Traveling Through Farmhouses: Taking the Baby on a Famine Escape

Three days later, the paddy fields were all ready. Zhang Xixi asked Zhou Dashan to find forty more people so that they could start transplanting rice seedlings the next day.

This time, male workers were paid 30 coins a day, and female workers were paid 35 coins a day, which made the women in the village extremely happy!

I hummed a song while cooking, even though it was a bit unpleasant.

At Zhou Dahai's home, Xiao Wangshi was also very happy, and she became less critical of her daughters-in-law.

"Are you really that happy, woman?"

"What? My wages are five coins more than yours, and I'm not even allowed to be happy about it?"

"So what if the wages are high!"

Little Wang stopped what she was doing and said, "What's wrong? This just shows that we're better at transplanting rice seedlings than you men!"

Zhou Dahai was speechless and left while smoking a cigarette.

Several families in the village were in the same situation, but this time the women finally regained their right to stand firm.

When Zhang Xixi got home, she calculated that there were about a hundred people planting rice seedlings this time. Each person could plant one mu (approximately 0.16 acres) per day, and the planting would be completed in three days.

The bride's family and their own family won't need to go to the fields to plant rice seedlings; they can do other things.

While it was still light, Zhang Xixi ran to the field and poured thirty buckets of soil conditioner into the field.

After returning home, Ms. Chen had the Zhang brothers, Zhang Zehui and Zhang Zehui, deliver cakes and cookies.

Looking at the pastries on the table, Zhang Xixi took a bite. The cake was steamed, and the cookies were probably baked on the side of a pan. The taste was alright. Although they couldn't compare to the elaborate pastries of modern times, they were all authentic and without any additives.

My mother's cooking skills are truly impressive!

The next day, most of the village's labor force went to Zhang Xixi's field, because the women planted rice seedlings quickly, and the men were the ones pulling them up.

The people planted from morning till evening, covering about 100 acres. It seems that it will take less time than she expected to finish planting.

Zhang Xixi was very satisfied with the speed; there's always strength in numbers!

Everyone planted for three days in a row, but on the third day, they finished planting in just half a day.

Zhang Xixi still paid the villagers for the whole day's work as a reward for their hard work, hoping they would continue to work hard in the future.

Zhang Xixi believed that as long as the villagers continued to be reasonable and not greedy, she would lead them to prosperity.

She eats meat, so she leads the villagers to drink soup!

Since the last time the village children made a trade with Zhang Xixi's family, everyone in the village has learned about the benefits of pasture and is preparing to cultivate some land to feed their livestock.

Of course, each family only plans to cultivate one or two acres to grow pasture, because their rice paddies need someone to take care of them and they can't spare any manpower. In addition, after the land is cultivated, they will need to buy medicine from Zhang Xixi, which will make the family's labor force even more insufficient.

Zhang Xixi's family has finished dealing with the major issues, so they can take their time with the rest.

The rice seedlings are still in the adaptation period and do not need to be cared for, while land reclamation is a long process, so Zhang Xixi plans to slow down.

The main problem is that we don't have enough manpower. The labor force we exchanged with the villagers last time is almost up, and they also have things to do at home.

The day after the rice was planted, Wang Daniu brought a few of his brothers to find Zhang Xixi.

When they arrived, Zhang Xixi was picking tomatoes in the yard. The tomatoes had been ripening very quickly recently, with several ripening almost every day, so Zhang Xixi planned to pick some tomatoes and send them to her parents' home today.

"Boss, we want to go home and visit!"

Zhang Xixi walked out of the vegetable garden and said, "Okay, but I have a suggestion you can listen to."

"Master, please speak."

“You all work away from home year-round, either because you don’t have any farmland at home, or because you have very little farmland but a lot of labor, right?”

Wang Daniu said, "Actually, my brothers and I all have more than ten acres of land at home, but most of our land is acidic and alkaline soil, so we can't grow any good crops. Although there is a lot of wasteland, it is too difficult to cultivate, and even if we do cultivate it, we can't grow any crops. The harvest is not enough to pay taxes, so it is better to go out and work."

"I see. Haven't you thought about moving?"

Wang Daniu waved his hand and said, "Our Wang family has lived there for generations, and we have a deep affection for it. No one wants to move."

Zhang Xixi thought to herself that she had originally planned to have them bring their families to move over and help her farm, but it seemed that wouldn't work.

"You know that my family is still reclaiming land here, and we need a lot of people. So I want you to help me find more people. They need to be hardworking. Once we have more people, I'll promote you to be the manager. Your monthly salary will definitely be no less than it is now. You can also bring your wife and children. Your wife can help Cuihua cook, and I'll pay her the same wages."

"Also, you can't keep living in tents forever. I'm planning to build a staff dormitory where you're currently living, a mud-brick and tile house. Think about it!"

The two people next to him kept giving Wang Daniu meaningful glances, trying to get him to agree. The employer's treatment was very generous; they had never heard of such a thing anywhere else.

Wang Daniu thought for a moment and asked, "Boss, how many more people do we need, and how much will we pay them?"

"Around thirty people. The wages will be based on your initial salary. If you do well, you'll get a raise; if you don't, you'll be let go."

Wang Daniu breathed a sigh of relief. Thirty people wasn't too many; they could manage to gather enough from their village.

"Boss, when do we start work?"

“You can bring it back this time. As for the house, you’ll have to make the mud bricks and build it yourself. I’ll have someone buy the roof tiles.”

"Row!"

Wang Daniu responded.

Finally, Zhang Xixi asked Zhou Fu to help distribute the wages, because Wang Daniu and the others were paid a combination of silver and grain.

"I'll give you sweet potatoes for six coins a pound. Tell Zhou Fu how many you want first, and he'll give them to you after he calculates them."

"Yes, boss!"

After working for quite a while, Zhou Fu and Zhang Xixi finally finished distributing the wages for this round of work.

After Wang Daniu and the others left, Zhang Xixi took the tomatoes and eggplants and went to the Zhang family's house.

As soon as Zhang Xixi entered the door, she smelled a sweet aroma; her mother must be making a cake.

Upon arriving in the kitchen, Chen was taking the cake out of the steamer. Seeing Zhang Xixi, she quickly said, "What a perfect time to come! I've come to try this cake. It's made with the special pastry flour you gave me."

"Mom's cooking must be delicious!"

After Zhang Xixi finished speaking, she put the tomato on the dining table and walked over to Chen Shi, looking at the still steaming cake.

She picked up a piece with her chopsticks, took a bite, and found it to be even softer and more glutinous.

Chen also took a bite, and it did taste much better than before, but the ingredients used were too expensive.

Although the milk is free, the eggs and flour used are very expensive. It's fine to eat it occasionally, but you can't afford to eat it every day.