After wearing it: I traded a pig for a man.

After leaving the shop, Jiang Yun Ning bought some red dates, brown sugar, white flour, and white rice. She was really tired of eating those coarse-grain steamed buns.

Upon entering the village, the women who were resting under the big willow tree immediately surrounded us.

"Oh my, Yun Ning girl? Is this oxcart new?"

"Isn't this the village head's car?"

Jiang Yunning smiled and replied with a prepared excuse: "This was lent to us by a benefactor, to make it easier to deliver goods. Our family could never afford to buy one."

She didn't want to be envied and resented from the very beginning. If someone did something bad to her, it would not only waste her time, but more importantly, it would hinder her from making money.

Sure enough, after he said that, the smiles in the eyes of the people around him became more genuine, and the initial surprise and jealousy disappeared.

"Yun Ning, I've heard from many people that you buy cicada nymphs for thirteen yuan a pound?" Some people still didn't quite believe it.

Jiang Yun Ning nodded: "Yes, Uncle, it's thirteen yuan a pound, payable on the spot. If you don't believe me, go ask around. A lot of people came to my house to buy last night."

After exchanging a few more words, Jiang Yunning was finally able to escape.

No sooner had they left than someone with sharp eyes spotted Granny Yang slowly strolling over.

"Oh, Granny Yang!" someone called out. "Look at her, Yun Ning is quite something now, working for a wealthy person and earning a lot of money."

"That's right. If I had known, I would have let my son marry her back then. My family would be better off now."

"That won't do. Your son isn't Song Minglang. Ren Yunning wouldn't be interested."

These words are clearly mocking Granny Yang for missing a great opportunity to make a fortune.

She gritted her teeth in anger, but her mouth remained defiant: "Hmph, Jiang Yun Ning still likes my son, otherwise, she hasn't arranged a marriage in all this time."

But is Jiang Yun Ning really that powerful now? I have to go check her out tonight.

The women looked at each other in bewilderment.

What Granny Yang said made sense.

This silly girl, is she still thinking about Song Minglang?

The oxcart entered the yard, and Jiang Yunning jumped off, only to see Jiang Laosan looking worried.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Jiang Yun Ning asked, puzzled.

"The land tax has increased again this year, two shi per person. They say there's a disaster in the west." Jiang Laosan sighed, the excitement of making money long gone from his face.

Jiang Yun Ning was also somewhat surprised: "So many?"

One shi of millet is about 120 jin. Fortunately, the imperial court only collects taxes from males aged ten and above. Each person pays two shi, so Jiang Yun Ning's family has to pay 720 jin.

This doesn't even include the damage from being kicked by the officials and the losses incurred on the way.

"Our family needs to pay at least 750 jin this year." Jiang Laosan's eyes were somewhat cloudy.

Jiang Yunning was also in a bit of a dilemma.

Based on the current yield, one mu (unit of land area) can only produce four to five hundred jin (unit of weight).

Their family only has two mu of land, which can yield a maximum of one thousand jin. In bad years, they can't even afford to pay the land tax on those two mu.

"It's alright, Dad," Jiang Yun Ning comforted him. "Our corn will definitely have a high yield by autumn."

Jiang Laosan shook his head: "Judging from this situation, the autumn tax will also have to go up."

Jiang Yun Ning patted her forehead; she had forgotten. In this dynasty, taxes were payable in both summer and autumn.

This is what the locals often refer to as summer wheat and autumn millet.

No wonder so many people sell their land directly to the local landlords, and then borrow it back to rent and cultivate.

This way, you only need to pay rent each year and don't have to worry about land taxes.

"Shall we buy a few more acres?" Jiang Yun Ning asked tentatively. "But Dad, I think we might not have time to farm when things get busy later."

She also planned to open a small shop in town and send Jiang Anhe to study at a private school in town.

But even if we tell Jiang Laosan now, he won't believe us.

