After all, it was his family’s pig.

Zhang Haifei and he were merely helping to drag it back.

In their eyes, the pig had nothing to do with them.

They were already satisfied that the couple was willing to tell them about the plantain herbs.

“Tomorrow morning, we’ll wake up early and carry it to Yuexiang Restaurant together! Don’t worry about the money—I’ll take sixty percent, and you two will each get twenty percent. How does that sound?”

Jian Xiu spoke to them from the side.

She had already done the math: the three wild boars together weighed at least nine hundred pounds.

Wild boar meat was tastier than domesticated pork, so it sold for three extra copper coins per pound—eighteen copper coins per pound in total.

By this calculation, the three wild boars could sell for sixteen taels of silver.

With her taking sixty percent, she’d get over nine taels, while the other two families would each receive about three taels.

That wasn’t a bad deal for them.

“How can we accept this? Sister-in-law, we really can’t take it! Just telling us about the plantain herbs was already a huge favor. We can’t accept this money.”

Zhang Zhiyong and Zhang Haifei shook their heads repeatedly.

“Why not? Didn’t you two help me drag the wild boars back?”

“Yes, we helped drag them, but if you really feel guilty, just pay us a regular laborer’s wage. At the county dock, even the hardest, most exhausting labor only pays fifteen copper coins a day, and that’s for a full day’s work. We only worked for half a day—how could we take several taels of silver from you?”

“Enough, don’t argue. It’s settled.” Zhang Zixuan made the final decision.

So much had happened at home recently that he hadn’t had the chance to properly thank these two good brothers.

This was the perfect opportunity to repay them, and he wouldn’t let it slip away.

He understood their reasoning, but it was rare for people to offer help in times of hardship.

That kind of kindness was invaluable.

Hearing this, Zhang Zhiyong and Zhang Haifei exchanged glances, but even so, they didn’t immediately agree.

However, everyone was busy, so they didn’t dwell on the matter.

Not only did they need to gather plantain herbs, but they also had to clean and dry them.

They couldn’t expect Zhang Zixuan to do all of it alone.

Meanwhile, Jian Xiu placed the two small wild boars in the courtyard before immediately heading off to retrieve the bamboo shoots she had harvested.

When Zhang Zixuan saw the two piglets, he called out to Zhang Zhiyong and Zhang Haifei, who were about to leave.

“Zhiyong, Haifei, can I trouble you to build a pigpen for me? Keeping them in the courtyard isn’t a long-term solution.”

“Oh, that? Sister-in-law already asked us to do it. Don’t worry—we’ll have it ready in the next two days,” they assured him, patting their chests.

“Then I’ll have to trouble you! And don’t worry, I’ll pay you properly for your work.”

“No need to be so formal with us! Alright, we need to hurry—the sun’s almost down, and there’s still work to do.”

With that, the two men quickly headed toward the door.

The Next Day

At dawn, Jian Xiu woke up like clockwork.

But no matter what time she woke up, she could always hear Zhang Zixuan working in the courtyard.

She was very curious—just how early did he wake up?

How was he always able to get up so quietly without disturbing her?

As a former special agent, her alertness was naturally high.

Yet, after spending time with him, she realized her husband was not as simple as he seemed.

He could get up without making a sound and even get into his wheelchair without waking her.

That alone proved he wasn’t ordinary.

“Why are you up so early today?” Zhang Zixuan frowned when he saw her come out.

She had been doing heavy labor the past couple of days—work that even most men wouldn’t be able to handle.

He thought she’d sleep in today, but surprisingly, she got up early as usual.

“I woke up, so I got up. I’m heading to Yuexiang Restaurant again today,” Jian Xiu replied honestly.

Not only that, but she also planned to visit Renhe Restaurant to see how much the muntjac deer was worth.

“I know. I’ve already left breakfast in the pot. Eat before you go, and take Zhiyong’s ox cart.”

“You should sleep in more. You don’t have to wake up so early,” Jian Xiu said.

“Zhiyong and the others are taking another batch of plantain herbs to Renhe Hall today, so I got up early to get things ready.”

“Right, we need to sell this batch first.”

By her calculations, the wild boars alone weighed several hundred pounds.

This morning, the ox cart would probably be too full to carry passengers.

The thought of not having to squeeze in with the village women made her quite happy.

Just as she finished speaking, Zhang Zhiyong strode in.

“Jian Xiu, are you ready?”

“Yes, yes, the plantain herbs are right there.”

“Alright, let’s go early so we can return sooner. We found a huge patch of them in the bamboo forest yesterday.”

“Plantain herbs?”

“Yeah, a whole field of them. At least three or four days’ worth of picking,” Zhang Zhiyong grinned.

“That’s great! We should gather as much as possible. By next year, others will probably catch on.”

“One year is enough—we’ll make a good profit off it.”

“True!”

As she spoke, Jian Xiu helped load the baskets onto the ox cart.

“Zhiyong, can we fit everything? If not, we’ll make another trip,” Zhang Zixuan said.

Just the three wild boars alone were already a heavy load, not to mention the muntjac deer, plantain herbs, and bamboo shoots.

A single ox might not be able to pull it all.

“It should be fine. We just can’t carry passengers,” Zhiyong replied cheerfully.

“That’s expected. Otherwise, I’d carry the muntjac myself,” Jian Xiu said, pointing at the deer.

“No need, no need! It’s no trouble. Besides, Yuexiang Restaurant isn’t far—only half an hour away. We usually carry just as much when transporting passengers,” Zhiyong reassured her.

Zhang Zixuan agreed and didn’t argue further.

At that moment, Jian Xiu couldn’t help but think about how convenient small trucks were in the post-apocalyptic world.

If they had a truck, transporting all of this would be nothing!

After watching them leave, Zhang Zixuan went back to his work.

After the commotion of the past two days, the people from the old house hadn’t dared to cause trouble for now.

In fact, Zhang Zixuan had already expected them to stir up trouble.

He knew exactly what kind of people they were—selfish and only interested in personal gain.