The daily life of a space tycoon raising children, doting on his husband, and farming.

Chapter 234 Later
The carriage drove smoothly into Yushu Village. The snow on the road had been cleared, and the journey was relatively easy.

Shang Wan opened the window and looked outside.

Since the business of Lingyao Pavilion took off, Shang Wan bought a house in a residential area three streets away from the county school for Lu Chengjing's convenience in studying.

The house wasn't as big as the one they built themselves, but it was enough for their family.

Xiao Huan was busy with the business of Baoyuezhai, so Shi Tou took over all the medicine-making work in the village. Shang Wan was busy running between the shop, the house, and the estate, and rarely returned to the village.

In just a few months, a lot has changed in Yushu Village.

The medicine shop is doing well, and the villagers have made medicine making their main business. Although they haven't neglected their work in the fields, their focus has clearly shifted.

In order to process herbs more cheaply, after some discussion, Shi Tou, Old Man Wu, and others set up a drying yard near the hillside, specifically for drying medicinal herbs.

To prevent the medicinal herbs from being stolen or tampered with, the village arranged for people to take turns guarding them while they were being dried.

To improve efficiency, Shi Tou divided the people into several groups: washing herbs, cutting herbs, frying herbs, drying herbs, boiling herbs, grinding herbs into powder, and dispensing herbs... Each person was only responsible for one task, and the tasks were assigned according to their abilities.

For example, children and the elderly can take on the task of cleaning herbs, and as long as they are cleaned properly, they can still get paid.

Those who are strong but don't want to use their brains are tasked with cutting herbs, grinding them into powder, and carrying them back and forth.

Those who learn well and carefully can go on to fry, decoct, or prepare medicine.

Wages are calculated based on the weight of the herbs processed.

The wages will vary depending on the specific responsibilities.

Cleaning herbs is the simplest and costs the least, while decocting herbs is more time-consuming, labor-intensive, and involves more steps, but it earns the most money.

It wasn't that no one volunteered to take on multiple jobs in an attempt to earn extra money, but Stone ruthlessly rejected them.

Stone rigorously assessed each person, determined their strengths, and recorded them all for easy job allocation later.

Shang Wan felt that if things continued to develop like this, Shi Tou might be able to build a pharmaceutical factory.

Naturally, you can't dry medicinal herbs on a snowy day. Even though the snow has stopped now, there's still snow piled up on the drying ground.

Through the window, Shang Wan saw a group of people shoveling snow inside. One of them, wearing a rabbit fur hat and a blue-and-white floral jacket, was turning his body to look in their direction.

Shang Wan waved, and the man dropped the shovel and ran over, shouting, "Sister!"

The person who arrived was indeed Shi Tou, and his voice was so powerful that it echoed.

Shang Wan invited him to get in the car.

Shi Tou turned around and gave a few instructions. After the person on the other side responded, he patted the snow off his trousers, climbed into the car, and sat down next to Lu Chengjing with a smile.

Lu Chengjing poured him a cup of hot tea and handed it to him.

Stone took the cup and warmed his hands, asking in confusion, "Why are you back now?"

"It's snowed several times in a row, and I was worried about my family, so I came back to check on them."

“I’m watching over things, everything is fine at home.” Shi Tou said, breathing on his frostbitten fingers to warm them up before reaching out to poke the little dumpling sleeping in Lu Chengjing’s arms.

The baby stirred but didn't wake up. He smacked his lips, turned his head to the side, and slept even more soundly.

Shi Tou chuckled but didn't continue poking, nor did he dare to actually wake the person up.

He couldn't handle the crying.

Shang Wan closed the window and said to Shi Tou, "Your brother-in-law is on holiday and will be staying home tonight. Xiao Huan will come back after Bao Yue Zhai closes."

"Okay." Stone's first thought was food. "Sis, what are we having for dinner?"

It didn't matter if it was late, so we had our second hot pot meal of the day.

