After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

Through the changing seasons, Jiang Xiaoqi finally turned ten.

In the spring of that year, when he was ten years old, he finally dug up some bamboo shoots.

The bamboo shoots were piled up like a small mountain. Apart from the two elders, Ouyang Zheng and Lin Yueniang, all six people, from the mountainside to the valley, gathered in the small courtyard to peel and cook the bamboo shoots.

Spring bamboo shoots are processed into dried bamboo shoots and smoked dried bamboo shoots, preserving the flavor of spring for as long as possible into summer, autumn, and even winter.

Although they can still dig for bamboo shoots in winter, they still happily carry back basket after basket of spring bamboo shoots time and time again.

"Young man, isn't this a bit too much?"

Jiang Xiyue carried a full basket of bamboo shoots on her back, but the weight did not slow her down at all.

"Not much. When you return to Xinghe Prefecture, take some back home with you."

"You stingy person, you only brought some dried bamboo shoots for your grandparents?"

"Not only grandparents, but also my eldest sister. We're practically her uncle and aunt now, how can we not prepare some gifts?"

"Hahaha, you're giving your little nephew dried bamboo shoots as a greeting gift? What a stingy uncle!"

Jiang Xiaoqi's hands never stopped working; she peeled the bamboo shoots layer by layer, and the bamboo shoots, which had become several sizes thinner, were placed into a large wooden basin to wait in line for soaking in the hot spring.

"Of course, it's not just dried bamboo shoots. Second Sister, you can take them with you. I'm going to the capital with my senior brother, so we won't go back to Xinghe Prefecture. We'll go back together after my senior brother passes the imperial examination."

"You have a lot of confidence in your senior brother. Are you so sure that he will pass the provincial examination and then proceed to the metropolitan and palace examinations?"

"It's not that I'm confident, it's that my senior brother has the ability. Once he passes the imperial examination and becomes a Jinshi, it won't be long before he comes to our house to propose marriage."

I wonder if my senior brother will be snatched up by someone else after the exam? Although he's a bit dark-skinned, he's still quite handsome!

A seventeen or eighteen-year-old Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) would be highly sought after in the capital, wouldn't he? He'd probably be the target of many high-ranking officials and nobles!

Jiang Xiyue paused in peeling the bamboo shoots: "Catching a son-in-law after the imperial examination? Would anyone really do that? No way, I have to come to the capital with you and protect you from the sidelines."

Jiang Xiyue was teased by her younger brother, but she didn't act coy at all. Instead, she thought about how to deal with the rudeness of the people in the capital.

During this time, Li Haisheng and Jiang Xiyue's love affair had become public knowledge, which Lin Yueniang and Ouyang Zheng were well aware of.

Lin Yueniang even had Jiang Xiaoqi write a letter to the head of the household, Landlord Jiang, to explain the situation regarding the two children.

Landlord Jiang had met Li Haisheng in person. He was a young scholar who was about to take the provincial examination. Although he didn't have a family background, he was, after all, a student of the great scholar Ouyang, so he was not an ordinary poor scholar.

Without much struggle, he readily agreed to the marriage. Since Li Haisheng had no parents, the matter was handled entirely by Ouyang Zheng, his mentor, in discussions with the Jiang family.

Of course, Jiang Wenqing, Jiang Xiyue's biological father, is currently unaware of the situation and is the only member of the Jiang family who does not know that his second daughter is engaged.

Although the two sides had roughly agreed on the terms in the letter, Li Haisheng wanted to wait until he passed the imperial examination before proposing marriage, so that Xiyue would have more face. He hadn't thought about the possibility of being chosen as a son-in-law after failing the examination.

After all, he was quite skilled, and even if someone came to capture him, he felt he could escape. However, Jiang Xiyue clearly didn't think so. In her eyes, Li Haisheng was a scholar, and she automatically ignored his considerable skills.

"Hehe, that's fine. Since Second Sister is willing to be the protector of the grass, let's go to the capital together. Let's bring Mother along too. As the future mother-in-law, she has an obligation to keep an eye on her future son-in-law, doesn't she?"

“What you said makes sense. Then let Wenbin and the others take these dried bamboo shoots back. It’s okay if we go back a few months later.”

