Chapter 70
Gu Daniu went to deliver Li Zhangfang in the afternoon. Gu Xinxin called Gu Qiuhe and asked, "Is there anyone in our village who can grind tofu?"
Gu Qiuhe shook his head. There was no such thing in their village, but there was one in the next village.
Gu Xinxin thought it was too far to go, and waited for Gu Daniu to come back, saying that she wanted to go to the millstone. Gu Daniu didn't want to run anymore and didn't move. Gu Xinxin simply went to the village to hire someone to drive an ox cart. When passing by Gu's house, she deliberately rolled her eyes at Gu Daniu: Without you, the butcher, would I, Gu Xinxin, still have to eat hairy pigs?
She went to the next village to find a stonemason and asked him to make her a small stone mill so that she could grind soy milk and make tofu at home.
Such a small stone mill is not cheap, as the materials are also provided by the stonemason, so the price is half a tael of silver.
Gu Xinxin was now wealthy and powerful, and did not take the half tael of silver seriously. She agreed with the other party to take it in three days, and then returned to the Gu family.
Mrs. Gu Chen was talking to Gu Daniu: "They are very obedient. If you don't let the Chen family sell fried dough twists, they won't sell them. But as a family, we have to find a way to make money, right? Anyway, we have a workshop at home. If Xinxin has concerns and doesn't allow them to enter the kitchen, then let them work outside. Whether it's harvesting wheat or doing something else, just ask them brothers for the hard work."
Only then did Gu Xinxin discover that there were two more teenagers in the family. They looked about seventeen or eighteen years old and were obviously brothers. They looked somewhat similar.
From what Gu Chen said, he is her nephew from her mother's side?
Gu Xinxin asked, "Where are you going to let them live after you bring them back?"
"How about they live in the workshop?" Gu Chen hesitated for a moment, but didn't dare to ask them to live in the Gu family's house. At Gu Xinxin's age, letting her nephew from her mother's side live in the Gu family's house would ruin Gu Xinxin's reputation.
There is a room next to the workshop. At night, you can just pack up your work and pull up a wooden board to sleep.
The two brothers were also secretly looking at Gu Xinxin - their aunt went back today, but she made it very clear that if the girl wanted to marry anyone, even Gu Daniu could not stop her.
Gu Xinxin was good-looking and could make money. Even if she had a bad temper... in a country village, it wasn't a big deal for a girl to be a bit aggressive. It wasn't like she was from a wealthy family, so she was afraid of being laughed at.
Thinking about what their aunt had told them, the two brothers rushed to help: "Cousin Gu, if there is any heavy work at home in the future, just call us."
"Yes, I'm very strong. You can call me when you go out and I'll escort you."
"Cousin Gu, do you like to eat wild fruits? There is a wild jujube tree on the back mountain. When you are free, I will take you to the mountain to play."
Gu Xinxin glanced at Gu Daniu sideways - you are such an unqualified father. Even people who don't hunt know that there are wild jujube trees in the back mountain. As a father, you have never brought back a single jujube for your daughter.
Gu Daniu said in a deep voice: "Okay, Xinxin can't go up the mountain, you can go and play by yourselves."
He asked Gu Xinxin: "Does the workshop need more people?"
"No." Gu Xinxin said bluntly, and Gu Chen's expression became a little stiff: "Xinxin..."
Gu Xinxin waved her hand: "I don't bear a grudge against you, I just really don't want them. The workshop has been open for a few days, and the work is just right. Besides, if we need them, how will we explain to the village chief? Let them go home first."
Gu Chen secretly gritted her teeth and came over to pull Gu Xinxin's sleeve after a while, but Gu Xinxin was quick and dodged it: "Stepmother, you really don't want people. I agreed with the village chief from the beginning that the number of people needed for our workshop must be approved by the village chief. You might as well ask the village chief instead of asking me about this."
Gu Chen didn't believe it. Gu Xinxin was the real owner of the workshop. If she asked the village chief to place two people in the workshop, could she object?
She was about to say something when Gu Xinxin clapped her hands. "If they want to stay, that's fine. I plan to buy a few acres of land. Don't we need farmers at home? Let them stay and farm. One day..."
She didn't know the market conditions. The prices for short-term and long-term workers were different, and the prices for tenants and wage earners were also different.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "Thirty copper coins a day, and there's work every day. If you're willing, stay. If you're not, forget it."
Without waiting for Gu Chen to say anything, she added, "Of course, if you stay, you have to work hard. I won't tolerate any loss. If you don't do your job well, or if you slack off, I won't give you a penny, let alone stay."
Gu Chen opened her mouth, paused for a moment, and nodded: "Okay, then stay. You can stay at the workshop at night and help look after it."
In fact, there is no need to look at the workshop, because many people in the village work in the workshop. Once something happens in the workshop, many people may be out of work, so most people are still reluctant to do this thing that harms others and does not benefit themselves.
Gu Xinxin told Gu Daniu about going to the county town: "The village chief has agreed that I can grow sugarcane. I have to buy sugarcane seeds before the autumn harvest. I also need to breed them."
Since I can't buy fresh sugarcane sections and can't use sugarcane to grow seedlings, I can only try using seeds. Well, the seedling success rate of sugarcane seeds is actually not very high.
Gu Daniu couldn't help but say, "Having a workshop is great, but you want to grow sugarcane, which is hard to sell and difficult to grow. We don't have many people with experience here. Don't waste money and effort, and end up losing money..."
He just couldn't understand it. This workshop was making a lot of money now, and Gu Xinxin was a famous girl in the area. Of course, a good reputation and the ability to make money were the biggest advantages in the countryside. Why couldn't she just sit back and enjoy it, but had to come up with some tricks to make a living?
Gu Xinxin didn't say anything. She and Gu Daniu couldn't explain it clearly. You couldn't say she had paranoid delusions and always wanted to make more money to protect herself? Of course, being too rich wasn't good either, but having no money was even worse.
If she was too rich, she might become Shen Wansan, but if she had no money... there were many examples of this. As the saying goes, "A penny can make a hero fall." So, compared to the other two, she would rather be Shen Wansan.
She pursed her lips before saying, "We're just getting started now. If Xiang Rong passes the imperial examination, that's when we'll have to spend money. Even if we throw in tens of thousands, we might not even see a splash. Besides, I promised you that if you agree to my three conditions, I'll let you be an old man in the future. What kind of old man are you if you don't have money? Do you think you're living like an old man now?"
Gu Daniu was puzzled: "What kind of life does the old man live?"
"He wears silk and satin, and eats chicken, duck, fish and meat three times a day. He doesn't work all day long, and he is always served by servants." Gu Xinxin said casually.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
