"When Xue Lao Er died in the mountains, I thought his family was going to collapse. But then Hua Nier married a wealthy man and now they can buy such a large piece of land just by asking."
"That's right. We also need to hire people to fill in the puddles. Thirty cents per person per day, including two meals. How much is that going to cost! Tsk tsk, the Xue family is going to be rich."
"They say they only want people between the ages of sixteen and forty. My son Huzi is sixteen, so he can go and try."
…
The Xue family also heard the news.
In the past, Old Mrs. Xue would have thought of a way to get that piece of land as soon as possible, but now, just as she was about to do something, the scene of that night came to her mind.
Xue Huan really dared to take her life! And seeing how she managed to get herself into the mountains without anyone noticing, she knew that if she really killed herself, maybe no one would even know!
Although Old Mrs. Xue was greedy for money, she was more afraid of death.
Without her to lead the way, Xue Lao San, the only son who could provide motivation, had already passed away. Even if the others had some ideas, they would not be able to achieve anything.
Early in the morning, a large group of people came to the outside of the Xue family's yard, making a lot of noise.
Xue Huan instructed Pei Ji and Xue Yao to move the table out, put pen, ink, paper and inkstone on it, and Xue Yao sat down in front of the table.
Then, Pei Ji moved a large stone from the yard and gently placed it next to the table.
Xue Huan clapped her hands and waited until everyone quieted down before speaking, "Since you uncles and aunts are here, you must already know what's going on. I won't waste any more words. Those who want to sign up to work, please line up in front of this stone. Aunts, come over here."
With a rush, everyone rushed to the stone and lined up. Some even wanted to cut in line, but were directly dragged out by Pei Ji.
Before this, Xue Huan had already assigned tasks to Pei Ji and Xue Yao. Pei Ji, as the force, was responsible for maintaining order and keeping the situation under control. He would take out anyone who disobeyed.
Xue Yao was responsible for registering the workers.
In order to avoid being stage fright, Xue Yao trained for a long time in advance.
Xue Huan is responsible for coordinating the overall situation.
The person who cut in line was a man in his thirties. Pei Ji picked him up with one hand and threw him to the back of the line. Seeing this, everyone immediately behaved themselves.
Xue Huan announced the rules of the assessment: "Let me be frank. I'm hiring people to do manual labor, so not everyone can earn the thirty-cent wage per day. You have to pass the assessment first. The assessment is simple: lift this stone. Only those who can lift the stone can register with Xue Yao. Okay, you can start now. Come one by one, don't force yourself, and don't crowd."
Liu Changgen, who was at the head of the line, shouted, "I'll do it!"
Seeing how easily Pei Ji moved the stone just now, he guessed that no matter how heavy the stone was, it couldn't be that heavy, right?
However, when it was his turn, he realized that the stone was really heavy!
He clasped both ends of the stone with his hands, his arm muscles bulging, his face flushed red, "Get up for me!"
The stone will just leave the ground.
Liu Changgen looked at Xue Huan, who nodded. "Just move it."
Liu Changgen loosened his hands, took a long breath, wiped his forehead, and walked to the table with his head held high.
In front of Xue Yao was a notebook that had been prepared in advance. On the notebook was a table with "name", "age", etc. written on it. It could be said to be a very crude registration form.
Xue Yao asked for the information that needed to be filled in one by one and wrote it down on the form.
The villagers had an inexplicable awe for those who could read and write. Although Xue Yao was young, no one dared to look down on him and answered his questions obediently.
Xue Huan watched from the side for a while, and seeing that nothing went wrong, she came to the woman's side.
In such a short period of time, Xue Huan had already established a certain prestige in front of everyone. When they saw her coming, the women hurriedly stood up.
Xue Huan smiled and said, "Aunts, don't be nervous."
Including Auntie Fatty, there were nine women in total. What surprised her was that Chen and Li were also among them. However, Li was not brought by Auntie Fatty, but came on her own.
Xue Huan first took a quick look at the clothes of the nine people, not to see whether they looked good, but to see whether they were clean and skillful. After all, the most important thing in cooking is cleanliness, and taste is secondary.
As her eyes swept over them, the women couldn't help but hold their breath. They knew before they came that only three people would be chosen, and they didn't know if they could be selected...
With such worries, how could they not be nervous?
Who doesn't want to take advantage of the opportunity to make some money?
Xue Huan looked at the overall appearance of several people, and then asked them to stretch out their hands with their five fingers spread out. Finally, she selected three women, including Chen.
It’s nothing, it’s just because she meets the requirements better.
When Li saw that Chen was chosen and she was not, she immediately cried out: "Oh, I will not live! Your niece would rather choose an outsider than your aunt. All the good things are going to outsiders... Why is my life so miserable? When my husband leaves, the orphan and the widow will be bullied to death..."
Xue Huan glanced at Pei Ji, and Pei Ji flew to Li, pointed his finger in the air, and shot out energy. Li's mute point was hit, and she couldn't make any sound immediately.
She opened her mouth and screamed "Ahhhh", but she still lost her voice and her expression turned into horror.
Without her screaming and howling, Xue Huan finally explained, "I don't consider closeness to the person when selecting people; I only look at whether they meet the requirements. For example, the three people I just selected have clean clothes, no lice in their hair, and no dirt under their nails, which shows that they like to be clean on a daily basis. When preparing food, cleanliness is the most important thing, so that the people working on it can eat with peace of mind."
"I didn't choose you, Third Aunt, because you don't meet the requirements. You should know exactly what you don't meet. Also, with your temper that often throws tantrums, I wouldn't dare hire you. I pay people to work for me, not to hire a ancestor."
Li was surrounded by strange looks from everyone, her face flushed red, she stomped her feet in anger, turned around and ran away.
Xue Huan said gently to the others who were not selected, "It doesn't matter if you weren't chosen. When I build my vegetable garden, I'll hire someone to take care of it when I'm too busy. I'll have plenty of other places where I'll need people."
With her comfort, the women felt hopeful again. Considering that they still had a lot of things to do at home, they did not stay long and went home.
Xue Huan had a brief chat with Aunt Pang and the others, and learned about their respective strengths. They decided on the menu for today's lunch - rice, stir-fried vegetables with lard, and tofu and egg drop soup.
At this time, the men's assessment and registration were almost completed. There were about forty people. Xue Huan asked Xue Yao to register Aunt Fat and the other four as well.
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