To prevent him from having servants he was dissatisfied with, which would result in not having enough people to select fifty, the extra twenty people were considered as reserves.
Jin Yu learned that Yan Xia had only hired forty villagers, so he selected ten more, making a total of 200 people.
After calculating the price, it would cost two hundred taels of silver for sixty people.
This amount of money wouldn't even buy a decent house in Shuangqiao Town, yet it could buy so many people.
They all signed contracts that were binding on the client.
Yan Xia sighed upon hearing this.
The poor have always been the least valuable people, just like leeks, which grow back in batches. Once one batch is harvested, the next batch grows back.
It's fortunate that these people were bought by her family.
She wouldn't say she'd treat them exceptionally well, but as long as they were honest, hardworking, and didn't betray her, she would never beat or scold them and would guarantee they had enough to eat every day.
That's a way of saying they're financially secure.
June 15th.
All rice seeds have been planted.
The villagers and servants have moved into simple wooden houses. The men live on the left and the women on the right. They do not sleep together and all of them sleep on a large communal bed.
The loss occurred in the summer.
Yan Xia wouldn't dare do this in the fall.
A wooden plank is drafty and can make people sick from the cold.
The food for two hundred people filled two rooms.
There are brown rice, white rice, gray flour, white flour, corn, etc.
We eat different staple foods every day.
They also bought six pigs and raised them next to the wooden house, enclosing them with a fence.
Kill one every ten days.
Not only pigs, but also twenty or thirty chickens.
The food is absolutely fantastic.
Not to mention the servants, even the forty villagers had never eaten such good food at home.
You can eat as much staple food as you want, and in your spare time you can go to the surrounding mountains to forage for wild vegetables and mushrooms. At this time of year, the mountains are full of treasures.
There's no need to buy vegetables at all, except for meat.
I eat two vegetarian dishes and one meat dish every day.
The meat one is an egg.
Yan Xia bought three large baskets.
Chickens are eaten once every five days, and two are killed each time.
Either stewed mushrooms or soup with noodles, everyone gets a big bowl of shredded chicken noodles.
It smells amazing.
Yan Xia also released many fish fry into the stream next to the rice paddies.
When they first started planting rice, these people were puzzled as to why their planting method was different from theirs and why they didn't irrigate the paddy fields.
The bolder villagers went to ask Yan Xia, who casually made up a reason, saying that the dryland rice seeds bought from other places had a higher yield than paddy rice.
The villagers didn't believe it, but they didn't say anything, since it wasn't their land.
Just keep planting.
Why worry about so much?
With the arrival of two hundred people, this area has become much more lively.
The house where Steward Bai used to live has long been demolished.
Following Yan Xia's instructions, Jin Yu had a house built on this site.
It was built according to the specifications of a three-courtyard house.
The rice can be harvested around the 15th of August. It ripens every two months, and a second batch, autumn rice, can be planted. By October, the temperature drops, and we can no longer live in wooden houses.
The house was probably already built by then.
Then the servants who farm will be allowed to live in the house.
With a two-month gap, we should be able to buy another forty people.
The villagers must never be allowed to know the true yield of the high-yield rice variety.
When planting the second batch, villagers are no longer needed.
Yan Xia plans to send them home in early August.
After all the rice seeds were planted, Yan Xia left with Jin Yu, relieved.
"Jinyu, remember to choose a capable manager. I won't be coming these days. You can come and visit when you're not busy."
"Okay, Sister Xia."
It was midday, and the weather was rather muggy.
Yan Xia didn't sit in the carriage, but instead drove with Jin Yu.
The breeze was blowing, and we chatted casually, which was quite pleasant.
When we got back to town, it wasn't even evening yet.
"You drive back first. I'll go to the next street and have some sour noodles. I'll tell them they don't need to cook for me tonight. After I finish eating, I'll take a walk back, just like a walk after my meal."
"Okay, I'll be going now. Xia Jie, come back soon."
"Uh-huh."
Yan Xia jumped off the carriage and left without looking back.
She loses her appetite when it gets hot.
I don't want to eat fried rice.
In Shuangqiao Town, there is an elderly couple who start selling sour noodles as early as the beginning of June. It is said that this is an old craft passed down from their ancestors.
The noodles were very chewy, and the key was the sour soup, which was cold, slightly salty, with a tangy sweetness and spiciness, and a refreshing fruity sourness.
It was delicious, very similar to modern cold noodles.
It's even a hundred times tastier than cold noodles.
After all, the ingredients are fresh, and there's no heavy-handed technology involved in anything from seasonings to staple foods.
It wasn't dinnertime yet, and when Yan Xia arrived, only two of the six seats were left.
"Aunt Xiu, a bowl of sour noodles, a large bowl, and a braised egg."
"Oh my, isn't this Manager Yan? You're here early today."
It's only mid-June, and Yan Xia has already eaten it three times.
That's enough to prove how much she loves to eat.
"That's right. I didn't eat enough at noon. If I came during mealtime, there probably wouldn't be any seats left. Aunt Xiu, your sour noodles are really delicious. I don't have any appetite in the summer, but I can't stop thinking about these sour noodles. No wonder your business is so good."
Yan Xia was a regular customer, so she chatted with the stall owner quite familiarly.
"Yes, everyone is afraid of the heat in summer and likes to eat something cold. My family's sour soup is made with well water, so it's ice cold and refreshing. Come on, Manager Yan, your sour noodles are ready."
Aunt Xiu served the dishes very quickly.
The sour soup is ready-made, and the noodles are cooked in advance. Just put them into the sour soup, add a sliced braised egg and some seasonings, and it's ready to serve to the guests.
Yan Xia took the chopsticks and first drank a sip of the sour soup.
That bite was simply divine.
The heat in my body dissipated instantly.
I don't know what's wrong with this year, it's unbearably hot, much hotter than last summer.
It shouldn't be this hot in mid-June.
The restaurant wasn't open yet; Yan Xia had originally planned to sell food.
But looking at the sweltering heat, she figured business wouldn't be doing too well.
The bowl of sour noodles was finished quickly.
Yan Xia paid the money and went for a walk along the river to eat.
She recalled that when she used to stroll through night markets in modern times, the most popular foods in the summer were cold noodles, cold rice noodles, spicy hot pot, and cold pot skewers.
None of these are difficult.
If you sell it in a restaurant, and add some ice jelly, wouldn't you make a fortune? And when the weather gets cold, hot pot will make a comeback.
Every six months thereafter, the restaurant will be packed.
She'll talk to Jinlu when she gets back tonight.
With an idea in mind, Yan Xia quickened her pace.
The families living along the river have already started cooking.
The aroma of various dishes wafted through the air, but unfortunately Yan Xia was already full.
Not only did I not crave it, but I also felt a bit full and greasy.
She decided to cross the alley and take a shortcut back.
Before even entering the alley, I saw a couple whispering sweet nothings to each other inside.
She was about to take another route when, just as she turned around, Yan Xia caught a glimpse of the man's face.
Isn't this Bai Lizheng's youngest daughter's fiancé?
Holy crap!
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