However, Li Xiaoxiao decided not to let that family ruin her mood for now. She understood very clearly that in modern society, if you wanted horses to run, you first had to feed them well. By the same logic, although it hurt to part with money already in her hands, only by giving these bargain sons, daughters-in-law, and granddaughters some benefits would they become more motivated to work.
So the whole family shut the courtyard gates and entered the dining hall. Li Xiaoxiao carefully placed the five hundred and fifty taels of silver onto the table. Instantly, everyone’s eyes were glued to the shining silver, staring so hard it was as though the money possessed some irresistible magic.
“Everyone’s worked hard this past month and a half. All the money we earned is here. In the past, when you did odd jobs, I always took fifty percent, which comes to two hundred and seventy-five taels.”
Looking at the pile of money before her, Li Xiaoxiao felt somewhat emotional. Their hard work had finally paid off. As she spoke, she pulled half the silver over to her side. After all, this was money the whole family had earned through sweat and effort.
“The salt and jars were paid for from the household funds and cost five taels. Your mother here has to take that back!”
As she said this, she unhesitatingly took another five taels from the remaining money.
Watching their mother casually remove two hundred and eighty taels in just a few sentences made everyone anxious, but none of them dared to speak up lightly. After all, the money had been earned together, and part of it truly belonged to the household expenses.
But Li Xiaoxiao’s next words immediately shocked and delighted them.
Ignoring whatever they were thinking, she continued:
“There are still two hundred and sixty taels left. Each of your three families gets fifty taels!”
The daughters-in-law felt like their hearts were about to leap out of their chests.
In all these years, the most money they had ever handled was the two taels their mother-in-law gave them as a welcoming gift the day after they married into the family. Even when they gave birth to daughters, they only received five hundred copper coins.
Everyone pitied them for having such a fierce and unreasonable mother-in-law, but only they themselves knew the truth. Though their mother-in-law loved to scold people and rarely gave them pleasant expressions, she truly was generous.
What family gave a new bride two taels of silver the moment she entered the household? Not to mention that the money they earned from embroidery belonged entirely to them, and their husbands could even keep half of their earnings.
In many other households, daughters-in-law might never touch silver at all—some barely even handled copper coins a few times in their lives.
And now? Their mother-in-law was distributing fifty taels in one go!
Outside, that amount was enough to marry five wives!
The third daughter-in-law immediately decided that from now on, she would follow her mother-in-law’s lead in everything.
Ignoring her sons and daughters-in-law whose eyes were already red with excitement, Li Xiaoxiao distributed the silver in front of them.
But when it came to the third son’s share, she directly placed the silver into Li Wang’er’s hands, completely ignoring Qin Sanmu, who was staring eagerly from the side.
“What are you staring at your mother for? You’ve got enough free time to carry water for little widows. If you had spare money in your hands, wouldn’t you go送钱 to Widow Zhao’s house too? Then what would my granddaughters eat and wear?”
“Mother, can you stop bringing that up?”
Qin Sanmu had not expected that even though his wife was no longer angry, his mother would still stab at him whenever she got the chance.
“This time, being able to sell so much so smoothly was largely thanks to Eldest Brother getting the goods into Hongyun Restaurant. Mother will give you an extra half-share bonus—twenty-seven taels and five hundred copper coins. What do you think?”
It was rare for Li Xiaoxiao to ask Qin Dashu’s opinion.
“Mother, whatever you say goes. I’ll listen to you!”
Qin Dashu was thrilled inside. This was his mother acknowledging him.
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Xiaoxiao counted out twenty-seven and a half taels for him.
“The fifty taels earlier were for each family unit. These ten taels are for your mother’s daughters-in-law. Here, each of you take ten taels!”
“Thank you, Mother!”
“These five taels are for Da Ya, Er Ya, Dahua, and Erhua. These girls have worked like adults these past months. Let your parents save it for your dowries later.”
“Thank you, Grandma!”
The granddaughters had never expected they would receive a share too.
