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

Lan Xia arrived at the Tang family's house early in the morning.

Following Tang Susu's instructions, she tied the dried grass into tight little bundles.

After finishing, he took the initiative to pick up an axe, chopped the firewood needed for the day, and neatly carried it to the kitchen to stack it up.

Lan Xia was not good with words, and kept her head down the whole time, working silently without slacking off at all.

Yang Xiaobao squatted beside the duck pen, watching the chirping ducklings inside, thinking of herding them into the field to eat insects.

But there were too many ducklings. As soon as he opened the gate, the little guys scattered and ran away, and he couldn't control them at all.

Seeing this, Tang Susu had no choice but to put down her work and accompany Xiaobao to slowly herd the ducklings into the field.

While watching the ducklings pecking at insects in the field, Xiao Bao picked some wild vegetables from the roadside, intending to take them home as food for Zhuangzhuang, Dahua, Erhua, and the chicks.

After settling Xiaobao in, Tang Susu returned to the main room and continued filtering the jelly.

She has to make eight buckets of jelly today to meet the order demand, so she dares not slack off in the slightest.

Just as they were busy, Lanxia suddenly rushed into the main room in a panic: "Auntie! There's a carriage at the gate!"

Tang Susu got up, wiped the water off her hands, and quickly walked into the yard.

Sure enough, a carriage was seen parked at the door. Although it was not as luxurious as the county magistrate's carriage, it was a very rare item in Yangqu Village.

The news spread quickly, and the villagers working in the fields all put down their work and gathered around to watch the excitement.

A middle-aged man jumped down from the carriage, and Tang Susu recognized him at a glance as Manager Zhong from Ruyi Workshop in Dongtai Town.

Manager Zhong strode forward, his face filled with urgency: "Miss Tang, I've finally found you!"

Tang Susu greeted him with a smile: "Manager Zhong, I had the cold noodles delivered to Ruyi Fang this morning. Is there anything else you need me for?"

Manager Zhong sighed and explained, "Miss Tang, you may not know this, but just a few incense sticks in front of us, the county magistrate, accompanied by a group of officials and more than ten strong men, suddenly rushed into Ruyi Fang and specifically asked for your cold noodles."

He continued, "The cold noodles I bought this morning are almost sold out. But the county magistrate and his entourage are so large and they insist on having some. I had no choice but to come here myself to ask if you have any left."

Tang Susu's heart skipped a beat, and she pressed, "Has the county magistrate already returned to Dongtai Town?"

Manager Zhong nodded with a smile: "I heard from the people who came with us that they seem to have found a water source! That's great! We can expect a good harvest this year. It's truly a blessing for Dongtai Town!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Susu breathed a sigh of relief.

She asked Manager Zhong to wait a moment, then turned around and went back into the house to get cassava starch, quickly mixing a bucket of freshly made jelly.

Then, the bucket of jelly was placed into a large wooden basin, and cold water was poured in to cool it down and speed up the solidification process.

A moment later, Tang Susu and Manager Zhong together carried the solidified jelly onto the carriage.

She instructed, "Manager Zhong, your carriage is fast; it will reach Dongtai Town within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. If the jelly hasn't completely solidified by the time you arrive, let it sit for a while before selling it."

The shopkeeper was very grateful and quickly took out his coins to pay the bill.

Tang Susu glanced at the densely packed villagers around her, smiled and waved her hand: "No rush, we can settle the accounts all at once when we deliver the goods tomorrow morning."

She knew that although a hundred servings of jelly only cost a hundred copper coins, settling the bill on the spot under the watchful eyes of others would inevitably attract envy, so it was better to avoid trouble.

Manager Zhong immediately understood her meaning, quickly bowed to express his gratitude, and hurriedly drove the carriage towards Dongtai Town.

As soon as the carriage left, the villagers flocked into the Tang family courtyard and began to chatter amongst themselves.

Someone recognized Manager Zhong and exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't that Manager Zhong from Ruyi Restaurant? I never expected Tang Susu to be doing business with such a grand establishment!"

Some people looked on with envy: "This Tang Susu is really amazing. She can afford so many chickens and ducks and even raises two dogs. She must have a lot of food stored up at home!" Their words were filled with undisguised jealousy.

Just then, Old Mrs. Yang suddenly rushed into the yard and started yelling at Tang Susu, "You spendthrift woman! This business is better off not being done! Look at our fields, the weeds are already waist-high! In ten days or so, everyone else will be harvesting their grain, and we'll only be able to harvest grass to feed our chickens and ducks!"

She deliberately raised her voice to create the illusion that Tang Susu had lost money in business and had neglected her farm work.

