vstars Chapter 432 Tending to the Broken Ground
Chapter 432 Tending to the Broken Ground
"Eat up, why are you looking at me?"
Seeing that they weren't using their chopsticks, Wen Luozhi took the lead and scooped a spoonful of cold rabbit into her bowl, then picked up a steamed dumpling and dipped it in the sauce.
Fang Da and the others started eating as soon as they picked up their chopsticks, and then they couldn't stop.
"I have something to do tomorrow, so you'll have to set up your own stalls."
Halfway through the meal, Wen Luozhi suddenly asked, and Fang Da patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, sir, we've got it all figured out! But how much are these dumplings?"
Wen Luozhi thought for a moment that she could sell the dumplings raw and eat them however she wanted, but to gain approval, she would definitely need to have them tasted.
After talking with them for a while, they finished their meal. On their way back, Fang Da and the others ran into a customer who came to buy jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes), and told them to make sure to set up their stall at the same place early tomorrow.
In the afternoon, Wen Luozhi rode her horse to the outskirts of town. The condition of the broken ground was better than she had expected, but the soil was indeed not very good and was very thin.
Growing fruit is not suitable for everyone; not only can people not afford it, but by the time it gets transported out, the fruit will have rotted long ago.
Growing vegetables is fine, but she thinks it's most suitable for growing Sichuan peppercorns.
Once she made up her mind, she went back. The broken floor needed cleaning, and she would need to find someone to do the work.
Wen Luozhi returned to the town and went specifically to the place Wei Yi had told him about to find people to do the work.
When we arrived, the crowds outside were almost like those at a market day, with men, women, young and old all there.
A person is writing something with a pen in front of a large table.
Wen Luozhi pulled an older woman aside and asked her what was wrong. It turned out that this family was short of two people to clean and sweep, and they were looking for someone in town.
She felt it was a bit outrageous that so many people were vying to do a simple sweeping job.
So many people and only two people? This is just unbelievable.
When she asked about her wages, she learned that she only received one tael of silver a month, and she had to start work at someone's house at dawn and finish at dusk, with no meals provided.
Wen Luozhi felt dizzy listening to this; even modern cattle and horses wouldn't be treated like this.
She watched from the side, and after about an hour, the man stood up, still holding a large stack of notes he had just written down.
"Everyone will come back to see the results at this time tomorrow. Let's call it a day."
The man left after speaking, and those waiting for job openings couldn't ask him anything they wanted.
The table had been moved away, and the chairs were gone, so Wen Luozhi had no choice but to sit on horseback and say to those who looked distressed:
"My family is hiring. If anyone is willing to come, you can listen in," she cleared her throat and tried to speak as loudly as possible.
As soon as they heard the job posting, everyone turned to look at her. Then she continued, "It's mainly about clearing the small plots of land outside town. Fifty coins a day, lunch included."
After she finished speaking, everyone looked at each other without reacting.
What's the point of clearing out those fragmented plots of land outside the town? And they even provide lunch every day for 51 days? Are they just looking for fun?
“Sir, you must be kidding us. There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” one man said skeptically, and the others chimed in.
Wen Luozhi wasn't annoyed. She smiled slightly and told them that she wanted to take the land to plant things.
After answering countless questions, everyone finally believed she was really hiring, and they excitedly volunteered their services.
In the end, they recruited twenty people who all seemed shrewd and capable, both men and women.
"Tomorrow, walk to the end of East Street and come at Chenshi (7-9 AM). I'll be waiting for you there."
After she finished speaking, she rode away. Some of the chosen ones were uneasy and didn't believe that such a good thing could fall from the sky.
"You'll find out if it's true when you go tomorrow, and tell us how it goes when you get back," one of the women said.
If she hadn't had to stay home to look after the baby, she would have argued for it too, since it sounded pretty good.
But it's alright. Didn't that sponsor just say that they'll be planting more things later and will definitely need more people? If that's true, she'll just hold off for now.
When those people heard that this made sense, the place became mostly empty as soon as they left, and the remaining people waited for a long time but no one came to recruit workers.
When Granny Mi saw Wen Luozhi return, she asked her what was wrong. When she heard that everything was settled, she was surprised and said, "So fast?"
Then, after a moment's thought, she nodded. "It's hard to find work in town, so it's understandable that it's quick."
The next day, as soon as Fang Da and the others left with their things, Wen Luozhi went out as well, because she couldn't ride a horse today because two little tails were following behind her.
When they arrived at East Street, everyone was already waiting there. They were still wondering whose carriage it was when it was already getting closer.
Looking at the driver in front, who else could it be but the one who hired them to work yesterday?
The group arrived at the broken ground. Wen Luozhi first directed everyone to remove all the weeds in the ground, and then used hoes to loosen the soil.
Everyone took turns weeding and digging, so that the easy tasks weren't too easy and the tiring tasks weren't too tiring.
Around noon, Fang Da pushed a cart over, which contained several large bowls of hand-pulled noodles and the meat sauce that Wen Luozhi had stir-fried the day before.
Fang Da was on his way back to town to fetch water when Fang Er arrived carrying two buckets and a new water bag hanging from his waist.
"Sir, have some water! I've already boiled it." After putting down the bucket, he smiled and handed the water bag to Wen Luozhi, then set up a pot with Fang Da to boil water and cook noodles.
Wen Luozhi gulped down two mouthfuls of water, somewhat moved by their busy work.
