A fierce wife enters the house: She helps up a house full of spineless people.

Immediately, everyone in the courtyard was vying to pay.

"Jinzhu, you have to keep this money!" Chen Wangda was the first to slam the copper coin on the table. "We've taken advantage of you enough. If you don't pay me back, I, Chen Wangda, will never have the face to speak to you again."

Wang Gui's wife quickly pulled a cloth bag from her sleeve: "Yes, yes, just name your price, not a penny less."

Seeing everyone's sincerity, Wang Jinzhu felt a warmth in her heart, but she did not refuse. She said loudly, "Since everyone trusts me, I will accept the money for the rice. Let's calculate it at the old price before the price increase, as a way for me to thank Young Master Liu on everyone's behalf for his kindness."

The price before the price increase was thirty coins per dou.

The price outside has already reached 100 coins and is still climbing.

The courtyard was quiet for a moment, then erupted into chaos.

"Golden Pearl!" Chen Wangda slapped his thigh hard. "Alright, I, Chen Wangda, will remember this for the rest of my life."

"We're all from the same village, so there's no need for formalities." Wang Jinzhu smiled and immediately got to work. "Big brother, second brother, you take your men and distribute the grain according to the number of people in each family. Just give me the money later."

The men immediately sprang into action, carrying bags of grain into the center of the yard.

The women gathered together to calculate how many people were in your family and how many kilograms you should receive.

Soon, the grain was distributed according to the number of people in each family, and the money was handed over to Wang Jinzhu without missing a single penny.

As night fell, the aroma of food wafted from under the eaves of every house.

Children ran wildly in the yard with bowls in their hands, while adults wore contented smiles. The aroma of rice wafted from every doorway, a comforting scent that only came from the grain once it was safely stored in their own rice bins.

"Jinzhu, we owe you so much, otherwise we would still be worrying about what to eat tomorrow!" Wang Guilan said, touching her stomach with a look of lingering fear.

Wang Jinzhu put down her chopsticks and said seriously, "Grain can only solve the immediate problem. For so many of us, we still have to rely on the land in the long run. I found out today that a mu of good paddy field in the suburbs can be bought for less than eight liang, and dry land for about five liang, which is only half the price of previous years."

"So cheap?" Wang Dali's eyes lit up.

"It's cheap, but it's true that times aren't peaceful." Wang Jinzhu looked at everyone. "So what I mean is, everyone should act according to their means and not be greedy. While prices are low, each family should buy two or three acres of fertile land, that will be enough. If something happens, this amount of capital can be lost; if things settle down, this will be the foundation for a stable life."

"Jinzhu is right!"

"Less is more, better is better, and more reliable!"

"Since everyone agrees, let's go see the land first thing tomorrow morning. Just look, don't buy, we'll discuss it again when we get back," Wang Jinzhu made the arrangement decisively.

"Okay!" Wang Dali made the decision.

The next morning, Wang Dali, along with Wang Tianfang, Chen Wangda, and a few others, headed straight for the largest brokerage firm in the city.

The broker's manager looked distressed, but when they entered, he was so enthusiastic that he wanted to brew tea for them.

"Gentlemen, the paddy fields south of the city used to cost at least eight taels per mu, but now they're only five taels! The dry land west of the city is even cheaper, three and a half taels! If you buy in bulk, we can discuss it further!"

Wang Dali rubbed his hands together and looked back at Wang Tianfang.

Wang Tianfang shook his head and lowered his voice: "Jinzhu said that we'll only watch today."

Wang Dali gritted his teeth and forced his hand back.

They spent the entire day following the real estate agent, scouting every available plot of land in the suburbs. Upon their return and hearing the report, Wang Jinzhu immediately made a decision: "Buy dry land in the west of the city, three taels and five fen per mu, close to us. Two or three mu for each family, and we'll make sure we have enough for six months' worth of food."

The next day, several men went to the dental clinic together to complete the formalities.

Holding the land deed stamped with the official red seal in his hand, Wang Dali looked at it over and over three times, his eyes reddening.

"I have land..." he murmured, "At least I have land now."

Chen Wangda clutched his family's contract, his fingers trembling slightly. After fleeing such a long way and losing so many people, they finally had roots again.

With land and grain, life will begin to turn around.

Wang Jinzhu cleared out a room in the west wing of the backyard to use as a temporary workshop. Cutting boards, stone mortars, porcelain jars, and grease were unloaded from the oxcart and arranged one by one.

