Dressed as a young lady, she became rich by relying on Pinxixi

They planned to set aside Xu Laoer's homestead to build a workshop, so that they would have a reason to pay taxes to Laoer every year.

Speaking of which, Xu Huaize is smart and Xu Siyu also thinks it is feasible.

"I paid for the workshop on behalf of my eldest brother's family. From now on, my third brother or Chengjie will be the manager, taking a 10% profit, hiring workers in the village, and responsible for selling the finished products. Nianyue will be the supervisor. Washing and drying wool will be charged by the kilogram, and sewing work will be paid by the piece. She will ensure the quality. We buy fabric from Lin Ji, at 80% off the market price... At the end of each month, we check and settle the accounts."

"Little sister, Nianyue is a girl and she will eventually marry out..." Xu Huaize felt that it was not convenient for Xu Nianyue to get involved in this business anymore. He thought that whatever Xu Nianyue could do, his wife at home could also do.

"What's the matter? Nian Yue's family hasn't decided on a husband yet?" Xu Siyu said to Xu Huaishan.

Seeing that he didn't answer, I didn't want to keep asking him, so I just talked about business.

"Nianyue started the down quilt business and she also opened up the sales channels. If Nianyue marries someone else, these will be her dowry. It wouldn't be difficult for her in-laws to set up a similar workshop."

"Yes, yes..." Xu Huaize quickly stated that it was only for this reason that he didn't want Xu Nianyue to marry outside the family, not because he wanted to take her home as his own. "Didn't I hear that big brother said he wanted to recruit a son-in-law? But do you have someone you like?"

Xu Huaishan then looked at Xu Siyu and said, "Your sister-in-law said that Yueya is not unable to find a husband, so there is no need to marry a cripple."

"Of course." Xu Siyu did not refute.

"But big brother, I told you that Nianyue has the freedom to marry. If Tao Cheng doesn't agree, then we can wait until Nianyue finds someone she likes again."

"Tao Cheng? The one who broke off the engagement?" Xu Huaize asked, staring.

"Little sister, don't you know that he sold his body to Doctor Yun for ten years? Even though it was only ten years, he was a slave during that time and was inferior to everyone else in the village."

"I know. The Tao family refused to treat his leg, so he dragged his injured leg to beg Doctor Yun and the head of Kaoshan Village, selling himself to sever ties with them. Doctor Yun came to see my mother and said that he only considered Tao Cheng an apprentice, not a slave. However, Tao Cheng had to pay off the money he earned from collecting herbs and making medicine first."

……

The Tao family is just as Xu Siyu said, a dishonest family.

Now, not only in Kaoshan Village, but in the entire Shiliang Mountain, people look down on the actions of the Tao family.

The youngest son was injured while doing corvée labor, but since he couldn't blame anyone else, he didn't care about it.

When Tao Cheng climbed out of the door and asked for help, he was already very arrogant... It was the simple people in the mountain village who helped him escape from the sea of suffering.

The Xu family didn't pay much attention to these stories. At that time, Xu Wang had a stroke and Xu Siyu was missing. They couldn't even take care of their own affairs, so who would care about other people's affairs?

However, Tao Cheng has been living at Doctor Yun's house for a year now. I heard that he has gotten much better and sometimes even accompanies Doctor Yun on his medical visits.

"But didn't our family break off the engagement with him?"

"Third brother, the engagement with the Tao family was cancelled, but the one we are marrying is Tao Erlang, the servant of the Yun family."

Xu Huaize thought for a moment and said, "That's true, but how can the Tao family not come and cause trouble? Forget about severing ties, how can they sever ties if they live in the same mountain?"

"Well, it depends on whether the Xu family can control their son-in-law and protect their family?" Making Tao Cheng firmly remember his identity as a member of the Xu family and protecting him from being bullied by the Tao family were all things that happened after they became a family.

Xu Nianyue was going back to the village, so Xu Siyu started to deal with the ducks raised in the small yard in the town day by day.

Sour radish and old duck soup, stir-fried duck with ginger, braised duck with konjac sauce, salted duck and roast duck were served on the table alternately. Xu Nianyue was really amazed by the recipes taught by her aunt.

How come her aunt knows so many ways to cook duck? It tastes even better than Xiangmanlou.

Sure enough, my aunt is just lazy.

"I can give you the roast duck recipe. Once you learn how to make it, you can try selling it to the escort teams. They're always on the move, and they'll probably appreciate this convenient delicacy. You can also have Cheng Jie take it out and sell it when he's on the road. You can figure out the price yourself."

Xiangmanlou can only raise twenty ducks a day, which is not enough to support the workshop.

Xu Siyu was thinking about a way to sell the ducks. If she could sell ten more ducks, she could hire one more person, and roasting ducks would bring in new income, which wouldn't be better.

"Remember what I said, hire women first. Men should continue to farm. We'll consider men later when there's suitable work."

"I know." Washing, drying, sewing, and possibly doing some kitchen work are what women are good at.

My sister-in-law said that only delivery and sales should be done by men, and she would be in charge of everyone else.

"Aunt, will Third Uncle and Cheng Jie listen to me?" Xu Nianyue was still a little timid when it came to officially taking charge of the workshop.

"Cheng Jie? Don't you say you couldn't subdue him before?" Xu Nianyue was bullied by Xu Siyu since she was a child, but that doesn't mean the boys in her family can bully her.

When Xu Nianyue talked about her past little tricks, her face turned red. She was with her aunt every day, so she knew everything about her.

"As for your elders, this is a test for you." Xu Siyu didn't have such worries and could only give her some encouragement: "If you really can't handle it, ask your brother to send a message to me and I will help you with some advice."

"Well, thank you, aunt."

……

On the day when Uncle Mao Xin became the village chief of Xinshan Village, Xu Ji Workshop officially started construction.

All the old houses in the east of the village were demolished and rebuilt.

Two new blue brick houses were built on the original foundation, one as a sewing room and one as a warehouse, and the rest were thatched sheds.

In a lower area on the right, a separate well was being dug, and Xu Chengjie, sitting on a mule cart and honestly supervising the work, attracted many women in the village to inquire about it.

"Jie Wa Zi, you're touching your second uncle's homestead, aren't you afraid that he'll come back and fight you?"

"My aunt paid the Ding tax for him and used this piece of land as collateral. If he comes back, he has to pay back what he owes first. Besides, we will pay him rent for using his land, so it's not free."

"What are you building? Yue girl is looking for a husband and she won't live in your uncle's house?"

At this time, Xu Chengjie took out the sign embroidered by Xu Nianyue, pointed to the words on it and read to everyone: "Xu Ji Workshop".

"Xuji Workshop? What do they do?"

"I collect duck feathers and make quilts." Xu Chengjie said proudly, "The owner is my uncle, Nian Yue is the master chef here, and I am the manager."

"Collecting duck feathers? Haven't you always been collecting them? Since you raise your own ducks, you don't collect the ones from the village anymore. Are you going to collect them again?"

"Yes. My aunt said that Nianyue was the only one sewing before and she was too busy. She will hire someone else to do it in the future. This way, more duck feathers will be used and everyone in the village can collect them."

"Oh, that's great. When are you going to invite someone? Can I come over, old lady?"

Xu Chengjie waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.

"If you're interested, you can go to your uncle's house and find Nianyue to register. Once the workshop is built and Nianyue's wedding is arranged, we'll naturally be busy."

After watching the excitement for a while, many people who heard the news retreated to Old Xu's house.