Chapter 243: Hiring Someone
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Seeing the smoke that suddenly appeared in front of Old Madam Ning, Xiaoxiao narrowed her eyes. She suddenly flashed out of space with a slingshot and raised her hand to throw a stone.
She aimed at the old woman’s knee. After the blow, Old Madam Ning fell into the farmland. She was only a punch away from the flame. She was so frightened that she instinctively screamed, but her legs were weak. She couldn’t run even if she wanted to.
Xiaoxiao flashed back into the space and took out a special item that had been placed there for a few days-a large pot of leeches that Old Madam Ning had deliberately placed in the Ning Family’s land.
She didn’t even need to leave the space to do this. As soon as the space exit was located, leeches appeared on Old Madam Ning’s back one after another. They didn’t cause much damage through her clothes, but they were very intimidating.
A scream tore through the sky. Old Madam Ning fainted on the field.
There was still no one around for the time being. Xiaoxiao put out the fire and took away most of the leeches, leaving only about 10 of them. She stuffed the fire lighter back into Old Madam Ning’s palm and used the spatial exit positioning function to go home by reappearing once every five meters.
If anyone saw her five-meter-reappearance, they would probably think that they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
However, using this method, Xiaoxiao returned home very quickly and even pulled a handful of grass for Ning Fengnian to see.
It was obvious at a glance that the grass had completely ripened. Xiaoxiao happily prepared the gift she would bring to the Shen Residence tomorrow.
The crayfish were indispensable. The other flavors would be made tomorrow, but they had to be soaked in the Huadiao today to get the flavor in.
The ice cubes that had been distributed from the Shen Family in advance were already in place. Xiaoxiao used a suitable amount of ginger, fragrant leaves, star anise, cinnamon, peppercorns, rock sugar, salt, light soya sauce, and water to boil the soup ingredients. After it was cooled, she added Erguotou and Huadiao wine as backup. She added cold water to the steamer and spread the ginger slices. Then, she placed the washed crayfish in the pot and steamed them. After the water boiled, she quickly put the steamed crayfish into ice water to cool it. This way, the crayfish meat would be more refreshing.
The crayfish that completed these steps needed to be soaked in the shade overnight. With enough ice and the space preservation functions, this pot of crayfish would still be fresh and delicious tomorrow.
When the Ning Family was building a new house, they also built the cellar at Xiaoxiao’s strong request. When Xiaoxiao put the ice bucket containing the prawns into the cellar and came out, she happened to see a villager dancing and talking to Ning Fengnian.
She pretended to pass by casually and heard the person exclaim in a hoarse voice, “What’s wrong with your stepmother? She actually set fire to your land and threw leeches onto it?”
“But she’s really unlucky. She fainted from fright after failing to set the fire.” “She’s still quibbling now, insisting that the leeches have nothing to do with her.”
“Hey, wait a minute. Does she mean to admit that she set the fire?” Ning Fengnian did not comment further. He poured a glass of water for the villager so that he would calm down and went to the fields to check on the crops. When he returned, he said to Madam Song, “It’s not a big problem. The fire was extinguished before it started. The land was just drained today and is very humid.”
Madam Song was very worried. “It’s very humid today. Where’s tomorrow? If it’s completely dry in the future, if she burns it… won’t you have worked for nothing for so long?”
She took off her apron. “No, I have to talk to them!”
Nmg Anhui had been waiting for this sentence. He picked up the shovel at the door and stuffed a wooden stick into his mother’s hand. Ning Fengnian was so angry that he laughed. “Are you going to reason with her or fight?”
Nmg Anhui pursed his lips. “As Sister said, we can’t have the intention to harm others, but we have to be wary of others.”
Ning Fengnian didn’t lecture him. He only said, “Protect yourself first. If they act unreasonably, your sister also said that we should be polite before resorting to force.” 6
Xiaoxiao:… So she was the one who said it all?
She cleared her throat. “Actually, I think it’s useless for you to make this trip. No matter how clear the logic is, those people in the old residence would rather be muddle-headed. They might cry, throw a tantrum, and hang themselves. Don’t forget, Second Aunt is about to give birth. Besides, it’s obvious. We don’t have to waste our breath. Our priority now should be to protect the food in the fields.”
Everyone felt that she was right. Ning Fengnian volunteered. “From today onwards, I’ll stay in the fields.”
Madam Song couldn’t bear to part with her husband, but she also couldn’t bear to part with the thriving crops. Just as she was conflicted, she heard Xiaoxiao say, “Actually, there’s another way.”
After Old Madam Ning’s incident, the Ning Family could not stay at home and wait for the crops to ripen. They no longer had any confidence in the old residence’s character.
However, it was unbearable to keep an eye on her day and night, so Xiaoxiao suggested an idea—hire someone.
There were also ready-made candidates-the refugees sent to the Fortune Village by the county magistrate.
Those people could not find work for the time being and were also anxious to earn their keep. Xiaoxiao suggested hiring them to watch the rice fields until the harvest. Actually, according to her, hiring these people during the harvest would also make everyone’s life much easier.
The first half of the sentence was approved by her family, but no one expressed their stance on the second half for the time being. The Ning Family had yet to adapt to the change in identity from being hired to hiring someone else.
Xiaoxiao was not in a hurry. It was only a matter of time before she subtly influenced them.
After hearing this news, more than 10 refugees came to the Ning Family’s courtyard door and recommended themselves.
After experiencing the desert, no matter what status and family background they had in the past, they had already suffered enough. Guarding the rice fields was nothing to them. Moreover, it had only been 10 days. It was simply easy for them to get 50 copper coins just by sitting there and watching.
If they were more diligent and did other work at the same time, such as peeling some small bamboo tubes that the Ning Family wanted, their daily income would be enough to live for a short period of time.
Perhaps they could gather enough money to buy land after a few more jobs. Even if it was a wasteland, as long as they were willing to suffer, they could always grow food to support themselves.
Xiaoxiao recognized the stranger who had just helped her from the crowd. “What’s your name?”
The man was also very surprised. “Chen Kuan.”
Chen Kuan and another man called Wang He were chosen together. The two of them took turns to prevent themselves from running out of energy When Xtaoxiao brought the two of them to the field, she said, “Actually, I still need someone to help look after another piece of land. If the two of you get used to it later, you can continue.”
The work was very simple. It was already arranged before the sky turned dark. The two of them did not need any training and went straight to work. They even nimbly built a simple shed on the field. One of them rested and the other worked. They wouldn’t miss a single thing.
With the two of them around, the Ning Family finally had a good night’s sleep However, Ning Anhui tossed and turned uncomfortably at night. “Are we just going to let Grandma play tricks on us?”
Ning Ansheng put down the book. “Then do you want to go over and cause a scene, then get them to compensate or apologize?”
It was impossible to get them to compensate for the money. Not to mention that the rice was fine, even if something really happened, they would be able to hide it.
It was even more impossible for the old lady to apologize in this lifetime If she went overboard, the old lady might make a scene again. Ning Anhui understood this logic, but he still felt uncomfortable..
