12dz Chapter 49 Opening a Workshop and Finding Workers
Chapter 49 Opening a Workshop and Finding Workers
Wang Fugui opened the door for Song Jiaojiao. "Brother Fugui, is Aunt Li home? I need to talk to her about something."
"Home, home, Mom, Song Jiaojiao is here to see you." Wang Fugui nodded repeatedly and shouted loudly into the house.
Song Jiaojiao followed Wang Fugui into the courtyard and saw Aunt Li standing at the door, ready to come out. "Jiaojiao's here! Come in and warm yourself by the fire. It's getting really cold after this rain."
Aunt Li pulled Song Jiaojiao to sit down. As soon as they sat down, Sun Meihua brought over some water. Song Jiaojiao took the water, drank a sip, and said, "Thank you, sister-in-law."
Sun Meihua sat down beside her, smiled, and didn't say anything. Aunt Li looked at Song Jiaojiao and asked, "Jiaojiao, is there something you need that you came over in the rain?"
Song Jiaojiao put down her bowl and said, "It's like this, I've harvested a lot of sweet potatoes these past few days, and I'm planning to make them into sweet potato flour. But there aren't enough people in my family, so I need to hire a few farmhands."
Five women are needed to peel and chop sweet potatoes, three men to pound them, and a supervisor. I think my sister-in-law would be suitable, as she can help with the bookkeeping. Initially, the wages will be low: 15 coins a day for the women, and 20 coins a day for the men who do heavier work. Work hours are from 7 AM to 5 PM, with lunch break at noon.
Aunt Li beamed with joy and said, "This isn't high at all. You have to do a lot of work at home without any pay. Even if you go to town, you might not find such a good job. Alright, leave it to your aunt. By the way, Jiaojiao, when are you planning to get married?"
"I can start working tomorrow if I find a job. This is just the beginning. I want to give it a try. If it works out later, I'll expand." Song Jiaojiao thought that since nothing was finalized yet, she wanted to test the waters first.
When Aunt Li heard that Song Jiaojiao was anxious to ask for someone, she thought she should go out now. "Okay, I'll go ask before it gets dark. Jiaojiao, please have a seat. We'll have dinner at Aunt Li's house tonight."
"You go ahead with your work, Auntie. I have something to discuss with Uncle Wang."
Hearing that she had something to say, the village chief quickly asked, "What's wrong, Jiaojiao? Is there anything else?"
"Uncle Wang, here's the thing, I'm planning to build a drying room, in case the rain keeps going on, so my sweet potato flour will have a place to dry. Here are the drawings I made, do you think it's feasible?"
Song Jiaojiao took out the drawings she had finished and thought for a day before she came up with the idea of the kang (heated brick bed) used in northern China when it was cold. She could use the principle of the kang to build a stove outside, which would be perfect for boiling water and making sweet potato noodles. She could let the smoke from the stove travel around the house, so that when the fire was burning outside, it would be warm inside.
If possible, this method can also be used inside greenhouses to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning when burning wood.
The village chief looked at the design in his hand, increasingly amazed, and exclaimed excitedly, "This design is ingenious! If possible, we wouldn't have to worry about rain for a whole week. It will use up some firewood, but that's no problem. We have plenty of firewood here. Jiaojiao, when do you need it?"
"I'd like it to be done as soon as possible, but it's inconvenient with the rain. Once it stops raining, I'll build a drying room next to the racks. We'll probably have to focus on this side first, and we'll have to wait for the back mountain."
Song Jiaojiao thought this was similar to building a house, and she could only wait until the weather was dry before making any decisions.
"Okay, let's work on this place once the rain stops. I'll keep these blueprints for now and study them to see if there's anything that needs to be improved."
The village chief stared at the blueprints, itching to start construction immediately. Although it didn't snow here, the cold could be deadly. He'd heard stories of families who burned fires in their homes without opening the windows because of the cold, only to be discovered by their neighbors dead. If the blueprints could be implemented, then there would be no need to worry about being unable to sleep from the cold at night.
After saying what she needed to say, Song Jiaojiao declined Sun Meihua's invitation to stay and went out. When she came out, Song Jiaojiao carried a basket on her back, thinking that she would be delivering vegetables the next day. Later, she hired workers, and her family would need a few large vats to settle starch. So she went to Qingshui Mountain. The mountain was wet after the rain, but because there were many fallen leaves, it was not so slippery.
Reaching a secluded spot, Song Jiaojiao took out the green peppers from her spatial storage. She thought that this still wouldn't work. It was only because the rain wasn't too heavy today that she could manage to get away with it. But if the rain got heavier, it wouldn't work. Dapeng still needed to make arrangements as soon as possible.
Song Jiaojiao will still deliver the vegetables tomorrow. She can sell the ginseng she dug up and also take the sweet potato starch to inquire about it.
Song Jiaojiao was carrying a basket of green peppers on her back as she walked home. She had only gone halfway when the rain started to get heavier. By the time she got home, Song Jiaojiao was soaked to the bone except for her head.
Seeing Song Jiaojiao soaked in sweat, Xu Fang quickly went to the kitchen to boil some ginger water. By the time Song Jiaojiao had changed her clothes, the ginger water was ready. Xu Fang ladled a large bowl of it for Song Jiaojiao to drink to warm her up.
"Mother, you should have told me where it was so I could go," Wang Hefan said worriedly, looking at Song Jiaojiao's nose, which was red from the cold.
"It's alright. This place is hard to find, but we can't pick for many more days. It's getting cold, and I see some leaves are falling off. Once the roc covers the ground, we won't have to go out anymore."
Song Jiaojiao held the hot ginger water in her hands, took a sip, and felt her cold body warm up considerably.
"Dapeng? What's that?" Wang Hefan asked, puzzled, after hearing Song Jiaojiao's words.
"It's a greenhouse where you can eat vegetables in the winter," Song Jiaojiao explained.
Wang Hefan asked in shock, his voice rising considerably, "Can we still eat vegetables in winter? Can vegetables grow in winter?"
"Yes, it's possible. As long as the temperature is suitable, even snowing won't be a problem. You'll see once it's successful."
Wang Hefan still didn't quite believe that they could eat lush green vegetables in winter. Although their winters weren't too cold and they could grow radishes and cabbages, which are cold-resistant vegetables, there were no other vegetables available.
Looking at Wang Hefan's expression, Song Jiaojiao could understand. If she hadn't seen it in her past life, she would have thought that person was crazy if someone suddenly told her that she could eat vegetables in winter.
"Actually, it's not just vegetables. Fruits like peaches and oranges, if processed properly, can also be transported to distant places for sale. Next year, we'll plant fruit trees all over the barren hills behind us. When they bear fruit, we can make canned fruit and fruit wine, just like grape wine."
Before Wang Hefan could process the news, Song Jiaojiao reiterated her future plans. This time, Wang Hefan could understand. Putting everything else aside, he had been involved in the wine project and had even succeeded. He had even taken it out to drink yesterday when they moved. Although he hadn't tasted it, he was sure it was delicious.
"Okay, let's plant more grape and persimmon trees next year. Persimmon cakes are also delicious." Just thinking about the future income makes me feel that the future is bright.
Looking at the light on Wang Hefan's face, Song Jiaojiao realized that he was no longer the boy who had been overwhelmed by life when he first arrived in this world. With hope in his life, his eyes naturally shone with light.
"He Fan, next year you and Xu Sen should go learn martial arts!"