The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

These words were extremely harsh. Even Old Lady Du, who was used to addressing others' ancestors so casually, found them very offensive. "Chen, how dare you speak like that?"

“That’s just how I talk. Don’t you think about it? A married daughter, and her mother-in-law is always running over to help her every day. That’s because she wasn’t taught properly when she was in her parents’ home. Isn’t it a bit late to teach her now? Who are you trying to impress with that show?”

Widow Chen felt that these words were not harsh enough. "Besides, she doesn't even do her own work, but goes to her daughter's house to do it. No normal person would do that."

"Anyway, I'm putting it this way: I did most of the housework in the second half of last year. Now I'm tired and don't want to do it anymore. If my sister-in-law doesn't do it either, then we'll all be starving."

"Chen, you shameless woman, if you don't want to work, then get out of our Du family. There are plenty of men who would like to marry into this family. Let me tell you... if you don't do it, I'll have the second son divorce you." Old Mrs. Du threatened. Which woman in the village wasn't afraid of being divorced?

This is how mothers-in-law usually control their daughters-in-law; no one is unafraid when the word "divorce" is mentioned.

"Fine, then let your son divorce me. Look at the state of your Du family now, do you think you can find another wife? You really think you're such a desirable catch?" Widow Chen said with confidence, turning around and going into the house with disdain.

Old Mrs. Du was so angry that she cursed loudly in the yard.

From that day on, Widow Chen really did nothing at all. When it was time to eat, she would just go back and eat whenever someone had prepared a meal.

Because Wu Daniu had decided to join the army, Du Mingwei had been away from home lately, so Xu Yulan, feeling sorry for her daughter, often went over to help her with chores.

As a result, no one was doing the housework, which made Old Man Du very unhappy. He even spoke ill of Old Woman Du.

Grandma Du was furious. She scolded Widow Chen and told her to cook, but Widow Chen wouldn't budge. In the end, Grandma Du could only order Xu Yulan not to go to the Wu family's house.

It worked for the first two days, but then stopped working again. Xu Yulan went again, but no one did the housework. In the end, Grandma Du had to cook for herself.

When she cooked, Widow Chen served more than anyone else. When Old Lady Du scolded her, Widow Chen would even retort, "Scolding louder is fine, I need this to eat with my rice."

She was such a tough nut to crack. Old Mrs. Du kept cursing until she finally shut up herself. She had told Du Youtian to divorce her, but he refused.

The Du family's life was in complete chaos, and Wu Daniu finally decided to join the army, to fight for his future and to let Du Mingxian know the consequences of messing with him.

Once he obtains an official position, the first thing he'll do when he returns is to teach Du Mingxian a lesson.

Du Mingxian knew nothing about what was happening here. She had been very busy lately, working with the prefect to arrange for wine to be supplied to the imperial court. From then on, she was considered a semi-imperial merchant.

The country's borders are divided into east, west, south, and north, so there are four types of liquor: some are strong, some have a smooth, creamy taste and a low alcohol content, so they are all quite different.

I've been busy with this for two whole months.

Signing such a big deal immediately put our small workshop in a difficult position, and there was also the issue of transportation.

The Ling family's location is close to the northwest, while the southeast is quite far. If the wine is brewed here and then transported over, the cost would be too high and the journey too long, making it extremely unsuitable.

Previously, Du Mingxian had been preoccupied with other matters and hadn't considered that the need to expand her workshop would immediately present drawbacks. After much deliberation, she decided to go to the prefect.

Lin Hu was there before, but he only stayed at the Ling family's house for about a month before leaving. Now, if anything happens, Du Mingxian has to go find him herself.

Du Mingxian explained her plan to Ling Silang, who agreed with it after listening.

"However, this matter may require my elder brother to negotiate."

Du Mingxian knew that it was inappropriate for her to go in this situation. She was able to negotiate the agreement with the prefect on four types of wine only because she knew how to make wine. Now, since she was not a major shareholder, it was really inappropriate for her to show up.

"We still don't have enough manpower. My brother has no experience in doing business, so he needs an experienced manager by his side."

Ling Silang agreed, "We can ask the Wang family about this; perhaps they can offer some information. We should also inquire about it on our side."

"Okay, then let's go find our older brother and talk to him."

"it is good."

The couple went to Ling Dalang's courtyard.

Wang was seriously injured, but after more than a month or two of rest, she has basically recovered. Now she still takes time every day to learn to read, as Du Mingxian told her.

Wang knew that her family's status was different now, as they were to supply goods to the military camp. If she was still illiterate, things might not go well in the future. So the couple would learn whenever they had free time.

The learning atmosphere was immediately set in motion. Several children who didn't like reading much before started to take it seriously as everyone in the family began to study.

Wang was at the stone table in the courtyard, writing calligraphy with a brush. When she heard the noise, she turned around and saw her fourth son and his wife coming over. She was very happy.

"Fourth brother, fourth sister-in-law, come and sit down." Wang said, and was about to fetch water when Du Mingxian stopped her. "Sister-in-law, we're family, no need to be so polite. We've come over to talk about something."

"Alright." Madam Wang didn't stand on ceremony. "Should I call you 'elder brother'?"

"We've already sent Granny Zhao to call them."

"it is good."

Ling Dalang returned quickly in no time. Recently, Ling Dalang has been the fastest growing member of the entire Ling family.

Du Mingxian has been involving Ling Dalang in everything she does lately. Firstly, it's to let him learn; secondly, it's to give him experience; and thirdly, it's to get him involved, since Ling Dalang is the one who makes the decisions when it comes to external affairs.

Ling Dalang used to tremble and get nervous when he saw officials, but now when he sees the prefect, he becomes much calmer and can even say a few words. He is also becoming more and more tactful in his dealings with people, which shows that he is really working hard.

"Brother, we asked you to come here because there's something we want to tell you."

"What's wrong?" Ling Dalang appears mature and composed to outsiders, but he's still the same kind and honest older brother to his family.

Du Mingxian explained her concerns and plans. Ling Dalang was taken aback for a moment, then hesitated, "Fourth sister-in-law, am I capable?"

"It's not a big problem. The prefect has met you before. Even if you make this suggestion, the prefect won't make a decision immediately. He will still write a memorial to the emperor, and the final decision rests with the emperor."

Ling Dalang hesitated, "Shall we just hand over the formula?"

Du Mingxian's suggestion was to directly submit the recipes for the four types of wine, and then let the royal family handle everything from how to build the workshops to how to allocate and distribute them, so that she could curry favor.

"There are advantages to it too. The wine brewed by the workshops arranged by the Emperor has been sent to the military camps. As a result, many people will be curious about what kind of wine it is."