Shen Qingwan knew that the villagers were reluctant to spend money, which was why she had brought back so much grain this time.

The amount she brought was enough for each person in the village to receive eight or nine jin, which would last them for a while.

As soon as the villagers heard that Shen Qingwan was distributing grain, they were overjoyed and lined up early.

“Let me tell you, Wen Zhao’s wife is truly capable. Not only has she opened a grain store in the city, but she also remembers to make sure the villagers have enough to eat. We’re really fortunate to have her,” said Wang Xiue, full of admiration for Shen Qingwan.

On the road as refugees, it had been Shen Qingwan who took care of them.

Now that she had started a business and made money, she still hadn’t forgotten the people of the village.

Such a good wife truly seemed like a blessing sent to repay kindness.

“That’s right! Our eldest daughter-in-law is incredibly talented. She’s bound to make even more money in the future. If we stick with her, who knows? Maybe one day, we’ll all have brick houses!”

Aunt Zhang also spoke highly of Shen Qingwan.

Nowadays, whenever people in the village mentioned her, they only had praise.

Even Old Man Lu held his head high when walking through the village, as everyone treated him with respect because of her.

This made him immensely proud.

“Sigh, it’s just a pity that Wen Zhao passed away so early. It must be tough for his wife,” Chen Zhaodi sighed, feeling sorry for Shen Qingwan.

Her mother-in-law immediately glared at her. “What nonsense are you talking about? Wen Zhao’s wife is doing just fine raising two children.”

Only then did Chen Zhaodi realize she had misspoken.

If Shen Qingwan ever remarried, she wouldn’t be part of Dahe Village anymore.

Would she still take care of the villagers then?

Though they knew it was cruel and lonely for a woman to spend her whole life mourning a deceased husband, the villagers selfishly didn’t want Shen Qingwan to remarry.

It wasn’t just about the benefits she brought—it was also because they had grown attached to her.

After distributing the grain, Shen Qingwan noticed that the Yang family hadn’t come to collect their share.

When she asked Lu Wenguang about it, she found out that Yang Zhiming was busy managing the construction of a livestock farm.

Although the pig farm was already built, the areas for cattle, sheep, and poultry were still incomplete.

Meanwhile, Yang Chengji and his three brothers were working in the fields, overseeing the harvest of the bok choy.

Since not all the vegetables had fully matured, they had to carefully pick only the larger ones while leaving the smaller ones to continue growing.

Given the sheer quantity of bok choy, it wasn’t possible for the villagers to consume all of it at once, so they would harvest only what was needed each day.

Shen Qingwan set aside the Yang family’s portion of grain and asked Lu Wenguang to deliver it to them.

She understood why they hadn’t come to collect it themselves—they didn’t consider themselves part of Dahe Village.

To them, accepting free grain felt improper.

After all, even though Yang Zhiming and his brothers were out working, their mother and two daughters-in-law were still at home.

The fact that they hadn’t come either meant they were too embarrassed to accept it.

Once the grain distribution was settled, Shen Qingwan went to inspect the bok choy fields.

Seeing the lush, healthy vegetables filled her with satisfaction.

It was thanks to everyone’s hard work—watering, fertilizing, and tending to the crops—that they had grown so well.

She instructed Lu Wenguang to distribute the first harvest among the villagers, giving each household ten jin.

For the refugee workers who had helped in the fields, each would receive five jin.

The rest would be sent to Tianxia Grain Store at a rate of one thousand jin per day, while the village would retain two hundred jin daily for the village chief to distribute until the entire crop was harvested.

Lu Wenguang did a rough calculation and estimated that the bok choy yield was around 3,500 jin per acre.

Since Shen Qingwan had planted forty-five acres, the total harvest would be at least 150,000 jin.

With so much bok choy, selling it all would be impossible, so she decided to donate some.

Early the next morning, Shen Qingwan loaded six carts full of fresh, crisp bok choy and headed to Suzhou City.

At that time, the Jin family’s porridge stall was already in operation, with Jin Qianqian overseeing the distribution.

When she saw Shen Qingwan’s cart approaching, her eyes lit up.

She had heard about Shen Qingwan’s return but hadn’t had a chance to speak with her.

Seeing such a large delivery of fresh vegetables, Jin Qianqian was stunned.

During times like these, leafy greens were even harder to come by than meat.

Wealthy households could only eat vegetables grown on their own estates.

The refugees, too, stared at the vegetables with eager eyes.

After living on porridge for so long, they hadn’t tasted fresh greens in ages.

“Young Master Shen,” Jin Qianqian greeted him with a graceful bow.

Shen Qingwan returned the gesture and said, “Miss Jin, I had some land cultivated and grew these vegetables. Since I have plenty, I brought some for you. You can add them to the porridge—it’ll make it thicker and provide better nourishment for the refugees.”

Although the porridge at the Jin family’s stall wasn’t completely watery, it was still too thin to hold chopsticks upright. Adding vegetables would make it more nutritious.

“You have such a kind heart, Young Master Shen. This much bok choy will last a long time,” Jin Qianqian said, though she worried about storing the vegetables properly.

Shen Qingwan reassured her, “I’ll leave two carts for you. Don’t be stingy—use them as needed. I’ll have fresh supplies delivered daily, two carts per day. That should be enough for your needs.”

Each cart was piled high with bok choy, so the supply should last through the day.

Jin Qianqian quickly nodded. “Alright, I’ll have people fetch water to wash them.”

With that settled, Shen Qingwan bid her farewell and continued into the city with the remaining four carts of bok choy.

By then, the city was already bustling.

Shops had opened for business, and Tianxia Grain Store had a long queue at its entrance.

Meng Hangzhou, that energetic young man, was busy packing grain for customers.

When he saw Shen Qingwan enter, he quickly set down his work to greet her.

“Brother Shen, you’re here so early?”

Meng Hangzhou rushed over to help unload the bok choy.

“Yes, the bok choy in the fields is ready for harvest, so I brought some to sell at the shop. They’re already bundled—each bundle contains two jin, and we’ll sell them for two wen apiece,” Shen Qingwan instructed.

Lu Youfu, standing nearby, was surprised. “Such good bok choy for only two wen? That’s practically giving it away!”

Even Meng Hangzhou, though inexperienced in business, knew that two wen was far too cheap. “Brother Shen, isn’t that too low?”

Shen Qingwan simply waved a hand dismissively. “Two wen is fine. Just set up the stall and start selling. Get Dawang, Erwang, and Zhang Kui to help you.”

With that, Shen Qingwan gave Meng Hangzhou a reassuring pat on the shoulder, and the young man, now brimming with excitement, rushed off to sell the bok choy.