Sold immediately after wearing it? I took my family and fled the famine.

It was only then that she belatedly realized what she had just done. There were live snakes in that bag. If they all jumped out, with so many people in the yard, and the children squatting on the ground...

Granny Chen was so angry her face turned blue. She walked over and pinched Hu's arm hard twice, then whispered, "You brainless idiot! You dare to snatch anything! Do you think this is your own home? Get back to the stove!"

Hu was being pinched until she grimaced, shrinking back sheepishly, muttering under her breath, "I...I didn't know...I won't do it again..."

Jiang Xing ignored her, carried the bag to a corner of the yard and put it down, then placed a stone on the opening of the bag before clapping his hands and walking back.

Xiao Niu whispered to Tie Dan, "Isn't my older sister amazing?" Tie Dan nodded vigorously, his eyes filled with admiration as he looked at Jiang Xing.

The little incident passed quickly. Several families sat down together for dinner, but the atmosphere was warmer than usual.

While eating, everyone chatted about the day's work. The roof was finally completely repaired, and the well was also repaired neatly. From now on, they wouldn't have to go far to fetch water for washing clothes and cooking.

As they talked, the topic shifted to what would happen the day after tomorrow.

Shen Dehou held his bowl, pondered for a moment, and then said, "I did the math today, and the end of the year is just a few days away. We've been busy repairing the house and cleaning the yard since we moved in, and we still have a lot of things we're missing. We're almost out of salt, and we're completely out of oil. We won't have any food left for more than a few days. The day after tomorrow is the market day in town for the 28th year of the lunar year, so we need to go and buy some things."

His words immediately put the atmosphere at the dinner table in a somber mood.

Buying things sounds easy, but what can they possibly use? Several families have turned their pockets upside down trying to pay their share of the village's contributions, and they can't even scrape together a few coins. They are utterly destitute; that's exactly how they are now.

Everyone fell silent for a while before Dr. Gu put down his chopsticks and slowly began to speak.

"Today's harvest of medicinal herbs was quite good. We dug up over ten kilograms of Rehmannia glutinosa alone, and half a basket of Scutellaria baicalensis. There's also a lot of Plantain and dandelion, which can be sold after drying." He paused, glanced at the herbs spread out on the straw mat in the yard, and said calmly, "I noticed during the day that the people in this village usually dig for wild vegetables, but nobody digs for medicinal herbs. The herbs are growing all over the mountain, but they don't recognize them and don't touch them. We're just picking up these bargains."

Everyone looked up at him, and their eyes gradually lit up.

"Come up the mountain with me again tomorrow." Doctor Gu looked at everyone. "Each family should send one laborer. I'll teach you to identify a few medicinal herbs that can be sold. Dig them up, process them overnight, and carry them to the town's pharmacy early the day after tomorrow. Sell whatever you can get, exchange them for some copper coins, and at least buy some New Year's goods."

Upon hearing this, the faces of the families lit up. Old Wang slapped his thigh, "That's great! I'll go with you tomorrow!" Aunt Wang nudged him from the side, "Do you even recognize the medicinal herbs?" Old Wang retorted confidently, "Didn't Dr. Gu teach me?"

Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere immediately relaxed.

Apart from Shen Dehou's family, the other families all made a decision on the spot to send people up the mountain to dig for medicinal herbs the next day. It wasn't that Shen Dehou didn't want to go, but he needed to stay in the village beforehand to make a list of what each family needed and calculate the total cost in town, so as not to be caught off guard when he arrived in town.

With the matter settled, the families were in much better spirits. Although their pockets were still empty, they planned to go up the mountain to dig for medicinal herbs tomorrow and sell them in town the day after, which would surely earn them some copper coins. As long as they had some copper coins, they could get through the year-end season.

The next morning, Jiang Xing and her friends got up very early to prepare to go up the mountain again.

This time, the group going up the mountain was much larger than yesterday. Not only did Wang Laoshi come with his old bamboo basket, but Chen Shuisheng also came. Widow Sun entrusted Niu Niu to Shen Shi's care and followed along with her own bamboo basket. Hu Shi reluctantly pushed Chen Xiaoxiao, muttering, "What are you doing here, you little brat? If you don't find any medicinal herbs, I'll teach you a lesson." Chen Xiaoxiao lowered her head and followed the group, but the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned.

Tie Dan and Shi Tou arrived as usual, and Xiao Niu, needless to say, was already waiting at the gate of the courtyard. When he saw Jiang Xing come out, he jumped and skipped to greet him.

Several families walked along the path at the end of the village towards the foot of the mountain. The men carried hoes, the women carried baskets on their backs, and the children carried small bamboo baskets. The long, winding group cast long shadows in the morning mist.

This display of power naturally did not escape the notice of the villagers of Maocao Village.

Several women who had gotten up early to dig for wild vegetables were walking out of the village entrance, carrying baskets. Leading the way was Granny Liu, followed by three or four familiar village women. When they saw Jiang Xing and his group carrying baskets and hoes, hurrying up the mountain, they immediately stopped in their tracks.

"Oh no!" Granny Liu's face changed, and she slung the vegetable basket over her arm. "These refugees have gone up the mountain with their baskets! With so many people, won't they pick all the wild vegetables on the mountain?"

The village women exchanged glances, all seeing panic in each other's eyes. These outsiders had only been here a few days, and they were already trying to steal their mountain produce—this was unacceptable!

Granny Liu made a quick decision, waving her hand and leading several village women to hurry after them. They walked so fast that the vegetables in their baskets were about to spill out, not caring at all; they just wanted to get to the good spots on the mountain before the group of refugees.

But when they finally caught up with Jiang Xing and the others, panting and out of breath, the village women were stunned.