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

If it were in the past, Si Xingzhi would not have dared to say it, but now the family is in such a situation, and after the eldest sister woke up from the collision, she seemed to be in a much better mood.

So he mustered up the courage to say, "After Ayuan's funeral is over, I'd like to talk to the village head about teaching the children in the village to read. If I give each child a hundred coins a month, that would be a good income, right?"

Songji Village was a large village with over 800 villagers, including over 100 children between the ages of five and fifteen. If he were to give him 100 coins for each child, then he would...

Just think about it and be happy.

The younger brother's eyes widened: "Really... is this really possible?"

Si Xingzhi was busy today, thinking about this matter. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. He felt that he had found a way to get rich.

At this moment, two men, one big and one small, were sitting at the table. They opened their eyes wide and looked at him with great joy. Then they looked at Si Muyan. After all, the housekeeper of the family was still the eldest sister Si Muyan.

"Dad, it's a very good idea that you want to make money for this family." Si Muyan asked, "But I'm wondering, Big Brother is more knowledgeable than Dad. When we came to Songji Village, why didn't Big Brother think of becoming a teacher in the school, but instead went to the county town to find a job?"

My eldest brother was intelligent and quick-witted. At the age of five, he was chosen to be the Crown Prince's study companion. At the age of ten, the Grand Tutor praised him highly, saying that he had the talent to assist the emperor. If it weren't for the misfortune of the Si family, he might have had a chance to enter the imperial court in the future. One can only sigh that fate plays tricks on people.

After being exiled to Fenghuang County, his status was so low that the eldest brother could only work as a clerk in a shop in the county town under an assumed name. Later, by chance, he met the county magistrate, who recruited him as his staff member, advising him on his policies. He died of illness, but his death was quite strange. After his death, it was as if he had never existed in the county government office. The second brother went to look for him, but was chased out.

They were powerless and had no influence, so they could only let their eldest brother's death go unresolved.

Si Xingzhi was stunned for a moment and said, "Maybe it's because the villagers don't know how knowledgeable your eldest brother is."

Si Muyan nodded: "That's possible. But in these villages nearby, have you ever seen any schools? Do the children in the villages know how to read and write?"

At that time, books were astronomical in price, and so were pens, inkstones, and brushes. When the eldest brother was still alive, the Si family had accumulated a large collection of books and insisted on teaching his younger siblings to read and write. How could ordinary families, struggling to make ends meet, send their children to school?

Si Xingzhi said hurriedly, "That's because there are no books in the village. In fact, studying is a sure win. Go to the county town and you'll see. If you know a few words, it will be easier to find a job in a shop. If you know more words, you can even become a shopkeeper!"

Because of their status as prisoners, the Si family was looked down upon when they went out. Si Xingzhi had considered becoming a shopkeeper, doing accounting and other such things. He was quite capable, but when the shop owners heard that he was a prisoner, they looked at him with strange eyes. Who would be willing to hire him?

Later he was too lazy to go.

Songji Village was different. After all, I had lived here for eight years, and although there were some disputes on a daily basis, I was generally familiar with them and naturally knew that they were not the kind of people who would commit crimes.

Seeing the father and son's excited and expectant eyes, Si Muyan swallowed back her cold words and simply said, "The autumn harvest is coming soon. The older children in the village can help with the harvest and housework. There are many mountain products in the mountains in autumn. The younger children can go up the mountain to pick anything to supplement their family's food. After the busy work is over and the weather turns cold, everyone will stay indoors for the winter. No one will let their children go out and suffer the cold."

Si Xingzhi was stunned. He wanted to say, "How can a scholar be afraid of extreme cold or heat?" However, he had been beaten by his daughter so many times that he was used to being obedient. He just felt sorry that he couldn't immediately put money into the bank to solve the family's urgent needs.

It seems we can only wait until spring.

After finishing the lunch break, the younger sister ran over to support Si Muyan: "Sister, when are you going to make that pumpkin pie and how do you make it?"

Si Muyan smiled and said, "Let's do it now. Let's do a little first and see if it succeeds. If it succeeds, we can continue. If it doesn't, we can share it among our families."

Even the greedy little brother remained indifferent when hearing this.

When I first ate pumpkin, I thought it was a delicacy. But no matter how delicious it is, I can’t stand eating it every day. Pumpkin porridge in the morning, pumpkin rice at noon, and stewed pumpkin in the evening...

He could also imagine that since there were so many pumpkins planted at home, he would definitely have to eat pumpkins to get through the winter.

Si Muyan divided the work: "Dad, fetch water, little brother, light the fire, little sister, wash the pumpkin and cut it into pieces. Aunt Jin, this piece of paper has the list of things I need, get it ready."

The four of them went about their business. Aunt Jin finished preparing the food and was extremely surprised. She asked Si Muyan, "Is flour and sugar all that's needed? How can this be made? Will it taste good?"

“It’s basically just mixing pumpkin into flour and making them into pancakes.”

Aunt Jin can cook a lot of food, including pancakes. She makes some during the Chinese New Year and other festivals. I like them very much, but she has never made pancakes with pumpkin.

After all, pumpkins were something we only saw last year.

After the pumpkin was steamed, Si Xingzhi, who was quite strong, used a spoon to break it up. He took only one-third of the pumpkin and mixed it with flour and water to make a pumpkin dough. He then added sugar. The pumpkin pie recipe in the cookbook on the shelf had detailed weights, but Si Muyan didn't have one, so she had to rely on her gut feeling. He added the flour in small amounts, watching over it, and stirred in the sugar first.

After the flour was kneaded, Si Xingzhi pinched it off in balls, and his younger sister rolled it into small round pancakes with a rolling pin. Aunt Jin poured oil into the pan and swirled the oil with a spatula to ensure that there was a thin layer of oil on the bottom of the pan.

Si Muyan shook her head: "The oil is running low, pour more."

Aunt Jin poured a little more oil into the pot.

"Pour again."

Aunt Jin's mouth twitched. Pouring so much oil, what a waste. When she used to make pancakes, only a layer of oil was enough.

But she still obediently tilted the oil bottle a little bit... The next moment, Si Muyan reached out and poured all the oil in the oil bottle directly into the pot.

"Oh, so much oil, what a waste!" Aunt Jin felt so distressed, this little oil was enough for them to eat for half a month.

Si Muyan didn't even raise her eyelids: "Pumpkin cakes need oil. If there is not enough oil, they won't taste good. Dad, when you are done, go fill this oil bottle with oil, otherwise it will not be enough later."

Aunt Jin's eyes widened. "What? We're going to need oil later? Does this pumpkin pie really need that much oil?"

No, now that the family has no income, how can we allow the young lady to act like this!

Aunt Jin is the only one in the family who dares to scold Si Muyan. That's because Aunt Jin is also the only one in the family who does more work than Si Muyan.