The afternoon sun was no longer as scorching as it was at noon. Occasionally, a breeze would blow, making people feel cool. The owners of the grain store added more food, and the hired people also found out that those people were the farmers of the Zhang Family and Wang Family. All the food was taken care of by the owners, so they happily ate until they were full and no longer made any noise.
But when they started to work in the fields, they found that when they bent down, the food in their stomachs would rush up. They had no choice but to endure the discomfort while sighing that they were able to eat.
The farmers of the Zhang Family and Wang Family naturally wouldn't eat until they were full like those who hadn't eaten for eight lifetimes. They only ate until they were 70% full, and the rest of the food could be eaten after they finished their work.
Four hours later, the farmers of the Zhang Family and Wang Family finished harvesting the remaining rice. They removed the kernels and drank some water. After resting for a while, they rushed to send the rice to the storeroom. Only then did they come back to heat up the rest of the food and prepare to eat.
"Everyone, listen up. Don't eat anymore. Hurry up and bring it home for your family to eat. In a while, someone will treat us to food. There's no more fungus soup, but there will be no less. There will be wages."
Without waiting for the farmers to heat up the food, Steward Zhang trotted over and shouted to everyone.
The farmers didn't even ask anything. They divided the food and brought more food to those who had more people. They turned around and ran back home. They had absolute trust in their masters and would do whatever they were told to do.
Steward Zhang looked at the scattered people and smiled. He ordered the people following him, "Bring the prepared food over."
After that, he walked towards the place Between the Clouds and the Water.
The owners of Between the Clouds and the Water were more and more dissatisfied with the helpers they found. They did a good job in the morning, but at noon, they spent a lot more money. When it was distributed to each person, it was 120 copper coins. There was no other way. The price of the food was three times more expensive than usual. Including the water, the total cost was 130 copper coins.
Just one meal cost 26 taels of silver. At the beginning, it was more than 10 taels of silver a day.
The most infuriating thing was that these people were not as nimble as they were in the morning after eating and drinking. They would stand up and rub their stomachs after a few cuts. At this rate, they would not be able to finish their work in three days.
"Big Brother Jin, we can't go on like this. It's not like we have nowhere to spend our money. Look at what they are doing. The farmers in Zhuangzi are working much faster than them. Their food is not bad either. How are they looking for helpers? They are clearly raising their ancestors."
Lu Dongjia looked over from the window and shook his head helplessly.
"It's not easy for a poor family to have something delicious to eat. They're already full, so naturally, they don't have the energy to work. Let's talk to them when we're done with work tonight. If they really fall out with us, where are we going to find people? Don't tell me we're going to cut it ourselves?"
Jin Dongjia could think of the reason, but at the same time, he did not have a good solution. He bitterly said, "If you want to blame those helpers, why don't you complain about the people in Zhangjia Zhuangzi? They are so bad. They deliberately came to eat with us, and they eat so well. I don't believe that they eat like this every day."
"Boss Jin, you are really wrong. A few days ago, when we were harvesting, we didn't have these talents, but we ate whole mutton soup, which was no less than this flower. We didn't send people to harvest the rice on purpose to harm you. It's really going to rain today. If you don't believe me, you can go and ask the local elders. They are most familiar with the weather here."
Just as Jin Dongjia finished speaking, Steward Zhang came in from the door. Although he was explaining, his eyes were telling them that they were measuring the heart of a gentleman with their own mean measure.
"Rain? Steward Zhang, you're not joking? " After Jin Dongjia heard this, he trembled. What he was afraid of was happening. He stared at Steward Zhang, wanting to know if he was lying or not.
Housekeeper Zhang smiled and sighed, "Boss Jin, do you think I have nothing better to do? That's why I'm here to tell you guys some lies? Don't you feel that it's cool and stuffy in the afternoon? The wind is blowing. Look at the sky, it's going to be night soon. "
As Steward Zhang spoke, he walked to the window and opened the other two closed windows. Sure enough, a gust of wind swept in, swirled around the house, and blew out from the other window.
"How is it? Do you feel much better? Sigh ~! We were really afraid that when the rain fell, the things in the fields would be finished. Otherwise, why would we call people back? The place on the mountain is not fixed yet. "
Steward Zhang opened his arms and stood in front of the window, feeling the coolness of the wind, and said faintly.
What the owners felt was not the coolness, but the coldness. Not only were they afraid that their seeds would be finished after the rain, but they were more afraid that the Zhang Family and Wang Family would be Zhuangzi.
Just as Steward Zhang had said, only the old people in this place knew how the local climate changed. Steward Zhang had deliberately delayed for a few days so that they could settle the matters of the shop before harvesting. It turned out that it was all in preparation for this rain.
What should we do? What should we do? It seemed that the rain was going to fall soon. No matter what, it would not last until tomorrow morning. There was no need to plant the seeds in the fields anymore. When the time came, the seeds that were not moldy could be planted directly. But could they be planted in this season?
