I see.
When the sun set, Yan Dashan and Yan Dahe came back with the workers. Yan Dahe was about to leave with the cattle when Chunxiao stopped him.
"Second brother, wait a moment, I have something to ask you."
Seeing that she had something to say, they sat together again.
"Mother, eldest brother, second brother, now everyone has their own farm to take care of. I think I will take care of my land by myself in the future. I have Brother Wangzu and Xingfu Meiman here now, so I plan to hire two more people. Eldest brother, second brother, you have 9 acres of land between you. Do you want to hire two more people? You guys go to the farm often now, and I don't know if my parents and sister-in-law can handle it if we just rely on them."
"If you don't take care of the cotton fields, your sister-in-law and I can take care of the wheat fields. It's not a big deal. We don't need to hire anyone. It's just two acres more land than before. Isn't it good for us to help? Why do you have to take it all on yourself?"
"Mom, I want to make it clearer so that it's easier to arrange. Besides, my eldest and second brothers have to look after the farm, my second sister-in-law has to look after the children, and my eldest sister-in-law needs to braise the meat. You and Dad have to deliver and pick up the goods, so you don't have the time. I think you should hire two people so that it will be more convenient to work together."
"Let's discuss this matter with Dad. You still need to hire two farmhands. Have you decided who to hire?"
Chunxiao looked at Zhou, "I need you to ask for this, mother. Ask Aunt Fang's sister Dujuan if she's willing. They should be able to handle the farm work without one woman. Please help me find another one, preferably a man, so that Brother Wangzu can have a companion. Someone younger, around Shuwen's age, is fine. I'll make the arrangements. As long as he can work, that's fine."
"There are still a lot of guys aged thirteen or fourteen. Okay, I'll find you an honest and quiet one."
"We're going to plant cotton seedlings for Uncle Shizhu's family tomorrow. Mom, if you're free, come and help. It's not good to leave the seedlings out for too long. If you can help us today, just talk to them and have them go directly to Dongsheng's fields to work tomorrow. From now on, their wages will be paid at the end of the month."
"Okay, got it."
Chunxiao had originally said she was going to leave, but suddenly she thought of something, "Who is our aunt's family sending off?"
"Who knows? There's no one to bring the letter!" Zhou looked at Chunxiao, "Why are you asking this?"
"Isn't Qingming Festival in two days? According to tradition, they have to come. The fact that the villagers are planting cotton cannot be concealed. Did Dad tell you how your aunt is handling it? Do you have to join in the planting?"
"That's not necessarily true. Didn't we agree not to tell anyone from outside the village? I don't think the villagers will tell anyone. They all know your aunt's character. Now I don't dare to make such a joke and join in the fun. When I think of your uncle and your cousin trying to steal your recipe, I don't want to bother with them."
"Mom, what do you mean by stealing the recipe? What are you talking about?" Dashan was confused.
"Mom, are you hiding something from us?"
Zhou rolled her eyes at Dahe. "Why do you want to know everything? What could it be? I overheard your uncle's family talking during Qingming Festival last year. They were jealous of Chunxiao's braised meat business and tried to steal the recipe with your cousin's wife, but your aunt stopped them. That's all. I say your cousin and his wife are nothing but assholes."
"Dad, do you know that he wants to steal our things? This is unacceptable." Yan Dahe had never been optimistic about this family, and now he was even more disgusted.
"Everyone says I overheard him, how could he know? What's the point of me telling him all this? He might even accuse me of spreading rumors and stirring up trouble. I think we should keep them out of this cotton business. Your cousin's wife is a troublemaker, and I don't think your aunt can control her. If she gets this technology, it's a miracle if she doesn't spread it around."
"In that case, then don't say it." Dashan said.
"Then go explain the pros and cons of this to your father. Actually, this technology belongs to Chunxiao, and your father has no right to give it away. Just tell him that we all disagree."
Chun Xiao nodded, "Then Big Brother told Dad, and Dad still listens to Big Brother's words."
Tian came back and frowned instinctively when she heard them talking about Yan Erni's family. Later, when she realized that they were discussing not to talk about the cotton issue, she relaxed her brow. It seemed that everyone had the same opinion.
Chunxiao left before Yan Bangfa came back, and if he didn't go back, it would be dark.
These days, every household is planting cotton. They are worried that the planting distance and depth are wrong, so they ask Yan Bingfa and his family to check it out. However, Yan Bingfa and his family are also very busy, so they can only check it out when they are free in the afternoon. Chunxiao's two long-term workers are in place. Dujuan is very happy to be a long-term worker for Chunxiao. This feeling dilutes some of the sadness of her husband leaving.
Two days have passed since Qingming Festival, but Yan Erni and her family have not come. Except for Yan Bingfa who was worried that something might have happened, everyone else thought it was a good thing. If they don't come, then they don't come, which saves everyone the trouble.
Tian's family came to pick up cotton seeds, and they signed a deed with Tian as their guarantor. Although it was just a formality, Tian made it very formal, just to make her point: everyone was the same and had to follow the rules. Zhang didn't tell her family about the cotton planting. Although she wanted to help her family, to be honest, she didn't trust her parents. So, she decided to avoid causing trouble and at most give them some money during the holidays.
Mid-month, the family finally received their share of silver, and everyone's nerves finally relaxed a bit; at least they had money in hand, so they felt at ease. But then Chunxiao told them that their marinade ingredients would only last about a month, and they needed to start buying more. Currently, a family needs to gather at least 50 taels of silver to buy marinade ingredients. Once that amount is deducted from the wages due at the end of the month, there's still nothing left. It's hard to say whether prices will rise again.
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