Chapter 147: Settling Today’s Wages
After washing the dishes and eating a meal up on the mountain, Auntie Lu headed back down.
When Jian Xingxia tried to pay her for her labor, along with the money for the poultry, fish, and vegetables provided by the villagers, Auntie Lu stopped her. “We do need to calculate the money for the chickens and ducks, but there’s no rush for that. As for washing dishes, what kind of task is that? No money needed!”
Jian Xingxia smiled and said, “One thing is separate from another. When I hire the plump auntie, Sanniang, and even A-Feng, I always pay them wages.” It was just that she paid them in the items they needed.
Auntie Lu shook her head. “Today is your very first day opening for business. You should focus on bringing money in, not letting it flow out. It brings better luck that way.”
Auntie Lu insisted that Jian Xingxia focus on her business first. “We live right down in the village anyway, so it’s all the same whenever we calculate the bill. You look after the guests first, and just call us if you need anything.”
Seeing Auntie Lu’s persistence, Jian Xingxia didn’t push the matter further.
After seeing Auntie Lu off, A-Feng and Lin Sanniang were also about ready to leave. Lin Sanniang handed the account book along with the loose cash she had received over to Jian Xingxia.
The accounts weren’t difficult to calculate, and there wasn’t much cash. People nowadays almost exclusively used their phones to scan codes, and even the young children carried payment codes. Only a few individuals paid in cash, so the handover was quickly cleared up.
Jian Xingxia let Lin Sanniang and A-Feng select the items they wanted.
Lin Sanniang’s current wage was 10 to 15 yuan per hour. Based on a six-hour shift, she could take home a maximum of 90 yuan worth of goods. Since she managed numerous affairs now and bore the livelihoods of her sisters back in the Great Liang Dynasty on her shoulders, she didn’t stand on ceremony, meticulously selecting exactly ninety yuan worth of items.
A-Feng, on the other hand, fell into a bout of indecision.
The first time, A-Feng had picked a chaotic assortment of things, and it was Lin Sanniang who ultimately sorted out the pairings for him. The second time, A-Feng had primarily taken medicine, supplemented by a few other items.
Now, for this third time, there was a gap between visits—the swelling in Old Man Sui’s leg had already subsided, so A-Feng temporarily had no need for medicine and could select supplies to improve their daily life. But given this sudden freedom, A-Feng ironically found himself at a total loss for what to choose.
Mulling it over, Jian Xingxia worked with Lin Sanniang to help him make a selection.
A-Feng had originally been recruited under the status of a skilled bamboo artisan. Although his actual capability hadn’t reached that level yet, the sheer volume of bamboo ware he brought over far exceeded what a skilled worker could produce within standard working hours. Particularly now that the guesthouse was open, A-Feng could also help receive guests and run errands.
Jian Xingxia couldn’t help but look out for him a bit more. After thinking it over again and again, she picked out a large bag of seeds for A-Feng.
These seeds were all heirloom varieties she had sourced from various places, ensuring they hadn’t undergone genetic modification by commercial seed corporations. They could be normally saved for seed stock, offered high yields, possessed excellent quality, and were highly resistant to pests and diseases.
Although some varieties were considered old, they still far exceeded the development level of the world the ancients resided in. Jian Xingxia had previously let Da Hei try carrying some back to the Great Yu Dynasty. Whatever Da Hei couldn’t take back, Jian Xingxia filtered out. The remaining seeds, minor discrepancies aside, mostly aligned with the development level of A-Feng’s world.
Sure enough, when the massive bag of seeds—weighing a full two catties—was handed to A-Feng, he didn’t receive any alert from his “ancestors.”
However, he didn’t know what it was yet. He hefted it in his hands and didn’t think it was a small amount. “Two catties of grain is enough to feed me, Grandpa, and Grandma for several days.” Of course, that was assuming they mixed it with their own sweet potatoes and beans to cook sweet potato and bean rice.
Lin Sanniang smiled gently. “Silly child, this isn’t food grain. These are seeds, specially sourced for you by Owner Xiaxia.”
A-Feng was astonished. “They’re seeds?” Two catties? How much land would that take to plant!
Jian Xingxia smiled and said, “Take them all back. Your family’s circumstances are different; your grandpa and grandma still till the fields, and these seeds can double the harvest of your family’s land.” They might even multiply it several times over.
A-Feng was a smart child and understood the difference between being given food grain and being given seeds. He immediately offered a deep, respectful bow to Jian Xingxia. “Many thanks, Owner Xiaxia.”
Jian Xingxia ran her hand over his hair topknot, which had grown slightly disheveled after a busy day. “The bamboo ware you brought helped me immensely, but the items you can carry back are limited. I’ll give you two bags of seeds first. As for the rest, Sanniang and I discussed it, and you can take some fabric back.”
“Since you can eat your fill and eat well here, as long as your family isn’t short of food, carry less grain back and take some coarse salt and brown sugar instead.”
Jian Xingxia encouraged A-Feng, “You’re sharp, and you’ve been traveling the streets and alleys with your grandpa to sell bamboo ware since you were small. Find some distant, inconspicuous places and quietly exchange a tiny bit of the sugar and salt for some silver coins, so you can hire a proper physician to treat your grandpa.”
