Chapter 156: Dad, Are You Planning to Buy Slaves?
For a long time after that, whenever Old Man Wen, Old Uncle Wang, and the others had free time during the day, they stayed out in the fields. They had practically learned to recognize every single sprout. Even if a single leaf fell anywhere, they would know.
Wen Yao strolled around for a few days and tried to get Wen Xiuyi to persuade them otherwise, but it was useless, so she just let them be.
One day, after the family had finished their meal, they were sitting in the courtyard of the old residence chatting. Old Man Wen remembered the pond, where they had already started raising the ducklings. Successive batches had brought the total to several hundred ducks, and Second Aunt, Third Aunt, and Tie Niu’s mother were spending the entire day working inside the coop.
However, the other half of the pond was still empty and unutilized.
“Eldest, didn’t you say you wanted to raise fish in the other half of the pond? When do you plan to start?” Old Man Wen asked Wen Xiuyi.
At this question, everyone turned their eyes to Wen Xiuyi.
“I’ve been mulling over this matter for the past few days. You can all see how it is with our family right now. Mother and Auntie are busy with the soybean paste, Second and Third Brothers have been dragged to the fields by you, and my two sisters-in-law are so tied up with those ducks that they can’t manage anything else. As for the kids, those who need to attend school are at school, and those who need to tend the stalls are tending the stalls.” As Wen Xiuyi spoke, he spread his hands. “Our family has simply run out of hands.”
Could they rely on him and Wen Yao? He could manage, as he had heard his colleagues talk about fish farming in the past, but he only had a superficial understanding. Over the last few days, he had asked Wen Yao to buy him a few books on fish farming from the space, and he was currently studying them.
As for Wen Yao? To be honest, Wen Xiuyi couldn’t bear to let his precious daughter suffer this kind of hardship. Therefore, for the time being, the family was desperately shorthanded.
Old Man Wen took a couple of puffs from his pipe. Only when they really needed manpower did he realize how shorthanded they were. Had he known earlier, he and his old wife should have had a few more children while they were young.
Thinking of this, Old Man Wen stole a glance at Old Madam Luo.
Old Madam Luo’s eyelid twitched at his gaze. She immediately guessed what this old rogue was thinking. If there weren’t so many people around right now, she would definitely have hit him. She could only glare at Old Man Wen warningly.
Old Man Wen rubbed his nose and retracted his gaze.
“Do you think A-Jian and A-Li from your second uncle’s family would do?” Old Man Wen asked.
The A-Jian and A-Li Old Man Wen spoke of were the two sons of Second Grandpa’s family. They were about the same age as Wen Xiuzhu and Wen Xiuqing. Among all their relatives, this family was the closest to theirs.
Old Madam Luo glanced at Old Man Wen. “Aren’t A-Jian and A-Li working in the city? Would they be willing to come back and raise fish?”
Old Man Wen tapped his pipe against the ground. “I’ve been hearing my second brother say these past few days that A-Jian and A-Li’s employer seems to be moving away, so they won’t be able to keep their jobs in the city. Second Brother has been worrying about this for days. He even asked me the other day, saying that Eldest is smart, and wanted Eldest to give them some advice.”
Old Madam Luo pursed her lips. To put it nicely, it was asking for advice; to put it bluntly, he just wanted Wen Xiuyi to find a job for his two sons. Who in the village didn’t know by now that the Wen family had established a connection with Zui Xian Tower?
However, for this kind of minor self-interest, Old Madam Luo would at most complain a bit verbally, but she wouldn’t hold a grudge. After all, back when Wen Xiuyi was studying and they were broke with nowhere to turn, they had asked Second Brother’s family for a loan, and they were willing to lend it without making things difficult for them.
As for the two boys, Wen Xiujian and Wen Xiuli, she had practically watched them grow up. Their character was acceptable—just average, really. It was just that they had been working as long-term laborers in the city all these years, so if they suddenly returned, she was afraid they might harbor some resentment.
Before Wen Xiuyi could speak, Old Madam Luo said, “Let’s put this matter on hold for now. They haven’t come back much over the years, so whether they can do the job well is another story. We shouldn’t risk making a mistake that ruins the relationship between our two families.”
Old Man Wen wanted to say that his cousin wasn’t that kind of person, but after a moment’s thought, he ultimately remained silent. His old wife was right; if people who hadn’t been around for years suddenly returned, no one could tell what kind of thoughts might sprout in their hearts.
