I was a stepmother in ancient times, and I led my whole family to wealth.

Chapter 81 Sun Qingzhuang

Yang Zhu looked at Gu Chenglin's two children, who were now plump and dressed in fine cloth, exuding an air of nobility.

This little stone was much more lively than when it was with Tian Xiaocao. It had a delicate face, bright eyes, and a neatly combed black hair bun. It wore a blue robe and had a jade pendant hanging at its waist.

This...this...this child exudes a scholarly air about him, more like a scholar than the fourth son of the Gu family.

And this girl, she's grown up so much in the blink of an eye.

She had two small braids with hair flowers in them and wore delicate earrings.

She wore a deep pink embroidered long dress, a light red rabbit fur vest, and delicate embroidered shoes, looking as if she had stepped out of a painting.

This...this is still that skinny little child? The change is earth-shattering.

Then look at my two mischievous monkeys, who don't even greet people, and are now staring at the flowers.

Even if we dress them clean today, compared to Little Stone, we'd have to throw our own child away.

Gu Chenglin came out and took the carrying pole from Sun Xing: "Third Brother, I won't stand on ceremony. My family is short of vegetables."

Sun Xing reached out and patted him on the shoulder: "Why are you being so polite? Your sister-in-law planted a lot this year, enough for your family to eat all winter."

Gu Chenglin smiled and said, "That's a good idea."

Yang Zhu: "..." Is this still the taciturn Gu Chenglin?

Not only did he have a smile on his face, but the scars on his face no longer seemed creepy.

It seems that Dongfang Jin is a good person, bringing prosperity to the family.

Now that she's in charge, she doesn't have to worry about him all the time, and Gu Chenglin's hardships have finally come to an end.

Look at this house, the owner says it costs over a thousand taels of silver.

It was all Chenglin's family that earned the money from selling recipes. In that sense, the Gu family was unlucky, pushing away such a lucky charm.

People are always calling her a jinx, a bringer of misfortune.

Her mother-in-law said that Old Lady Gu was a jinx; that family hadn't had a moment's peace all these years.

That old woman Gu is definitely a troublemaker.

The group entered the inner courtyard. They were not from a wealthy family, so there was no custom that guests could not enter the inner courtyard.

Sun Xing's two children were initially a little reserved around Gu Jingye and Gu Caiwei, but children are simple-minded, and in no time they became familiar with the siblings.

Gu Jingye showed the two brothers around his house, then took them to find Jun Qirui. After greeting him, he led them to the greenhouse, where it was warm.

After arriving at the greenhouse, Gu Jingye began to tell the two brothers the story of "grinding an iron pestle into a needle" that his mother had told him the night before.

Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Dong had only ever heard ghost stories before, but this time Gu Jingye was telling them stories they had never heard before.

The two brothers listened with great interest, completely absorbed in the story Gu Jingye was telling.

Xiao Zhuang asked curiously, "Little Stone, can this iron rod really be ground into a needle?"

Gu Jingye said in a serious tone, "That's the essence of the story: as long as you put in the effort, even an iron rod can be ground into a needle."

"What lesson do you think this story teaches us?"

Xiao Zhuang: "Little Stone, does that mean you have to persevere no matter what you do?"

Just like my grandfather started raising pigs, and later my father also raised pigs, does that mean I'll raise pigs too in the future?

Gu Jingye: ...Really? He didn't understand either.

Should we ask the young lady? Or should we ask the young man? What if he explains it wrong and misleads others?

Gu Jingye finally decided to go to his stepmother: "Let's go ask my stepmother. But your idea is not bad."

When Xiao Zhuang heard Gu Jingye praise him, he asked happily, "Really?"

Gu Jingye nodded: "Brother Xiaozhuang, you're very smart. Let's go ask Xiaoniang. She'll definitely be able to answer our questions."

Xiao Zhuang looked on with envy: "Shi Tou, your stepmother is so good to you."

He also wanted a girl like that.

When the four children found Dongfang Jin, Aunt Gu and her husband, Gu Chunsheng's family, and Lin Lizheng's family were talking in the yard.

