Chapter 275: Light in the Night
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
He Shi could not believe what she had heard. She was thrilled about it and still asked, “Is that true?!”
“Y-Yes, it’s true. W-We will start reclaiming the land for farming tomorrow morning. T-Then I will collect f-five coins at the end of t-the day.” Lin Chai would only speak to his family because he knew she and their three sons would not laugh at him.
When He Shi was sure the news was true, she smiled, saying, “That’s great!”
Lin Chai looked at his wife’s smile and smiled back. He said, “E-Earning five coins daily are perfect, and the place is n-near our house, s-so I don’t have to I-leave the v-village. I’ll get p-paid every day, w-which is great!”
He was delighted that his wife was also happy. He would not say anything nice but wanted to work hard to earn money so that his wife would not have to work so hard.
He also had three sons. They were still young and needed to eat, so Lin Chai thought of ways to earn more, even though he dared not leave the village for work.
On the one hand, it was because he stuttered, and many would laugh at him. His wife could not bear to see him working hard outside the village. On the other hand, Lin Chai’s wife was not in good health, and he did not want her to work outside of the village.
After all, he could take care of his wife at home.
“C-Chief Su also said w-well done, and there will b- be more work in the f-future,” Lin Chai stuttered.
He Shi immediately felt energetic as she tidied her husband’s clothes and said, “Our family’s conditions will improve if you work hard. I’ll return to cooking now.”
Although He Shi said she was cooking, the family only had coarse grains and some leftover soup with a bit of noodle. The family also ate raw vegetables that she dug up in the fields.
That was enough to fill their stomachs, but they could never eat until they were full. Even if the family collected grain and returned, they would not be willing to overeat.
After all, the family needed their grain to last a year. Moreover, they had to think of selling a portion of it for their household expenses.
Few families lived in Su Teng Village, and most families were like Lin Chai’s family. Granduncle Su chose many people to reclaim the land because there were fifty acres. The more people worked on it, the quicker they would finish.
Meanwhile, in the Su family’s new house, after dinner, they sat on the heated platform and continued peeling the corn while they talked.
Su Binglan went to town and used silver to exchange for countless copper coins. She took out her purse, removed a small box, and poured all the copper coins into the small box.
Cling! Clang!
The sound of copper coins pouring out sounded pleasant to everyone’s ears. The family felt rich when they looked at the pile of copper coins.
“I think exchanging copper coins for more silver coins is better.”
Su Binglan explained, “These copper coins are for the workers who will help us reclaim the land. Each person will get five coins daily.”
Su Wenzhe put down the corn he held and reached to touch the copper cons. He said, “I saw many villagers gathered on the street to talk when I returned from town just now. Everyone seemed enthusiastic when they saw me.”
The villagers greeted Su Wenzhe when they saw him, including the elders with seniority. Everyone spoke to him warmly, and Su Wenzhe felt like something was different.
Liu Yinyin lowered her head and continued peeling the corn. “I think most of the villagers are quite happy.”
Su Wenxiu sighed. “Yeah, that’s because earning five copper coins is excellent for everyone, especially if it’s daily payments. It feels different to receive cash upfront.
“I was happy to earn five coins daily when I previously worked in town. After five to six working days, I would have more than twenty coins, and I could buy rice and noodles.”
Su Wenwu agreed with Su Wenxiu’s words, “I know how you felt. It’s because it’s not a busy season for farming. Everyone has nothing much to do since they don’t have anything else to harvest. They all remain in the village and do things at home, which is excellent for everyone.”
Su Wenxiu and Su Wenwu had suffered being away from the village, so they naturally understood how the villagers felt..
Many would starve to death these days, so they were happy to earn more money. Even if they bought some flour, they could have enough to eat for a long time if they used it sparingly.
Su Fengmao sighed and said, “We’re hiring people to reclaim the land we just bought. Still, we can only hire able-bodied villagers, not those who don’t have much strength.”
He could not bear seeing so many hungry villagers with shallow and emaciated faces. However, his children had earned their money through hard work, so they could not just give it away.
Shen Qiuhua said, “Everyone has to live on their own sometimes. People can’t always rely on others’ charity, after all. Everyone in the village knows this principle, so to overthink it.”
Su Binglan looked at her father’s expression and knew how kind he was. She felt terrible that they could only hire a few people, not the entire village.
She comforted her father, “Those who work hard can contribute and live better lives if we can encourage everyone to do so. Then we can hire more villagers when we open the tofu factory in the future. Since most villagers can handle the factory, we won’t have to do much.
Su Fengmao felt less guilty when he heard that. “Indeed, you’re such a capable person, Binglan. You’re always helping so many people.”
Su Binglan shook her head. “Not just others but ourselves too. The tofu factory will be in the village, so it’s more convenient for you and Mother to watch out for it. Then you two won’t have to go to town.
“The land in the village is cheap and won’t cost much to build the factory. It’s also convenient to hire villagers to do the work.”
Su Binglan had asked around and discovered that it would cost at least one silver tael for an acre of land if she were to buy the land from the town. Of course, she knew what to do and was not blindly doing things.
“You have a point, Binglan.”
Then she handed the copper coins to her father and said, “I’ll entrust you with these to pay everyone, Father.”
Su Fengmao took the box of copper coins as if Su Binglan had entrusted him with a vital task. Moreover, it felt good to give everyone money, so he said excitedly, “Don’t worry, Binglan. I will handle this well. I guarantee that not a single cent will go missing.”
Shen Qiuhua looked at her husband’s expression and knew he would handle it well. However, she also reminded him, “Those coins are for everyone’s hard work. You can make mistakes.”
After the conversation, Su Binglan returned to her room to rest. Her room was also huge, and there was a large desk. She and her husband could use it together.
Nonetheless, she was not in a hurry to sleep when she returned to her room. She still had to draw blueprints, after all. She lit the oil lamp on the desk, took a piece of charcoal, and started drawing.
The blueprints she was drawing were for the tofu factory, of course. She drew the structure and space inside in great detail. Su Binglan did not even go to bed until late at night.
Many houses were brightly lit the following morning as the sky had just begun to brighten. The sunlight was dim yellow, but it was also because it was cloudy the night before..