"Oh, right, my two older brothers will also be going to the capital together, one is Brother Chunsheng and the other is Brother Qiusheng. Sister, you can meet your two brothers-in-law in advance, hehe~"

Jiang Xiaoqi wanted to see his second sister's reaction, so he deliberately brought up his senior brother's family at this moment. Little did he know that his second sister was no longer the same as before. She only glanced at her brother and continued to peel bamboo shoots skillfully.

Jiang Xiaoqi, having failed in his mission, had no choice but to pick up the hundred-odd pounds of bamboo shoots and take them to the kitchen to cook.

Sigh~ It was his own idea to make his mother and sisters practice martial arts, so he can't blame anyone else. His sweet, soft, and gentle older sister from when he was little will never come back!

"Young Master, please take a little at a time. You're still growing, don't hurt yourself by putting too much weight on you." Wenbin took the large wooden basin and stumbled, but luckily Li Mo caught him in time.

Ten-year-old Jiang Xiaoqi was already at eye level with thirteen-year-old Wenbin. She glanced at her son, who was less than 1.6 meters tall, and said, "Wenbin, when it comes to height, you don't seem to have much to say."

"Uh! The little one is a late bloomer, he'll still grow in the next couple of years, unlike that beast Li Mo, who's an early bloomer, he'll stop growing in a couple of years!"

After putting the bamboo shoots into the pot, Li Mo turned around and said, "Yeah, that's right, but even if I stopped growing now, I'd still be tall enough."

Li, sixteen years old and 1.8 meters tall, waved his sleeves and left without taking a single bamboo shoot, leaving Wen, thirteen years old and born late, alone, gritting his teeth.

A gentle sea breeze caressed the shore as two tall figures dug for moon shells and clams with small hoes.

They had to hurry, because the tide would come in in 15 minutes, and they wouldn't be able to dig anymore after that; they would have to wait for the tide to recede again.

Although they are not lacking in food and clothing now, they still often come to the beach to collect seafood. After all, the things they find for free can save them some food and can be used as an extra dish.

It wasn't easy for my younger brother to earn money, and he also had to take the imperial examinations. They couldn't spend his stipend and rice recklessly. They could dig for seafood and save as much as they could.

Not only the two of them, but all the other siblings were like that. The two youngest sisters were also very sensible. They would help raise chickens and ducks, and they would also do some simple embroidery to sell to supplement the family income.

In fact, the two taels of silver they received a month were enough for their livelihood, but they still wanted to squeeze out a little more for their third brother, as they all knew how expensive the imperial examinations were.

Therefore, every penny was carefully calculated for spending; if something could be repaired, it would never be bought, and if something could be made by oneself, it would never be taken to a general store.

The family of brothers and sisters, though not related by blood, are extremely united.

"Brother, why don't we catch some razor clams?"

"It uses too much salt. We should save it if we can. We won't die without eating clams, but we can't live without salt."

Although there is no shortage of salt by the sea, salt produced directly from seawater cannot be eaten directly. Salt produced directly from seawater has too many impurities and tastes bitter, sometimes even overpowering the saltiness.

By this time, people already knew how to mine salt. Rock salt had fewer impurities and less bitterness, and it was basically controlled by the imperial court.

After all, salt and iron were the lifeblood of the imperial court, and private individuals would not be allowed to touch these two industries.

Although there were some people selling smuggled salt, they only dared to operate on a small scale and did not dare to make a big fuss about it.

Because government-monopolized salt is sold under a government license, its price is usually high, and may continue to rise due to government control and exploitation. Illegally sold salt is relatively cheaper, but because it is sold illegally, there are legal risks associated with purchasing and using it.

The official salt of the imperial court cost between six or seven wen and fifteen or sixteen wen per jin, while private salt cost between three or eight wen per jin.

Ever since someone in the neighborhood got poisoned after eating salt that his family had sun-dried, Li Haisheng has strictly forbidden his siblings from eating it.

Although they lived by the sea, they had been buying government-issued salt at high prices all these years, and dared not touch the cheaper private salt, for fear of affecting Li Haisheng's career.