These words left Jiang Ling with mixed feelings. She herself didn't know when she had completely adapted to Lu Family Village and everything here.
Jiang Ling composed herself and continued to ask Chen, "Do you need a baby duck?"
After thinking for a moment, Chen asked with some doubt, "Ducklings? What are they for? We can't just raise them to sell for eggs or kill them for meat, can we?"
“The ducklings have grown up, and their feathers can be made into down, which will be even warmer than cotton! It’s already autumn, and I’m worried that the cotton won’t be ready by winter, so I made two preparations. I bought some ducklings in advance in case we don’t have enough cotton!” Jiang Ling explained patiently.
"Really? Really? Duck feathers have this effect?" Chen was clearly surprised, as it was the first time she had heard this answer.
“That’s right, down is warmer than cotton. Of course, Lightning Girl, this is just a suggestion. Whether you buy it or not is up to you!” Jiang Ling explained.
"If you say so, then this stuff must be good. Sister-in-law Jiang, how many do you think I should buy?" Chen continued to ask.
"This..." Jiang Ling thought about the floor plan of her house, rolled her eyes, and said, "How about we buy thirty first?"
"Okay!" Chen nodded in agreement without hesitation.
After chatting with Chen, Jiang Ling walked towards her new house. From a distance, she could see people working hard, and Zhao Erleng's wife was carefully inspecting each adobe brick.
At the same time, he was muttering something to himself from time to time.
"Oh, Sister-in-law Jiang, you're here!" Zhao Erleng's wife rushed over as soon as she saw Jiang Ling appear.
Upon hearing Zhao Erleng's wife's voice, everyone stopped what they were doing.
"Sister-in-law, don't worry, with me here, there's definitely nothing wrong with your house!" Zhao Erleng's wife patted her chest and assured him.
Jiang Ling nodded in satisfaction as she looked at the neatly stacked adobe bricks beside her. However, she still felt that there were too few people. According to the number calculated by the village chief, it would take at least another month to finish making all the adobe bricks.
Then, the complicated tasks of building houses, repairing roads, and purchasing furniture will take at least another month.
Two months from now, the temperature in Lujia Village is expected to drop to single digits, making moving much more difficult.
Moreover, these two months are calculated based on the most perfect scenario, with no rain, no wind, and sunny weather. If it rains or wind blows, or if someone gets sick and there is a shortage of manpower, it will probably be delayed by at least ten days to half a month.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ling said to Zhao Erleng's wife, "Erleng's wife, could you please help me find a dozen or so more people?"
"Why did you call so many people? Your house will probably be finished in about a month with the soil piled up! Are you in such a hurry to move in?" Zhao Erleng's wife asked, puzzled.
“Yes, my place is too small, and the temperature will drop sharply in two months, making it difficult to move. Also, I have a stall in Pingxi Town, and I estimate that I will be busy there most of the time! So I want to get the new house finished as soon as possible!” Jiang Ling said.
"What? You opened a shop in town? Sister-in-law Jiang, you're really amazing!" Zhao Erleng's wife stared at Jiang Ling with wide eyes.
"No...nothing, it's just that the weather is getting colder and business will be difficult if the weather is bad, so I thought I'd rent a small stall temporarily!" Jiang Ling quickly explained.
Zhao Erleng's wife didn't ask any further questions, but simply nodded and agreed to find some more people.
After exchanging a few more words with Zhao Erleng's wife, Jiang Ling placed the copper coins in her hand and said, "From now on, you can distribute the money to them, Erleng's wife!"
"No, no, how can this be? I'm too dense to do math!" Zhao Erleng's wife waved her hand as soon as she saw Jiang Ling about to take out some money.
Jiang Ling smiled and comforted Zhao Erleng's wife, "Aren't your children, Shandian and Xiaoyu, learning arithmetic from my brother? How about this, they teach you tonight, and you can be in charge of paying them starting tomorrow?"
“This…” Zhao Erleng’s wife was still a little hesitant, but her eyes kept glancing at Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling knew that Zhao Erleng's wife was also wavering, and now all Jiang Ling needed to do was encourage her a little more and she would be able to persuade her.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ling's eyes darted around, and she leaned closer to Zhao Erleng's wife, saying, "Erleng's wife, don't you want to learn how to do business with me in the future and make your life better?"
"That...that's for sure, but I..."
"There's no 'but' about it. Just let your family's Lightning or Xiaoyu teach you, and you'll be responsible for their wages from now on!" Jiang Ling said, patting Zhao Erleng's wife on the shoulder.
Zhao Erleng's wife, whose expression had been conflicted, suddenly became resolute. She nodded heavily and said to Jiang Ling, "Sister-in-law Jiang, don't worry about me! I will definitely not let you down!"
Jiang Ling smiled and left after checking everything.
The setting sun dyed the azure sky red. Jiang Ling took advantage of the afterglow to return home first, then called Jiang Zhishan and Jiang Yaojie over, and together they walked towards the village chief's house.
Upon arriving at the village chief's house, we found him making the final wooden plaque.
"You're here? Work for a bit, there's only one more wooden sign to finish!" The village chief looked up at Jiang Ling and said.
Jiang Ling nodded and sat down with the other two, watching the village chief saw a piece of ordinary wood, measure the dimensions, patiently sand it, and finally apply a thin layer of oil.
"Alright, Jiang has done everything you said. Take a look and see if these are what you wanted!" The village chief said, moving the turntable in front of Jiang Ling and pointing to the wooden plaque on the table.
Jiang Ling gently turned the turntable with her hand, and it began to spin slowly before stopping. Jiang Ling looked at the wooden signs again, nodded in satisfaction, thanked the village chief, and then directed Jiang Zhishan and Jiang Yaojie to take all the items back home.
"Big sister, what kind of rare item is this?"
As soon as she got home, Jiang Zhishan couldn't contain her curiosity and asked.
"I'm planning to use this for business in town tomorrow. Zhishan, you happen to know how to write, come and help your older sister write something!" Jiang Ling said, pointing to the wooden sign on the table.
After Jiang Zhishan finished writing on all the wooden plaques, Jiang Ling instructed him to draw eight fan-shaped patterns on the disc, and then fill it with writing.
Then Jiang Ling had Jiang Zhishan write many tiny characters with a brush, the characters on which matched the characters on the spinning wheel. Jiang Ling carefully cut them all out and put them away.
Jiang Zhishan looked at the wooden sign and the items on the disc with some doubt and said, "Big sister, although I don't know anything about doing business, aren't you going to lose money by giving this away for free?"
Jiang Ling smiled mysteriously and said to Jiang Zhishan, "Zhishan, people like to take advantage of others. It may not be pleasant to hear, but it's true. Only when they feel they've gotten a good deal will more people come to patronize us!"
Jiang Zhishan scratched his head in confusion, but Jiang Yaojie, who had been sitting next to him, kept Jiang Ling's words in mind.
I'm thinking of seeing tomorrow what these two things my mother invented are actually used for!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