Gu Chunsheng's daughter (Gu Qiqi, 6 years old, nicknamed Xiaotao).

Lin Jiang's daughter (Lin Ziyu, 5 years old, nicknamed Xiaoyu).

The two were chatting and laughing while admiring the flowers in the courtyard when Gu Jingye pulled Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Dong along, with Gu Caiwei following behind them.

Xiao Tao and Xiao Yu were filled with envy when they saw Gu Caiwei wearing such beautiful clothes.

"Little sister, brother has a question for you," Gu Caiwei ran up to Dongfang Jin, snuggled into her arms, and said coquettishly.

Dongfang Jin hugged her, pinched her cheek, and smiled gently, "Oh? What do you want to ask?"

Gu Jingye stepped forward: "Little Mother, I just told Brother Xiaozhuang and Brother Xiaodong the story of grinding an iron pestle into a needle."

I asked them what lesson this story teaches us.

Gu Jingye paused for a moment before continuing, "Little Zhuang said that his grandfather raises pigs, and now his father raises pigs. Does that mean he'll raise pigs when he grows up?"

But something felt off, and I didn't dare answer him, so I brought them here to ask you.

Dongfang Jin was stunned by these words and looked at Sun Xing. Was he planning to pass on the pig farming business and make the Sun family a professional pig farmer?

Everyone else looked at Dongfang Jin and the children with curiosity.

Curiosity, doubt, and confusion were evident on everyone's faces.

Dongfang Jin looked at Xiao Zhuang and said gently, "The fact that you said that proves you listened to the story."

What you're talking about is called inheritance. This inheritance means that your grandfather was skilled, so he passed it on to your father, your father learned it and passed it on to you, and you learned it and passed it on to your son...

However, this is different from the idea of ​​grinding an iron pestle into a needle, but they are very similar.

They all tell us that no matter what we do, we must persevere.

Did Little Stone tell you the essence of this story?

Sun Qingzhuang nodded: "He said that with enough effort, even an iron rod can be ground into a needle."

Dongfang Jin smiled and said, "Hmm, not bad. You can remember it and even say it out loud. It shows that you are very intelligent."

This story teaches us that no matter what we do in the future, no matter what difficulties we face.

With perseverance, focus on our goals, and a positive attitude, we can achieve success.

For example, if your dad raises pigs, wouldn't you want to raise more pigs than him?

This is a question we've definitely thought about. Your grandfather thought about it, your father thought about it, and haven't you thought about it too?

Sun Qingzhuang nodded: "My grandfather raised two pigs, my father raised four pigs, and I want to raise more pigs."

Dongfang Jin asked with a smile, "Then how can we raise more pigs? Isn't that a difficult problem? Tell your aunt how we can raise more pigs?"

Sun Qingzhuang frowned and thought for a while: "It's...it's about raising a sow and letting it give birth to piglets."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Dongfang Jin with a nervous expression, unsure whether what he said was right.

Dongfang Jin nodded and continued, "What you said is one of the solutions. Then let me ask you, how do you feed so many pigs?"

There isn't enough food at home? Isn't that the biggest problem? Has it been a persistent issue that's been troubling your father and grandfather?

Sun Qingzhuang scratched his head anxiously: "What should we do then?" It was indeed a problem.

"Tell your aunt, what crops grow the most abundantly in the fields in autumn?"

"stick!"

"Yes, let me tell you, after the stalk grows taller, doesn't it have more leaves?"

As the corn grows taller, does that mean more fertilizer is being applied to the field? And what grows fastest in that field?

Sun Qingzhuang immediately replied, "Damn it."

Dongfang Jin was once again amazed by the child in ancient times; he was only eight years old…

"Yes, if there's too much grass, you have to pull it out quickly. The corn is also growing strong, so the density of its leaves increases."

If there are many leaves, will some of them turn yellow?

This is where we need to cut off these yellowing leaves from the corn stalks.

These leaves can be taken home, chopped up with a cleaver... and then fed to the pigs.