"Take me with you when you go cut down the tree! I'll call all my friends. We made a lot of dumplings today, so I'll give one to each of them. I guarantee they'll be very enthusiastic about working this afternoon!"
Can you imagine how difficult life was for poor people in this era?
Like Lin Xue, she has a job because of her bangs, so she's doing alright.
Some families don't have any workers at all and can only barely survive by doing odd jobs.
There were many people who couldn't even get a meal a day. Among the children that Lin Xue saw yesterday, some were dressed in very tattered clothes and were pale and thin, even thinner than Zhu Zi, who was starving.
These children would happily run over to help even if you only gave them a bowl of porridge, let alone dumplings.
How many friends can you bring?
Lin Xue glanced at her somewhat stingy son, who only paid people one dumpling each for their work, a wage that rivaled even the most extravagant landlords.
"It's the same five friends from last night, making six of us including me!"
Zhu Zi considered it in his mind and realized that only these five friends were willing to work hard for him.
The other friends come from relatively well-off families and probably wouldn't want to work in exchange for just one dumpling.
"Then call them all over after you finish eating. They can help me move the wood. I'll give each of them 10 dumplings. After they finish eating, we'll set off!"
Lin Xue looked at the dumplings they had left over; there were still quite a few, 10 for each of the 5 people, which was... 50 dumplings.
She probably has about 70 dumplings left. Moving wood is no easy task, and you can't expect someone to eat their fill before you have to order them around!
"No need to give that many, two at most will suffice!"
Upon hearing that each person would receive 10, Zhu Zi immediately objected.
Ten dumplings would make a whole bowl, and he just couldn't stand giving them away for nothing.
"Alright, it's just 10 dumplings. It's not like we can't afford it. I'll just make more for you tomorrow!"
"These freshly cut logs are really heavy, they're not easy to carry. If we don't give them more, how can they work hard for us? Even if they're willing, can we live with ourselves?"
These are all children. If it weren't for the times we live in, Lin Xue would never have let them help with the work.
In those days, it was not uncommon for children to start working at the age of eleven or twelve. The work they did was much more tiring than what Lin Xue did.
Lin Xue was also willing to share the work because she felt sorry for these poor children.
Otherwise, she could easily carry back just a few pieces of wood.
It is said that one should not accept rewards without merit. If one helps others without any reason, it is easy to be criticized by others.
Moreover, it's easy to inflate their appetites, and if you stop giving them what they want later, you'll become the one who sins.
Therefore, the best way is to let them exchange their labor for food.
This can be considered an equivalent exchange, which is fair and just.
After finishing his meal, Zhu Zi quickly called his friends over. Since listening to Lin Xue's advice, he also knew that one shouldn't be too stingy.
Even though he knew this, Zhu Zi's heart was still bleeding.
"Aunt Lin, can we take the dumplings home?"
The group of friends were stunned when they saw the 10 dumplings they had been given.
However, they did not choose to eat the dumplings immediately, but looked at Lin Xue with hopeful eyes.
"But how can you work for me if you don't have enough to eat?"
Lin Xue didn't want the children to take the dumplings home, because she knew very well that if they took the dumplings home, the children would only get one or two at most.
They would still be working on an empty stomach, which was not Lin Xue's original intention.
"Aunt Lin, we haven't eaten for several days. If we take these dumplings home, we can add some water and boil them to make some thin porridge!"
"Zhu Zi said there's fish in this, which is the most nourishing thing. If you boil it with some water, it will make a porridge that's very nutritious and filling!"
The speaker was a thin little boy who looked to be about 1.5 meters tall.
Judging from his bone age, this child is probably fourteen or fifteen years old, but judging from his appearance, he is only about two years older than their son, Zhuzi.
"You little rascals, all you do is make things difficult for Aunt Lin!"
Lin Xue rubbed her head, feeling a bit of a headache. If she agreed, these children would really have to work for her on an empty stomach.
But if she didn't agree, the way these children looked at her with such pleading eyes was truly heartbreaking.
"Why don't we let them take half back? We can cook the other half in our pot, like Brother Daqiang said, and turn the dumplings into dumpling porridge. That way, everyone can have a bowl and be full!"
It was because Zhu Zi couldn't bear to see his little friends go hungry that he finally came up with this solution.
"Alright, then give each of them five dumplings, and pour the rest into a pot to cook into porridge for them to eat, so we can go out and get to work!"
Although this approach will take some time, it is the best solution.
Once they were given permission, the children immediately grabbed their five dumplings and ran home.
"I'll start the fire for my brothers!"
Xiao Hua had been listening to everyone's conversation, and now she walked into the kitchen and spoke to Lin Xue.
"Cut the pumpkin in half and put it in the pot. The fish is delicious, and adding some pumpkin will make it just as tasty!"
Lin Xue gave Zhu Zi a heads-up, and then went out to pack up the tools.
The machete and axe were a bit rusty, so she had to take them out to sharpen them, otherwise they wouldn't be very useful when she was chopping down trees later.
Zhu Zi agreed with Lin Xue's words. Pumpkins weren't worth much, so he chopped up more than half of it without even peeling it and poured it into the pot.
When the children returned, each of them had a radiant smile on their face.
"Aunt Lin, my mom said thank you for the dumplings, and she even asked my older brother to come and help you with the chores!"
When Daqiang returned, he brought with him a boy who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. This boy was much stronger than everyone else present, and it was obvious that he often did physical labor.
"Thank you so much! Go to the kitchen and see if Zhu Zi's porridge is ready. Once it's ready, we need to get going as soon as we finish eating!"
Lin Xue nodded to the new boy. In her eyes, everyone, regardless of age, was a child.
Since we're here, everyone should eat something. We cooked such a big pot, it would be a waste if they didn't eat it.
"Aunt Lin, my dad had nothing to do at home, so when he heard you needed help, he came along!"
"Aunt Lin, Aunt Lin, my mom said she received such good food from your family and insisted on coming over to help with the chores!"
"Aunt Lin, my sister has nothing to do, so she came over to lend a hand!"
Lin Xue never expected that simply asking them to take back five dumplings would result in them bringing back the family's labor force.
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