She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

While feeling remorseful, Geng Qingsong secretly rejoiced that he hadn't directly clashed with the people from Xiaoyao Village; otherwise, perhaps even greater misfortune would have befallen his family.

Thinking of this, he sighed and said to Geng Qingshi, "We'd better not provoke those people from Xiaoyao Village anymore. This time, we really tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead!"

Upon hearing this, Geng Qingshi wholeheartedly agreed, "Brother, I will sell that shop in Tongan County when I go back tomorrow. From now on, we will stay in Lin County and take good care of our family business."

Geng Qingsong nodded and said helplessly, "That's all we can do. Jin An still has two years left in his term. If we don't withdraw in time, he might devour us until there's nothing left."

Geng Qingshi's sale of his shop in Tongan County did not cause much of a stir in the county.

At this moment, everyone's attention was drawn to another matter: the story of Niu Dali, the head of the yamen, who led his men to Xiaoyao Village in Qiufeng Town to forcibly collect taxes, angering the mountain god and ultimately being devoured by a hungry tiger in the mountains.

In folk culture, events involving ghosts and spirits always easily attract the attention of the people.

Therefore, in less than two days, the news spread like wildfire throughout the entire Tongan County.

Upon hearing this news, people were filled with awe for Xiaoyao Village, regarding it as a sacred and inviolable place, and dared not set foot there again.

At the same time, people have developed a greater sense of awe towards those who came from Xiaoyao Village.

As the incident continued to escalate, Xiaoyao Village was finally freed from external interference and disturbance, and its former tranquility and peace were restored.

Shen Man finally got to live the peaceful and tranquil life she had longed for.

Peaceful days always pass quickly. Time flies, and before we knew it, it was spring of the nineteenth year of the Mingde era.

In this peaceful and hopeful season, sunlight shines through the clouds onto the earth, warming every inch of Xiaoyao Village.

As time passed, Shen Man gradually grew up, from an innocent four-year-old to a delicate and beautiful young woman.

Over the past decade, Xiaoyao Village has undergone tremendous changes.

With the wild silkworm resources on the large oak trees on Wild Boar Ridge, the mulberry forests on several hills near the village, and their unique dyeing techniques, the villagers have successfully embarked on the road to prosperity.

Today, almost every family owns its own oxcart, which has become an important means of transportation in their daily lives and a symbol of their improved living standards.

At the same time, every household built exquisite and beautiful two-story houses, which replaced the dilapidated wooden houses and brought vitality to the whole village.

In addition to the growth of personal wealth, the village's silkworm breeding cooperative has also achieved remarkable success.

Ten years ago, the mulberry trees that the villagers planted on the barren mountains around the village have long since grown into a large and lush mulberry forest. The best-growing trees are now almost as thick as an adult's thigh.

Their dense foliage intertwines to form a green ocean.

This mulberry grove not only brought a refreshing touch of green to the village, but also brought great wealth and a prosperous life to the villagers.

After years of development, Xiaoyao Village has become a center for silkworm farming, attracting many merchants to purchase high-quality silk.

Today, Xiaoyao Village has long since replaced the Geng family as the largest silk supplier in Biancheng Prefecture.

In addition to the Zhu and Kong families, many merchants from other places came to Xiaoyao Village after hearing about its reputation.

Not only have rows of neat and uniform silkworm houses been built on the north side of the village, but a special office building for the silkworm breeding cooperative has also been added.

This dedicated building, at Shen Man's suggestion, features a spacious and bright warehouse, a fully functional finance office, a well-organized meeting room, and a dyeing room with a sign on the door that reads "No Trespassing".

The construction of these facilities has made the management of the silkworm breeding cooperative more standardized and orderly, and greatly improved its work efficiency.

In addition, to make travel more convenient, the village spent money a couple of years ago to repair and widen the mountain road leading from the village to the town, making it much easier and faster to get to the town.

In addition, the cooperative has acquired a horse-drawn carriage. With this carriage, villagers can more easily go out to conduct business and deliver high-quality silk products to markets across the country, further expanding their sales channels.

Another huge change in the village is that the simple schoolhouse that used to be next to the village ancestral hall has been renovated into a brand new schoolhouse. Now, the best teachers are invited from the county to teach, so that the children in the village can receive a good education.

The village invests heavily in education, and the results are immediate. Two years ago, a child from the village took an exam organized by the government and, incredibly, passed with the honor of becoming a scholar.

This incident caused a huge reaction throughout Qiufeng Town at the time, and people couldn't help but marvel at how it was indeed a place blessed by the mountain god, a land of outstanding people and abundant resources.

If we were to say what the least changed places in Xiaoyao Village have been over the past ten years, it would probably be Shen Man's house and the big camphor tree at the entrance of the village.

Shen Man and her daughter still live in the same house they built ten years ago. They haven't added any livestock, such as cattle or horses, because there are no men in the family, and even if they did, there would be no one to drive them.

Fortunately, the villagers are now wealthier and more generous. If someone has an oxcart going to town, they can just hop on and ride without worrying about the few coins for the fare.

After all, if Shen Man hadn't suggested raising silkworms, they would never have been able to live such a comfortable life now.

Furthermore, to thank Shen Man for her tremendous contributions to the silkworm breeding cooperative, the village head granted her and her daughter a special privilege: they could use the cooperative's carriages at will.

When Shen Man was six years old, she became an apprentice of Doctor Yu at the Yu Family Medical Clinic in town and began learning medicine from him. Now, eight years have passed.

Dr. Yu taught her everything he knew in his life. Although Shen Man was only fourteen years old, she was already capable of handling things on her own and had treated several critically ill patients, becoming a well-known female doctor in Qiufeng Town.

After studying medicine, Shen Man became even busier and had no time to spend with her mother.

To ease her burden and to keep her company when she was away from home, Shen Man specially bought two servants from the county last year for the Spring Festival.

The two servants were an old woman in her fifties surnamed Fang, whom Shen Man called Aunt Fang; and a fourteen-year-old girl named Fuling.

In addition, in order to make it easier to practice medicine, Shen Man had to add Lanxiang's surname before her name, becoming Ding Man, and was known as Doctor Ding.