Wang Zhaodi also felt it made sense, echoing her husband, "Sister-in-law, why don't you let your elder brother work harder and have him pickle it himself."
"This isn't just one or two households, it's the entire village. If this continues, your elder brother's health will give out in a few days. Don't you worry about him!"
If it were just one or two families pickling, it would be fine, but with the entire village involved, even an ox would tire, let alone a person.
This left the couple in a predicament.
If they refused to take the cabbage, the villagers wouldn't agree and insisted on working with Sister-in-law.
If they didn't take the cabbage, it meant their pickled cabbage method would be lost.
Caught between a rock and a hard place!
Seeing this, Zhao Jiaqi sighed, "Then I'll buy some indentured servants to do the pickling. It's more convenient to use our own people, and we won't have to worry about them leaking secrets."
This was a good solution, and the couple's faces brightened again.
After autumn arrived, the entire village was busy. The village chief's few mu of land were all covered with greenhouses, and even Cheng Yongchao's family followed suit.
Those with less money at home who couldn't afford greenhouses planted cabbage, and the chickens, ducks, and geese raised by the women of the households were sold to Tianxiang Tower.
Zhao Jiaqi did not hold back on various preparations like roast goose, roast duck, and fried chicken, sharing them all with Murong Sheng.
She was no longer receiving dividends from recipes but owned thirty percent of Tianxiang Tower, making her the second proprietor.
Sausages, cured meats, smoked meats, braised meats, and a series of other products were entirely taken over by Xie Kun. At the dock, two specialized ships were used for transporting goods.
These novel foods were specifically transported to various prefectures, towns, and counties. There were also those who came out of admiration. In over half a year, the town became more prosperous than ever before.
The first snow of winter fell silently.
As night fell, the bolt on Zhao Jiaqi's front door was picked open from the outside with a dagger. A thief had entered the house.
He moved with familiarity towards her room. Before his hand could touch the door, he was startled by four pairs of eyes glowing green, approaching him.
They let out low growls, approaching step by step. Only then did the thief realize they were wolves!
"Oh my god, help!"
He kicked his legs and ran, but he couldn't outrun the four beasts. His leg was immediately bitten by one wolf, and his arm was bitten by another.
The dagger in his hand dropped to the ground. He tried to pick it up, but the pain rendered him immobile.
Inside the house, hearing the noise, the kerosene lamp was lit.
Zhao Jiaqi, wrapped in a coat, got up. Zhang Cuihua next door and Fan He also came out to investigate, and at the same time, Qi Xuan was woken up.
Upon seeing the situation, there was no doubt what had happened – they had been robbed.
Without a word, Fan He tied the person up, and Qi Xuan stopped the bleeding to prevent him from dying.
"Have my elder brother send him to the town mayor tomorrow, let the mayor handle it. If there isn't a strong example made, my life won't be peaceful!"
Zhao Jiaqi sighed inwardly. As her life improved, all sorts of scoundrels started targeting her.
Upon hearing that he would be sent to the town mayor to be executed, the thief immediately wet his pants in fear, crying and wailing, "No, no, I was hired to cause trouble for you!"
This statement shocked everyone present.
"Who hired you?" Zhao Jiaqi's expression was very calm.
His current state reminded her of the incident with the scar-faced man a year ago, who was also paid to teach them a lesson.
However, back then, her husband had dealt with him, but little did she expect that today, he would be dealt with by the wolves her husband raised.
The thief tried to bargain, asking, "If I tell you, will you not send me to the authorities?"
Zhao Jiaqi nodded, "Tell me, and I'll let you go!"
Even if she let him go, he wouldn't live a good life.
Zhao Dagou's son, Zhao Xiaobao, was still mad. The best outcome for this thief would be to end up like a madman.
The thief, unaware of this, immediately revealed the person: "It's an old man, with inverted triangular eyes, around fifty or sixty years old. He's from your village, and he's the one who showed you the drawing."
With inverted triangular eyes, there was only Fan Zhang in the entire village.
"Good, this man is truly heartless."
If she didn't teach him a lesson, he would really think she was made of clay.
"You can go!"
The thief immediately got up and limped away.
Zhao Jiaqi saw everyone staring at her and said, "Everyone go back to sleep. We can talk about it tomorrow!"
She had to think carefully tonight about how to teach Fan Zhang this old bastard a lesson.
The next day, Fan Zhang saw Zhao Jiaqi completely unharmed and still walking around the village with her belly showing. This made him murmur, "Did the plan not succeed?"
After waiting a few more days and seeing that she was fine, he couldn't sit still any longer.
When he went to find the hired hand, he discovered the man had gone mad. His silver was gone, and not even a sound had been heard.
Meanwhile, Zhao Jiaqi had no time for him. She was blocked on the road by the owners of the inns in town, and her carriage and everyone in it were escorted to a large manor.
Fan Guangping was tied up and gagged by those people and thrown directly into the woodshed. She fared better and was invited to the main hall.
Inside, three people sat on chairs, all with unpleasant expressions.
"Madam Fan, please have a seat," Dong Ziheng broke the silence and spoke first.
Zhao Jiaqi, six months pregnant, sat on a chair to the side. On the small tea table next to her, there were several plates of pastries, and even a cup of milk tea, emitting a warm, sweet aroma.
This treatment did not seem like she had been threatened.
Zhao Jiaqi glanced at the three of them. The tall, thin one was the owner of Dong Shun Inn, Dong Ziheng, who had spoken to her.
Around thirty-five years old, the youngest of the three, with a scholarly air, was Leng Xiyuan, the owner of Jun Youlai Inn.
The other was the owner of Hongyun Inn, Peng Shuo, around forty years old, with a refined appearance and sharp eyes. Such a capable person was said to be henpecked.
Leng Xiyuan said expressionlessly, "We had no choice but to invite you here using such methods today. If we weren't on the brink of collapse, we wouldn't have done this. Please forgive us."
For a year, the three inns, whether by lowering prices or introducing new dishes, had tried every method to attract customers. However, Tianxiang Tower's new dishes came out too quickly, and customers were willing to queue up, but wouldn't patronize their establishments.
After much deliberation, and risking offending Wang Lifeng, they decided to invite her.
Zhao Jiaqi rubbed her belly, looked down at the speaker, and after a long pause, she said, "What can I do if I don't forgive you! Let's speak frankly. If you have something to say, say it directly. I don't like beating around the bush."
"Direct and to the point. Then we won't beat around the bush either!" Leng Xiyuan said loudly.
If the woman was so forthright, they as men couldn't let her look down on them.
Leng Xiyuan, as their representative, negotiated with her: "Your cooperation with Tianxiang Tower is fine in itself. But the key issue is that because of you, our inns have suffered heavy losses, operating at a deficit. We have invited you here today hoping you can be merciful and give us a way out!"
Zhao Jiaqi found it strange. She smiled and said, "I didn't force you with a knife, nor did I lower my prices like you did. Third, Tianxiang Tower didn't squeeze you three; rather, it was the three of you who colluded to squeeze us. Not to mention that now, we each make money based on our own abilities. We'll go our separate ways, and where are we not giving you a way to live?"