Chapter 55
Gu Xinxin stopped his arm and said, "We agreed on this before. You agreed to my three conditions. Do you want me to help you recall them?"
The veins on Gu Daniu's forehead were about to jump. After a moment, he put down his hand and said, "Okay, okay, I promise I won't do anything. I want to see what you'll do when you have to pay me back! I won't help you pay back the money. I'm afraid I'll have no choice but to sell you off!"
Gu Xinxin ignored him and just urged him to drive faster.
Back in Xiaokaner Village, they went to the village chief's house first. Since their family wanted to open a workshop, they needed to inform the village chief first: "First, we want to rent a house, second, we need to hire people, and finally buy eggs and firewood."
The village chief pondered for a moment and said, "There are four empty houses in the village now. One belongs to Wang De's family. Their luck wasn't good. A few years ago, many people passed away one after another. Now there is no one left, so the house is empty."
That is to say, they are all dead.
Gu Daniu pulled Gu Xinxin and said, "No, this is unlucky."
Another family moved to town and wanted to sell their house, but they haven't been able to do so yet. Another is the village chief's old house, which is also empty because it's too old. And there's another family with only two daughters, both of whom married and moved to other villages. The elderly couple followed them, and since they're old and can't earn much money, they decided to live with their daughters and son-in-law.
Wang De’s family is the easiest to deal with, as long as you pay the money. As for the rest of the families, you need to discuss it with the other families.
Gu Xinxin was more interested in Wang De's house, but seeing Gu Daniu's strong resistance, she thought about it and gave up. If she herself was not superstitious, then the work would not be done if everyone working in the workshop was superstitious. The village chief's house was also not a good choice. It was too shabby, and she didn't want it to collapse in the middle of the work.
She also visited the other two houses. The one closest to his house was the one where his two daughters were married. The rent there was not expensive, only sixty copper coins a month.
With the village chief acting as a middleman, the matter was settled quickly. Gu Daniu went to get the key himself. There was nothing in the house that could be put away. After all, those who could take away had already taken away everything.
Gu Xinxin and Gu Daniu said, "It's definitely too late to order tables or something now. We can only borrow them temporarily and replace them when new ones are delivered. This room is used for kneading dough, the kitchen is used for frying, and the oven is placed under the eaves. We need to build a few more ovens. Dad, take the people and get them there now. I want to see at least six ovens by tomorrow."
As long as the oven is placed against the wall, it can save trouble and materials.
Then there is the matter of hiring people. Gu Xinxin wants six young girls and four middle-aged women. The quota is given to the village chief, who will be the one to make the appointments.
The job of buying eggs was assigned to Wang Daya, who would sit by the gatehouse collecting eggs every day. Gu Daniu was in charge of buying flour, lard, and honey. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to make some money.
However, she also warned Gu Daniu: "Don't always think about making money. This business is ours. If you ruin your reputation, you won't be able to make money in the future. Let alone two taels of silver a month, you won't even have two copper coins."
Gu Daniu had a blank expression on his face: "Am I that kind of person?"
Gu Xinxin changed the subject: "Especially the stepmother. No matter what she says, you should first think about whose business this is and who you are spending the money on."
The stepmother cried in the house, "I am an elder after all, but you don't let me get involved in anything at home. What's the point of me living?"
Gu Xinxin paused before saying, "Stepmother, just stay home and cook. We'll provide lunch for you. If you don't cook well, the whole village will talk about you. If you do, just like dad, I'll give you one or two taels of silver a month for pocket money."
The stepmother reacted: "Your father gave me two taels of silver!"
He said it was the same as Gu Daniu, but he only wanted to give half the silver. How is this the same?
"That can't be helped. He's the biological father, and you're the daughter." Gu Xinxin was very single and sneered, "Actually, I don't want to give you a penny. If you whine a few more times, I'll just ask an old lady to come home and cook, and I won't need you anymore."
Gu Chen shut up immediately. If that were the case, she would lose all her face.
It would be fine if she worked in the workshop, after all, she had work to do. But if she didn't have work, wouldn't she stay home and cook? Even if she was the village chief's wife, her family had some money, wouldn't she still cook and wash clothes at home as usual? She also had to work in the fields from time to time.
As for Gu Daniu's mother, how many people in the village are talking about her? Enjoying life before her age will shorten her lifespan. Does Gu Daniu's mother have the nerve to go out and about now? Isn't she cooped up at home all day? She has no shame.
Gu Chen didn't want to end up like Old Lady Gu, stuck at home with no one around. She might as well have let her die. Besides, she still had two children, Gu Wenshu and Gu Qiuhe. If she got a reputation as a lazy and gluttonous person, what would happen to their future marriages?
Gu Chen was feeling aggrieved and wanted to pounce on Gu Xinxin and scratch her face. She asked aggrievedly, "Then can't I go to the workshop to work?"
Twenty copper coins a day means six hundred in a month, which is better than cooking for free at home.
Gu Xinxin snorted and laughed: "Would I let you make money from me? Anyway, it's just a short job. If you want to do it, do it. If you don't want to, forget it. I have something to do in the workshop and I have to rush over."
The workshop must start work today. The contract stipulates a three-day operation. The first day we went to the county town, and when we returned, we rented a yard and hired people to repair the oven. Today is the second day, so we must first test how much we can produce in a day. If it is not enough, we must find a solution quickly.
The aunties were in charge of kneading the dough. After all, the little girls were not strong enough, so the four aunties were responsible for kneading the dough. Two little girls were responsible for making the dough twists, two were responsible for frying them, and the other two were responsible for running back and forth, sending the dough twists made in the dough twists to the kitchen, sending the dough twists fried in the kitchen to the oven, and taking out the dough twists from the oven when the time was up.
Gu Xinxin was responsible for applying egg yolk and honey, and she was also responsible for the oven. After all, only she could control the time well.
The first day was a bit chaotic. Even though the girls were used to doing housework, they were nervous as this was their first time making money. Those who couldn't control the time well for frying needed Gu Xinxin's instructions and reminders again and again - after all, things were precious and there wasn't much to waste on them.
The finished products were put out to dry. Gu Daniu was not only responsible for purchasing but also for delivering the goods. He would count them on the side, but he would forget when counting again and again, and he would have to start all over again.
All the people working had to wear hats and cover their hair so that it was not exposed. Their hands had to be clean. There was a bucket of water at the door of the house, and anyone who went out and came back in had to wash their hands.
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