More job opportunities mean more competition.
The two families, Aunt Lihua and Xia Huohua, were relatively simple, and they quickly decided which four people would go to do the work.
The situation is more complicated for Chen Jinlian.
Xia Tianji has two brothers, Xia Tianji and Xia Tianfa, who are both married. Xia Tianji is the eldest of the three brothers.
When Chen Jinlian and her husband returned home, Qiu Shi and Xia Tianji's younger brother and sister-in-law came up to them and asked, "How did it go? Did you reach an agreement?"
Xia Tianji said with a happy expression, "Yes, everything is settled. Chunmei said that Jinlian can start cooking as early as the middle of next month, and she will also prepare the mule cart, pots, knives and other supplies."
Xia Tianshu's wife, Li Xiaohua, said enviously, "It seems Chunmei has earned quite a bit. Buying a mule cart and a cooking pot must have cost a lot of money; it wouldn't be less than several dozen taels of silver."
"She certainly makes money, but she definitely can't make this much. I guess that influential person from the Jin family over there secretly gave her a lot of benefits."
Chen Jinlian worked alongside the cooks every day, knowing exactly how much each person was paid, how much per table, and how many tables were in a banquet. She knew very well that Xia Chunmei couldn't possibly afford to provide each team with a mule cart and a large cooking pot just by making money from banquets.
Mrs. Qiu said, "No matter how she makes her money, the real benefit is that we benefit from it. A team needs at least six helpers, so more people in our family can earn money. Next year, we can add a few rooms to the house."
With the house built, the matter of getting a wife for her eldest grandson could be put on the agenda. Thinking of this, Qiu couldn't stop smiling.
In fact, ever since Chen Jinlian started holding a wedding banquet with Xia Chunmei, many matchmakers have been sent to propose marriage, but Qiu Shi has not agreed to any of them. Anyway, her child is still young, so there is no rush.
Li Xiaohua said excitedly, "Mom, sister-in-law, can my brothers from my family come too? Look, there are six helpers: me, you, my sister-in-law, and my third brother. That's only four people. We're still short two. My two brothers from my family are perfect."
Upon hearing this, Xia Tianfa's wife, Huang, said sarcastically, "Second sister-in-law, you've got a good plan. You're making it sound like none of us have a family to rely on, except you."
Upon hearing this, Madam Qiu immediately rebuked, "You haven't even settled your own family members yet, and you're already thinking of bringing your maternal relatives in? Do you think I don't know what kind of people your maternal brothers are? They're lazy good-for-nothings, don't come here and embarrass yourselves."
Qiu had no respect for Li Xiaohua's family. She hadn't liked Li Xiaohua either, but her son insisted on marrying her.
Li Xiaohua's eyes immediately reddened: "Mother, how could you say that about my brother? Besides, hosting a banquet can make money, and there are good meals to eat. How could my brother slack off?"
Chen Jinlian: "Sister-in-law, Chunmei said that each head chef should be paired with six assistants. We can only arrange four relatives at most. The others must be villagers from more than three generations away. Chunmei also said that it's not enough for just a few families to make money, otherwise it will easily cause trouble."
Qiu nodded in agreement: "Chunmei is right. Our families are already quite prominent. What if something happens to our family when the adults all go out to make money?"
Chen Jinlian added, "And my niece is definitely on my team. She's been doing this for so long, she's quick and skilled at her work. Not only would I not let her stop, but Chunmei wouldn't let her stop either."
Xia Chunmei's maternal grandmother's family still needed to be suppressed by Village Chief Chen, so it was impossible for Chen Xiaoyu to leave this group.
They are all well aware of this, so this spot will definitely not be changed.
Xia Tianji said, "It's still early, and we haven't even started learning the skills yet, so I think we should talk about other things later. Chunmei has taken on some business in the county, so I guess she won't have time to teach these next few days."
Mrs. Qiu glanced at her sons and daughters-in-law, "Anyway, at least one of you brothers from each family will go, that's for sure. As for the others, we'll talk about it later."
Huang couldn't help but praise, "Chunmei is truly amazing. You can't find such a remarkable girl anywhere else in the surrounding area."
"It's a pity it's not a boy." Li Xiaohua felt very regretful. Several of her nieces were of marriageable age, and they were all good-looking and capable of doing housework.
If Xia Chunmei were a boy, they could definitely get married.
Wouldn't that improve her family's situation? And wouldn't she be less inferior to Chen Jinlian?
Chen Jinlian's family was already better off than hers. If Chen Jinlian learned cooking skills and became the head chef, she would earn even more money. Wouldn't she be forever overshadowed?
Li Xiaohua didn't want things to go this way. She thought of Xia Chunmei; if only Xia Chunmei would agree to let her brothers from her maternal family come and work, wouldn't that solve the problem?
She's going to find Xia Chunmei!
...
Meanwhile, at Xia Xintian's house.
After hearing about these things from Xia Xintian, Zhuang couldn't sit still.
"Then two people from our family should go too. We can't let them get all the good things. Didn't you talk to Chunmei about it?"
Xia Xintian smiled and said, "Chunmei said that once the three of them have finished their training and are able to cook, they will lead the team, and I will manage them. With Chunmei's personality, do you think I would suffer? You old woman, don't go around talking nonsense and causing trouble for Chunmei."
"I know, I know," Zhuang said. "I'm saying this for the sake of the family. Do you think the rest of the family doesn't have any objections to sending Xiaohui to school?"
Zhouzhou is getting older, and my eldest son's wife wants to send him to school. She's made sarcastic remarks to me countless times. If we had two more people earning money in our family, we could finally put Zhouzhou's schooling on the agenda.
The youngest son and eldest grandson are the old man's lifeblood.
Doesn't the Zhuang family want to send their eldest grandson to school? It's just that they don't have the money.
"Chunmei is a good person and she will definitely not treat me unfairly."
Besides, with so many chickens and ducks we've raised, we definitely won't have to worry about selling them in the future. Zhou Zhou can go to school in a couple of years without any problems.
Don't tell anyone about this. Keep it a secret for now, or Chunmei's doorstep will be overcrowded.
"I know, I won't go around saying it."
...
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