Xu Ran asked Tangtang and Guoguo to practice calligraphy at home the next morning after breakfast. He and Liu Tong parted ways, one heading to the village chief's house and the other searching for Wu Mei.
The village head's family was having breakfast when Xu Ran arrived. Xu Ran observed the food on the table and discovered that, considering his position as the village's chief, the food was average. It was true that the majority of citizens in this era were poor.
"Village head, I want to invite someone to help our family open up the newly purchased land," Xu Ran said emphatically. "On a land of more than 30 mu, we can't do the farming by ourselves. We may recruit people for a short or long period of time. Money isn't a problem, and it can be discussed, but there is one requirement: their work must be satisfying.
"Oh, Xu Ran!" exclaimed the village chief after looking Xu Ran over. "Hiring workers to work the land costs a lot of money. Are you sure you have enough money to do that?"
"Don't worry about money, village head," Xu Ran said with a nod. "Since I promised it, I will pay for it. By the way, village chief, how much should I pay a day worker?"
"These days, few people in the village recruit short-term workers, but they are usually able to pay a worker 80 pence a day, not including food and lodging."
"How about this way, village head? I'll also pay 80 pence a day including lunch?"
"All right, because you say so, I'll go ahead and seek the assistance of others. It just so happens that everyone has finished their work by this point and is looking for short-term work in town. They will now earn money without having to leave the house. They'll probably want to take your work, in my opinion.
"Thank you very much, village head," Xu Ran said with a smile. "Please advise those who are willing to come to properly prepare their tools. They can only meet outside my house in the morning tomorrow."
The village head nodded, "All right."
"By the way, village chief, I would like to purchase some rice and vegetables. My family hasn't done any farming, so we have to buy all of the food in town. More people are going to work these days, and they will need to eat. Do you know of any families who would be willing to sell us some food?"
"If you want to buy brown rice, my family has some. Allow me to weigh some for you later. My younger brother will provide you with some vegetables. I'll give him permission to send them to you. You decide how much to pay in terms of money. We are all from the same village, after all."
"Well, thank you very much, village head. But can you also deliver your brown rice to my home? You know I don't have any vehicles. I'll pay you according to the price in town." Xu Ran didn't want to let the village head lose money. He also knew he couldn't save much money in it, either. By doing so, he could also make a good impression on the village head.
Smilingly, the village head nodded and agreed, "I'll send it to you in a minute. Is 200 kilos enough for you!"
"Enough. Thank you, village head."
Xu Ran started tidying up his bamboo house after returning home from the village head's house. Really, there weren't so many things in it. He had to put the potatoes in the cellar because he didn't want to take them out for the time being. The chili paste was already stored in the cellar, so there was no need to worry about it. However, he wanted to find a way to cover the stone mill outside. During this period, the bamboo that was left after the building of the house had been used as firewood and it was almost burnt out, so they were not enough to cover the stone mill well. And he had to find another way instead.
After some consideration, he decided to go for some straws. He thought Wu Mei's family should have a lot of straws, so he told Tangtang and Guoguo what to do and left quickly.
At Wu Mei's house, Xu Ran found both Wu Lan and Liu Qing were also in, but only three Ge'ers stayed there. All the Xiaozis of the family were out.
Seeing Xu Ran, Liu Tong stood up right away and asked, "Ran, why are you here?"
"I need some straws to cover up the stone mill. Do you have any in your family, Wu Mei?"
"Yes, I have some, but not much. I have raised a cow and have to feed it."
Liu Qing said to Xu Ran, "Go to my house and get it! We have some store of it and plan to use it to light fire."
"All right, thanks a lot. We'll open up the wasteland, Liu Tong should have informed you! Please come and help me cook tomorrow! The wage for the job is eighty pence a day, including food, which is equivalent to other jobs."
Speaking of money, Wu Mei turned against him, "We don't want money. It's not easy for you to earn some money. You have to spend a long time in order to open up the land."
"It's fine," Xu Ran said with a wave of his hands. "Don't be worried about this. It won't be long before the land is completely opened up. Tomorrow, not only will you arrive, but so will Xu An and the others. When you're all here, I'll tell you about my plans."
Under this circumstance, it was not good for Wu Mei to refuse anymore. Since Liu Qing and others had always been centered around Wu Mei, they naturally wouldn't refuse.
Xu Ran and Liu Tong accompanied Liu Qing to his house to get the grass after they had talked for a while. "Liu Tong, you can't hire someone for help!" Liu Qing warned on the way. "Some people, I believe, have just come to play tricks and make money.
"Don't worry about that. I'll find some supervisors. As long as the supervisor finds out anyone that is not doing his job properly, I'll let him go, and I'll never hire him again. "
"That's fine. Xu Ran, it's thoughtful of you. People who have read books are different," Liu Qing said with emotion.
