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

The kitchen of Gejiazhuang.

"I heard that you bought the jelly a long time ago. Why didn't you send it to the front yard yet? The old lady and the young lady are waiting to eat it." Liu Ya looked a little unhappy.

Ah Chang hurriedly said with a smile: "The jelly lady is preparing it, it will be ready soon, Sister Liuya, please wait a little longer."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yingtao, the jelly lady, quickly quickened her hands and put shrimps, winter melon, mushroom slices and green jelly into the broth in order. After it boiled for a few times, she added a little lard, salt and chopped green onions for seasoning. A delicious and healthy soup suitable for all ages was ready.

After a moment, Liu Ya stared at the bowls of carefully carved jelly in various shapes on the tray and couldn't help but be stunned.

There are four bowls of jelly, some are drizzled with crystal clear mint syrup and osmanthus honey, some are dotted with fruit, candied beans and milk, some are poured with a little red oil sauce, and some are added with assorted vegetables to make hot soup. The variety is dazzling.

Xu Yingtao explained in a gentle voice: "This sister may not know that there are many more ways to eat jelly than these. It's just that I don't have enough time right now, so I can only prepare these few. I hope you won't blame me."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ya quickly waved her hands. She was so happy that she didn't even have time to be surprised. She believed that the young lady would definitely find these things strange and novel when she saw them later.

Especially the old lady, who has bad teeth due to her old age and has had some difficulty defecating for many years. After tasting half a bowl yesterday, she found that her bowel movements were exceptionally smooth. I think she will be very happy to see these today.

Liu Ya took the food to report to the mission, while Xu Yingtao thanked Achang.

If Achang hadn't arranged the kitchen and ingredients, she wouldn't have been able to prepare all these dishes.

Ah Chang chuckled: "It's nothing, that's what we agreed on. You guys can take a rest in the shade first, the master and mistress will definitely reward you later."

There were people coming and going in the kitchen, so in order to avoid disturbing others' work, Xu Yingtao and her two daughters waited under the eaves. The cook was kind-hearted and even brought each of them a cucumber to quench their thirst.

The family munched on cucumbers while waiting for the Ge family to come and pay the bill.

Xie Bai squatted beside Xu Yingtao and suddenly asked, "Sister-in-law, aren't you afraid?"

Xu Yingtao stopped chewing and turned to look at him: "What are you afraid of?"

Xie Bai couldn't explain it. He just felt that no matter whether it was dealing with the servants of the wealthy family, or offering to cook for the Ge family, or entering this manor which was more luxurious than the one in town, everything required great courage.

Seeing that he was hesitant and unable to explain, Xu Yingtao smiled and said, "What's there to be afraid of? Opportunities always have to be fought for by yourself. There is no such good thing in the world that you can make money without doing anything."

After taking a bite of cucumber, Xu Yingtao continued to strike while the iron was hot: "Xiao Bai, I saw you were fine on the way here, but as soon as you entered this farm, you were restrained and lowered your head and dared not look at people. Are you afraid that you feel too shabby and will be looked down upon by others?"

Xie Bai's pupils suddenly shrank.

How could the sister-in-law know what he was thinking?

Xu Yingtao smiled and said, "People can't choose their own birth, but they can change their own lives. As long as the family works together, life will get better and better. Our family is a ready-made example. As for other people's opinions, don't take them to heart. They are just passers-by in your life. Don't worry about what they think. Just learn from Ah Li, eat when you should, drink when you should, and never take things to heart."

Xie Li, who was chewing a cucumber carelessly, was suddenly called and looked up in confusion.

Xu Yingtao pressed her head back down: "It's none of your business, keep eating."

"Oh."

Xie Bai nodded thoughtfully.

Jiang was filled with emotion.

I have to admit that the eldest daughter-in-law is much better than her when it comes to teaching children.

Unfortunately, the eldest son was not blessed and the couple did not have any offspring.

She sighed silently and chewed the cucumber without any taste.

About an incense stick of time later, Liu Ya came back excitedly.

"Thanks to your jelly!" She couldn't hide her smile. "The young lady has been losing appetite for the past two months and has lost a lot of weight. Doctor Wen said it was due to stagnation of qi in her heart. The young lady ate two bowls of the jelly just now and said she wanted to eat meat at noon. Madam was so happy that she kept wiping away tears."

Xu Yingtao smiled and said, "Liangfen can't take such a big credit. After all, heart disease needs to be cured by heart medicine. That nanny is the root of your young lady's disease. Now that the root of the disease is removed, her heart knot will naturally be untied."

Seeing that she was not greedy for credit, Liu Ya liked her more and more. She took out a silver ingot from her bosom and handed it to her: "Take it."

Even though Xu Yingtao was well prepared, the silver ingot in front of her, which weighed at least five taels, still caught her by surprise. She wanted to take it but was afraid it was a scam.

