Chapter 155: Lin Sanniang Upgrades to a Formal Worker
“The towels used at the manor need to be washed, sanitized, and ironed every day. This is calculated on a daily basis—no matter how many towels there are in a day, it pays thirty-one yuan.”
“The bedsheets, duvet covers, and pillowcases used on the beds are paid according to the guest room usage, at ten yuan per set.”
“These are the cleaning and sanitation standards sent over by Xiaxia. She said she bought an ultraviolet sanitizing cabinet, which will arrive in a couple of days. For these two days, just wash, dry, and iron them first, and then sanitize them once the cabinet arrives.”
The final three selected candidates looked at the criteria on Qi Shan’s phone, and all of them stated they could do it and would definitely do it well.
What a joke! This was pure money!
It didn’t sound like much—only ten yuan to wash a set of bedding—but the manor had six guest rooms! They heard that yesterday was so crowded that even the two side rooms on the first floor were used. That would be eighty yuan right there! Plus the thirty-yuan towel washing fee, that made it a hundred and ten yuan a day!
Without even leaving the house, and without delaying their own household chores, they could easily earn a hundred yuan. Who wouldn’t be willing! The only thing they were unhappy about was why there were two other people competing with them.
The three drew straws to determine the order, and Qin Yanyan happened to be responsible for today. She immediately asked, “The sun is just right now, should I head up the mountain to grab them right away?”
“No need for that. Chunhui brought a few sets down with her, just go meet her and pick them up.”
“For the rest, wait until the guests check out and ask Auntie Lu. She stays in contact with Xiaxia.”
Auntie Lu chuckled and said, “Everyone, don’t be in a rush. Xiaxia said that after the trial run ends, she’ll come down to the village to talk about proper business and settle everyone’s accounts. Everyone will have a chance to earn money!”
But with a matter like this, could a person truly not be in a rush just because someone said so?
Auntie Lu had already gone up the mountain to wash dishes for a full day, and looking at how things stood, she was currently functioning as Xiaxia’s assistant and contact person. Little Hu Liu helped haul cargo, Auntie Chunhui had directly taken on the monthly utility worker job, and now the three of them under Qin Yanyan had secured the linen washing work…
In the blink of an eye, six people in the village were already earning money! Who wouldn’t be anxious!
Everyone discussed it boisterously, leaving only Hu Lin standing to the side, weeping silently. “…”
He had helped drop off and pick up people for two days now, yet in everyone’s eyes, he didn’t even count as a worker! If he had known earlier that Xiaxia paved the road and installed the barrier gate just to open a guesthouse that could drive the villagers to earn money, he wouldn’t have gone to cause trouble in the first place! Look at the mess he had made!
Back at the manor, everyone had only just navigated the lunchtime rush.
A-Feng took over the dishwashing duties. As the head chef and the manor’s very first formal worker, the plump auntie had departed early, carrying away the unsold leftovers.
The system offered preferential treatment to formal workers; they were allowed to carry away their own allotted portions of meals. Yesterday, the auntie had carried away portions for three people. Aside from the portion she ate herself, the system calculated that she had carried away food for two extra people, with each portion priced at two yuan.
Jian Xingxia told the auntie that for the meals she carried away, a total of four yuan might be docked from her wages each time—it wasn’t that she intentionally wanted to deduct it, but the system automatically calculated the items the auntie carried back, directly making her monthly salary 600 – 4 – 4.
But the moment Jian Xingxia stated this, the auntie didn’t hesitate in the slightest.
“This old lady doesn’t understand what you mean by that ‘yuan’ thing anyway. When I work as a helper for others, I only make around six hundred wen a month.”
“You’re giving me six hundred yuan here, and the meals equate to two wen per person… Two wen on our end certainly couldn’t buy this much meat. Just let me carry it back, I’m highly willing.”
As long as the auntie was willing, Jian Xingxia naturally wouldn’t stop her. The auntie was perfectly carefree; she could earn six hundred yuan, so spending four yuan to let Dahong and Xue Laosan eat a bit better was something she was fully willing to do.
