Chapter 271 Hiring Workers

When hundreds of pounds of radish are cut into strips, the amount is truly spectacular!

One jar can only pickle ten pounds of radish strips. After using up ten jars, there are no more jars, but there is still a basket of radish strips left.

Looking at the remaining radish strips, Gu Lianshan announced that he would fry them in the evening and eat them in a few meals.

Gu Tang's face darkened when he heard this decision.

She doesn't eat!

Gu Lianshan saw her dark face and immediately said, "I'll make you something else. I won't force you to eat this."

Gu Tang's expression relaxed and looked much better.

In the afternoon, the third uncle went to find the clan leader and said that he wanted to tell the clan about Gu Qing's escape.

It started snowing outside again. Gu Tang was worried about him going alone, so she asked her father to go with her and go to the clan leader to talk about Gu Qing.

Gu Lianshan originally wanted to go. After all, Gu Qing had harmed his own daughter and now he had run away. He had to go with him to talk to the clan leader about this.

However, he had promised his daughter at noon that he would learn to make incense. If he went out now, he couldn't say when he would be back, and he was afraid that it would delay his work.

He said, "Your father and I will go quickly and come back soon. You prepare the incense recipe at home first. When your father comes back, I will learn how to make incense from you."

Gu Tang nodded and told him to just go and they could talk about making incense when he came back.

He took off the bamboo hat from the wall and handed it to the old man. Gu Lianshan supported the man and walked carefully towards the clan leader's house.

Gu Tang sent them to the gate of the courtyard, and after they left, he closed the gate.

After returning to the courtyard, she asked Gu Ping'an to wait for her in the main hall, saying that she wanted him to help grind the incense.

Gu Tang picked out the incense recipes and chose three: Menglingxiang, Agarwood, and Anshenxiang.

Then he rummaged through the system backpack and took out a lot of incense materials according to the types written on the incense recipe.

Each type of incense was packed in a linen bag, some big and some small. The big one could reach Gu Tang’s chest, and the small one only reached his knees.

There are so many bags of different sizes. If we move them all to the main room, I don’t know how many trips it will take to move them all back and forth.

After thinking about it, Gu Tang simply went to the main hall to call Gu Ping'an to the west wing and asked him to grind incense materials in the west wing.

The west wing where Gu Tang lived was originally two rooms connected to form an inner and outer suite.

The inner room is the bedroom and can be left untouched, while the outer room can be fiddled with as she pleases.

She cleared out the table and bamboo couch, filling them up with either millstones or various aromatic materials.

On weekdays, basically no one comes to her place, and Gu Tang is not afraid of being exposed, so she lets Gu Ping'an in openly.

Gu Ping'an stepped in and looked at the things in the room with his mouth wide open in shock.

"How are these things placed in your room? Isn't there an empty room in the east wing? I'll clean one up for you so you can use it to store the incense."

"I won't need it right now. You see there are so many incense materials now, but once they're ground into powder, there won't be much left."

Gu Tang pushed him to the front of the table and pushed the millstone on the table in front of him.

There were two rollers on the table, one for Gu Ping'an and one for Gu Tang.

This grinder was taken from the incense-making gift package. Originally, there was only one. Later, she signed in for three consecutive days with those incense-making tools, and she managed to sign in for three incense-making tools made of three different materials.

The number of millstones also increased from one to four.

Gu Tang taught him how to grind the incense and how much to grind it to so that it could be sieved.

The sifted incense powder should be put into a bag made of fine cloth, and the remaining powder that has not been sifted should continue to be ground until it is all sifted.

After grinding the same kind of incense material, you must clean the grinder before grinding the next kind of incense material.

After being taught step by step, the brother and sister soon made a millstone.

After sifting, Gu Tang carefully put it into a muslin bag.

Gu Pingan took a deep breath as he looked at the muslin bag: "Did you make this muslin bag?"

"Some of it I made, some of it I bought. What's the matter?"

Gu Tang was busy putting perfume powder into the bag, not daring to breathe for fear that some of the powder would be blown away. He didn't think much about what Gu Ping'an said.

"What's wrong?" Gu Ping'an's eyes widened. "We've never even worn fine cloth clothes before, and now you're making a bag out of fine cloth?! Just wait, when Dad comes back, he'll definitely scold you!"

So that's what it is.

Gu Tang pointed to a burlap bag beside him and asked him to pick it up and compare it with the muslin bag to see if there was any difference.

Gu Ping'an didn't understand her intention, but he still did as she said and picked up the burlap bag to compare it with the muslin bag.

