The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences

Chapter 264: The Ninth Daughter of the Lin Family

A half-grown boy earning 800 wen a month is actually not a small expense. For eight people, the total monthly cost comes to 8,800 wen. This would have been unthinkable in the past, but Sang Luo’s ability to produce valuable goods has made it possible to afford such expenses.

With the arrangements settled, the next step is to decide who will go. In the Chen family, since they are setting up a workshop and making tofu with the help of a mule for grinding, they can manage without additional help. Thus, both Chen Dashan and Chen Ershan will go.

Xu Wenqing, Zhou Sanlang, and now Xiao Jin make up five of the eight slots needed, leaving a requirement for one more adult and two more half-grown boys.

Over the years, families in the village have developed a good understanding of each other’s relationships. The Chen family and the Shen family have the best relationship, so there are no issues with the Chen brothers going. In their families, when they heard Sang Luo was hiring eight people, they all tacitly agreed. They didn’t dare to ask for more; each household could recommend one person, and if more were needed later, it would be up to Sang Luo to decide.

In other places, such matters might involve internal competition and conflicts among siblings and in-laws. But in Daxing Village, that’s simply not the case.

In the Zhou family, Zhou Sanlang’s love for running errands was well-known. When it was clear that Sang Luo was hiring, his brothers and sisters-in-law did not argue. Sanlang wanted to go, so he would go.

In the Shi family, Shi Dalang felt that his son had already entered the east market shop and had a disabled hand, so he preferred Shi Erlang to go.

In the Lu family, Lu Er and Lu San were courteous to each other.

The Zhou family was already set. For the Shi and Lu families, they originally planned their own arrangements, but they were aware of each other’s plans. When they realized there was only one slot left for an adult, both families couldn’t send an adult from their side.

Shi Erlang simply said, “Let’s send Erniu from our family.”

Shi Erniu is fifteen this year.

With both children from the Shi family’s main branch working for the Shen family, Shi Dalang and his wife felt it was unfair to the secondary branch. Shi Erlang waved off their concerns: “It’s just right that there’s a slot for a half-grown boy. The child needs to learn. What’s the point of competing with my nephew for opportunities? If Sanniu and Qiao’er were suitable, wouldn’t elder brother and sister-in-law take care of them as well?”

In the Lu family, Lu Sanlang said, “Second brother, you go. You have more experience, and you’re better at running errands. I’ll follow up once our Daxing Village specialty store is more established.”

Sang Luo smiled, which was part of why she liked these people. She asked, “We have seven people now, still missing one. Is there anyone else who wants to go?”

Mrs. Lu wanted to advocate for her seventeen-year-old son, Tiezhu, but thinking of her eldest’s character and the troublesome things the couple had done in the past, she couldn’t bring herself to speak up and just quietly kept her mouth shut.

The remaining families had suitable half-grown boys, and Zhou Cunzheng was one of them. Zhou Changgong, being outgoing, looked around and saw no one else speaking up, especially from the Lu family. He asked, “Master wife, can I go?”

He was the first to volunteer as an apprentice years ago and is now sixteen, about the same age as Xu Wenqing and the others. He addressed Sang Luo as Master wife smoothly, without regard for her age.

Sang Luo found it amusing: “Sure, then it’s Changgong.”

For business work, being proactive is a good trait.

With the people decided, Lu Erlang asked, “So, we depart tomorrow? How exactly should we proceed? Are there any specific details to consider?”

“One team of four people, split into pairs for safety. Each team can operate independently within each county or state. Depending on the size of the state or county, develop a few distributors. The conditions for choosing distributors and how to handle them can be figured out as you go. For the first trip, my suggestion is to plan your route, carry some samples, secure business and advance payments, then return to pick up and deliver the goods. As for further details, you’ll need to discuss and decide among yourselves.”

Chen Dashan, Lu Erlang, Xu Wenqing, Zhou Sanlang, and even the four younger ones, each with different personalities and strengths, are all capable. Sang Luo didn’t involve herself too much, as she didn’t think she was inherently smarter just because she came from another world. She trusted these people to handle things well based on their good character.

Chen Dashan nodded: “Alright, we’ll discuss among ourselves where to go.”

Sang Luo then turned to Wei Lingzhen: “Could you have Shopkeeper Xu manage a detailed briefing on what to watch out for? This is the first time doing business like this, and we might not know all the nuances.”

Wei Lingzhen smiled: “Sure, you can come over to my house later. He’ll be back before the city gate closes.”

The plan to venture out with samples didn’t intimidate them. They were experienced, and Sang Luo’s reputation made things much easier. With her standing as a local noble, it reduced the likelihood of trouble.

Once everything was set, Sang Luo shifted the topic to another matter, discussing collecting soybeans and mung beans from each household and inquiring if anyone wanted to expand their pig farming this year.

