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

The next morning, the thin fog had not yet dissipated.

Chen Xinghua, holding Cao'er's hand, stood outside the workshop gate early in the morning. As soon as Wang Jinzhu opened the door, Chen Xinghua stepped forward and stuffed a faded cloth bag into her hands.

"Sister Jinzhu, here's two taels of silver." Chen Xinghua's voice wasn't loud, but her tone was stubborn. "I can't accept the money you slipped into Cao'er's clothes yesterday. I can work and raise Cao'er."

"Take it." Wang Jinzhu pushed the cloth bag back. "Cao'er needs to nourish herself. Consider it a loan; you can pay me back when you have it."

Chen Xinghua bit her lip, her eyes reddening, and gripped the cloth bag tightly, refusing to let go.

"Stop dawdling and get to work." Wang Jinzhu waved her hand, her gaze falling on Cao'er.

The little girl had washed her face clean today, and her hair was neatly combed. Although she was skin and bones, her eyes were bright and sparkling. She followed Chen Xinghua step by step, and when they reached the basin, she rolled up her sleeves and tried to reach for the aloe vera.

"Cao'er, come here." Wang Jinzhu beckoned.

Cao'er timidly looked up at her mother. Chen Xinghua nodded, and then she took small steps to Wang Jinzhu.

Wang Jinzhu led her to sit down on the stone steps in front of the backyard gate, afraid that she might be bumped into by the many people in the front yard. She turned around and went into the house, then came out with a plate of mung bean cakes.

"Eat."

Cao'er stared at the sweet-smelling pastries, swallowing hard, but her little hands gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, and she shrank back.

This child is so sensible it breaks your heart.

Wang Jinzhu's heart clenched. Without saying a word, she squatted down and hugged Cao'er tightly. The little girl stiffened for a moment, then slowly relaxed. Cao'er didn't flinch; she instinctively sensed the same kindness in this beautiful aunt as in her mother.

Wang Jinzhu picked up a piece of mung bean cake and held it to her lips: "Open your mouth."

Grass then cautiously took a small bite, and her eyes instantly lit up.

"Eat slowly, it's all here." Wang Jinzhu patted her head.

The workshop has been operating for half a month, and its efficiency is getting higher and higher.

Chen Xinghua worked like a madwoman, arriving earliest and leaving latest every day. She was in charge of a distillation process with an extremely high yield, earning fifty or sixty coins a day. Zhao Xiulan was no less hardworking; the two secretly competed, consistently ranking among the top two in wages.

For every diligent person, there is a lazy one.

Li Ersao was one of them. She and Zhao Xiulan were in the same group, responsible for cleaning and cutting aloe vera.

That evening, Li Ersao looked at the account book that Chen Tianrun had written down, and her face fell.

"Why does Zhao Xiulan get fifty coins a day while I only get twenty? My hands are all white from being soaked in water!" Li Ersao muttered as she shook the water off her hands.

Zhao Xiulan glanced at her: "You cut one basket, I'll cut two and a half baskets, and I'd still think twenty coins is too much."

"You—" Li Ersao was furious, but her eyes darted around as she made a plan.

The next day, Li Ersao worked with surprising speed. She threw basket after basket of aloe vera into the waste bin, while on the other side, a high pile of chopped semi-finished products stood.

When it was time to settle the bill that evening, Li Ersao, for the first time ever, took forty-five coins. She walked away triumphantly with the coins in her pocket.

In the evening, Wang Jinzhu carried an oil lamp and went to the semi-finished product area. Every night, she would personally check the day's prepared materials.

Wang Jinzhu lifted the damp cloth covering the bamboo basket, grabbed a handful of chopped aloe vera, and glanced at it under the light.

His brows furrowed instantly.

The aloe vera wasn't peeled properly; the edges still had yellowed, rotten leaves, and some pieces weren't even clean, with mud spots still stuck to them.

Wang Jinzhu didn't say anything, put down the basket, and then flipped through three more baskets, all with the same problem.

"Tianwei." Wang Jinzhu turned her head.

Chen Tianwei came out of the main room, wearing a coat, rubbing her eyes: "Sister-in-law, what's wrong?"

"Go and bring today's logbook."

