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

Time flew by amidst the family's busy schedule.

Several village women stood outside Tang Susu's yard, peeking out to ask if she was home, but did not go in directly.

Tang Susu walked out of the courtyard and replied with a smile, "I'm here. Did you ladies need something?"

The village women gathered around, chattering as they explained their purpose: "Sister Su, we went to town this morning but couldn't find anyone selling ducklings. Your ducks are so well-raised, and they even keep locusts away. We wanted to ask where you bought your ducklings?"

Tang Susu told them, "I bought my ducklings in Jiangtou Town, but the person selling them doesn't come every day; it's a matter of luck."

She could tell that the village women were busy with fieldwork and household chores, and some even had nursing babies in their arms, so they didn't have much time to go to town to look for ducklings.

Tang Susu offered, "I run a food business and travel to various towns around here every day. I can help find people to sell ducklings while I'm at it. You can rest assured that you can leave this to me."

She then quoted the price of the ducklings: "Six to eight copper coins each, depending on the size and robustness of the ducklings."

Then they asked each of them how many they wanted.

This price wasn't cheap during a famine year; two years ago, ducklings only cost four to five copper coins each.

But in order to prevent locust plagues and protect the harvest in the fields, the village women were willing to buy them.

The five village women discussed it and decided to buy about two hundred ducklings in total.

Tang Susu secretly calculated that even if she encountered the man who sold ducklings before, he would only sell fifty or sixty at a time, which was not enough.

Fortunately, I have my own trading platform, which allows me to buy stronger ducklings with a higher survival rate.

She smiled and agreed to the task: "Okay, I've got it in mind. You can come and pick it up from my house once the ducklings arrive."

After the village women left, expressing their deepest gratitude, Tang Susu was about to go into the kitchen to cook.

A figure emerged from the dark corner of the courtyard wall; it was Houcai's wife.

At this moment, her face was sickly pale and ashen, lacking her usual domineering and fierce aura, and she looked extremely haggard.

Houcai's wife said in a hoarse voice, her voice pleading, "Sister Susu, please give me some advice."

She explained, "The village head has been consulting you about everything lately. I know you're smart and capable; only you can help me."

Tang Susu was somewhat taken aback and asked for the reason.

Houcai's wife gritted her teeth and said, word by word, "I don't want to live with Yang Houcai anymore!"

Hou Cai's wife frankly admitted: "That day when I went to take care of Yang Hou Cai under the big banyan tree, I just wanted to end our years of marriage, fulfill my responsibilities as a wife, and then completely break off our relationship."

She looked exhausted and fed up: "I'm fed up with being pointed at and criticized every day, and I can't stand the pitying looks from those village women. Those gazes are like ropes, tightly binding my dignity and making it hard for me to breathe."

Upon hearing this, Tang Susu was actually happy for her. She pulled Hou Cai's wife to sit down on the stone bench in the courtyard: "That kind of man is really not worth having. It's great that you've come to this realization. A woman can live a good life even if she lives alone."

Hou Cai's wife gave a bitter smile: "I've thought about divorcing my husband or getting a divorce. But I know in my heart that no matter what I do, my only way out is to go back to my parents' home. And all those children I've given birth to will have nothing to do with me anymore. It will be as difficult as climbing to heaven to see them again."

Tang Susu then remembered the laws of the feudal era—after a woman was divorced or remarried, she would belong to her natal family and would have no further relationship with the children born to her ex-husband. Moreover, her natal family had the right to arrange for her to remarry.

Tang Susu frowned in thought, then asked Houcai's wife, "How old is your eldest son, Tieqiao, this year? Is he engaged yet?"

Houcai's wife replied, "Tieqiao is sixteen years old. He got engaged last year. His fiancée is my sister's second daughter, and they plan to marry in two months."

Tang Susu's eyes lit up, and she gave Houcai's wife an idea: "That makes things easier. You pick the quickest and most auspicious day and have Tieqiao and his fiancée get married. After the wedding, let Tieqiao and his wife live separately."

She continued, "After that, you'll live with the Iron Shovel couple, and then slowly figure out a way to get Iron Rod and the girls out to live with you. That way, you won't be tied to Yang Houcai, and you can reunite with the children. You can completely pretend that Yang Houcai doesn't exist in this world."

Houcai's wife held Tang Susu's hand tightly, tears welling up in her eyes. She choked back sobs and said, "Susu, thank you so much! I was so foolish to misunderstand you like that before!"

Tang Susu smiled and patted the back of her hand, comforting her, "Don't dwell on the past, look forward. In life, you're bound to encounter bad men. If you keep wallowing in the past and refuse to get out, your life will only be filled with darkness. Only by bravely letting go of the past can you encounter more beautiful things."

The next morning, Tang Susu asked Tang Liqiang to stay home and do chores, while she and Yang Gousheng drove an oxcart to deliver cold noodles.

The two traveled around several towns in the surrounding area and only encountered one man selling ducklings.

His ducklings cost seven copper coins each, and he only had forty in total.

Tang Susu didn't hesitate and bought them all.

As they passed a quiet alley, Tang Susu sent Yang Gousheng away, saying, "Go to the teahouse up ahead and buy two bowls of herbal tea while I wait for you. I'll be right back after I go to the outhouse."

