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

Wang Jinzhu put aside her regrets about sanitary napkins, straightened her fox fur cloak, turned and left the paper mill, heading straight back to the palace.

As soon as they stepped into the reception room, they heard bursts of hearty laughter coming from inside. The room was warm and cozy, and Li Zheng, Liu Mingyuan, and others were chatting enthusiastically with Wang Tianfang, mostly about the earth-shaking changes in Xiahe Village.

Meanwhile, Wang Yunfan, Wang Yunshu, Liu Jinghong, and Li Jingyue, these little guys, had obviously already explored the entire village. At this moment, they sat properly in the chairs at the lower end, holding hot tea and listening obediently to the adults' lively conversation.

"Jinzhu's back." Li Zheng, with his sharp eyes, saw Wang Jinzhu enter and immediately stopped talking with a smile, his eyes full of admiration. "I just heard Tianfang talk about your many ingenious ideas for the veterans' industrial park, and I'm really itching to go in! I wonder if I could go in and broaden my horizons now?"

Wang Jinzhu took off her cloak and handed it to a maid standing nearby, smiling as she stepped forward and said, "Uncle Li, what are you saying? Which of these veterans in Xiahe Village wasn't trained by you? It's their good fortune that you want to see them. Come, let me take everyone inside!"

Upon hearing this, everyone got up, put on thick winter clothes, and followed Wang Jinzhu out of the palace.

Instead of taking a horse-drawn carriage, the group walked leisurely along the wide, smooth blue brick road in the village towards the veterans' industrial park at the end of the village. Along the way, Li Zheng looked at the neat and uniform courtyards on both sides and the smiles on the faces of the villagers, nodding in approval repeatedly.

Before long, the group arrived at the entrance of the Veterans Industrial Park.

At the gate, several retired soldiers of the Po Lu Army stood guard. Seeing Wang Jinzhu leading Li Zheng and the others approach, the guards were initially startled, then suddenly straightened their backs, their faces flushed with excitement, and shouted at the top of their lungs, "Greetings, General! Greetings, Madam! Greetings, General Wang!"

"Good brother, you've worked hard!" Li Zheng stepped forward and patted the guard on the shoulder, his eyes slightly warm.

"General, you flatter us! It is our honor to guard the gate for the lady!" The guard grinned and immediately opened the heavy gate wide, respectfully letting them pass.

Upon entering the industrial park, a vibrant and bustling atmosphere immediately greets you, a stark contrast to the biting winter chill outside.

"Uncle Li, everyone, this way please." Wang Jinzhu walked in front and introduced them as if they were old friends.

The industrial park is now much larger than it was originally planned. In addition to the existing textile workshops, breweries, dyeing workshops, and papermaking workshops, Wang Jinzhu has added a pen and ink workshop, a soap workshop, and a workshop specializing in the production of perfumes, lip balms, and face creams in the past few months.

Rows of spacious and bright factory buildings are arranged in an orderly fashion, with each workshop having a clear division of labor and not interfering with the others. Workers pushing wheelbarrows to transport raw materials and finished products can be seen moving between them from time to time, busy but orderly.

"Currently, the number of workers in the industrial park has exceeded one thousand," Wang Jinzhu said, pointing to the busy crowd ahead. "Most of them are family members of retired veterans, and a small portion are hardworking and reliable villagers recruited from the surrounding villages. After the New Year, the scale will be expanded further."

Li Zheng, Liu Mingyuan, and the others were secretly shocked. A workshop complex with more than a thousand people was a unique and massive industry in the entire Daliang!

After visiting the workshop complex, Wang Jinzhu led everyone out of the industrial park and walked about half a mile west to the area where the dormitories and school were located.

This place covers more than ten acres, with five two-story brick and wood dormitory buildings rising from the ground, each floor with ten rooms, spacious and bright.

"These are for the single workers, or those who haven't been assigned to a dormitory yet." Wang Jinzhu pushed open the door of a dormitory room, where neat bunk beds were arranged, the bedding was folded squarely, and a heater was on, making it clean and warm.

Next to the dormitory was a two-story school. The first floor had five spacious classrooms, with neatly arranged desks and chairs visible through the windows. Outside the school was a large, flat playground for the children to run, jump, and play, and the teachers' quarters were also well-arranged.

"Excellent! Excellent!" Li Zheng looked at the school, his beard trembling with excitement. "The veterans have a livelihood, and the children have books to read. This is true peace and prosperity! Jinzhu, you have rendered an unparalleled service to the Great Liang!"