“San Ya and little Zhi are still young and didn’t contribute much, but they were obedient! Grandma will give each of you half a tael for spending money.”
“These three taels are for Eldest Brother’s family. Soon it’ll be time to harvest rapeseed and wheat. Hire some workers to help. Their food and wages are included in this money. If it’s not enough, come ask me for more.”
Li Xiaoxiao had already considered the coming summer harvest. She handed over the money now so they would not come bothering her later. The corn inside her space had already matured, and the rice also needed harvesting. She herself was busy enough already.
“There are still twenty-eight and a half taels left. Add another twenty-one and a half taels from the communal funds to make fifty. Eldest Brother, take this money and see whether we can buy the slope land next to our rapeseed field. Spend all fifty taels if needed—buy however much land you can.”
“Alright, Mother!”
Qin Dashu answered immediately.
“Second Brother, Third Brother, spend the next few days looking around for dogs for sale. Buy three of them. Remember, they need to be good watchdogs for guarding the house. And pick the ones whose tails curl left—those kinds are fiercest at guarding homes!”
Thinking of Qin Yougui’s family, Li Xiaoxiao knew she had to stay cautious.
“Mother, why buy dogs? Those things waste grain!”
Qin Erlin was the first to object.
Smack!
A loud slap landed directly across Qin Erlin’s face.
“Your wonderful cousin stayed quiet for a few months and now he’s going out again. You may not fear him scheming against us, but your wife and children do! Did your brain get left behind before reincarnation?!”
With just one sentence, the cheerful atmosphere in the room instantly turned cold.
Qin Dashu privately felt that if his second brother could understand their mother’s meaning without explanation, the sun would probably rise in the west.
“Mother! I understand now!”
Only then did Qin Erlin realize her intention. Their family had just earned money—of course people would start coveting it again. They truly did need guard dogs.
“Today, among the people watching the excitement, I saw your younger uncle’s family. The looks in their eyes weren’t friendly! Each family needs to hide your money properly somewhere no one can find it. Whenever the children go out, adults must accompany them.”
Li Xiaoxiao warned her sons and daughters-in-law seriously. The lessons from the past were still vivid in memory.
“Alright, if there’s nothing else, everyone can leave now.”
As soon as Li Xiaoxiao finished speaking, the sons and daughters-in-law hurried back to their rooms with the granddaughters to hide their money. Naturally, the girls’ money was immediately confiscated by their parents under the excuse of “Father and mother will keep it safe for you.”
Li Xiaoxiao also carried the silver back to her room. She locked the door from inside, lowered the bed curtains, and piled bedding over the pillow to create the illusion that she was asleep. Only then did she flash into her hidden space while holding the silver.
Inside the space, she carefully counted the silver twice more on the bed before finally, satisfied, placing it back into the Qianlong pouch.
The corn planted outside in early spring was still growing, but the corn inside the space had long since ripened. Because she had spent these days climbing mountains and collapsing into bed exhausted every night, she had not even gotten to eat a single tender ear before the corn became completely old.
Still, that was fine. Once the outside corn was harvested, she could use the space-grown corn as seed and lazily test the space’s enhancement effects on crops.
Resigned to her fate, Li Xiaoxiao began harvesting corn. Looking around, she saw the rice fields had also turned golden.
“How long will it take me to finish all this by myself? After picking the corn, I still have to chop the stalks, then dig up the roots. After that comes harvesting rice. Right, my space still lacks a threshing bucket! Forget it, I’ll buy one another day. I don’t have the skill to make a threshing machine anyway, so I’ll just have to use the most primitive methods!”
Thinking this, Li Xiaoxiao unconsciously sped up her work, laboring until midnight before finally finishing all the corn harvesting.
Looking at the huge pile of corn, Li Xiaoxiao decided she still needed to buy some baskets for storing kernels, and also a stone mill…
“Forget it, I won’t think about those for now.”
She was truly exhausted.
It was already deep into the night. After bathing inside the space and changing into clean clothes, she exited the space and lay down on her bed, stretching lazily with a comfortable sigh.