Chapter 79 The whole village is filled with excitement as the village workshop is built.

Jiang Fuzheng only left after Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu arrived.

Ye Li washed her hands, rolled up her sleeves, and started filtering the soybean pulp.

This job is simple, but it's freezing to the touch.

Ye Li was overjoyed at the thought of soon getting rid of this job.

He glanced at Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu beside him and asked with a smile, "Little Liu, Yu-ge'er, when are your birthdays?"

"And what about Brother Datong's? Which day exactly?"

"Brother Li, why are you asking this?"

Jiang Dahe asked curiously.

He was pouring beans into the millstone, glancing at Ye Li as he did so.

Ye Li smiled and said, "I'm going to give everyone a birthday gift."

A birthday gift?

The people present repeated these four words in unison.

"Yes, from now on, on everyone's birthday, the workshop will give out five catties of rice, five catties of flour, and five catties of pork as a birthday gift."

Ye Li explained the specific contents of the congratulatory gift.

In the first year, the gifts were of a lower standard.

But for the villagers, this was still a huge sum of money.

Rice and flour are both seven coins a pound, and pork cuts with a good balance of fat and lean meat cost at least nineteen coins a pound.

These three items together will cost over a hundred coins!

"...Why would you spend this money? None of us need this kind of thing these days."

Jiang Dahe snapped out of his daze and hurriedly shook his head.

Jiang Tong also said, "That's right, you haven't skimped on wages."

Jiang Liu added, "Brother Li, we're eating and drinking your food every day now, how can we take these things?"

Ye Li knew they would react this way.

He said with a smile, "Second Uncle, you can't refuse this benefit on behalf of the other villagers. If you don't want it, others will."

"Huh?" Jiang Dahe didn't understand.

Jiang Liu, Jiang Tong, Jiang Yu, and Uncle Ye couldn't understand it.

So Ye Li told her about setting up a village workshop.

Once the village workshop is established, these people will join it and be responsible for the most crucial step: making tofu.

Ye Liang can only come in the afternoon and can't do this job, but Jiang Dahe, Jiang Tong, Jiang Liu, Liang Erxiang, Ye Adie, Jiang Yu, and Jiang Dachuan are enough.

Now, just the three of them—himself, Jiang Liu, and Uncle Ye—can make 500 jin of tofu every day.

With four more people, the output will definitely double.

This was quite unexpected for the people present.

But from any perspective, village workshops are more advantageous to them.

Wages have increased.

There are also birthday gifts, holiday gifts, and year-end bonuses.

There were also village schools where anyone could learn to read if they wanted to.

As for wells and irrigation tools, those would save them a lot of trouble!

This is a huge benefit!

only……

Jiang Dahe frowned and said, "Li Ge'er, if you're going to set up a village workshop, why are you giving away so much money?"

The only bad thing about this village workshop is that it harmed the interests of his nephew!

The benefits they received were all taken from his good nephew.

"I can't run this by myself, can I? I don't have the money to build a workshop."

Ye Li casually made up an excuse.

The real reason is suspected of treating the villagers as tools.

Jiang Fuzheng should keep this to himself; it shouldn't be publicized.

But Jiang Dahe was only concerned about his good nephew, so he added, "You can borrow from everyone; everyone is willing to lend you money."

Ye Li: "..."

The real reason definitely cannot be revealed.

But right now several pairs of eyes are on him, especially Jiang Dahe, who is afraid that Jiang Ji will suffer a loss, so he wants to get to the bottom of things.

This is not something that can be easily fooled.

His mind raced, and he quickly smiled and said, "Second Uncle, when Jiang Ji took the exam last time, the villagers pooled their money to send him over. At that time, Uncle Jiang said that the villagers were too busy to take care of themselves in the past, and with you and Second Aunt around, they didn't lend a helping hand to Jiang Ji."

“But the village children haven’t bullied Xiaomai or Ya Ge’er in the past few years.”

"Everyone is inherently kind and a good person."

"Moreover, regarding what happened to Brother Datong last time, as soon as Uncle Jiang made the announcement, the whole village immediately went together to seek justice for Brother Datong. That's how reliable he is."

“Since the villagers are kind and genuinely helpful when we need them, Jiang Ji and I are willing to work together to make our lives better.”

“Jiang Ji and I would never do something like being landlords while letting our fellow villagers eat chaff and wild vegetables. Since we both have the surname Jiang, let’s get rich together.”

These words vaguely pointed out the main reason.

He felt a little uneasy, wondering if he could shut Jiang Dahe up.

Before Jiang Dahe could speak, Jiang Liu spoke up first: "Father, Brother Ji is a scholar, and scholars value their reputation. Having a good reputation is very important to Brother Ji."

"Furthermore, once Brother Ji passes the imperial examination, he will become the leader of the entire village, and he will definitely be the next clan chief."

"As the clan leader, he must consider the interests of the entire clan."

Ye Li: "..."

Good Jiang Liu!

This imaginative interpretation came at just the right time!

It was so convincing that he almost believed it.

If Ye Li was about to believe it, then Jiang Tong and Jiang Yu were even more convinced, nodding repeatedly as they listened.