Liu Ya held her hand and stuffed the silver into her hand: "For the next month, send me jelly every day."

It turned out to be an advance payment for the goods.

Xu Yingtao immediately felt at ease.

She originally wanted to make a lot of money, but she didn't expect the Ge family to be so cunning.

"Sister, will you send this much every day from now on?"

She prepared a total of forty-eight blocks of green jelly and sixteen blocks of ice jelly today. It wasn't a lot, but if it was shared among the Ge family, even a big eater would not be able to finish it.

After all, both of these jelly are somewhat cold in nature, and long-term and excessive consumption will definitely damage the spleen and stomach. Xu Yingtao at most wants to be a profiteer, but he doesn't want to harm anyone.

After hearing her explanation, Liu Ya smiled even more kindly: "No need, just give ten dollars each."

Xu Yingtao gladly agreed, asked some questions about matters needing attention, agreed on the time for daily delivery, and then prepared to go home.

When she was leaving, the cook who had delivered the cucumbers called her.

Xu Yingtao cast a doubtful look.

The cook's face flashed with embarrassment, and she seemed to muster up the courage to speak: "Young lady, how do you make the flavor of your hot and sour sauce?"

She had tasted it in the kitchen before, and it had a unique flavor with a mixture of sour and spicy, but it didn't seem like the flavor that could be created by dogwood.

"Please forgive me, this is my family's secret recipe. I can't show it to anyone easily." Xu Yingtao smiled friendly, "If you like it, I will prepare an extra portion for you every day in the future."

The cook understood what was said. In fact, she had regretted her rashness when she first asked him, and she was not disappointed when she was politely rejected.

But she was almost forty years old, and being called sister by a teenage girl made her feel inexplicably happier, so she naturally smiled and nodded in response.

It was only mid-morning when we left Gejiazhuang. The air was filled with the scent of heat and green grass, and the sound of cicadas could be heard in the woods.

Xu Yingtao immediately announced: "Today we are not only paying back the money to our uncle's family, but also to the other families!"

The family pushed their belongings, their faces flushed and sweaty, but their steps were lighter than ever before.

There is nothing more joyful than being cleared of all the debts that once weighed on my mind like a mountain.

Sweat washed over her eyelashes and fell into her eyes, stinging them and causing Jiang to squint. She hurriedly raised her sleeve to wipe it, but her sleeve soon got wet.

Xu Yingtao naturally didn't expose the truth, but just smiled smugly at Xie Bai: "Look, what did I say before? As long as the family works together, life will get better and better. I didn't lie to you, did I?"

Xie Bai nodded solemnly: "Sister-in-law is right."

"Little boy Ali, why do you look so sad on such a nice day?" Xu Yingtao turned her gaze to Xie Li.

Xie Li wrinkled her face and looked at Xu Yingtao seriously, "Sister-in-law, the money has been used to pay off the debt. Can we still afford to eat meat in the future?"

It is difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Even though she had only enjoyed two days of good life, she was already reluctant to give up.

As soon as these words were spoken, a knowing silence spread among the few people, but after a moment, the silence was broken by hearty laughter.

Xie Li looked at the three people who were laughing so hard that they couldn't straighten their backs, with a confused look in her eyes.

Is there anything wrong with what she said? Absolutely not!

There is nothing more important than eating meat!

"Don't worry, we can afford it!" Xu Yingtao stopped laughing, "The foreign debt is only a little over three taels of silver. After paying it off, there will be more than one tael left. I guarantee you will have enough meat to eat."

Xie Li felt relieved and started humming a song happily.

The tune sounded more and more familiar, and Xu Yingtao pricked up her ears.

"Wumeng Mountain is connected to the mountains outside the mountain, and the moonlight shines on Xiangshui Beach..."

Xu Yingtao: “…”

It is indeed a brainwashing song.

When they arrived in the town, the family first went to the money shop to exchange the silver ingots for three taels and four cents of silver and one and a half strings of copper coins.

The silver and half a hundred cents were kept personally by Jiang, and the remaining hundred cents was given to Xu Yingtao to purchase rice, flour, grain and oil.

Now that she was rich, Xu Yingtao no longer had to be stingy and careful with her money. She generously bought two kilograms of salt, three kilograms of vegetable oil, ten kilograms of refined rice and flour, two kilograms of vinegar, two kilograms of soy sauce, one kilogram of sesame paste, plus condiments such as chili pepper and pepper, a pot of rice wine, a few bowls and plates and a wooden basin, and finally two kilograms of pork belly.

The butcher shop owner had something to do and was in a hurry to close his stall, so he generously gave away a few meatless bones as a snack.

Xu Yingtao paid the money and thanked them, then looked at the basket and found that there was almost nothing left of the ten hundred dollars.