"You two can go back and rest after you've sold everything. I'll call someone to cook for you."
Her plan was for everyone to take turns cooking, and they would just eat something simple. Whoever cooked would get an extra ten coins for that day.
Fang Da, who had already set up the fire high in the sky, said upon hearing this, "Business is good, we'll close up shop early and come over to help you."
He leaned closer and lowered his voice, "Why waste money like that? We can do it all ourselves."
Seeing his sly look, Wen Luozhi didn't say much, but she was already thinking about how to pay them.
After all, it's not a short distance to bring things from home to outside the town, and the things are quite heavy.
Fortunately, she asked the workers to bring their own bowls and chopsticks yesterday, otherwise it would have been even heavier.
Soon the water in the pot was bubbling away; there was too much noodles, so they had to be cooked in two batches.
Several large bowls of hand-pulled noodles were cooked in no time. Fang Da also heated up the two large bowls of meat sauce and then called everyone to eat.
"Dinner's ready! Everyone hurry up and come over, or the dough will clump together!" Upon hearing this, the people in the field put down what they were doing.
Actually, they smelled the aroma while the noodles were cooking, but after taking a quick look, they dared not look again for fear of displeasing their host.
The aroma of meat made their mouths water, and they ran off as fast as they could when they heard it was time to eat.
Several large basins were neatly arranged on the cart and buckets, and even if everyone was craving water, they knew to line up and come one by one.
Fang Da picked up the noodles, and Fang Er scooped the meat sauce. Their hands didn't tremble at all, and they filled everyone's bowls to the brim, regardless of who came or what gender they were.
"If it's not enough, come again! Our boss said there's plenty of food!"
After we finished serving them the noodles, they picked up their bowls and started eating. After running around all morning, they felt that the noodles with meat sauce in their bowls tasted even better.
After they finished eating, Wen Luozhi told them to rest for half an hour, and then continue tidying up the broken ground.
Everyone ate to their heart's content, and now they were sitting in groups chatting after getting such a good job.
"Hehe, this meat and noodles are so delicious, I wonder what we'll eat tomorrow."
A burly young man was grinning foolishly, while the older man next to him chuckled and scolded, "All you ever do is eat! You cleared one less plot of land than I did this morning!"
"It's less, but I'll definitely get a dollar more than you this afternoon."
"I don't believe it, I'll start doing it right now!"
The two started competing immediately without resting, and the others, not wanting to miss the fun, shouted a few words and soon followed suit to work in the fields.
Because driving a carriage would save trouble, Wen Luozhi went back and retrieved some things, mainly water and a few other items for the people who were going to work that day to take back.
Each person received four steamed buns, because everyone had barely rested for half an hour at noon, and she didn't want to take advantage of the labor.
When she finished work in the afternoon, she settled the wages and handed over the oil paper package, but the burly young man quickly waved his hand:
"What is this, sir? I can't accept it." He said, taking only the two copper coins from Fang Da's hand.
Fang Er picked up the oil paper package and shoved it into his arms, saying loudly, "I'll give it to you, you've all had lunch without resting, I'm just being considerate."
He had no idea where Wen Luozhi got so many steamed buns; she must have bought them from all the shops in town.
The young man declined several times, but the gift was eventually given back. He grinned and thanked the gift several times before happily stepping aside to wait for his older brother.
Everyone got paid after a day's work, and they're still not hungry and have food in their hands. They're so happy they're practically rolling in the sand.
"Sir, we'll come earlier tomorrow and try to get you a few more pieces," the young man said with a smile, and the others did the same.
Wen Luozhi had already started lassoing the horses, and upon hearing this, she shook her head slightly, "It will continue at this time from today until these fragmented plots are finished."
After she finished speaking, she climbed into the carriage. Fang Da climbed onto the carriage and waved to everyone, saying, "I wanted you all to rest well before coming back to work. Go home now."
The carriage turned around and headed back towards the town, while everyone stood still, smelling the aroma of meat emanating from the oil-paper packets in their hands.
"Goodness, this gentleman is clearly from out of town. Out-of-town lords are so kind!"
An older man sighed, tucked the oil paper package into his pocket, and hurried home.
Fang Da was quite nervous about driving a horse-drawn carriage for the first time, but to his surprise, the two horses didn't need him to urge them at all; they just obediently ran towards home on their own.
When she finally had some free time, Wen Luozhi realized she hadn't asked them how well the dumplings were selling.
Just as he was about to ask, Fang Er pulled out a money pouch from his pocket, his face beaming with joy: "Sir, this is the money from selling meat dumplings today, hehe."
He handed it over, and Wen Luozhi took it and weighed it in her hand.
"Not bad, I knew the three of you could get together," she couldn't help but praise.
"I'll teach you something else when we get home. I'm going on a long trip in a couple of days."
As she said this, Helian Zhiyan's eyes lit up. She knew that Wen Luozhi was going to take her to the Black Mountain Mine again, and she would be able to see her parents again.
Fang Da and the others didn't ask too many questions, but they were a little worried that they wouldn't be able to handle things after Wen Luozhi went on a long trip and something might go wrong.
That evening, Wen Luozhi taught a few of them how to make thumb-sized pan-fried buns, which Grandma Mi found quite interesting.
The group finished a large bowl of food as a late-night snack. After Fang Da and the others left, Grandma Mi led Song Yin home.