It's hard for my elder sister. I rely on the mountains to farm and pay off my debts.

In the afternoon, the owner of the pastry shop came to the Wang family with the account book and asked to see Nanny Chen, but as expected, he was rejected by the doorman again.

Shopkeeper Wang's face turned cold. "I have important account books to give to Madam. Can you bear the consequences if I delay you?"

The doorman said helplessly, "Manager Wang, please don't embarrass me. I allowed Nanny Chen to leave the house to meet you today, and I have been fined one month's salary by the housekeeper."

"If you have any urgent matters, I can help you pass it to Butler Wang. It will be the same!"

Wang Lun almost wanted to curse. How could it be the same? This is the account book of the pastry shop. He must be tired of living to dare to hand over the account book to an outsider.

Shopkeeper Wang had to suppress his frustration for the time being, snorted, and walked away with his sleeves swung.

Inside the ancestral hall, Chen waited left and right but saw no one, and she became extremely anxious.

Just when she was about to go berserk, the door to the ancestral hall was opened from the outside.

A young girl came over with a food box in her hand. "Mom, I'm here to bring you some food."

Mrs. Chen didn't care about anything else. She hurried forward, grabbed her daughter's wrist, and asked anxiously, "Where's Nanny Chen? Why haven't we seen her for half a day?"

Wang Ruizhi's wrist was painfully gripped by her mother's hand. She pulled her hand away, but it didn't budge. She said helplessly, "It hurts... Mom, please let go first."

Only then did Chen see her daughter's wrist, which was red from being strangled by her.

She then let go of his hand in a panic and said hurriedly, "It's my fault, Mother. Seeing that Nanny Chen hasn't reported to me yet, I became anxious!"

As Wang Ruizhi took the cakes out of the food box, he asked, "What news is mother waiting for?"

Chen said vaguely, "What else could it be? Your grandfather is staying in this ancestral hall right now, and there are so many things in the family that need my attention..."

"Mom, since Grandfather has asked you to stay in the ancestral hall, you should stay here. Housekeeper Wang will take care of all the household affairs. Please don't make Grandfather angry!"

Chen was furious and threw the cake in her hand away, "Even you are siding with your grandfather..."

Wang Ruizhi sighed and said, "Mother, I'm not siding with Grandfather. I'm thinking about you. Do you know why I didn't see Nanny Chen today?"

Chen's eyebrows jumped. "Is it your grandfather's idea?"

Wang Ruizhi did not respond directly, but said: "Since your grandfather has punished you to stay in the ancestral hall, you should stay here. When the time comes, you will naturally be able to leave."

"Contacting the outside world now doesn't show any sign of sincere repentance. If you anger Grandfather, what will you do if he forces you to stay in the ancestral hall for another month?"

However, Chen was extremely anxious. The last time she paid the tenants' long-overdue wages, she only needed a little over a hundred taels of silver, but she almost couldn't come up with it.

Fortunately, Nanny Chen cleverly suggested going to the money shop to exchange loose copper coins first, and then urgently withdrawing funds from the shops outside.

Now, Chen is very worried that her father-in-law will suddenly think of taking inventory of all the shops in the family to see if there are any unpaid wages.

Or someone might follow suit and come to your home to ask for their wages.

What if that happened and she couldn't come up with the money right away?

Now, in addition to the money she had lent out at high interest, a portion of the money in the account was given to her brother to use for business.

This money will not be returned until the end of the year.

This means that she must recover the loan as soon as possible.

If her father-in-law knew about this, he might ask her husband to divorce her.

Ever since the incident at the farm, Chen has been thinking about how to fill the hole in the account as soon as possible, but she has no time to take care of Song Zhi's affairs.

She moved her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end no words came out.

Seeing that her mother remained silent, Wang Ruizhi assumed that she had heard him, and he kept comforting her mother, telling her to be patient and that she would be able to leave after a few more days.

By then, Nanny Chen will be able to stay by your side. You can go wherever you want and meet whoever you want, and your grandfather will not restrict you.

Mom, just stay here for a few days until grandpa’s anger subsides.

Even though Chen was anxious, she did not dare to tell her daughter that she had lent the family money at high interest rates and that she had helped her brothers from her natal family to do business.

Just like my daughter said, let's wait for two days. If I really can't see Nanny Chen, let my daughter go out and tell Manager Wang about it.

Let him collect the money he has lent out first.

Chen suppressed her thoughts and nodded, "Okay, I understand."

"But Rui'er, I'm so lonely here alone. Can you please send me some cakes in a couple of days?"

Wang Ruizhi thought her mother had heard it, nodded happily, and responded to all her mother's requests.

.....

As soon as the three siblings returned to the village, they saw that the road home was crowded with villagers.

Among them were villagers from their Xiaohezi Village, as well as villagers from many villages that Song Zhi did not recognize.

"She's coming, she's coming, Azhi is here!" Someone called out, and a group of villagers came to greet Song Zhi enthusiastically.

A villager from Xiaohezi Village proudly introduced: "This is Ah Zhi, who suggested picking forsythia leaves with the county magistrate."

The woman whispered in Song Zhi's ear, "You're making jelly at home, so it's not good for people to come to your house. The clan leader asked us to stop some people here."

"They are all from nearby villages. They just heard about picking forsythia leaves from their village chief and clan leader, and they wanted to come and see for themselves how to pick and preserve the leaves."

As soon as the villagers finished speaking, several unfamiliar aunts came forward and asked about the forsythia leaves.

Song Zhi nodded and said loudly, "Please wait here for a moment. I'll have someone go to the mountains to get some freshly picked forsythia leaves. I'll also teach you how to dry and store them."

After saying that, he turned his head and asked his elder brother to help him go back and get some freshly picked forsythia and a bamboo mat.

Everyone was very happy when they heard this and felt that this trip was not in vain.

Soon, Song Ping came over with two things in his hands.

In front of everyone, Song Zhi poured the fresh forsythia leaves from her backpack onto the bamboo mat.

While spreading out the forsythia leaves, he said to everyone, "During the drying process, we must pick out the diseased and insect-infested leaves."

"These forsythia leaves shouldn't be sun-dried for too long. It's best to dry them for half an incense stick, until the edges of the leaves are slightly curled."

"After drying it to remove excess moisture, place it in a bamboo sieve in a cool, ventilated place and wait for the county government officials to collect it."

"Is it that simple?"

Song Zhi nodded, "It's that simple. You can take your time here and experience it. I have something to do at home, so I'll leave first."

The villagers of Xiaohezi Village hurriedly said, "Azhi, please leave. We are watching here!"

Song Zhi thanked all the aunts and uncles, and the three siblings went straight back home.