Chapter 72 The Sun Family's Relentless Pursuit
Cheng Wanwan had just opened her mouth.
Wen didn't even ask how much the wages were before agreeing to it.
In the morning, she would go to the fields to weed and fertilize, and in the afternoon she would mostly stay at home doing chores, such as collecting lanterns, which she did casually.
Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "Then I'll give you two coins a day, okay?"
Hearing this, Sun's eyes showed a hint of smugness. Her second sister-in-law worked hard every day without trying to fight for anything, and her eldest sister-in-law was trying to outdo her. She only got two coins for helping to collect the lanterns. Tsk tsk, she earned at least ten copper coins a day just by peeling lanterns.
Grandma Zhao grabbed Cheng Wanwan and pulled her aside: "Who do you think you are, paying this person and that person wages? No amount of money is enough for you to keep spending like this!"
Cheng Wanwan said, "Mom, how could I let myself lose money? Don't worry, I won't lose money."
The picking fee for ten catties of lanterns is twenty coins, the peeling fee is five coins, and the washing fee is twenty-five coins, which adds up to fifty coins. It does sound like a lot, but ten catties of lanterns can make five buckets of ice jelly, which is about four or five hundred bowls. She can get eight or nine hundred coins, so this little bit of money is just a drop in the bucket.
Such cheap labor is simply impossible in modern society.
She realized that instead of hiding it and exhausting herself, she might as well ask someone for help.
When everyone works together to make money, no one has time to scheme against anyone else.
Just then, many people passed by her house, and Cheng Wanwan casually said to them, "From now on, if you have any lanterns, bring them here. They'll be the same price."
The villagers went back and told each other, and soon someone brought over the lanterns that the children had picked during the day.
Wen took out the scale from the house, with the forty coins Cheng Wanwan had just given her in her pocket, and began collecting lanterns for the first time.
The process was very simple: money was exchanged for goods, and it was completed in an instant.
The lanterns that were received were delivered to Mrs. Sun, who sat on a low stool and began to peel the lantern seeds. At first, she was very proud of herself.
But gradually, she stopped smiling. She sat still, peeling lanterns, and couldn't do any work. On the other hand, her second sister-in-law could sit down and continue weaving straw sandals and mending clothes after collecting lanterns from one person, without neglecting either task.
Both her hands were busy, peeling seeds non-stop.
The old lady was still reminding her, "You are responsible for collecting money for your work. You also need to do chores around the house. Third daughter-in-law, it's your turn to boil water."
Sun had no choice but to temporarily put aside the task of peeling the lanterns and turn to boil water.
She instructed Chunhua and Donghua to help peel the leaves. Donghua was too young to sit still and ran off to play after peeling for a while. Chunhua, on the other hand, was the oldest maid and the old lady would ask her to do chores from time to time, so she couldn't sit still and work for long.
That night, Wen easily collected twenty-five catties of lanterns, and after settling the accounts, she went to sleep.
Meanwhile, Madam Sun sat by the bed, pulling two maids along to peel the shells. They peeled until midnight, but hadn't even peeled half of them.
The next day, Mrs. Sun woke up with dark circles under her eyes, and her two daughters also looked listless. They couldn't sleep well and couldn't go back to sleep. She had to go to the fields to pull weeds before the sun was too strong, but she hadn't finished peeling the lanterns, so she could only tell the two maids to have some snacks.
When Cheng Wanwan got up and went to the yard to tidy up, she saw Sun Shi walking hurriedly towards the field in the distance, looking very anxious.
She smiled gently. It would take at least five or six hours to peel more than twenty catties of lantern grass a day. Even with Chunhua and Donghua helping, it would still take two hours. Half a day would pass in no time. With Sun Shi so busy, it was unlikely that she would come looking for trouble again anytime soon.
However, Cheng Wanwan underestimated Sun's shamelessness. After Sun finished weeding her two acres of land, she just loitered around in front of her house.
Seeing Zhao Da's oxcart parked in front of Cheng Wanwan's courtyard, Sun tried various methods to inquire about it.
"Third Aunt, are you free?" Cheng Wanwan urged casually. "Have you finished peeling the lanterns you collected yesterday? I need them. If Third Aunt can't finish, I'll ask Mudfish Mother to help. My business can't wait."
Sun immediately replied, "It'll be finished soon. I'll have Chunhua bring it over later."
She turned and hurried home. Although the job was troublesome and time-consuming, it was indeed quite profitable, so how could she give it to Aunt Wang?
When she returned and saw Wen leisurely mending clothes for the child, she felt a pang of sadness. Her second sister-in-law could earn two coins just by sitting and collecting lanterns, which seemed like free money, while she struggled to earn two coins. The contrast made Sun feel even more heartbroken.
But she dared not complain, because if her sister-in-law really stopped her from working, she wouldn't get a single penny.
Sun sighed as she made breakfast. She had to finish making breakfast for the whole family before she could start doing her own chores.
Cheng Wanwan's family had already eaten.
.
Zhao Ergou didn't come home last night, and her heart, like that of an old mother, remained heavy. She didn't know when it started, but she had actually come to regard these boys as her own sons, worrying that they weren't eating enough, weren't dressed warmly enough, and that they would be bullied if they went out...
Zhao Ergou wasn't home, so Cheng Wanwan and Zhao Sanniu went to town to deliver goods.
Six buckets of ice jelly were placed on the oxcart, with the mother and son each sitting on one side. The oxcart first went to Ping'an Town, where two restaurants delivered half a bucket to each of them. Then it headed to Hekou Town, first visiting two restaurants across the street, and then going to the academy.
After delivering the goods, it wasn't even noon yet. Cheng Wanwan asked Zhao Da to wait at the city gate while she took Zhao Sanniu for a stroll.
She wanted to buy some chickens and ducks, and Aunt Wang also asked her to take some ducks back with her. Sure enough, there were chickens and ducks for sale on the street. It was the same man as last time. When he saw Cheng Wanwan, he immediately greeted her warmly: "My chicks and ducks are on sale cheap! Eight coins each, pick and choose as you like, the males are free!"
There were forty or fifty chickens and ducks in each of the two cages, chirping and quacking incessantly.
The chickens and ducks looked much more energetic than last time, but the price was two coins higher. Cheng Wanwan started to bargain: "I'll take all the ducks and twenty chicks. Give me a fair price."
The man sighed, "I raised these chicks and ducklings a few more days, otherwise they wouldn't be so strong. I need to calculate the cost of the food they ate these past few days. Eight coins apiece is really cheap, but since you're a regular customer, I'd like to do some repeat business. How about seven coins apiece?"
"Okay, if you manage to buy a rooster or duck, you don't need to get a refund. It's six coins apiece." Cheng Wanwan shook her head. "If it's too expensive, I can't afford it. We don't even have enough food to eat at home, so why would we raise chickens and ducks? Forget it, I won't buy them."
She made a move to leave.
The man, feeling helpless, called her back: "I can see that you really want them, so take them all for six coins each. Take all the chicks too. Nobody else will want the remaining ones, right?"
The two of them went back and forth and settled on a price.
Fifty ducks and thirty-nine chicks—Cheng Wanwan paid an extra two coins to buy them, including the two cages.
After buying the chickens and ducks, Cheng Wanwan headed to the place that sold writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
