Divorced by her husband's family and rejected by her own! She defiantly turned her life around

Zaohua patted her son's head and said, "Everything is fine."

Sheng'er can walk now, and he's very energetic and can't be left alone for a moment. Yesterday, I wasn't paying attention and he ran to the stove to play with the fire, almost burning himself. It scared me half to death, and now I don't dare let him out of my sight.

This is the most difficult time to raise a child, and it's also the most tiring.

"Sheng'er, quickly call her Auntie."

Sheng'er kept wanting to go out, not wanting to stay in the house. She mumbled incoherently, drooling, and called out, "Liang, go!"

"Look at this child, he can't stop for a moment, there's just no way to deal with him."

Liu Siyue reached into her sleeve, actually taking out a few pieces of mung bean cake from her spatial storage. "Sheng'er, call her auntie. If you call her auntie, you'll get some cakes."

He unwrapped the parchment paper from the pastry, broke off a piece, and put it into Sheng'er's mouth. Sheng'er's mouth moved as he tasted the sweet flavor, and he reached out to Liu Siyue for some. Just as he was about to reach for it, Zaohua grabbed him, saying, "Look at you, you're so dirty. You'll get Auntie's clothes dirty. If you want some, be a good girl."

In April, she placed a few pieces of pastry in Zao Hua's hand and said, "Sister Zao Hua, break off a little for Sheng'er to eat. Don't make it too big, or he might choke."

Sheng'er behaved himself this time, staying quietly in his mother's arms. Zao Hua held him between her legs and fed him little by little, saying, "Look at you, you little glutton. Don't rush, there's more here."

"Sister Zaohua, would you like to work?"

"Yes, we can't just sit around and do nothing, but Sheng'er is too young and needs constant care. I was worried that if I took her with me when we were going to pick mushrooms in the mountains, we wouldn't be able to do any work. If I carried her on my back, she would keep swaying and almost fall off. So we'll have to wait until she's a little older."

"Zaohua, if you want to go to work, Mom will help you take care of the children."

"Mom, this child is so naughty, I'm afraid you won't be able to handle him. There are also a lot of things to take care of at home, which will keep you busy."

"What's so tiring about it? They'll have kids in August, so I'll have to take care of them all. Consider this practice beforehand."

Zao Hua looked at August and said, "Sister, just listen to Mother and let her help you take care of things. We've all gone out, and with Sheng'er keeping Mother company, she won't be lonely. Mother, don't you think so?"

"Yes, you all go to work, and I'm really lonely all by myself. With Sheng'er here, I can at least talk to him."

"Mother, August, thank you."

"Sister Zaohua, I've opened a workshop, and it'll be open for business in the next few days. I'll have August call you then."

"Okay, thank you! Thank you!"

"That's settled then. I'm leaving now; I still have a lot of things to take care of."

In April, she also visited the village chief's house. Pan Dongmei greeted her with a smile, "April, looking for your uncle?"

"Yes, he went down to the field. I'll have my daughter-in-law go and call him."

"Who should we call?"

Liu Jinsheng returned carrying a hoe. "You're back. I was just about to say I was coming to see you in April."

"Uncle Village Chief, my workshop is about to open. It will be making soap for you. I need to find some people to work there, five men and five women. They need to be discreet, reliable, and hardworking. I also need to sign contracts with them."

We need this many people at the beginning; once things are running smoothly, we'll need to hire more.

"That's great! Uncle will get it done for you right away."

"Uncle, many people in our village are pregnant, and pregnant women absolutely cannot keep the baby."

"This uncle knows."

"Don't worry, Uncle. I run more than one workshop. I'll have plenty of people to work for me in the future. As long as they're honest, everyone can get a job."

After leaving the village chief's house, Liu Siyue went to the clan chief's house. "Grandpa Clan Chief, is Brother Mancang home?"

"They were here just now, but I don't know where they've gone."

"Full stock, full stock." No one answered. "Have a seat, I'll go look for something."

