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

By the time Song Zhi found the herbs, pounded them and applied them to the affected area, more than half an hour had passed.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Song Zhi simply expressed what was in her mind.

"Grandma, I promised my aunt that I would give her twenty taels of silver in three months. It's obviously impossible to make so much money just by selling herbs. I have an idea. I might need to go to the grocery store to buy some rice and start a food business."

Mrs. Wu had noticed the changes in her granddaughter over the past two days. She didn't reject her granddaughter's idea outright, but instead asked, "Why did you think of starting a food business?"

Speaking of this, Song Zhi became excited, as if she had discovered some great secret, and said excitedly,

"Grandma, we went to the county town yesterday, and I noticed there were a lot of business travelers from other places. These people definitely need to eat when they get to the county town, so we can definitely do a good job in the food business!"

Wu thought about it and it seemed to be the case.

Seeing that her grandmother didn't object, Song Zhi continued to persuade her, "Also, I've noticed that the medicine shops in the city are too aggressive in suppressing the prices of medicinal herbs. If there are people in these caravans who are buying medicinal herbs, and we strike up a conversation with them, then we won't have to sell our herbs at such a low price!"

It is said that Mrs. Wu originally agreed 50% in her heart, but after her granddaughter's lobbying, her agreement rose to 70%.

She thought for a moment and then asked, "Have you thought about what to cook?"

Song Zhi shook her head slightly. "Grandma, so I want to go back to the county town next time, walk around and see what kind of food stalls are set up in the county town. Then I'll go to the grocery store and buy a kilogram or two of rice. Then I'll come back and try to make this. Do you think it's okay?"

Although Mrs. Wu was worried, she thought it was rare for her granddaughter to change her mind, and it would not be right to break the child's confidence for such a small amount of money.

So after pondering for a while, he said, "Let's give it a try. If we can't make it, we can eat it ourselves, and at least it won't be wasted!"

After Song Zhi had seen her grandmother's test, she felt relieved. The smile on her face unconsciously widened a little, and she said with high spirits:

"Don't worry, grandma. I'll go to the mountains and find some more herbs. I'm sure I can earn back the money I spent on rice!"

"Take a break for half a day and go again in the afternoon!"

After all, she is still a half-grown child. Mrs. Wu is worried that the child will get sick from overwork. Now the family's money-making work depends on her, and she cannot let her get tired out.

Song Zhi did not try to be stubborn. Thinking of the drying rack in the yard that had not yet been built, she nodded and agreed.

When she came out of the main house, she saw her aunt pouring a large basket of medicinal herbs into the yard.

Seeing Song Zhi coming out of the house, Yang Shi no longer remembered the previous disagreement with Song Zhi and waved to her with a smile on her face.

"Big girl, come over here and help Auntie to check. Are these herbs I picked?"

"Aunt, are we going up the mountain?" Song Zhi asked as she walked over.

Yang nodded. "Since there's no work in the fields right now, I'll find as much as I can!"

Then he explained with a smile, "I know, I didn't go deep into the mountains."

Song Zhi glanced at her aunt's exposed skin. "In this season, besides snakes, there are also ticks in the mountains. If you get stung, it can be fatal if you don't treat it properly. Aunt, please take precautions next time you go into the mountains."

Seeing her seriousness, Yang asked doubtfully, "Is there really such a powerful poisonous insect?"

But then she saw that the girl had a serious face and didn't seem to be joking with her.

Just as he was hesitating, he saw Song Zhi nodded, "I heard that if you get bit by that kind of tick, at the very least you'll get skin ulcers and swelling, but at the worst you can lose your life!"

When Yang heard her niece say this, she thought it was Doctor Zheng who told her. She looked at her sleeves rolled up high and couldn't help feeling a little scared.

Song Zhi's original intention was not to scare anyone. Seeing that her aunt's face had turned pale, she said, "I'll give you some snake and insect repellent powder later. Next time you go up the mountain, sprinkle some on yourself. It won't go wrong to be well prepared."

After hearing this, Yang nodded repeatedly, "Okay, okay, I will pay more attention next time!"

Seeing that the other party had listened, Song Zhi stopped talking and began to pick up the herbs.

I spent most of the day picking herbs yesterday, and those herbs were very easy to recognize. I didn't make any mistakes in the whole basket of herbs.

Yang squatted aside, watching Song Zhi carefully classify the herbs. Seeing that she had not picked the wrong herbs, the smile on her lips never disappeared.

When she was about to go again, Song Zhi stopped her, "Don't worry, Auntie. Let's build the drying rack first. We'll go into the mountains together in the afternoon."

Looking at the herbs that covered the yard, Yang realized that she could not delay making the drying rack any longer, so she was no longer in a hurry to dig herbs.

They made the drying rack in the morning, and in the afternoon they went up the mountain again to pick herbs.

In one afternoon, the two men went up and down the mountain twice and harvested a total of four baskets of herbs.

In the evening, the family sat together for dinner, and Song Zhi suggested going into the city tomorrow.

Through today's communication, Mrs. Wu understood clearly why her granddaughter wanted to go to the city.

It's just that she sprained her waist. Although she was able to get out of bed and walk after applying herbal medicine, it was such a long journey to the county town, and her current health condition couldn't handle another trip to the county town.

Wu thought for a moment and asked, "So, what are your plans for these herbs? Are you going to sell them all, or what do you mean?"

"I'm only bringing a basket of herbs with me. I'll exchange them for rice and grain first. I'll wait until I find a suitable merchant to sell the rest. If we sell it now, we'll lose money!"

Yang, who was listening nearby, looked puzzled. She asked hesitantly, "We still have corn and grains at home. What kind of rice should we buy?"

Mrs. Wu did not hide it from her, "Azhi wants to exchange some rice and grain to make food and sell it in the county town!"

After hearing this, Yang wanted to object, "How can this food be so easy to make? If we can't sell it, we will lose a lot of money. Given our current situation, how can we afford such a hassle?"

She was really tired of being poor. She finally had a stable way to make money. She really couldn't understand why this child wanted to do something that didn't make sense.

Mrs. Wu could understand her daughter-in-law's feelings. In fact, half of her heart felt the same as her daughter-in-law.

They are just country women with limited knowledge. They have never seen any delicious food, so how can they cook it?

But she still patted her daughter-in-law's hand and comforted her, saying, "Azhi has good intentions, and I'm not the kind of person who judges others by one stroke."

She looked at the two of them and said firmly, "The limit is the silver you earn from that basket tomorrow. Once you've lost it all, you can't make any more trouble!"

Both the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law looked at Song Zhi with sharp eyes, waiting for her answer.

Song Zhi originally thought that glutinous rice cost thirteen cents per pound, so having thirty cents as starting capital would be enough.

Now that I have a basket of medicinal herbs, there is nothing to refuse. "Okay, I'll limit myself to the basket of herbs I brought back from the mountains this afternoon. If I lose, I won't think about it anymore!"

With Song Zhi's words, the matter was settled.