Wang Jinzhu smiled modestly, looked up at the sky, and said, "Uncle Li, everyone, it's already lunchtime. Let's skip the banquet at the Wang Mansion today and have a taste of the workers' meals in the industrial park's canteen. How about that?"

"I couldn't be happier!" Li Zheng laughed heartily. "I've eaten communal meals in the military my whole life; I'd love to see what the food is like in your industrial park!"

The group moved to the canteen. The canteen was extremely spacious, capable of accommodating two hundred people at a time. It was lunchtime, and the workers were queuing up for their meals in an orderly fashion.

Wang Jinzhu had a large round table arranged, and soon steaming hot dishes were served. There were both meat and vegetables, including large chunks of braised pork stewed with potatoes, cabbage and vermicelli stewed with tofu, as well as steamed white flour buns and hot bone broth. Although it wasn't anything fancy, it was plentiful and filling, and very juicy.

"This food is no worse than what I had in my military camp!" Li Zheng took a big bite of a white steamed bun, picked up a piece of braised pork and stuffed it into his mouth, eating with his mouth full of oil, and repeatedly gave a thumbs up.

The group sat around a large round table, enjoying the steaming hot food, listening to the cheerful laughter of the workers in the canteen, and feeling the vibrant life of Xiahe Village. Everyone's heart was filled with boundless expectations for the future.

The meal was a delight for both host and guests; the hearty and fragrant communal cooking drew praise from everyone.

After the meal, it was getting dark. Li Zheng, along with Li Jing'an, Wei Shuyao, Li Bing, and others, traveled back to the capital by carriage with Liu Mingyuan and his son.

Wang Jinzhu and Wang Tianfang stayed behind.

Having made a rare trip to Xiahe Village, Wang Jinzhu felt a great sense of accomplishment looking at the newly built village. She decided to stay at the Wang Mansion in Xiahe Village for the night with Yun Shu, Yun Fan, and the pageboy Gu Chang'an, and also to sort out the matters in the workshop.

Manager Feng An was very perceptive. As soon as he heard that his masters wanted to stay, he immediately selected a few people to quickly clean up the entire mansion, making sure the charcoal braziers burned brightly and the beds were thick and warm.

As night fell and the cold wind howled outside, the main hall of the Prince's mansion was brightly lit and warm.

After finishing work at the workshop, Wang Yinbao returned to the Wang Mansion with his two sons, Wang Yuxuan and Wang Yu'an. The family sat together, drinking hot tea and chatting casually, creating a particularly warm atmosphere.

Feng An was serving tea and water. Wang Jinzhu looked at Old Feng, who had been transferred from the General's Mansion and had always worked diligently, and smiled, pointing to the chair next to her: "Old Feng, don't bother, sit down and have some tea."

Feng An was flattered and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Madam, you flatter this old servant. There is no place for an old servant in front of your master."

"Sit down when I tell you to. We don't have that many rigid rules in our family." Wang Jinzhu's tone was gentle but left no room for argument.

Feng An then carefully sat down, half-adjacent to the chair at the lower end.

Wang Jinzhu looked at him with admiration in her eyes: "Old Feng, you've really worked hard these past few days. Not only have you managed the Prince's Mansion in the capital so well, but you've also been running around, helping to coordinate the construction of Xiahe Village and many other trivial matters in the workshops."

"It is my honor to serve you, Madam, and I dare not complain of hardship," Feng An replied respectfully.

Wang Jinzhu smiled and changed the subject: "The houses in Xiahe Village are all built now. Why don't you choose a courtyard house in the village as well? It'll be more convenient to travel back and forth, and you'll have a spacious place to stay here."

Feng An was stunned, clearly not expecting that he, a servant, would be allocated such a well-maintained courtyard house. He had personally witnessed Xiahe Village transform from a dilapidated wasteland into its current prosperous state under the madam's management. The houses there were spacious, bright, and exquisitely designed—many people envied them!

"Madam... this old servant also has a share?" Feng An's voice trembled slightly.

"Of course you deserve a share. You've worked so hard for Xiahe Village, you deserve it." Wang Jinzhu nodded with a smile. "Tomorrow, go and take a look around the village and pick out a set that catches your eye."

Feng An's eyes reddened with emotion, and he quickly rose and bowed deeply: "This old servant thanks Madam for her kindness!"

As they were talking, footsteps came from outside the door. It turned out that Cheng Dezhu, the manager of the dye house, had finished his work and, having learned that Wang Jinzhu and Wang Tianfang were staying in Xiahe Village that night, had come to pay his respects.