“Then we’ll talk about it later. But that pond can’t stay empty forever. Eldest, figure it out yourself. After all, this fish pond is a business for you brothers.” Old Man Wen threw the problem back to Wen Xiuyi. As for Wen Xiuzhu and Wen Xiuqing, Old Man Wen had absolutely no intention of asking their opinion. Those two just needed to follow behind their eldest brother and do their work well.
Wen Xiuyi had intended to ask about the situation of those two cousins, but seeing his old mother’s expression, he ultimately chose to wait and see.
Ten days later, Qiu Rongrong’s side had someone deliver the final batch of ducklings. Now, there were a whopping six hundred ducks in the coop. Just feeding the ducks every day kept Lady Li and Lady Cai so overwhelmed that they couldn’t even help with the household chores, let alone find time to tidy themselves up. Every day when they returned home, they reeked of ducks.
Not to mention Wen Xiuzhu and Wen Xiuqing, who were watched closely by Old Man Wen and sent to work in the fields at the crack of dawn. The fields were now so clean that not a single weed could be found.
Even Wen Ying and Wen Di, the two girls who were supposed to be pampered alongside Wen Yao, now had no choice but to help their mothers cut grass and feed the ducks every day. Even Wen Yao didn’t manage to escape it.
“Dad, you need to tell Grandpappy and the others to hire some workers. I really can’t stand those ducks anymore.” Now, whenever Wen Yao closed her eyes, her mind was filled with the sound of incessant quacking.
Ah, she never wanted to see a duck again.
Who on earth had come up with the rotten idea to make roast duck and raise ducks?!!
Seeing her like this, Wen Xiuyi leaned closer and took a sniff. His originally sweet-smelling daughter now carried the scent of ducks every day. Thinking of this, Wen Xiuyi wanted to tease her.
“Daughter, did you fail to wash thoroughly? How come I can still smell duck droppings?”
Wen Yao had been lounging on the bamboo chair, but upon hearing this, she sat up with a snap. She lifted her arms to sniff left and right. “Is it still there? Is it still there? I clearly washed twice! Ah!! Dad, I can’t take it anymore. I never want to see those ducks again. Hire people, we absolutely must hire people! I’m going to find Grandma right now.”
Wen Xiuyi quickly pulled her back and shoved her back into the lounging chair. “Alright, Dad was just teasing you. But you’re right. If we keep straining ourselves like this, everyone will break down. Look at your second uncle, second aunt, third uncle, and third aunt; they’ve all lost a significant amount of weight recently. Your second and third uncles have gotten more than a shade darker.”
“Exactly, Dad. Our goal was to lead the family to fortune. How is it that before we’ve even made our fortune, we’ve driven everyone to this state?” Wen Yao hung her head dejectedly. She couldn’t bear to look at Wen Di’s hands. She still wanted to make money to send her sister Di to learn the zither.
Wen Xiuyi patted his daughter’s head comfortingly. “Alright, don’t think too much. I’ll talk to your grandpappy tomorrow. Besides, there’s something I want to discuss with you.”
“What?”
Wen Xiuyi explained, “I looked up your Uncles Jian and Li. The two of them felt that since they’ve never done it before, they probably wouldn’t be able to raise the fish well. So I asked Broker Deng, whom we met before, to help find them another long-term labor job. Don’t call your dad a soft-hearted fool; this is a favor your grandpappy owed them before I arrived, so it has to be repaid.”
Wen Yao nodded. Repaying a favor was only right. “So? What do you want to tell me?”
Wen Xiuyi rubbed his hands together and sighed first. “Ai, I asked Broker Deng to look around for some fish-farming experts to hire for me. Turns out he actually has some. It’s a family that came from the south. They used to raise fish, but later their hometown was flooded, leaving them with nowhere to go. They fled as refugees to this region, and Broker Deng bought them up, gave them some food, and had them sign a deed of indenture.”
Wen Yao sat bolt upright, her face filled with astonishment. “Dad, are you planning to buy slaves?”
With a little thought, Wen Yao understood exactly what Professor Wen was conflicted about. As a progressive worker who once had socialist core values deeply engraved in his heart, being forced to walk the path of feudalism now certainly made Professor Wen feel conflicted and uncomfortable.
