Chapter 178 Borrowing money to find help + Aye collects money + Lin Dashan borrows money
Lin Zhaodi came back to her senses from her trance, thought for a moment, and said, "Ah Shu, I want to find someone to help me."
Like today, she simply can't handle it all by herself.
If it weren't for Aye and Brother Liao's help, the situation would have been a mess.
But Aye just happened to go to the town for something, and Brother Liao was old, and it would be tiring for him to stand and collect money all the time. He definitely couldn't do it like this every day.
Lin Zhaodi felt a little guilty for having worked them so hard today. She had originally planned to allocate some of her own money to the two of them, but Ah Shu had taken the initiative to give Ah Ye the money, so she would be the one to give to Brother Liao.
When Lin Shu heard that she was looking for a helper, she asked curiously, "Aunt Lin, do you have someone in mind?"
Lin Zhaodi nodded, pursed her lips, and said, "There's a distant cousin on my mother's side. She was divorced years ago by her husband's family and now lives with her daughter. She's very skillful and hardworking. If I asked her to help me, she would definitely agree."
It was because of the example of this distant cousin that her parents were afraid that she would also be divorced by the Zhao family. Then she would be as humiliated as her cousin, and her parents would also be criticized.
Lin Shu frowned slightly and asked, "Why was your cousin divorced?"
Nowadays, it is considered lucky for a man to be able to marry a wife. How could he divorce her easily, let alone if she has a daughter?
Lin Zhaodi lowered her lips as she explained, "Her husband was a violent man, and later she fell into a field while drunk and died. Her parents-in-law said she was a jinx and disliked her daughter, so they kicked both mother and daughter out. My cousin now lives with her daughter at her parents' house, and her life is actually more comfortable than before. Her parents treat her well, and aside from some gossip from the villagers, there's nothing wrong with her."
When it comes to doing business, Lin Zhaodi feels it's inappropriate to find someone too close. Like this distant cousin, the relationship between them is neither too close nor too distant. Matters involving money just need to be handled impartially. If there is any disagreement for some reason, she can just stay away from her. It won't cause her any loss.
Thinking of something, Lin Zhaodi quickly added, "The money for hiring help will be allocated from my share, so you don't have to pay for it, Ah Shu."
Even if she only gave her twenty wen a day, her cousin would be happy to do it. But she wouldn't be so stingy. She would give her half the market wage, forty wen a day, since her business only lasted half a day. Of course, this was just the surface payment. If the work was good, she would follow Ah Shu's example and give her a big red envelope at the end of the month.
Lin Shu asked as a reminder, "Does your cousin know how to count money?"
Lin Zhaodi smiled and replied, "Of course I can't. As a married woman, we have to take care of the household. We spend money on oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea, and everything else. How can we not count money? Of course, I can't count as fast as you and Xiao Pu, but the people who come to the stall to buy ice jelly rarely give small change. They all count out twelve coins themselves and hand them over. My cousin is just counting the numbers."
Otherwise, she would not have thought of this distant cousin, who was really suitable in every aspect.
"Okay, Auntie, you make the decision."
"Ashu, do you have anything else to tell me?" Lin Zhaodi asked.
Lin Shu smiled slightly. It was true. "Aunt Lin, our ice jelly sells well and is not picky about the time of year. Let's go buy a fixed stall tomorrow. You don't have to get up so early in the future, and I can get up later. We can prepare enough at once, so we don't have to go through all this trouble like today."
When Aunt Lin arrived today, it was just dawn, around five o'clock. Lin Shu said that if they had breakfast at seven in the morning and then took the oxcart to get there, it would be around eight o'clock, which was just right. If they weren't worried about Old Man Liao getting too hot on the road, they would have arrived in town at nine or ten, so why would they have to wait until five or six?
Aunt Wakabayashi comes to pick up the goods at around five o'clock every day, so Aye has to help her pick the Guanyin wood before dawn every day. A'niang and sister also have to get up early and light the oil lamp to help her rub the juice. Don't let it take too long to exhaust your body.
She earns money to eat well, drink well and enjoy life, and doesn't want to torture herself.
