After finishing their work, Mo Qianshang was covered in sweat despite the autumn weather. She had been feeling a bit feverish lately. For dinner, they ate reheated braised pork, and all three of them felt a bit greasy when they left the table.
Mo Qianshang brought a lot of herbal tea and also invited Qin Baiyi and Master Wen.
"Try them, these two pots have fruity and floral aromas, you can choose according to your own taste."
To ensure the best results, she didn't add sugar directly, which preserved the original flavor of the tea to a great extent, but you could gradually experience a sweet aftertaste as you drank it.
Just when he was feeling a bit greasy from the food, this bowl of herbal tea helped to cool him down and cut through the grease. Even the usually restrained Qin Baiyi couldn't resist having an extra cup.
This herbal tea is refreshing, unlike ordinary tea which only tastes bitter after cooling. It must have taken a lot of effort to make it.
If you chill a pot of it on the hottest day, it will definitely be very refreshing.
Thinking about it this way, Mo Qianshang is practically a book that can never be fully read or turned over.
Unexpectedly, as night fell, people came to visit.
The woman in front of her was from Fushou Village. When she fled the famine, she borrowed money from several families, but none of them came back to pay it back. Mo Qianshang was still a little surprised that this Zhao Niangzi and her husband Zhao Dahu came to her door.
Zhao Dahu looked a little embarrassed: "Mo Niangzi, when the people from our village came to cause trouble here before, I was out, and my wife hid at home and didn't dare to come up to inform you. We've been feeling really bad about this."
Mo Qianchang was taken aback, not expecting them to say this: "It's alright, everyone is just trying to protect themselves. You were going to continue living in the village anyway, so there's no need for that."
Zhao Dahu waved his hand: "We dare not come during the day. It's just that I saved some money while working in the county town. It was the money you lent us back then. We can't pay it all back right away. Please keep this for now!"
Now, Mo Qianshang's family lives in such a large courtyard. The villagers say that she is still mining here. Just by looking at it from the outside, you can tell that this is not a courtyard that ordinary people can live in. This Lady Mo is a person who is going to do great things. Lady Zhao thinks that she can be polite to her, but they can't take everything seriously.
She handed over the bag and nudged Zhao Dahu, saying, "Miss, please count it and see if it's enough for two ounces!"
Mo Qianshang checked briefly and found it to be mostly correct. However, after carefully observing the two of them, she felt that the couple seemed very tired, their complexions were not good, and their eyes and brows showed signs of exhaustion.
"Have you guys found work?"
Zhao Niangzi was surprised that Ling Xifeng would suddenly ask a question, so she immediately perked up: "I guess so. Before, when the city was settling refugees, Old Song was still quite healthy, so he went to do some manual labor. I usually work in the laundry room and help out at the banquets every now and then."
Upon hearing this, Mo Qianshang knew that this was not a long-term job. Moreover, she hadn't realized that Zhao Dahu was so physically strong. It seemed that the two of them prioritized feeding their children, and they would probably repay the money as soon as possible.
She didn't react further, and Zhao Niangzi didn't care. In her impression, this Mo Niangzi was naturally their family's benefactor and a kind person, but the noble air and arrogance that the poor people didn't have was also real.
“Dahu and I have been away from home the whole time, leaving the children at home. We couldn’t help with the house accident that happened to my wife, and we feel really bad about it…”
They all felt a bit scared after what happened that day. The villagers didn't know what possessed them, but they were obsessed with the money in the other person's hands.
Having finally escaped famine and arrived here, why don't they know how to make the most of their lives?
However, since they were a family, they couldn't fight against the powerful, so they could only maintain their relationship in secret.
"I have a job for you, do you want to do it?"
Mo Qianshang suddenly spoke, and Zhao Niangzi almost thought she had misheard. Seeing that her benefactor was looking at her, she was nudged by Zhao Dahu before she realized what was going on: "What kind of work? Miss, just tell me. I can do any dirty or hard work!"
Mo Qianshang smiled: "It's not really dirty work. It is tiring, but it's just some chores and cooking. It's twenty coins a day. Since you're not a servant of mine, I won't take care of your food and lodging."
Zhao Niangzi was stunned when she heard that it was twenty coins. She said, "What do you mean by food and lodging? Why would I need that?"
That's twenty coins for wages!
The world is in chaos now, and the price of a shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain has doubled. It costs two taels of silver in the city, but when they fled, they heard that it had risen to two thousand five hundred wen in some places.
For a family of five like theirs, the adults were fine, but the children were growing up day by day. The toddlers, not even a year old, didn't know anything and would cry when they were hungry, but a peck of rice cost twenty coins.
Zhao Niangzi calculated that she and her husband could earn a maximum of three hundred coins a month, provided they always had work to do. Now that the refugees in the city were gradually being resettled, if Da Hu couldn't do manual labor, the couple might not even earn two hundred coins a month.
She couldn't sleep for half the night whenever she thought about it, but the world didn't give them that many opportunities to think about it; they could only live one day at a time.
She had thought that, no matter what, as long as her family didn't end up selling their children, that would be fine.
But now...
Looking at Mo Qianshang, who remained calm and composed, as if it were just a passing fancy, Zhao Niangzi's lips trembled with excitement as she spoke: "Really twenty coins a day? What do I need to do? Isn't this wage a bit too high..."
Zhao Dahu, standing to the side, also looked worried: "Miss, pay us whatever wages are due. We've already troubled you a lot. If you pay too much because you're taking care of us, it might be difficult to negotiate when hiring again in the future."
Mo Qianshang thought to herself that she hadn't misjudged the couple. They were poor, but they still had a moral compass. They were able to work hard to support their family in such chaotic times, so they weren't lazy people.
Although she wasn't a great villain, she wasn't a saintly figure who could save the poor either.
"You don't need to be so apprehensive. I have quite a few workers under me now, and everyone else gets the same pay. There's no difference."
Upon hearing this, Madam Zhao stopped asking questions and nodded repeatedly, "I'll do it, I'll do it!"
Mo Qianshang then looked at Zhao Dahu: "If you can settle things on your end, come and join us. I need people on my land too. But let me make this clear: if you work honestly, that's fine, but if you have ulterior motives, I won't let it go."
The couple were so excited they almost cried, and didn't dare say no.
With this wage, her whole family could probably make enough money if they were frugal!
Mo Qianshang said that the wages were the same for everyone, and Zhao Niangzi was still so grateful that she didn't know what to do. Tears welled up in her eyes: a job that pays twenty coins a day, if we recruited workers in a big way, I'm afraid we could break down this door in a day.
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