After Yang Gousheng left, Tang Susu quickly opened the trading platform and bought 180 larger and stronger ducklings for five copper coins each.

Including the forty ducklings bought earlier, a total of two hundred and twenty ducklings were neatly arranged on the oxcart.

The sounds of "quack quack quack" rose and fell, creating a lively atmosphere.

Yang Defu, who was rushing to catch the cart, slapped his thigh and said in annoyance, "Oh dear, what a forgetful thing I am! My wife specifically told me to buy some ducklings to keep locusts away, but I completely forgot!"

He asked anxiously, "Su Su, do you know where else around here I can buy ducklings? I want to go and buy some right away."

Tang Susu quickly said, "Uncle Yang, don't worry, I can buy it for you."

As she spoke, she nimbly got out of the car, ran back into the alley, and soon came out carrying a cage of newly bought ducklings.

It turns out that Tang Susu bought another sixty ducklings from the trading platform.

She gave Yang Defu thirty, and planned to send the remaining thirty to Old Yang's house.

Because she bought a large number of ducklings on the trading platform, the platform also gave her six goslings as a gift.

Tang Susu was chased by geese when she was a child, and she still has a fear of geese to this day.

But these six goslings are fluffy and look very cute. They are about the same size as ducklings and are not threatening at all.

Thinking that once the goslings grew up, they could not only help the ducks fight locusts, but also help guard the house, she happily took them with her on the oxcart.

On the oxcart, the quacking of ducks and the honking of goslings mingled together, like a lively singing competition.

Back in Yangqu Village, as soon as the oxcart stopped at the gate of the courtyard, the villagers gathered around to watch the excitement.

Everyone looked at the densely packed ducklings and a few unusual goslings on the oxcart with surprise, praising her excitedly: "SuSu is amazing! She managed to buy so many ducklings!"

Some people examined the ducklings closely and said, "These ducklings look like they've been raised for at least ten days. Many of their feathers have turned white; they're definitely strong and have a high survival rate!"

Afterwards, everyone inquired about the price.

Tang Susu smiled and announced the price: "Seven copper coins each."

She only spent five copper coins to buy ducklings from the trading platform, earning two coins for each one, which she considered as her delivery fee.

The villagers thought it was a great deal: "This price is too good to pass up! These ducklings will start laying eggs in a few days, which will both keep locusts away and provide us with eggs—it's such a bargain!"

The five women who had previously ordered ducklings immediately turned around and ran home to get their coins.

They paid the money, carefully placed their own ducklings into the prepared bamboo baskets, and happily took them away.

Soon, only 30 of the 220 ducklings remained.

Tang Susu instructed Yang Gousheng: "Take these thirty ducklings to Old Yang's house for Grandma and the others."

Old Mrs. Yang didn't know that the villagers had asked Tang Susu to buy ducklings on their behalf, otherwise she would have already paid to reserve them.

Looking at the thirty ducklings that had been delivered, she thought to herself that Old Yang's family had nearly thirty acres of land, and these ducklings were simply not enough to keep out locusts.

He then asked Yang Gousheng to tell Tang Susu, "Have your mother buy another thirty-five ducklings for me tomorrow. I originally wanted to order thirty, but buying five more will be safer."

Old Mrs. Yang turned and ran back into the house, taking out all her savings from a wooden box under the bed.

She had previously borrowed two hundred copper coins from Yang Youpeng, and with the wages Tang Susu had given her these past two days, plus the money her eldest and second sons had given her as filial piety, she had a total of five hundred and ten copper coins left.

Buying thirty-five ducklings costs two hundred and forty-five copper coins, and after buying them, you only have two hundred and sixty-five copper coins left.

Old Mrs. Yang was making plans in her mind. Although she didn't have many copper coins left, she could still earn wages by working at Tang Susu's house every day. She could save up slowly and soon she would have five qian of silver. She didn't feel bad at all.

Mrs. Shen watched helplessly as her wife used all the family's savings to buy ducklings, and she was so angry that her eyes turned red.

She couldn't help but complain, "Mom, why did you have to buy so many ducklings? The locusts have already come once, they definitely won't come back. Buying so many ducklings means we have to feed them and clean up their droppings, it's just asking for trouble!"

Old Mrs. Yang was so angry she laughed. She glared at Shen and scolded, "You shallow-minded thing! Raising ducks isn't just for locust control. Ducks are easier to raise than chickens, and they can lay eggs when they grow up. The children in the family are as thin as bamboo poles, and they need duck eggs to nourish their bodies."

She even threatened, "If you think raising ducks is too much trouble, you can forget about touching any of the duck eggs in the house from now on!"

Madam Shen's expression changed, and she immediately put on a fawning smile, stepping forward to support Old Lady Yang's arm: "Mother, that's not what I meant. I was just worried that you'd overwork yourself."

She actually had other plans in mind, fearing that the work of raising ducks would fall on her eldest daughter, Fangjuan.

Fangjuan was the eldest daughter in the family. She did all sorts of chores, from washing clothes and cooking to feeding chickens and pigs. She was like a spinning top that never stopped turning.

If you add tasks like herding ducks, feeding ducks, and cleaning up duck droppings, Fangjuan's workload becomes even more arduous.