Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

Everyone was busy until mealtime, when everyone in the village went home to cook, and only then could the Ji family get a short rest.

Ji Mantun and his two sons were also invited to stay for dinner.

Because of the upcoming income from the purchase of medicinal herbs, Yang became more generous. She felt that although the grain bins were almost empty, it would be even more unwise not to feed the family members, who would lack the strength to work and thus delay earning money.

So when people ate, they rarely saw steamed buns mixed with white flour and vegetable dumpling soup that was much thicker than before.

Not only did Ji Yongning and Ji Yongzhou choke while eating, but Ji Yongbai and Ji Yonghua also almost choked because they ate too fast.

Seeing everyone enjoying their meal, Yang felt a sense of pride. At least her family hadn't run out of food, and the children hadn't gone hungry; they could even have a steamed bun to eat occasionally.

However, when her gaze fell on Ji Mantun, she saw that her second son had lost a lot of weight compared to a few days ago, and she immediately felt a tightness in her chest. She said with a hint of sadness, "Mantun, don't go carrying wood anymore. You're exhausted. If you don't rest, how will we harvest the grain in a while?"

Ji Mantun was drinking soup with his head down when he heard his mother say this. He looked up and smiled sheepishly, saying, "It's okay, Mom. I'll hold on for a few more days and then I won't go. It's time to prepare for the event."

Yang hesitated, glancing at Ji Manchuan and Ji Manqing, before lowering her head to eat.

Ji Manchuan took a sip of the dumpling soup in his bowl, looked up at his second brother, and felt that his second brother had indeed aged a lot. He blurted out, "Second brother, come and help me collect the medicinal herbs!" After saying that, he remembered that he and his fourth brother had not separated the family property, so he looked at Old Master Ji.

Grandpa Ji put down his bowl and looked at Ji Manqing: "Manqing, what do you have to say?"

Ji Manqing took a bite of his steamed bun and said indistinctly, "I think so. I'm exhausted this morning, hurry up and have my second brother come and help me."

Grandpa Ji then turned to look at Ji Yongling.

Ji Yongling understood the meaning in the old man's eyes, thought for a moment, and said to Ji Mantun, "Second Uncle, you, Second Brother, and Third Brother should all come and help. We've collected a lot of medicinal herbs this time, and my father and Fourth Uncle are really too busy to handle it all. You won't be helping for nothing; we'll pay you."

"Hiss—" Ji Mantun was so shocked when he heard that he was to be paid that he bit his tongue and said, "We're family. What are you talking about paying wages? If word gets out, people will gossip about me. Helping is fine, but wages are not."

In the rural areas of this era, everyone worked for others. Today you do the work, I help you; tomorrow I'll do the work, you come and lend a hand. There was no such thing as paying wages; being able to get a full meal was considered good.

Ji Yongling looked at Grandpa Ji and said, "Grandpa, we will definitely continue to do this medicinal herb business in the future. My father and my fourth uncle alone will definitely not be able to handle it. It is better to ask our own people than outsiders. It would be best to ask my second uncle to help. I have said before that I want to pay wages to everyone in our family who does the work. Since we have asked my second uncle to come, let's start with this medicinal herb collection."

Ji Manqing swallowed the steamed bun in his mouth, his eyebrows shot up, and he said with a grin, "What? Is Ling'er also planning to pay your fourth uncle's wages?"

Ji Manchuan laughed and said, "Am I going to take the wages my daughter gave me?"

Seeing that no one seemed to be taking it seriously, Ji Yongling sighed and said, "Father, Fourth Uncle, I'm telling the truth. Our family is already like a small workshop. If we want to run it well and sustain it in the long run, we have to establish rules first. Otherwise, before we make any money, our own people will fall into chaos."

Ji Manchuan's face turned serious: "Ling'er, whatever rules you propose, your father will support you. Your grandfather also said before that the idea was yours, and the business was negotiated between you and Liang Dongjia, so the family must listen to you."

Grandpa Ji nodded in agreement.