Lin Zhaodi had no objection and immediately agreed. She thought about the bustling scene today, how many people who hadn't bought anything were asking her to bring more tomorrow. This ice jelly really wasn't picky about the time of year; it even sold better around noon, even if she went later.
If the ice cubes could be kept for only a day, she would have wanted to sell them all day.
Suddenly, Lin Zhaodi had an idea.
Even if the ice cubes in the sugar water and ice jelly melt completely, the water can still remain cool for a long time. If you make more ice jelly, pour the remaining cool sugar water into it, and charge ten cents for a bowl as originally planned, there will definitely be people who buy it.
She quickly told Lin Shu about this idea.
Lin Shu nodded, her eyes appreciating her. "Okay, then I'll make more tomorrow than today."
"Auntie, you're going back to make dinner soon, right? I won't keep you any longer."
After she reminded her, Lin Zhaodi realized that she was already starving.
She made a few pancakes early this morning and ate them before leaving. She ate very early, and she had been busy for most of the day, so she only had a bowl of ice jelly to fill her stomach. After she finished her work, she thought about going to Ashu to settle the bill, and she was reluctant to spend even a penny.
And there was her husband Sanlang. Although she had left some food for breakfast, she was afraid that it would be cold by the time Sanlang ate it. She had to go back quickly to make something hot so that Sanlang could have a good dinner.
After saying hello, Lin Zhaodi picked up the much lighter money jar and left in a hurry.
As soon as the others left, Lin Xiaopu immediately hugged his small string of copper coins into his arms, "Hey, I'm going to hide the money, you guys are not allowed to peek!"
After saying that, he went to hide the money mysteriously.
Lin Shu was casual and took out a broken pottery jar from under the bed. She set aside 264 copper coins from the copper coins she earned today to reward A Ye, and poured the rest into the jar without any rope.
After the family had dinner, Lin Shu quietly pulled Zhou Ye aside and handed him a string of money that she had prepared.
Zhou Ye was stunned, "Ashu, what is this?"
Lin Shu smiled and said, "I'll divide your money. Today, we made a total of 1,320 coins from selling ice jelly. Aunt Lin will get 30%, I'll get 30%, and Aunt and Xiao Pu will each get 10%. The remaining 20% is yours."
Zhou Ye laughed when he heard this, "Thank you, Madam Ashu, for giving me some money."
The call of "Madam Ah Shu" made Lin Shu smile so hard that her eyes curved.
This guy A Ye is getting more and more aggressive and taking advantage of her in every way.
However, the two of them are getting married at the end of the month. If Ah Ye wants to take advantage of her, then let her do it. On the wedding night, let's see how she tortures him.
Zhou Ye carefully put away the money Lin Shu gave him, and casually said, "Ah Shu, the mat has been washed. I just laid it out for you."
"I like the cool mat very much. Thank you, Brother Aye~" Lin Shu looked at him, her tone soft as if she was acting coquettishly, and her eyes gently swept across his face.
Zhou Ye felt a little itchy in his heart, but he looked serious, "Well, as long as you like it."
Lin Shu smiled secretly and said "idiot" in her heart.
The bed was covered with a new mat, and the happiest person was none other than Lin Xiaopu, who rolled over on the bed several times, teasing her, "It's thanks to my sister that I can sleep on the new mat. My life is getting better and better."
"When Aye and I get married, I will take this mat away. If you want it, you can buy it with your own money."
Lin Xiaopu straightened his back when he heard this. "Based on the sales volume Aunt Lin is selling today, I can save three hundred yuan in less than a month! I can buy whatever I want by then."
Looking across the entire Tianshui Village, who else could be like her, having her own money at the age of nine?
This personal money is not just two or three copper coins, but so much!
My sister is so nice to her!
"Oh, by the way, sister, Wang Yingen told me that he will come to attend the lecture with me tomorrow."
Lin Shu was slightly surprised. "How did Aunt Li convince him?"
Lin Xiaopu raised his head and snorted softly, "She's using me to provoke him. Now that Wang Yingen's position as the boss is in jeopardy, Aunt Li is provoke him, saying that he can't match my slingshot skills or my knowledge, and that he should just call me boss and stop struggling. When Wang Yingen heard this, he was furious. He said he was very smart and Ping'er just didn't want to learn. If she studied with me, she would definitely learn faster than me."
