Chapter 98: Old Man Xu’s Wages
Jian Xingxia didn’t say much when she saw the selection of dishes. She knew that Lin Sanniang understood Old Man Xu’s mindset better than she did, and the choice had undoubtedly been carefully considered. Even though she was already considered quite impoverished by modern standards, her quality of life was still vastly superior to these ancient temporary workers.
Sure enough, the dishes and noodles Lin Sanniang brought out left Old Man Xu utterly astounded.
“Manager Lin, this basin of noodles… is all mine?”
A hired hand naturally wouldn’t dine at the same table as the employer. Seeing that Lin Sanniang had set up a separate table and chair for him beneath the peach tree outside the kitchen, Old Man Xu knew this was his allocated meal.
But this was far too lavish!
This massive basin of white wheat noodles—heavens above—looked a bit strange with its thin, flat shape, but the sheer volume was staggering. On top of that, there was a plate of eggs! One could tell at a glance they had been stir-fried with oil; the plate was positively glistening with grease!
Old Man Xu licked the corner of his mouth. Looking further, the mountain-like heap of green vegetables contained white garlic, red chilies, tender green peppers… and actually large slices of cured meat! The cured meat was mostly fat, glistening brightly—this was real, solid grease and nourishment!
Lin Sanniang had long anticipated Old Man Xu’s reaction. At this moment, she responded with proper decorum: “You work diligently, and the young mistress ordered that we add more dishes for you. Make sure you work hard this afternoon.”
Old Man Xu’s stomach let out a loud rumble, and he nodded hurriedly. “Aye! Manager Lin, I will absolutely work hard.”
Only then did Lin Sanniang turn back to eat with Jian Xingxia.
The dishes on Jian Xingxia’s side were identical, except the cured meat was entirely lean—Lin Sanniang had long known that the young mistress and that noble guest, Miss Chengcheng, both preferred lean meat, refusing to eat fat or skin.
Since there was still work to be done in the afternoon and the surroundings were covered in dust, the three of them separated into two areas, ate quickly, and threw themselves back into the afternoon tasks.
After devouring a completely full basin of dry-tossed noodles along with the green vegetables stir-fried with cured meat and the plate of scrambled eggs, Old Man Xu felt thoroughly satisfied and full, working even harder than he had in the morning.
This putty powder was even more silky and dense than he had imagined. It was only because he didn’t know what whipped cream was; otherwise, he would have definitely said this was silkier than cream.
But working time was ultimately limited. Scraping the walls had consumed the vast majority of the time, and for the remainder, he only had time to apply putty to two of the walls.
As the “clock-out” time drew near, Old Man Xu rubbed his hands together, looking deeply uneasy.
“Proprietress, Miss, I must head back now, but this work…” It wasn’t finished!
Jian Xingxia saw that this wasn’t something that could be wrapped up just by rushing a little, so she told Old Man Xu, “Then prepare yourself to come back for another day tomorrow.”
Every trade has its specialty. Painting walls wasn’t exactly difficult, but it wasn’t simple either. Jian Xingxia had repaired the peeling walls of her dormitory balcony herself once, and she hadn’t done nearly as good a job as Old Man Xu. She insisted on hiring Old Man Xu—hiring a modern worker was simply too expensive.
She had inquired in the village; for this kind of wall-painting job, providing labor without materials would cost 1,200 yuan for the first floor. But she had spent just over two hundred yuan to buy the tools and putty powder. The rest was pure savings.
Hearing that Jian Xingxia wanted him to return tomorrow, Old Man Xu was even more delighted. Taking off his hat, he was about to hoist his shoulder pole and sprint back.
Lin Sanniang hurriedly called him to a halt. “Hey! You haven’t collected your wages yet!”
Old Man Xu’s footsteps ground to a screeching halt. “Oh my goodness, I completely forgot there were wages too!”
Lin Sanniang quickly followed Jian Xingxia’s instructions, bringing out the “wages” from the old house for Old Man Xu to choose from.
