A strong laborer would eat about two and a half kilograms of food a day, women would eat one kilogram a day when they were working, and half-grown children who were at the growing age would also eat about one kilogram.
There were 220 refugees in total, so each person needed an average of 1.5 kilograms of food per day. Even if they ate sparingly, they would still need 300 kilograms of food per day.
Now coarse grains cost twelve wen per catty. Three hundred catties a day means three thousand six hundred wen, and one hundred and eight thousand wen a month, which is one hundred and eight taels.
Spring plowing had just begun, and it would take at least three and a half to four months to wait for the first harvest of grain. This meant that at least another 378 taels of silver would be needed.
The masons who built the house all brought their families with them, so they didn't have to pay them, and the workers who helped also saved their own wages. But just buying materials cost over 300 taels.
We borrowed six hundred taels from the county magistrate, and with the hundred or so taels we own, we only have about thirty taels left for emergencies. It would have been enough for my family, but now it's too tight to support so many people with our food, clothing, and shelter.
"Oh! I have to find a way to make money."
Da Niu, who was drawing, heard Tian An sigh and said, "What's wrong?"
Tian An looked at him weakly: "Think of another way to make money! We are so short of money, what will we do if there is an emergency?"
Daniu frowned and said, "After these few days, I will take Chen Feng to the mountains to spend a few days and see if we can catch some bigger prey."
Tian An hurriedly said, "How big is the big prey? It won't be dangerous!"
Seeing Tian An's concern for him, Da Niu was very pleased: "Don't worry! Be careful and nothing will happen! Chen Feng's skills are pretty good, it will be no problem for the two of us to go together."
Tian An sighed again: "It's a pity that I can't leave, otherwise I could go to the mountains with you to pick some herbs and exchange them for some money."
Seeing her listless appearance, Daniu thought for a moment and said, "Didn't the hair ornaments you made last time sell very well?"
After Danniu reminded Tian An, he finally thought of this: "Yes! I can make hair flowers at home! I even bought a lot of rags last time! I was so busy these days that I almost forgot about it."
He immediately shouted towards the yard: "Chun Xi, where are the scraps of cloth we brought back last time? Help me find them!"
Ever since Chunxi and Mangzhong arrived, the two of them have been taking care of the house, leaving her with little time to spare. However, she took advantage of this time to tidy up the land in her space, and now it's lush and green, which makes people feel much better.
Soon Chunxi came in with a large bag of rags: "Girl, they are all here."
Tian An looked at the big bag of cloth strips and thought that he couldn't make much by himself!
“…Pa…”
Tian An slapped his forehead with one hand.
The frightened Da Niu's brush shook and a ball of ink fell directly on the painting. He didn't even bother to care if the painting was ruined or not. He grabbed Tian An's hand and said anxiously: "What are you doing? Are you possessed by a demon?"
Chunxi, who was standing by, was also quite frightened.
Tian An saw that he had frightened the two of them, and said a little embarrassedly: "Hey, don't be nervous, don't be nervous, I just suddenly felt that my brain was not working well these two days because I was so busy.
We are short of everything except people, but I am actually wondering how one person can complete all these things. Do you think I am confused?"
After hearing this explanation, even the expert was speechless!
Chun Xi said: "Miss, you are under too much pressure. Just relax a little."
Tian An shook his head. How could he just relax from such a heavy burden?
"Chun Xi, go find Qiu Tian later and ask her to pick out a few young ladies who are good at needlework and come over this afternoon."
Chun Xi: "Miss, how many people do you need?"
Tian An thought for a moment and said, "Let's start with five! These may seem like a lot, but they're not easy to make. Five people are enough. Once these are ready and sell well, I'll bring back more next time."
Chun Xi: "Okay, girl, I'll do it right away."
Daniu returned to his desk, put away the painting he had just finished, and finished a new one in a moment.
"An An, come and take a look at our house and see how it looks like!"
Tian An came over and took a look: the house had a main hall and three bedrooms, divided into two rooms, the inner one for bedroom and the outer one for study or guest reception. It was just right for the three of them to have one room each.
In addition, there were two guest rooms, two servants' rooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a warehouse, a woodshed, a gatehouse and a toilet. The yard was also larger than before.
Tian An looked at it for a while, and found that he didn't really understand it, so he said, "I trust Brother Daniu's work, so let's just follow his drawing! I think it's pretty good."
Tian An thought of the modern wardrobe again and said, "Brother Danniu, can you help me draw a wardrobe? I'll have them build it for me once the house is built. And the bookcases for you and Xiaokang, and the tables and chairs at home need to be replaced too! Oh! And the bed too."
Daniu took the paper again and drew a large modern wardrobe according to her idea in a short while.
"The style of your wardrobe is quite unique." Anyway, he had never seen it before.
Tian An said proudly, "Of course, how could what I think of not be special!"
Da Niu looked at Tian An's arrogant look and shook his head in amusement.
Not long after lunch in the afternoon, Qiu Tian came with five women.
The little girl was entrusted with an important task for the first time. She took it very seriously and was very excited. As soon as she entered the door, she started chattering and introducing the person she had chosen to Tian An.
The older one was her mother. The other four were relatively young. One was the daughter-in-law of a master mason. Another was the wife of a farmhand working the land. The other two were relatives of the families who had previously made mistakes. One was the eldest daughter-in-law of the old man who had previously knelt and begged Tian An. The one who made the mistake was his second son.
When Qiu Tian introduced her mother and the two women, she looked at Tian An's expression carefully, fearing that she would be unhappy.
She was afraid that Tian An would think she was abusing her power for personal gain, so she repeatedly confirmed that her mother's needlework was really good.
As for the two women, she had seen their needlework and found it was really good, so she dared to bring them to the girl.
Seeing that Tian An's expression remained unchanged, Qiu Tian and the two young wives breathed a sigh of relief. They were afraid that the girl would remember what happened before and get angry with them. If they didn't gain any points but were deducted instead, it would be a loss.
Tian An looked at their cautious expressions and really wanted to roll his eyes at them. Was she such a petty person? Really, what kind of person did he think she was?
I have to say that Qiu Tian, despite her young age, is quite efficient. I don't know how she selected her people, but the skills of the few she chose are all top-notch.
They learned it after just one demonstration. After I taught them a few more tricks, they were able to apply what they learned to other tricks. They also had a good eye for color and matched them beautifully.
As Tian An watched them making hair flowers, he thought of the stuffed animals that children and girls loved in his previous life, and wondered if he could make them.
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