Upon hearing this, the villagers all turned to look at the Tang family's fields.

But instead of waist-high grass, a flock of ducklings were seen happily splashing around in the field.

Everyone immediately felt that Tang Susu had done something out of place again, and their previous positive impression of her had vanished without a trace.

Shen, who was behind the crowd, saw everything clearly and was so angry that she gritted her teeth.

She saw through Old Lady Yang's deliberate attempt to distort the truth and help Tang Susu avoid suspicion.

Unwilling to give up, Madam Shen, carrying a large basket of lantern seeds, squeezed through the crowd and shouted, "Third sister-in-law, how many copper coins are due for the thirty catties of lantern seeds I brought yesterday? Pay me in front of everyone!"

She wanted to expose the truth about Tang Susu's profits in public, so that the villagers would all be jealous of her.

Tang Susu calmly weighed the lantern seeds, counted out fifteen copper coins, and handed them to Shen.

Shen deliberately raised her hand high, proudly counting the copper coins one by one, as if afraid the villagers couldn't see clearly, wanting everyone to know how high the wages Tang Susu paid were.

The villagers were dumbfounded, their jaws nearly dropping in astonishment.

I never expected that peeling these lantern seeds would yield fifteen copper coins.

People then realized that, after deducting such high labor costs, the profit margin for the jelly business must not be very high.

People were also discussing how Tang Susu was too lazy, having to hire someone to do such a small job, and that she could earn more if she did it herself.

A village woman immediately stepped forward and said, "Tang Susu, I have three daughters who have nothing to do but pick lanterns and shell the seeds. I'll bring them to you then, so you can't refuse them!"

Shen was stunned. The scene she had imagined—villagers being jealous of Tang Susu—did not happen. Instead, someone wanted to take her job.

She immediately reacted like a kitten guarding its food, loudly protesting, "No! Peeling the lantern seeds is my job, you're not allowed to take it from me!"

The other village women immediately retorted, "Why should it be your job? Everyone has hands and can do it! What if you can't handle it with two hands and it interferes with Tang Susu's business?"

Some people even looked directly at Tang Susu and pleaded, "Tang Susu, let my son shell the seeds and bring them over too. We don't care about the wages, just the same as Shen's!"

Shen wanted to argue, but Old Mrs. Yang suddenly cast a cold glance at her and scolded sharply, "You insensible child! How can you delay your third sister-in-law's business? Since you're too busy, everyone should work together so that this business can last!"

Tang Susu couldn't help but laugh to herself, marveling at how quickly Old Lady Yang could change her expression—faster than turning the pages of a book.

She was just saying the business was losing money, but in the blink of an eye she's hoping it will last. This kind of protective and insightful mother-in-law is quite likable.

Ignoring the sullen Shen, she loudly addressed the villagers, "Since everyone is willing to do it, let me clarify the prices. Unpeeled lanterns are two copper coins per pound; peeled lanterns are ten copper coins per pound. Regardless of the type, deliver them to the Yang family's ancestral home and settle the payment with the Wen family."

The village women immediately began to make plans in their minds.

One pound of seeds requires about four pounds of lanterns, and peeling two pounds of lanterns will earn you one copper coin, which is a considerable wage.

Moreover, this job is simple; one can get two or three catties of lanterns every day by going into the mountains, and the seeds can be shelled in less than an hour.

Everyone said they would go home and have their children get to work, making more lanterns and seeds to exchange for coins.

Ms. Shen stood there dumbfounded, her work that was originally hers had been taken away.

Old Mrs. Yang glared at her and muttered "Serves you right" under her breath.

The villagers didn't have time to pay attention to Shen, and they all rushed home to tell their children to pick lanterns and shell seeds.

As the crowd gradually dispersed, in a corner, the widow Lan Shi kept staring at Tang Susu with eyes full of jealousy and resentment.

She stood on the edge of the field by the roadside, carrying a basket of fresh wild vegetables on her back. Watching Tang Susu being surrounded by villagers, her jealousy grew wildly like weeds.

When Lan recalled the past, she was the most praised widow in Yangqu Village. She was thrifty and hardworking, and everyone praised her.

Tang Susu (Yang Tangshi) was merely an unremarkable supporting character, and because of her fiery temper, she was the subject of gossip behind her back.

She couldn't understand when Tang Susu had changed her fiery personality, started a small business, and even managed to get involved with Manager Zhong of Ruyi Fang.

The more Lan thought about it, the more resentful she became. She secretly speculated that Tang Susu must have gotten close to someone like Manager Zhong because of her "seductive face".