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

Tang Susu continued walking forward; her family's six mu of paddy fields were neither too many nor too few.

After walking about ten steps, I saw Yang Xiaobao squatting in the field, intently digging up wild mustard greens.

His bamboo basket was already full of wild vegetables, and there was a small pile of freshly pulled weeds next to it.

Tang Susu felt a pang of heartache as she watched the child's earnest and busy appearance. She went up to him and called out, "Bao'er, stop digging for now. Come home and eat. After we eat, we'll herd the ducks back, one on each side, and divide the work."

Twenty ducklings were playing in the clear paddy field, pecking at the water with their little beaks, and stretching their necks from time to time to easily catch grasshoppers flying by and swallow them whole.

But when Tang Susu and Yang Xiaobao went to chase it away, the little duck became restless and jumped around in the water, splashing a lot of water.

It was Yang Xiaobao's first time herding ducks. He frantically waved the small bamboo pole in his hand and shouted "quack quack!" but the ducks wouldn't listen to him and ran around in all directions.

Tang Susu had never learned how to herd ducks, so she could only chase after them along the paddy field ridge. The two of them worked hard for a long time, but they still couldn't get the ducks together.

Just then, Aunt Liu, the neighbor, suddenly popped her head out of her rice paddy. Seeing this, she hurriedly shouted, "Oh dear! Xiao Bao, why is your little duck flying over here? Chase it away, shoo it away! Don't ruin my rice!"

Yang Xiaobao quickly stopped and stepped forward to explain, "Auntie, don't worry, the ducklings won't ruin the rice; they love to eat insects!"

No sooner had she finished speaking than a little duck jumped up and snatched a large grasshopper that was clinging to Aunt Liu's ankle—the very grasshopper that everyone feared.

Aunt Liu looked down and saw the insect clearly. Her face instantly turned ashen, and her voice trembled: "How could there be such a thing in the field? Didn't they all fly away? Why are there still locusts this year?"

She instantly recalled the terrifying scene of last year's locust plague: swarms of locusts flew across the sky, devouring thousands of acres of grain in the entire village in just half a day, leaving every household with no harvest.

Even though there were only a few left, it still terrified her, turning her face pale.

Tang Susu said in a deep voice, "I saw locusts in the field a few days ago, but there weren't many, so I didn't dare to make a fuss about it."

That's why I bought some ducks to keep watch in the fields and let them eat any locusts they see, as a precaution.

As they were talking, another duckling swiftly snatched a grasshopper away, its movements crisp and efficient.

Aunt Liu knew how strenuous it was to catch grasshoppers by hand. After witnessing firsthand how powerful the ducklings were, her eyes lit up, and she immediately stepped forward to ask, "Sister Su, where did you buy these ducklings? How much did each one cost? I'd like to get some to take home and help guard the fields."

"I didn't see any ducklings for sale in Dongtai Town, only in Jiangtou Town," Tang Susu answered truthfully. "I'm going to Jiangtou Town tomorrow, and if I see any ducklings, I'll bring some back for you."

Aunt Liu was very grateful and quickly said, "Thank you so much! Let me help you herd the ducks; many hands make light work."

With Aunt Liu's help, the three of them divided the work and worked together. The originally naughty ducklings finally lined up obediently and followed them home.

Back in the courtyard, Tang Liqiang had already chopped the wild vegetables and brought them to the duck coop.

But the ducklings had already eaten their fill of locusts. They circled the feeding trough, sniffed the wild vegetables, and then turned away, not even glancing at them.

Yang Xiaobao, beaming with excitement, ran to Tang Susu and said, "Mom, our little duck is amazing! It can eat its fill just from insects. From now on, we won't have to bother Sister Lanxia to come and get wild vegetables every day!"

Tang Susu nodded in agreement. With the ducklings' food problem solved, Lan Xia no longer needed to worry about it.

However, considering Lanxia's honesty and diligence, she couldn't bear to fire her. So she decided to reassign her to work, such as picking dry grass and winding fire-starting grass balls—not difficult, but time-consuming, which would give her a stable wage.

When the whole family sat around the table for lunch, Tang Susu always felt that something was missing.

Without Yang Gousheng by her side, she felt empty inside and couldn't help but worry: Did the magistrate make sure Gousheng ate properly? Did Gousheng remember her instructions to be cautious in everything he did?

She silently hoped everything would go smoothly and that nothing unexpected would happen.

After lunch, Tang Susu returned to her room and put on the new clothes that Miao Yulan had altered.

This is the most common type of homespun cloth, and it's very affordable, costing only two copper coins per foot.

Although it might cause slight friction against the skin and isn't very comfortable to wear, it's brand new, clean, and has no patches whatsoever.

After putting it on, Tang Susu felt much more energetic, and looking at herself in the mirror, she felt particularly happy.

She walked into the yard and saw the basins and buckets she had borrowed from Old Yang's house were still piled up in the corner, with no intention of returning them immediately.

