What does the limited liability of the owners of stock in a corporation mean?

The answer is that the the stockholders of a corporation can lose only what they have invested in the corporation.  A shareholder of a company restricted by shares has limited liability. This means that the shareholder is not liable for the acts and omissions of the company. The liability of the shareholder is limited to the nominal value of its shares.

they remained in rural areas and worked at jobs such as lumbering or farming.

keeping a cash reserve because cash flow is the the movement of money through a company and if it just sits there, it wont the movement