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

After seeing Wen Yanyu off, the first day of business went smoothly.

Back in the village, she returned the last batch of goods to the villagers, this time adjusting the price to be the same as in the county.

"Fellow villagers, I have something to inform you. Starting tomorrow, at a fixed time, oxcarts will come to our county to pick up people. I will no longer be helping you exchange goods. If you need anything, you can contact me to arrange a time and go to the county yourself."

Upon hearing this news, the villagers' expressions were momentarily filled with surprise and uncertainty.

"Is this...really?"

"It seems like the county doesn't allow outsiders like us to go there?"

Someone asked in confusion.

Ye Qingxue chuckled and replied, "Those bad guys who ostracized us outsiders have been arrested. From now on, everyone can freely enter and leave Qingshui County without paying tolls."

The villagers' faces immediately lit up with surprise.

Their eyes widened, and they murmured, "Great! This is wonderful!"

"No tolls, no need to spend money on food or rent donkeys, and no fear of being bullied by the bad guys in Qingshui County... this is truly..."

"Yes, we can also go to the county to work. I heard that you can earn two hundred coins a day by carrying bricks!"

"I can also make shoe soles and embroider handkerchiefs for people, which can earn me quite a bit!"

Seeing their excited expressions, Ye Qingxue smiled and said, "However, the oxcart isn't free. Let me explain it to you first. The oxcart can carry four people per trip, and it costs fifty coins per trip. The return trip is the same. I have a list here with the oxcart's schedule for coming and going, starting the day after tomorrow. You can contact me to make an appointment."

The villagers hesitated for a moment.

Fifty coins per trip... that would cost one hundred coins for a round trip in a day.

That's a huge expense...

Seeing their hesitation, Ye Qingxue wasn't in a hurry. It was normal for them to have concerns, but they would eventually figure it out.

In the past, if they wanted to enter Qingshui County, in addition to the 500 wen toll, they also had to pay for grain to rent a donkey, and they could only rent it for a short time. There was no way for them to find long-term work in the county.

Even though Ye Qingxue helped them exchange goods in the city a few days ago, they only made a small profit. Not to mention how much the mountain goods were worth, the mountains in this deserted village are so desolate that it would take a lot of effort to find mountain goods that could be sold.

As for the oxcart, a trip for four people costs fifty coins, and if you find someone to share it, it won't cost too much.

They realized after a moment's thought that there were far more opportunities to make money in the county than in the village.

Sure enough, a moment later someone called out, "Qingxue, the four of us want to meet up and set a time."

Ye Qingxue squinted and smiled, "Okay, let's see which time you want to schedule."

"Oh, right," Ye Qingxue casually reminded her, "there are only three trains at each time slot. If someone has already booked one, then you won't be able to book another one."

As soon as these words were spoken, the villagers dared not hesitate any longer. Soon, four people formed a group and squeezed in front of Ye Qingxue.

"We arranged to meet at this time. Here's the fare, thank you."

"And us too! Over here!"

……

Ye Qingxue lowered her head and began to take notes.

"Madam Ye, we gave the village chief some money back then, and he said you took it to the county to handle some matters, like this oxcart, right?"

A rough male voice rang out in front of Ye Qingxue. Ye Qingxue looked up and saw three tall men.

This must be the person who gave Lu Meng money to go to town a few days ago.

Ye Qingxue nodded and smiled, "Yes, the village chief told me that it was you."

One of the tall men asked, "Since we paid you money to get things done, there should be some benefit for us, right?"

Ye Qingxue ground her back teeth and cursed Lu Meng in her heart: "Yes, of course you'll get your share of the benefits, after all, you've helped me 'so much'..."

She thought for a moment and said to them, "Here's what we'll do. For the next month, you can book a ride with me anytime, one round trip a day. I won't charge you. I'll also have the driver tell you about some good jobs in the county."

The three burly men exchanged glances and revealed expressions of surprise.

"Okay, that works, thanks."

Ye Qingxue smiled as she saw them off, a dark glint flashing in her eyes.

I continued taking notes for a while, and soon all three days were used up.

