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

Xu Yingtao: "Grandma Zhou, it's us."

"Hurry, hurry, go open the door." Mrs. Zhou's voice was full of joy.

Then, hurried footsteps and the sound of a door bolt being pulled out were heard in the house. With a creak, the door was opened and Zhao greeted them with a smile.

"Come on, it's very hot outside, come in quickly." She said as she stepped aside to make way.

Inside the house, except for a few grandchildren, all the Zheng family members were picking ficus carica fruits in the main room. There were three large backpacks full of them. Little Zhou stood up to pour them some water, while the two Zheng brothers brought in a few stools.

After calling everyone one by one, Xu Yingtao did not sit down, but moved a small stool and sat next to Zhou Pozi, helping her pick litchi fruits.

The more she picked, the more satisfied she became. She smiled and said, "Grandma, these are all good. What else do you want to choose?"

Mrs. Zhou deliberately frowned: "You are the one who said that these ghost buns are divided into male and female. What if there is a male bun inside and you cheat and refuse to pay?"

Everyone in the room laughed when they heard this.

"Give it to me! Of course I won't!" Xu Yingtao also laughed, "I think I won't choose anymore. I believe you won't cheat me."

She then asked Village Chief Zheng: "Grandpa, do we have a scale at home? It's a good opportunity to weigh it now, and then we can carry it back home."

Village Chief Zheng waved his hand and said, "What's the point of weighing? It's only about three or five pounds. Give me a few coins and take it all away."

Xu Yingtao smiled and said, "Don't bluff me. There are at least 20 catties here. Although this is a small business, we should still stick to business principles. We agreed on two cents per catty, so we should charge it at two cents per catty. If you cheat, I will give the job to someone else."

The two Zheng brothers, who had remained silent until now, looked up at their father when they heard this.

In the past, during the slack season, they would go out to do odd jobs, and would only earn twenty or thirty cents for a day's hard work. Now, they can go up the mountain to pick some ghost buns to exchange for money, and there is no job easier than this.

Village chief Zheng looked at Xu Yingtao with both relief and amusement, then got up and took a hand scale from the house.

Finally, minus the weight of the backpack, the total weight came to twenty-one pounds, and Xu Yingtao paid for it immediately.

This scene surprised all the Zheng family members present.

After being surprised, Mrs. Zhou looked at Xu Yingtao with worried eyes, then looked at Jiang, and said earnestly: "Let's put things in perspective. You can't pretend to be rich just because you owe my family money."

Upon hearing this, Jiang couldn't help laughing. After exchanging a glance with Xu Yingtao, she gently lifted a corner of the basket cover, took out three taels and four cents of silver, and placed it steadily in front of the old couple.

The Zheng family was completely stunned. Everyone's eyes were wide open with disbelief on their faces.

"Uncle, aunt, we are here to pay back the money." Jiang said, pushing the money forward again, "Now that my family has income, you can rest assured in the future."

"Can you earn so much just by selling ghost buns?" Zhao blurted out.

After Zhao finished speaking, she suddenly realized that something was wrong and quickly looked in the direction of Mrs. Zhou. She saw that her mother-in-law was indeed staring at her, and she couldn't help but shrink her neck.

She really doesn't have any bad intentions, she just talks back faster than her brain reacts.

Xu Yingtao did not intend to hide it from the Zheng family. After all, anyone would be curious about how much money could be gathered in a short period of time, so she told them everything about the Ge family's reservation of jelly.

The Ge family was well-known in Bailong Town, and Village Chief Zheng had long heard of their generosity. Upon hearing this, he nodded and smiled, saying, "You are really lucky."

Xu Yingtao deeply agreed with this.

If she relied on retail, she would have to prepare more than a hundred pieces of jelly every day and pray for smooth sales. Even so, she might not be able to save a few taels of silver in a month and would be exhausted.

In comparison, the Ge family's order was undoubtedly a godsend.

Mrs. Zhou asked with some concern, "This is probably a one-time deal. Your family has a lot of money. If you use it all to pay off debts, you may not be able to make ends meet later."

As she spoke, she picked up another ingot of silver and pushed it back in front of Jiang: "Keep this money for yourself first, and don't rush to pay it back."

Zhao had just offended her mother-in-law, and wanted to show off, so she quickly agreed, "Yes, sister-in-law, just listen to my mother, I guarantee it will be right!"

After saying this, she hurried to look at her mother-in-law's face. Seeing that she was finally smiling, she let out a long sigh of relief.

Jiang was a little stunned, and turned to look at Xu Yingtao, who smiled and pushed the silver back: "Grandma, thank you for your kindness. In addition to the Ge family's business, we will still set up a stall every day in the future, and the income will not be interrupted."

Besides, she would never let a big client like the Ge family go easily.

