Chapter 172: Mosquito Legs Are Also Meat
The chicken, duck, fish, meat, eggs, along with the various vegetables, pickles, and dried goods… were all fully settled. All that was left was the labor wages.
Among the chickens, ducks, fish, and meat that Auntie Lu had collected, the fish and meat were handled by the plump auntie herself, but the chickens and ducks had all been cleaned and prepped at the foot of the mountain before being brought up. Even the vegetables were washed—some were even chopped—before being sent up to the manor.
Jian Xingxia had no experience with this, and neither did the villagers.
In the past, whenever someone in the village hosted a wedding or a funeral, everyone would go help out. Someone would be in charge of being the head chef, some would be responsible for picking, washing, and chopping vegetables, while others handled setting up, clearing, and washing the bowls, or arranging the tables, chairs, and venue layout to guide the guests. This was an unwritten tradition in the village.
But it had never been calculated in terms of money. Usually, those who helped out were given a pack of cigarettes, two catties of sugar, or a couple of towels and a few bars of soap. In recent years, they also gave out toothpaste, or items like slippers, cups, and umbrellas.
Hu Da and the other village cadres had also held an overnight meeting to discuss the matter of labor wages.
“Aside from Auntie Lu and Auntie Chunhui, who count as formal workers and are paid directly by Xiaxia, everyone else was just offering temporary help.”
“This rate shouldn’t be set too low, lest it disappoint everyone.”
“But it shouldn’t be set too high either. Otherwise, the next time a household hosts a major event, not only will no one help out, but it will also make things difficult for the host family. We don’t want the discrepancy to be too massive, causing people to gossip behind their backs.”
They discussed it back and forth. Generally, when helping out in the village, people bustled about from morning till night, sometimes for two or three days straight. But when it came to actual solid labor, it probably only amounted to three or four hours. Moreover, it was the kind of work done while chatting and having fun.
“Let’s count it as three hours. A pack of cigarettes plus a few yuan worth of small items… calculated out, eight to ten yuan an hour seems relatively reasonable.”
Auntie Lu helped keep check: “Then from now on, I will try to consolidate the work as much as possible. If a task can be finished by two people, I won’t call a third.” Otherwise, if things were loose and disorganized and the hours dragged out, it would be difficult to accurately calculate the amount of labor.
Hu Da reminded her: “Auntie, it’s best to keep a list and take turns. If we call these two households today, we call those two tomorrow. For families facing extreme difficulties, arrange a few more shifts for them. Overall, it needs to be fair.”
Auntie Lu nodded. She understood the interpersonal relationships and worldly wisdom here much better than young people like Hu Da.
After the village concluded their meeting and spoke with Jian Xingxia, she calculated the rate at ten yuan an hour.
“It’ll be like this in the future too. If someone comes to help out directly inside the guesthouse, it will be calculated at fifteen yuan an hour.”
This was roughly equivalent to Auntie Chunhui’s rate—one hundred yuan for a six-hour day.
For those performing labor down in the village, the work wasn’t as exhausting and didn’t require climbing the mountain. With Little Hu Liu, Uncle Lu, and Auntie Lu handling the deliveries, their rate was set at ten yuan an hour. The specific number of hours put in would also be verified and calculated by Auntie Lu.
The villagers who helped out felt rather self-conscious: “Ha, just peeling some potatoes, it’s just a casual hand, is it really worth giving money for?”
Qi Shan smiled and said, “Those who slaughtered the chickens and plucked the feathers were paid, so of course those who peeled, washed, and chopped the vegetables should be paid too.”
Since it was being calculated, it had to be fair and apply to everyone equally. Otherwise, if those washing and chopping vegetables didn’t take money, those slaughtering chickens and ducks would feel too embarrassed to ask for it either. But this was work that required time and effort. If they didn’t accept money, they would just make excuses about being busy and refuse to come next time. Wouldn’t that delay operations? Qi Shan offered a whole round of persuasion.
The villagers were actually just being polite—who would refuse money when offered! Thus, they registered according to the labor hours calculated by Auntie Lu, signed their names, and collected their cash.
“Qin Yanyan, fifty yuan.”
“Fourth Auntie Hu, sixty yuan.”
“Fangfang, twenty.”
“Xiangjun, sixty.”
The wages weren’t actually a vast amount, falling short compared to the villagers who supplied chickens, ducks, fish, and meat. Yet for some reason, the villagers who received these wages were actually much happier. It seemed people always felt that large sums of money had to be earmarked for specific major purposes. Instead, it was exactly these small, pocket-change amounts of twenty or thirty yuan that felt like money they could truly spend on themselves after receiving it. It made people exceptionally happy.
Then there was Hu Lin. Over these three days, he had helped drop off and pick up seven carloads of people.
Jian Xingxia had originally intended to calculate it at fifty yuan per trip, but she was stopped by Hu Lin’s grandmother: “Fifty yuan is the price for outside cars coming for a one-way trip.”
“For our own village, a round trip counts as one run. Just give him twenty.”
Hu Lin was shocked: “Grandma, twenty yuan isn’t even enough to cover my gas money!”
“What nonsense are you spewing, do you think I don’t know? The money you use for gas is all scraped from your dad’s pockets. Call your dad over and see how much he thinks is appropriate!”
Hu Lin was truly at his wit’s end: “Even if my dad pays to fill the car… that money still belongs to our family!” His grandma was truly muddled, why was she siding with an outsider!
But the old Grandma Hu didn’t care about that: “What does a brat like you know! If it weren’t for Xiaxia’s grandmother back in the day, your grandma and grandpa wouldn’t have even survived. How would there be your dad and you?”
“If nothing else, when your dad first contracted the forest lot, who do you think helped him out?”
“You’ve enjoyed a few good years and forgotten where your roots are! I’ll beat you to death, you unfilial thing!”
Hu Lin was beaten by his grandma until he was scurrying all over the yard.
In the end, Hu Da stepped in to mediate: “A trip from our village to the town is over a dozen kilometers, making it thirty kilometers round trip. The gas money alone costs fifteen.”
“Hu Lin did put in effort to help pick up people. Giving too much is indeed inappropriate. After all, because the car is small, it can only seat four people. If it were a larger vehicle, it could pick up more people in one trip.”
“How about this, let’s count a trip as thirty yuan. Fifteen yuan covers the gas, and fifteen yuan counts as Hu Lin’s wages.”
Hu Lin: “…”
He was, to a greater or lesser degree, a second-generation forest farm owner, with several mountain peaks of fast-growing timber in his family. And here he was, earning thirty yuan a trip running an illegal taxi? If word got out, his friends would laugh their teeth off.
But he had no choice! After the trouble he caused last time, Hu Lin’s father realized there was a flaw in his upbringing and spoke to him strictly, demanding that he return to the village and work at the forest farm. If he didn’t work hard, the forest farm would be handed down to his uncle or his cousin; it didn’t strictly have to go to him.
Hu Lin: “…”
A moment’s impatience ruins grand plans. Fine, dropping off and picking up people at least allowed him to go outside and catch a breath of fresh air. If he truly stayed inside the forest farm, his parents would cover his food, clothes, housing, and transport, ensuring he wouldn’t suffer, but—he could forget about seeing a single cent of cash.
Hu Lin resigned himself to his fate: “Thirty it is, then!”
Mosquito legs were also meat.
