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

Manager Sun arrived even faster than Wang Jinzhu had expected; his voice rang out before he even got out of the car.

"Sister-in-law! My cousin, Manager Liu of the 'Fuying' shop in Yongning County, wants one hundred yuan!"

"One hundred yuan?" Wang Jinzhu paused for a moment as she was cutting soapberries.

Shopkeeper Sun pulled a letter from his pocket, unfolded it, and handed it over: "It's in black and white, a deposit of one tael, which I've brought for you. He said each of the three types of fragrance costs thirty taels, and you can add the remaining ten taels as you like. The balance is due upon delivery, not a penny less."

Wang Jinzhu took the letter, read it once, and then weighed the ingot of silver in her hand.

What about the delivery date?

He said within twenty days.

Wang Jinzhu quickly did the math in her head. One hundred bars of soap, plus the daily orders from Shopkeeper Sun in town, meant at least one hundred and fifty bars needed to be prepared. At the current production capacity, she, Chen Tianfang, Wang Xiaobao, and Chen Tianwei could produce sixty bars in ten days. All things considered, that would be just under twenty days.

"Okay. But let me make this clear first: these soaps need to be dried for the required number of days, not even a day less. If you need to expedite the delivery, I'd rather deliver late than ruin my reputation."

"I understand, I understand!" Manager Sun nodded repeatedly. "My cousin is also in business; quality is his top priority."

After seeing Manager Sun off, Wang Jinzhu locked the deposit in the cabinet and went into the kitchen.

Wang Xiaobao was squatting on the ground stirring the soap solution, sweating profusely, his arm muscles bulging. After these days of training, he was now stirring faster and more steadily, more than ten times better than the first time.

"Sis, what kind of flowers should we add to this batch today?"

"Welcome spring." Wang Jinzhu handed over the brewed forsythia flower water. "Stir it well, pour it into the mold, and we'll make another pot of camellia tea this afternoon."

"Alright."

Chen Tianwei helped cut the coarse cloth, folding it neatly piece by piece, in preparation for wrapping soap. She worked meticulously, leaving the edges clean and tidy, so Wang Jinzhu didn't even need to check.

Chen Tianfang went up the mountain before dawn and returned at noon with two badgers and a wild rabbit. He skinned the badgers to render oil, and kept the rabbit to add to the dishes.

The four people each performed their duties, and the kitchen was filled with steam.

Wang Jinzhu stood at the door for a while, pondering another matter.

The processes for these basic tasks are already standardized, so she doesn't need to oversee everything. Wang Xiaobao stirs the soap liquid, Chen Tianwei handles the packaging, and Chen Tianfang is responsible for the raw materials; the three of them are enough to handle the daily production.

She should free up her hands and do something else.

In the cosmetic shops of the county town, the most expensive scented soap sold for forty coins. It was made with inferior spices and smelled like pickled radishes. But the customers who bought the forty-coin soap weren't after its cleaning power; they wanted to save face.

If she could make a truly presentable high-end soap—using good oils, good fragrances, and even adding a touch of honey for moisturizing—she could double the price and target it as a gift…

Wang Jinzhu narrowed her eyes. This isn't urgent; let's secure the current orders first.

At noon, Wang Jinzhu stewed a pot of pork belly with radish, and also chopped up half a wild rabbit and braised it.

Four dishes and a soup were laid out on the table, and the aroma of meat filled half the courtyard.

Old Chen sat at the table with a bowl of rice in front of him, topped with two pieces of pork belly and a spoonful of braised rabbit meat. He picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and then put the chopsticks down.

Wang Jinzhu noticed it.

It's been like this for the past few days. The food I cook gets better and better, but the old man eats slower and slower. Sometimes he sits in the yard with his bowl in his hand, staring blankly at that mud wall for ages.

Wang Jinzhu kept quiet and focused on eating her rice.

After the meal, as usual, Old Chen moved a chair to the yard to bask in the sun, holding a pipe in his hand, without lighting it, just clutching it.

Chen Xiufen's voice came from the other side of the wall, faint and indistinct, as if she was cursing Chen Yang.

Old Chen's ears twitched, his body tilted to one side, and then he sat up straight again.

Wang Jinzhu came out of the kitchen with a bowl in her hand and stopped for a moment when she saw this scene.

The old man misses the old woman.

This wasn't the first time she'd discovered this. The last time with the osmanthus cake, it seemed like she was showing off, but she was actually trying to seduce him. It would be a lie to say she didn't miss her husband, who'd been with her for most of her life.

