Chapter 63 When in Rome, do as the Romans do
Xie Wanniang agreed so readily, which made Wang Xiaozhi feel embarrassed. The reason she was able to say those words was actually due to a momentary impulse born out of her envy.
As for Xie Wanniang's request that her master forbid her from passing on her family's traditional skills, Wang Xiaozhi had no objection whatsoever.
She was a native of this era and knew how important a skill was to an individual or even a family.
Let alone unrelated disciples, even blood relatives like one's own sons and daughters, many parents will subconsciously take precautions before they pass away, in case their children become disobedient and rebellious in their old age.
If you ask her, Xie Wanniang's master only asked her not to pass on the knowledge, instead of not teaching her at all, which already makes him a truly selfless and good master.
Many thoughts flashed through Wang Xiaozhi's mind. She hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking Xie Wanniang, "Can I let Yuanyuan come and learn from you? I have to do chores, and I'm afraid my hands won't be able to meet the requirements."
Xie Wanniang didn't mind, "That's fine too."
Wang Xiaozhi immediately beamed with joy, "Thank you, Wan Niang."
More than herself, she hoped her daughter wouldn't have to suffer in the future. Xie Wanniang's willingness to teach her daughter made her even happier than Xie Wanniang's willingness to teach her herself.
Xie Wanniang waved her hand, "What are you thanking me for? You've always helped me out a lot."
Wang Xiaozhi waved her hand forcefully, "What kind of help was that? If you keep saying that, I'll want to find a crack in the ground to crawl into."
Xie Wanniang couldn't help but laugh, and she started talking to Wang Xiaozhi about other things.
"When we build the house after the New Year, could you please find two more older women to help me?"
"Uncle Hao plans to demolish and rebuild his house as well. In order not to delay his wedding, A Yuan has already told the master craftsman he had arranged to bring two more craftsmen and twenty or thirty laborers over."
Every craftsman in any profession has a network of relationships consisting of their master, uncles, fellow apprentices, disciples, and nephews.
Jiang Yuan handed over the extra project that Hao Yu had suddenly acquired to the master craftsman he had carefully selected. Naturally, the master craftsman would help him find a suitable candidate in order to maintain his reputation and income.
After he told Xie Wanniang about this, Xie Wanniang decided to add two more capable and efficient women to the kitchen so that they could help with washing and chopping vegetables, distributing meals, and cleaning utensils.
"Of course, I won't let them work for nothing. Including those two young wives you told me about before, I'll pay them fifteen coins a day."
Wang Xiaozhi hissed, "Fifteen coins for wages? Do you have too much money to burn? The other laborers in town only get three or four hundred coins a month from their employers."
Xie Wanniang laughed, "Then how about ten coins a day, and I'll cover two meals for them?"
Wang Xiaozhi shook her head, "Let's not. Whenever someone in the village builds a house, other families will come over to help, and these people don't get paid."
Upon hearing this, Xie Wanniang realized that she had been thinking somewhat unrealistically.
The problem isn't scarcity, but inequality. If she paid the women who helped with the kitchen, what would the men who did the heavy lifting think?
If she also pays those men, what will happen when other families in the village build houses and someone comes to help? Will they be paid or not?
If we give them the money, they'll be under a lot of burden; if we don't, someone in the village will definitely talk behind their backs.
At that point, people will be cursing her behind her back every day for breaking the rules.
Wiping non-existent sweat from her forehead, Xie Wanniang humbly asked, "Then how about I increase the food allowance?"
As a single woman, she couldn't possibly do manual labor for anyone building a house in the village. She had no problem helping with cooking, but the way she used oil, salt, and other seasonings worried the other person might not be able to handle it...
Instead of going to other people's homes and making things difficult for them, she should focus on improving the food.
She explained her thoughts in detail, and then looked at Wang Xiaozhi, waiting for her to give her opinion.
Wang Xiaozhi thought for a moment, "That's fine. Then I'll find you two more capable, sensible, and easygoing aunties."
The two young wives she mentioned to Xie Wanniang before were the ones she found according to this standard.
Xie Wanniang nodded, "It has to be that their family members aren't difficult to deal with. Otherwise, even if they themselves don't cause any trouble, their family members might cause us all sorts of problems."
Wang Xiaozhi nodded vigorously, "Don't worry, I definitely won't look for someone like that."
There are many hardworking and capable women in the village; the lazy ones are a minority. It is actually quite easy to pick out a woman and her family who are reasonable from among these people.
Even if Xie Wanniang didn't give money, there would be plenty of women from poor families who would be willing to work for her for the two good meals she provided.
It wasn't that they were greedy; rather, they wanted to take the food provided by their hosts back home to improve their family's lives.
Knowing that Xie Wanniang was unfamiliar with many things in the village, Wang Xiaozhi also told Xie Wanniang about how villagers who worked for other families would bring back meat, vegetables, and grains.
Xie Wanniang stared in disbelief, "Then can they even do the work?"
Even if these people are here to do heavy physical labor, and they just lie on the kang (heated brick bed) and do nothing, eating only breakfast every day, they would still be so hungry that their hands and feet would go weak.
Wang Xiaozhi patted her on the shoulder, "But there are still whole grains and leafy greens! You can steam a pot of steamed buns, then steam two pots of cornbread, and then stew a pot of cabbage and radish with pork, and there won't be any problems, right?"
Xie Wanniang suddenly realized, "Oh, right."
She asked Wang Xiaozhi, "Then does that mean I can no longer make two-part or three-part noodles?"
Otherwise, wouldn't it turn into either they have nothing to bring or they have nothing to eat?
After a moment's thought, Wang Xiaozhi said, "You can make it if you want. Anyway, everything you make tastes good. Give them steamed buns made from two or three kinds of flour, and they should be happy to accept them."
Xie Wanniang: ......
No, she didn't intend to pass off inferior goods as superior ones!
Forget it, there's no use saying anything now. She should wait until the work starts and then prove with her actions that she's not a heartless employer.
Thinking of something, she reminded Wang Xiaozhi, "You could also consider having your Aunt Chen and your sisters-in-law come and help with the work."
“You can bring the children with you. With Xiaoyang and Yuanyuan, you don’t have to worry about who will take care of Afang.”
Wang Xiaozhi thought for a moment, "I'll bring my mother-in-law with me, but we can skip the others."
She didn't hide anything from Xie Wanniang, "My sister-in-law is really good at slacking off, but I can't just leave her behind and call the other two to help. Anyway, all three of them have young children, and their husbands will definitely come to help too, so I'll just let them stay home and take care of the children."
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