“Once your grandpa recovers, he can continue using this sugar and salt to barter for goods, letting your household live a good life.”
A-Feng nodded continuously, a faint glimmer of tears appearing in his eyes.
He was a child his grandpa and grandma had taken in; since he was little, the other kids in the village had always called him a wild child. Although his grandpa and grandma doted on him, they were unfortunate souls themselves—having eaten today’s meal, they never knew where tomorrow’s rice would come from, so they rarely had the opportunity to teach him principles regarding long-term development.
But here at the manor, Owner Xiaxia and Mistress Lin doted on him, ensuring he got the finest food and drinks first. As a thirteen-year-old child, he wasn’t bullied or disrespected here; he only performed a bit of running work, yet he could receive a massive amount of items. Most importantly, it had even saved his grandpa’s life.
And now, Owner Xiaxia and Mistress Lin were even meticulously selecting premium seeds for him, giving him coarse salt, fabric, and sugar, and teaching him how to make long-term plans. All of this far exceeded his expectations.
A-Feng rubbed his nose, which had turned red from holding back his emotions, and said to Jian Xingxia, “Sister Xiaxia, the bamboo ware I brought isn’t worth much money. Even if I sold it all, it wouldn’t necessarily exchange for a single dose of medicine to cure my grandpa’s leg.”
No matter how much Jian Xingxia insisted that these bamboo items had helped immensely and were worth a lot of money, A-Feng consistently felt it was a fabricated excuse she made up purely to help and support him. He had seen it clearly—there were wooden tables and chairs crafted by other artisans at the manor, yet Owner Xiaxia had never claimed those were exceptionally valuable or that the wages she paid weren’t enough.
Clutching his items, A-Feng said to Jian Xingxia with profound gratitude, “Thank you, Sister Owner. When I return, I will definitely tell Grandpa and Grandma that you gave me so many, many things.”
“We will plant these precious seeds the moment we get back, and we absolutely will not fail the support of the Owner and Mistress Lin!”
With that, A-Feng cradled his items and departed from the back courtyard.
Over here, Lin Sanniang also hoisted her bamboo basket onto her back, getting ready to leave. Before departing, she remained deeply concerned. “Owner, we are all leaving, and we don’t know when the plump auntie will depart either. When it’s just you left by yourself later, will you be able to handle everything?”
Jian Xingxia smiled. “I can. The time the plump auntie can stay is longer than yours, and I can still call Auntie Lu and the others to help, so there’s nothing to fear. Besides—”
Jian Xingxia pointed to the account book. “Our guesthouse is located deep in the mountains, so the guests standardly arrive in the morning. Look, past the noon hour, not a single soul has come.”
Taking a trip into the mountains wasn’t too far, but it wasn’t close either. Very few people would rush over in the afternoon just to play for a bit, only to rush right back before evening. Furthermore, aside from the guests staying overnight, most visitors would depart before sunset. Very few people stayed behind for dinner, making it far less busy than the lunch rush. Jian Xingxia wasn’t worried about being shorthanded.
Hearing Jian Xingxia say this, Lin Sanniang felt reassured. She also took advantage of the window before she began turning translucent to quickly cradle her items and depart.
After Lin Sanniang and A-Feng left, Jian Xingxia went to the kitchen to tell the plump auntie to head back and rest first. She had questioned the auntie before; although the auntie couldn’t explain clearly how this guesthouse exclusive worker arrangement functioned either, she had mentioned that every time Jian Xingxia summoned her, as long as there was a willow tree nearby, she could hear it or feel her skin lightly brushed by a willow branch. Then she would know it was time to come.
Having hustled all through the noon rush, the auntie was indeed exhausted and wanted to return to rest.
Holding the remaining half-portion of unsold tea-oil duck, along with a large bowl of wild mushroom chicken soup and various untouched leftovers, she boldly asked Jian Xingxia, “Owner, can I take these dishes back with me?”
Her daughter Dahong had only just given birth. Judging by the character of her in-laws’ family, never mind stewing chicken soup for her, even the chickens the auntie brought over wouldn’t necessarily make it into Dahong’s mouth. Now, it was just perfect—working as a cook at the manor meant she could directly bring the prepared dishes back. If she delivered them to Dahong herself, the in-laws wouldn’t even get a chance to touch them before the auntie stood guard to watch Dahong finish every single bite on the spot.
The auntie was filled with anticipation—she carried absolute confidence in her skills and performance. Furthermore, her mother had told her that this place wouldn’t let her take a loss, and she felt she was worth this much, so she dared to open her mouth to ask.
How could Jian Xingxia possibly disagree? She even stepped in to help pack everything up!
The tea-oil duck and local chicken soup were directly loaded into small clay pots, while the remaining leftovers were wrapped using soaked, dried lotus leaves. Finally, she bound them with hemp rope to fashion a handle, making it easy to carry away all at once.
The auntie was overjoyed. Carrying the two small clay pots and a massive package of leftovers, she ducked into the mountain cave. Emerging from beneath the massive willow tree on her end, she sprinted straight toward the home of Dahong’s in-laws.