"Sigh." Jiang Laosan shook his head: "Your mother and I have discussed it. We're going to use the seven taels of silver you gave us last time to buy two mu of land. Your elder brother and sister-in-law are also planning to buy two mu."

Jiang Yun Ning nodded: "Okay, if it's not enough, I have more here."

She needs to quickly figure out how to get some high-yield seeds.

I wonder if potatoes and sweet potatoes existed in this dynasty.

The soap in the cellar had completely solidified, and Wang Cuihua and Liu Yuzhi had cut it and placed the pieces one by one in a large wooden box.

However, these past two days, people have been coming to their house from time to time to ask about the cicada nymphs, so the two of them didn't dare to come out. They would squat in the cellar and finish dealing with them before climbing out.

"Yun Ning!" Jiang Laosan shouted as soon as he entered the room.

Once inside the courtyard, he excitedly pulled out some silver.

"Our uncle's side harvested 300 catties last night, and He Nian went to several neighboring villages!" Jiang Yuntian was so happy he couldn't stop smiling. "He sold them for almost five taels of silver."

Jiang Yunning nodded: "Pretty much, my uncle's village has more people than our village."

Moreover, it's just the beginning, and there are many cicada nymphs now. In less than three days, there won't be so many cicada nymphs left.

Jiang Yunning smiled and said, "Big brother, I want to discuss something with you."

Jiang Yuntian was taking a sip of water when he heard this, so he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and said, "Go on."

"I'll leave this cicada nymph to you from now on. In a couple of days, I'd like to go deep into the mountains with Jiang Che to take a look. It'll probably take a few days to come out." She felt that they had to go deep into the mountains to find something valuable.

Jiang Laosan hurriedly stopped him: "What? You're going to the deep mountains?"

"No, no, daughter, we're not going." Wang Cuihua was terrified. "Last year, two grown men from our village went in and never came out."

Liu Yuzhi nodded: "Yun Ning, our family isn't short of money now. Don't take any risks."

"Exactly, what would a girl like you do inside? If anyone should go, it should be my brother-in-law and me." Jiang Yuntian put down his bowl, his face serious.

"Tell me the truth, are you short of money?" He frowned. "Your sister-in-law and I don't need much money right now. Take it if you need it."

Liu Yuzhi nodded, and then went inside to get the silver.

"Sister-in-law," Jiang Yun Ning quickly stopped her, "I don't lack money."

She felt somewhat helpless; she really just wanted to go in and take a look. Besides, there was Jiang Che.

He knows how to use a bow and arrow, and she's intelligent. There won't be any danger.

Jiang Yun Ning sighed, "Forget it, I won't go."

She said that, but Jiang Che knew very well that she hadn't given up; she was just saying that to appease the Jiang family.

Sure enough, that very night, she secretly tugged at him and said, "Tomorrow during the day, let's go take a look around the outskirts and come back the same day."

Jiang Che hummed in agreement and remained silent.

That night, the number of people delivering cicada nymphs was twice that of the day before; almost every household received one.

"Aunt Hua, this weighs ten jin." After Jiang Yuntian finished weighing it, Liu Yuzhi, who was standing next to him, paid: "Aunt Hua, one hundred and thirty coins."

Aunt Hua happily accepted the money.

"Where's mine? Where's mine?" The plump woman next to her hurriedly lifted her basket and poured it in.

Jiang Yuntian glanced at it: "Eight catties, one hundred and four coins."

"Oh, this is wonderful! Now I won't go hungry after paying the land tax." The plump woman was so excited that tears streamed down her face. She held the copper coins in both hands and hurried away.

Jiang Yun Ning felt a little uneasy.

In modern times, few people go hungry, so when she arrived, she only thought about making money and forgot about food production.

In the corner, Granny Yang, who had slipped in at some point, felt a pang of jealousy as she watched everyone taking silver.

These free insects can really be exchanged for so much money?