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

After Song Zhi left, Wang found her granddaughter and asked tentatively, "Hui'er, you are not young anymore. Grandma and your grandfather will grow old one day..."

Before Wang could finish, Zheng Hui put her arm around Wang's arm and interrupted, "Grandma, I just want to be with you and Grandpa. Don't say such things!"

Wang patted her granddaughter's arm lovingly. "What nonsense! Even if you get married, we will still be with you. What do you think of Song Pingren?"

"Now that your uncle is missing, in this foreign land, the only place we can find someone who knows us well is in this village."

While you could look for a partner with a more affluent family in the city, no one knows what kind of character or temper they have. What if they were to make things difficult for you after marriage and wantonly bully you? And what about you? You have no parents to rely on, no siblings to offer you solid support...

"By then, it's a done deal and I'll have to grit my teeth and bear all the grievances myself."

Wang's words were very straightforward. She paused, glanced at her granddaughter, who hung her head in silence, and continued, "Azhi's family is different. First of all, Azhi is your master's apprentice. An apprentice is like a son. No matter what, she won't stand by and watch others bully you."

"I've seen it all these days. This girl is kind and righteous. Look at how she treats the villagers who have helped her family before, whether it's teaching them the recipe for jelly or suggesting the idea of opening a cement workshop for the village. She's not an ungrateful person!"

"Don't underestimate her family now. Just wait and see how many people will want to marry into her family in the future."

"And as the eldest brother, Song Ping has been working tirelessly to take care of the family over the years. Have you ever seen him get angry with his younger siblings? Hui'er, this is a good destination..."

When her grandmother mentioned her marriage to her face, Zheng Hui lowered her head but a blush crept up to her neck.

She could only lower her head and whisper shyly: "Grandma, let me think about it."

This meant that she did not refuse outright. Wang did not want to force the child, so she just patted her on the shoulder and left her alone to think about it.

After Wang left, Zheng Hui sat at the head of the bed in a daze.

Did she like Song Ping? It seemed like she had never paid any attention to him before. Her only impression of him was that he was a man with a wooden face and was taciturn.

Did she hate him? Not really.

But after listening to what grandma said, she fell into confusion...

Song Zhi returned from Zheng's house, and the woman who was crocheting a hat at home was also leaving Song Zhi's house, talking and laughing.

After a day of learning yesterday, they were able to get the hang of it today, and the women were very happy about it.

The skills you learn now will be yours in the future!

When the women saw Song Zhi coming home, they all greeted her with a smile.

Song Zhi also responded politely.

As he walked into the yard, he was about to run into Xiao Zhao head-on.

Little Zhao also said enthusiastically, "Azhi, are you back?"

Song Zhi first agreed, then asked, "I remember my aunt has pigs at home. Could you cut some bristles for me? Just a small handful will do. I need to make something."

Little Zhao agreed without hesitation, "Okay, I'll go back and cut it for you."

After that, he left in a hurry.

After everyone left, Song Zhi first went to the backyard and filtered out the mint and wormwood oil that had been soaked for most of the day.

Then he took the machete and went to the back mountain to cut a piece of bamboo.

Song Zhi had just returned from the back mountain when Xiao Zhao came in a hurry, handing over a handful of long black pig bristles.

"Sister, look at these, they're enough. If they're not enough, I'll go get some more for you."

Song Zhi took it with a smile and thanked her, "Thank you, Auntie, this is enough!"

Because she still had work to do at home, after hearing what Song Zhi said, Xiao Zhao hurried back.

After sending the person away, Song Zhi first soaked the pig bristles in salt water.

Then I started to carve the bamboo handle, drill holes and sew the brush head.

When Mrs. Wu brought the meal over, she saw her granddaughter busying herself in the yard.

She placed the pork rib soup on the table and called out, "Azhi, stop busying yourself and wash your hands and have dinner."

"Oh," Song Zhi responded and urged the children around her to wash their hands and eat first. She fixed the last brush head and then stood up to wash her hands and eat.

During the meal, Song Zhi placed the newly made toothbrush on the table and said to Wu, "Grandma, this is a tool I made for brushing your teeth with tooth powder."

"This toothbrush should be sold with tooth powder, but I really don't have the energy to do that right now. Who do you think should do it?"

"Your uncle and eldest brother can do it, but they are busy building the wall at home and don't have time to work on it right now."

She turned her head to look at her daughter-in-law and asked, "I wonder if my in-laws are willing to do this job. If they are, why not let them do it? After all, it can help supplement the family income."

Song Zhi agreed, "Then Auntie, go ask Grandpa and the others if they're willing to make it. Although it's a small thing, it's easy to make. After dinner, Auntie will show me how to make it and you'll be able to do it!"

"If the tooth powder sells well, this tool should also sell well."

As for her uncle and elder brother, she had other plans, which was to find them a long-term livelihood.

Yang was delighted to hear her aunt and niece's arrangement. She smiled and said quickly, "Then I'll go back and ask tomorrow."

Song Zhi thought of something else and said at the right moment, "Auntie, go to Grandpa's place and ask if there's any mugwort and mint near their house."

"If you ask them to help pick some, I'll give you three cents per pound for fresh mugwort leaves and ten cents per pound for dried ones. I'll also give you ten cents per pound for fresh mint leaves and twenty cents per pound for dried ones."

When Yang heard this, she sat up straighter and asked, "How much do you want for these?"

These materials are now needed to make herbal ointment and mugwort soap. If you can’t use them all this year, you can dry them and use them the same way next year.

Therefore, Song Zhi did not set any restrictions and said frankly: "I will take as much as Grandpa and the others can harvest."

These words made Yang very happy. She nodded repeatedly to show that she had remembered it!

After the uncle and nephew finished speaking, Wu finally spoke, "By the way, I went to the kiln factory to ask about the custom box you mentioned."

"It's the same place we ordered the apricot jam jars from last time. They offered five cents each, but I took the initiative and ordered two thousand!"

Song Zhi nodded repeatedly, "A little bit adds up to a lot. If the green herbal ointment sells well, two thousand boxes, each cheaper by a penny, would be two thousand coins, which is already a considerable sum."

The family sat together again, chatting about some family matters, and then Song Zhi got up and went to the backyard to continue making mugwort mint oil.

The container is not in place yet, so Song Zhi is not in a hurry to add the beeswax in the last step.

She only made the mugwort mint oil and kept it on hand. She would go to the porcelain shop tomorrow to pick up the pre-ordered box, then directly add beeswax to dissolve it. Once it solidified, she could sell it!

The candlelight was dim. Under the dim light, Song Zhi prepared two large ceramic basins of mugwort and mint oil before returning to the house to rest.