"Okay, I'll talk to my grandmother for a bit."

The clan chief went to find someone, so Liu Siyue chatted with the clan grandmother.

After washing up, Liu Jinsheng was discussing with Pan Dongmei who would be choosing workers when Liu Yidou from the village rushed in. "Village chief, I have something to report to you."

"Don't rush, sit down and talk slowly."

"How can I not be anxious? This concerns the livelihood of the entire village."

Liu Jinsheng immediately became serious. "What exactly happened?"

"My son and a few other kids went up the mountain to play and saw Liu Maoquan sneaking towards the charcoal kiln. They followed him and said they saw Liu Maoquan drawing something on a piece of paper."

He rushed back to tell me, and I'm here to tell you right now. I was worried that he might have leaked the method of making charcoal. He knows how to make charcoal kilns, and both of his sons work at the kilns. Although they don't work directly in the kilns, they probably know a little bit too. With a little more thought, he can make it work.

"Village chief, Village Chief Wei from Bainiwan has always wanted to burn charcoal, but we disagree. The two of them are often seen together. Do you think it might be..."

Liu Jinsheng frowned immediately. "You traitor! Don't make this public yet. I need to think carefully about how to handle this."

"Dongmei, you want to help me think of someone, but I need to go see the clan chief. This matter is of great importance."

"Okay, go ahead!"

Liu Jinsheng ran into the clan chief Mancang halfway there. "Uncle, I need to talk to you."

"We'll talk about it when we get home."

Back in April, I was still at home waiting to fully invest!

"April is here too, that's perfect."

The three returned to the clan chief's house, and Mancang asked with a smile, "April, what brings you here?"

"Brother Mancang, find 10 reliable people, both men and women, preferably more women, and no pregnant women. We're about to start making mosquito coils, so you should process the raw materials in advance. I plan to entrust the mosquito coil workshop to you, starting with selecting people."

The people you choose will be under your supervision from now on. You'll be a junior manager, so be fair and impartial in your work, and absolutely avoid any nepotism.

"Don't worry, April, I'll definitely do my best and won't let you down!"

The clan chief smiled; his grandson had made something of himself.

"Uncle, in April, I have something to tell you. Today, Liu Yidou came to see me and said that his son saw Liu Maoquan go to the charcoal kiln and draw something on a piece of paper. I suspect he wants to steal the charcoal-making recipe."

The clan chief's face also turned grim; this concerned the interests of the entire village and could not be taken lightly.

Liu Jinsheng then mentioned the relationship between Liu Maoquan and the village chief of Bainiwan Village, as well as the fact that the Liu brothers, Hongyu and Hongyu, also worked at the charcoal kiln. He added that if they were willing to put in the effort, they could probably succeed.

"What do you think we should do? If the recipe gets leaked, the whole village will suffer."

"We don't have any concrete evidence for this. If we can get his drawings today, we'll have a reason to question him. Here's what we'll do: send two clever men to keep a close eye on Liu Maoquan and see what he does every day and who he contacts. If he goes to Baini Bay, arrest him immediately, even if we're wrong."

"Okay, I'll make the arrangements right away."

Liu Jinsheng left in a hurry. Liu Siyue said with a smile, "Uncle Maoquan is not satisfied. He didn't get a share of the profits. He wants to take the formula and do it himself!"

"Hmph! If he dares to do anything that harms the interests of Liu Family Village or tarnishes the reputation of the Liu clan, he will be expelled from the clan and driven out of the village. Liu Family Village will not tolerate traitors."

In just one day, Master Chang finished building the stove and the worktable, making sure it was flat and smooth. Liu Siyue was very satisfied with what she saw.

The next day, Liu Siyue took Qingwu to town. "Qingwu, let's go to town and see if Master Xie has finished making the molds? We need to buy a few more large iron pots today."

"Master, we may not have an iron pot available; it might have to be custom-made."

"We'll use what we have at home for now. If there's stock, we'll buy it; if not, we'll order it. There's no rush."