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

Jiang's heart finally settled down. She slowly closed her eyes, and soon her breathing became even and long.

Xu Yingtao spent the entire afternoon in the kitchen, decocting medicine and braising pork offal.

Clean the pig's stomach, heart, and large intestine one by one, put them into a pot with cold water, add onion, ginger, and yellow wine, blanch them, then put them into another pot and stew various spices that have been soaked in advance, such as star anise, cinnamon, cardamom, angelica, etc. into brine, add enough soy sauce, salt, and maltose for seasoning, then put in the pig's offal, bring to a boil, and simmer on low heat.

To prevent the smell from coming from other foods, the pig intestines must be braised separately.

Xu Yingtao would occasionally use chopsticks to gently stir the ingredients in the pot to ensure that they could evenly absorb the essence of the marinade.

At this point, the aroma has already filled the room, enough to make one's mouth water.

During this time, Xie Bai went up the mountain to pick some stinking broom leaves that he would use tomorrow. While he was burning a fire, he sniffed and thought to himself, how fragrant they were!

Previously, he had seen those expensive herbs being thrown into the pot as if they were free, and he had felt very distressed, but now, when he smelled the fragrance, he was secretly glad that he had not said anything to offend others.

It’s great, because of my sister-in-law’s existence, not only is my family not dragged down by taxes, but I can also add a sense of expectation for life in the lingering fragrance.

In the side room, Xie Li was already scratching her ears and cheeks with the aroma, but her sister-in-law asked her to make sure to take good care of her mother, so she could only sniff the aroma in the air to satisfy her craving.

The setting sun poured down on the world like molten gold, covering the small mountain village with a layer of warm orange and yellow.

By this time, all the pig offal had been braised.

Xu Yingtao took out a piece of each type of pork, cut it evenly, filled two large bowls, and then poured a few spoonfuls of rich marinade on them, which was so delicious that it made people fall over.

After putting the marinated ingredients into the basket, Xu Yingtao called out to Xie Bai who was about to clean the kitchen.

Xie Bai understood almost immediately: "Send it to Zheng's house? I'll go right away."

Xu Yingtao shook her head and said, "I'll go and see him off. I estimate that by now, Grandpa Zheng and the others should be home, so I can tell them about my next plan. If you're hungry, eat first, and don't wait for me."

Xie Bai nodded and looked at her hopefully, "Sister-in-law, please take me with you. I can help you in the future."

Xu Yingtao was startled, then smiled and said, "There are many people in the village, so why do we need you to help?"

Xie Bai's expression was visibly depressed. She added softly, "Your next task is to study. Don't worry about anything else. I told you before that I will find you a private school or a teacher by the beginning of next spring at the latest. Did you see those bullying officials today? Only if you pass the imperial examination can you find protection and dignity for our family and even the entire village. Do you understand?"

Before today, Xu Yingtao's purpose of sending Xie Bai to school was very simple, that was to achieve literacy for the whole family through him so that she would no longer have to pretend to be illiterate.

But after a trip to the town, she changed her mind.

In this era with strict social class divisions among scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, no matter how much money she could make, it was like a child with gold; it was easy to start a business but difficult to maintain it.

She couldn't fight against the feudal society alone, so since she couldn't beat them, she decided to join them.

She had business to run and imperial examinations to take, so she had to plan ahead and make plans for both scenarios.

Xie Baili stood there, unable to recover for a long time, and he didn't even notice when Xu Yingtao left.

Although the aroma of the braised meat in the afternoon made him forget his worries temporarily, as soon as it was mentioned, the scene of everyone being exploited and humiliated by the yamen runners immediately emerged in his mind, causing hatred to surge in his heart.

It is true that people have never fought against officials since ancient times, but what if one passes the imperial examination and becomes an official? What if one becomes a high-ranking official who holds the power of speech?

In an instant, the road slowly unfolded clearly before his eyes. The boy, who had been silent and lived as quietly as air since childhood, suddenly found the direction of his life.

Xu Yingtao had no idea that Xie Bai would actually listen to her casual words of guidance and work hard for it all his life.

When they arrived at Zheng's house, they saw a cart parked in the yard and smoke rising from the kitchen. Xu Yingtao knew that Grandpa Zheng and his family had returned.

Sure enough, the next moment, the old man's excited voice came from the main room: "Really? Cherry really said that to you? You're not kidding me?"

Little Zhou didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Dad, why would I scare you? Yingtao told me all this on the way back."

"No, I have to go and confirm it with her in person, otherwise I won't feel at ease!"

Xu Yingtao couldn't hold back her laughter and poked her head into the hall: "Grandpa, what are you worried about?"

Then he said to Mrs. Zhou, "Grandma, I'm here to eat."

The Zheng family members were startled at first, and then they all stood up to greet them.

Especially Village Chief Zheng, who forced Xu Yingtao to sit in the main seat.

The old man's face is weathered, with deep grooves carved on his skin by the years. Although his eyes are a little cloudy, they still sparkle with hope for life.

He asked, "Cherry, are you really willing to help the villagers make money together?"

The Zheng family members all pricked up their ears.

Xu Yingtao put the basket on the table, pondered for a moment and said, "To be honest, it is too difficult to lead the whole village to make money at the moment. I can't do it for the time being."

There are 78 households in Nanxi Village. As tax revenue continues to increase year by year, the whole village is shrouded in bleakness and life is difficult for every household.

Not to mention that she is a corporate slave who just graduated three years ago, even if a successful entrepreneur came here, facing such an environment, she would probably still be at a loss.

Village Chief Zheng's eyes dimmed when he heard this. Before he could speak, Xu Yingtao continued, "But I can help half of the families make money first. This will build confidence for the others and give me some time to buffer. When the time is right, it won't be difficult for the whole village to make money together."

To revitalize such a poor village, the right time, right place and right people are all essential. Now she has nothing, so she can only wait for the right opportunity.

"How much?" Village Chief Zheng almost cried out in amazement.

Xu Yingtao repeated it again.

The old man's eyes sparkled again, and his voice trembled with excitement: "Cherry, I thought you could only help three or five more families, but you turned out to be so many. I have to thank you on their behalf."

As Village Chief Zheng spoke, his eyes actually became red.

Although he inherited the position of village chief from his father, he was not capable enough to help the villagers much. Now he finally has hope.

Even though Xu Yingtao was only fifteen years old, he unconditionally believed that this girl could succeed!

When he learned that Xu Yingtao's plan included getting ten households to sell jelly first, he couldn't help but feel a little worried: "The town is so small, and if so many households come together, it might not be easy to sell."

"How can they all be together?" Xu Yingtao explained, "I heard from Uncle Wen and Uncle Wu that there are seven or eight towns under Guiyun County, and each town has seven or eight villages. Except for Bailong Town, the other towns and villages are undeveloped. As long as we work hard, we won't have to worry about not being able to sell our products."