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

Song Zhi pondered for a moment and thought that this was not a difficult task.

Anyway, we will have to build a kang later, so we can use this as an excuse to try it out.

Song Zhi was lost in thought when a voice suddenly called her back to her senses. "Azhi, why are you standing there like an idiot?"

Mrs. Wu heard from her children that Azhi had returned. She looked around the house but couldn't find her, so she decided to go out and look for her.

Song Zhi hurried over and explained with a smile, "I stayed at Doctor Zheng's house for a long time today, and I don't know how the foundation is going. I just came to check on the progress."

Wu asked curiously, "What did you learn at Doctor Zheng's house today?"

Song Zhi then told Wu about how Doctor Zheng taught her to identify herbs and how Zheng Hui taught her to read and write.

While Wu was happy that her granddaughter had such an opportunity, she also reminded her, "Opportunities like this are rare. You must study hard, okay?"

Song Zhi nodded vigorously, "Grandma, Doctor Zheng taught me very attentively. After I learn more about herbs, I want to ask Doctor Zheng to take me in as his apprentice. After I learn the medical skills, I will be able to treat my little brother's health in the future!"

Mrs. Wu rubbed her granddaughter's head with satisfaction. "You should study hard now. When the time comes, grandma will bring gifts and help you speak for her."

Song Zhi grinned and nodded heavily, "Grandma, I also want to help the little ones at home learn to read."

"Sister Zheng now asks me to learn to read every day. When I come back, I will pass on the words I learned every day to the younger ones. After they have learned a few words and have a certain foundation, I will send Xiaoan, Xiaocheng and the others to school."

Mrs. Wu was shocked when she heard this. "You still want to send them to school? That will cost a lot of money!"

Song Zhi nodded repeatedly in affirmation, "Of course we should send them there. If they can learn more words, we can also benefit from it if they can become successful in the future."

Song Zhi did not mention studying for the imperial examinations. In this era, the imperial examinations were not as perfect as those in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The previous dynasties selected talents by recommending people with virtue and talent.

In actual practice, it is more inclined to family background and family background.

Although the dynasty has changed now, Your Majesty has also worked hard to promote the imperial examination system to select talents, as can be proved by the newly opened county school in Qishui County.

However, the implementation of the new system is always accompanied by resistance and challenges, and the deep-rooted clan concept cannot be changed overnight.

Song Zhi knew this very well, but it did not stop her from sending her children to school to learn to read and write. Although they might not necessarily have a career in politics, at least they could acquire some survival skills in this cruel world!

Seeing her granddaughter's serious expression, not joking, Mrs. Wu felt deeply moved, but she only said, "Teach them to learn to read first. We can discuss the rest later."

As an elder, Mrs. Wu naturally hopes that her grandchildren can become successful, but she does not want to put all the pressure on her granddaughter.

So why is reading so easy?

Not to mention the tuition, the cost of writing materials alone is a considerable expense every year.

How could she dare to hope to send her grandchildren to school?

When Song Zhi heard her grandmother say this, she did not argue with her.

After all, in her grandmother's mind, their family still needs to rent land to live, and the problem of food and clothing cannot be solved, so thinking about going further is really not practical.

Let's put this matter aside for now. When Song Zhi and her grandmother returned home, they saw Yang walking towards the kitchen with a cleaned pig's head in her hand.

Seeing Song Zhi, Yang asked hurriedly, "Azhi, you've come just in time. I've cleaned the pig's head and stomach. What should I do next?"

After being busy for half a day, Song Zhi almost forgot about these two things.

She immediately went to meet him, and the uncle and nephew went to the kitchen.

Arriving in the kitchen, Song Zhi first carefully checked the pig's head and pig's stomach that Yang had already processed. Seeing that they were cleaned quite well, she said to Yang:

"Aunt, please help me light the fire first. These two ingredients have a strong fishy smell, so they need to be blanched with onion and ginger before braising."

Upon hearing this, Yang turned around and got busy.

Here, Song Zhi took a few fresh green onions and a piece of ginger from the chopping board and skillfully cut them into sections and slices.

She first put the chopped green onion and ginger into a large pot and added enough water to cover the pig's head and stomach.

After the water boils, Song Zhi uses a spoon to gently skim off the blood foam and impurities floating on the water surface. This step is crucial as it can effectively remove the fishy smell from the ingredients.

The blanching process lasted for about half a cup of tea, until the surface of the pig's head and stomach became firm and the color turned slightly white. Song Zhi then took them out, drained the water, and prepared to proceed to the next step of braising.

Put the blanched pig's head and stomach back into the pot, add appropriate amounts of salt, sugar, soy sauce, green onion, ginger, and previously prepared spices such as star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, etc., and simmer slowly.

As time passed, the aroma of braised meat wafted through the kitchen.

When it was time for dinner, Wu tasted a piece of tender, stewed pig's head and praised it, "You've got to say, the pig's head cooked this way not only doesn't have a fishy smell, it's actually very fragrant!"

Yang nodded repeatedly in agreement, "I think all the delicious ones are good enough to be sold!"

Song Zhi was indeed thoughtful. She didn't plan to sell the braised food recipe, but she could open a braised food shop or a restaurant on the official road in the future.

I think business will be good!