After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 245 Asking for information
The anomaly lasted for a while. Once the portal stabilized, Su Tai immediately entered the Earth Space-Time.

Suddenly, a huge mountain appeared in the previously boundless space. The mountain was bare, covered only with rocks, and she knew that no plants could grow on it even before she got close.

To get to the mountain, you need to pass through the orchard at the foot of the mountain.

The fruit trees and medicinal herbs she planted before are still there. The medicinal herbs are varieties that become more valuable with age. Since they haven't been harvested, no data is generated. Some of the fruit trees are starting to show signs of bearing fruit, and the first batch of fruit should be ready to be eaten next year.

After passing the orchard, she arrived at the mountain. She picked up an inconspicuous stone from the ground, but couldn't figure out what it was, so she had to go back to the transfer station to look up information.

After seeing what was on the screen, she completely lost her composure.

"It's a Hetian jade mine! Have I gone mad? Do I own a treasure trove?"

After the initial shock, Su Tai continued reading.

Rules for using jade ore:

Mines can be opened, and equipment can be rented out. Each mining operation costs 10,000 virtual coins, and the amount of jade mined cannot exceed one ton. Earth Space will automatically reclaim half of the labor results, and cannot guarantee the quality of the mined jade.

Earth Time-Space Upgrade Rules:
Tu Shi Kong can only upgrade its jade collection once it reaches 10,000 tons.

Su Tai almost vomited blood when she saw it.

Jade is inherently dense. Although a ton may seem like a lot, it's actually just a few sacks. And half of it has to be recycled by the Earth Time-Space. So, the jade that ends up in her hands at most is no more than a thousand kilograms, and the quality isn't guaranteed. If the mined raw stone is of inferior quality and full of impurities, it can't be processed at all. At best, it's just a pretty stone. It's really a rip-off.

She complained while eagerly preparing to rent quarrying tools.

In fact, there are no tools that need to be rented. She cannot use large tools at the moment. At most, she can only pick up some small jade stones on the mountain. All she needs is a special flashlight with strong penetrating power and a basket.

It's the dead of winter now, and she tends to overthink when she has nothing to do. This place will help her pass the time.

I wonder if I could send something to Shen Yi.

The more I thought about it, the deeper the thought became.

So when Ma Xingteng's people came to pick up the goods, Su Tai took the initiative to offer to visit them.

The servants didn't think much of it and drove the carriage to the Ma residence in town.

When she arrived at the Bai family's house, she discovered that they were holding a funeral. Her heart skipped a beat, and she hesitated whether to go in.

At this moment, a gentle female voice came from inside the door, "You must be Madam Shen! My husband is the eldest son of the Ma family, and my surname is Bai."

Su Tai quickly snapped out of her thoughts and stepped forward to greet him, "Sister Bai, did I come at the wrong time?"

Bai looked at the white silk and white lantern on the door, and led Su Tai in through the side door. "He is my husband's younger brother. He died in battle. The news was only sent back the day before yesterday. His body will not arrive for another half month."

My father-in-law was so devastated by this terrible news that he fell seriously ill, and my mother-in-law also went insane. Now we can only set up the mourning hall first, so that guests won't come without knowing why, which would be bad.

"Madam Shen must have important business to attend to on her first visit, unlike other guests. Please don't mind."

Su Tai shook her head. Just then, a figure suddenly rushed out from the archway, hitting and cursing Bai Shi, "Bad woman, let me out! My son won't let you get away with this! Let me out right now!" "Ah!" Bai Shi cried out in pain and dodged, angrily scolding the maids and servants, "What's wrong with you? You can't even take care of a sick person! What are you doing here with the Ma family?"

The maids and servants were terrified and trembled with fear. They dragged and pulled Sang away.

Sang struggled fiercely, crying, "Bad man, let me go! I need to find my son, my Fei'er! Fei'er, save your mother! Fei'er!"

Bai was furious, but she had to quickly compose herself and apologize to Su Tai, "Madam Shen, I'm sorry you had to see this. We are all afraid of my mother-in-law in this state, and we really dare not let guests come to our door."

"I understand, Sister Bai, you've gone to so much trouble," Su Tai said, and entered the flower hall with Bai Shi.

She didn't have a good impression of the Ma family, so she didn't want to stay any longer. As soon as she sat down, she explained her purpose: "I wanted to ask Sister Bai if she could contact someone who is serving in the military?"

Bai was somewhat surprised, "Does my sister want to contact her husband?"

Su Tai readily admitted, "I prepared some food for my husband before, but it's probably all gone now. I don't know what the situation is like over there. I'd like to send them something, is that alright?"

She nervously opened a brocade box.

If no one in the village had given her an answer, she wouldn't have dared to go to their door so rashly.

When Bai saw what was in the brocade box, her eyes widened instantly, and the excuse that was on the tip of her tongue suddenly wouldn't come out.

A warm smile spread across his face. "Sister, is this mutton-fat jade?"

Su Tai nodded, "It's top-quality mutton fat jade. I hope you'll like it, sister."

"Oh! I can't accept this. I do know a little about what you're talking about, sister. To be honest, my husband's family doesn't have the ability to send things to the border, but my family does have some connections, through people in the county government." Bai lowered her voice.

Su Tai raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Could you elaborate?"

Bai glanced at the brocade box again and pondered, "The border sends back a list of the dead and their bodies every quarter. After they deliver the bodies, they wait for each family to claim them. At most, they have to go back to report. At this time, you can ask them to take things to the border, but you need a lot of money to bribe them."

Su Tai's eyes lit up as if she had discovered a new world. "Thank you for telling me, sister. May I ask if there are any special considerations when asking them to carry things?"

Bai looked at her approvingly and said, "Indeed, there are some. First of all, letters and the like cannot be brought, as they are very sensitive and can easily cause trouble. Clothes, money, and food can be brought, but money is easy to lose along the way, and they don't really need it. I prefer to send them some clothes and food."

However, these are just my worries. After all, they are government officials and are trustworthy. As long as you pay enough money, they generally won't touch your things.

My maternal parents were worried about my eldest brother, so they sent him several gifts last year. They must be quite wealthy, and I haven't heard of anything being lost.

Su Tai was still a little confused. "Isn't what they're doing just skimming off the top? Won't the higher-ups object?"

Bai scoffed, "How could that be? The higher-ups also get a share of this money! That's why I said you should give more, not only what's publicly acknowledged, but also what's privately given, so they'll take it seriously, right?"

Su Tai understood, stood up and thanked her, "Sister Bai, thank you very much. I'll have someone inquire about it later."

Madam Bai nodded slightly and then reminded him, "They will arrive in half a month. When the county government sends out the message, you should contact those soldiers around that time. It costs fifty taels to deliver a load, and the load cannot exceed half a cart. If it does, you will have to pay extra. As for how much money you want to give the officials in private, that's up to you."