Furthermore, she wasn’t just spending. When she left, she also carried away the radish peels, potato skins, yellowed leaves, and tough vegetable ends trimmed during prep work. She had questioned Jian Xingxia, and these items didn’t cost money. She raised twenty chickens at home, and with dozens of people dining at the manor, there were plenty of unwanted leaves left from prep work. Carrying them back to feed the chickens was perfect. Hoisting a broken basket let her carry twenty to thirty catties at a time, which also saved money and effort.
After the auntie departed and A-Feng went to wash the dishes, Jian Xingxia sought out Lin Sanniang to discuss.
“Sanniang, I have a long-term worker slot open on my end, and I want you to take it. Would you be willing?”
The reason Jian Xingxia specifically questioned Sanniang was that Sanniang still bore the livelihoods of her sisters—Auntie Lin, Hehua, and Yuxiang—on her shoulders. Previously, Lin Sanniang had come at intervals—sometimes for a short five days, sometimes for over ten days—which gave Auntie Lin and the others enough time to produce clothing and embroidery work. Sanniang had taken that exact opportunity to subsidize them.
Jian Xingxia analyzed the pros and cons for Sanniang—calculating by a temporary worker’s wage, the maximum working hours per month was 36 hours. According to Sanniang’s upgraded wage, she could take home a maximum of 36 X 15 = 540 yuan.
The wages for formal workers were also strictly “recommended” and drafted by the system based on each individual’s circumstances. However, Jian Xingxia estimated it shouldn’t be lower than 600 yuan. The auntie was a specialized worker and Sanniang was a managerial talent; there was no distinction of high or low between them, so their wages should be roughly similar, or perhaps a bit higher.
“But if we do this, you might have to spend most of your time on my end. The manor has numerous affairs, so unless there are no guests, you’ll have to come every single day… Over on the Great Yu Dynasty’s side, is that convenient for you?”
When speaking with Sanniang, Jian Xingxia didn’t need to be overly cautious. Sanniang possessed a highly sharp comprehension and could understand the difference perfectly.
She was different from the auntie. The auntie had already established her reputation as a cook previously and frequently went out to help in kitchens anyway, and now that her household had split, there were no outsiders to control her. But Sanniang was different; her three children were still small, and her interactions with Auntie Lin and the others were highly close. Coming occasionally like this, spending only three shichen a day, made it relatively easy to conceal. If she truly became a formal worker, she would have to spend far more time at the manor.
Jian Xingxia let Lin Sanniang make her own decision.
Lin Sanniang, however, patted her chest and let out a massive sigh of relief. “A formal worker who can come and go at any time just like the plump auntie? Thank goodness, thank goodness! I was just worrying that the Mountain Goddess would say I’ve been working too long and need to take a break, refusing to let me come!”
Sanniang had been deeply worried. “The manor is so busy! If I didn’t come, how much more worry would you have to shoulder, Miss?”
Now that a formal worker slot had finally appeared, whether it was the Mountain Goddess or the Lightning Mother, the ancestors manifesting or the willow tree summoning… as long as she could be a formal worker, that was all that mattered.
Sanniang smiled and said, “There’s no need to worry about the household over there; Taoya is helping cover for me!”
Only then did Jian Xingxia recall that she hadn’t seen the little girl in a long time; she had been the very first person she hired. “Perfect. If you upgrade to a formal worker today, I’ll free up another temporary worker slot. I’ll call Taoya over to play!”
As she spoke, Jian Xingxia felt a bit self-conscious. “Though I estimate the afternoon will get busy again. Not only will I lack the time to accompany Taoya to play, but I might even need her help.”
Having been at the manor for so long, how could Lin Sanniang not know that coming to work at the manor was equivalent to coming to enjoy blessings! Owner Xiaxia claimed she was calling Taoya over to help, but she was simply finding a roundabout way to subsidize them.
Lin Sanniang pursed her lips and smiled. “To tell you the truth, Miss, Taoya has been constantly keeping you in her thoughts.” They had simply felt too embarrassed to say they wanted to come, fearing it would look like they wanted to take advantage.
Jian Xingxia felt even more self-conscious—”I’ve been so busy with the opening recently that I truly didn’t have extra slots.”
Since both sides wished for it, there was no better day than today. She upgraded Lin Sanniang to a formal worker immediately, and used the freed-up temporary worker quota to summon Taoya.
