Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

Tang Susu was discussing the design of her new clothes with her family when a series of light footsteps came from the courtyard gate.

Looking up, I saw six or seven children, each carrying a small bamboo basket, standing timidly at the door. The baskets were filled with lantern fruits that they had just picked from the mountains.

"Auntie, we've come to deliver lantern fruits," a child whispered.

Tang Susu put down the homespun cloth she was carrying and walked over with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work, it's so late and you still made the trip. How about this, you can put the lantern fruits down first, and I'll pay you the coins tomorrow evening, okay?"

Liu Yumi, the oldest among the group of children, was the first to nod in agreement: "Okay, Auntie, we trust you."

Tang Susu took out a scale and weighed each of the children one by one.

When she weighed Liu Yumi's basket, she announced, "There are two and a half jin of lantern fruits in your basket. At two copper coins per jin, you can come back tomorrow for five copper coins. Also, I still owe you some of the eggs I promised you. I'll give you two more tomorrow. Is that alright?"

She had previously promised to give the children who were picking lantern fruit thirty eggs, but so far she has only given them eight.

Including the ten or so new copper coins she owed this time, she planned to settle them all tomorrow. She always felt uneasy about owing others.

The children poured the lantern fruits into a large basin in the yard one after another, each of them bringing a pound or two.

Before long, the large basin in the yard was almost full, and nearly thirty catties of lantern fruit were harvested. Tang Susu also owed the children more than fifty copper coins.

The women of Yangqu Village were initially jealous of Tang Susu for making money by cooking.

Seeing her buy lantern fruit on credit now, I suddenly realized that doing business is not that easy; it's all risk.

Not only do they have to advance funds to purchase goods, but they also have to sell them on credit to these children. If the jelly noodles don't sell, they will not only fail to make money, but also be burdened with a mountain of debt.

These small farmers simply cannot afford such risks.

The village women who had initially been thinking about secretly learning to cook food to earn money completely gave up their ideas after seeing this scene.

Having dispelled the villagers' desire to follow suit, Tang Susu felt much more at ease. She then turned around and, with her younger brother and sons, busied herself preparing for tomorrow's business.

She thought to herself: The students of Chongwentang have good spending power. The more than 100 bowls of cold noodles I brought last time were not enough to sell. I should prepare more tomorrow and bring about 200 bowls to test the waters.

In addition, there is a bustling distribution wharf in Jiangtou Town, where many laborers gather. They must also need some food to cool them down in the summer. I plan to send some over there and see if they are willing to spend three copper coins to buy a bowl of cold noodles.

The family quickly divided the tasks: Yang Xiaobao, being the youngest, was responsible for sitting on a small stool and slowly peeling the seeds from the lantern fruit;

Tang Lifu and Tang Liqiang were strong and were responsible for repeatedly rubbing and washing the peeled lantern fruit seeds clean.

Miao Yulan was in the kitchen boiling brown sugar water, and Yang Xiaobao would run to the kitchen to help watch the fire after peeling a small basin of seeds.

Tang Susu was responsible for peeling peanuts and chopping hawthorns. She even put the peanuts in a pot, stir-fried them until they were crunchy, and then crushed them into powder to add to the jelly for flavor.

The family was busy at work when footsteps sounded again at the gate of the courtyard.

This time, the two sisters, Fangjuan and Taohua, came. Fangjuan carried a bamboo basket, while Taohua carried a small basket on her back, which was also filled with lantern fruits.

"Third Aunt," Fangjuan said timidly, "we went to the mountains to pick lantern fruit this afternoon, and we picked too much without realizing it—five or six pounds in total. Do you still buy them?"

"Of course we'll take them!" Tang Susu greeted them with a smile. "I told you the more the merrier, I'll take as many as you pick."

She took out a scale and weighed the two sisters. After weighing them, she smiled and said, "It's six jin in total. At two copper coins per jin, you two can come over tomorrow night and get twelve copper coins."

Upon hearing this, Fangjuan's face immediately lit up with a joyful smile.

Twelve copper coins are no small sum; Mother will surely be happy to know.

She took Peach Blossom's hand and said, "Thank you, Third Aunt. We'll go home now."

"Wait a minute." Peach Blossom suddenly broke free from her sister's hand, sniffed, and stared at Yang Xiaobao sitting by the door with bright eyes. "Third Aunt, what is Brother Xiaobao eating? It smells so good."

At this moment, Yang Xiaobao had just finished peeling a bowl of lantern fruit seeds and was sitting under the eaves, happily eating the snacks that Tang Susu had specially brought for him.

He only had five snacks in total, and he ate them with extra care: first, he would take out a piece of pastry, carefully put it in his mouth, slowly lick it with the tip of his tongue, savoring the faint sweetness, and then slowly swallow it down little by little.