On the return journey, the weight each person carried was much heavier than when they came, but the family's faces were filled with satisfied smiles, and with the hope of returning home with a full load, no one felt tired.

In order to avoid being talked about by the villagers, the family took the long way home as usual.

The mother and her two daughters took on the task of cleaning the household items during the cleaning period, while Xu Yingtao was responsible for preparing the ingredients and cooking.

To save trouble, she simply stewed the pork ribs and two pounds of chopped pork belly in a pot. There was no need to add too many seasonings, just a piece of crushed wild ginger, a bunch of green onions, and a large pot of water.

The wood stove generated strong heat, and in less than half an hour, the soup was milky white with a thick layer of oil floating on top. The pork belly was also stewed until it was tender and the skin and meat could be easily separated with a light pinch of chopsticks, without any effort.

Add a little salt to season and serve.

While the meat was stewing, Xu Yingtao also prepared a bowl of spicy dipping sauce to dip the meat in later.

Although the whole family needs to eat meat to replenish their health, vitamins and dietary fiber are also essential. Xu Yingtao made a big bowl of cold cucumber and added lots of garlic. It was very fragrant!

There was meat, vegetables and soup. The family was eating so happily that no one wanted to look up. They just wanted to bury their heads in the bowls.

After dinner, the two younger ones were responsible for washing the pots and dishes, while Xu Yingtao and Jiang were counting copper coins in the main room.

This time it’s not about settling accounts, but about paying back the money.

The air is filled with a relaxed atmosphere of putting down burdens and moving towards a new life.

"These three taels and four cents belong to Village Chief Zheng's family." Jiang put a few grains of silver together and touched them reluctantly.

"This is two hundred coins I borrowed from your uncle's family."

"This is fifty cents from your fourth uncle He's family."

"Aunt Liu's house has one hundred coins."

……

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law strung together the copper coins from each family with hemp ropes and tied different knots to distinguish them. They then put them into the basket one by one and covered them tightly with a piece of gray-blue coarse cloth.

There were still about a hundred copper coins left on the table. Thinking that the village chief's family would send some lychee fruit today, Xu Yingtao counted out another fifty coins and asked Jiang to put the rest away.

Including the surplus of more than one hundred coins yesterday, the family’s savings are now close to three hundred coins.

This was the remaining surplus after deducting the debts owed by each family. It was the first fortune and hope they had saved.

"Mom, have you missed anyone else?"

Jiang shook her head and said with red eyes, "There are only these few." There was both relief and emotion in her voice.

Then, she took Xu Yingtao's hand again, her eyes full of gratitude: "Yingtao, thanks to you, our family can pay off these debts. I don't know how to thank you."

Xu Yingtao held her rough big hand in hers, her tone soft but firm: "Mom, we are a family, let's not say these polite words, as long as we work together, there is nothing we can't overcome."

It was already afternoon, which should have been a quiet time for the family to take a nap. However, this sudden huge sum of money made Jiang so excited that she couldn't sit still and had no desire to sleep.

Seeing this, Xu Yingtao cleared her throat and said, "Mom, I have something I want to discuss with you."

After a moment, Jiang stood up suddenly, her eyes full of astonishment: "If the jelly business is handed over to the Zheng family, what will happen to our family?"

Xu Yingtao smiled gently and said, "Don't worry, I guarantee that other businesses can make as much money as jelly, and they are even easier. Otherwise, we can't stand carrying things like this every day. Besides, this business is not for free to the Zheng family, we have to take a cut from it."

After her patient explanation, Jiang finally understood her plan.

In this case, she chose to trust unconditionally.

Unable to sleep, the family decided to go straight to the village chief's house.

When passing by the courtyard of the big house, he saw Wu Chunhua sitting on the doorstep mending clothes.

Noticing the gazes of several people, Wu Chunhua looked up and wanted to get up to greet them, but then she remembered that her family was taking a nap, so she asked softly, "Second Aunt, are you looking for my parents?" After that, she gave Xu Yingtao and the others a shy smile.

Jiang shook her head and responded in a whisper: "Chunhua, when your mother wakes up, tell her we went to the village chief."

"Okay, I've got that. Take care, Second Aunt." Wu Chunhua responded with a smile and continued with her needlework.

After they were some distance away from the main courtyard, Xu Yingtao said, "Mom, the eldest cousin's wife looks quite kind."

She had noticed it the last time she came down the mountain from picking chestnuts.

Jiang sighed, her tone full of emotion: "Chunhua is a good girl, but she has a mother-in-law who likes to make trouble for her. Your eldest cousin is a filial son, so Chunhua is naturally suffering..."

When we arrived at the village chief's house, chattering all the way, the door to the main hall was closed, but bursts of laughter could be heard from inside the house.

Xu Yingtao hesitated for a moment and gently knocked on the wooden door.

The laughter inside the door stopped abruptly, followed by Mrs. Zhou's voice: "Who?"