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

Yang Gousheng carried three ounces of pork and walked briskly into the Yang family ancestral home, a hint of shyness on his face.

He was still planning in his mind to carefully wash and dry the new clothes bestowed upon him by the county magistrate, and to keep them for when he got married in the future.

Upon seeing Granny Yang, he quickly offered her the meat and said softly, "Grandma, this was specially sent by my mother to you and Grandpa."

During famine years, the price of meat had already increased several times over, from about ten copper coins a pound to forty copper coins. These three ounces of meat were worth about ten copper coins.

Upon hearing the price of the meat, Old Mrs. Yang's face instantly darkened. Her hand tightened as she took the meat, and she began to scold Yang Gousheng: "You child, how can you be so thrifty?"

"The five hundred copper coins you earned this time are worth five qian of silver, enough to save up for your wedding! Buying some wheat flour and millet can feed the family for several days. Isn't buying this meat a waste?"

She became increasingly agitated as she spoke, her tone hardening: "Our family isn't the kind that can afford meat. Don't be like those rich kids, wasting money like that! Only spendthrifts spend money like that!"

"Alright, that's enough." Old Master Yang put down his farm tools and stopped Old Lady Yang. "Gousheng works hard to earn money and still thinks of us old folks, so he specially brought meat to show his respect. He's a filial son. If you scold him like that, he probably won't dare to come to our door again."

Old Mrs. Yang was actually happy inside. How could she not be gratified that her grandson cared about her?

She was just really hurt by the expense—she knew that there was no reason to buy only three ounces of meat; Gou Sheng must have bought two jin, spending nearly a hundred copper coins. She felt that Gou Sheng and Tang Susu were both spendthrifts who didn't know how to manage money.

But after the old man said that, she could only swallow the rest of her scolding and didn't continue.

Just as Yang Gousheng was about to say goodbye to his grandparents and leave, he bumped into Yang Ersha's father, Yang Youpeng, who walked into the yard with a flushed face.

Upon seeing Grandpa Yang and his wife, Yang Youpeng rubbed his hands together, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Uncle, Aunt, I've come to ask you for a favor. I'd like to borrow two hundred copper coins from you."

Old Master Yang raised an eyebrow and asked, "You just received five hundred copper coins as wages, why do you still need to borrow money?"

Yang Youpeng quickly explained, "Here's what happened: My son Ersha has taken a fancy to a girl from the Shen family in Ma'an Village. The dowry they're asking for is one tael of silver, which is one thousand copper coins. I used the money I earned this time, plus what I had saved before, to come up with eight hundred coins. I'm still two hundred short, so I had no choice but to swallow my pride and ask you for it, afraid of delaying Ersha's life-long happiness."

Upon hearing that it was about a marriage proposal, Old Lady Yang's gossipy interest was instantly piqued. Her anger subsided, and she laughed, saying, "Oh my, I never expected that silly boy, Ersha, to have quietly settled down for life! What do you think of that girl from the Shen family? Is she pretty? Is she hardworking?"

"Hardworking! And pretty too!" Yang Youpeng replied with a smile, his tone full of satisfaction. "That girl is called Shen Cuihe. She's very quick and efficient, and she can do a lot of work. My silly son is so lucky."

"Shen Cuihe?" Upon hearing this name, Old Lady Yang's face instantly tightened.

She remembered that a while ago, Tang Susu came to her specifically to inquire about the girl's background, saying that she wanted to find a match for Gousheng, but later said that she had made a mistake and told her not to bother.

Now, upon hearing that the girl was going to marry Yang Ersha, and seeing Yang Gousheng standing there, staring blankly and motionless, she instantly understood that there was no mistake. It was clear that Gousheng still had feelings for the girl, but now that she had been promised to someone else, it was inappropriate for him to still have feelings for her.

Without further thought, Old Mrs. Yang readily agreed, "Alright, two hundred copper coins is nothing. Dafu, take the money to your friend's house later. Ersha's wedding is a big deal, we can't delay it."

Yang Youpeng was overjoyed, bowed repeatedly to express his gratitude, and then left happily.

Old Mrs. Yang picked up her needle and thread and began mending clothes while muttering, "That girl from the Shen family is asking for far too much in dowry! In this day and age, five qian of silver is the absolute maximum for a dowry, but she's asking for a tael! That's outrageous!"

"If this is her parents' wish, it means they are unreasonable, and this girl's life after marriage will likely be unstable; if this is her own wish, it proves that this girl is too calculating and has a heavy heart." She shook her head and said firmly, "No matter what the situation, this girl is not suitable for our Yang family. It's actually a good thing that Gousheng didn't marry her."

Yang Gousheng remained silent throughout, his head hanging low, as if his soul had been taken away, and slowly walked out of the ancestral home.