Chen Tianwei brought over the booklet, and Wang Jinzhu pointed to the baskets of materials: "Who handled these four baskets this afternoon?"

Chen Tianwei flipped through the records: "It's Li Ersao. She was unusually quick today, I was wondering why."

"Write it down." Wang Jinzhu's voice was calm, revealing neither joy nor anger. "Seal these four baskets separately and don't mix them into tomorrow's feed."

Chen Tianwei shivered. She knew that her sister-in-law's expression was more terrifying than any scolding.

Early morning, the sun had just risen above the horizon.

Eight women stood in the courtyard on time, waiting to start work. Wang Jinzhu didn't tell them to disperse, but pointed to the center of the courtyard. There were four large bamboo baskets there.

"Before we start, let me tell you something." Wang Jinzhu crossed her arms and glanced at everyone. "Yesterday afternoon, someone worked very efficiently and produced 150 jin of material."

Li Ersao stood in the crowd, puffed out her chest, and couldn't help but smile.

"Tianwei, pour it out."

Chen Tianwei stepped forward, grabbed the bottom of the basket, and forcefully lifted it up.

slam-la-

Hundreds of kilograms of diced aloe vera were poured onto the bluestone slab. Everyone stared, then gasped in shock. Yellowed edges, rotten leaves, and mud splattered everywhere – a truly appalling sight.

"Who washed this?" Wang Jinzhu's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling edge.

Zhao Xiulan glanced at it and immediately denied it: "I didn't cut it. I peeled it cleanly!"

All eyes fell on Li Ersao without prior arrangement.

Li Ersao's face changed, her eyes darted around rapidly, and she suddenly slapped her thigh, wailing, "Oh dear! Jinzhu, I was dizzy and my eyesight was terrible yesterday, I really didn't see clearly!"

She wailed and sat down on the ground, crying, "I have elderly parents and young children to support, and my husband is sickly. I work myself to the bone to earn a few extra coins to help support the family. You can't fire me for such a small mistake!"

Moral blackmail and tantrums are the two tricks that village women are best at.

Wang Jinzhu sneered.

"Are your eyesight bad?" Wang Jinzhu walked up to her, looking down at her. "When we were receiving the money, I saw you count the coins better than anyone else. You didn't miscount a single one, did you?"

Li Ersao's wailing paused for a moment.

"Your family is struggling financially, so you think you can joke around with my goods?" Wang Jinzhu pointed to the waste on the ground. "If this batch of materials is mixed into perfume, the resulting lipstick will ruin people's faces, destroying my reputation as Wang Jinzhu! Can you afford to compensate for that?"

"Well... then I'll just have to redo it today..." Li Ersao shrank her neck, still trying to argue.

"Tianwei, read the contract!" Wang Jinzhu didn't waste any more words with her.

Chen Tianwei opened the booklet and read aloud: "Anyone failing quality control will have their wages deducted. Anyone maliciously damaging raw materials or cutting corners will be required to pay three times the amount in compensation and will be immediately dismissed!"

Wang Jinzhu held the abacus and clicked away for a while: "Sister-in-law Li's substandard materials yesterday totaled 150 jin. She needs to pay three times the amount, which is 900 wen."

"What?!" Sister-in-law Li shrieked, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "You're robbing me! You heartless, unscrupulous merchants! I quit!"

Li Ersao was about to leave when she said that.

"Tianfang," Wang Jinzhu said calmly.

Chen Tianfang, who had been standing under the eaves, walked over and stood in front of Li Ersao with his towering figure, looking at her coldly.

Li Ersao's cursing stopped abruptly, startled, and she took two steps back.

"Pay 900 coins and get out." Wang Jinzhu's tone was completely indifferent. "If you don't pay, we'll go see the village chief right now, take the contract to the county government, and see the officials. One hundred taels as a penalty for breach of contract, which do you choose?"

Li Ersao's face turned a deep purplish-red. She glanced at Chen Tianfang, then at the waste on the ground, knowing she wouldn't get away with it today.

"I'll go back and get the money. You win! Wang Jinzhu, just you wait!"

Li Ersao glared fiercely at Wang Jinzhu, then turned and rushed out of the courtyard.