Since she had taken on the business from Guilin Residence, Ji Xinhe’s small workshop naturally needed to start preparing.
Just yesterday, she had specifically gone to ask Hong Qin and Zheng Xiaocui about this, and both of them were willing to help, along with two other aunts from the village.
That should be enough people.
When Ji Xinhe returned this time, she saw that everyone had already arrived, all sitting on the kangtou in the room drinking tea.
"Xin He! You’re finally back. How are we going to set up this workshop? I don’t have any idea, so I’ve been waiting for you to decide." Ji Dong said anxiously when he saw her return.
Ji Xinhe quickly put the basin in her hand aside and laughed, "You all came so early? I thought I would have to wait until the afternoon. Since everyone is so eager, let’s start working early."
Hong Qin asked hurriedly, "What exactly are we going to do?"
Ji Xinhe also climbed onto the kang and explained to them, "It’s like this: our Ji family is now in the pickle business, as you all know. We used to be able to handle the workload ourselves, but we just got a big order yesterday. We have to supply Guilin Residence with thirty pounds of fermented tofu and sour bamboo shoots every day. We can’t keep up with that, so we need everyone’s help."
Aunt Gui Xiang, who was Tian Laosi’s wife and in her twenties, was surprised, "Guilin Residence is also buying your family’s pickles? That’s amazing; you must be making a lot of money!"
Hong Qin laughed, "That’s right! Xin He is making a lot of money now. Who else in the village serves tea to their guests? Today I’m lucky to have a taste of tea for the first time thanks to her!"
"Wow, that’s incredible! Your family is going to make a fortune! Alright, I will help you. Hopefully, when your family gets rich, I can get a share of the wealth too," Aunt Gui Xiang laughed.
Ji Xinhe shook her head with a smile, "Thank you, Aunt Gui Xiang, for your help, but I definitely can’t let you work for free. I need to pay wages. Let’s calculate it by the day; one day’s work is sixty cash. Now it’s winter, and there’s not much to do in the fields, so it’s not bad to earn some extra money, right?"
Upon hearing this, not only the two aunts were stunned, but Hong Qin and Zheng Xiaocui also widened their eyes, "Sixty cash!? Xin He, isn’t that too much!"
Usually, people would only earn fifty cash a day for doing odd jobs. Making pickles wasn’t as strenuous, so why would they need so much money for this?
Xin He laughed, "Although we’re all villagers, we still need to be clear about the division of labor. I’m thinking about long-term cooperation, after all. I’ll pay more, and everyone will be more dedicated to the job. It’s a win-win situation."
Zheng Xiaocui hesitated before saying, "I... I originally thought about voluntarily helping out. I have nothing to do at home anyway, so I don’t need a wage."
Ji Xinhe hadn’t mentioned the wage issue when she had talked to them before. They had assumed they were just helping out, so who would have thought there would be such a generous income?
Ji Xinhe grinned, "Let’s just settle this!"
In fact, Ji Xinhe had deliberately not mentioned the wage issue earlier. For the villagers, it was a good opportunity to make money, and everyone would want to participate. It would be troublesome to select people and offend others. Therefore, she purposely did not mention the wage. Those who were willing to help must have goodwill towards Ji family.
Such people deserve the first batch of rewards.
"Since everyone is here, let’s start the work. I’ve already bought all the materials." Ji Xinhe immediately began assigning tasks.
"Alright, let’s get started!"
Everyone began to work.
There weren’t too many people, and one room was just enough. Ji Dong had specifically built a stove in the room a few days ago. When it was lit, the whole room was toasty warm. Everyone busied themselves with their tasks, chatting as time passed quickly. The key was that the work was quite relaxed.
Zheng Xiaocui was in charge of cleaning the bamboo shoots that Ji Dong had dug up from the mountain. Her hands were red from the cold water, but she didn’t complain at all. She was used to the work and kept busy.
Ji Xinhe couldn’t stand it and poked Ji Dong, who was silently adding firewood to the stove, "Brother, why don’t you boil a large pot of hot water quickly? Xiao Cui’s hands are going to be ruined by this cold weather."
Xiao Cui, hearing this, was startled and quickly waved her hands, "No, no, there’s no need! I’m used to washing clothes and dishes with cold water. It’s not a problem."
Ji Dong was straightforward and immediately stood up, "I’ll go to the kitchen and heat up the water now."
Xiao Cui quickly said, "Really, there’s no need. I’m used to it. It’s a waste of firewood to heat up the water purposely."
Ji Dong smiled honestly, "It’s okay. I go to the mountain to chop firewood every day. If there’s not enough firewood at home, I’ll go chop more. A girl’s hands should be taken care of."
After saying this, he went out to the kitchen to boil hot water.
Xiao Cui quickly lowered her head and blushed, afraid that someone might see her.
Ji Xinhe secretly watched and thought it was funny. Her big brother was just too silly. Without her help, who knew when he would have found a wife?
"Xiao Cui, come and make fermented tofu with me first. You can wash the bamboo shoots after my brother has boiled the hot water. Otherwise, his efforts will all be in vain, right?" Ji Xinhe’s words sounded innocent, but to someone with ulterior motives, they had a different meaning.
Ji Dong’s efforts?
Zheng Xiaocui’s face turned even redder.
——
News of Ji family’s small workshop spread quickly throughout the village. When everyone heard about the high wages, they flocked to her home one after another.
"Hey, Xin He, does your family need more people? Am I qualified?"
"Xin He, Xin He, what about me? I also want to work. I’m strong, and I can do any task well!"
"I want to come too, I want to come too!" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
Ji Xinhe could only awkwardly smile, "We don’t need any more people for now. If our business grows bigger someday, we will definitely ask for your help."
These words effectively held everyone off without offending them. After all, they really didn’t need more people.
The Ji family’s courtyard was bustling with people inquiring about the workshop job.
Lady Ding was furious when she saw this. She threw the water in her basin, scolding, "What’s there to be so proud of?! It’s just a small pickle business. They’re attracting attention as if they want the whole world to know. Instead of behaving like a young lady and staying at home, she shows her face in public without any shame!"
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