future."

The corners of Jiang's mouth kept turning up, but she couldn't let them fall. Her steps became firm and powerful, and every step she took showed her infinite longing and confidence for the future.

After returning home, Xu Yingtao first boiled a pot of boiling water. Although she was reluctant, she still asked Jiang to hold the rooster down and cruelly cut the rooster's neck with a knife.

The chicken blood gushed out, and Xu Yingtao caught it in a bowl filled with salt. There wasn't much, only a small half bowl.

The next step is to scald the chicken, pluck the feathers, chop it into pieces, and then marinate it with onion, ginger and salt.

After processing the chicken and offal, Xu Yingtao took out half of the half pound of chili peppers she bought today, peeled off the chili pepper seeds, boiled the dried chili peppers in clean water until soft, and pounded them into a glutinous rice cake shape together with ginger and garlic.

Pour a little cooking oil into the pot, add the chicken and stir-fry. With a sizzling sound, the aroma of chicken quickly fills the air. When the water vapor is fried dry and the chicken skin shrinks to a golden color, a pool of yellow fat will accumulate at the bottom of the pot.

Remove the chicken from the pan and leave the chicken oil in the pot. Pour in the glutinous rice peppers and stir-fry over low heat until crispy. Put the chicken back into the pan and stir-fry. The spicy and rich aroma will instantly whet your appetite.

The mother and her two children, who yesterday secretly sighed that roasted chestnut pork was the most delicious food in the world, now swallowed their saliva unconsciously more than a dozen times and switched to the spicy chicken.

How can it be so spicy! So fragrant!

Add water, simmer over high heat, and let time take care of the rest.

While the chicken was stewing, Xu Yingtao moved a small stool and sat next to Jiang and began her routine accounting.

Not counting the small change from the Ge family as a reward, and deducting the more than three hundred coins spent on subsequent shopping, there were still fifty-three coins left. Xu Yingtao gave this money to Jiang, asking her to save it and use it to pay off debts later.

Jiang held the purse filled with small change, unable to conceal her joy, and discussed with Xu Yingtao, "Let's pay back the money we owe to your uncle first, okay?"

Xu Yingtao naturally had no objection, as this was what she had originally planned.

As long as they didn't pay back the money they owed to the eldest wife, their family would never be able to hold their heads up in front of her. Even when Chen scolded her, she didn't even have the courage to talk back.

It's really annoying.

After settling the accounts, Xu Yingtao assigned two younger children, one to peel pepper seeds and the other to pound pepper powder, while she herself found a basin of water to soak the half pound of wheat grains she had bought at noon.

Jiang added a handful of firewood to the stove and asked her in confusion, "Cherry, why are you soaking the wheat grains?"

She originally thought that Xu Yingtao had finally realized that flour was too expensive, so she bought cheaper wheat kernels and took them home to grind the flour herself.

But that doesn't appear to be the case right now.

"Making malt sugar." Xu Yingtao picked up the wheat grains in the water and took out the broken or shriveled ones.

She did some calculations before going to bed last night. Half a pound of wheat grains plus three pounds of glutinous rice can produce about three pounds of maltose, and the cost is less than ninety cents.

But a pound of malt sugar costs forty-five cents on the market, so it is of course more cost-effective to make it yourself.

Although she can earn money, she doesn't spend a lot of it and tries to save as much as possible.

If you want to obtain malt quickly, the best way is to grow it hydroponically. First, soak the wheat grains for about five hours, then take them out and spread them flat on a fine-mesh bamboo sieve, cover them with a wet cloth to block out light, and place a basin of water underneath to keep them moist. Within four days, you can get malt.

Xu Yingtao patiently explained to Jiang: "The malt must be harvested before the green leaves grow, so that the maltose produced will be sweeter."

Once the green leaves emerge, the amylase in the malt will decrease, and amylase is the key to breaking down starch into sugar. With less amylase, the sweetness will naturally decrease.

"Wow, you even know this!" Jiang was surprised.

"My mother taught me."

Jiang was extremely impressed: "She is really amazing, and you are amazing too."

Xu Yingtao smiled without saying anything and continued to select wheat grains with her head down.

Jiang looked at her dry, yellow, and soft hair and sighed silently.

Although she couldn't understand why Cherry, with all her abilities, still suffered so much abuse in her parents' home, she felt that since she had come to her home, she would definitely treat her well.

Besides, although the three of them are incompetent, they are not stupid. Now the whole family depends on Xu Yingtao for survival. Unless their brains are squeezed by the door, they dare not put on airs in front of her.

Half an hour later, Xu Yingtao opened the lid of the pot and saw that the chicken was stewed till tender and the soup was almost dried up. She added salt, sugar, soy sauce, pepper powder and other condiments into the pot as she knew how to do it. After the seasoning, the already incredibly fragrant chicken instantly became rich and mellow in aroma.

When the two siblings carried the pounded chili powder into the kitchen, they almost drooled.

"It smells so good!" Xie Li smelled so good that she cried, tears streaming down from the corners of her mouth.

When the soup thickened, Xu Yingtao scooped out a bowl as usual, and put the bowls into the basket. She waved to Xie Bai and said, "Xiao Bai, send these to the village chief's house. Don't forget to thank them for lending us the bowls."

