Tie Zhu looked at the paper mulberry bark in the yard and shook his head, saying:
"There are still many in the yard right now, and quite a few have been soaked in the pond in front, but it's still not enough. If we collect more, we can soak more in the pond and keep them for later use."
Jiang Yuwei nodded:
“You’re right. I’ll go find the village headman in a bit and ask him to help me contact the village heads of nearby villages so they can spread the word that we buy paper mulberry bark and wood ash here. That way, more people will come to sell.”
Tie Zhu looked at the sky above and frowned, saying:
“Sister Yuwei, it looks like it’s going to rain these next few days. I’m thinking that if it rains, we won’t be able to work, which is a huge waste of time. Why don’t we build a long shed in this yard? That way, we can boil paper pulp in the shed on rainy days, and it won’t stop us from drying the bouquets and paper.”
Jiang Yuwei had already thought of this, and knew that the shed needed to be built as soon as possible, otherwise, if the order volume increased in the future, the paper production might not be able to keep up and the construction schedule would be delayed.
Jiang Yuwei nodded and smiled:
"Alright, Tiezhu is thinking so far ahead for me. Anyway, the paper we ordered has all been made, and there probably won't be any new work for a while. You can work hard for one more day today, and tomorrow you can go up the mountain together to cut bamboo and set up the shed as soon as possible."
Tie Zhu, feeling a little embarrassed by Jiang Yuwei's praise, lowered his head, scratched his head, and continued:
“I was thinking that since the sun is shining brightly now and our paper mill needs a lot of firewood, we can go up the mountain to cut more firewood, bring it to the backyard to dry, and store it in the shed. We can use it when it rains or the weather gets bad. If we can save up more firewood in the spring and summer, we won’t be able to stop making paper in the winter.”
Jiang Yuwei nodded with great satisfaction:
"Alright, I'll entrust these matters to you from now on. You'll be in charge of overall planning. As the number of people in our paper mill increases, you must manage these trivial matters well. I hereby announce that from today onwards, you are Manager Ning of our paper mill."
Upon hearing this, Tie Dan blushed with excitement and repeatedly bowed to Jiang Yuwei.
"Thank you, Sister Yuwei, I will do my best!"
Ning Wu heard this and ran over, patted Tie Zhu on the shoulder, and laughed:
"Well done, Tiezhu! You've become the manager without a word. Congratulations, Manager Ning!"
Ning Daya also covered her mouth and laughed from the side:
"Haha, Manager Ning, from now on we'll all follow your orders."
Tie Zhu blushed even more after Ning Daya said that, and ran off to look at the pot with his head down.
Jiang Yuwei looked at the three of them and shook her head helplessly with a smile:
"Work hard, and when our paper mill grows bigger and stronger, you will all become managers."
As soon as Jiang Yuwei finished speaking, she felt that this scene was familiar. Wasn't she just like the leader who made empty promises? No, I never make empty promises. If I say something, I will definitely deliver.
Seeing that there was nothing for her to do in the backyard, Jiang Yuwei ran to the front yard to check on how Ning Huaizhi's rubbings were being carved.
As soon as Jiang Yuwei arrived in the front yard, she saw Ning Wan sitting obediently on a small stool, watching Ning Huaizhi carve. When Ning Huaizhi looked up and saw Jiang Yuwei, he quickly handed the carving board to her and smiled expectantly:
"Yuwei, take a look, is my carving correct? I'll finish smoothing out the rough edges soon."
Jiang Yuwei took the board, looked at it, and nodded repeatedly:
"Yes, yes, this is exactly what I want. Wait for me to go find you a few more boards so you can carve a few more."
Upon hearing this, Ning Huaizhi exchanged a helpless glance with Ning Wan, who was sitting next to him.
"Wan'er, it's not that your father doesn't want to carve a wooden figure for you. I'll carve one for you after I finish what your mother asked me to do. Don't worry."
Hearing this, Ning Wan could only nod sadly.
Seeing this, Ning Huaizhi had no choice but to hurry up and finish the work. The carving knife in his hand was almost smoking.
Jiang Yuwei took a few pieces of gray tofu and some preserved eggs and went to the village head's house:
"Is the village head home?"
Upon hearing that it was Jiang Yuwei's business, Ning Qiu hurriedly came out to greet her.
"Sister Yuwei, what brings you here today?"
Jiang Yuwei handed the basket to Ning Qiu with a smile:
"I've come today because I want Torri to help me with something."
When Ning Qiu saw that Jiang Yuwei had brought things again, she hurriedly and embarrassedly pushed the basket back to Jiang Yuwei:
"Sister Yuwei, you can come whenever you want, but why do you always bring gifts? I'm not going to visit you anymore. Do you expect me to bring a present every time I visit?"
Jiang Yuwei smiled and pushed the basket into Ning Qiu's hands:
“I didn’t say that. Besides, you’re always busy at home, and I never see you come to our yard to play. Now that Daya has moved to our yard, you should go and visit more often. This isn’t anything expensive; it’s just something for your parents to try. Don’t refuse.”
As the two were talking, the steward came out of the house:
"Yuwei, you're here."
Jiang Yuwei smiled and nodded at Li Zheng:
"Village head, I've come today to ask you for a favor. Are you acquainted with the village heads of the surrounding villages?"
The village head pondered for a moment and nodded, saying:
"We wouldn't call ourselves close acquaintances, we just know each other. What's wrong?"
Jiang Yuwei stepped forward and slowly spoke:
“I was thinking that we’ve almost finished harvesting the paper mulberry bark in our village, so I came to ask the village head to help me ask around in the nearby villages. If any of them are willing to go up the mountain to peel paper mulberry bark, they can bring it to our courtyard to sell. We also collect the wood ash that everyone has been saving for years. Now that the paper mill is slowly taking off, I’ve hired three or four people. We can’t just have a bunch of people waiting around when we can’t collect the materials.”
The village head nodded and said:
"Alright, this is a good thing. I'll go to each village and talk to their village heads about this. They'll definitely be happy for the villagers to have an extra source of income!"
Seeing that the matter was resolved, Jiang Yuwei bid farewell to the village head and headed towards the courtyard.
As Jiang Yuwei approached the courtyard, she suddenly heard a loud thud—the sound of something heavy falling to the ground. Curious about what had fallen, she wondered if it was a wild boar that had stumbled. Thinking this, she hurried to the nearby woods to check.
As Jiang Yuwei approached, she realized that someone had fallen. A wave of disappointment washed over her. Looking up at the hillside, she was suddenly shocked. Falling from such a height, he must be dead, right? What to do? Should she find a place to bury him? Or just leave him here? Leaving him here seemed a bit unfair. Should she go back and ask the village head for help?
Just as Jiang Yuwei was about to leave, she heard the person make a faint sound:
"Help, help me..."
Jiang Yuwei rushed forward to check his breathing. Hmm, he doesn't seem to be quite dead yet. Should she take pity on him and save him?
After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Yuwei helped the person up and walked towards her own courtyard.
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