After comparing them back and forth for a while, Gu Pingan said hesitantly, "Linen is coarse and loose, while fine cloth is tight. If you put perfume powder in it, linen will leak, but fine cloth won't."

"That's right, that's what I mean. Hurry up! Keep grinding, all these incense materials need to be crushed into pieces."

Gu Tang calculated that if he could crush a small half today, he could finish crushing the rest tomorrow.

The brother and sister grunted as they ground the wood, but the slower they went, the more tired they became. This job was too tiring. Their wrists were sore and numb that they felt like they had no strength left.

Gu Ping'an could still bear it, after all he was used to doing the job. Although this job was tiring, it was not impossible, but it was a test of his patience.

Gu Tang couldn't do it. She hadn't done any work since she came here, and she didn't have the patience.

She pushed the mill aside and shook her sore wrists, refusing to work anymore.

"There are so many incense ingredients. If we just rely on ourselves to do it, our wrists will be broken by the time we're done! How can we have the energy to learn how to make incense?"

Gu Ping'an couldn't refute this. This job was indeed tiring.

"So what do you want? You can't make incense without crushing it."

"Hire someone to do it!" Gu Tang gritted his teeth, "We'll spend copper coins to hire someone to do it!"

"Will Dad agree?" Gu Ping'an felt that his second sister was a little whimsical.

Gu Tang, however, looked determined: "Let Dad try this job when he comes back. After trying it, he will agree."

Gu Ping'an kept his own opinion. His father was a hard-working man and would definitely not be willing to spend money to hire someone to do the job.

The brother and sister each held their own opinions, so they made a bet that the loser would have to obey the winner's orders throughout the winter.

Seeing that he was about to have the opportunity to drive his second sister away, Gu Ping'an was ready to go, looking confident.

Gu Tang ignored him, looking exhausted. He slumped on the bamboo couch, his back leaning against the incense sticks, not wanting to work anymore.

Gu Ping'an didn't stop and continued to grind the incense until he heard a knock on the door.

He ran to open the gate and saw his father and third uncle coming back. He took a look and saw that they did not look very good.

"What's going on?"

"It's okay, where's your second sister?" Gu Lianshan's expression relaxed and looked much better.

"In the West Wing. To make incense, you need to grind the incense materials first. Second sister is exhausted."

Gu Ping'an led them to the west wing.

Hearing that his daughter was exhausted, Gu Lianshan felt distressed: "Your second sister is not in good health. You should do more work and let your second sister do less."

Third Uncle also said: "Your father is right, you are the boy, you will be the pillar of the family in the future, you have to shoulder everything, you can't let your second sister carry the burden."

Gu Ping'an: ...He is so innocent!

"Grinding incense is too tiring, my second sister didn't do much..."

"You have to work harder even if it's tiring!" Gu Lianshan said seriously, "If you set up your own business in the future, you'll have to do all the dirty and tiring work. You have to learn to take responsibility."

Gu Ping'an: ...It's his fault. He shouldn't have let his second sister do the work.

As they were talking, the three of them came to the west wing.

Gu Ping'an pushed open the door and let them see the spectacular scene inside the house.

Gu Lianshan and his third uncle, who entered the house, were both startled, just like Gu Ping'an before.

There are too many incense sticks in this room!

"My daughter! Did you buy all this?" Gu Lianshan's voice began to tremble.

How much money would it cost to buy this room full of incense?!

Gu Tang, who knew her father's temper well, knew that her father was heartbroken again.

She replied weakly, "Some I bought with money, and some I picked myself in the mountains. It didn't cost me much."

Gu Lianshan's heart choked. As soon as he heard this, he knew that this was a lie!

But seeing his daughter's weak appearance, he couldn't ask the rest of the questions. He walked forward and asked about her health with a worried look on his face.

"How tired are you? Go back to bed and rest for a while. Let your brother do the rest of the work."

When Gu Ping'an heard this, he felt like the sky was falling!

What is he doing alone?

How long will this take?

"My wrist is sore, and my palm hurts too." Gu Tang raised his wrist and felt better than before.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Third uncle also came forward, his eyes fell on Gu Tang's exposed wrist, he looked at it carefully with a serious expression.

"It looks a bit swollen. How about asking a doctor to take a look?"

Please ask a doctor?

Gu Tang sat up straight immediately: "I am just tired from pushing the millstone back and forth. I will be fine after taking a rest. Why is it worth calling a doctor?

Dad, please help Ping An and grind all the incense materials in this room into powder, just like wheat flour."

Gu Lianshan looked helpless: "Dad wants to help, but I'm afraid I can't do it today. Dad has to go out."

Gu Tang looked puzzled: "It gets dark early in the winter. It's almost 3 p.m. Where are you planning to go?"

