Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside

Gu Jinli trusted Qin San Lang deeply. He never acted without cause, and after reading Qin San Lang's letter, she immediately burned it.

She made a trip to the Qin family and asked Elder Qin, "Has Brother Qin sent you any messages? Has there been any discovery regarding Zhang Niu?"

Since mid-June, Elder Qin had been keeping an eye on Zhang Niu of Yushu Village, all the way up to now.

Elder Qin said, "San Lang has sent me some messages, which should be similar to the ones he sent you. Since the matter has not been resolved yet, we dare not pass too many messages for fear they might be intercepted on the way. Zhang Niu and his gang are still in Yushu Village, but as soon as there is any movement from Zou Jiang's end, Zhang Niu and his people will definitely take action. It is enough that I am watching them."

Elder Qin found an excuse to go into the hills every day, but in reality, he took the shortcut through the mountains to keep an eye on Zhang Niu in Yushu Village. It seemed that Zhang Niu and his men must have received orders from County Magistrate Zou, as they had recently been overly obedient, not leaving the village day or night.

Gu Jinli felt somewhat disappointed, but she trusted Qin San Lang. Since Qin San Lang had asked Elder Qin to watch Zhang Niu and his men, it meant that he knew something and had determined that Zhang Niu and his group were in contact with Zhang Hu.

"Grandpa Qin, it's too exhausting for you to watch Zhang Niu and his men alone. I'll have Uncle Xiao Liu go and help you," Gu Jinli said. "Uncle Xiao Liu has good skills with a knife and knows some martial arts—not highly skilled, but another pair of eyes to watch with you is always a good thing."

Elder Qin declined, shaking his head, "San Lang said there's no need for you to worry. He's already arranged everything. Keep your people close in case County Magistrate Zou becomes desperate and resorts to dirty tricks."

There were many women and children at the end of the village, and it would be catastrophic if anything happened. People like Wang Yongfu, Old Zhu and his son, Han Liu, were left to Gu Jinli's house to bolster the safety of her household.

Gu Jinli: "What about you, Elder?"

Elder Qin said, "You don't have to worry about an old man like me. San Lang has already made arrangements with Jiang Qi. Jiang Qi has transferred four soldiers from the Military Office to take turns with me in keeping an eye on Zhang Niu and his gang. Rest assured."

San Lang was a child who handled affairs meticulously. He had long convinced Jiang Qi, asking him to assign people to help him.

Jiang Qi was also quite willing, seeing it as an opportunity to train the soldiers from the Military Office and enhance their skills.

After listening to all of this, Gu Jinli finally felt reassured and went home.

That evening, as soon as darkness fell, Elder Qin came to Gu Jinli's house, had a meal with her family, and afterwards asked Third Grandpa to call the adults from a few households over, and he solemnly informed them about the recent unrest that might be occurring.

The adults from the few households were quite alarmed and hastily inquired of Elder Qin, "What do you mean by that? Why has it suddenly become so unrestful?"

Elder Qin didn't specify the details, only mentioning, "San Lang and the others have received information that a gang of bandits has infiltrated Tianfu County. All your households have daughters; you must be vigilant. Should you encounter any strangers, do not engage with them, and promptly call for others."

The matter with County Magistrate Zou was complicated, tangling with river bandits from neighboring prefectures; it was a scenario where one has to guard against the least probable risks, so it was imperative to warn these families in advance.

"Eh eh eh, we got it, please rest assured, Elder." After the adults went home, they called the children over and exaggeratedly told them about the bandits, urging them to be careful.

Gu Jinli also took the opportunity to talk to Gu Dashan and Gu Daya, "Dad, aunt, it's been uneasy lately, let's not go to the Prefecture for now. We can talk about it after the Double Ninth Festival."

Both Gu Dashan and Gu Daya were frightened by Elder Qin's words and nodded in agreement, "Eh, let's not go to the Prefecture for now; we can talk about it after some time."

However, Gu Daya mentioned Mo Kui to Gu Jinli, "Auntie, you know about Auntie's arrangement with the Mo Family. Third Grandma has been mediating until now, and it's almost settled. It's just that Mo Kui can't continue working at Auntie's place. Auntie wants to ask you a favor, to let Mo Kui work at the workshop. Do you think that would be alright?"

Gu Jinli also hoped that Mo Qinzi's match with Qi Kangping would be successful, and since Mo Kui was a good man, she agreed, "Sure, I'll have Aunt Kui Zi call Uncle Kui Zi tomorrow and talk to him about working in the workshop."

"Eh, then I'll leave this to you. You really did a big favor for your aunt," Gu Daya left joyfully.

The next morning, when Gu Jinli went to the workshop, she called Ms. Zhang over to talk about letting Mo Kui work in the workshop.

Ms. Zhang's family had been waiting since before the Mid-Autumn Festival, and they were eager for Mo Kui to switch jobs; there was no way they would refuse. She immediately agreed, "Young Master, I will go back and call Sister Qin's father right now, he will come over in a moment, please wait."

Ms. Zhang hurried off, and in just a short time, she brought Mo Kui with her.

Mo Kui was very excited. Before Gu Jinli could even mention the salary, he said, "Young Master, I'm willing to do miscellaneous tasks in the workshop, and I can sign the contract right now."

Getting to work in the workshop would fix the marriage between his daughter Sister Qin and Brother Ping.

Seeing how eager Mo Kui and his wife were, Gu Jinli couldn't help but smile with a mix of amusement and empathy; they seemed very pleased with Qi Kangping. She took out the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone from the workshop and wrote a contract on the spot.

After she finished writing, she read the contract to Mo Kui, "Apart from doing miscellaneous tasks for the tofu workshop, you also have to curdle the tofu. If there's any issue with the products, as a worker of the workshop, you'll have to take responsibility together with everyone. The monthly salary is 800 cents, and if you do well, I will increase it by fifty cents every three months, with no ceiling. Are you willing?"

The men from several families can't be making tofu for a lifetime; now, Gu Jinli was slowly training He Dayuan and others to curdle tofu and make soy sauce. As for the brine, it was still prepared by her family, then brought to the workshop so they could curdle the tofu, thus preventing the tofu recipe from leaking.

"Sure, sure, that's not a small amount of money," Mo Kui was very happy. He and Ms. Zhang had already planned it all. For Sister Qin's sake, even if he had no job, he wouldn't help the Qi Family anymore. Now that Gu Daya kept her promise and found him a job in the workshop, a monthly salary of nearly one tael of silver was more than enough.

Mo Kui happily pressed his handprint on the contract.

Gu Jinli stored the contract and told Mo Kui, "You can go back to slaughtering ducks for now, and when Gu Daya's house finds someone to take over, then you can start working in the workshop."

"Eh, then I'll leave now, many thanks Young Master," Mo Kui's face was filled with smiles as he thanked her step by step and left the workshop.

He Sigu, the fourth daughter of the He Dalian Family, learned that Mo Kui was going to work at the workshop doing miscellaneous tasks. Thinking that the duck slaughtering job at Gu Daya's house might still be open, she boldly approached Gu Jinli and begged, "Young Master, has Qi Family found the person to slaughter ducks yet? If not, if Young Master and the Qi Family don't mind, could my dad try it for a few days? If my dad does a good job, is it possible to give the duck slaughtering work to him?"

The He Dalian Family was not only poor but also had no sons. The couple had six daughters and, to support them, He Dalian and his wife worked from dawn till dusk relentlessly. However, due to having little land, their household still lived an austere life.