Lin Shu burst out laughing. Children are so easy to fool. Aunt Li had been secretly thinking about this method of provoking her son to study for who knows how long.
"Let him come. If you can concentrate on your studies, you'll have a study companion in the future."
As Lin Shu had specifically instructed, Lin Zhaodi arrived much later the next day. Yesterday, it was the beginning of the Mao hour, and today, it was the beginning of the Chen hour. Chen hour, also known as the Shi hour, is, as the name suggests, the time for breakfast. However, at Lin Shu's house, breakfast is usually between the middle and end of the Chen hour, which is between eight and nine o'clock.
They ate two meals a day. If they ate too early, the men working in the fields would get hungry quickly and wouldn't be able to make it to dinner. Of course, they couldn't eat too late either, as from dawn until breakfast, the men working in the fields would be hungry.
Today was the same as yesterday. He Guixiang and Lin Xiaopu prepared the juice before Lin Shu got up, while Zhou Ye was responsible for picking and making ice.
Lin Shu felt perfectly justified in sleeping in. She hadn't asked her mother and sister to work for free; she had given them a share of the profits. If she had taken over the work herself, Xiao Pu would have been furious.
"Aunt Lin, where is your cousin?" Lin Shu asked when she saw that Lin Zhaodi was alone.
"She went straight to town from my mother's village. I told her to go ahead and find a stall to rent. The spot at the end of the street was good yesterday, next to the wonton stall. The lady selling wontons is also very friendly. We'll set up a stall there in the future. Even on market days, the location is not bad!"
The town has strict control over street vendors. Stalls are only designated on market days, and vendors are allowed to sell their wares on the street. However, on ordinary days, they are still allowed to set up stalls and sell their wares in places like streets and alleys, and at the city gates.
There's no stall tax at the city gates, but stalls in the streets and alleys do have to pay a tax, either daily or monthly. Monthly payments guarantee a fixed stall location, while daily payments are on a first-come, first-served basis. For example, the wonton stall at the end of the street most likely pays a monthly stall tax, keeping it in the same spot every day.
The place that Lin Zhaodi had her eyes on was next to the wonton stall.
"Thank you for your hard work today, Aunt Lin." Lin Shu said.
Lin Zhaodi laughed at her, "Why are you being so polite? I sell more and get more, so I deserve the hard work. Ah Shu, I'll go first."
"Okay."
Dinner was served at home after Lin Zhaodi left for a while.
I don't know what my mother said to my father last night. My father looked happy, but he didn't show off like he did the past two days when A Ye sold the black bear.
Lin Shu guessed that her mother had said half and kept the other half, and she hadn't lied, but she hadn't told the truth either. Her father only knew that her ice jelly sold well, but he had no idea how good it was.
Halfway through the meal, Lin Dashan coughed lightly.
Seeing no response, he coughed loudly again.
"What's wrong? Is your throat uncomfortable?" He Guixiang asked. Lin Shu and Lin Xiaopu also looked at him.
Lin Dashan then said, "Yesterday when I went to the fields, I ran into Dalang from the Miao family. He looked much more haggard than last time."
He Guixiang had a bad feeling when she heard this, "And then?"
Lin Dashan continued, "His in-laws are not kind. They actually took advantage of the opportunity to attack me."
Lin Xiaopu's mouth twitched: "Father, you are taking advantage of someone's misfortune and adding insult to injury."
"Yes, hehe, that's it, I misremembered it. Boss Miao broke his leg, and in order to treat it, not only did he spend a lot of money, but he couldn't go out to work in the fields in the future. When his in-laws found out, they wanted to break off the engagement. Boss Miao sent cloth, meat, candy and other things to the other family, and promised that he would never let the bride suffer, so he saved the marriage. But Boss Miao's family was already emptied out, and seeing that the wedding was only a few days away, they couldn't even set up a few tables for the banquet. I listened to the anxious person, so I said I would lend him two hundred yuan to use first."
As soon as these words came out, several people looked at him in unison, even Zhou Ye, who was busy eating, glanced at him.
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The author has something to say: [Spread flowers][Spread flowers] Today’s update is a long time early, keep up the hard work, fist pump!
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