"Go with the villagers to look for that girl Gu Qing. Before it gets dark, search the ditches around to see if she fell into an ice hole."

Gu Tang paused, raised his hand and pointed to the west: "Has the situation over there reached the clan leader?"

"right……"

"Weren't they trying to keep it a secret? Why did it suddenly come out?"

Gu Tang was surprised. This was not like the style of the old Feng couple.

Gu Lianshan couldn't figure this out either.

Third Uncle knew a little about this matter. Someone had previously secretly told him about Gu Liansheng's plan from the clan leader's place.

"Someone told me about what happened over there, I don't know if it's true or not, but they said that the father and son over there wanted to marry that widow Qian in advance.

But she was afraid of what others would say, so she brought the story of Qing's escape to the clan leader, complaining that there was no one to take care of Feng's family, hoping to use this as an excuse to get Widow Qian to marry early.

"Just get married early, why do you have to make us go out and suffer in the cold to find someone?" Gu Tang was very dissatisfied.

"Your uncle's reputation is in jeopardy now. People are saying all sorts of things. If he doesn't have a decent excuse and dares to let Widow Qian in early, outsiders will definitely spread the rumor that the two of them have known each other for a long time and have an affair..."

Gu Tang had never thought about this before, but after hearing what his third uncle said, he realized it was true!

This is not the 21st century. Once the wedding date is set, it is not allowed to be changed unless there is something very important.

If it is changed without any reason, rumors will spread everywhere.

If it's just a farmer digging for food, then it's fine. The gossip from outsiders will fade after a while. As long as you keep a broad mind, it's no big deal.

But scholars are different, especially those like Gu Liansheng who got engaged shortly after his wife died.

If he doesn't have money to bribe the officials in the yamen, once he is sued by certain people, the rumors will ruin his chances of passing the imperial examination!

"This matter was decided by the clan leaders and elders. After all, it's a human life. Let's look for it first. If we can't find it, forget it.

"There's so much snow outside. If someone dies, there's no way we'll find them. The falling snow will quickly cover them. How can we find them?"

die?

Gu Tang curled the corners of his mouth. Gu Qing was carrying a bag yesterday. It didn't look like he was seeking death. It looked more like he was running away from home to seek refuge with someone.

The Gu family doesn't have many familiar relatives, so it's impossible for them to take Gu Qing in casually.

Of course, it is not absolute. Other relatives may not take Gu Qing in, but Gu Zhier will definitely take him in.

Gu Tang hesitated for a while, but still did not tell him that she had seen Gu Qing leaving the village. Instead, she pretended to remind him casually.

"Since the clan leaders and elders have discussed this, we can't stop you from going. You can go around with the villagers, or go to Wangzhai Village. My aunt is there, and she has always loved Gu Qing. Maybe Gu Qing will go to her for help."

Gu Lianshan's eyes lit up: "Don't you dare say, this is really possible!"

After saying this, he hurried out of the house.

While it’s still light, let’s talk to the villagers about this and go to Wangzhai Village first.

Gu Tang followed him out, and reminded him worriedly: "Be careful. If you can't tell the difference between the road and the ditch, take a stick and try to walk. Wear a hat and a raincoat, at least they can keep you out of the snow."

"Dad has made a note of it."

Gu Lianshan did as Gu Tang said, took a stick, put on a straw hat, put on a raincoat, and strode out of the yard.

Gu Tang and Gu Ping'an followed to the gate of the courtyard, looking worried, and stood outside the gate watching them go.

The snow was gradually getting heavier again. Each snowflake was as big as a goose feather and felt very heavy when hitting people's heads.

Gu Tang touched his head and felt a handful of cold snowflakes.

"Come back quickly! Be careful not to catch a cold!" The third uncle looked anxious and waved to the brother and sister.

"Don't worry, the clan leader and his men have found a dozen strong men. We can all go together. As long as we don't act alone, nothing will happen."

Gu Tang nodded, patted Gu Ping'an's arm, and asked him to go back.

"Brush off the snow on your body and wipe the snow on your head with a towel. Go back to the house and wipe it." Uncle San closed the gate and urged the two to go back to the house.

After returning to the house and cleaning the snow off his body, Gu Ping'an went to Gu Tang and continued to grind the incense materials.

Third Uncle also wanted to help, but was stopped by Gu Tang: "This job is really tiring. If I can't do it, you will be even more unable to do it."

After she finished speaking, she waved her hand to let Gu Pingan stop: "Don't do it anymore. It's too slow for you to do it alone. I'll get some copper coins and go to the village to find some people to help."