Dressed as a farmer's widow, she brought her daughter to stock up on food and reached the top

As she stirred, she tilted her head and said to Guihua seriously, "Guihua, you must remember this: the soil needed to make saltpeter must be the fertile soil next to the toilet that has been nourished by sewage for a long time. Only this kind of soil can produce saltpeter. Don't make any mistakes when you make it yourself in the future."

Although Guihua had no idea what her mother was trying to do, she knew that there was always a reason for her actions. So she pricked up her ears obediently and carefully wrote down every word her mother said, fearing that she would miss any details.

Xiuying carefully filtered the evenly mixed mud and water with a piece of fine gauze, and the light yellow liquid slowly flowed into another clean bowl.

As she operated, she patiently explained to Guihua, "Look, my dear, this filtered water contains potassium nitrate, which is the key ingredient we are looking for. Next, we will heat it."

After saying that, Xiuying carefully placed the ceramic bowl filled with liquid back on the stove. As time passed, the temperature gradually rose and the water began to evaporate slowly. Guihua moved closer curiously, staring at the ceramic bowl without blinking.

Gradually, tiny white crystals began to appear on the edges and bottom of the ceramic bowl. As the water content continued to decrease, these crystals became more and more obvious, eventually forming columnar potassium nitrate crystals. Xiuying turned to Guihua and said, "See? This is the saltpeter we extracted."

Xiuying gently brought the bowl to Guihua and said softly, "Look, my girl, it's that simple. The saltpeter is ready."

Guihua stared intently at the ice-like substance in the ceramic bowl and couldn't help but exclaim, "Mom, this is amazing! Mom, this looks like ice, is it really ice?"

Xiuying patiently explained, "This isn't ice, my dear. It's potassium nitrate, or saltpeter. It has many uses in our lives." Then, with a serious look on her face, she instructed, "From now on, my dear, you'll be responsible for making saltpeter. Remember to follow the instructions I just gave you. Don't be careless. Got it?"

Guihua stared at the unique saltpeter in the bowl and couldn't help asking, "Mother, what is the use of this saltpeter?"

Xiuying gently raised her hand and carefully wiped the remaining water stains on her hand with a handkerchief, saying, "It's very useful. You'll know later."

At this moment, accompanied by a burst of hurried footsteps, Wang Daya rushed into the kitchen with an excited look and shouted, "Madam, Madam, please go and take a look!"

Xiuying frowned slightly when she heard this. She quickly turned to look at Guihua and said, "Guihua, follow the method mother taught you and make more saltpeter. If you have any questions during the process, come to the back mountain to find mother."

After saying that, Xiuying immediately turned around and hurriedly followed Wang Daya to the back mountain.

In the back mountain, Wang Dali and several servants who were usually very capable were staring at the yellow object in the pottery jar in astonishment.

Wang Dali saw Xiuying rushing over and hurried forward. With a look of trepidation on his face, he said, "Madam, what we put in there before were clearly black pebbles, but somehow, they turned into this yellow stuff now. Come and take a look."

Wang Dali spoke as he carefully led Xiuying toward the pottery jar. With his hands trembling slightly, he slowly opened the lid, his face filled with helplessness. He didn't know how to explain this bizarre change to Xiuying.

At this moment, he was full of regret. This matter had failed, and he was afraid that he had no hope of getting the wife he had been thinking about. He couldn't help but sigh secretly.

"Excellent! Absolutely excellent! Yes, that's right!" Xiuying looked at Wang Dali with approval and said excitedly, "You did a fantastic job this time! This stuff is called sulfur, and it might be very useful to us in the future! Hurry up and lead everyone to refine more."

"Really?" Wang Dali couldn't believe his ears and looked at Xiuying in disbelief. "Madam, is this really the thing called sulfur that you've always wanted?"

"That's right!" Xiuying nodded affirmatively. "These pyrites contain sulfur. From now on, you will stay here and concentrate on refining sulfur. As long as you work hard, I will give you ten taels of silver each month!"

Wang Dali and the servants who usually worked efficiently were so shocked that their eyes widened, their mouths slightly opened, and they couldn't help but stutter when they spoke: "Ten... taels..."

After a long while, Wang Dali came back to his senses and said quickly, "Madam, don't worry! We will take care of everything here. We promise not to let you down!"

At the village entrance, Xiuying's servants were already waiting in formation for Taohua and Shiliu. Zhao Cunliang and Tian Guilan were among them. Ma Ergun happened to be guarding the tower today, so he spotted Zhao Cunliang and Tian Guilan from afar.

Ma Ergun had a warm smile on his face and called out, "Hey, Cunliang, are you and your wife here to help Xiuying move things today?"

Zhao Cunliang snorted coldly and said arrogantly: "Hmph, do you think that is something your Master Zhao can do? That is only done by servants." After saying that, he glanced at the servants of Xiuying's family.

Then, Zhao Cunliang curled his lips again and said, "Look at them, they are all poor people with no land, no property, and no house. If they were not in our Futian Village, relying on the care of the villagers, they would have starved to death in some remote corner long ago."

The servants of Xiuying's family stood silently in the corner, each of them with their heads slightly lowered. Zhao Cunliang's harsh words were like sharp knives, piercing their hearts. However, they had to admit that what Zhao Cunliang said was not entirely unreasonable.

If it weren't for Xiuying's taking them in, they would have long since starved to death in a corner where no one cared about them. Faced with Zhao Cunliang's ridicule, they could only choose to remain silent.

"Oh my, you call yourself Master Zhao! Zhao Cunliang, are you still living in the past? Do you really think that your family is the only one with a house, land, and food? Let me tell you, your uncle Ma's family now has a donkey and a live-in son-in-law. Do you have any of that?"

Ma Ergun put his hands on his hips and shouted at Zhao Cunliang with disdain. He really couldn't stand Zhao Cunliang's condescending attitude.

Back then, Zhao Cunliang, relying on his family's wealth in the village, had bullied him in countless ways. Zhao Cunliang had even nearly provoked him to the point of turning him against Xiuying. Recalling these past events, Ma Ergun felt a surge of anger, and today was the perfect opportunity to vent it.