Mrs. Zhou frowned and said, "That jelly is not light, and you don't have a strong laborer at home, how can you handle it?"

This really hits the nail on the head.

Xu Yingtao smiled slyly: "So, I came here to discuss it with grandpa and grandma."

Mrs. Zhou and Village Chief Zheng looked at each other.

Xu Yingtao took a sip from the water bowl and said slowly, "Actually, I want to ask the two aunts if they are willing to set up a stall with us. If they are willing, I will let the jelly business run by the two aunts, so that I can take my mother and my brother and sister-in-law to do other business."

Seeing the two sisters-in-law's eyes almost popping out of their sockets, Xu Yingtao hurriedly added: "Let me make it clear in advance, this business is not given to the two aunts for free. You need to come to my house every day to get the jelly. I will charge you two cents for each piece. As for how much you can sell, it all depends on your ability."

This is also her first step in transforming from a retailer to a wholesaler.

Zhao couldn't help but ask about the usual selling price. After learning the selling price, her breathing became faster.

Wow, if you sell 100 pieces of jelly every day, even without adding any sauce, you can still make more than 100 cents in profit!

This business can be done!

Xiao Zhou had never dared to disobey her mother-in-law, but this time she didn't dare to look at her mother-in-law's expression, and followed her brother and sister-in-law to ask, "What about the sauce?"

They can make mint syrup at home, but they can't make spicy and sour sauce no matter what.

Xu Yingtao was not polite either: "I'll provide it, but now I've changed the recipe, there are some expensive seasonings in it, I don't know if you can accept it, if you can, I'll sell it to you at cost price, if not, it's not a big deal, I can make a lot of money just by selling jelly."

Of course I can accept that!

Now that things have come to this, the Zheng family's old couple can no longer refuse. Xu Yingtao is just about to stuff the money directly into their pockets. If they refuse again, it would seem a bit ungrateful.

The whole family thanked again and again, and Xu Yingtao couldn't stop them.

But Zhao was so happy that she got carried away and said, "Cherry, you have so many skills, why didn't you show them off when you got married?"

The joyous house suddenly fell into silence.

Seeing that no one said anything, Zhao realized that she had probably said something wrong again, and hurriedly explained, "Oh, I really didn't mean anything else. I just thought that if the cherry business was opened earlier, the family would have more money, Xiaosong could buy money to avoid corvée, and Erniu could live... Ouch! Sister-in-law, why are you pinching me?"

Xiao Zhou whispered, "Just shut up."

The more you describe it, the worse it gets!

When Zhao came to her senses, she immediately regretted it. She had no intention of blaming Xu Yingtao for the death of the Xie father and son. Just as she was about to continue explaining, she saw an unprecedented anger burning in her mother-in-law's eyes, and she quickly shut her mouth in fear.

The more she spoke, the more mistakes she made. She didn't dare to say another word.

Mrs. Zhou glared at her fiercely and changed the subject at the right time: "Cherry, grandma's family has received too many benefits from you, but it's not possible for my family to always take all the benefits, so grandma has an unwelcome request. I was thinking, can the job of picking ghost buns be given to other families in the village? Don't worry, that family is your grandfather's old Geng, they know everything about him and are tight-lipped, I will only let them pick the buns, and I won't say a word that shouldn't be said, is that okay with you?"

"Why not? Since they are people that my grandparents trust, I think they must be good people. Just make the arrangements. I trust you."

Mrs. Zhou was immediately overjoyed, and Village Chief Zheng was so happy that wrinkles appeared on the corners of his eyes.

Hearing that they still had to pay back other families' money, Mrs. Zhou hurried to help make arrangements: "Should we wait for Chen to come, or go directly?"

Jiang smiled and said, "Aunt, don't worry, just pay back the money owed to the other families first, and I'll trouble you to be my witness."

Mrs. Zhou naturally agreed immediately.

Xu Yingtao also suggested going along, firstly because she wanted to meet some people, and secondly because she wanted to get acquainted with the way. She had hardly dared to go out since she got married, so she had almost no impression of this village in her mind.

After leaving the Zheng family yard, Xu Yingtao was keenly aware of the gazes coming from behind. She turned around and met Xie Bai's eyes that were full of confusion and scrutiny.

Xie Bai didn't expect to be caught red-handed. He wanted to dodge, but Xu Yingtao's eyes were already fixed on him. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and speak with difficulty: "Sister-in-law, I remember when Dad was alive, he mentioned that the family conditions of your mother's family and ours are not that different. But since you have so many skills, why don't you help your mother's family make money?"

Mrs. Zhou, who was standing by, secretly groaned and cursed her second daughter-in-law in her heart.

If this uncle and sister-in-law develop a grudge because of this, our family would have committed a great sin.