"Steward Zhang, you can't cheat us like this. If we throw the money into the fields, we will lose a lot of money. The shops in Beijing were bought according to your requirements. Now that we gave you the seeds, you gave us this kind of thing?"
Wang Dongjia stood up and walked in front of Steward Zhang. He grabbed his arm and said with a sad face.
"Wang Dongjia, let's talk nicely. What we gave you is not wrong. We put it in the fields and waited for you to cut it. The reason why we did not cut it was because we were afraid that you would suspect that we changed the seeds. You have to understand our painstaking efforts."
Steward Zhang dodged to the side, but he still could not get rid of Wang Dongjia's hand. He could only persuade him.
"No, it's not like that. Steward Zhang, you clearly knew that it was going to rain. Why didn't you tell us a few days earlier?" Wang Dongjia's hand was blue and blue. It could be seen that he used a lot of strength.
Hearing this, Steward Zhang's face sank. He stared at Wang Dongjia and said: "Wang Dongjia, what are you talking about? How could there be a matter of a few days earlier? If we knew a few days earlier, we would have taken it a few days earlier. Look at how tired our farmers are. Compared to the work speed of the workers you found, do you not know how much effort the farmers put in?
Earlier, Jin Dongjia complained that Zhuangzi gave the farmers good food to eat. People's hearts are made of flesh. The farmers worked hard, so how could they not be given a meal? Our Zhang Family and Wang Family would not do such a thing. Even so, the farmers need to rest for a few days before they can recover.
Master said that in a bit, we will give the farmers better things. We will buy a few sheep and kill them for them to eat. Where can we find such good farmers? Look at your people, the better they eat, the worse they do. "
"Steward Zhang, don't be angry, let's talk things over. When we bought those shops, we made a bit more money, about one thousand eight hundred taels of silver. We don't want that money. We will buy a few more shops for you. Please help us. Is there a way to reduce our losses?"
Lu Dongjia was afraid that Steward Zhang would leave in anger at this time, so he came over and pulled Wang Dongjia away. He whispered to him.
"This method … is not easy to think of. Everyone, don't worry, Zhuangzi will not ignore this. Come, come, come, sit down and talk. We will take our time to discuss this."
Steward Zhang helped Lu Dongjia sit down and began to think with a frown.
*****
"Xiao Bao, it seems that what the people say is right. Having an old person in the family is like having a treasure. We have so many treasures here. Look, the timing is so accurate. When they say it will rain today, it will rain today. When they say it will rain in the middle of the night, it will definitely rain in the middle of the night."
At Zhangjia Zhuangzi's side, Wang Juan was adding vegetables to the thin pancakes. When she saw that the sky outside was overcast, she happily said to Zhang Xiaobao.
"Yes, let them give a false price and not pay the shipping fee. Do they really think that we are easy to fool? If we don't get one thousand eight hundred taels of silver this time, I, Zhang Xiaobao, will write my name backwards. "
A sinister smile appeared on Zhang Xiaobao's childish face as he agreed. He did not like to eat the rolled pancakes. He grabbed the pancakes with one hand and picked up the vegetables with the other. He just ate it like this. Spring pancakes were usually made at the beginning of spring. At this time, he took them out and gave them to the villagers. Oh, people called this spring pancake.
At first, Wang Juan did not understand why Zhang Xiaobao did not like to eat the rolled pancakes. After she finished rolling the pancakes, she saw Zhang Xiaobao eat more than half of the two-inch pancake and eat a few mouthfuls of vegetables. Only then did she understand that rolling pancakes was a waste of time.
Even when eating the shredded pork in Beijing sauce with a little soup, Zhang Xiaobao did not roll the pancake. He just held the pancake in his hand and put it under the shredded pork and onions.
After taking a bite of the pancake, Wang Juan picked up a mouthful of vegetables and put it into her mouth. She chewed twice and said, "Other than the taste of the chili sauce, everything else is about the same."
"Those things are about the same." Zhang Xiaobao picked up the second pancake.
"Xiao Bao, even if our people help them harvest, they might not be able to finish it in the middle of the night, right? They will still lose some. "Wang Juan asked doubtfully.
Zhang Xiaobao was eating the most. He nodded and waited for the food to be swallowed before he said, "Of course, don't say that it's too late. If it's really not enough, I have to ask them to buy some time. I have already found the reason. It's too tiring to work during the day. I'm risking my life to help them."
As he spoke, Zhang Xiaobao used his chopsticks to pick up a bit of fermented bean curd. He took a sip and smacked his lips twice before continuing,
"I want them to lose a portion of the rice. The ones they bought were calculated. One was to be sold to the person they contacted, and the other was to be sold to their own family. If they lose a portion of the rice, we don't have to find buyers elsewhere. We will kindly sell the rest to them."
"Xiaobao, you're still as bad as ever. I know, the amount of rice you're going to make us lose is exactly the amount of rice we have left after we've planted the seeds. Come, Xiaobao, this piece of stinky tofu is your reward."
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