Xiao Huan returned earlier than expected, bringing with her a lot of fresh ingredients, including river delicacies.

Everyone helped wash and slice the ingredients, and Xiao Huan made a pot of bone broth as the soup base. They started stir-frying the ingredients when it was almost time.

It was too cold to eat in the main room, so they simply moved the stove and all to the stone house to eat. The kang (heated brick bed) was warm, and sitting on it warmed everyone from their bottoms up. Everyone ate with sweat on their foreheads, but they felt very comfortable.

Lu Chengjing poured everyone some homemade fruit wine. Yuanyuan wanted some too, but Shang Wan replaced it with freshly squeezed juice.

The atmosphere was lively, with people eating and chatting, and two hours passed by in the blink of an eye.

Snow began to fall again outside the window, and the steam from the hot pot wafted out, instantly freezing into ice beads.

"So full!" Shi Tou propped himself up with both hands and sighed as he looked out at the snow. "Hot pot tastes best when there are more people around."

Yuan Yuan thoughtfully stretched out her chubby little hands to rub his belly.

Shang Wan gave Lu Chengjing a look, indicating that it was time to get down to business after dinner.

Receiving his wife's signal, Lu Chengjing straightened up, cleared his throat, and coughed.

Xiao Huan and Shi Tou, who were sitting opposite each other, looked over and said almost in unison, "Brother-in-law, have you caught a cold?"

Lu Chengjing shook his head and looked at the stone. "After the New Year, you will go to Sanshan Academy to study. I have already talked to Dean Wang, and I will take you to visit him in a couple of days."

Sanshan Academy is the only academy in the county town. Although it is not as good as the county school, it is better than ordinary private schools.

Shang Wan originally wanted Shi Tou to study in the prefectural city, where there would be more options, and she could even throw money at it to get him into an academy.

However, Lu Chengjing felt that the most important thing for Shi Tou now was to lay a foundation, and that the Three Mountains Academy was enough.

A stone that fell from the sky with a reading assignment: "?!?!"

He stared in surprise, his arms giving way, and he fell directly onto the kang (a heated brick bed).

Yuanyuan quickly pulled her uncle away.

Xiao Huan also helped pull the person up and sit down.

Stone opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, and after a long while, he finally managed to utter a sound: "Can I not go?"

Shang Wan and Lu Chengjing said in unison, "No."

"Why?" Shi Tou's thick eyebrows furrowed together like the pleats of a steamed bun. "I'm not as smart as my brother-in-law. I'm not cut out for studying. I'll never pass the imperial examinations. Sending me to school is a waste of money."

What a spineless remark! Shang Wan wanted to slap him after hearing it.

"How do you know you're not cut out for studying if you haven't even tried? I see you memorize medical texts quite well, don't you?"

Shi Tou waved his hand hastily, "I just memorize everything by rote. I can't write poems and essays like my brother-in-law."

Lu Chengjing said, "If you don't know how, the academy will naturally teach you."

Shi Tou made an excuse, "There are so many things to do at home. If I go to school, who will take care of me?"

"Once you enter the academy, I will naturally arrange for someone to take over. Just focus on your studies." Shang Wan gave Shi Tou no chance to refuse.

Stone looked miserable. "Is it really impossible to not study?"

Shang Wan nodded: "Sure."

Shi Tou was overjoyed, but before he could utter a word, Shang Wan asked, "What do you want to do if you don't study?"

Stone:"?"

Shang Wan pointed at Xiao Huan: "Xiao Huan loves cooking and dreams of opening her own restaurant. What about you?"

Stone was taken aback by the question.

Shang Wan continued, "You'll be seventeen after the New Year. Some of you who got married early already have children. You'll have to support your family in the future. Have you ever thought about how you'll make a living?"

Without much thought, Shi Tou scratched his head and said, "I'll just follow you. I'll do whatever you tell me to do."

Anyway, his sister and brother-in-law won't abandon him.