Xu Ran felt a little bashful. He knew that modern people were generally clear about this.
The two kids were already waiting in the yard when they returned from Liu Qing's family with the straws. They appeared hungry, and when they saw Liu Tong and Xu Ran, they immediately approached them.
Guoguo told them, "Hey, dad and daddy, I'm hungry."
Tangtang was unwilling to lag behind, "I am also hungry." He even proved himself by touching his stomach.
Xu Ran was amused, "All right. Wait a minute. I will cook for you."
Since Xu Ran's current culinary skills were superior to Liu Tong's, the two children preferred to eat his food. They both hurrayed and ran away happily when they heard Xu Ran say he would cook.
Xu Ran couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry at this moment! The kids had a knack for being coquettish. Nonetheless, Xu Ran was delighted because both of his children now seemed to be real children.
Those who the village head had summoned were waiting outside their bamboo house early the next day. Xu Ran grabbed a few bites of food and dashed out the door to greet them. First and foremost, he pulled out all of the edible seeds he had purchased the day before and sincerely entertained everyone present.
Most of the people who came to be the short-term workers were honest and obedient. Thus, they ate before they started working.
"Hello, everybody, my house is too small, so I won't invite you in," Xu Ran began his opening speech after dividing the seeds. "The village chief has invited you to come here to see me. You're all aware that I recently purchased 30 hectares of wasteland. My family, on the other hand, consists of only two laborers: my spouse and me. It is really out of our ability to manage it by ourselves, so we invite everyone here.-
"- I can assure you, however, that you will not be working for nothing. I'll stick to the village's short-term worker rate of eighty pence per day for each person. Aside from that, I'll provide you with a free lunch. However, I must ensure that everyone follows my rules, which state that those who work hard will be rewarded, while those who are slackers and cheaters will be asked to leave. Furthermore, even if we have work in the future, they will never be hired here again.-
For this reason, I have hired three supervisors. In a minute, we will divide you into three groups each of which has the same number of people. Each group will be given the task of 10 mu of land. Finally, for the first group to complete their task, I will pay them not only their daily salaries, but also an additional twenty pence a day. After this, when the work is over, each of them will take home a kilo of meat."
The majority of those present started to whisper when they heard Xu Ran's words. Until now, this business was unquestionably the largest in the village. They'd never made so much money in their lives. As a result, many people were ecstatic and enthusiastic. They all wanted to fight for the first place. They will get a total of 100 pence per day as well as a kilo of meat this way, since they all knew that a kilo of meat in their place cost more than 100 pence.
Xu Ran took a breath and observed their reactions. "The second place also has a payout, which is an additional one pence per day," he said. "There is, however, no meat for them. In the case of the third place winner, they will only be paid as expected. Let me now introduce the three supervisors to you."
Xu An, Xu Fa, and Xu Zhen were called from the crowd by Xu Ran. "Everyone knows these three people, right?" he asked, pointing to them. "The supervisors are the ones in charge. Any of you who wish to continue working here will be split into three groups, and my supervisors will lead you to your task land where you will begin your work. I'm wondering if anyone is able to stick around and help me?"
Xu Ran looked sincere and modest, and many people present were moved by him.
"Such a good treatment that I am naturally willing to work here. Bro Xu Ran, I'll do it."
"I'll do it as well."
"I'll do it as well."
With the first positive response, an increasing number of people accepted and joined the team. Over 30 people remained in the end. The workers were then divided into groups by Xu Ran and the other two supervisors. All he had to do now was pay.
As for the location of the 30 mu of land, it was easy to find. He didn't need to worry about it at all.
Xu An and his coworkers were surprised that Xu Ran would make such an offer, but they knew it was because they used to support him and his family; otherwise, they would not have been given such simple tasks to do while earning money. Three of them, of course, would not betray Xu Ran's trust.
They three indeed shared the same idea, and all worked very hard.
Of course, the task of cooking was handed over to Wu Mei and the other two Ge'ers. Xu Ran himself and Liu Tong were in charge of running errands.
Soon after, Xu Ran rode Wu Mei's ox cart to town and returned with big bones and pork. The pork would be fried with onions, and the large bones would be used to make a stewing broth. Yesterday, his brother's vegetables and brown rice from the village head's house were delivered. Xu Ran had invested some taels of silver to pay them both.
Xu Ran, in addition to his own work, arranged for a group of children to accompany the workers as they opened up the land to collect houttuynia cordata, which he thought would make a tasty lunch dish.
