Liu Erzhu laughed and said, "Look at you bunch of spineless people. Do you think you'll quit just because Madam doesn't cook us delicious food?"
Zhu Qiang laughed and scolded, "You little brat, weren't you the fastest runner when Madam was cooking? How dare you criticize others?"
Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter, and the valley echoed with laughter, startling a flock of birds into flight.
The couple stayed in the valley for a while, and then Lu Chuan took Xu Han home.
As they walked, the two took the opportunity to discuss and check on the crops in the field.
Lu Chuan said, "The chickens, ducks and geese that were hatched some time ago have already been released into the orchard. Right now, the chickens, ducks and geese in the orchard can't move around much. When we have time in a few days, we still need to let them expand their population a bit more."
Otherwise, when we hatch another batch of chickens, ducks, and geese next spring, we won't have anywhere to put them.
Xu Han glanced into the orchard. It had been a long time since she had been here. She had only heard Zhou mention it once, but she didn't really know the specifics.
"We need to hurry up and get it done; we can't let it delay next year's breeding."
Lu Chuan replied, "Yes, mainly because there's too much work to do in the valley. Even though we have a lot of people, sometimes we still can't keep up."
Xu Han stopped and looked up at Lu Chuan, asking, "Should we buy some more people? I was thinking of taking some people to open a shop in the county town after we finish picking the walnuts! Will we be able to manage if we take all the people with us?"
Lu Chuan thought for a moment and replied, "It should be okay! But I think it's better to buy some more. In winter, we need to clear land, build walls, and now we need to repair chicken coops. These are all big projects and quite time-consuming."
If we have enough people, it will be faster. We can also clear more wasteland in the process.
"Okay, let's buy a few more people then. We'll feel more at ease using them."
We should buy more houses then. The houses in the county town also need someone to look after them, otherwise we'll have to clean them ourselves every time we stay. We'll only stay for a day or two before coming back, and they'll be just as dirty next time. This cycle is exhausting.
Moreover, the orchard is getting bigger and bigger, and more and more chickens, ducks and geese are being raised, all of which require people to manage.
Now that you mention it, we really have no choice but to buy it. We only have so many people; if we can take care of this, we can't take care of that too.
Lu Chuan immediately made the decision, "Then let's go buy it after we're done with this busy period."
Xu Han took Lu Chuan's arm and said, "No way! What are we going to do after we're done with this busy period? Let's go tomorrow. Think about it, after we buy them, we can go up the mountain to collect mountain products! The sooner we buy them, the sooner we can earn them, right?"
"We'll go tomorrow. As for going into the mountains, let the Taoist priest and Han Qi take them first. It won't make a difference if there are two of us."
Lu Chuan smiled and pinched Xu Han's cheek. "Okay, I'll listen to my wife. If my wife says we're going, then we'll go."
Xu Han slapped Lu Chuan's hand away. "Don't touch me. It's settled then. We'll go first thing tomorrow morning."
After returning home, Xu Han told the Taoist priest and Grandpa Zhao about her idea again, and they both agreed.
Grandpa Zhao asked, "How many more people are you planning to buy? Have you decided yet?"
"I haven't thought about it yet, but I think it would be best to buy some strong laborers, so they can work faster and more easily. Or a large family would be good too, it would be more reassuring for the whole family to be together."
Lu Chuan chimed in, "The house needs someone to look after it too. We can hire a couple of old women to clean it."
The Taoist priest continued, "A woman alone won't do. It would be best to pair her with a capable man so that you can entrust him with any tasks and save yourself the trouble of going there yourself."
Xu Han said, "I'm thinking of transferring the people who aren't doing their jobs from the existing staff! We don't know the new people's character, and we don't trust them with our services."
“That works too. Aren’t you going to open a shop? You need to keep someone useful in the county town.”
Xu Han nodded. "Let's see when we go tomorrow. Buying people depends on personal chemistry; we don't necessarily have to buy them all at once."
Grandpa Zhao smiled and replied, "You're absolutely right. Buying people is no small matter; it can't be rushed."
After chatting for a few more minutes, Dan Niang called everyone to have dinner.
The next day, the couple got up early again and set off on their journey. This time, after arriving in the county town, they did not wander around but went straight to the official brokerage to find broker Wei.
Upon recognizing Xu Han as an old acquaintance, Wei Yaren immediately went to select people according to Xu Han's request.
After making a selection based on what she had said last time, Xu Han finally chose four strong laborers, two old women, and a family of nine.
After asking Lu Chuan for his opinion, the group made their decision.
Xu Han then asked Wei Yaren if he had any good managers to recommend.
The two of them were talking about this on the way here. Whether it was last time or this time, the buyers were all ordinary people.
Not only are they ignorant, but none of them can read either. There are many things they can't do, so they definitely won't be able to support the shop later on.
It's not that Xu Han looks down on them, but that's just the truth. How can they keep accounts if they can't even read?
It's not that Xu Han was unwilling to train them, but rather that training them was just too, too difficult.
Firstly, it would take too long, and Xu Han couldn't wait that long. Secondly, it wasn't a good fit for her.
However, it doesn't mean that the group of people bought last time will necessarily stay in the deep mountains to do farm work. Xu Han will also arrange different tasks for them according to their individual abilities.
Take Han Qi for example. With such great skills, wouldn't it be a waste of his talents to have him stay in the mountains to farm?
There are also Chun Chan and Qi Yu. They have a good foundation, are very clever, and are young, so they are easy to train. Now the two of them have started to learn to read.
Xu Han plans to have the two girls follow her around for a long time, and she has already begun to train them.
Zhu Qiang and the others are only focused on farming. If Xu Han asked them to manage the shop or do other things, not only would they not do a good job, but they probably wouldn't be willing either.
Besides, Xu Han was a transmigrator, and Lu Chuan had no experience living in a wealthy family. Although the Taoist priest and Grandpa Zhao would give them some advice, they couldn't bother them with everything, let alone let them do everything themselves.
So the final solution is to buy people directly, preferably those who have worked for wealthy families before. Firstly, they have experience, and secondly, they know everything and don't need to be taught.
However, you have to be careful when using these kinds of people. Let's put aside whether they are loyal or not for now. They are all seasoned veterans in the workplace. Just don't let them take advantage of you.
In short, there are advantages and disadvantages. At worst, you can be more careful when using it, and if it really doesn't work, you can just replace it.
Of course, during this time, Xu Han can also gradually cultivate some people who are loyal to her and slowly replace them.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
