A farmer has a shrewish wife; he's busy making money every day.

As soon as Ye Qingxue spoke, the whole village fell silent.

Lu Meng and Li You frowned. This daughter-in-law is so naive. She set the rules and then jumped right into them. Isn't this just a thankless task?

Ye Hua'er, however, was somewhat uneasy, her brows furrowing slightly.

He borrowed a donkey and personally helped the villagers deliver it, even keeping a detailed record of everything, without taking a single penny for himself.

Is Ye Qingxue really that foolish?

Ye Hua'er raised her eyes and glanced at Liu Baode.

Liu Baode met Ye Hua'er's gaze and quickly questioned, "How do we know you won't lie to us? We can't go to the county. What if you exchange the grain and then pretend that the price of grain is high in the county, and you only got a little bit? Who can we complain to then!"

His tone was aggressive; if a fifteen-year-old girl were standing there, she would be so wronged that she would be speechless.

Chen, who was standing next to him, also felt it was inappropriate and nudged Liu Baode with her elbow: "Husband, she's still a young girl, you shouldn't..."

Liu Baode glared at her and said, "You stupid woman, you dare to lecture me? Shut up!"

Chen's eyes immediately reddened and she fell silent.

Liu Baode's family was considered to have a lot of grain in the whole village.

Chen's family was poor; they didn't even have two ounces of rice in their house. They spent their days digging for wild vegetables in the mountains, and only occasionally could they get a full meal by digging up some sweet potatoes.

Through a matchmaker, Liu Baode married her, which can be said to have given her whole family a way to survive.

Therefore, even though Liu Baode would order her to do chores as soon as she entered the house, she accepted it.

She not only did all the laundry and cooking, but she also volunteered to do them, fearing that Liu Baode would send her back to her parents' home.

Even during her pregnancy, she had to go up the mountain to chop firewood.

Occasionally, she would experience morning sickness and physical discomfort, which would be met with disdain from Liu Baode.

But she endured it all.

She thought that after giving birth, Liu Baode would treat her and her child better, but to her surprise, he became even worse.

The two now sleep in separate beds. Winter is approaching, and she only has a thin quilt and a straw mat.

Ye Qingxue saw it clearly, and a look of disgust flashed in her eyes, but she suppressed it.

"Heh, Brother Liu really needs to change his habit of not letting people finish speaking."

"I want to ask everyone, what were the prices like when you bought grain from the oxcart in previous years?" Ye Qingxue asked the villagers loudly.

Soon someone answered: "Brown rice is six coins a pound, white rice is ten coins a pound, and white flour is twelve coins a pound!"

Ye Qingxue raised an eyebrow.

Wow, what kind of place is this Fierce Tiger Stronghold? They're so shady, selling things at double the price!

Liu Baode snorted coldly: "Don't try to fool us. Although we haven't been to the county much in recent years, we all know one thing: the grain on this oxcart is more expensive than in the county. If you calculate it according to the price on the oxcart, we won't accept it!"

"Yes, we can't let this go any longer!"

Ye Qingxue looked at them coldly.

These people really know how to treat people differently based on their status. It's the same thing—buying grain from someone else's oxcart is fine, but when it comes to her, the price is unacceptable!

But Mrs. Chen was soft-hearted: "But we were calculating based on the price on the oxcart..."

Liu Baode slapped Chen's arm: "I told you to shut up! Can't you understand human language?"

Ye Qingxue couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "Liu Baode! If you don't have the patience to listen to me finish speaking, you can simply not hand over the goods to me! Go sell them yourself!"

Before Liu Baode could get angry, Ye Qingxue turned to the villagers and said, "Everyone, the grain on the oxcart is expensive. I've been to the county, where a pound of coarse rice costs four coins, white rice costs eight coins, and wheat flour only costs ten coins."

Upon hearing Ye Qingxue's words, the villagers immediately became agitated.

"Why is it so much more expensive?!"

