Chapter 99 The whole village is not optimistic about the silkworm breeding business
Lin Xi left Zhao Tan's house happily with the lease in her hand.
The villagers along the way asked curiously, "Sister, what business are you going to do this time?"
Lin Xi smiled and said, "There are a lot of mulberry trees in Dongshan. I plan to raise silkworms."
The villagers looked at each other in confusion. What's the point of raising silkworms? Their ancestors have been farming for generations and have never thought of any other idea.
Speaking of which, Lin Xi himself found it incredible that, with a large mulberry forest behind it, the people here had never thought of raising silkworms.
When I was in school, the textbooks said that sericulture has a very long history. Why are people here so unfamiliar with silkworms?
"If any of you are willing to follow me, go find Aunt Wu and sign up." Lin Xi shouted.
The villagers were even more puzzled. “Winter is coming soon, and you can’t even keep your silkworms alive.”
"I know, this doesn't have to be ready before spring comes." Lin Xi added, "I still have to build a house later. You guys are fine, you can come and help."
Winter is the most leisurely time of the year for everyone in the village. When they heard Lin Xi say this, they were all in high spirits.
As for Lin Xi's so-called silkworm breeding business, not many people look up to it. They all think that silkworm breeding is an industry with no profit.
Later, Lin Xi heard from Aunt Wu that some people in the village had raised silkworms before, but they just collected the silkworm feces and sold them to the pharmacy as a profit.
Moreover, the silkworm breeders were frightened by the moths that emerged from their cocoons, and few people in the village were willing to raise silkworms anymore. Lin Xi thought it was really funny. Generally speaking, silk production starts at the cocoon stage. When the cocoons are broken, the silk cannot be connected into a single strand and is no longer useful.
"Girl, are you sure you can make money by raising silkworms?" Aunt Wu was still a little skeptical.
"Aunt, when have I ever lied to you?" Lin Xi said.
The final result was beyond Lin Xi's expectations. No one in the village was optimistic about raising silkworms and thought that Lin Xi was just wasting money.
Lin Xi was too lazy to explain and called over the only two people who volunteered.
One is Cui Hongyue and the other is Xue Lili. They both suffered the same fate. Their husbands died at a young age, which was considered an ominous sign by the villagers.
These are naturally feudal superstitions. Medical conditions in ancient times were poor. If a person caught a cold or flu was not treated in time, he would die. How can all the blame be put on women?
"I heard from Aunt Wu that no one else wants to come, only you two have signed up." Lin Xi said.
Cui Hongyue nodded. "We've discussed it. We can't make ends meet anymore. Winter is coming and the children can't even have a hot meal. I..."
As she spoke, Cui Hongyue covered her face and started crying.
Xue Lili, like her, naturally understood Cui Hongyue's feelings, "Boss, we have been doing work since we were young, whether it's work in the fields or work at home, we can do it!"
Seeing Cui Hongyue crying so sadly, Lin Xi handed her a handkerchief, but she wiped her nose with her sleeve and said embarrassedly, "Sister, I'm sorry to make you laugh. It's really not easy for us. Please keep this handkerchief. We don't deserve such a good thing."
As soon as she touched the material of the handkerchief, Cui Hongyue knew that it must be good, and she couldn't let him ruin it.
"Let me say this first," Lin Xi said after seeing Cui Hongyue calm down a bit, "Raising silkworms is a very hard job. If you follow me, I'm afraid you won't be able to take care of the fields at home. You should think it through."
Xue Lili smiled and said, "Boss, we don't have any land at home."
Ever since the two of them became widows, their former families had them live alone in the name of division of the family property.
However, although it was called a division of the family property, not even an acre of land was given to them. They were only given two chickens and some farm tools as a symbol.
Everyone in the village knew about this, but everyone felt that the widow was not innocent, so they did not have much opinion on how her husband's family handled the situation.
Lin Xi didn't expect the villagers to be so superstitious in this regard. He sighed and said, "That's easy."
After saying that, Lin Xi walked to her own closet and took out two pieces of cloth and cotton that she had prepared long ago.
"Take it back and make clothes for yourself." Lin Xi said.
Xue Lili and Cui Hongyue didn't dare to answer it. Lin Xi was too nice to them, beyond common sense.
"What's wrong? Take it." The two refused to take it, so Lin Xi had to force it into their hands.
"I have rented a mountain here, you may have heard about it. Hurry up and make your clothes in the next few days. It's cold on the mountain, and you will not be able to bear it if you don't wear enough." Lin Xi said.
"Boss, we can do it. We got through last winter the same way," said Xue Lili.
Lin Xi looked at the thin clothes on the two people and was speechless. Although the winter in Taoli Village was not as cold as in the north, it was still difficult to survive in just a single layer of clothes.
"Stop talking. There's still a lot of work to do. You need to clean up quickly and adjust your status." As he spoke, Lin Xi remembered something else. "I haven't told you about the salary yet. It's one and a half taels a month, which is one thousand five hundred coins."
Xue Lili and Cui Hongyue stood there in a daze, unable to walk.
Cui Hongyue trembled and confirmed, "One thousand five hundred coins a month?"
"Yes," Lin Xi said as a matter of course, "Your job is different from others. You have to get up early and work late, so don't think the pay is high. When the time comes, you will feel tired."
However, Lin Xi's words were completely ignored by the two. They thought that getting up early and going to bed late, no matter how tired they were, would be sad if they didn't have food to eat.
One person can only earn a year's salary, so the two of them feel willing to work themselves to death.
One thousand five hundred coins, even the men in the village can’t earn that much in a month!
The two of them left Lin Xi's house with happy faces, carrying the cloth and cotton distributed by Lin Xi.
Soon, the news that the two widows were treated preferentially by Lin Xi spread quickly in the village. No one expected that Lin Xi would actually invest a lot of money in this silkworm breeding business.
Some women whose families were not well off also wanted to work, but as soon as they opened their mouths, they were unanimously opposed by the whole family.
A widow is an unlucky person. Even though Lin Xi gives her a lot now, she will definitely lose a lot of money in the future.
The woman had to give up the idea, but she was still very envious in her heart. If they could earn more than one or two taels of silver a month, her family would have to support her.
As a result, some people are jealous, while others are pessimistic.
But no matter what others say, Lin Xi's silkworm breeding business is unstoppable.
When Xue Lili and Cui Hongyue walked in the village, they no longer felt that they were ominous people, but instead held their heads high.
When they were washing clothes, people around them saw the two of them and said sarcastically, "Oh, you have money now? You are wearing new clothes."
Cui Lili held her head high and said, "We don't have the ability to do that. It was Boss Lin who gave us these clothes out of pity for us."
The woman who had been speaking suddenly fell silent and pounded the clothes even harder. Lin Xi was really generous. Not only did he pay her wages, he also gave her cotton-padded clothes. He was very generous.
Due to family problems, she couldn't sign up. She could only think bitterly that she had never heard that raising silkworms could make a lot of money. She, Lin Xi, had invested more than one hundred taels, and would lose it all sooner or later.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com