The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

Outside the gate of Gu's restaurant, a pile of black coals was burning.

It was almost dinnertime, and the militiamen had finished their training, so there were a lot of onlookers.

The sealed iron pot containing raw rice simmered on the fire. When it was almost cooked, Su Qianqian opened the valve. With a loud bang, all the rice puffs in the pot were put into the cloth bag.

The onlookers stared wide-eyed in astonishment at the snow-white rice puffs in the cloth bag.

The eyes of the few playboys from the capital, in particular, were wide open.

They discovered that the originally round and firm little grain of rice, after General Su's operation, seemed to have been magically enlarged many times over.

It becomes snow-white, fluffy and full, and looks especially beautiful.

Is this some kind of magical magic?

Qin Changfeng was very much looking forward to it: he planned to find an opportunity to personally make a pot of popcorn later to find out if it was a magical technique.

Su Qianqian handed the cloth bag containing the popcorn to Tie Niu, saying, "Share it with everyone and let them try some."

The people lined up in an orderly fashion and took the popcorn one by one.

Fragrant, really scented!

Qin Changfeng mocked Dong Zhu: "Zhu Zi, you're from the capital, you've seen the world, yet you're still queuing up for rice puffs, aren't you ashamed?"

"Qin Changfeng, where do you get the nerve to laugh at me? You're still standing in line behind me, aren't you?"

Qin Changfeng waited for a while, and finally it was his turn to receive the rice flowers.

He stuffed the small handful of popped rice he received into his mouth all at once.

This rice puff is warm and not hard at all. It has a unique texture, is crisp and fluffy, and has a slightly caramelized aroma.

It's so delicious! I never knew rice could be cooked like this. It's a pity that Feng Yuanxi was dragged back to the capital by his father and won't get to taste this delicacy.

I must write a letter to Feng Yuanxi, who is far away in Beijing, to make him envious, haha.

Su Qianqian said to everyone, "It tastes even better with sugar."

It attracted so many people that they drooled all over the place.

Qin Changfeng played rock-paper-scissors with Dong Zhu and won. He quickly moved closer to Su Qianqian and pleaded with a fawning expression, "General Su, I learn things very quickly. Let me cook the next batch."

Su Qianqian was happy to have some free time, so she taught her again and then Qin Changfeng took over the operation.

Even after dark, many children remained gathered around watching the spectacle, waiting to eat the freshly popped rice.

Several spoiled brats sat together inside Gu's Restaurant, eating and chatting amongst themselves as they watched the commotion outside.

"That kid Qin Changfeng doesn't seem to mind working hard. He doesn't even come to eat, just popping popcorn pot after pot, and he's still laughing so happily."

Dong Zhu was very angry. He lost a game of rock-paper-scissors; otherwise, he would be the one sitting outside making popcorn right now.

"I also want to pop a pot of rice, but that kid Qin Changfeng won't let me have the pot."

"It's so lively! Even the famous capital city isn't as lively as Qinghe County."

Dong Zhu hit the nail on the head: "Because Qinghe County has General Su!"

Qin Changfeng made rice puffs, some of which were given to the children by Tie Niu, while the rest were sent to the backyard of Gu's Restaurant.

It was already completely dark, but several lights were lit in the backyard, making it very bright.

Qin and Gu, along with several workers, followed Su Qianqian's instructions to use boiled syrup to stick the rice together, press it firmly, cut it into pieces, and wrap it in oil paper.

Six pieces are wrapped together, symbolizing good fortune.

Madam Qin exclaimed, "Qian'er has so many clever ideas! The rice candy she made is really delicious. Qian'er said she'll give some to the workers as a bonus, and sell the rest at Gu's Tea House in the capital. People love to try new things, so this rice candy is sure to be a big seller."

Speaking of teahouses in the capital, Madam Qin thought of her daughter, Gu Ying.

Yingzi wrote back a few days ago, and her words were filled with happiness.

Thanks to Qian Yatou, Yingzi was able to marry Xu Ruofeng, who had achieved the rank of Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations).

Although Yingzi was eight years older than Ruofeng, Qianyatou brought a priceless rare book as part of her dowry, so none of Xu's relatives dared to underestimate Yingzi.