Jiang's face darkened as well, and she sternly rebuked, "Xie Bai, how can you be so rude to your sister-in-law?"

Xu Yingtao's eyebrows twitched slightly, realizing that the kid had become suspicious because of Zhao's words.

But she remained calm and composed: "It's simple. My parents passed away early, and my brother and sister-in-law are both useless. I didn't learn the family craft either. I did learn it, but I was tortured by them every day, so I wouldn't rush to help them make money."

After saying this, she gently rolled up her sleeves, revealing several shocking scars.

"This was burned by my brother and sister-in-law with tongs." Xu Yingtao said calmly, "I have many scars like this on my body. I was forced to marry here, and I didn't mean to hide it. It's just that I have been abused for many years, so I am wary of everyone. I am afraid of falling into another fire pit from now on, so I can only wait and see."

Her words were half true and half false, but they were enough to dispel people's doubts.

Especially since Mrs. Zhou is there, she can be used to make the matter public in the future, which can save a lot of trouble.

Sure enough, Xie Bai stared at the scar on her arm, his eyes full of shame.

If you ask yourself, if he was abused like this, he would probably set fire to the house and kill people to vent his anger. It's no wonder that his sister-in-law was unwilling to help her family. As for saving his elder brother and father, it was not her obligation. Anyone with a conscience should not hold a grudge against it.

He lowered his head and said hesitantly, "Sister-in-law, I'm sorry."

Jiang sighed, raised her hand and stroked the top of Xu Yingtao's head, and said with pity in her eyes: "Silly child, although I am soft-hearted, I am not unreasonable. No one can be blamed for the matter between Xiaosong and your father-in-law, so don't worry too much."

Xu Yingtao breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the matter had been successfully resolved.

After paying back the money door to door, the family not only received a lot of compliments, but also received a lot of food from each family, mostly vegetables such as loofah, cucumber, eggplant and garlic.

Although every household lives in poverty, they are exceptionally simple and warm-hearted.

Originally, when each family lent the money, they did not expect the second branch of the Xie family to pay it back in a short period of time. Now, not only has the money been paid back, but they have also paid a little extra interest. How can they not be happy?

The basket that used to be filled with copper coins was now filled with vegetables. It was so heavy that the brother and sister were both fighting to carry it.

Mrs. Zhou was also happy to see this and said with a smile, "From now on, it will be a good life."

After going through this circle, Xu Yingtao felt uncomfortable.

Broken houses, sparse fences, and tattered clothes; this was her overall impression of Nanxi Village.

They were too poor, all too poor. Some of the homes of disabled veterans were even more dilapidated than hers, which was really sad.

After going around in circles, one naturally cannot avoid the Xie family's eldest branch.

Even from a distance, Chen could hear her shrill voice yelling, "You are so poor but generous. That's two hundred coins. If you don't want it, I will. If you try to stop me again, I will never forgive you!"

Several people exchanged glances and walked straight towards the main house of the Xie family.

Just as Chen was about to use her tricks of throwing a tantrum, she suddenly caught sight of several figures appearing in her yard, and her buttocks, which were halfway down, were lifted up again.

"Are you here to pay back the money?" She wiped the tears from her face and spoke in a cold tone.

Xie Daniu's face was gloomy. He took a step forward and said in a deep voice, "You guys go back first and ignore her."

The room was quiet, with only Chen and Xie Daniu there. The others seemed to deliberately avoid the scene.

Seeing this, Jiang felt mixed emotions. She sighed softly, took out the small amount of money she had prepared long ago from her bosom, but she did not dare to enter the house, so she could only put it on the threshold of the main hall.

"Brother and sister-in-law, no matter what, thank you for the past. It's not easy for a family to stay together. As long as we are united, our lives will get better and better."

If it were in the past, Jiang would never have dared to speak to her brother and sister-in-law like this. But now that she is debt-free and the huge stone that has been weighing on her heart for a long time has been removed, she dares to stand up straight and give them some advice.

Mrs. Zhou glared at Chen in anger and said, "Your sister-in-law has to pay back the money. I am watching over it. Don't go to other people's houses and make a scene in the future. You are shameless. You should also consider your sons!"

Chen had been a little dazed ever since Jiang took out the copper coins. Seeing that they were really here to return the money, she was at a loss as to what to do.

Mrs. Zhou's words were like sparks falling into a pile of dry wood, instantly igniting Chen's anger: "What do you mean by throwing a tantrum? Why am I shameless? Don't think I won't scold you just because you are an elder. Mrs. Zhou, don't leave, explain everything to me!"

However, the group had already gone far away.

Chen angrily grabbed the copper coins, untied the hemp rope and began to count them carefully one by one. She was stunned at the end and counted again quickly. She found that there were twenty more coins!