Su Qingluan had a dreamless night, probably because she had a good rest that night, and she got up early the next day.
The morning mist outside had not yet dissipated, and it was even getting light outside.
Su Qingluan was worried that the humidity in the early morning would make the dried shrimps and sesame salt she had just fried yesterday absorb the moisture and lose their fragrance. In addition, the dried shrimps that were exposed to moisture would easily deteriorate, so she rushed to the kitchen in the dark.
After lighting a tinder stick for illumination, Su Qingluan took the dried shrimp sesame salt and tasted a small bite: Well, fortunately, it hasn't gotten damp and is still crispy. So she quickly transferred the sesame salt into a small ceramic jar and plugged it with a wooden stopper.
She was also careful last night. The morning fog was heavy, and in order to prevent the burning stove from suffocating the people inside, the kitchen was specially designed with no door, and ventilation on all sides, but windows.
So in order to prevent the morning fog outside from being too humid and causing the dried shrimp and sesame salt to get damp, Su Qingluan placed the plate containing this stuff on the layer where the baking soda was placed, and there was also a lot of quicklime for making preserved eggs in the pocket below.
These things are common "desiccant" and absorb water much better than ordinary ingredients.
As expected, with the larger volume and larger amount of desiccant "attracting fire power", the sesame salt made by Su Qingluan was not enough, so it was relatively crispy.
There was still some yam porridge and pancakes left from yesterday. Su Qingluan heated them up and there was enough for the whole family.
However, these things had no taste, so Su Qingluan picked out the mustard greens that had been prepared earlier and ate them in a plate to avoid heartburn later.
By the time I was full and warm, the sky outside was getting light.
Today was the official start of work. Last time, Su Qingluan had no experience, so she asked them to gather at her doorstep. However, the path to the back mountain was on the other side, so quite a few people had to take a long detour in vain.
So this time Su Qingluan changed the gathering place to the fork in the road leading to the back mountain path.
This fork in the road is a main intersection where people from all directions of the village gather to go to the path to the back mountain. Its location is conspicuous and unique, which will greatly reduce the possibility of others not being able to find it - after all, everyone lives in Huaxi Village, who doesn’t know how to get to the back mountain?
Although they had learned a lesson from the last time, there were still some stubborn people who thought that since they were only a cup of tea or a stick of incense late, Su Qingluan should not be too strict. As a result, they were obviously slapped in the face and left in disgrace.
So even though there was still some time left today, Su Qingluan found that almost everyone had arrived and was afraid of being late.
Of course, Su Qingluan did not think that this was entirely due to her personal prestige, but that if she was late, it would greatly undermine the fundamental interests of these people - just kidding, once she was late, she would have to go home immediately. Although she could still apply for the job next time when the Su family posted the notice, it also meant that she would miss the opportunity to make money this time!
Even if Su Qingluan had no intention of helping, the villagers of Huaxi Village all understood that the arrival of every winter was a test for everyone - the government collected most of the harvest as taxes, and the remaining food was seriously insufficient.
What's more, not all of this grain can be used to satisfy hunger or exchanged for some necessary daily necessities at the market. Instead, a considerable portion of seeds with full grains and good quality must be reserved to be sown in the spring of next year.
As a result, the food rations were insufficient to survive the winter, and only the most important strong laborers in the family could be fed. The elderly, the weak, and the disabled were the last to be cared for, which is why some elderly people and young children in Huaxi Village could not survive every winter in recent years.
Everyone knows that if you earn more money, you can buy food or seasonings for pickling food, but knowing this is not easy to find a job.
Most of the villagers in Huaxi Village are very hardworking. Apart from farming, the men usually work as carpenters, bricklayers, hunters, etc., while the women wash clothes, do needlework, or serve as cooks for weddings, funerals, and birthday banquets.
In short, everyone is constantly looking for part-time jobs to earn extra money during the slack season.
But to be frank, these jobs weren't particularly rare. For people from all over the country, being able to do some masonry or embroidery was perfectly normal. Even if there were differences in skill, it would only cost a few copper coins, and everything else was pretty much the same.
The high substitutability naturally means lower wages. Furthermore, it's not every day that someone hires someone for a short-term job; such things depend on luck.
In addition, in the county town outside Huaxi Village, there are many craftsmen who are proficient in various skills. When people in the town want to do something, they basically think of the craftsmen in the town first, and will not think of Huaxi Village.
It is also because of this that although most of the villagers in Huaxi Village are very hardworking, there are really not many people who have the opportunity to earn some money other than farming.
This time, Su Qingluan brought everyone to work together, and they could earn one or two taels of silver in just a few days. It is said that the construction period will be longer this time, so won’t they earn more?
Don’t talk about the high intensity and pressure of work. When survival is a problem, caring about these trivial matters is simply a serious illness.
So after everyone knew that Su Qingluan was really intolerant on matters of principle, they all stuck to the rules more tightly than the other. Today, almost everyone arrived at the gathering point specified by Su Qingluan early, for fear of being late and missing out on such a good opportunity to make money.
Although Su Qingluan felt that there was no need to report in advance, she would not relax because of such a small matter - after all, she knew that she was young and a girl, and she had to hold the line in order to make so many people obey her command.
But with dignity comes rewards. Su Qingluan looked at everyone and dangled the first carrot of the day: "I've already had Madam Liu take the people responsible for processing the spices to the other side. They'll need more time, so we'll split up. Those who are here today were divided into groups yesterday. You should have heard that I often hold various competitions here."
When the word "competition" was mentioned, the "old employees" who had stayed until the end last time immediately became energetic and focused, while the new employees looked confused and a little yearning.
Su Qingluan looked at them and smiled: "That's right, according to the groups, everyone will have a fruit picking competition - of course, don't blindly pursue speed, otherwise if the quality can't keep up, you will be deducted points!"
The specific rules have not been changed much from the last time, and Su Qingluan intends to have one or two "old employees" in each group to explain the rules.
"Just like last time, the group with the higher final score will get more prize money!" As soon as Su Qingluan said this, there was a cheer from the audience.
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