In the main room, Li Hua's mother, daughter-in-law and sister-in-law worked hard for an entire afternoon to prepare a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner. His brother had just returned, and the six children from both families gathered around the table, drooling and eagerly waiting for him to return.

When they saw Li Hua coming into the yard, the children cheered, it was time to eat!

Li Hua did not go into the house. Instead, he drew water from the well, took off his torn cotton jacket, and began to scrub his armpits with a grunting sound.

Liang quickly put down the work at hand, took a pot of hot water and went out. She whispered a few words to him again, and Li Hua nodded and gave her a look that said don't worry.

~~

After Li Hua washed up and went back to the house to change his clothes, the family of ten or so sat around the big round table and happily enjoyed the table full of chicken, duck, fish and meat.

Li Hua's elder brother also got a bottle of Erqu from the town, and the two brothers started drinking.

"I never expected that this year's New Year would be like this." His elder brother Li Qiang sighed, "During the plum rains, I thought it would be like every year, and I wouldn't be able to eat."

"Yes." The old lady also drank two cups of wine, and wiped her tears when she heard this and said, "It would be great if your father and your youngest son were still alive."

Sister-in-law Li Hua began to cry.

"Mom, it's New Year's Day." Li Hua also wiped his eyes and said, "Let's talk about something happy."

"Yes." Li Qiang patted his mother's hand and said with a smile: "Before the 15th, the third phase of the levee will be completed. Even if there is a peach blossom flood next year, we don't have to worry. We can plant the land in peace and stability, and our lives will get better and better."

"Yes, mother. Next year I will go to Pudong to repair the seawall and I can be the team leader." Li Hua gnawed on the chicken feet with relish.

"Okay, mom will enjoy the happiness with you." The old mother finally burst into laughter.

Li Qiang was a little unhappy and said, "Brother, don't rush out. Let's plant the barren land at home first."

"With just those two mu and three fen of land, our whole family can't even afford food and drink." Li Hua persuaded him instead, "Brother, you should come with me to Pudong. Kunkai Company is recruiting people, and you have good skills, so you will definitely be able to sign a formal contract."

"Who will farm the land at home? Are we going to rely on two women?" Li Qiang said in a muffled voice.

"I think we should stop farming. Isn't there a village statistics to show who is willing to rent land to Kunkaisi?" Li Hua said, "If we rent out the land, we won't have to worry about food for the whole family every year. Then we can work hard and earn 40 to 50 taels of silver a year. Isn't it much better than farming?"

He lowered his voice and said, "I heard from the manager the other day that a job grade system will be implemented after the new year. As long as you are a regular employee, your salary will increase every year in the future."

"Yeah?" Li Qiang was not interested. He just wanted to farm. "But who knows how many years Kunkai can last? The boss is stupid. He raises your salary every year. Can't he hire someone else?"

"We have the skills, so what are we afraid of?" Li Hua raised his eyebrows and said, "I don't think Kunkaisi will fail!"

"Anyway, it's better to farm and feel at ease." Li Qiang still muttered.

"If we don't farm anymore, what are my two sisters-in-law doing at home all day?" Li Hua's sister-in-law also forced a smile.

"I heard that Jiangnan Company will set up a textile factory in the county next year. Sister-in-law and your sister-in-law can go together so that they can keep each other company." After Li Hua finished speaking, he let out a sigh of relief, and finally completed the task assigned by his wife.

Liang lowered her head nervously. Once the third phase was completed, Kunkaisi would not need so many people to work. Most of the laborers would go back to their families, and there would be no need for women and the elderly to row boats and transport stones.

I heard that when the county has construction work, there will be a special transportation company that will use a 400-ton ship to transport the stones.

However, just because Kunkai Company doesn't need so many people doesn't mean other companies don't need them either. How could Mr. Zhao let these valuable laborers who have been managed for more than half a year, have good obedience, coordination and discipline, and recognize Jiangnan Group from the bottom of their hearts, go away in vain?

So under his instruction, the companies under the group went to the county to recruit workers. No matter if you can weave silk, spin cotton, jacquard, dye cloth, sew clothes, do carpentry, do masonry, or even dig wells... as long as you have a skill, you can find a job in Jiangnan Group.

Liang was very clever and skilled at spinning cotton and weaving silk. She had inquired about the situation and learned that the textile factory paid workers by piecework, regardless of gender, and she was confident that she could earn more than the men.

Her sister-in-law was also somewhat tempted. Which woman in Jiangnan didn't know how to spin and weave? And the key point was that she could keep the wages herself, but the harvest from the land belonged to everyone.

Seeing that her sister-in-law was somewhat interested, Liang also whispered to her, "I heard that if you work well, you can be promoted to a regular employee. After you are promoted, someone will take care of you if you get sick or have a disaster. Where can you find such a good thing? When the position is full, you can't get in even if you try your best."

When Li Qiang's wife Huang heard this, her eyes lit up and she whispered to Li Qiang, "Master, why don't you think about it again?"

Seeing that his wife was also pulled over by the second son and his wife, Li Qiang stopped talking and started drinking alone.

Seeing her son's depressed look, the mother took the wine pot and said, "Don't drink anymore. Don't you have to go to work tomorrow? What are you thinking? Can't you just say it directly?"

"Mom..." Li Qiang scratched his head and said, "I still can't bear to give up our land. Who knows if I can get it back after renting it out? This is the family business passed down by my father."

"So many families have rented their land to Kunkaisi, not just ours. What should we be afraid of?" Li Hua said to his blockheaded brother with a smile, "Besides, let's save some money while we are young. When we are old and can't work anymore, we can buy a hundred or eighty acres of land from them. We don't have to farm it ourselves, but hire long-term tenants. We brothers can just sit under the shade of the tree, drink some wine and watch."

"Oh, then won't we become landlords?" For tenant farmers, the biggest dream is to have their own land. For small farmers with a few acres of land, becoming a landlord is the biggest dream.

Li Qiang's dream of becoming a landlord was ignited by his brother, and he counted on his fingers, "If the four of us go out to work, we can buy four mu of irrigated land with 80 taels of silver a year. In five years, we can buy 20 mu, and in ten years, we can buy 40 mu. If we work for 20 years, we can become small landlords."

As he spoke, he drooled and said, "Then we can buy a foot massage maid to serve us..."

Li Hua didn't dare to talk nonsense with his brother, otherwise he would not be able to sleep on the bed tonight. So he smiled and poured him a glass of wine and said, "So, brother, are you going to Pudong?"

"Go!" Li Qiang picked up his glass, clinked it with his brother's, and said, "For the sake of being a landlord, I'll risk it all!"

Both Huang and Liang smiled happily.

"That's great." Miwa also jumped up and cheered, "Let's move to the county town!"

My younger brothers and sisters also started shouting, and the New Year atmosphere finally returned to the main room.

ps. Second update.