But while I may be concerned, rules are rules.

Wang Jinzhu put the bowl in the kitchen, wiped her hands, walked into the yard, and sat down on the low stool opposite Old Man Chen.

"Master."

"Um."

"You haven't been eating much these past few days."

Old Chen didn't reply, and switched the tobacco pipe to his other hand.

Wang Jinzhu didn't mince words: "If you want Grandma to come over for a meal, I have no objection."

Old Chen suddenly looked up, a glint of light flashing in his cloudy eyes. His lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

He was afraid he had misheard.

"But there's one condition," Wang Jinzhu held up one finger, "She's a guest we invited. After the meal, she'll leave, but her belongings won't. What's on the table in the main room is the main room's business."

Old Chen paused for a moment, then nodded emphatically: "Alright."

Wang Jinzhu shouted into the house, "Tianrun, go and call your grandma. Tell her the eldest son's family stewed some meat for lunch and invited her over for a simple meal."

Chen Tianrun responded and skipped over the low wall to get there.

Before long, Old Mrs. Chen arrived.

He arrived rather awkwardly—his steps were neither hurried nor slow, his expression was perfectly composed, and he glanced around the courtyard before speaking.

"I didn't come on my own; Tianrun called me."

Wang Jinzhu didn't even lift her eyelids: "I know, please sit down."

"Hmph." Old Mrs. Chen sat down at the table, her gaze falling on the dishes—the braised pork belly with radish was still steaming, the braised rabbit meat was glistening with oil, and there was a dish of mixed wild vegetables and a bowl of egg drop soup on the side.

She swallowed hard and picked up her chopsticks without making a sound.

Once the first piece of meat entered her mouth, Grandma Chen couldn't stop eating with her chopsticks.

She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten meat. After the family split up, she only ate meat twice, when Chen Shuyan was still at home. The rest of the time, it was either brown rice porridge or pickled vegetables. Occasionally, Chen Yang would dig up a couple of wild scallions from the ground and stir-fry them with an egg, which was considered a treat.

The pork belly was stewed until tender, the fatty parts melting in your mouth while the lean parts still had a satisfying chew. The radish soaked up the broth, and each bite was bursting with sweet flavor.

Grandma Chen ate without even looking up, finishing two bowls of rice in a row.

Old Chen sat across from her, enjoying his meal even more than the past few days. Seeing his wife eating so heartily, he also had an extra half bowl for himself.

Wang Jinzhu and Chen Tianfang exchanged a glance, but neither of them spoke.

After the meal, there were still a few pieces of pork belly and half a bowl of rabbit meat left on the table.

Grandma Chen put down her chopsticks, her eyes sweeping over the leftovers. She reached for the bowl of rabbit meat, muttering, "My second son has been working so hard in the fields these past few days, he hasn't even had a decent meal. I brought him some—"

"Smack."

A pair of chopsticks were placed in front of her hand.

It's not Wang Jinzhu.

It's Old Man Chen.

Everyone at the table was stunned.

Old Chen's face was taut, his voice low but each word clear: "Put it down."

Old Mrs. Chen glared at him: "I only brought two pieces of meat—"

"I said put it down." Old Chen put his chopsticks back on the bowl, looked up at Old Mrs. Chen, his eyes showing no anger, but also no room for negotiation. "You are a guest invited by the eldest son's family for dinner. The guest has finished eating, it's time to leave."

The courtyard was quiet for a moment.

Old Mrs. Chen's hand hung in mid-air, her face flushing red and then turning pale.

Chen Tianwei kept his head down, not daring to look. Wang Xiaobao pretended to be drinking soup, finishing it all while still pretending.

Grandma Chen clenched her fist, but ultimately withdrew it. She stood up abruptly, her face stern, and walked out. She paused at the courtyard gate, but didn't turn back.

"Porridge...are you making it again tomorrow?"

Wang Jinzhu leaned against the doorframe, her voice indifferent: "It depends on what I say."

Old Chen gave a soft "hmm".

Old Mrs. Chen paused, then walked away.

As Wang Jinzhu cleared away the dishes, the corners of her mouth curved into a smile.

The old man finally understood.

That evening, Wang Jinzhu spread out a sheet of paper and drew several squares under the oil lamp, writing a few lines of crooked characters next to them.

"Honey soap, goat milk soap, osmanthus essential oil soap..."

Chen Tianfang leaned closer to take a look: "What are these?"

Wang Jinzhu held the charcoal pencil in her mouth, her eyes shining like flames in a stove.

"These are for the rich."