Back home, he was still absent-minded, his eyes glazed over, and a thought kept swirling in his mind: it was because his house was too small and the conditions were not good that Shen Cuihe refused to accept him. If he could build a few more houses, perhaps she would accept him.

Tang Susu noticed early on that Yang Gousheng was not in a good mood. Seeing him like this, she felt even more sorry for him and said with concern, "Gousheng, don't just stand there. Come and eat, and then go back to your room to rest for a while."

But Yang Gousheng shook his head, turned around and went back into the house to change into a set of tattered clothes. He silently walked to the backyard, picked up his tools and started making adobe bricks. His mind was full of thoughts about building a house, as if he wanted to vent all his emotions on his work.

Seeing this, Tang Susu knew he must be troubled, so she called Yang Xiaobao over and handed her a bamboo basket: "Xiaobao, go to the old house and borrow a bigger bamboo basket. While you're at it, ask your grandparents if they know why your older brother is unhappy."

Old Mrs. Yang was looking for someone to confide in, and when she met Yang Xiaobao, she told her in detail about how Yang Ersha proposed to Shen Cuihe and how Gousheng was devastated after hearing about it.

Yang Xiaobao relayed the message to Tang Susu, who couldn't help but roll her eyes and look exasperated.

She has been through two relationships, and both times she dumped her partners without a second thought. In her view, heartbreak is just a temporary setback, and she can forget about it quickly as long as she keeps busy.

So she decided to use the same method to help Gousheng resolve his inner conflict, and assigned him a series of tasks: "Gousheng, first go and carry two buckets of water to thoroughly water the yard; after watering, go to the backyard and move the mud to the open space; after moving the mud, go to the field to weed; after weeding, go and gather a bundle of firewood."

Yang Gousheng didn't utter a single complaint. After listening, he buried himself in his work, from carrying water to transporting mud, to weeding and gathering firewood. He was busy non-stop, his feet barely touching the ground, and he didn't have time to think about those troublesome things.

After working for most of the day, his forehead was covered in sweat, but his spirits had improved considerably, and his eyes had regained their usual clarity.

When it was lunchtime, Tang Susu specially took out more than half a pound of meat and made fragrant Dongpo pork. She also cut some lean meat and cooked a pot of egg soup.

She asked Tang Lifu to bring a bowl of Dongpo pork and a bowl of egg drop soup to Miao Yulan to help her recover.

The family had just eaten meat not long ago, but the children were still incredibly tempted by the Dongpo pork. They devoured it, making smacking noises all around, their mouths greasy, completely unaware that the taste of this Dongpo pork was actually not as authentic as Miao Yulan's.

Not long after the meal, the village head strolled leisurely into the Tang family's courtyard, burping as he walked. He said with a smile, "Su Su, did your family have meat today too? My family also bought some meat today, and it tasted really good. It's just that my boys almost got into a fight over the last piece of meat."

Upon hearing this, the four boys of the Tang family all coughed dryly a few times in unison—if it weren't for Tang Susu keeping things in check, the four of them, uncle and nephew, would definitely have argued fiercely over the last piece of Dongpo pork during the meal.

With the head of the household present, the last, most fragrant bite of meat naturally goes to Tang Susu.

After a few jokes, the village head explained his purpose, his tone filled with excitement: "I have good news for you! Restaurants and inns in the surrounding towns of Jiangtou, Qianjiang, and Qintang have all heard about the reputation of your cold noodles and asked me to inquire whether you can supply them and whether your supply capacity can keep up."

Upon hearing this, Tang Susu's eyes lit up instantly, and she quickly agreed with a smile: "We can supply them! Of course we can! We already have about forty catties of lantern seeds stored at home, and we have enough people to rub the seeds. We can completely meet their needs."

The village headman pulled a piece of paper from his sleeve. He wasn't very literate, but he recognized many shop signs, and he read them aloud to Tang Susu one by one: "Yuelai Inn, Dengji Restaurant, and Kelai Tavern in Jiangtou Town, each need fifty portions; Juxingfang, Yuxiangge, and Xiangfulou in Qianjiang Town, each need one hundred portions; and several other shops in Qintang Town have also placed orders. I estimate the total number of orders is about one thousand portions!"

One thousand servings! Tang Susu quickly calculated in her mind: one thousand servings of jelly would require about five catties of lantern seeds, and then she would need to hire three more people to rub the seeds.

Previously in Dongtai Town, the purchase price of liangfen (cold mung bean jelly) was one copper coin per serving, while the price for supplying merchants from other towns was two copper coins per serving.

Based on this calculation, after deducting costs, the daily net profit can reach nearly four taels of silver!

Thinking of this, Tang Susu smiled even more brightly and quickly thanked the village head: "Village head, thank you so much for helping me get so many orders."

She paused for a moment, then offered, "You helped me contact these merchants, so from now on, I'll give you 10% of their profits from all their purchases, as a reward for your hard work."