Jiang Tongdao: "That's right, Xiao Ji is most likely to be the next clan leader."

"He's a scholar; if he becomes an official in the future, his reputation will be of utmost importance."

Jiang Yu laughed and said, "Yes, yes, Brother Ji is so young and he's already a scholar. He'll definitely pass the imperial examination in the future and even go to the capital for the imperial examination. Reputation is very important!"

Jiang Dahe: "..."

Xiao Ji's future is definitely more important than money.

He heard Jiang Fuzheng say that the palace examination selects hundreds of scholars every three years!

They are all qualified to be officials!

However, there were only so many official positions in the imperial court, so more than half of them could not actually become officials and could only wait at home for their positions to be filled by their superiors.

Their family was poor and unable to provide Xiao Ji with any assistance. Since their family wealth couldn't compare to that of the rich, they could only try to gain fame.

However, that is the truth.

But he still felt the pinch.

Take out ten taels every month, ten taels!

Hopefully, this money will truly bring Xiao Ji a bright future.

He said, "Since you and Xiao Ji have both decided, then let's do it this way."

Upon hearing this, Ye Li immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn't show it on his face, but just smiled and said, "Then tell us what day your birthday is, and we'll enjoy this benefit first."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Tong said, "My father's birthday is next month, the day after the winter solstice."

"Oh, what a coincidence! This workshop not only gives gifts for birthdays, but also for festivals. The two gifts together are ten catties of rice, ten catties of flour, and ten catties of meat. When Uncle Jun makes dumplings, he won't have to spend a single penny."

Ye Li smiled.

Jiang Tong laughed upon hearing this: "Yes."

With flour and pork readily available, and cabbages and radishes from their garden, his family could get through the Winter Solstice without spending a single penny.

Although, given their current financial situation, they can afford to spend this amount of money.

But if we could get something from the workshop...

This is the first time in his life he's encountered something so wonderful.

White-collar workers, this feels really good!

Well, of course, this all comes from Li Ge'er Xiao Ji's money, but he will work even harder in the future!

Jiang Tong thought so, and Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu thought the same thing.

For them, white-collar stuff was a first.

Unfortunately, their birthdays have already passed this year, so if you want to experience it, you'll have to wait until next year.

The person whose birthday is closest to that of Jiang Dahe is Jiang Dahe.

Jiang Dahe didn't say he didn't want these things. He was determined that on that day, he would definitely carry rice, flour and meat and walk around the village a few times so that everyone in the village would know about Xiao Ji and Li Ge'er's kindness!

Meanwhile, Jiang Fu was leaving Ye Li's house; he didn't go home.

He walked around the village several times with his hands behind his back to choose the location for the workshop.

After making the selection, and after breakfast, he had Jiang Mantang ring a gong to summon the villagers.

Since this matter involved Ye Li, Ye Li let it pass.

The group still gathered under the jujube tree.

During the off-season for farming, everyone had free time, so almost the entire village volunteered to listen to what Jiang Fu was going to say.

A large crowd makes it lively.

After Jiang Fuzheng announced the plan to build a village workshop, the crowd fell silent for a moment, and then erupted into a huge uproar.

Some people couldn't believe it and kept asking if it was true, if it was true.

Some people blindly believe in Jiang Fuzheng, skipping the step of questioning and cheering directly.

After a while of chaos, everyone finally quieted down.

However, when Jiang Fuzheng announced that Ye Li would donate a portion of the profits to benefit the village, the scene from before repeated itself.

Unbelievable.

Blindly trusting.

The various sounds combined made Ye Li's ears hurt.

But he understood the crowd's excitement.

Everyone hoped to get a job in the workshop.

Now they can not only enter the workshop, but also enjoy three benefits, which are all of great importance to the villagers!

Such as high wages and holiday bonuses at the end of the year.

In the past, when they went to work in the county town, the head of the household would take a cut when carrying heavy loads.

If you go work as a shop assistant, you'll only get a fixed wage.

They have absolutely no concept of welfare!

Especially with such generous benefits!

These ordinary people used to be the ones who had to pay money and grain to others!

They never dreamed such a windfall would fall from the sky.

As for village schools, wells, and farm tools, these are also incredibly good things!

A series of enthusiastic shouts of "Li Ge'er" rushed towards Ye Li.

One after another, eager smiling faces turned to Ye Li.

What a kind person!

A living Bodhisattva!

The intense gazes from the crowd made Ye Li want to hide behind Jiang Fuzheng; their enthusiasm was a bit too much, huh?

Seeing this, Jiang Fuzheng coughed twice loudly, then raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.

Now that we've covered the benefits, let's talk about the conditions.

If you want to enter the workshop, you have to pay first.

Ye Li didn't have the money to build a big courtyard.

This condition is no problem for the villagers nowadays.

It's just a big courtyard, isn't it?

build!

It's built with blue bricks!

They're rich now!

If each family contributes ten taels, two hundred taels wouldn't be enough to build a large workshop, would it?

However, it's freezing cold today, the ground is all frozen, so we can't start work.