He had already eaten two pieces. He carefully wrapped the remaining three pieces and put them in his pocket, intending to save them for tomorrow.

Upon hearing Tao Hua's words, Yang Xiaobao subconsciously looked up and saw Tao Hua staring intently at his pocket. He quickly clutched his pocket tightly, afraid that it would be snatched away.

Seeing his possessive way of handling his food, Peach Blossom subconsciously opened her mouth, drool dripping from the corner of her lips, and said in a pitiful voice, "Third Aunt, I'm so hungry..."

Peach Blossom is the same age as Xiao Bao, only two days younger than him.

Seeing her pitiful appearance, Tang Susu couldn't bear to argue and said to Yang Xiaobao, "Xiaobao, give one of your snacks to Peach Blossom Sister, okay?"

Yang Xiaobao's eyes widened instantly, filled with grievance: "Mom! I only have three pieces left, not enough for myself!"

Tang Susu had a terrible headache.

In her previous life, she was an older single woman who had never been exposed to parenting and had no idea how to teach children.

She felt that it was impolite for Tao Hua to ask for things directly from others, and she also felt that Xiao Bao was so stingy that he might not be able to get along with people in the future.

She crouched down, leaned close to Yang Xiaobao, and whispered, "Xiaobao, be good. Give Peach Blossom a piece first. Tomorrow, after Mommy finishes selling the cold noodles, I'll bring you a big bag of snacks that are even tastier than this, okay?"

"Really?" Yang Xiaobao's eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately gave in. He carefully took out a packet of snacks from his pocket, counted them, took out the smallest one, and handed it to Tao Hua.

Peach Blossom eagerly took it, stuffed it into her mouth, and swallowed it whole without even tasting it properly.

She licked her lips, her gaze still fixed on the snacks Yang Xiaobao had hidden in his pocket.

Yang Xiaobao felt uncomfortable under her gaze. He turned to look at Tang Susu with a clear hint in his eyes: "Mom, if I give her another piece, will you bring me two packs of snacks tomorrow?"

Tang Susu sighed and realized that the educational method of using snacks to entice children to learn to share was completely ineffective.

She said to Fangjuan, "Fangjuan, it's getting dark. You should take your sister home quickly so your family doesn't worry."

Fangjuan nodded obediently, then pulled Taohua, who was still staring at the snacks, and quickly left.

As soon as the two sisters stepped out of Tang Susu's courtyard, Tao Hua pouted and grumbled, "Third Aunt is so stingy. She only gave me one snack, and it was gone before I could even taste it."

Fangjuan frowned and whispered, "Third Aunt has already asked Bao'er to give you a piece. Don't say that, it will make Third Aunt angry."

"That's for sure," Peach Blossom retorted, unconvinced. "I just saw a lot of colorful fabrics displayed in my third aunt's main room. She must have struck it rich! From now on, Bao'er will have delicious food every day, but I won't."

Fangjuan's heart skipped a beat; she had also noticed the fabric earlier.

There are many styles and bright colors, which are much better than the patched-up tattered clothes they wear.

She has never owned a new piece of clothing since she can remember.

The two sisters stopped talking, quickened their pace, and headed towards Old Yang's house.

At this time, the Yang family's courtyard was bustling with activity.

The adults were all sitting in the courtyard enjoying the cool air.

The women sat together, sewing and mending with needles and thread in their hands, chatting about everyday things without stopping;

The men sat on the other side, smoking pipes and listening half-heartedly.

Holding the shoe sole in her hand, Madam Shen's lips curled into a slight, almost imperceptible sneer as she slowly spoke, "Tell me, this third sister-in-law is really something. She's only been in business for a few days, and she's already bought meat and brought back twenty ducklings to raise. If she hadn't actually earned some money, where would she get the spare cash to go through all this trouble?"

Old Mrs. Yang, who was busy sewing shoe soles, stopped her work upon hearing this and a relieved smile appeared on her face: "Buying ducks is a good thing. If they're raised well, they can lay eggs, which can be exchanged for grain and also nourish the children. I think Gou Sheng's mother is planning to live a stable life."

The smile on Shen's face instantly vanished, and she thought to herself: Mother is so biased, she can even praise someone like that?

Undeterred, she spoke again with a half-smile, her tone clearly provocative: "That's what she says, but the first time she made money from her business, all she thought about was buying meat for her own family. She couldn't even bear to buy snacks for the kids, and she completely forgot about her parents, not even thinking to send them a small piece of meat so they could have a taste."

These words, whether openly or subtly, implied that Tang Susu was unfilial and had forgotten the kindness of the Yang family in raising her. The intention was obvious: to sow discord between Tang Susu and the Yang family.