The dishes on the table were cold, and the wine was not as warm. No one around the table paid any attention to this. They all looked at Steward Zhang, waiting for him to come up with a good idea.
"How about this, if you ask me …" Steward Zhang paused, picked up a piece of deer tendon with his chopsticks, threw it into his mouth, chewed, and nodded.
"If you ask me, buddy, warm up the wine. Can't you see it's cold? Can you afford to compensate the owners if they don't eat well? "
Steward Zhang reached out and poured himself a cup. While he was talking, he found the wine was not warm anymore, so he shouted to the waiter at the door.
Listen to Steward Zhang, buddy. Here, this string of money is yours. Go and wait. Steward Zhang likes to eat deer tendon. Bring another plate. Steward Zhang, what good idea do you have? "
Boss Wang was one of the more impulsive ones among these people. He urged the waiter to push the plate of deer tendon in front of Steward Zhang.
Steward Zhang finished the cold wine, picked up a piece of roasted lamb chop, chewed, and said in a muffled voice, "I'm thinking that the people you find are too slow. Why don't you go to Ge Family's Zhuangzi and hire some more? They're all free, so they can come and help. More people, faster work. What do you think?"
Hearing this, everyone suddenly realized that they had been thinking about how to stop the rain and forgot to hire more people.
"Good idea. Thank you, Steward Zhang. Ge Family's Zhuangzi doesn't seem to have enough people, right? Steward Zhang, why don't you hire the farmers of Zhang Family and Wang Family? They can work faster. "Boss Wang slapped his thigh and was happy, but he also felt that they were still short of people.
"Yes, Steward Zhang, you have to help us at this time. We'll buy the shop for you later. Even if we have to spend some money, we can't let the seeds disappear." Another owner of the grain store sitting next to Steward Zhang added.
"Sigh ~!" Steward Zhang was put in a difficult position. He paused for a moment and said, "We agreed to let you earn the money. It's not easy for you to arrange for people to run around."
"Steward Zhang is a benevolent and righteous man. Don't worry, if you ever need our help in the future, we definitely won't hesitate." Lu Dongjia sighed.
Why don't you all go there and ask them? If we really let our farmers do it, they'll die of exhaustion. Although they're farmers, the main family has always treated them like family. The food is good, and they're paid well. I'm just worried that they won't be able to live a comfortable life. When I think about how they'll be tired again, I feel so sad …. "
Steward Zhang couldn't go on. He sniffled and wiped his tears with his sleeve. He pouted and looked sad.
These owners weren't fools. They knew who bought the Zhuangzi from the Li Family. Who would dare to hire people there? Unless they were tired of living. When they saw Steward Zhang's expression, they were speechless.
Jin Dongjia cursed in his heart. How can they die of exhaustion? It's just a little work. How can they die of exhaustion in a day? When they were harvesting a few days ago, did they have to rest for a few days? Look at how strong those farmers are. Who would believe that? They treat the farmers well and give them expensive food and pay them more. What kind of pay is that? What kind of farmers would pay Zhuangzi separately when they harvest the land?
He wasn't the only one who thought this way. The others also had the same thought. They cursed in their hearts. They had to say something nice, but time waits for no one.
"Steward Zhang, it's true. We really can't find anyone. Tell them to work slower? Don't worry, we'll take care of their food. It won't be worse than what you give them. As for the wages, we'll give them seven copper coins a day. How about we give them ten copper coins a day? "
Lu Dongjia stared into Steward Zhang's eyes and asked.
Steward Zhang had just finished wiping his tears. He blinked his eyes, picked up a fish head, and put it on his plate. He smacked it twice with his mouth and said to the crowd, "This fish is good. It's delicious. It's a pity that the farmers can't afford to eat it. Fish may not be valuable, but it depends on how it's cooked. A fish cooked by Shuiyun costs two taels of silver.
Everyone, how about this? There are only three hundred people in Zhuangzi who are strong. I'll give you fifteen copper coins and let you hire people elsewhere. Let them go. Waiter, go to the shopkeeper and get five strings of money. I'll return it here when I get back. "
Steward Zhang ordered the waiter who had just delivered the hot water and deer tendons.
The waiter nodded and turned to leave. But Jin Dongjia quickly stopped him. "Wait, where are we going to find people to work at this time? When they come, it will be raining. Steward Zhang, one hundred copper coins for each of you. Just for one night. "
"One hundred and fifty copper coins. Not for one night. If the rain stops and you get sick, you'll have to pay for the medical expenses." Steward Zhang made a counteroffer.
"Okay, three hundred people. It's just a few stones of seeds." Jin Dongjia gritted his teeth and agreed.
"It's not three hundred. There are about eight hundred people in Zhuangzi now. Even the children can help look after the pile." Steward Zhang didn't budge an inch.
"Alright, let's hurry up. Eight hundred people it is. A hundred taels of silver is better than losing these ten thousand taels of seeds."
