Sure enough, the stone mill and water tanks were delivered at noon the next day. There were four workers' yards, each equipped with four water tanks and a stone mill, and the remaining two were placed in the kitchen of the main yard.
The stone mill was placed in the open space in the middle of the back yard, and the water tanks were placed at the four corners of the front yard so that everyone could use water conveniently.
Because the four courtyards were quite far apart, the guys worked for a while before they found the right spots for them. When they left, Chunxiao paid for the goods and gave them a reward of 2 cents of silver. He also asked them to deliver the six water jars to the farm under construction in Linye Village in three days. The guys happily said that they would definitely deliver them on time and drove away in their ox carts.
On February 7, the headman sent them 5,000 kilograms of rice and 2,800 kilograms of wheat seeds. Rice was expensive now, so the two were sold at 17 wen per kilogram, which was very cheap compared to the price at the grain shop.
On February 9th, all the houses in Linye Village were finally built, and four wells were dug. According to the plan, four more wells were to be dug. Shuwen and Xingfu Meiman began to help purchase things for the main courtyard over there, and the quilts and pillowcases were taken directly from here.
Chunxiao lent 800 taels of silver to Yan Dashan to build a house, prepare tools, and hire people. Without this money, nothing could be done.
However, they also agreed in advance that siblings should settle accounts clearly and keep everything to themselves. For example, Chunxiao gave Yan Dashan 1,000 kilograms of rice and 600 kilograms of wheat seeds, and Yan Dashan paid her 27 taels of silver.
Regarding the soybean harvest, Yan Dashan must give Chunxiao 70%, because Shuwen said that the soybeans in this field were given by the township government because of the face of the land under Ruoyun Mountain. He felt that these should have belonged to Chunxiao. Chunxiao did not refuse, because she was short of food.
On the 13th, with the carpenters working overtime, the beds and cabinets in Yard No. 1 were all completed, and they started making tables and chairs in each room. The big iron pots that Xingfu ordered for the workers' yard were also ready. They also ordered 30 mattresses from the mattress shop. In the past two days, they set up a stall in the town to collect firewood, so carts of firewood were continuously delivered to the farm.
Chunxiao put the matter of buying people on the agenda again. This time Yan Dashan agreed and decided to go to the county town with him to buy people the next day.
Chunxiao had booked 50-60 people, while Yan Dashan planned to buy 25-30 people at once. Zhuangzi had been busy recently, and her land deeds were still at the county government office, so this time they could go and get them together.
On the second day, Meiman stayed to visit Zhuangzi, while Xingfu drove a carriage with Chunxiao and Yan Dashan to the county town.
"Chunxiao, you're too careless. It took you so long to get such an important thing as the land deed. What if something unexpected happens?"
"I'm so busy here, it's okay to leave it at the county office. I have the receipt."
"It's better to keep it in your hand for safety."
"Brother, look." Chunxiao pointed outside the carriage, "Look at the terrain here in Pengdong. It's flatter than ours, and the mountains are different."
"I noticed it on the way here last time. It's really strange. If you don't come out to take a look, you might think it's just like home outside. But there's actually a huge difference. Look, the wind here is much stronger than ours."
The wind was strong, so Chunxiao asked him to close the curtains. "I'm afraid we'll have to stay in the county town all night. It's already noon when we get there. Should we go see this man right away or tomorrow morning?"
"We'll see when we get there. If we agree, we'll rent an oxcart and go back to the county town early tomorrow morning."
"We have so many people and we don't know if there's a dental clinic. We should go to the biggest one."
Facts have proved that they underestimated the dental industry. Not to mention dozens of people, they had hundreds of people.
The carriage was taken to the pawnshop for food by the pawnbroker's servant, and the man he found was still the pawnbroker who had received them last time.
"Three of you, please have some tea and rest for a while. You have more than 100 people, and we have some. You just need to wait a moment. We can't keep them for nothing on weekdays. Many of them have been taken out to work. Please sit for a while. I have already sent someone to pick them up."
The agent was very attentive, fearing that they would be dissatisfied and go elsewhere.
Chunxiao looked around while holding a teacup. "Brother, what's the price of this man now? Tell us the actual price. Cows are hard to come by these days, but this man is very easy to buy. How did you divide the price? If you have time now, tell us."
The broker smiled and sat down. "To be honest with you, young lady, people are now divided into several levels. The price of a young and strong male laborer is generally 12 taels of silver, a woman in her thirties or forties is 7 taels of silver, and a young girl is also more than 10 taels of silver. If you want to buy an old woman or old man to watch the door, it will only cost 5 taels of silver. It depends on what you want."
"They are both strong laborers, so why are men so much worse than women?" Could it be that selling one's body is also discrimination?
"There's been fighting in Hejian for a year or two. Most of the men in the nearby prefectures have gone to the battlefield, some dead and some disabled. There are very few male laborers now. To be honest, even if there are any, they've all been sent south. The prices there are high. The ones I showed you today are mostly women. You two are looking for laborers anyway, and this woman wouldn't be bad if she's well cared for."
"So the people here were all sold from Hejian?"
"Most of them, some have lost their husbands and sons and can't make a living so they sell themselves, some are sold by their husband's family, anyway, there are all kinds, but don't worry, they all come from clean backgrounds, we don't do kidnapping business."
"Young man, please help us check and see how long it will take for this person to arrive. If it's late, we will come back tomorrow."
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