In an instant, everyone started talking at once, and the noise started again.

Jiang Fu was busy and raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet. He already had a plan for this matter.

If construction is delayed until the ground thaws after the Lunar New Year, then the three festivals of Winter Solstice, Laba Festival, and Lunar New Year will be missed!

Some of these were birthday gifts!

Not to mention the two months' wages.

In the first year, in order to save money to build a private school, the wages will be lower. Ye Li is tentatively set at thirty coins per person per day, but if it is added up for two months, it will be 1,800 coins!

With such a huge loss, how could the villagers not be so anxious that they couldn't sleep at night?

As the clan leader, he couldn't sleep either!

Therefore, he planned to follow Ye Li's example and first set up a small workshop in a shed, and then build a grand one in the spring.

Jiang Fuzheng's suggestion was excellent. Some impatient people immediately wanted to go home, grab an axe, and head up the mountain to chop down trees.

As for adobe bricks, many households have them in stock.

These things are all homemade by farmers and cost nothing.

There was also the matter of location; Jiang Fuzheng arranged the workshop on an open space not far behind Ye Li's house.

Ye Li's house had no neighbors to the west or behind, only Aunt Qiu Mei's family lived to the east of his house.

The twenty-two households in Yezaopo live scattered at the foot of the slope.

The open space behind his house was low-lying, so no one lived there, and it was always overgrown with weeds in the summer.

But the area is large enough to build two workshops.

The villagers only need to bring sand to fill the foundation, and they can get through rainy days safely.

Moreover, it's close to Ye Li's house.

Jiang Ji is rarely home, so someone will definitely need to keep watch at the workshop during the night, which will also provide some support for Ye Li.

The villagers had no objection to the chosen location.

So the whole village got involved.

The young and strong went up the mountain to cut down trees.

Those who are not strong should dig soil and fill in the depressions.

Those who had mud bricks at home used a handcart to transport them there.

This thing is worthless, and Jiang Fuzheng requisitioned it for free.

Jiang Fuzheng also had his own work; he was responsible for ordering stone mills and iron pots from the city.

The demand for the materials was high, so the stonemasons and blacksmiths had to work overtime to produce them.

The villagers were energetic and full of enthusiasm, and Ye Li also had a task to complete.

Ye Li drew a picture of a pancake for the villagers that represented 600 catties of tofu puffs produced daily.

If these 600 jin of tofu puffs are actually made, they must be sold; they can't be left to rot in the villagers' hands.

Given the villagers' eagerness, they will surely be able to set up the workshop before Jiang Ji takes a break.

Therefore, he had to secure the sales channels in advance.

For example, he would personally visit small business owners who wanted to order more goods to confirm exactly how many kilograms they needed.

These small business owners are all in the east of the city; in the west, only the Gong brothers and Aunt Zhou sell tofu puffs.

These days, Gong Lisheng and his wife are busy selling both stir-fried mung bean jelly and porridge. Selling tofu puffs is just a side business for them. They only sell ten catties of tofu puffs every day.

If there are too many, they won't be able to handle them.

Gong Lisheng's two younger brothers, who sold porridge from street to street, ordered more tofu puffs, 15 jin each a day.

Aunt Zhou needs five jin every day.

All of this adds up to only 45 jin (approximately 22.5 kg).

Compared to the 200 jin (100 kg) in the west of the city, this market is still very large.

He needed to speak to Gong Lisheng and ask him to help promote the tofu puffs.

So, in the afternoon, he and Jiang Dahe went to the city to deliver goods.

He took out a pen and paper and counted the order quantity for each household one by one.

The small business owners who wanted to increase their orders were very happy to see that he was going to expand production, and they all doubled their orders.

The small business owner, who originally had no such idea, decided to buy two or three more kilograms to test the waters after seeing that he could sell more goods.

As a result, the final order quantity increased from 245 jin to 380 jin.

An extra 135 pounds is no small amount.

This means we need to make an extra 270 catties of tofu every day!

With the current manpower in the workshop, it's far too difficult.

But we can't let this money go to waste. Anyway, we won't be busy for more than a few days, and the village workshop will be built soon.

Therefore, after returning home and having dinner, he went back to his room to arrange shifts for everyone, preparing for a two-shift system.

It's such a waste to only use a stone mill to grind beans in the morning.

I'll have to work on it this afternoon too.

If you grind the tofu in the afternoon, you can make it by evening and start frying it in the early morning.

He had Liu Yi move in and live with Ye Adie.

Every morning, Uncle Ye would open the door for Jiang Dahe and Jiang Tong, and then he would have some free time until it was time to filter the soybean dregs, at which point he would come to the shed to help.

The task of frying tofu puffs in the early morning can be left to Liu Yi and Uncle Ye.

He is in charge of preparing three meals a day.

No one objected to the class he assigned.

Nobody wants to take a break if they can make more money.

However, only 380 jin of tofu puffs were sold, which is still 220 jin away from Ye Li's target.

That's no small number.

Just as he was preparing to urge Gong Lisheng every day, one morning, while he was frying tofu in the yard, a luxurious carriage suddenly arrived at the gate.