Exiled to Lingnan, the Crown Prince's wife raises children, cultivates the land, and leads the

"No, you've strung them very well. As long as we family members can recognize them, that's fine. They're even better than your handwriting!"

Cheng Qiqi praised him without reservation.

Song Wu Niang blushed at the praise: "Madam Cheng, are you serious? Then I'd like to string a few more seashells over there, is that alright?"

Song Wu Niang pointed to the place where the sweet potato starch was stored and said.

"Does the area where sweet potato starch is dried also vary depending on how many days it was dried?"

Cheng Qiqi glanced at it in confusion and asked, "Isn't it based on experience? Once you pick it up and it starts to dust, it means it's dry?"

"right."

Song Wuniang said, "I've observed that relying on experience alone is not enough. We need to have standards. If we don't store the dried cassava flour properly and it gets moldy, wouldn't we suffer a huge loss?"

It takes four pounds of cassava to produce one pound of cassava flour!

This is under the condition that the cassava is of good quality. If the cassava is of poor quality, it won't yield this much flour!

"Yes, it's good to have standards."

Cheng Qiqi countered, "Then, what if it's been sun-dried for three days and still not dry? For example, if the sun isn't strong enough, or if there's not much wind, the tapioca flour won't dry."

"Madam Cheng, the number of days I grind the tapioca flour is not determined by how many days it takes to dry, but by the dryness or wetness of the tapioca flour."

Song Wu Niang led Cheng Qi Qi over and said, "For example, this kind, semi-dry, which looks like it needs to be dried further. It's mainly for tapioca flour that dries quickly."

"This kind."

Song Wu Niang walked to a clean bamboo drying tray, grabbed a handful, and tossed it up, saying, "Look, there's dust here too. It looks quite dry, but..."

Song Wu Niang grabbed a handful of tapioca flour, squeezed it hard, and it still managed to form a loose dough. She said, "This kind of flour is fine for immediate use, but it won't do if it's going into storage!"

"this……"

Cheng Qiqi looked at it carefully. Song Wuniang walked to the side, grabbed a handful of tapioca flour, and kneaded it into a ball. However, the tapioca flour did not form a ball, but instead, like quicksand, it scattered into the bamboo mat.

"That should indeed be distinguished."

Cheng Qiqi immediately realized what was going on and said, "You can distinguish between 90% dry and completely dry."

If it's half-dry, you can tell just by looking at it.

"Yes, that's what I think."

Song Wu Niang said, "If this tapioca flour is completely dry, it will still have a gritty feel when you pinch it between your fingers."

"The shop has a limited daily supply. If these aren't dried properly before being put into the warehouse, they'll probably spoil."

Song Wu Niang thought about the mountain of cassava; it would be such a waste if it went bad.

"Song Wu Niang, with you at the cassava workshop, I feel so at ease, and the whole village can rest assured!"

Cheng Qiqi looked at the meticulous Song Wuniang. If it were just a little tapioca flour, then even if it was a little dry, she wouldn't think it was a big deal!

However, making food requires someone like Song Wu Niang, who is meticulous, attentive, and cautious, to manage it.

"Mrs. Cheng taught her well."

Song Wuniang looked at her shyly. After receiving Cheng Qiqi's affirmation, Song Wuniang became even more motivated. She felt that as long as they worked hard, they might be able to build a new house soon!

"You need to take extra care when storing tapioca flour."

As soon as Cheng Qiqi left the cassava workshop, she knew in her heart that with so much cassava flour, they could sell it until next year without any problem.

"Village head, Granny Leng, do you know where I can find jelly?"

On the way home, Cheng Qiqi asked curiously.

Even if you sell taro balls every day, your shop can't just have taro balls. You have to offer other sweet treats one by one. That way, people will keep coming to your shop to eat sweet soup!

That way, we won't have to worry about not having business in the future.

Is the Zhou family trying to steal our business?

As long as their products are good, who are they afraid of stealing their business?

What is jelly fruit?

Zhuang Lizheng and Granny Leng exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with confusion upon hearing the name.

"that is……"

Cheng Qiqi described what the jelly fruit looked like, saying, "It has a lot of seeds inside. If you put it in water and rub it, it will produce a sticky substance."

"You mean the creeping fig fruit, right?"

The old woman slapped her thigh and said, "There's quite a lot here. Just add some mung bean powder, and it'll be mung bean powder—it'll be green, and kids will love it!"

"Are there any? Are there many?"

Cheng Qiqi didn't know about adding mung bean powder, but as long as it was there, it was good. She said, "We need to pick lots and lots of creeping fig fruits so we can make a different kind of jelly. It'll be especially delicious in the summer when we eat it with brown sugar and fruit."

"We can still sell them in our shop."

Cheng Qiqi pondered for a moment, then asked again, "Do you have jelly grass? It looks a bit like mint."

Cheng Qiqi gave a detailed description, and the old woman stopped answering. Instead, she led Cheng Qiqi for a while, pointed to a patch of grass, and said, "Look, isn't that the jelly grass you mentioned?"

"Let me see."

Cheng Qiqi leaned forward and looked at it again and again. If it weren't for the fact that there were too many people to enter the space, she would definitely go into the space to take a good look and see if this is what the jelly grass looks like!

With the grass jelly, she can make grass jelly, which is a perfect match with white grass jelly!

"This grass grows all over the mountain. Is it the 'jelly grass' you mentioned?"

The old woman asked, "From the description, it sounds like the jelly grass you mentioned."

"I need to take a closer look, so I don't mistake it for something else."

Cheng Qiqi picked some to take home and examine them closely, but when she looked up, she saw a carriage parked in front of her house in the distance.

"Oh, Sister Zhengzheng is here so early?"

Cheng Qiqi spotted Tangtang wearing a small straw hat at a glance. She skipped and hopped off the carriage and ran towards the Jin family.

"Oh, the magistrate's wife has arrived!"

The old woman recognized her at a glance and said, "Qiqi, hurry back and treat her well!"

After what happened with the Kong family, Granny Leng finally understood the benefits of the whole village working together to earn money.

The shops in the county were run by a few representatives selected from the village. The money they earned was tallied together by everyone.

In the village, Granny Leng felt that she saw more smiles on the road than before.

With the magistrate's wife backing them up, wouldn't their shops be able to make even more money?

The sugar mill can make money. Chongshan and Heitu have already sent sugar to other places to sell. In theory, as long as they grow sugarcane well and produce more sugar in the second half of the year, they don't have to worry about not making money!

But who would complain about earning too much money?

A shop in the county might earn a few taels of silver a day. Even after deducting costs and dividing it among the whole village, it wouldn't amount to much. But it's a steady stream of income over time!

"Qiqi, you're already busy so early in the morning?"

When Chu Zheng saw Cheng Qiqi carrying a bundle of grass back, he looked at her with some heartache, thinking how difficult life must be for the Jin family.

"I went to the workshop for a visit."

As Cheng Qiqi was explaining, she was about to invite Chu Zheng inside to rest when she saw Chu Zheng looking at the village head and Granny Leng who were about to leave, and said, "Village head, perfect timing, I have something to tell you."

"Tell me?"

The village head's eyes widened, his mind already racing. Had he done something wrong? Could he still keep his position as village head?