Ji Manqing slammed his hammer on the table and said, "Anyone who doesn't support you, I'll smash them to death with this hammer!" Then he looked at his wife.

When Hu Xirong saw Ji Manqing looking at her, her eyes widened: "What are you looking at me for! Ling'er has been sensible since she was little. Although I am her aunt, I love her just as much as my third sister-in-law!"

Ji Yongling smiled and said, "I propose that everyone in the family who helps with the collection of medicinal herbs should be paid. However, we are just starting out now and don't have much money. The wages will definitely not be comparable to those in the county shops. It's just a token amount. We'll raise the wages when we grow bigger."

Ji Manqing stared at Ji Yongling with his mouth agape and eyes wide open, saying, "What? We can actually grow this big? Ling'er, how can you be so daring? I wouldn't even dare to dream of that!"

Hu Xirong punched Ji Manqing's elbow and said with dissatisfaction, "You're the kind of person who's afraid of even a falling leaf breaking your head. You're as timid as an ant on the ground. Besides daring to dream of eating white steamed buns every day, what else do you dare to dream of! And you dare to compare yourself to Ling'er? How can you be so shameless!"

Ji Manqing immediately stretched his neck like a fighting rooster and retorted, "Who are you calling shameless? Look at your round face, it looks like a turd, and you still have the nerve to talk about me like that!"

"Who are you calling a face like a shit pot! Humph, my face is big. Unlike you, your upper lip touches the sky, your lower lip touches the ground—you have no face at all!"

"You old hag, I'll smash you to death with this hammer!"

Ji Yongling stared at the two men, who were fighting like cocks, and was speechless.

Unable to stand it any longer, Yang glared and scolded, "In front of the children, you two better behave yourselves."

Ji Manqing and Hu Xirong turned their heads away, ignoring each other.

Ji Yongling continued the previous topic: "Everyone has a different job and different wages. For example, my grandfather is responsible for checking the quality of the medicinal materials and he gets thirty coins a day; Father, Fourth Uncle, and Second Uncle, you work hard and get twenty coins a day; Grandma and Fourth Aunt take care of the family's food and drink as well as housework and get twenty coins a day."

Before Ji Yongling could finish speaking, Hu Xirong gasped, "God of Light, I get paid for cooking? Ling'er, are you serious?"

“Fourth Aunt, it’s true. I also get paid. I’m the head manager, and I’m responsible for negotiating business with the pharmacy. I get thirty coins a day,” Ji Yongling continued.

Yang slammed her hand on the table and objected, "I've never heard of working for your own family and getting paid. This won't do, it absolutely won't do."

"Grandma, I'm talking about the work period. To increase everyone's enthusiasm for work and get everyone working together towards the same goal, we need to make everyone feel involved, and paying wages is the reward for their efforts."

Mrs. Yang shook her head and continued, "They haven't even earned a single copper coin yet, and they're already throwing money away. That won't do."

Ji Manchuan said, “Mother, I think Ling’er makes sense. Even though we’re doing chores for the family, there’s always someone who might complain that you’re doing too much or too little, and then they won’t want to work anymore. There’s a saying, ‘It’s not scarcity that’s worrisome, but inequality.’ But once we get paid, it’s different. Everyone will definitely be eager to work.”

Although Yang still had a somewhat disapproving expression on her face, she began to hesitate and stopped speaking.

Ji Yongling nodded to her father with satisfaction and continued, "Of course, this is the wage for collecting medicinal herbs. If all the herbs are collected, there will be no more wages. Second Brother and Third Brother will also come to help. Get familiar with the process for a day first, and starting tomorrow, it will be ten coins per day. Everyone's wages will be recorded in the books first, and we will pay them all at once after all the herbs are collected this time."

"What about me? What about me? Second sister, don't Yongzhou and I get paid?" Ji Yongning stood up and shouted in dissatisfaction.

"You two, not yet, but if you make money this time, your second sister will give you pocket money from my wages. There might even be an extra surprise." Ji Yongling looked at the Ji Yongning brothers mysteriously.