Old Man Xu looked left and right, finally picking up a pair of size 42 cloth shoes. “This… can be taken too?”
Jian Xingxia smiled. “Of course it can. This is worth six yuan.”
Old Man Xu was a skilled worker, with a wage standard of 6 to 10 yuan. Having worked for 6 hours today, he could choose items worth between 36 and 60 yuan. But looking at the pile of goods, Old Man Xu agonized for a long time, unable to choose anything else.
Watching from the side, Lin Sanniang grew a bit anxious. The time limit was almost up! She couldn’t help but suggest, “Old Uncle Xu, your household has many mouths to feed. Don’t you want to take some grain back?”
“Or perhaps take two more pairs of shoes? Some coarse salt?”
“I heard you took milk powder and brown sugar last time. The estate doesn’t have milk powder right now, but we have brown sugar. Why don’t you…”
Old Man Xu shook his head. “We have plenty of grain and coarse salt at home, and we aren’t lacking for fabric either. I can wear these shoes, but… I don’t know the shoe sizes of my old wife, my son, or my daughter-in-law, so I can’t choose for them!”
Even as Old Man Xu spoke, his eyes couldn’t resist darting toward the edge of the back door. Following his gaze, Jian Xingxia saw the tools and materials he had used to scrape the putty today.
“You want these things?” Jian Xingxia asked.
Old Man Xu gave a honest, sheepish chuckle. “I wonder if it’s permissible?”
Old Man Xu felt his own skin was a bit thick. These items clearly weren’t ordinary objects; they had to be top-tier goods. But whether he took grain, fabric, or even shoes, none of it could prove to his family that he had visited this blessed land. Only by bringing back some wondrous novelties could his old wife and son believe him!
Old Man Xu didn’t lack food or clothing, and his visit last time was merely for some refined delicacies, so he didn’t value food as heavily as Lin Sanniang, Taoya, or Dahei. He simply wanted to try out some novel things.
Seeing this, Jian Xingxia raced against time to test the system parameters with Old Man Xu. First, she scooped a ladle of putty powder. “Can you take this back?”
Just as Old Man Xu was about to reach out joyfully to accept it, Immortal Auntie Xu’s stern words suddenly echoed in his mind: If it does not belong to you, do not stretch out your hand!
Old Man Xu hurriedly pulled his hand back. “It cannot be.”
Immortal Auntie Xu’s words had nearly extinguished Old Man Xu’s thoughts of taking these items, but Jian Xingxia moved with extreme speed, thrusting the trowel toward his hand next. “What about this?”
Mmh? This time, Immortal Auntie Xu didn’t object, only muttering mysteriously about how “extraordinary objects must be handled with care” and “speak little to others, hide its brilliance within.”
Listening to this, Old Man Xu pondered in his heart: The Immortal Auntie’s words don’t seem to forbid taking it, but rather mean I must take it carefully and keep it hidden…
Old Man Xu plucked up his courage and nodded. “This one seems permissible.”
Jian Xingxia looked down at the trowel. It was composed of a wooden handle and a stainless steel blade. Stainless steel… in a sense, was also iron, just a high-precision iron with fewer impurities and higher hardness. Old Man Xu had said earlier that he had never seen such excellent iron, but now stated he could take it back. Jian Xingxia deduced that perhaps some place in the Great Sheng Dynasty had already achieved the technology to forge high-precision iron, but as an ordinary civilian, Old Man Xu simply didn’t know about it yet.
Jian Xingxia thus instructed Old Man Xu, “I would advise you to take the items Sanniang mentioned.”
“But if you absolutely must take this trowel, remember to hide it well and use it as little as possible. It’s best if you cover it with some mud paste so its original appearance can’t be discerned.”
Hearing this, Old Man Xu realized these words were exactly the same as what Immortal Auntie Xu had implied! He immediately nodded repeatedly. “Then I will only take this trowel.”
As for the other items like the putty powder, scrapers, and brushes… they were fated to be left behind.