Jin Dongjia really didn't want to waste any more time. The more he spoke, the less he would cut. Moreover, it wasn't a matter of ten thousand taels of silver. Those who bought the seeds had already paid the deposit. If they bought the seeds back, they would make a lot of money. If they lost the seeds, they would have to pay more.
"There's no time to lose. Let's go now. How much do you want to pay in Zhuangzi? You can talk to them yourselves. Waiter, send that plate of deer tendons back to the main house. The young master and his wife love to eat them."
Steward Zhang was delighted at this time. He took the lead and walked out. It seemed that he was more anxious than the others.
The other owners didn't have time to think about how shameless Steward Zhang was. He just served a dish and he took it back. Were the people of Zhangjia Zhuangzi so poor?
When they arrived outside, the sky was cloudy and it was already dusk. It was already dark. Two of them went to the Ge family's manor to find someone to negotiate the price. The rest of them looked at Housekeeper Zhang.
"Oh, it's dark. What should we do? We need to light lanterns. Torches are prone to fire. "Steward Zhang looked at the sky and said.
"Then let's light lanterns. Is it hard to buy lanterns?" Wang Dongjia asked anxiously.
"Let's go to the grocery store. It's too urgent. I don't know if they have any." As Steward Zhang spoke, he strode towards the Sundry Goods Store. The others followed closely behind him.
When they arrived, Steward Zhang shouted to Er Gou who was walking back and forth in the market, "Er Gou, do you have any lanterns? I need … I need four hundred lanterns. Everyone, take a look. Are those old people in Zhuangzi also using them? "
"Yes, yes, they are, they are all using them. One hundred and fifty coins per person. Use as much as you have. Er Gou, right? Do you have so many lanterns? "
One of the owners said. He didn't have time to argue. He would do whatever Steward Zhang said. Even if he had a pig, as long as it knew how to hold a lantern and how to light it, it would still be worth one hundred and fifty coins.
"Ah? Steward Zhang, you need so many lanterns? This …? "
"Don't talk about this and that. Tell me the truth. Do you have them or not?" Steward Zhang impatiently interrupted Er Gou and asked.
"Yes, there are exactly four hundred and fifty lanterns. But they have been ordered by someone else. They have to be sent to you tomorrow morning. If they are given to you …?"
Before Er Gou could finish, Wang Dongjia stepped in front of Er Gou and shouted, "How much is it? We will pay for the loss. Hurry up and get the lanterns and candles."
"Okay, I'll get them now. Two hundred coins per lantern. Each lantern has ten candles. Let me tell you, the candles …"
"I beg you, hurry up and get them." Wang Dongjia was almost crying.
Er Gou was sensible this time. In the blink of an eye, he ran to the grocery store. There seemed to be people waiting there. He went in and came out. The four hundred and fifty lanterns were set up in less than a quarter of an hour. He put in the candles and lit them up.
At this time, the young and old women of the manor also walked out and waited there. Their efficiency was so high that all the masters felt their hearts bleed. If they hadn't been prepared, how could they be so fast? But those people were empty-handed.
"Steward Zhang, they came empty-handed?" One of the owners stared and asked.
"Oh, they are so troublesome. Who went to find them? Didn't we say to collect the land? Did we forget to tell them? Er Gou, do you have scythes here? The kind that we specially made and are better than other scythes? We need … we need five hundred scythes. How much do you want? Ask these owners later. "
Steward Zhang was also annoyed. He shouted at Er Gou. When he saw Er Gou go in to get the scythes, he shouted at the owners, "Everyone heard that. We asked you to help us harvest the rice. One hundred and fifty coins per person. When you're done, remember to put the scythes in a place. This scythe …"
"Steward Zhang, look, the scythes are here. Let's get to work first, okay?" Jin Dongjia couldn't hold it in anymore. He felt more and more bored.
"Take the scythes and work. Children look after the piles. Old people and women hold the lanterns." Steward Zhang immediately shouted. Those people didn't slow down. They ran over to get the things they needed.
When they started, Steward Zhang wiped the sweat off his face and said to the owners, "Everyone, I'll ask people to prepare the food. We'll eat according to the lunch. There's one less fungus soup. I'll ask you to save some and change it to mutton. How about that?"
"Okay, Steward Zhang will arrange it. That's Ge Zhuang's people, right? Hurry up, run a few steps. " One of the owners didn't want to continue bargaining on other matters. He agreed and saw the flames appear over there. He waved his hand and shouted loudly.
The Ge Family didn't have many people in Zhuangzi. Only one hundred came. As for how much they spent, Steward Zhang didn't care. This could be considered as helping them once and earning more money.
"Steward Zhang, I admit defeat this time. Don't worry, I won't have any ideas about Zhang Family and Wang Family's Zhuangzi anymore." The owner surnamed Lu watched those people harvest and said to Steward Zhang who was standing next to him.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