"The heartless Qingshui County government is treating us like pigs to be slaughtered!"

"Lu family daughter-in-law, are you going to sell yourself at the market price?" someone asked Ye Qingxue.

Ye Qingxue nodded: "That's right, that's what I was thinking. We'll calculate it according to the market price, and everyone knows the toll is 500 coins. Each family will contribute an average of 500 coins, so it won't cost much more."

At this moment, Aunt Lu spoke up: "If that's the case, wouldn't you be too tired?"

She had already gotten a good deal by renting the donkey to someone, and now she was causing them so much trouble. No matter how greedy she was, she felt a little guilty at this moment.

Ye Qingxue shook her head and smiled shyly: "It's okay, this is for the good of our village, for the good of everyone."

The villagers looked at each other, and then gradually burst into laughter.

"Ye Qingxue, so righteous!"

"I never expected the Lu family's daughter-in-law to be so kind and generous. She's such a good person!"

"Yes, I think she's much better than the second daughter of the Ye family."

Upon hearing this, Ye Hua'er's face instantly darkened, and she gripped her sleeve tightly!

A villager patted Lu Meng on the shoulder and said, "Village chief, your daughter-in-law is really something! She's such a good person!"

Lu Meng's lips twitched, and he gave a dry laugh.

This daughter-in-law is a source of pride for them, but this deal is such a bad one!

Amid the praise, Liu Baode's indignant voice rang out again: "Tch, I don't believe anyone would be willing to do such a losing business. If you want her to help, go ahead, I'm not getting involved."

Liu Baode was clearly angered by Ye Qingxue's words and didn't want to give her any face. He turned around and left, taking Chen Shi, who was still crying, with him.

Ye Qingxue ignored him and shouted twice to the villagers to quiet them down.

"Brothers and sisters, I will not force you to believe me. If anyone is unwilling, they may leave on their own."

"Those who are willing to trust me can register with me now!"

As Ye Qingxue spoke, she picked up a twig from the ground and bent down to write on the soil.

In no time, a long queue formed in front of Ye Qingxue.

As the villagers lined up, they praised Ye Qingxue's kindness.

Separated by a wall, Lu Chuci lowered her eyes and smiled faintly.

The villagers were kept in the dark, but he knew that in Qingshui County, the real price of grain was three coins for brown rice, five coins for white rice, and six coins for wheat flour.

Ye Qingxue, taking advantage of the fact that no one had been to the county, arbitrarily set prices in a serious manner and even gained a lot of gratitude.

The more Lu Chuci thought about it, the more amused she became, and finally she couldn't help but chuckle.

"What a shrewd businessman."

Outside, Ye Qingxue calculated the goods situation of the last household, wrote it down, threw down the tree branch, and clapped her hands.

"Alright, everyone, tie the goods to the donkeys. I'll pack up and we'll be off in a minute!"

The crowd rushed forward and hung their cloth bags on Debao's body.

Ye Qingxue went back into the house, and Lu Meng and Li You came up to her anxiously to ask what was wrong.

As if he had finally found something wrong with Ye Qingxue, Li You shouted, "Ye Qingxue, what are you doing! You're taking on all the work for the whole village by yourself, are you just showing off!"

"You're not only not getting any benefits from this, but if something goes wrong, we'll be the subject of gossip. I really don't know what you're thinking."

Lu Meng said with a stern face, clearly disagreeing: "This donkey was originally meant for our own family, but now it's become the whole village's."

Ye Qingxue sneered inwardly, but didn't show it on her face. She lowered her voice and said mysteriously to the Lu couple, "Father-in-law and mother-in-law, don't be anxious. Would your daughter-in-law let our family suffer? If she can stop this job, there's bound to be some profit to be made."

Lu Meng responded with an "Oh," his stern expression softening: "What's going on?"

“The toll was 500 coins in previous years, but when my daughter-in-law went last time, the gatekeeper said it’s only 400 coins now!”