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

"You boil everything?"

Everyone nodded again.

Even Madam Xu began to feel sorry for them. "Fine, I'll do you a favor and teach you. Come with me!"

So late at night, Xu's mother and daughter-in-law were still teaching them how to process the eighty catties of pork fat: "After the water boils, put it in to blanch it once and take it out. Don't throw away the dirty water."

Wash the pot thoroughly, pour in the cleaned pork fat, add some water, scallions, and ginger. Bring it to a boil over high heat, and once the fat has rendered, reduce the heat to low and simmer slowly. It will be ready very quickly.

While they were rendering the oil, Wei Daya taught them to identify the varieties of vegetables and how to eat them.

The whole yard smelled wonderful when the lard was being rendered. The rich aroma made everyone's mouths water, and they all stared intently at the pot.

Madam Xu laughed and said, "You have to get used to it. Do you know what the front yard is used for? It's for making guokui (a type of flatbread). They start working at dawn, and the smell is so strong it can wake you up. You can't resist it!"

A group of people nodded hurriedly.

The lard was almost rendered, and Wei Daya brought over a large earthenware jar.

Xu scooped out all the cracklings and then poured the clear, bright lard into an earthenware jar, saying, "After it cools down, the lard will slowly solidify into a white color. Seal the jar and set it aside. You can take it out whenever you need it."

These pork cracklings can be chopped up and used to make steamed buns or pancakes with cabbage. I'll have my eldest daughter-in-law teach you how.

Wei Daya immediately demonstrated it to them.

She didn't use all of the oil residue.

Making steamed buns requires proofing the dough, which is quite troublesome. Since the oil pan hadn't been washed yet, Wei Daya taught them how to make pancakes.

Seeing how efficiently Wei Daya worked, everyone was incredibly envious and secretly vowed to be as diligent and efficient as her.

Once a pot of pancakes was ready, Xu and Wei Daya turned to leave.

Yu Mei hurriedly asked, "Aren't you staying for dinner?"

Xu waved her hand, "We've already eaten, and we need to go back and rest now. You should also go to sleep after you finish eating so you can be in good spirits to work well."

"Our village is good; as long as you work hard, you won't have to worry about not having a good life."

Yu Mei and the others had long since stopped doubting this. Their master not only provided them with clean, unpatched clothes, but also with soft, warm fabrics. Now, he was sending them flour, oil, and vegetables. They were living like the wealthy families in Qiongzi Town.

Seeing that Xu Shi and Wei Daya had left, Yu Mei closed the backyard door.

When she returned and saw that no one had started eating, she instinctively asked, "Why aren't you eating?"

"I've been waiting for you!" Chi Sanhua said with a smile.

Yu Mei laughed, "No need to wait, eat quickly so we can get back to work. I see there's still some oil in the pot, how about we boil some water, make some vegetable soup, and add some dumplings for the younger kids?"

It's fine for the adults and older children to eat pancakes, but a one-year-old baby can't eat much of them and can't digest them.

Chi Sanhua and Chi Zhaodi had no choice but to express their gratitude once again.

The meal felt like a New Year's celebration. Everyone had a flatbread and a bowl of noodle soup, enough to make them never forget it.

Arranging rooms for sleeping was also a problem. In the end, the older boys slept in one room, the girls in another, and the younger children slept with the women, for a total of four rooms.

The beds in the private rooms are all custom-made, larger than ordinary beds, and quite spacious.

Everyone lay down and quickly fell asleep. The next day, Yu Mei woke up at dawn and went from room to room to wake everyone up to wash up.

The moment everyone stepped out of the room and smelled the aroma of the guokui (a type of flatbread), their minds started racing.

Yu Mei said, "I don't know when the workshop in the front yard started working. I smelled the aroma as soon as I woke up. There are noodles cooking in the pot. Hurry up, we'll go see the master, mistress, young master and young lady after we finish eating."

Without delay, Chi Zhaodi and Chi Sanhua carried the youngest child on their backs, and after tidying up, they led the other children away from the backyard.

When they reached the front yard, the rich aroma almost made the children unable to move.

The five women quickly reminded her to greet Wei Daya, whom they had met the previous night.

Wei Daya reminded her, "Xiaotai usually gets up between 5:30 and 7:00 AM. You can wait outside and go over when you hear the door open."

Shi Danu went over and took a look. Seeing that the gate was indeed tightly closed, she led the people over to sit and wait at Su Tai's door.

When the villagers who got up early to go to the fields saw this scene, they all came forward to ask. In less than half an hour, the whole Shenjiazhuang knew that Shen Yisu had bought twenty servants, including some innocent babies.

Some busybodies came to inquire about their situation and learned that these women and children had returned with Su Tai and Shen Yi because they were on the verge of starvation.

They all praised Su Tai and Shen Yi for their benevolence and righteousness.

After all, what family would buy a baby who can't even walk yet? Putting aside everything else, a child definitely can't do anything before the age of four or five. What's the point of raising them for so many years?
Only someone with a kind heart would do such a thing.

The villagers reminded them to be grateful, and the group nodded repeatedly, responding with trepidation.

When Shen Yi opened the door, he saw the villagers lecturing the servants they had bought for his family. He was taken aback for a moment, then quickly greeted them.

The villager replied with a few words, then took his leave once he saw that Shen Yi was awake.

Shen Yi said to Yu Mei and the others, "I'm going to the county. You all go in first and follow Madam's instructions."

"Yes!"

Shen Yi led his horse into the workshop, picked up several bags of guokui (a type of flatbread), mounted his horse, and rode away.

Su Tai stepped out of the bathroom and casually asked, "Have you all eaten?"

Everyone nodded.

"What did you eat?"

Yu Mei dared not hide anything and recounted in detail what they had eaten from last night until now.

Su Tai smiled slightly and gestured to Shi Daniu and the others to bring over four long benches.

"Please sit down for a while, and I'll have a proper talk with you." Su Tai sat down in the armchair and began slowly, "I heard from my second aunt that you don't know how to cook, but I need two or three cooks who can cook, one to be in charge of laundry and cleaning, and one to be in charge of supervising the work in the fields."

These things may seem to be arranged in order of difficulty at first glance, but in reality, they all have a lot of intricacies and require you to remember a lot of things, such as cooking. There are many kinds of food: home-cooked dishes, elaborate dishes for entertaining guests, food for children, food for adults, and desserts and pastries. A person may be able to cook elaborate dishes, but he/she may not be able to cook desserts and pastries well.

Like the chefs in restaurants, they've all worked hard for over a decade to earn their positions.

For example, there are specific requirements for washing clothes made of different materials, as well as for bedding. In addition, you need to learn some needlework, have some aesthetic sense, and be meticulous in cleaning, leaving no corner untouched. There are also different requirements for cleaning different places. In addition, you are responsible for the cleanliness of the sheep pen and cattle shed, which is a major task.

Working in the fields is even more difficult. Our family owns hundreds of acres of land, and now we have to hire villagers to help. The person in charge not only has to do the farm work but also supervise the workers; it's no easy task.

Upon hearing this, the five women turned pale, and a hint of fear crept in, because they had underestimated the situation! (End of Chapter)