Suddenly, Song Anxin's eyes lit up. Wasn't this a ready-made source of manpower? I was so stupid. If we didn't have enough manpower, we could just hire people.
Although there is no money to pay wages right now, wages are not paid immediately; they can be paid after the duck egg funds are recovered.
So she eagerly pulled Sister-in-law Lin aside and said, "Sister-in-law, please sit down. There's something I'd like to discuss with you, is that alright?"
Then he asked Lin Fengyao to take the bunch of green beans from Lin's sister-in-law's hand into the kitchen for Meizi to use in cooking.
Sister-in-law Lin was a little confused by Song Anxin's words and said, "What is it? Sister-in-law, just tell me. As long as it's within my power, I will definitely do it for you."
Song Anxin smiled and said, "You can definitely do it! I would like to ask you to do some work for our family. It's very simple, just pickling duck eggs."
How about I give you twenty coins a day? If sales are good, I'll increase the pay further.
Sister-in-law Lin's eyes widened, and her voice instantly rose eight octaves: "What did you say! Pickled duck eggs, and you're paying twenty copper coins?!"
Song Anxin's ears were almost deafened by her words. She trembled and said, "Yes, sister-in-law, you can see how many duck eggs we have collected. Pickling them takes a lot of time. Our whole family can't spend all our time on this. We still have other work to do."
"We can't afford to lose our work in the fields before we even sell the duck eggs; that would be a huge loss. Besides, we'll be producing more and more duck eggs, so we need to pickle them as soon as possible, otherwise they'll spoil."
Sister-in-law Lin thought Song Anxin's words made sense, but she still said, "We can't waste the money on hiring people. I'll come to your house to help this afternoon, and I won't take your money."
Song Anxin knew that Sister-in-law Lin was reluctant to take wages because she felt sorry for her own family, so she used her trump card:
“Sister-in-law, I know you are being considerate of my family, but we have a lot of duck eggs, and we can’t let you work for free every day. If you don’t want to take the wages, I will go find someone else.”
This trick worked. When Sister-in-law Lin heard that she couldn't ask anyone else for this job, she didn't care whether she earned the money or not. What she was afraid of was that someone else would learn the recipe, and then her younger brother and sister-in-law's family would suffer a great loss.
He quickly replied, "I'll take it, I'll take it. Oh my, I'm really impressed by you. You're so careless. If someone steals the recipe later, let's see if you can still do business."
Song Anxin laughed and said, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, this job of pickling duck eggs isn't available every day. Once it's done, it's over. Besides, I can't pay the workers right now. I can only settle the accounts after the duck eggs are sold and I make a profit."
I only contacted you because I was afraid someone would steal the recipe. I trust you because you're family.
Sister-in-law Lin was very pleased to hear this and said, "Don't worry about the wages. Pay me when you have the money, or don't worry about it. I'll have Dongzi and Erxi come and help out. These two little ones are studying here with you, so they should help you out more."
Song Anxin was in a great mood after finalizing the deal with Sister-in-law Lin, but his happiness lasted only three seconds. He remembered that the most important issue, the funding chain, was still unresolved, and his joy vanished.
The sun was high in the sky, and it was lunchtime. On the table were stir-fried radish with pork, stir-fried green beans with pork, stir-fried wild vegetables, and mushroom and egg soup. For the first time in several days, Song Anxin had seen vegetables other than wild vegetables on the table.
Everyone in the family had their rice bowls filled, except for Lin Fengshou, whose bowl was empty.
Song Anxin had already changed the previous rules. She no longer served food; she served herself as much as she wanted, and could ask for more if she wasn't full.
The boys were a little unaccustomed at first, but seeing that their mother wouldn't say anything even if they added more rice, they gradually became bolder and started adding large bowls of rice, becoming incredibly enthusiastic about mealtimes.
But this time, Lin Fengshou sat there listlessly, and when he saw that everyone else had served their rice, he didn't move.
Lin Fengyao, who was standing next to him, said, "Second Brother, are you tired? I'll get you some more."
Lin Fengshou shook his head: "No need, I won't eat."
Song Anxin knew exactly what this silly boy was thinking; he was upset about the mistake he made in calculating the accounts earlier.
She teased, "Oh? Is it because you don't like your sister-in-law's cooking?"
Zhang Mei was suddenly called upon and quickly looked at Lin Fengshou.
Lin Fengshou shook his head frantically: "Of course not, my sister-in-law's cooking is delicious. I just... I feel like I don't deserve to eat."
Song Anxin was surprised that her second son would say something so serious. She looked at him seriously and said, "Why do you say that?"
The atmosphere suddenly became serious, and everyone stopped eating, looking at Lin Fengshou with concern.
Lin Fengshou said with remorse, "I miscalculated the accounts, which has brought shame to our family and delayed my mother's business. I don't deserve to eat this meal!"
It seems the second son is taking this matter very seriously.
She said, "Fengshou, didn't Mother say that even accountants make mistakes sometimes? You don't need to be too hard on yourself for making a mistake."
“But, but… a mistake is a mistake,” Lin Fengshou said softly.
There's a saying that goes, "No one is perfect, even tigers sometimes doze off." You made a mistake once, but you never made a mistake again.
Song Anxin said earnestly, "Everyone makes mistakes, but you can't get stuck in your mistakes forever. Instead, you should learn from your mistakes so that you can avoid them next time."
"You've done a great job with the harvest. You've been so good at entertaining those aunties and grandmas, and you've been quick with the accounts and payments. Your older brothers wouldn't have done as well as you; they might have made even more mistakes."
Upon hearing his mother's words, Lin Feng immediately looked up and asked, "Really? Mother, did I really do a good job?"
Song Anxin nodded affirmatively.
Zhang Mei agreed, saying, "I also think my second brother has done a great job. If it were me, with all those aunties urging me, I would be too busy to even do the accounting."
“Yes, second brother, you did very well. Don’t blame yourself,” Lin Fengnian said.
"Second brother didn't interfere with Mother's business at all. Those people were practically sending all the duck eggs to our house," Lin Fengyao said.
"Besides, Mother has already spoken with the aunts and other women, and they won't blame our family," Lin Fenghe said.
Seeing the family's heartwarming comfort to Lin Fengshou, Song Anxin smiled with relief and said, "If you still feel bad, then study hard and do well in math so you won't make this mistake again."
However, you must first eat your fill; how can you have the energy to study if you don't eat your fill?
Upon hearing this, Lin Fengshou quickly filled a large bowl with rice and began to eat it ravenously. He wanted to eat his fill, study hard, and help his mother with many chores.
Seeing that Lin Fengshou was alright and had started eating, the family happily ate and chatted together.
Song Anxin liked the atmosphere, but the second son was too concerned about gains and losses, which might make his future difficult.
Just as Song Anxin's family finished eating and tidied up, Sister-in-law Lin arrived right on time, bringing Lin Erxi and Dongzi with her.
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