Those who came out together were all experienced veterans, and they worked extremely quickly, some grinding flour, others rendering oil. Wang Guilan took care of the children and cooked for Chen Yuxiang.

"Sister-in-law, how finely should these petals be ground?" Chen Tianwei asked, holding a stone mortar.

"Sieve it twice, and it's done when you can rub it between your fingers without feeling any grains." Wang Jinzhu didn't even look up, as she was stirring the paste in the pot with a bamboo skewer, trying to adjust a new ratio.

She was working on something new—a perfume balm.

Unlike face creams and lip balms, perfume balms are solid, and a small jar can be carried in your sleeve for easy application anytime. The ingredients are more refined, and the price is naturally higher.

In chaotic times, ordinary people can't even get enough to eat, and cheap daily necessities don't sell. But the rich continue to spend their money without hesitation.

She tried three recipes, chose the one that smelled the best, pressed it into a round shape with a mold, and put it into a small porcelain box the size of her palm.

Upon opening the lid, a delicate floral fragrance wafts out.

Zhou Xifeng leaned closer to take a sniff, her eyes lighting up: "Jinzhu, this smells amazing! It smells even better than the perfumes we used to make!"

"It smells good, that's good." Wang Jinzhu closed the box. "Once we make a batch, we'll send a few boxes to Fuyinghao first, so that Young Master Liu's people can test the waters."

The backyard was bustling with activity, and the front yard was just as busy.

Chen Tianrun hadn't found a suitable school in the prefectural city yet. With war looming, many schools had closed, and the tuition fees for the remaining ones had more than doubled. Wang Jinzhu told him not to rush, to study at home, and to wait until the situation became clearer.

Chen Tianrun is a person who can't sit still.

In his spare time, he would gather the children in the courtyard together, set up a broken table in the main room, and use a twig dipped in water to teach them to recognize characters on a stone slab.

There are six students in total.

Xiao Cao and Hu Zi sat at the front, their eyes fixed on the stone slab. Chen Tianrun would write a character, and Xiao Cao would mimic it on the ground, muttering to himself, seemingly able to remember it perfectly. Hu Zi remained silent, but the next morning, when he casually tested Xiao Cao, he could remember eight out of ten characters.

"These two children are really smart," Chen Tianrun remarked to Wang Jinzhu. "Especially Xiaocao; if she were a boy, she could easily have passed the imperial examination and become a scholar."

Sitting in the back row were Wang Gui's Big Mountain and Wang Shun's Little Mountain.

The two children were of average intelligence, able to memorize something after learning it three times, but they were diligent. Every time Chen Tianrun finished teaching them, they would stay behind to practice repeatedly, writing and erasing on the slate, then writing again.

"Master, I've memorized this word!" Da Shan raised his hand, his face full of excitement.

Chen Tianrun smiled and nodded: "Not bad, I'll teach you two new ones tomorrow."

Da Shan and Xiao Shan cheered and ran out to show off to their parents. Wang Gui's wife, hearing this, looked at Wang Jinzhu with tears in her eyes. Her family had been illiterate for generations, and they had never dreamed that their own children would have the opportunity to study and learn to read.

Then there were the two sitting in the corner—Wang Jinbao's two nephews, Wang Yuxuan and Wang Yu'an.

Chen Tianrun initially had high hopes for the two boys, after all, they were his sister-in-law's nephews. His sister-in-law was so smart, how could the two boys be so stupid?

result--

"Yuxuan, how do you write the character for 'meat'? I just taught you yesterday."

Wang Yuxuan, seven years old, was chubby and fair-skinned. His eyes lit up at the words, and he drooled, "Braised! It has to be stewed until very tender, with the skin on!"

Chen Tianrun took a deep breath and said patiently, "I'm asking you how to write it, not how to eat it!"

"Oh." Wang Yuxuan picked up a twig and drew a large square on the ground. "Meat! Braised pork!"

Five-year-old Wang Yu'an, who had been squatting on the ground watching ants, immediately looked up and asked, "Meat? Are we having meat today?"

Chen Tianrun fell silent.

All they think about is food, no wonder they're raised to be fair-skinned and strong, just like their father.

During dinner, Chen Tianrun subtly reported the "teaching results" to Wang Jinzhu.

Wang Jinzhu didn't even stop eating, calmly saying, "Let Yuxuan and Yu'an go with them. They can recognize as many as they can. If all else fails, they can learn to slaughter pigs from my older brother and they won't starve."

Chen Tianrun: "..."