Xie Bai took the basket and ran out the door.

It was already past dinner time and families were starting to wake up from their naps.

When passing by the courtyard of the Xie family's main house, Xie Bai deliberately quickened his pace, but was still caught by his cousin Xie Bao.

Xie Bao was squatting under the big willow tree in the yard, poking at an ant nest. He was concentrating on the task and had no distractions.

But when Xie Bai passed by, a gust of wind blew up from nowhere, bringing the strong aroma of spicy chicken straight to his face.

Xie Bao, who ate everything boiled in water every day, had never smelled such a delicious smell. His saliva immediately flowed out and he had no time to poke the ant nest.

When he saw clearly that the person carrying the basket was Xie Bai, Xie Bao rushed forward.

"Xie Bai, what are you carrying?"

Xie Bao followed Xie Bai closely, his eyes fixed on the basket. Convinced that the fragrance came from behind, he reached out to lift the lid of the bowl containing the spicy chicken.

Xie Bai didn't even bother to look at him and directly shifted the basket to his other hand.

Xie Bao was not willing to give up. When Xie Bai held the basket in his left hand, he ran to the left, and when he held the basket in his right hand, he ran to the right, just like a greedy dog chasing a bone.

Xie Bai always has limited patience towards other people except his family. It's okay to tease Xie Bao for a short time, but he will get annoyed after a long time.

When passing by a clump of mulberry trees, Xie Bai suddenly stopped. Xie Bao didn't understand why, so he also stopped, but he was still indomitable and wanted to lift the bowl.

Just as he was about to reach out his hand, he heard Xie Bai coldly say behind him: "Ali, help me beat him up."

Xie Li is here too?!

When Xie Bao heard the name, the painful memory of being beaten black and blue instantly flooded his mind, and he immediately squatted down with his head in his hands as a reflex.

Xie Bai took advantage of this opportunity to pick a mulberry leaf and threw it on the back of Xie Bao's neck.

The next moment, Xie Bao let out an earth-shattering howl and turned to run home, crying and shouting, "Mom, I was stung by a foreign chili!!!"

The corners of Xie Bai's tense mouth curled up, and he turned around and continued walking towards the village chief's house.

When Mrs. Zhou saw Xie Bai coming to return the bowl and also bringing another bowl of meat, she was so happy that she didn't know what to say, and she felt even happier for this family of orphans and widows.

Mrs. Zhou handed the empty basket to Xie Bai and asked curiously, "Xiao Bai, I just vaguely heard a baby crying, but is it Xie Bao?"

Xie Bai shook his head without changing his expression: "I was walking fast and didn't look carefully. Grandma, Grandpa, and sister-in-law are waiting for me to go back for dinner, so I'm going home first."

Village Chief Zheng smiled and reminded: "Okay, walk slowly on the road and don't fall."

As soon as Xie Bai left, the Zheng family members gathered around, staring at the bowl of fragrant spicy chicken and drooling.

Mrs. Zhou said unhappily, "You are all reincarnations of starving ghosts. Go away. Save this bowl of meat for dinner." After saying that, she locked the meat in the cupboard.

The whole family then reluctantly dispersed.

Mother Zhou walked up to Village Chief Zheng, nudged him with her elbow and said, "Master, can I weigh a pound of mung beans and send them to the second branch of the Xie family? That family has worked hard to earn their money, and I feel bad for them to eat and take it for free."

If it was just wild vegetables and radishes, she would have collected them without any worries, but this was pork and chicken, with a lot of expensive seasonings, so she felt a little embarrassed.

Village Chief Zheng took the cold Kuding tea and took a big sip, then nodded and said, "It's okay to weigh more."

Mrs. Zhou happily went to weigh the mung beans.

When Xie Bai passed by Dafang's house again, he heard Xie Bao still howling like a ghost. He suddenly felt a sense of pleasure as if he had obtained revenge, and his steps became lighter.

Just as she was about to jog, she heard Chen's sharp voice coming from the room: "What? Was it Xie Bai who put the foreign pepper on your neck? That damned little bastard, I'll skin him alive this time!"

Xie Bai frowned when he heard that, and ran towards his home at the speed of wind.

Just like last time, Xie Li was still clinging to the door frame, looking anxiously. When she saw Xie Bai, she immediately shouted excitedly, "Second brother is back, let's have dinner!"

Xie Bai rushed into the house like the wind. Xu Yingtao had just served him some rice and was about to ask him to wash his hands and eat, when she heard Xie Bai gasping for breath and saying, "Don't eat yet, your aunt is coming!"

When they heard that Chen was coming, the family felt as if they were facing a formidable enemy. They hurriedly brought the food back to the kitchen and did not forget to lock the door.

Just after doing all this, Chen rushed into the courtyard with Xie Bao, her eyes almost spitting fire.

Jiang's breathing quickened due to nervousness. Xu Yingtao gently squeezed her hand, signaling her to be patient.

As soon as Chen entered the yard, she started to curse: "Xie Bai, you unscrupulous little beast, get out of here!"

Jiang protected Xie Bai behind her, shook her head at Xu Yingtao and Xie Li, and walked out of the door trembling with fear.

"Sister-in-law, what's wrong?"