Satisfied, Ye Qingxue put away her paper and pen and called out to the people behind her, "We're all booked for three days! Let's all make plans again tomorrow!"

The villagers who missed out left, though reluctant to give up.

Only one person remained, walking towards Ye Qingxue with a face full of resentment.

Just as Ye Qingxue turned to leave, someone grabbed her shoulder.

Startled, I turned around and saw that it was Liu Baode.

"Liu Baode? What are you going to do?"

Ye Qingxue twisted her body and freed her shoulder from Liu Baode's grasp.

Liu Baode, his voice hoarse, frowned and said to Ye Qingxue, "I haven't even made an appointment yet, how come it's already over? And why can you only arrange appointments for three days?"

Ye Qingxue glanced at Liu Baode with a half-smile.

She had just noticed that Liu Baode had been standing in the crowd listening to her speak, and when it came to arranging a time, he looked around hesitantly.

He was scratching his head and looking anxious, clearly wanting to make the date but too embarrassed to lower himself.

Ye Qingxue looked at his complexion; his face was dark and his lips were pale, indicating that he hadn't had a proper meal in a long time.

When Liu Baode had asked her to be a middleman before, he was unwilling to let her exchange goods. Now that she can go to the county herself, he is hesitant and has missed the first opportunity.

She was hungry, so it's not her fault.

"I can only book for the next three days, that's my rule. If you want to book, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to queue up."

Ye Qingxue turned to leave, but Liu Baode reached out to grab her again.

Ye Qingxue caught his wrist with lightning speed and twisted it to the side.

A loud cracking sound.

Liu Baode's arm must have been dislocated.

"I'm warning you, don't touch me."

Liu Baode's face darkened and he said fiercely, "Damn it, you tricked my wife and son away, and now you won't let me go to the county to find a way to make a living. You're trying to kill my whole family!"

Ye Qingxue tightened her grip, "First of all, Aunt Chen and Xiaoshan are doing very well here with me, so how can you say they're deceiving you? Secondly, you've already signed the divorce papers, Aunt Chen is no longer your wife, and it's your own fault that no one is helping you with household chores and controlling food consumption. Finally, I didn't stop you from doing anything; it was your cowardice and hesitation that caused you to miss out."

"Ouch! That hurts!" Liu Baode was instantly covered in sweat.

Ye Qingxue's tone hardened as she said, enunciating each word clearly, "You brought all of this on yourself!"

With a forceful movement, Ye Qingxue threw Liu Baode to the ground, then turned and went back into the house to close the door.

Outside the door, Liu Baode's eyes were bloodshot, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

Ye Qingxue didn't know that Liu Baode's hunger wasn't entirely because Chen Shi had left him, nor was it entirely because he didn't ask Ye Qingxue to go to the county to exchange goods. With his health, he could have lived well just by eating mountain produce.

But no matter how much food he had or how good his health was, it couldn't stop Liu Baode from seeking pleasure with Ye Hua'er every day.

His daily indulgence caused his health to deteriorate significantly, and Ye Hua'er would always use sweet words to coax him out of most of his food.

With this mutual drain, by the time Liu Baode realized he couldn't support himself, it was already too late.

In front of the Lu family's house, many villagers had not completely dispersed. Seeing Liu Baode like this, they gathered around and pointed at him.

Liu Baode was panting heavily, glaring fiercely at the people around him, his heart burning with anger.

Thinking of someone, Liu Baode got up from the ground, dusted himself off, and walked in one direction.

……

Ye Qingxue was unaware of Liu Baode's inner thoughts outside the house; she only knew that when she returned to her room, Lu Meng was indeed waiting there.

Suppressing her impatience, she took out 150 coins from her pocket: "The county driver paid the fare, so this is all I have left. Here you go."

Actually, he could have saved three taels of silver, but Ye Qingxue would never give him all of it.

If it weren't for the fact that the business would have to go on without him, she wouldn't have given him a single penny!

Lu Meng was unaware of the true situation; he was simply happy to be able to get money for free.

He immediately grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth: "Okay, okay! Qingxue, do your best, I fully support you! Remember not to overwork yourself, and take care of the baby in your belly."

Ye Qingxue didn't want to pay attention to him and turned away.