There's a lot of kelp on the Black Coast, but nobody else likes to eat it. Usually, only the Shen family comes to harvest some to deliver to Deyun Restaurant.
Except for Pei Xuan, who is still young, all the women in the Pei family know how to dry seaweed.
So the three of them divided the villagers into three groups and assigned them the task of teaching the villagers how to dry seaweed.
On the beach, the sunset is endless.
The women watched quietly and studied attentively.
The way Pei Yao's family dries seaweed is actually similar to how they usually dry seafood.
Almost everyone can learn it after watching it once.
They all went into the water to cut seaweed.
They took advantage of the low tide to cut the seaweed and then placed it on the shore.
We'll wait until the tide comes in before we go to dry the seaweed.
This allows for the collection of seaweed to a greater extent.
These women often do chores at home, so they are very quick and efficient.
They are also very strong and can work just as well as men.
Pei Yao led a small group of people to the shore to sort the harvested kelp, cleaning off the weeds and debris before hanging it on the ropes to dry.
The men braiding ropes watched the women working enthusiastically.
While feeling admiration, I also sped up my work.
They were afraid that when others were drying seaweed, they would find that the ropes hadn't been braided yet, which would hold everyone back.
The women rushed ashore just before the tide came in.
Before they could even rest for a moment, they started drying seaweed again.
When Pei Yao came, she had boiled a large pot of mint leaves in water at home, and after it cooled down, she put it in a bamboo tube.
Then Pei Dalang carried it over in a basket.
She also brought some simple bamboo cups.
Taking advantage of the rising tide, Pei Yao invited everyone to have some mint water and rest for a while.
The water boiled with mint leaves tasted refreshing and cool. Pei Yao also added brown sugar to the water while boiling, so it had a slightly sweet taste.
These people are used to drinking well water or spring water, and this is the first time they have tasted water with a sweet taste.
After taking a sip, I suddenly felt a little reluctant to drink it all.
Pei Yao saw several people take a sip and then carefully put their cups aside.
Pei Yao asked, somewhat puzzled, "Big sister, why aren't you drinking? Don't you like it? If you don't like it, there's boiled water over there."
Upon hearing this, the woman quickly waved her hand and explained somewhat awkwardly:
"No, Miss Pei, it's just that your water is so delicious, so sweet. I wanted to save some to take back for my daughter, as she loves sweet water the most."
Pei Yao fell silent for a moment after hearing this, then looked up at the other women who were doing the same thing.
A pang of sadness welled up inside me.
Pei Yao didn't say much, got up and went back to the basket where the bamboo tubes were placed.
She hadn't expected so many people to come today, so she hadn't brought a lot of mint water.
The bamboo tubes were now empty.
After drinking water and resting for a while, everyone continued with the second step of drying the seaweed.
With many hands making light work, the seaweed that had just been piled up like small mountains was now all being dried on the kudzu vines.
The entire bay was neatly sunned.
Pei Yao glanced at it; it was a huge, full area, as long as the weather was good.
If they do this a few more times, they'll be able to deliver the goods in just a few days.
The bright moon hangs high in the sky, its light as luminous as a lamp.
It was quite late when we got back, and we started walking back by the moonlight.
Pei Yao's family pays their wages on the same day.
So when she got home, Chen Fang took some loose copper coins and distributed the wages to everyone.
First, we distributed silver to the group of people in Liujia Village. They still had to walk back along the mountain path, so we distributed the silver to them as soon as possible so we could set off sooner.
After paying the wages to the group of people in Liujia Village, Chen Fang then paid the wages to the people in Liangshui Village.
The women of Liangshui Village have grown accustomed to the days when they could earn money simply through their own efforts.
But this was the first time that the women in Liujia Village had earned money on their own.
Holding the copper coin in his hand, he didn't know what to say for a moment, just staring blankly at the copper coin Chen Fang had given him.
Even the man was stunned for a moment.
I never expected to earn sixty coins in just a few easy hours.
Chen Fang glanced at the sky; it was getting late, so she told them to hurry back.
The road at night is not easy to walk. Chen Fang looked at this group of people, mostly women, and was worried about their safety.
"You should go home quickly. It's hard to walk at night. It's better to walk together so we can look out for each other."
Chen Fang glanced at the crowd with concern, while Yunniang had already turned around and brought some sturdy wooden sticks for them.
"Sisters, take this stick. It will help you scare away any snakes, insects, or stray dogs you encounter on the road."
Everyone readily accepted them.
"Thank you, madam." The men held sticks in their hands, deeply grateful.
Pei Yao looked at Liu Tie and gave him a few words of advice, still somewhat worried:
"Brother Liu, could you please take these aunties there in an oxcart? Please keep an eye on them on the way. We'll pay for their cart."
Liu Tie came in an oxcart, and he will return in the same way.
But of course, their oxcarts wouldn't carry these people for nothing.
Pei Yao had no choice but to pay for them to ride back in Liu Tie's oxcart.
Pei Yao was worried that these women didn't earn money easily, so they probably wouldn't be willing to spend money on a carriage for such a short distance.
The road at night is rugged and difficult to travel, so it is naturally safer to take an oxcart.
These people are here to work for their family. If something happens to them, the Pei family will likely be held responsible.
Therefore, Pei Yao was willing to spend an extra ten or twenty copper coins to let them ride back in Liu Tie's oxcart.
“Yao-mei, what are you saying? Those aunties are all from my village. It’s so late, I don’t feel comfortable letting them walk back. You don’t need to pay for the ride. I was just driving an oxcart here anyway, so this is just on my way.”
Liu Tie understood Pei Yao's concerns and explained.
Pei Yao didn't say much. A total of seven people came from Liu Family Village: five women and two men, Liu Tie.
Walking together in a group made it less scary.
Pei Yao and her family were busy all day and night, and they were exhausted. After a quick wash, Pei Yao went to bed to rest.
Pei Yao lay horizontally on the bed, her head half-hanging off the edge, her freshly washed hair hanging wet.
Without a hairdryer, Pei Yao could only wash her hair using this most primitive method.
I don't usually wash my hair this late; when it's hot, it dries on its own in no time.
I just got home late today, so I washed my hair late too.
Pei Xuan lay down next to Pei Yao, looking at her sister's long hair in the moonlight streaming through the window.
"Sister, could you continue telling the story of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf that we told before?"
The little girl looked at Pei Yao with bright eyes.
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