Xingcheng’s terrain was flat, so flat that you couldn’t even see a small hill in the distance.

In Qili Village, during the slack farming season, the men would catch fish and shrimp to add some variety to their meals, while the women would dig up wild vegetables to supplement their food supply.

Other than that, there was nothing else to do.

It wasn’t that they were lazy or unwilling to work—they had tried finding jobs in the city, but who would hire them?

They had no skills, no connections, and weren’t good at talking.

Even if they were willing to do the hardest, dirtiest, and most exhausting labor, those jobs didn’t even reach them.

Now, upon hearing that Shen Qing was offering polishing work for Feng and Qin’s families, the villagers were in an uproar!

Immediately, discussions broke out:

“What is polishing pen shafts? Is it difficult?”

“One wen per shaft… how many can be polished in a day?”

“Who cares if it’s hard or not! Even if we can only polish seven or eight a day, that’s still good. Seven or eight wen can buy two or three jin of corn. If we mix it with wild vegetables, we won’t have to starve!”

“My heavens! Seven or eight wen a day—how much would that be in a month? Why would the Jiang family give up such a good opportunity? If it were me, I’d definitely keep it within my own family! That’s a lot of extra money!”

Meanwhile, the Feng and Qin families were both shocked and overjoyed.

They were thrilled to have extra income but also surprised that Shen Qing had chosen them.

After all, every household in the village was sitting idle, lacking everything except people!

Old Lady Qin was so excited that she forgot how to speak.

Her family had a lot of farmland, but with so many mouths to feed, food was always tight.

They had already cut down to two meals a day, and even those were mostly thin porridge filled with wild vegetables to keep them full.

At noon, when she and her four sons ate at Shen Qing’s house, it was the most satisfying and filling meal they had had since the New Year.

On the way home, her sons kept talking about how generous Shen Qing was.

Who would have thought that just coming over to watch the excitement would actually land them a source of income?

Feng Xing was equally happy but, being young, quickly calmed herself down.

She hesitantly asked Shen Qing, “Auntie, will I… will I be able to do it? If I mess up, will I have to pay for it?”

Her family was outsiders, and they didn’t have much farmland.

They knew some martial arts but weren’t good at farming.

Her father and uncle were strong and had found work carrying heavy loads in the city, but the work was unstable—if there was work, they did it, but if it rained or snowed, they couldn’t.

Every time they went to the city, they had to pay an entry fee! What was originally a wage of 37 wen per day was reduced to 35.

More importantly, the city’s odd jobs were only available to men. Women like them couldn’t find work.

Now, Shen Qing was telling them they could earn money too, and they could do it from home.

How could she not be overjoyed?

She was so happy she almost jumped with excitement!

Hearing Feng Xing’s question, Old Lady Qin came back to her senses and quickly asked, “Yes, yes! Are pen shafts expensive? If we ruin one, how much do we have to pay?”

Zhou Chuncao sneered, “Of course you have to pay! Even if it’s not expensive, it’ll suddenly become expensive when it’s time to compensate!”

The other villagers, however, ignored her and focused entirely on Shen Qing, waiting for her response.

Being ignored felt even worse than arguing.

Zhou Chuncao clenched her teeth so hard they nearly broke, but she refused to leave—she wanted to see how Shen Qing would answer.

Was this job really as good as it sounded?

How much money could they actually make per day?

Shen Qing remained perfectly calm under everyone’s gaze, smiling as she said, “Polishing pen shafts isn’t about doing it wrong—it’s just about doing it well or not. Don’t worry, I’ll teach you until you learn. I’ll also provide the materials. You just need to take them home and polish them. If you can’t finish thirty in a day, your family members can help. Each household can currently do up to fifty per day.”

Jiang Xiangdong could bake about 50 to 60 pen shafts per day, and with Jiang Xiangnan helping him, they could barely manage a little over 100 daily.

Even if Feng and Qin’s families wanted to do more, they couldn’t—there wasn’t enough supply yet.

So, for now, they had to set a limit.

The villagers gasped at the mention of “thirty” and were completely speechless when they heard “fifty.”

If they could have their family members help, they could definitely reach fifty per day!

Dear heavens!

Fifty wen a day—how much grain could that buy?!

Immediately, people started congratulating the Feng and Qin families.

However, more people turned their attention to the three families of Second Master Jiang, their gazes carrying hints of sympathy.

Shen Qing was part of the Jiang family, yet she hadn’t given this opportunity to them.

Instead, she had given it to two outsider families.

How did Second, Third, and Fifth Master Jiang feel about this?

No matter how magnanimous they were, it must sting, right?

Surprisingly, Second Master Jiang remained as calm and composed as ever.

Third Master Jiang, who was usually loud and boisterous, and Fifth Master Jiang, who rarely spoke, also showed no sign of displeasure.

In fact, they even looked… satisfied with Shen Qing’s decision!

Those who had been hoping to see internal conflict quickly retracted their thoughts.

Zhou Chuncao and Sun Xiaomai had initially planned to accuse Second Uncle Jiang, the village head, of favoritism toward Shen Qing.

But now that Shen Qing’s money was earned honestly and she was even providing work for Feng and Qin’s families, their accusations suddenly seemed ridiculous.

They now looked at the Jiang family with open sympathy.

What was the use of favoritism?

They might consider Shen Qing family, but she clearly didn’t consider them when making money!

How ridiculous!

Second Uncle Jiang ( Jiang Erye ) narrowed his eyes, looking directly at Zhou Chuncao and Sun Xiaomai. His voice was calm but carried an undeniable sharpness:

“You two spread false rumors and caused trouble—are you prepared to face the consequences?”

Zhou Chuncao and Sun Xiaomai panicked. “What consequences? We didn’t cause any harm!”

“Exactly! Shen Qing never told us she was making money from brush-making. If she had, we wouldn’t have guessed wrong!”

“Besides, we were just looking out for the village! We were afraid someone might ruin our reputation and drag the whole village down with them.”

“You can’t punish us just because Shen Qing didn’t include her own family in her business, can you…?”

Jiang Yang remained unmoved and asked coldly, “So by your logic, from now on, if any family eats meat or buys new clothes, anyone can spread rumors under the excuse of ‘looking out for the village’?”

Zhou Chuncao and Sun Xiaomai bit their lips, unable to respond.

The villagers immediately chimed in:

“Of course not!”

“If we allow that, the village will be in chaos!”

“Exactly! We’d all have to be careful about what we buy, and soon, we wouldn’t even trust each other anymore.”

“That’s right! Village head, you must take action to make sure they remember this lesson.”

Seeing how quickly the villagers supported Second Uncle Jiang, Zhou Chuncao and Sun Xiaomai panicked.

They had always assumed that because Second Uncle Jiang was stern but never truly harsh, he was easy to deal with.

They had forgotten that he had spent decades working as a bodyguard, seeing the world before settling down.

He wasn’t incapable of being ruthless—he simply hadn’t needed to be.

And they had just crossed the line.