After everything was settled, Mu Yuqing turned toward Madam Lin, who had been waiting nearby, and spoke softly.
“Auntie, bring the baby over so Xiao Li can nurse him.”
Madam Lin immediately nodded.
“Of course, Miss Mu. But… Xiao Li just gave birth, and her body is still weak. I’m afraid she won’t have milk yet. I already prepared some warm rice water and was planning to feed the baby with that first.”
Mu Yuqing frowned slightly.
“Auntie, a baby’s very first meal should always be the mother’s colostrum. It contains the best nutrients and antibodies for the child. It helps strengthen the baby’s health and supports proper development.”
As she spoke, she picked up a warm towel from the side.
“Besides, letting the baby nurse early stimulates milk production and also helps the uterus contract faster. It’s very beneficial for the mother’s recovery.”
Then she looked gently toward Xiao Li.
“Xiao Li, loosen your clothes a little. I’ll help massage you.”
Knowing how conservative women of this era were, Mu Yuqing carefully asked permission before touching her.
Her movements were calm and professional as she gently massaged Xiao Li’s breasts.
Not long afterward, with Mu Yuqing’s assistance, the tiny newborn finally managed to drink his very first meal.
Madam Lin’s expression changed completely.
The doubt she initially held toward Mu Yuqing had already turned into admiration and trust.
She had originally thought that Miss Mu was too young to understand such matters, but now she realized she herself had been ignorant.
Miss Mu truly understood what she was doing.
This so-called “scientific” postpartum care really did make sense.
As Mu Yuqing prepared to leave, Madam Lin hurried forward with a warm smile and pressed an exquisitely embroidered pouch into her hand.
“Miss Mu, this is only a small token of gratitude from our family. Please don’t dislike it for being too little.”
The pouch felt surprisingly heavy.
However, Mu Yuqing was so exhausted that she did not bother checking what was inside.
After thanking Madam Lin, she headed back home.
Once she returned, Mu Yuqing immediately slipped into her space to wash up and change clothes in her bedroom.
The moment she came back out and lay down on the bed, exhaustion overwhelmed her completely.
She fell asleep almost instantly.
By the time she woke up again, the sun was already close to setting.
The nanny entered the room to tidy things up and immediately spotted the embroidered pouch lying openly on the dressing table.
Her face changed at once.
“Miss! How can you leave silver lying around carelessly like this? What if someone stole it?”
“Silver?” Mu Yuqing blinked blankly for a moment before finally remembering. “Oh right, Tie Niu’s family gave it to me earlier. I was too tired and forgot about it.”
The nanny opened the pouch curiously.
The moment she saw the shiny silver ingot inside, her eyes widened dramatically.
“Oh heavens, Miss! Tie Niu’s family is truly generous! They actually gave you a whole tael of silver!”
She looked utterly shocked.
“You should know that ordinary midwives around here usually receive only five hundred wen at most. Some poorer families can’t even afford that and only pay with eggs or a bit of pork!”
Even Mu Yuqing was somewhat surprised.
One tael of silver was indeed a considerable amount for a rural household.
It was enough to support an ordinary family for nearly half a year.
Still, Mu Yuqing understood clearly that this amount was far from enough for the future she wanted.
She did not merely want enough money to survive.
She wanted true wealth, enough to completely change their lives.
At that moment, loud voices suddenly rang out from outside.
“Mother! We’re back!”
Yang Xingchen rushed into the courtyard excitedly.
“We caught so many crawfish today!”
Mu Yuqing walked outside and immediately saw a huge basket overflowing with crawfish, even more than the previous day.
The sight finally solidified the idea forming in her mind.
She could not continue handling everything alone forever.
If she truly wanted to grow this business, she needed help from the villagers.
Very quickly, Mu Yuqing finalized her plan.
The villagers would be responsible for catching and cleaning the crawfish, while she would purchase them for two wen per jin.
Afterward, she called for Qingyun, grabbed a few crawfish along with several field snails they had collected, and headed toward the house of Village Chief Zhao Qiang.
Chief Zhao and his wife, Madam Liu, had only just returned from working in the fields.
The moment they heard there was an opportunity to earn silver, Chief Zhao welcomed Mu Yuqing enthusiastically.
Madam Liu even brought out bowls of brown sugar water for them.
In the village, this was already considered the highest form of hospitality.
Mu Yuqing showed them both the crawfish and the field snails before carefully explaining the cleaning process and purchase prices.
Before leaving, she emphasized one important point repeatedly.
“The quality must be good. Every crawfish needs to be cleaned thoroughly. I won’t accept dirty ones.”
Chief Zhao immediately patted his chest and guaranteed it.
At two wen per jin, catching ten jin a day would already earn twenty wen, far more than most hard labor jobs available in the area.
Chief Zhao became so excited that he did not even bother eating dinner first.
He immediately sent his son throughout the village to spread the news.
The villagers were overjoyed.
Many people went to sleep early that night, and before dawn even arrived the next morning, villagers were already gathered by the ditch carrying torches and baskets, busily catching crawfish and field snails.
By around nine in the morning, villagers began arriving at Mu Yuqing’s courtyard one after another.
Each person carried bamboo baskets overflowing with fresh catches.
Mu Yuqing personally inspected the quality while Qingyun handled the weighing.
The villagers were simple and honest people.
Not only did they carefully scrub every crawfish clean, but they also deliberately selected the largest ones possible.
Some families brought five jin.
Others brought ten.
A few especially hardworking villagers even delivered thirty or forty jin at once.
By the end of the morning, they had collected nearly one hundred and fifty jin of crawfish along with fifty jin of large, clean field snails.
Mu Yuqing paid everyone immediately and fairly in copper coins.
The courtyard was soon filled with excited laughter and cheerful chatter as the villagers happily clutched the silver they had earned through their own labor.