Shui Qing said earnestly, "It's alright. It's better for both of us to count the money in person. Don't be embarrassed. Everyone should count their money. If there are any mistakes, come and correct them immediately."
Those present already knew Shui Qing's temperament; when she spoke seriously, it meant that the matter was very important and left no room for argument!
So the women who had received their wages either sat on chairs or squatted on the ground and began to count their copper coins.
Fortunately, they were already strung together with hemp rope, which reduced the difficulty.
Many of the women whose names had not yet been called stood up impatiently, waiting with a mixture of anxiety and joy.
By the time the last woman received her wages and everyone confirmed that there had been no mistakes, more than half of the morning had already passed.
Shui Qing thought about how everyone was excited when they received their first paycheck and couldn't wait to go home and share the good news. In addition, it was inconvenient for them to carry such a large sum of money with them, so it was safest to send it back first. With that in mind, she said, "We'll have the morning off. Come back to work after lunch."
"Okay!" The loud reply was filled with joy.
The elderly Aunt Wu, Zhao Lan, held the heavy six strings of copper coins and began to calculate in her mind.
After the price of black flour rose to six coins per pound, a month's wages could buy one hundred pounds. One hundred pounds of grain could supplement the existing grain at home and make us eat our fill, or if we postponed it, it could last for a long time.
Salt is quite expensive, costing several tens of yuan per pound, but it's durable. One pound of salt can last a long time, and the salt we currently have at home is enough to last two or three years with some left over, so there's no rush.
It's time to prepare winter clothes. Last year the weather was unusually cold, but luckily we had plenty of firewood. The whole family stayed home every day to keep warm and barely made it through the winter. Even if it's not as cold as last year, we'll still have warm clothes to wear. Who would want to stay home all day without being able to go out?
Besides, they also have to work at the herbal medicine shop in winter, so warm winter clothes are essential. The whole family's winter clothes need to be put on the agenda...
Young girls like Li Tiantian, Zhang Xiaocao, Xu Ting, and Fan Xiang were thinking about what kind of hair accessories and hair ties to buy.
Nine-tenths of their wages were handed over to the public treasury, and they would receive one-tenth. However, one-tenth was still sixty coins. Since hair ornaments and hair ties were not too expensive, they could still save quite a few coins.
They secretly observed that Jiajia's sky-blue hair flower was so pretty, and the bright red hair tie was even more festive. They didn't know if it was because Ding Jiajia looked good wearing it or if the hair flower and hair tie were just naturally pretty, but as they looked at them, they really wanted the same style.
A group of people walked briskly towards their homes in the village, and as they got closer, they noticed that the village was unusually quiet today.
It's too quiet.
In the past, the children in the village, whom cats and dogs hated, would chase each other around, causing chaos and either attracting curses from other women or being chased and beaten by their own mothers. But none of that happened today.
Zhang Xiaocao's house was the closest. When she opened the door, she found no one home. She asked blankly, "What happened? Where are my family members?" Why weren't her mother, brother, and younger brother there? The busy farming season was over.
Zhao Lan cheerfully invited, "Come on, let's go to my house first. My father-in-law rarely goes out; let's go ask him."
“Yes, let’s go see the old village chief first. He knows everything that’s happening in the village, so we can’t go wrong asking him,” Aunt Wu agreed.
A group of people rushed excitedly toward the old village chief's house, only to find it empty.
The old village chief wasn't home either.
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