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

Chapter 440 More People Needed
Lu Xiang feigned anger and complained, "I've been waiting for you to come home day and night, I can't eat or drink, but you, on the other hand, are only thinking about those gold and silver things, you don't remember me at all!"

Shen Yuezhang blinked her beautiful eyes innocently, looked Lu Xiang up and down several times, and said in a clear voice, "Sister Xiang, I think you've gotten a little rounder these past few days. Why don't you want to eat or drink?"

"Pfft!" Tang spat out the tea in her mouth, and following Shen Yuezhang's words, looked at Lu Xiang, her eyebrows furrowed in anger, "Lu Xiang! Did you sneak into the kitchen to eat again in the middle of the night?"

"I didn't!" Lu Xiang retorted without thinking, but dared not meet Tang's gaze.

The result was that Tang punished him by making him copy the precepts and instructions for women.

Shen Yuezhang followed her back to her room, and seeing her dejected look, secretly took out a small cake.

Lu Xiang's eyes immediately lit up again.

Shen Yuezhang gestured for silence. "Don't make a sound. Save it for when you're full. Let's copy the book now! I'll keep you company!"

"Yuezhang, you're so kind!" Lu Xiang was moved to tears.

Shen Yuezhang retorted, "You're not angry with me? If I hadn't called you out in front of your aunt, you might not have been punished today!"

Lu Xiang sighed, "Even if you don't say anything, my mother will still punish me because I really did steal some food!"

Shen Yuezhang: "."

"Didn't your aunt feed you enough? Why are you sneaking food in the middle of the night!" Shen Yuezhang said, unable to understand.

Lu Xiang looked distressed. "You don't understand. I'm still growing, and I get hungry again soon after eating. But my mother says that women shouldn't be fat, or they won't be able to get married. She's afraid I'll become a big fat girl, so she won't let me eat this or touch that."

I originally wanted to go to Qingfengzhai to see you, but she wouldn't allow it, saying that if I went there I wouldn't be able to control myself from talking so much. Waaah, I'm so miserable!

"It really does look quite tragic!" Shen Yuezhang expressed deep sympathy for Lu Xiang's plight.

Lu Xiang looked at her slender figure with envy, and asked with red eyes, "Good sister, aren't you hungry? Or are you not eating enough? Or does your mother not give you enough to eat like my mother? Look at your figure, you're only half my size, so delicate and frail. My mother said I have to be like you."

Shen Yuezhang tilted his head, his eyes filled with confusion.

Chunxing couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" Lu Xiang asked, displeased.

Chunxing hurriedly knelt down to explain, "Miss Lu, my young lady really has nothing to do with Fufeng Ruoliu. She can knock this servant away with one punch."

"Nonsense!" Lu Xiang was furious.

Chunxing was so frightened that she dared not utter another sound.

Shen Yuezhang waved his hand, "You can go out now."

Chunxing felt as if she had been granted a pardon and quickly left the room.

Lu Xiang said, "Sister Yuezhang is too lenient with the servants. This won't do!"

Shen Yuezhang chuckled and shook his head. "What she said is not wrong. I am not as delicate as a willow in the wind. The reason I am thin is because I am very active. Even if I eat more, it will not have any effect. If you do not want to gain weight after eating, you can learn boxing or exercise from me. These are things that my parents taught me."

Upon hearing that she could eat without gaining weight, Lu Xiang immediately said she wanted to learn.

The two spent the day practicing calligraphy and boxing. Tang Shi was very supportive of her daughter learning boxing from Shen Yuezhang, and she turned a blind eye to Shen Yuezhang secretly sending snacks to Lu Xiang. She even wrote a letter to Su Tai, telling her about these things as a joke.

At this time, Su Tai, escorted by bodyguards and accompanied by Xu Shi, Shen Liang, and Mei from Shenzhuang, arrived in Qiongzi again.

Upon seeing the group, Yu Xinghai, the village chief of Xiaogang Village, quickly invited them home and respectfully served them tea.

"Madam Shen, what brings you here today?"

As they were talking, Yu Xinghai noticed Yu Mei standing next to Su Tai. In the six months since they last met, Yu Mei seemed to have undergone a complete transformation. Not only did she have a better complexion, but her eyes had also changed, and she looked several years younger.

It seems they are living quite well in the Shen family.

Thinking of this, Yu Xinghai's smile widened even further.

Seeing his attentive demeanor, Su Tai didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "Village Chief Yu, the number of people I asked you for before was still too few. I've come here this time hoping you can help me ask if there are any people in the nearby villages who are willing to sell themselves to me."

The requirements remain the same as before: as long as they are honest, hardworking, and not cunning, I need at least twenty people.

Yu Xinghai was shocked. They had only taken twenty people with them in the spring, and now they wanted another twenty. It was clear that the Shen family was truly powerful and wealthy.

He dared not be ambiguous. "Madam Shen, all the honest men in our village who were willing to sell themselves have gone with you. The rest are not worth looking at. I will go to a few neighboring villages to inquire for you."

When Yu Mei returns this time, the villagers will surely be tempted by her appearance. Many families will probably want to sell themselves like Yu Mei to live a better life. Such a person would definitely not meet Su Tai's requirements.

Su Tai nodded in satisfaction, "Then I'll trouble Village Chief Yu. If it's a woman, it's four taels; if it's a child, it's two taels; and if it's a man, it's six taels."

Yu Xinghai carefully noted down Su Tai's words and hurried out to take care of them.

His wife cooked for Su Tai and the others, and Yu Mei went over to help.

Yu Xinghai's wife immediately inquired about everyone's situation, "Were you bullied in Langya Kingdom? Do people look down on people from Qiongzi?"

Yu Mei shook her head. "We sold ourselves to the Shen family. We just need to do what our master tells us to do. Our master's rule is to talk less and ask less, listen more and do more. We don't usually talk to the villagers. In addition, our master's family has a high status in the village, so we servants also benefit from it. There is no situation where we are bullied."

Upon hearing Yu Mei's words, Yu Xinghai's wife couldn't help but feel envious. "Look at the clothes and shoes you're wearing now, they're better than mine. You won't be bullied over there, it's much better than staying here. What about your son? How is he doing now?"

"It's fine," Yu Mei replied with a smile, without saying much more.

Yu Xinghai's wife could only keep quiet because she couldn't find out anything, but she was increasingly envious.

In the evening, Yu Xinghai returned to the village, greeting the villagers along the way. When he arrived home, he couldn't wait to see Su Tai. "Madam Shen, I have already told the village chiefs of the other villages about your instructions. To be honest, every village has poor people who are about to die."

I've explained the pros and cons to them, emphasizing your requirements. They'll bring the candidates over tomorrow so you can choose for yourself.

"Thank you for your hard work, Village Chief Yu." Su Tai gave Yu Xinghai one tael of silver as a token of her gratitude.

Yu Xinghai took the money and grinned from ear to ear before leaving the room.

After the man left, Madam Xu said excitedly, "Xiao Tai, tomorrow you can help us take a look. If they are suitable, our family will buy five or six people to help us."

She hadn't had these thoughts before, but ever since Su Tai bought people, she saw Su Tai arrange household affairs to the servants and free herself up, and gradually she started to have these thoughts too.