He then casually took some leftover pieces of jelly from the kitchen, put them in a bamboo basket, and prepared to visit Old Yang's house to catch up with him.

It was midday, and the weather was unbearably hot; the sun was scorching the ground.

People in the countryside are afraid of the heat, and even if they want to take a nap, they can't fall asleep. Old Yang's courtyard is very lively.

Grandpa Yang was sitting under the shade of a tree, intently sawing the oak tree he had just cut down into cylinders about 60 or 70 centimeters long, and neatly stacking them aside.

The brothers Yang Fuqiang and Yang Fugui sat on straw mats, working together seamlessly to weave them. Their fingers flew across the mats, and the basic shape of the mats quickly took shape.

The two sisters-in-law, Wen and Shen, were also busy with their own chores, one picking vegetables and the other mending clothes.

As soon as Tang Susu stepped into the courtyard, everyone's eyes fell on her.

The first thing Shen noticed was her new earth-yellow dress, which made her skin look fair and like a girl in her early twenties. A pang of jealousy welled up in her heart, and she teased her with a sarcastic tone, "Oh, isn't this your third sister-in-law? Judging by your outfit, you've struck it rich!"

The New Year hasn't even arrived yet, and they're already wearing new clothes; it's making everyone envious!

Wen looked at Tang Susu's new clothes with envy; she only had the chance to get a new dress during the New Year.

Last year, due to the locust plague, the crops failed completely, and the whole family had a hard time during the New Year. They didn't even get a new piece of clothing.

Tang Susu smiled calmly, unaffected by Shen's tone, and replied composedly, "Second Aunt, you're just teasing me."

If I really became rich, I would definitely buy fine silks and satins to wear, why would I wear this coarse cloth?

What rich person would even look at homespun cloth? Besides, it's cheap, only two copper coins a foot long. If you wanted to wear it, you could easily afford it.

Upon hearing this, Madam Shen felt even more displeased.

She had saved up a little over a hundred coins by living frugally in recent years. Asking her to spend ten copper coins to buy cloth to make clothes was like cutting off a piece of her own flesh; she simply couldn't bear to part with it.

But she couldn't say it out loud, so she could only keep her anger inside.

Old Mrs. Yang, who had witnessed everything clearly, was amused and annoyed by Shen's petty nature. She turned to her and instructed, "Fangjuan's mother, don't stand here. Go to the backyard and turn over the dried vegetables, and while you're at it, wash all the family's clothes."

Not daring to disobey her mother-in-law, Shen glared at Tang Susu and went to work in the backyard.

Tang Susu ignored Shen's little tricks, took out the jelly from the bamboo basket, and distributed it to everyone.

This time she used a new bowl—a white porcelain bowl with light blue cloud patterns printed on it, paired with pale yellow, translucent, and delicate jelly-like jelly, which was pleasing to the eye.

It's worth noting that the Yang family previously only had eight broken bowls, while the Tang family now has 28 bowls available even without setting up their stall.

Each member of the Yang family held a bowl of cold noodles, carefully took a sip, and the cool, sweet taste instantly dispelled the heat, leaving everyone with a satisfied expression.

Old Mrs. Yang instructed Fangjuan: "Take this bowl to your second aunt."

Then he told Lanxia to wash the bowl clean and put it away properly. Afterwards, he said to Tang Susu, "Gousheng's mother, don't bring this food that can be exchanged for copper coins again."

"With so many mouths to feed in this family, giving one to each person would just waste over twenty copper coins. What a waste of such a good thing!"

She said that, but in her heart she was still feeling the pinch of spending two copper coins on a serving of cold noodles, feeling that she was not worthy of such a precious and rare item.

Tang Susu replied with a smile, "Mother, you're being too polite. If I don't treat everyone to something good, I won't be able to ask my older brothers to do things for me later."

Upon hearing this, Yang Fuqiang immediately put down the straw mat he was holding, stood up, and said, "Third sister-in-law, just let me know if there's anything you need, and I'll go and take care of it with you right away!"

Yang Fugui chimed in, "We're family, no need for formalities!"

Tang Susu sighed softly, her tone tinged with helplessness: "It's about making jelly."

This job looks simple, but it's actually quite difficult and can easily hurt your hands.

Li Fu's hands are used to treat this kind of injury, but I've stopped him from doing it anymore.

"I had no other choice but to ask my older brothers for help. You'll understand how to do it when the time comes."

Without saying a word, Yang Fuqiang and Yang Fugui immediately put down their work and got up to follow Tang Susu.

Shen, who was in the backyard, heard their conversation and was so angry that she almost jumped up and tried to rush forward to stop Yang Fugui.

She felt sorry for her husband and thought that Tang Susu was doing it on purpose. She was reluctant to let her own younger brother do the work, but pushed this kind of hand-damaging work onto her husband's family, Fugui.

But when she thought of Old Mrs. Yang's temper, she didn't dare to lash out and could only forcefully suppress her anger.