My sister became the empress, but I'm still growing vegetables and raising chickens

Si Muyan put the things down and asked, "How is Second Uncle today?"

The village head's wife nodded as she went to call the village head and Song Erqiang: "It's ready today. He wanted to hitch the ox cart out, but his elder brother wouldn't let him. He told him to chop wood in the backyard."

When the people came out, Si Muyan did not hesitate and directly stated the purpose of their visit.

"I've made new arrangements. There will be adjustments to the delivery schedule going forward, so..."

Song Erqiang's eyes lit up when he heard Si Muyan was coming. It had been almost three months, and he was used to picking up and dropping off Si's family members, hauling and delivering goods every day. And he was so happy to get money to buy flowers for his wife and buy flowered fabrics for her clothes.

He was injured these days, and even though there was nothing wrong, his elder brother and sister-in-law insisted that he lie down and rest, which made him feel very depressed.

Especially when he heard that the Si family had hired the He family to drive the ox cart, he became even more anxious and wished to get better immediately.

But now, what did Si Muyan say about making adjustments? Even if he wasn't smart, he knew that this wasn't a good thing. Could it be that from now on, the Si family would only need the He family to drive the carriage?

Song Erqiang's mouth pursed and he looked at Si Muyan aggrievedly.

The village head wasn't as naive as Song Erqiang. He felt that the eldest daughter of the Si family was a person who cared about their relationship. Of course, if the Si family really didn't need Erqiang anymore, he wouldn't say anything. It was their choice after all.

"What does this mean, little girl Yan? From now on, Erqiang won't be needed to drive the carriage anymore?"

"No, we've made some adjustments. We might not have that much money in the future. Let's see if Second Uncle is willing to do that." Si Muyan explained the matter of dividing the porridge shop. "From now on, we won't have to manage the porridge shop anymore, so there's no need to go there so early in the morning. But we still have to go there in the morning. It's mainly Aunt Jin, my two sisters, and Aunt Wang. I'll go every two days, and there might be other people too. We'll go in the morning and come back in the afternoon. I'll pay you fifteen cents a day. Let's see if Second Uncle is okay with that."

In winter, not many villagers go out, usually only once every four or five days. The village head bought an oxcart because it was inconvenient for everyone to go to the county town. So unless no one was going that day, even if there was only one person, Song Erqiang would go and see them off.

Now, Erqiang can go every day, instead of running back and forth like before. He only needs to go once a day. The salary is lower than before, but it is also stable.

Si Muyan added, "We'll have lunch at the food store. Second Uncle will eat with us and we can rest in the food store."

When Song Erqiang heard that he was still allowed to drive the cart, he nodded excitedly and pulled the headman like a child: "Brother, I want to drive the cart. I want to play with the Si family."

The village head glared at him unhappily, then smiled and said to Si Muyan, "Your second uncle is a man who never grows up. So let's do as you say, that is, the He family..."

"Don't worry, Uncle Lizheng. When I discussed it with the He family before, I also said that I would borrow it for a few days. Once Second Uncle is better, I will let him go back to work."

The village head was happy then, nodded in agreement, and told his brother to just follow the Si family from now on, and to try his best to help if there was anything he could do.

By the time Si Xingzhi found out, the matter had already been finalized. He asked in frustration, "Sister, why did you look for Song Erqiang again? Song Erqiang is a good person, but he's not very smart and does things in a clumsy way. Your Uncle He, on the other hand, is quite good."

These days, he has been taking his younger sister out with He Song and his son early in the morning. They have been having a great time chatting with each other, which is much better than being with the stupid Song Erqiang.

More importantly, Si Xingzhi carried farm tools for self-defense. During a casual conversation, he mentioned that he used to practice swordsmanship. When He Song learned about this, he actually made him a wooden sword.

Even though it was just made of wood, Si Xingzhi was extremely happy. He waved it around in the yard for a long time, showing it off to the little kids in the village. He received a lot of praise from the kids, making him feel as if he was back to when he was a prince and was admired by everyone.

This is a man who has taken something from someone else. Now that his daughter no longer needs the He family, he feels a little guilty.

Si Muyan said, "Dad, it's true that Uncle He helped us, but didn't Uncle Lizheng help us even more? Besides, even if Uncle He didn't drive the cart for us, he could still do his carpentry work and support the family without any problem. But Second Uncle can't do that."

Si Xingzhi thought about it and felt that this made sense. He said, "That's right. Anyway, your Uncle He is an open-minded person and won't say anything."

I came back late from the county town today. It took so long to make the base material that I finished it very late at night.

Fortunately, Si Xingzhi and my younger sister didn’t have to get up early tomorrow, so they didn’t say anything.

The younger sister suggested, "We don't have to worry about Brother Zhu and the others getting some rest. Can we open our food shop both at noon and at night? It's been over half a month now, and the food shop is still doing so well. If we open it at night, it will definitely pick up business. Big sister, Jixiang Restaurant also wants you to supply more goods. They also want to open it at night."

"The problem now is not whether there is a market tonight, but that we simply can't handle it." Si Muyan spread her hands. "You can see that even with your second sister's help, it takes me so long to make just the two hundred servings of base and dipping sauce. If there are another hundred servings, it will take up too much time for me to do it alone. I won't have the energy to think about anything else."

"Let my second sister go back and help you!" the younger sister said immediately.

Si Muyan asked, "Are you able to handle the food store?"

Even if Second Aunt Zhu had practiced now and could help collect money at noon, what about at night? There wasn't enough manpower at night, and if Second Sister were to be taken away, wouldn't that make it even less so?

The younger sister held up her face and thought for a while, then said dejectedly, "It's not enough. It seems that unless we find three more people, we can prepare dinner as well."

Si Xingzhi, the most optimistic, said, "Take your time. We're already doing really well. We've opened a food store in just over two months."

"We're the ones who are great, not you, Dad!" The younger sister refuted his statement without hesitation, adding, "And if it weren't for the Xu family's help, we wouldn't be so lucky."

"Being appreciated by the Xu family is also your strength."

Si Muyan listened to their flattery and bickering, but she just smiled and didn't say much. In fact, she was just like her younger sister, hoping to find someone and cook dinner early.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the little brother sitting on a stool in the corner and she became curious.

Since he stopped going to the stall, Si Muyan was busy with the food stall and the base ingredients, and he was busy coaxing Xiaoxiaer when he had free time. He paid too little attention to his younger brother.

But after talking to my younger brother, his heart knot was untied and he never got into trouble again. There were many similar kids in the village who took the initiative to make friends with him, and he also had his own playmates.

Why does it seem like he is worried about something now?