That day, the Chen family children were dyeing dried flowers at home when the eldest daughter-in-law of the Chen family returned from washing clothes by the river and suddenly shouted, "Dad, Mom, I heard while I was washing clothes that Liu Family Village is starting to hire temporary workers. They'll start hiring tomorrow."
The Liu family was a prominent family in their county. They owned a large estate near their village, Anping. Around this time every year, the Liu family would hire some day laborers for five coins a day, including a meal.
Zhou came out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of steamed eggs and said, "We already know about this. Fourth Brother mentioned it when he came back earlier."
Zhou handed the bowl in her hand to Chen Kai and asked, "My dear son, I made you steamed eggs, do you want some?"
Chen Kai shook his head and said, "Mom, I'm not hungry right now, I don't want to eat anything."
Zhou turned to Xiaotian and asked, "Xiaotian, would you like some steamed eggs?"
Xiao Tian shook his head. He had already eaten something and didn't want to eat steamed eggs now.
Seeing that neither of them was eating, Zhou said helplessly, "Then I'll put the steamed eggs in the kitchen first. You can get them whenever you want." As she spoke, Zhou carried the steamed eggs to the kitchen and warned the other children not to steal any.
After hanging up the clothes, Chen's eldest daughter-in-law said to Daya and the others, "Daya, Erya, Sanya, tomorrow after we finish our work, Mom will take you to the Liu family to see the fun!"
Da Ya laughed and said, "Okay! Okay!"
Daya ran over and picked Chen Kai up, saying, "Uncle, Xiaotian, I'll take you there tomorrow too. The Liu family is recruiting workers tomorrow, and a lot of people will come. It'll definitely be very lively."
Chen Kai thought to himself that the villagers usually didn't have many entertainment activities, so they would flock to wherever there was excitement. He figured that many people in the village would definitely go to watch the excitement tomorrow, and the women of the Chen family would certainly not be absent either.
Chen Kai said with a smile, "Okay! But will that many people really go?"
Chen's wife said, "That's right! I also heard that not only our village, but also several neighboring villages have heard the news this year. Many people will come to try out the jobs. There are so many people, and they are only recruiting 50 people. The probability of being selected for the trial job is quite small."
Xiao Tian asked doubtfully, "If we're only recruiting 50 people, will people from the neighboring villages all come?"
Old Chen sighed and said, "This year, the grain requisition started earlier than usual, so many families have to tighten their belts. This job, which pays wages and includes a meal, is attracting people not only from the neighboring villages but also from the neighboring counties. However, the steward of Liu Family Village always takes care of our village and reserves some spots for us."
Upon hearing this, Chen Kai gasped in shock. Finding work in ancient times was truly not easy.
At this moment, Chen Kai was a little sleepy and couldn't help but yawn. When Zhou saw this, she picked Chen Kai up and whispered, "My good son, if you are sleepy, Mother will carry you to your room to sleep."
Hearing the voice, Chen Kai nodded groggily, and Zhou Shi carried him into the room.
The next morning, Liujiazhuangzi, near Anping Village, became lively and bustling with crowds.
As soon as Daya and the others finished their work, they went home and dragged Chen Kai and Xiao Tian out to join in the fun.
Chen Kai, held in Zhou's arms, stared in disbelief at the crowd stretching from Liujiazhuangzi to Anping Village. There were so many people! The job applicants looked pale and thin, their clothes patched up and wearing straw sandals.
Xiao Tian, holding Da Ya's hand, was also dumbfounded. There were so many people!
Da Ya exclaimed excitedly, "So many people have come!"
Chen Kai asked with a smile, "Mom, where are we going now?"
Zhou said, "My good son, let's go see the excitement."
Helplessly, Chen Kai was carried forward by Zhou Shi. What excitement was there to see with so many people?
Along the way, Chen Kai saw many people squeezing in. Some wanted to see if anyone in their family had been hired, but most were just there to join in the fun.
Yesterday, as soon as they heard the news that Liujiazhuangzi was going to start recruiting workers, those in their village who wanted to work immediately went to wait outside Liujiazhuangzi overnight. In the evening, many people from nearby villages also came in groups, preparing to spend the night outside Liujiazhuangzi.
Early this morning, the road from Liujiazhuangzi to Anping Village was packed with people, and many more were on their way.
After squeezing through the crowd for quite a while, Zhou and her family finally caught a glimpse of Liu Family Village.
With one arm around Chen Kai and the other pointing at the people queuing, Zhou said, “My dear son, look at those people. The steward of Liu Family Manor will check their names to see if they have any previous records working in the manor before deciding whether to keep them.”
Chen Kai asked in confusion, "Mother, do they only hire people who have worked in Liu Family Village?"
Zhou said with a smile, "Of course not. In addition to selecting the vast majority of people who have worked in Liu Family Village, the steward will also select six more people from those who have never worked in their village."
Chen Kai frowned and said, "Just for these six spots, so many people have come? Even people from the neighboring county have come?"
The eldest daughter-in-law of the Chen family said, "The treatment in Liu Family Village is not bad. I heard yesterday that the treatment in other villages is not as good as here. Because the grain requisition started early, some poor families started to lower the wages when recruiting workers. Before, you could get 7 coins a day, but now you only get 4 coins a day, and they don't even provide meals."
Xiao Tian asked, "If you're only recruiting 50 people, it'll be over quickly, right?"
Da Ya laughed and said, "It won't be that quick; it will take several days to determine the candidate!"
Chen Kai pointed to the other side, where there were fewer people, and said, "Mom, there are too many people here. Let's go over there. There are fewer people there. Anyway, we'll definitely know once the selection is made."
Seeing that there were too many people in front of them to squeeze in, Zhou said, "Alright, let's go over there!"
Zhou carried Chen Kai and led the rest of the Chen family to the spot Chen Kai pointed to. After a while, they finally managed to squeeze out. There were people everywhere, and they managed to find a place on the small hillside to sit and rest for a while.
The view of the crowds below from the small hillside is even more spectacular, a sea of people.
There were quite a few people chatting next to the Chen family, discussing which family had sent how many people and who had been selected in their village.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com