As Cheng Yue and Chen Lin drove the oxcart through the gate, the Chen sisters, Chen Tong and Chen Ning, rushed over like little butterflies, "Mother, eldest brother, why are you only coming back now?"
Cheng Yue jumped out of the car, pinched her two daughters' cheeks, and was about to speak when Chen Lin interrupted her excitedly, "After finishing her work at the shop, Mom went to Wangshan Village to buy chickens and ducks. She bought five hundred of them!"
Chen Lin opened one palm and held it up to the two sisters. Cheng Yue looked over and thought to herself, "This kid, he's even answering questions first now!"
Chen Ning covered her mouth, her eyes wide with surprise, and exclaimed, "Mom, you really bought five hundred chickens and ducks?"
Cheng Yue nodded and smiled, "Yes, then Xiao Ning won't have to worry about eating eggs and meat anymore."
Chen Tong immediately realized that Cheng Yue wasn't raising so many chickens and ducks for her own consumption, since she already had seventeen chickens, which was more than enough for the whole family.
If the family is going to open a braised food shop, the mother must be raising chickens and ducks for the business. But how to raise so many chickens and ducks, and where to raise them?
Chen An sat in the courtyard, holding a wooden stick, seemingly doing something. When Cheng Yue came in, he turned his hands behind his back and smiled gently.
He had also thought of the same problem that Chen Tong had considered, and immediately shared his own thoughts.
“Ah Yue, we have plenty of space around our house, raising five hundred chickens and ducks shouldn’t be a problem. Why don’t we ask the villagers to help us build a coop in the next couple of days?”
Cheng Yue found a stool and sat down, smiling, "That's what I was thinking too. The shop said they wouldn't start construction for another three days, and the opening date is still uncertain. I don't know how long it will take. I have some free time these days, so I'll get this settled first."
To be honest, she really liked this about Chen An; he could immediately offer a solution to any problem instead of asking a bunch of rambling questions.
Chen An said softly, "The men in the village are all free right now, so if we call a few more, it'll be done in a couple of days. A-Yue, have you decided who to ask to raise the chickens and ducks?"
There are too many chickens and ducks for a family to raise on their own. The only possibility is to hire someone. Ah Yue must have thought this through before deciding to raise them.
Thinking of this, Chen Tong frowned and said listlessly, "It's all our fault for being too young to raise, otherwise we wouldn't have needed to find someone."
Finding someone requires paying wages. My mother works hard to earn money, and now she has to spend it all. It breaks my heart just thinking about it.
Cheng Yue teased, "What a little money-grubber!"
Despite saying that, she knew the children were worried about the money, so she could only say, "It's just that you're older, and even if we could raise you, we wouldn't let you."
Our family business is growing bigger and bigger, and there will be more and more things to do. If we try to do everything ourselves, we will only be able to focus on the beginning but not the end, and we will end up not doing anything well.
Hiring someone is like reducing our burden. Although it costs money, it also saves us more time.
With more time, you can do more important things and earn more money, understand?
To achieve great things with minimal investment, one must learn to delegate. Unimportant tasks should be handled by others, while one remains the leader at the helm.
I understand the道理 (principles/reasons), but unfortunately, I had nothing in my past life, and I'm still a corporate slave until the end, a corporate slave who has been "optimized".
Now that she has an extra life, she'll strive to become a capitalist!
Chen Ning looked confused, as if she understood but not quite, while Chen Tong, being a little older and more clever, immediately understood.
"Mother, I understand. You mean we shouldn't waste too much time on trivial matters and should focus on more important things, right?"
Cheng Yue nodded. It's good that the child is smart; he understands things very quickly.
Chen Ning seemed to understand as well, and asked, "Mother, who are you looking for?"
Cheng Yue watched Chen Lin tie up the ox and walk over, then smiled and said, "Go find your Sister Cui Cui and Aunt Xiang Xiu. Your eldest brother said he knows Cui Cui's abilities and will take good care of her!"
Chen An shook his head and chuckled. He had never seen a mother tease her son so often; she was just like a little kid.
Chen Tong and Chen Ning also looked at Chen Lin and laughed gossipily, "No wonder Big Brother was so happy just now, it turns out Sister Cui Cui is coming!"
Chen Lin's face flushed red instantly, but he pretended to be serious and said, "Sisters, don't talk nonsense. Cui Cui is a girl. If this gets out, it will ruin her reputation."
Everyone used to say he was simple-minded and called him a fool, but only Cui Cui didn't. Cui Cui said he was kind and honest, which made him happy, but he didn't dare to get too close. He knew that girls valued their reputation the most.
Chen Tong and Chen Ning immediately straightened up and assured each other, "Big brother, we know, we won't go around saying anything."
They were all girls, so they naturally knew the importance of this matter.
If they weren't the only family living on the mountain, without any neighbors, they wouldn't have said anything even in their own home.
After receiving the sisters' assurances, Chen Lin looked at Cheng Yue, who also repeatedly assured him, "This was Mother's fault. I won't say it again. To express my apology, I'll go cook!"
Chen Lin is eating well now and is as strong as a calf. Although he is not as big as Cheng Yang, he has inherited Chen An's genes for well-developed limbs.
Standing there with a stern face, he really does look a bit intimidating.
As soon as Cheng Yue finished speaking, she ran to the kitchen. Anyone who didn't know better would think she was in a real predicament.
Chen An gave Chen Lin a cold look and said, "Then why are you looking at your mother? If you have nothing to do, go and cut some grass for the cow."
He's already protecting her before he's even married; what will happen in the future?
Chen Lin scratched the back of his head, looking puzzled. He hadn't really looked at his mother much, so why was his father angry?
Never mind, he'll just go mow the lawn!
.
The next day, after breakfast, Cheng Yue took a small basket of eggs to the village head's house.
Chen An couldn't personally handle the task of gathering the men in the village to build chicken and duck coops; it was simply not appropriate for her to do so.
She wasn't familiar with many of the families in the village, so she couldn't just rashly go to their homes.
Madam Feng was feeding the chickens when she saw Cheng Yue come in. She quickly wiped her hands on her clothes and said warmly, "Cheng Yue, come in quickly!"
It's not Chen An's wife, it's Cheng Yue's girl. Does she have a name now?
Cheng Yue put the eggs on the table and said with a smile, "Aunt Feng, I've come to talk to Uncle Village Head about something."
Madam Feng immediately noticed the basket of white eggs and quickly said, "Oh dear, what's this for? Just let me know if you need anything. Why bring things every time you come? Take these back for the children to eat."
If a family has eggs, they'd rather save them to exchange for salt or grain in town. But Cheng Yue took so many at once—it's quite alarming.
"Aunt Feng, please accept this. I came to ask Uncle Village Head for help, but isn't he home?"
Cheng Yue didn't dwell on the matter of the eggs with Feng Shi. Anyway, they were all taken from the space, and she could replenish as much as she took. She couldn't possibly eat them all.
Madam Feng sighed, "Your uncle is never idle. This is because that scoundrel in the village beat up his wife, and now she's coming to her parents' house to make a scene, insisting that your uncle stand up for her."
He's the one who handles everything in the village, from gossip to family matters. You can sit and wait a bit; he'll probably be back soon.
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