"Xue Ye is all grown up now, you should find something else to do, that way you'll have more energy!"
"However, you have a leg ailment, and there are already people doing the work in my yard. It wouldn't be right for you to take their jobs just because you're my adopted sister..."
Liu Yingying extended a slender white finger and tapped her chin, deep in thought...
Hearing this, Lü Sufeng and Shi Sanmei, who were busy gathering chicken feathers, were afraid that Jiang Suyu would really take away their jobs, and they glared at her with fear.
Seeing this, Jiang Suyu couldn't help but hide behind Xue Ye.
"Yingying, let's just forget about it. I was just saying it casually..."
Liu Yingying suddenly exclaimed, "Ah! I've got it!"
"What?" The group looked at her curiously.
"Why don't you come and help me manage the farm?" Liu Yingying then told him about renting a hilltop to raise chickens.
Actually, that hill is quite large, and raising chickens wouldn't require that much space. She plans to look into raising something else later, but she doesn't intend to tell them yet.
This time, Jiang Suyu did not refuse again, after all, she also wanted to share some of the burden of supporting the family with her son.
"But can I manage on my own?"
Jiang Suyu was originally a young lady from a wealthy family. Although she had lived in the countryside for decades, she still didn't have much confidence in doing a good job.
Liu Yingying smiled and lowered her head; "Don't worry about that, I definitely won't leave you alone on the mountain. I'm planning to have the village chief's daughter-in-law, Tian Xiaoyu, come with you. The pay is ten coins a day. What do you think, Sister Jiang?"
Wang Delu was, after all, the village chief, and her future career would require the village's land to start, so it was just a convenient job for his daughter-in-law.
This benefited the Wang family, enabling them to better cooperate with her entrepreneurial plans in the future.
"This...this is too much, isn't it?" Jiang Suyu looked uneasy, feeling that she had taken a huge advantage of Liu Yingying.
Liu Yingying: "Not much, they all get the same wages as the others." She pointed to Shi Sanmei and Lü Sufen.
"Well... alright!" Jiang Suyu looked at her gratefully, her eyes welling up with tears; "Thank you, Yingying!"
Liu Yingying thought for a moment and then said, "However, the farm is in the back mountain, and it needs someone to guard it at night. It has to be a strong and capable man. Do you have any good candidates to recommend?"
Shi Sanmei and Lü Sufeng's eyes lit up at the same time.
Shi Sanmei wanted to recommend her younger brother from her maternal family, but then she thought that there were still many people in Taoyuan Village who hadn't been assigned jobs, so how could it be her brother's turn?
Just as she was hesitating, Lü Sufeng quickly spoke up and offered her her services: "Sister-in-law, what do you think of Sanqiang?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Yingying frowned slightly and glanced at her; "But didn't you want Sanqiang to come to the farm?"
"The farm already has Jin Wu and the others, so I don't think we're that short of people. The chicken farm on the back hill needs night watch, so it's perfect to have Sanqiang work for you, sister-in-law."
Lu Sufeng stepped forward, grabbed Liu Yingying's arm, and smiled ingratiatingly.
Actually, she had her own selfish motives.
Farms and ranches both pay ten coins a day, but farms are much harder to work than ranches, as people are exposed to the wind and sun every day.
As for the farm, the chickens have already been fed during the day, so Sanqiang only needs to stay there at night. How easy is that?
However, Liu Yingying did not seem to intend to agree to her request, and instead looked at Jiang Suyu.
“Sister Jiang, it’s not sustainable for Mr. Xue to make a living by hunting in the mountains all the time. Why don’t you go back and talk to him and ask him to keep watch for me at the farm for the night?”
She felt far more at ease entrusting the task of keeping watch to Xue Ye than to someone else.
“This…” Jiang Suyu looked at Lü Sufen with some difficulty.
She knew that the other party also wanted her man to do this job. If Xiaoye really went, wouldn't it make others jealous and unhappy?
Just as Jiang Suyu was about to politely decline, Liu Yingying made the final decision.
"Anyway, Xue Yeye is fine, and I trust him, so it's settled then. Once we buy the chicks, everyone can start working!"
After making a preliminary business plan, Liu Yingying was extremely busy every day.
Jin Wu and Uncle Da Niu went to Furong County to select a strong horse and commissioned a custom-made horse-drawn carriage for hauling goods.
Liu Yingying bought four or five hundred chicks and two hundred ducklings from the county town.
These chickens and ducks eat vegetables grown on the farm, some insects they catch, as well as sorghum, corn, and other grains.
But eating these alone is not enough.
To make chickens and ducks grow faster, you need to feed them more meat.
Liu Yingying recalled seeing on television in her previous life that some farmers would breed maggots on the mountain to feed their chickens.
So he told Jin Wu and the others about this idea. These hardworking men were quick to get things done, and in less than three days they actually managed to raise maggots using animal excrement.
During this period, Liu Yingying delivered another batch of Seven Star Wenchang Sauce to Tingxianglou, earning a considerable amount of money.
Xue Ye built a clean and tidy little house out of wood and bamboo on the back mountain. He stayed there at night, keeping watch and making tables and chairs for Zhao Di and her siblings.
The day before Liu Yingying was to host a banquet for the whole village to witness her and Jiang Suyu's sworn brotherhood, Xue Ye delivered the prepared tables and chairs.
"These tables and chairs were custom-made to fit their current height. I'll come over again if they need to be modified later."
The boy's words were still as brief as ever.
Liu Yingying smiled and said, "Okay, wait for me a moment."
She turned and went into the room, and when she came out again, she had a bundle in her hand, which she handed to Xue Ye.
"I saw this outfit at a tailor shop when I came to town last time. It suits your style perfectly. Wear it when you come over tomorrow!"
In Liu Yingying's memory, Xue Ye always wore the same two tattered clothes, which completely obscured his originally handsome and sharp appearance.
A young man as sharp and untamed as a wild horse should be dressed smartly and presentably!
But Xue Ye didn't take the bundle; instead, he misunderstood her meaning.
Does making me wear the clothes she bought for me tomorrow mean I'm ashamed of how I am now?
"What, this is a gift from your aunt, are you going to refuse it too?" Liu Yingying shoved the clothes into his arms.
Xue Ye had no choice but to accept it.
In fact, she not only bought a pair for Xue Ye, but also prepared one for Jiang Suyu.
After dark, she went directly to Jiang Suyu's house carrying a bamboo basket.
"Yingying, it's already dark, why did you come over?" Jiang Suyu was a little surprised, but she still went up and affectionately pulled her to sit down on the bed.
Liu Yingying smiled and placed the basket on the bedside table.
"Tomorrow is the day we become sworn sisters. Here is a gift for you, Sister Jiang. Take a look, do you like it?"
Upon hearing her words, Jiang Suyu lifted the floral cloth covering the basket, and was quite shocked when she saw what was inside.
Besides the two new outfits, Liu Yingying also specially made her a silver bracelet.
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