Stepmother in charge: Making a fortune through farming and raising her children to fight back

The salt lake still needs further exploration, a simple processing plant, and a transportation channel to the outside. This is not something that can be completed in a short period of time. Lord Liu and his group need to settle down in this village first.

When the village chief heard the yamen runner's story, he had already made preparations: "Your Excellency can stay at my humble home. Although it's rather simple, the bedding and sheets are all new. Please don't mind."

"Your home?" Lord Liu observed the village for a moment. This village was very poor, and there probably wasn't a good place to live. However, since he was new here, he shouldn't be too overbearing. He would just make do with what he had for now...

Lord Liu and his entourage moved into the village chief's house in such a carefree manner. Since He Yan was staying there, County Magistrate Wang naturally had to accompany him. Then he and Lu Yunfeng each found a decent farmer's house to stay temporarily.

With so many high-ranking officials suddenly appearing in the village, some villagers couldn't help but feel panicked. They didn't dare to make loud noises when doing things on weekdays, for fear of disturbing the officials.

"Our village should develop rapidly in the future." Yun Jing looked at the scene not far away with a book in hand and said calmly, "Since the higher-ups have decided to mine the salt lake, they must build a transportation channel and a factory to process the salt water. This will all require people to work. The people of Qinjia Village will no longer have to go hungry."

Yun Zhenzhen nodded in agreement. She went to look at the salt lake behind her. It was a very large area. In ancient times, this place would have taken at least several years to mine without machines. With the salt lake, the roads in Qinjia Village would be repaired more completely. More importantly, it would bring more people to move around, which would slowly drive economic development.

Born in ancient rural areas, it was a disaster at first. It was basically impossible to become rich and powerful for a lifetime. But now, the whole village can rely on this salt lake to boost the village economy, so the first thing to do is to seize this opportunity.

Yun Zhenzhen's brain started working at a rapid speed.

As she was thinking about her future, the village chief's wife's loud voice came from outside the door: "Niece of the Yun family, do you have anything to eat that's decent?"

She walked in, deliberately lowered her voice and spoke, feeling a little flustered.

Seeing her like this, Yun Zhenzhen asked with concern: "Auntie, what's wrong with you? Looking at you, did something happen?"

"Oh, isn't it that Mr. Liu from Kyoto? My old man is staying with him at home." The village head's wife said helplessly, "They've been traveling all day and haven't eaten yet, so my old man asked me to cook them a delicious meal. I even killed a chicken and bought a rabbit from a hunter. I watched it carefully until it was cooked before serving it to him. But Mr. Liu vomited it all out after taking the first bite, saying I was trying to fool him with dirty things."

"Oh, tell me, an old woman like me has never suffered such a great injustice. These things are not even available for the New Year at home, but he actually said this to me. It makes me feel so uncomfortable that I can only come to you for help..."

"This Lord Liu is quite impressive." Yun Jing put down the book in his hand. "The discovery of the salt lake in our village is obviously a good thing, but now it looks like this, I don't know whether it is a blessing or a curse. Didn't the county magistrate and others say anything?"

"The county magistrate's rank is one or two levels lower than Lord Liu's. What can he say? Just a few words of advice." The village head's wife sighed helplessly. "Lord Liu has already said that if the food I prepare doesn't suit his taste, he will punish us according to the law, saying that we are neglecting officials. My old man at home can't help, so he can only worry. I've been thinking about it all the way and don't know what to do. I'm really worried..."

Yun Zhenzhen curled the corners of her mouth.

Qinjia Village is a place with both good people and good land. The villagers are warm and generous, and it is normal to encounter a few animals occasionally.

After all, the other party is a sixth-rank official. He will probably stay here only when the salt lake is just beginning to be mined. Once it stabilizes, he will naturally leave. For now, we can only endure it. After all, the people should not fight against the officials.

If I confront him head-on, it would be fine for me, I could just move away, but I'm afraid the other people in the village will suffer...

Seeing her aunt, who used to be very kind to her, now looking worried, she could only speak to comfort her: "Aunt, don't worry too much. I will be responsible for Master Liu's meals. You just need to help out."

"How can this be possible?" The village head's wife's first reaction was that something was wrong. She wanted to ask her for help, but she didn't want her to be directly responsible. "Although Lord Liu is a sixth-rank official, you are also a seventh-rank Anren appointed by the emperor, just a little lower than him. Why should you cook for him personally? Is he worthy of it?"

"This matter is neither big nor small. If we want to keep Lord Liu in peace, I'm afraid this meal will have to be prepared by my aunt." Yun Jing followed behind him and said in a low voice: "Aunt, if you need anything prepared, we will all help."

Yun Zhenzhen nodded with a smile. Jing Ge'er, who used to not understand all these twists and turns, now gradually understands the principles of being an official.

Now that Lord Liu has just arrived here and has the support of a big family, they cannot afford to offend him no matter what. If they confront him head-on, it will be like hitting a rock with an egg. It is better to take a step back for the time being.

When the people at the old house heard about this, they called the two maids and Jiang to come and help.

Lord Liu was an official from Kyoto, and Yun Zhenzhen prepared some dishes according to their northern tastes, including a sweet and sour pork loin, a braised pork, a spicy prawn, and finally a radish and pork rib soup. The vegetarian dishes included spicy stir-fried vegetables, tofu and cabbage soup, and a cold-mixed pork head. This dish was quite rich no matter where it was placed.

Make an exquisite plating to better suit their city-dwelling pretentiousness.

In this way, the dish is truly delicious and full of color, fragrance and taste.

The village chief's wife sniffed the aroma coming from the kitchen and couldn't help but snort. "Niece Yun, your cooking skills are truly amazing. It seems like the food I make is really inedible. I've lived for most of my life, and I'm really ashamed..."

"I learned this by accident, so there's no need to be so modest, auntie." Yun Zhenzhen said with a smile, "When the rice in the pot is cooked, you can send it over there while it's still hot. If it gets cold later, you'll have to be picky again."

Each dish was placed upside down on a corresponding plate, put into a basket and covered with a lid. A group of adults then took the dishes back and forth to the village chief's house.

As soon as a dish is ready, we send it there, speeding up the journey to ensure it is still steaming hot when it arrives.