“That’s one reason,” Village Chief Huang sighed, “and another reason is that we don’t have that much money.”
Jiang Nuan found it hard to believe.
Putting aside everything else, the Huang family is absolutely rolling in money; a mere dozen or so taels of silver is nothing to them.
Sensing Jiang Nuan's strange gaze, the clan chief Huang explained awkwardly, "My family has some savings, but expenses are high. We have many grandchildren, and weddings require money, plus we need to save for our coffins..."
"You're thinking way ahead."
Chief Huang is only in his early forties, and he's already starting to save for his coffin. How afraid of death is he?
However, Jiang Nuan could understand.
Even if the Huang family is relatively wealthy, it is all accumulated over generations. Using private funds to supplement public funds will inevitably cause resentment among family members.
"Let's talk about something happy," Village Chief Huang said, trying to smooth things over. "Now that we have enough money, we can build a school after the spring planting season."
“No,” Jiang Nuan shook her head. “We can earn the money to build the school later. This money should be used to provide food for the young men who are performing corvée labor.”
"Rice, noodles, oil, sugar, eggs, and meat?" the two asked in unison.
"Hmm," Jiang Nuan quickly estimated in her mind, "It might be a bit tight, but let's make do with this for now, and we can still earn money."
hiss!
Upon hearing the answer, the two decided to stay put.
They truly realized that they were no match for a woman.
Whether it's making money or spending money!
"Fifth sister-in-law," Chief Huang said, stunned for a long time before finding his voice, "a dozen or so taels of silver is not easy to earn. You built a school for the sake of future generations, so everyone just swallowed their pride and accepted it. What's a little food and drink for a bunch of young people who are doing corvée labor? Just let them bring their own food."
He knew that corvée labor was hard, but who hadn't gone through it? It was good enough to keep one's life; how could one ask for more?
No, Huang Chuan and his brothers never actually performed corvée labor.
Thinking about this, Chief Huang felt he could understand Jiang Nuan a little better; she just couldn't bear to see her own child suffer!
“That’s right,” Village Chief Huang nodded frantically. “Yaya, this is such a big matter, let’s go back and discuss it with our parents.”
If his parents found out that Yaya had given away more than ten taels of silver in front of them, his life would be in danger.
Village Chief Huang's strong will to survive made Jiang Nuan want to laugh.
“We’ll talk about this later,” she said, not in a hurry since the corvée service hadn’t started yet. “I have something else to say. Now that we know where we’re to serve, we need to take a look and make a plan.”
"What other plans do we have?" the two asked.
"The work plan: how many days will it take to complete the river channel and the official road? What tasks need to be completed each day? What will we do if it rains?"
These words left the two of them stunned.
"Why make so many fuss about work?" Chief Huang stroked his beard and said, "Just keep your head down and do your job, and don't try to cheat or shirk your duties."
“It’s not the same,” Jiang Nuan explained. “If we work too fast, not only will our bodies not be able to handle it, but even if we finish early, we can’t go home. The supervisor will also find things for us to do in order to make up the time.”
“Working too slowly is even worse; if the corvée labor isn’t completed, the whole village will be punished with a beating.”
"We need to be efficient, take care of the health of our personnel, and allow time for handling emergencies. Can we manage without a plan?"
"Ya Ya," Village Chief Huang was almost stunned by Jiang Nuan's words, barely managing to grasp the key point, "You've taken over the supervisor's job?"
“Yes,” Chief Huang also came to his senses, “These are issues for the supervisor to consider. Why are we meddling in them?”
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