“If you want to expand, I can buy all the pigs you sell. If we open more mountain land, my suggestion is to plant more violet beans. This way, we can increase honey production as well.”

“Definitely,” Mrs. Lu and the others agreed without hesitation.

Last year, every household made a lot of money from this, so who wouldn’t want to? With such opportunities for farming, raising pigs, and keeping bees, it was a unique chance for Daxing Village. Outside, who had so much mountain land?

Mrs. Lu thought about telling Shuanzhu to increase pig farming this year.

Sang Luo taught the beekeeping techniques herself and would not share them outside, but pig farming was common knowledge. Last fall and winter, when the Shen family collected soybeans and pigs, Shuanzhu had inquired, and Shen Ning also bought them.

Recalling last year’s profits made everyone happy. Zhou Cunzheng said, “I’ll go around the villages tomorrow to reserve piglets. Let me know how many you want. Each household should prepare pigsties in advance.”

Everyone was glad they had plenty of mountain land. Sang Luo’s approach to land management was collaborative, so when she selected mountain land for rewards from the yamen, she had already planned for pig farming. She left land further away from the village for this purpose, avoiding bad smells near the village.

The meeting then turned lively. Once business was settled, it became a casual tea gathering. Mrs. Chen mentioned the house construction plans for summer and asked for help from everyone, requesting Sang Luo for the blueprints.

Lin Jiuniang, who had never seen such communal business planning, found it unusual. When she heard Mrs. Chen ask for blueprints, she was curious and asked Wei Qinghe about them.

Xu Wenqing smiled and took Lin Jiuniang on a tour.

Lin Jiuniang had never seen such a modern toilet before, and she was quite intrigued by it.

Xu Wenqing explained, “I heard that the Governor’s residence changed to this kind of toilet last year. Our family is also planning to upgrade, so we’ll ask Master wife for the blueprints. I saw it before; it’s not just the shape but the internal pipes, fittings, and several varying levels of pits. There’s a lot to it.”

Lin Jiuniang was quite impressed.

As the evening came, the guests left. Those going out on business gathered at the Xu family’s place before heading home, and Zhou Cunzheng scolded his two sons when they got home.

“Now that we’ve taken this job, we need to put more effort into it. The wages are not low, so let’s make sure we don’t waste all this expense.”

This advice wasn’t without reason. Sang Luo’s own products were highly profitable, but as the business grew, she needed to buy raw materials from them or even neighboring villages. These are real costs. On top of that, there are expenses for providing supplies, paying commissions, and allowing profits for the distributors. And don’t forget the costs for workers at the workshop.

Everyone kept their own accounts.

The conversation between Zhou Cunzheng and his sons was the same as in other families; everyone was paying attention.

……

The next day was the recruitment day for the workshop. Since most people were illiterate, recruiting relied on familiar faces, with Mrs. Chen and her daughter-in-law handling the arrangements.

Meanwhile, it was Lin Jiuniang’s third day returning to her family. The women in the Lin family gathered and asked about her husband’s family. Naturally, the conversation eventually turned to the renowned figure of Daxing Village—Sang Luo.

Lin Jiuniang had just visited the Shen family the night before, so she praised Sang Luo highly.

“In the past two days, I haven’t learned much about other things, but I did find that the people in Daxing Village are very united and regard Mrs. Sang as their core. The atmosphere is excellent. Mrs. Sang truly deserves her title as a local noble, despite her youth; she’s indeed remarkable in management.” She mentioned that Daxing Village was setting up a noodle workshop and said, “They recruited eight people yesterday to expand their business. Qinghe’s nephew is among them. Today, it’s even more lively; I heard they need to recruit more than thirty people.”

“More than thirty?” Old Madam Lin was a bit surprised but pleased. She repeatedly praised it and advised her granddaughter, “Daxing Village is growing fast. Qinghe is progressing too. Your grandfather’s choice of marriage for you was right. Remember to get along well with Qinghe and don’t think farming is beneath you. Mrs. Sang farms too—look at how well she’s doing.”

She also instructed her granddaughter to maintain good relations with Wei Qinghe’s family and everyone in the village.

Lin Jiuniang naturally agreed and promised to do so.

After the conversation with the old madam, everyone dispersed. On the way back, Lin Jiuniang’s Aunt Wu, who was headed in a different direction, caught up with her. After some casual conversation, Aunt Wu eventually asked if Lin Jiuniang knew about the beekeeping methods from Daxing Village.

Lin Jiuniang’s smile faded.

“If you’re asking about the Shen family’s methods, Aunt Wu, you might be inquiring at the wrong place.”

With that, she turned and left.

Aunt Wu was so angry she gritted her teeth, muttering to herself once Lin Jiuniang was out of earshot, “Marrying a servant’s daughter has made her so arrogant.”