Li Kaishan knew that Yan Qingqing must know the purpose of his visit, so he stopped beating around the bush and said, "I know you are capable and have helped the villagers of Canghe Village a lot."
But since Uncle is the village chief of Canghe Village, I can't ignore this matter.
I know you have planted two acres of a rare crop at home, and I heard the yield is quite high. If this crop is a grain, could you consider having everyone plant some, if circumstances allow?
Of course, if you are of great use, your uncle will definitely not force you.
Yan Qingqing had been waiting for Li Kaishan to come to her door all these days. In fact, all those rumors in the village were deliberately spread by Yan Qingqing.
She genuinely wanted to help the villagers of Canghe Village. If this stuff caught the eye of the imperial court, they would surely know that it originated from Canghe Village.
Perhaps everyone can still reap some benefits, and even if there are no benefits, such high production still brings real advantages.
Yan Qingqing pondered for a moment before replying, "Since it's Uncle Village Chief who came to discuss this matter, I can't refuse to give you face."
However, sweet potatoes and taro need to be cultivated into seedlings. Even if I give them the seeds now, they may not be able to successfully cultivate seedlings.
Let's wait until next year. Both of these can be planted in spring and autumn.
After the New Year, I'll start a seedling cultivation. If anyone really wants to plant them, they can come find me after the seedlings are successfully grown.
Li Kaishan was overjoyed to hear this, thinking that as long as Yan Qingqing agreed, it would be fine no matter when.
However, Yan Qingqing added, "Uncle Village Chief, let's make this clear beforehand: I definitely can't give these seedlings away for free; I'll be charging you."
Li Kaishan laughed and said, "Of course. They say even brothers keep clear accounts. You're already doing a great service by letting everyone grow this rare thing with you. Anyone who dares to let you give it away for free is an ingrate and doesn't deserve to be a villager of Canghe Village, let alone grow this rare thing."
At this moment, Li Kaishan spoke with considerable confidence, because he had accomplished this "major task".
Yan Qingqing looked at Li Kaishan and smiled too. It was quite pleasant to talk to such a sensible person.
Finally, Li Kaishan spoke up again, saying, "Then I'll take the initiative and shamelessly reserve two acres of land with you in advance."
Yan Qingqing still smiled and agreed.
After seeing Li Kaishan off, Yan Qingqing took out a piece of paper and made a list, which included Yan Qingqing's own family and Yuan Huiniang's family. These were the people Yan Qingqing wanted to help them get rich.
In the blink of an eye, Yan Qingqing's ecological orchard and embroidery workshop were completed.
Yan Qingqing has successively invested 10,000 chicks and 7,000 ducklings in the ecological orchard.
These days, there are many people raising chickens, and it's not too difficult to scrape together 10,000 chickens. However, there are relatively few people raising ducks.
Firstly, duck meat can be very fishy if not cooked properly, and secondly, duck eggs don't taste as good as chicken eggs.
When Yuan Huiniang told Yan Qingqing with a guilty look that she hadn't met her requirements, Yan Qingqing just smiled and told her not to worry about it. Besides, it wasn't a big deal.
Actually, Yan Qingqing didn't really care whether there were three thousand more or three thousand less; this year she was just conducting an experiment.
These chickens and ducks cannot be free-range until they grow to a certain size; they need to be raised by someone special. Yan Qingqing's family simply didn't have enough manpower. Suddenly, Yan Qingqing thought of Wei Laosan, who was a grateful person and had also raised cattle before. Presumably, raising chickens and ducks would be feasible for him.
So Yan Qingqing called Li Xiangjian over and said to him, "Go to Weijia Village and find a man named Wei Laosan. Ask him if he'd be willing to do the job of raising chickens and ducks in our family."
Li Xiangjian knew Wei Laosan. When he accompanied his mother to the city to buy cattle, Wei Laosan was harassed by others, and it was his mother who helped him and gave him a prescription for treating tuberculosis.
Old Wei was a grateful man. He specially brought his grandson to Yan Qingqing's house to thank her for saving his life.
Therefore, Li Xiangjian also felt that Wei Laosan was a good person, and he had no objection to his mother's willingness to help them. However, after hesitating for a while, he asked, "Mom, what should I say if Uncle Wei asks me about my wages?"
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Six hundred coins a month. If you do well, you can get promoted and a raise later. But I don't think he will ask about the wages."
Li Xiangjian thought to himself that his mother really knew how to make empty promises; he had never heard of raising chickens and ducks leading to a promotion and a raise.
But six hundred coins a month is a lot of money, and he wants to do it. He only has three hundred coins a month, and he has to do all the big and small things at home. He doesn't know if he can compete with Wei Laosan for this job.
However, he dared not say this to Yan Qingqing's face, otherwise his older brother would punish him.
Li Xiangjian immediately drove his family's oxcart to Weijia Village.
Li Xiangjian didn't even need to ask for directions when he entered Weijia Village; the ox led him straight to Wei Laosan's house.
Li Xiangjian exclaimed that the cow was a worthwhile purchase, but at the same time he was a little worried that one day the cow might not be properly tied up and run back, which would result in a huge loss for his family.
When Wei Laosan saw his cow return, he was so excited that tears streamed down his face, but then he suddenly remembered that the cow no longer belonged to him.
When he looked up again, he saw a tall, strong boy standing to the side. He immediately recognized him as the child of his benefactor.
Li Xiangjian looked much taller than when I last saw him.
Wei Laosan quickly stepped forward and said, "My little benefactor, what brings you here? Did you come to the wrong place? Please come inside and rest."
It's no wonder Wei Laosan thought that way. Firstly, because Li Xiangjian had no reason to come to their house, and secondly, because their cow—no, it now belonged to their benefactor's family—was quite intelligent, and perhaps their little benefactor was just passing by and was forcibly taken back to their home by the cow.
Li Xiangjian looked at Wei Laosan and said with a smile, "Uncle Wei, I haven't come to the wrong place. I'm here to find you."
My family recently built a new ecological orchard, where we raise a batch of chickens and ducks that require dedicated care.
But everyone in the family is quite busy, so my mother wanted to find someone to help, and that's how she thought of Uncle Wei.
Upon hearing this, Wei Laosan quickly nodded and replied, "Don't worry, my little benefactor. I'll tell my family right away. It's getting late today, so I'll get up early tomorrow morning to help out at your house. I'll come back after dark."
Li Xiangjian nodded to himself. His mother's judgment was indeed excellent; this Wei Laosan had never even considered asking for their wages.
The more honest a person is, the less they should let others suffer losses. This is one of Li Xiangjian's principles in doing things. So he explained, "There's no rush. Uncle Wei can pack his things before going. We've built a house over at the orchard that people can live in. It's fully equipped with pots, pans, and utensils."
And my mother said she'd give you 600 coins a month, and if you do well, she'd give you... um, a promotion and a raise.
Li Xiangjian also thought for a long time before he remembered the four words Yan Qingqing had mentioned: promotion and salary increase.
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