I heard that Qianya even wrote a letter asking Princess Zhaohua to take care of Yingzi. The princess has been to the Shen residence several times. The General of the Cavalry's mansion now treats Yingzi like a treasure.

Yingzi is so fortunate to be living such a good life; she should really thank Qianya.

Qin put a scrap of rice candy into her mouth, savoring its sweet aroma. "This candy is delicious, and it's crumbly and easy on the teeth. When it's sold at Gu's Tea House in the capital, it'll definitely be in high demand."

Both Gu and Su Bing were honest people who weren't good at talking. After hearing Qin's words, they could only grin foolishly.

The workers who were helping out were especially happy because Su Dongjia said he would give each of them a bag of rice candy as a New Year's bonus.

This candy is extremely rare now. Many wealthy families in the city are asking Gu's shop about rice candy, wanting to pay a high price to buy it. I wonder if Miss Su will sell it to them.

\

With only five days left until the Chinese New Year, Su Qianqian, being a good boss, is preparing to give her employees New Year's gifts.

She had too many men under her command, and the most she had was black coal. She decided to give each of her men a basket of black coal, plus a bag of rice candy.

Around noon, the city gates opened wide, and cartloads of black coal were transported into Qinghe County.

The people from Gu's shop and the lard soap workshop each received a large basket of black coal and a bag of rice candy, and their faces were beaming with joy.

Although black coal is a rare commodity in the capital, Su Qianqian had already started selling it in Qinghe County, and everyone knew its uses.

Families with members working at Gu's Restaurant and the soap workshop were overjoyed.

Because of the war, ordinary people dared not leave the city to collect firewood, so firewood was very scarce in Qinghe County. Therefore, receiving a large basket of black coal was a great joy.

"The treatment for working for Miss Su is really good! You don't get such good treatment working in other shops. They even give the shop assistants holiday gifts during the New Year."

"A whole basket of black stones, at the current price, could sell for a hundred coins."

"And this rice candy, how can we celebrate the New Year without candy? It's perfect for the whole family to enjoy, so that the whole year will be sweet."

Those families whose daughters-in-law worked in the workshops treated their daughters-in-law even better when they saw that she had received so many festival gifts.

In the past, men were the most powerful, but now daughters-in-law are. Only those who can earn money have status and a voice.

In the past, when couples argued, it was always the woman who bowed her head and took the scolding. Now, when they argue, the mother-in-law will help her daughter-in-law scold her son, and the man is the one who bows his head and suffers.

A young couple who had fled from Huainan to Qinghe County stepped into Qinghe County.

The woman was carrying a heavy basket and looked like she was having a hard time walking, while the man was carrying nothing.

Not only did he not care about his wife, he also complained that she was walking too slowly, saying, "Walk faster, or I'll beat you to death."

The man looked around and discovered something very strange: women in Qinghe County had a very high social status.

On the street, men speak to women in a gentle and soft manner, and many of the shop assistants are women.

This Qinghe County is truly upside down!

The man used to live in a village on the outskirts of Huainan City, where it was common for men to beat women; they felt itchy if they didn't. So, he curiously asked a passerby, "Why are the men of Qinghe County so weak?"

"You're new to Qinghe County, aren't you? Be careful, because here, beating or abusing women is a serious offense and can land you in jail."

The man was terrified; he had never heard of going to jail for hitting or verbally abusing a woman! What a close call; he almost hit his wife.

He didn't want to go to jail, so he quickly took the basket off the woman's back and carried it on his own.

The woman's bent body finally straightened up a bit.

She used to endure her husband's beatings and scoldings every day. If Qinghe County really did have the problem of women going to jail for beating and scolding women, as the passersby said, then it would be a paradise for women.

She would have to find a scholar to help her write letters to her two younger sisters, asking them to come to Qinghe County as well. Her two sisters were being mistreated even more by their in-laws than she was, and she was always worried that they would be beaten to death by their in-laws.

But if the younger sisters came to Qinghe County, they would all be able to survive.

The town of Qinghe was very lively, with vendors everywhere, especially those selling black coal.

The villagers in villages like Lotus Village and Niujia Village were reluctant to burn the black coal that Su Qianqian gave them. They sold it directly to wealthy families in the city, where a large basket of black coal could sell for a hundred coins.

For people in the countryside, this was a huge sum of money; they could finally buy some pork and have a good New Year with meat and sweets.