Qi Kangle, following Mrs. Cui and Gu Jinxiu, was preparing fragrant spices in the main room, and when she heard what Third Grandma said to Xiao Yu, her eyes reddened with emotion, for they had indeed spent both money and effort for her family. Qi Kangle knew about pearl powder; the young lady from the Li Family had used it—it was expensive stuff, costing one tael of Silver for just a tenth of a tael of pearl powder. Yet Xiao Yu had bought it for her to make a scar removal medicine. Qi Kangle was very grateful, silently swearing to herself that she would repay Gu Family in her lifetime and not cause them any more trouble. Gu Jinli had been cooking a medicinal paste under the kitchen porch for half an hour, and after thoroughly turning the paste into an ointment, she extinguished the fire. Once the ointment had cooled down, she stored it in a small clay jar. The small clay jar was only the size of a wine cup, just enough to hold the entire batch of scar removal ointment. As small as this jar of scar removal ointment was, it cost Gu Jinli eight taels of Silver, mainly because the pearl powder was so expensive, costing one tael of Silver for just a tenth of a tael. "Second Sister, is it ready?" Brother Cheng asked. "Mhm, it’s ready. Keep it stored, and once Cousin Le’s scab falls off her face, she can start applying it." Gu Jinli gathered up the medicine-making tools and hid the scar removal ointment in the room she shared with Gu Jinxiu. She then turned to Qi Kangle, who was mixing spices in the main room, saying, "Cousin Le, I’ve finished making the scar ointment. Take good care of the wound on your face, and let me know once the scab falls off. If it itches, don’t touch it; that means the new skin is growing, it’s nothing to worry about." Qi Kangle replied, "Eh, I know, I won’t touch it." Xiao Yu had instructed them, the three siblings, on many things to watch out for—the injury on her face, their big brother’s leg, and their second brother’s hand. They were all reminded of what they should be careful about during the recovery period and made sure to remember every single detail, not daring to cause any more trouble for the Gu Family. Gu Jinli nodded and then said to Mrs. Cui, "Mother, I’ll go check on the workshop. Don’t overwork yourselves; we still have about a month until the delivery. There’s enough time." "Alright, go ahead. Don’t stay too long, and come back sooner. We are having meat for dinner tonight," said Mrs. Cui, who also held dear this second daughter of hers – the most capable one, and always the busiest. "Meat for dinner? Where did we get meat from?" The meat Third Grandpa bought in town today was all given to Elder Mi’s family. Third Grandma explained, "It was a pig from He Dayou’s household that fell into a ditch, got its belly slashed by branches, and couldn’t survive, so they decided to butcher and sell it for meat. Knowing how much you love meat, our family bought five jin of pork belly. It’s hanging in the basket on the kitchen beam; you can eat it every day for the next while." Five jin of pork belly, that was enough to last for days. "Ha, then I’ll come back early, and we’ll cook meat for dinner." Gu Jinli was pleased. Just as she was about to head to the workshop, Third Grandma gestured for her to come over. She followed Third Grandma to the kitchen. Third Grandma took down the piece of pork belly, cut a jin from it, and handed it to Gu Jinli, "Take this along to your aunt’s house." Although Girl Le was present, she felt embarrassed to take the meat, thinking that her family had already caused enough trouble. If Xiao Yu sent it over, Daya’s family would graciously accept, and they would be able to enjoy meat in the evening as well. "Third Grandma, don’t worry, the meat will be delivered," Gu Jinli accepted the meat and, accompanied by Brother Cheng, headed to Gu Daya’s house. On the way, as they passed by the Luo Family’s place, Brother Cheng asked, "Second Sister, when are Brother San Lang and Brother Wu coming back?" "It’ll be soon, he can return at the end of the month when the break comes. At that time, our families will get together for a meal, and the village chief will also come." The fact that Qin San Lang and others took on deputy roles at the Military Office and government was a big deal for the village. In some other villages, this would warrant a grand banquet. However, due to status considerations, the Qin family preferred not to draw too much attention. Nevertheless, a shared meal and a good time with a few families was still in order. Brother Cheng was very happy upon hearing this: "When Brother San Lang comes back, I’ll go fishing with him. He’s amazing at catching fish." The little fellow praised Qin San Lang and Luo Wu all the way, clearly fond of both brothers. "Brother Cheng, stop talking for a moment." When they reached the doorstep of Gu Daya’s house, Gu Jinli caught sight of three people from afar: Gu Dexing, Gu Dewang, and wearing a green cloth skirt adorned with a red flower on her head... He Danhua. Gu Jinli had seen He Danhua before. The He family had been quite active in trying to get work at Gu’s Workshop but hadn’t done anything evil. Yet, Gu Jinli dared not employ the He family. They were not only tight-fisted but also had a habit of petty theft, a fact known throughout the village. Even Village Chief He had said that it was one thing for the He family to sell goods, but if anyone employed them, items would surely go missing after a while. Now it seemed that having failed at one scheme, the He family was plotting another. "Brother Dexing, I haven’t seen Sister Mei for many days. I heard she fell ill and wanted to visit her, but your Second Aunt wouldn’t let me see her and... drove me out," He Danhua said as she began to sob. "I regard Sister Mei as my own sister, and I genuinely want to see her. Brother Dexing, could you take me to see her, please?" He Danhua’s voice sounded as if someone was strangling her, which was quite unpleasant to listen to. After she finished talking, she even threw a coquettish glance at Gu Dexing! Gu Jinli blinked. Impressive, who did she learn this from? She ought to demand a refund for those lessons! Such a coquettish glance, not only would it scare Gu Dexing, but it could scare off any man. Look at Gu Dewang trembling next to them. Gu Dexing felt disgusted. He Danhua had already intercepted him twice using the pretext of Sister Mei’s illness. If he didn’t realize her intentions by now, he would be utterly oblivious. Gu Dexing ignored He Danhua, grabbed Gu Dewang standing beside him, used Gu Dewang as a shield against He Danhua, and quickly walked past her. Seeing him leaving, He Danhua became anxious and hurriedly chased after him, calling out, "Brother Dexing, Brother Dexing, don’t go." "Shut up, what are you yelling for? Who’s your brother?" Gu Dexing was infuriated. The lines between men and women were clear, and as they weren’t siblings, her running after him shouting ’brother’ could provoke gossip among the villagers. If gossip spread, it would become hard to clarify. Given He Danhua’s approach, she would certainly take advantage, and then, Gu Dexing might end up having to marry her. Gu Dexing aspired to become an official – how could he marry a country farmer girl like her! He Danhua didn’t care and kept shouting. This tactic was taught by He Cui’er. He Cui’er said, regardless of whether Gu Dexing liked it or not, as long as He Danhua clung to him, once village gossip began, her family could then press the issue, forcing Gu Dexing to marry her. If she could marry Gu Dexing, she would become the mistress of Gu’s Workshop. The thought made He Danhua blissful. However, she didn’t know that He Cui’er was merely toying with her, intending to make her reviled by the Gu Family People and to become the laughingstock of the village. After the incident with the handkerchief, Mrs. Chen had confronted He Cui’er’s family, causing them to lose face. Because of this, He Cui’er’s family had thoroughly offended the Gu family, ruining their chances of working at the workshop or marrying into the related families for a lifetime. He Cui’er, being petty-minded, gave He Danhua a bad idea after learning of her intentions – if she couldn’t succeed, then He Danhua shouldn’t either.