After clearing the room, Qin Sang had Eldest Brother and Third Brother deliver money to the three families.
In addition to the fifty wen agreed upon initially, Qin Sang weighed out two catties of flour for each as compensation.
Once that was done, Qin Sang began distributing rewards to everyone.
It didn't matter that Eldest Brother and Third Brother weren't there; there was no reason for men to be in charge of the money anyway.
Qin Sang took an ounce of silver and held it out to Eldest Brothers Wife.
"This is the reward for you two for the past few days. Eldest Brother performed very well when he encountered danger with me in town."
"Take this silver; you're not allowed to refuse it."
Eldest Brothers Wife was about to decline, but Qin Sang's stern tone at the end frightened her into stopping.
She had no choice but to take the ounce of silver, pull out a cloth handkerchief from her bosom, and carefully tuck it away.
"Thank you, Mother."
Qin Sang looked at Eldest Girl and Tian Wenmo with a smile.
"Eldest Girl has been great these days too. You and your Fifth Uncle get twenty wen each."
Eldest Girl's large eyes lit up with joy, but Tian Wenmo couldn't bring himself to be happy.
As a scholar, receiving the same reward as his younger niece would be embarrassing if word got out.
"Si Jin, yours, fifty wen."
Tian Sijin happily received it with both hands, his eyes crinkling with a smile: "Thank you, Mother."
Seeing Er Fu standing to the side with disbelief in her eyes, Qin Sang explained:
"The family is now in the business of making mosquito coils; those drying in the courtyard are exactly that."
"If you stay at home to work and do well in the future, Mother will give you rewards too."
Tian Erfu gripped the corner of her clothes, her eyes full of conflict.
Mother said "in the future," but in her future, she could probably only stay in town.
Qin Sang counted another hundred wen for Third Brothers Wife.
"A hundred wen for you two together. Count it."
Qin Sang watched Third Brothers Wife slowly count the money, feeling a bit surprised.
Third Brothers Wife actually wasn't dissatisfied?
She gave Eldest Brother's couple an ounce of silver but only a hundred wen to them. With such a big difference, she didn't make a scene?
Something was fishy.
Qin Sang's eyes flickered as she asked with a smile:
"When your father and brothers come over tonight, I'll have to ask them if the price I'm giving is appropriate. We can't let them work at a loss, right?"
Third Brothers Wife's hand twitched as she counted, and she quickly looked up to explain:
"Mother, no need to ask. The price you're giving is high; my father and the others will definitely be very satisfied. Really, there's no need to ask."
Seeing her nervous reaction, Qin Sang knew that Third Brothers Wife must have embezzled some money in the middle.
Although she wasn't short of money now, she didn't like family members playing tricks.
"Is that so?"
Qin Sang gave her a deep look, making Third Brothers Wife feel a chill down her spine.
"Yes... yes."
Qin Sang didn't call her out; after all, she was pregnant, so she had to show some consideration. She looked at everyone and said calmly:
"I'm giving everyone rewards because you've performed well lately, working seriously without being careless, lazy, or deceitful."
"I hope you all continue to maintain this in the future."
"Of course, if I find anyone acting one way to my face and another behind my back, don't blame me if others get rewards and you don't."
Eldest Girl, Si Jin, and the others immediately began to promise:
"Grandma, Eldest Girl will definitely be obedient."
"Mother, I promise not to be lazy."
Eldest Brothers Wife and Tian Wenmo said the same.
Qin Sang glanced at Third Brothers Wife sitting nearby, said nothing more, packed up her bundle, and turned to return to her room.
Zhao Huan returned to her room holding the hundred wen and pulled out a cloth bundle from her pillow.
Inside were several hundred wen; it felt heavy in her hand. It was a bit uncomfortable under her head when she slept at night, but she liked it very much.
Now, holding this money, she inexplicably felt it was like a hot potato.
Mother's words just now seemed like a warning to her.
Had Mother already found out?
If Mother really found out, would she really stop giving rewards to her and her husband in the future?
No, it wouldn't happen. Zhao Huan looked at her bulging belly; she was carrying the Tian Family's precious grandson.
She was saving money for the child in her belly too.
Who knew if Mother would change back in the future?
Only what's in one's hand truly belongs to them.
...
By evening, Qin Sang's house became even more lively.
Knowing they could exchange for flour this time, everyone was very happy.
Because rice always had to be boiled in water to be eaten, but flour pancakes only needed a small amount of water, and they could even be eaten dry-fried; aside from being dry, there was nothing wrong with them.
As the fields of each family were harvested, more and more people went up the mountain to dig for herbs. Especially after knowing that various herbs could be medicinal materials, the Caoer everyone brought back included many other varieties.
The villagers didn't know if they were medicinal, but Qin Sang recognized them.
For example, polygoni multiflori, Horny Goat Weed, Wu Pi Feng, Cassia Seed, and so on...
Qin Sang wanted them all, especially that polygoni multiflori; it was worth twenty mall coins per gram in the Mall, and one plant increased her balance by three hundred mall coins.
Qin Sang didn't let the villagers lose out either; one polygoni multiflori was worth one catty of flour. Combined with the other herbs he dug up, he exchanged for five catties of flour in total, making others envious.
For others, based on the quantity, she gave prices that satisfied the villagers, with most taking home two or three catties of flour.
Today Da Huas Mother harvested quite a bit, digging up several plants of gastrodia elata and notoginseng, which could be exchanged for four catties of flour.
Widow Xia was not to be outdone, digging up two catties of aconite, which made Qin Sang's heart race; this stuff's toxicity could be considered lethal upon contact with blood.
Widow Xia said:
"I wrapped my hands in cloth to handle them. Caoer found the leaves, and I dug them up; I didn't let them touch it."
Qin Sang nodded repeatedly: "That's good, that's good."
She weighed out ten catties of flour and one catty of rice for Widow Xia, making everyone else's eyes turn red with envy.
Qin Sang took the opportunity to explain:
"This herb is called aconite. It's highly toxic but can be used as medicine. If you see it, you must take precautions and not touch the sap of the aconite; otherwise, even an immortal would find it hard to save you."
The villagers nodded one after another, leaning in to look at the plant's appearance, seemingly trying to engrave it into their minds so they could look for it on the mountain tomorrow.
Qin Sang had Widow Xia and Da Huas Mother stay behind. After the villagers finished watching the excitement, Qin Sang pulled the two of them into the courtyard, pointed at the winnowing basket filled with Charcoal Powder, and said:
"Sister, In-law, I'd like to hire your two families to do the work of making Charcoal Powder. You provide the charcoal yourselves, and for every catty of Charcoal Powder ground, you'll get half a catty of flour. Will you do it?"
Actually, it would be faster to find other families for this job, but Qin Sang felt Widow Xia was loyal and righteous and lived too hard a life, so she wanted to help her out if she could.
As for Da Huas Mother, it was because the rumors spread by the Original Body in the past had harmed her daughter too much, and no matchmaker had come to propose marriage yet.
Moreover, the family's carpentry work had been given to Third Brothers Wife's family. Eldest Brothers Wife was honest and wouldn't say anything, but Qin Sang wanted to compensate her as much as possible.
Grinding Charcoal Powder wasn't hard, and children could help; the only downside was that it was dirty, making hands and faces black.
Now that production needed to be increased, relying solely on the family definitely wouldn't work. Furthermore, as more and more villagers came to exchange for food, the family members had to be responsible for making mosquito coils, so they would be so busy their heels would be hitting the backs of their heads, with no time to rest.
Everyone's physical foundation was already poor; if they worked themselves to exhaustion, it would be more loss than gain.