Finally, when people returned from work at noon, they found four dishes and one soup on the table. These dishes were typically only served during the Spring Festival. They may now eat them when working for others as well. As a result, they had not only healthy food but also money to take with them. The staff were so moved that they expressed their gratitude to the host family for their generosity and enthusiasm.
Before eating, each of the workers drank a cup of delectable bone broth, during which they all ate to their hearts' content. When they worked in the afternoon, they were naturally more powerful in this way.
However, Xu Ran's kindness got him in a big trouble.
Early the next morning, those people who came to work yesterday went to the wasteland with hoes after breakfast.
After hearing that hearty meals were offered yesterday and that the first-prize winner will receive fat meat as an award, there was another swarm of people waiting at Xu Ran's gate.
Xu Ran politely explained to these people that now that he had enough workers, they should come back next time. These people were unable to make any more requests, and they all left disappointed. Of course, there was always someone who was a pain in the ass, such as the families of Xu Ran's eldest uncle and third uncle.
The village chief was in charge of employment this time. After receiving Xu Ran's wine, the village head must give it his all to complete this task, particularly since Xu Ran had also purchased 100 kilos of brown rice from him at a reasonable price.
Therefore, all the people he had found for Xu Ran were honest and diligent. The families of Xu Ran's eldest uncle, third uncle and his father hadn't received any news about this employment.
"Xu Ran, why don't you come to us when you're in need?" Xu Ran's eldest uncle's spouse and third uncle's spouse had been bugging him. "It's unnecessary to waste too much money on recruiting others."
"Right. We are all here and you go to others. Why not give the money to us?"
"Anyway, your eldest uncle is your elder. Why don't you invite him?"
"And your third uncle, that's your father's brother."
They echoed each other's words around Xu Ran.
Xu Ran laughed when he heard his third uncle's spouse's words. He had the audacity to say that his third uncle and father were brothers! Yes, they were brothers, and they were eerily similar in that they both liked to take advantage of others and married the same sort of person, as the old saying goes, "birds of a feather flock together."
Xu Ran would have argued with them if he was not afraid of them spreading rumors.
"My uncles' spouses, it was the village head who was in charge of employment, not me, who did not give you this job. You weren't there when the village chief was hiring the day before yesterday, were you? We had enough people yesterday, so we don't need any more now. You'd better leave."
"Even outsiders can do it. Why can't your eldest uncle? Just add him to the list and cast someone out."
When Xu Ran heard what his eldest uncle's spouse said, he became angry, saying, "How can you say that as an elder? What do you want me to do with the people you want to get rid of? What reason can I give him if he has done a good job if I do so? Tell him that my eldest uncle will take his place and that he will have to leave because he is not a family member? You can just say these words here, and I will keep them to myself. You had better forget this idea!"
"Why not say? You are my nephew and it's reasonable enough to keep your eldest uncle a position. You pay the money and you are the boss! I don't care. You must give your eldest uncle a job. Besides, I will take the cook job."
"And your third uncle, he must have a position as well."
The spouse of Xu Ran's third uncle immediately chime in as soon as the eldest uncle's spouse finished. Xu Ran got even angrier. 'Who are you to get the job? When I was in trouble, where were you? You guys mocked me a lot when I was a fool. Now you claim we are a family. He thought in his heart.'
"Do you recall that I was a fool for seven years?" sneered Xu Ran. "Are you aware of what you said and did at the time? It's something I recall vividly. And when Xu Cheng demanded a family separation, I was shut out and badly hurt. What were you doing at the time? You must have shut the door tightly because you were afraid Tongtong and I would come to you with Tangtang and Guoguo.-"
"-You must have felt relieved when you heard that we went to Wu Mei for help, right?-"
"My uncles' spouses, to be honest, we wouldn't go to you even if we starved to death. I remembered how my father and daddy treated me and how you treated me. As what I had said during the family division, we would have no relationship with my father and daddy, neither with you, whether we are alive or not. You've all come to me now because we're all living better lives. Do you think you'll be able to threaten me in the same way you did before? I have a word for my uncles' spouses: you reap what you sow, sooner or later. You'll have to pay for it."
The spouses of Xu Ran's eldest and second uncles cried out at the same time, apparently scared by Xu Ran's grim face.
Pretended to see nothing, Xu Ran said calmly, "My uncles' spouses, you'd better leave while no one is here."
Xu Ran's eldest uncle's spouse had hoped to say something, but he was dragged away by Xu Ran's third uncle's spouse, who left sullenly. He gave Xu Ran a fierce look before leaving.
After they had left, Xu Ran rubbed his stiff face. Pretending to be cold was a tough job. After getting rid of his headache, Xu Ran returned home cheerfully to celebrate his victory with Liu Tong.
04.5.21
Yey I'm back woot!