After saying that, Zhang Zixuan pushed his wheelchair to the bamboo spout where Jianxiu had inserted the wooden block earlier.

He gently twisted the small wooden piece to the left.

Before long, water began to flow down slowly.

Zhang Zhiyong, who had witnessed everything, was so shocked that he was speechless.

“How did you come up with this in just half a day?”

“Jianxiu thought of it,” Zhang Zixuan replied.

“How can you say it was just me? I only had a rough idea—you were the one who worked out the details!” Jianxiu pouted at Zhang Zixuan.

Zhang Zhiyong: “……”

The couple had completely stunned him today, and he was still struggling to process it all.

“Zhiyong, have you eaten yet? If not, stay and eat with us. Didn’t you say bamboo shoots weren’t edible? Today, I’ll cook them for you to try!”

“No, no, I’ll eat at home. I just came by to let you know that I’ll bring Chun Zhi and Hai Fei over later.”

Seeing that Zhang Zhiyong was determined not to stay, Jianxiu didn’t insist.

She casually picked a few boiled bamboo shoots from the pot, put them in a basket, and handed them to him.

“These bamboo shoots are delicious. I’ve eaten them before. Just soak them in clean water for a day to remove the bitterness, and they’ll taste even better. Trust me, take them home and try them!”

“Alright, thank you, sister-in-law!”

“Go on, come earlier in the afternoon.”

Since food was scarce and everyone had skipped breakfast while doing heavy labor, Jianxiu cooked white rice for lunch.

Not only that, but she also stir-fried a large portion of meat with bamboo shoots.

Unfortunately, there were no soy sauce or oyster sauce available—otherwise, the flavor would have been even better.

When the dishes were finally served and everyone had a taste, they realized that bamboo shoots were indeed a great ingredient.

“How is it? Tastes good, right?”

“It’s delicious, really delicious! I’ve never had such tasty food before.”

“Elder Brother, after lunch, let’s go gather more bamboo shoots. Mother said that once dried, they can last two to three years.” Qi Tou said.

“Of course! We should definitely go. We can even sell them at the market!” Liu Tou said excitedly.

Even Zhang Zixuan himself found the bamboo shoots incredibly tasty.

He had grown up in the countryside but never knew bamboo shoots could be this delicious.

Looking at the woman sitting across from him, he saw that she was eating happily too.

Clearly, she liked them just as much.

“You guys go pick more later. I’ll stay home and boil them in clean water. Then we can sell them at the market and trade for more rice,” Zhang Zixuan suggested while eating.

“Mm, I actually plan to prepare some dishes and sell them directly to the restaurant. That way, we won’t have to waste an entire day standing at the market,” Jianxiu said casually.

To her, this was a completely normal idea.

After all, besides earning money to fill their stomachs, she also needed to save enough to send Zhang Zixuan’s younger brothers to the academy.

Most importantly, she needed to collect points.

She couldn’t let Zhang Zixuan stay in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, could she?

Ke Ke had told her that the deeper parts of the mountains had more points than the foothills.

Eighty-eight thousand points sounded like a lot, but bit by bit, they would add up. Plus, she could get a 20% discount!

After the discount, it would only be 704,000—instantly cutting down by more than 100,000.

That meant she was one step closer to her goal.

“Oh right, why didn’t I think of that before?”

“Think of what?” Jianxiu asked, confused.

“Selling the bamboo shoots directly to the restaurant!”

“Do you have an idea?” she asked curiously.

She knew Zhang Zixuan well—judging by his expression, he definitely had something in mind.

“Have you heard of Yuexiang Restaurant?”

“I’ve heard of it!” Jianxiu nodded.

“The manager of Yuexiang Restaurant, Wu, and I have some connections,” Zhang Zixuan said honestly.

“Really?” Jianxiu asked excitedly.

How could she not be excited? Without connections, why would a restaurant be willing to try a completely new ingredient?

“Of course.”

“That’s great! This brings us one step closer to our goal.”

“Goal? What’s your goal?” Zhang Zixuan asked curiously.

“Lui Tou and Qi Tou—I want to earn enough money to send them to the academy.”

“To the academy?”

“Yes. I know you might think I’m just saying this on a whim, but I mean it.”

“I know you’re serious, but do you know how much money it takes to send a child to the academy?” Zhang Zixuan asked softly.

They had no farmland or stable income, and with his current condition, just raising the children and helping them get married would already be difficult.

“You don’t need to worry about money—I’ll find a way!”

“Jianxiu, I don’t want you to work so hard. I don’t want you to carry so much pressure. I want you to live more easily, do you understand?”

“Take Big Brother for example—the whole old house supports him just so he can study at the academy, and even then, they struggle. How can we afford it in our situation?” Zhang Zixuan said with concern.

“Are you saying you don’t believe in me?” Jian Xiu raised an eyebrow.

Hearing this, Zhang Zixuan was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to say.

Truthfully, he did have doubts.

But looking at the calm and composed Jianxiu, he swallowed his words.

He didn’t know when it had started, but it seemed like no problem in their household could stump her anymore.

She had this stubbornness, this confidence, this indescribable aura about her.

“It’s okay if you don’t believe me—I’ll prove it to you.”

After lunch, Jian Xiu began preparing the pig offal they had brought back the day before.

“Jianxiu, maybe we should just throw that away,” Zhang Zixuan suggested.

“Throw it away? This is good stuff!”

“But it smells too strong! Cooking it would just waste oil and salt.”

“That’s because you don’t know how to cook it properly. Just wait—I promise once I’m done, you’ll be licking your fingers!”

Hearing that, Zhang Zixuan just shook his head helplessly before rolling his wheelchair over to continue peeling bamboo shoots.

Just as Jian Xiu finished washing the pig offal, Zhang Zhiyong and Zhang Haifei walked in.

Behind them were Zhang Zhiyong’s wife, Huang Chunzhi, and Zhang Haifei’s wife, Lin Xia.

Each of them carried a large basket on their backs—clearly aware that this household, despite its size, didn’t even have enough baskets to spare.