They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 18 Money, Lots of Money

When Xu Zhichun added the lye water and stirred it, he intentionally avoided Liang Mingliang.

When Xu Zhichun said that, Zeng Xiaoyan and Aunt Zhu'er suddenly remembered the confidentiality agreement. They were both secretly scared, and in their excitement, they almost forgot about the need to keep it a secret.

After all, their husbands are very close to them. The teachings they received from childhood instilled in them the idea that their husbands are their pillars of support and their reliance. They had never even considered deliberately hiding the fact that their husbands were their husbands.

But things are different now. Today, I'm actually earning money through my own hard work, and I must say, the feeling of being triumphant and full of confidence is just wonderful.

Even a husband cannot take away this feeling.

Zeng Xiaoyan immediately glared at Liang Mingliang: "This is our secret, you're not allowed to ask. How can we tell you the secret to making money for nothing?"

Who doesn't keep their money-making secrets hidden away, or even pass them down only to the eldest son?
Xu Zhichun was willing to help Zeng Xiaoyan and Aunt Zhu'er make money together, and not only the two of them, but their two families were extremely grateful.

Upon hearing this, Liang Mingliang felt embarrassed and ashamed. He quickly apologized to Xu Zhichun with a smile, "I'm sorry, Sister-in-law Zhichun, I didn't mean it. I was just curious. Please don't tell me, please don't tell me. I will never ask again."

All three of them laughed.

Xu Zhichun laughed and said, "It's alright, it's alright. I know what kind of person Brother Liang is."

The awareness of confidentiality must be passed on gradually and subtly.

They worked busily until dusk, and after completing their preliminary work, the three went home.

Xu Zhichun rubbed his aching back, stretched his arms, took out a can of soda from the harbor warehouse to refresh himself, ate two pieces of chocolate, and then, full of energy, began to give the chickens and two pigs extra food.

Just as the evidence was destroyed, Liang Mingxuan returned, carrying a bundle of pig feed as usual.

"Sister-in-law!"

"Mingxuan is back, take a rest."

"Ah."

Liang Mingxuan immediately noticed the pots and buckets placed in the kitchen and living room. "Sister-in-law, you've worked hard."

"It's not hard work, it's not hard work, I made money today!" Xu Zhichun was definitely going to tell him. This family consisted of just the two of them, and she held the title of the eldest sister-in-law, so she didn't need to be wary of him.

Hearing Xu Zhichun say that he had made so much money, Liang Mingxuan's eyes widened in shock.

The usually composed child's face once again showed a childlike surprise.

Xu Zhichun chuckled contentedly, "Isn't sister-in-law amazing?"

"Yes, sister-in-law is amazing!"

"Is your sister-in-law the most amazing sister-in-law in the whole village?"

The child was amused and nodded vigorously: "Sister-in-law is the most amazing sister-in-law in the whole village."

Xu Zhichun laughed and reached out to pinch the child's cheek. The child turned his head away in silent protest, "Sister-in-law."

He's not a child anymore, don't pinch his cheeks.

Xu Zhichun chuckled, but felt a little regretful that the little guy wouldn't let her pinch him.

For dinner, we had stir-fried eggs with chives and stir-fried eggplant with garlic.

Xu Zhichun thought to herself that after selling everything tomorrow, she must buy a few pounds of meat and another twenty or thirty chicks. She could raise them, slaughter them, and eat them for meat. Anyway, she could afford to raise them.

However, this means the chicken coop won't be enough, so we'll have to build another one. Uncle Qitian should be able to do it.

Not long after the uncle and aunt finished dinner, Aunt Zhu'er arrived carrying buckets and basins.

The ice jelly doesn't need to be made tonight; the fresher the better. Xu Zhichun can make it early tomorrow morning.

Tonight, all they need to do is make the konjac tofu and konjac noodles. They have enough konjac paste, but Xu Zhichun still added about two pounds of konjac powder, which will make at least ten more pounds of konjac tofu.

Let's make it first and see what happens. It's okay if we can't sell it all; we can take it home and eat it ourselves.

Tomorrow I can add powder when making ice jelly, and save some agar seeds so I can use them whenever I want.

The headman's house.

Zeng Xiaoyan and her husband went back together and went to find Aunt Liang to give her money, while also telling her how good business was that day. Of course, they repeatedly reminded her to keep it a secret.

Aunt Liang was a little dumbfounded when she saw the third son and his wife proudly handing her a heavy bag of copper coins. She couldn't help but ask, "This is—what did you earn together today? Why did you bring it all back? Did Zhichun and your Aunt Zhu ask us to keep it for now? And then divide it up at the end of the month?"

The couple burst out laughing.

"Mother, what are you saying? These are all ours."

"Yeah, that's all from what we earned today! We'll still earn more tomorrow and the day after, hehe!"

"What!" Aunt Liang's hand trembled, and she almost collapsed. "You...you're telling the truth?"

Why don't you believe it?

She couldn't help but ask again, "Did you find some money today?"

Zeng Xiaoyan covered her mouth and chuckled, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

Liang Mingliang grinned so wide his mouth almost reached his ears, "Mom, this money is what we earned. What are you dreaming of? Who could find so much money on the street!"

Zeng Xiaoyan smiled and said, "I think Mother is right. This money is practically the same as if it were found on the street."

After all, konjac and lantern fruit can both be found on the mountain.

The couple talked for a while before Aunt Liang finally believed them, her heart pounding with fear. She exclaimed with joy, "This is wonderful! You two are really promising. Keep up the good work!"

"Don't worry, Mother, we will. Don't tell anyone else about this except Father. Just say we earned twenty or thirty coins."

"Okay, okay, I know, I know. We shouldn't flaunt our wealth. Of course, I can't say that."

Aunt Liang counted out sixty coins as usual and gave them to the two of them, saying, "Take them and keep them yourselves."

Excluding the ten coins for renting the oxcart, the two earned a total of one hundred and seventy coins. They kept sixty coins for themselves and took one hundred and ten coins from the public account.

Zeng Xiaoyan smiled and put it away.

Sixty coins a day, that adds up to quite a bit over a month. She won't even need to look at the price when buying snacks anymore, making Zhao Shi incredibly envious.

Aunt Liang was so happy that she asked for five eggs to be cracked open that evening, and added lots of chives to make a stir-fried egg with chives.

They ate half a chicken yesterday, and today they have eggs. Even though the village head's family is well-off, they don't usually do this, so everyone was quite surprised.

Aunt Liang said with a smile, "The third son and his wife made some money today, so let's have something good to eat to celebrate."

Zhao hurriedly smiled and said, "I wonder how much my third brother and sister-in-law earned? Was the ten coins for renting the oxcart calculated separately?"

Zeng Xiaoyan rolled her eyes without any politeness.

Zhao is really annoying!

Aunt Liang's gaze darkened slightly, and she said calmly, "No matter how much you've earned, you haven't shortchanged me a single penny. Alright, let's eat."

Zhao was unhappy, but she just pursed her lips and didn't say anything more.

She thought to herself, "They probably don't have much money. Otherwise, wouldn't my mother-in-law have been showing off like this already?" She continued, "My mother-in-law is so biased. She favors her third son and his wife. Even if that lazy couple earns a single copper coin, my mother-in-law is overjoyed and gives them extra food and celebrations. Ugh, it's infuriating."

(End of this chapter)