Chapter 317: Working Together in Unity for Common Prosperity
When they headed next door, they saw Wen Yao leading a group of people busy at work.
“What are you making here?” Several of them gathered close to watch the excitement. Raising an eyebrow, Wen Xiuyi asked Wen Yao in a low voice, “Yo, making vermicelli?”
Wen Yao stole a quiet glance at the others and said in a whisper, “Dad, spare us some sweet potatoes later!”
Knowing the yield of sweet potatoes, sparing a portion for Wen Yao and the others to make vermicelli wouldn’t be a problem at all, so Wen Xiuyi agreed: “Sure, I’ll mention it to Magistrate Chen later.”
Wen Yao giggled, patting his shoulder: “Thanks, Daddy! I’ll make you all vermicelli hotpot tonight.”
After a busy day, quite a lot of vermicelli had been laid out to dry in the courtyard.
Old Madam Luo had also heard from Old Man Wen that Magistrate Chen loved eating their salted duck eggs, so she had someone pack fifty of them for Magistrate Chen, even instructing him to come get more once he finished them, as taking too many at once wouldn’t keep well.
When evening arrived, Wen Yao cooked a lamb and vermicelli hotpot. Only then did everyone learn that sweet potatoes had this way of being eaten, and this vermicelli actually tasted even better than eating sweet potatoes directly!
Upon learning that Wen Yao and Qiu Rongrong prepared to make this vermicelli to sell, Magistrate Chen initially worried that there wouldn’t be enough sweet potatoes left for seeds in the end, only relaxing his stance once Wen Xiuyi assured him there would certainly be enough.
Qiu Zhi, however, thought of a point: “Once this new crop is promoted far and wide in the future, couldn’t we also follow what we discussed earlier—forming that production team thing, and assigning this processed food product of Yao Yao’s down to them, so the commoners can earn a bit of money in their spare time?”
“What production team? What is processed food production?” Qiu Rongrong asked Wen Yao in a low voice. After all, they hadn’t attended the big meeting, busy focusing purely on eating instead.
Wen Yao roughly explained the meaning to Qiu Rongrong. Understanding it, Qiu Rongrong spoke up to pick up Qiu Zhi’s topic: “If it’s like this, then of course we can.
“In addition, we can also develop different side ventures and collective industries based on the circumstances of each village, striving to let everyone participate. As for the goods produced, Yao Yao and I specifically opened a general store at the docks. Once our reputation spreads in the future, the docks are convenient for transport and travel—there will be no lack of sales.
“When everyone earns money, won’t life become better for all?”
Qiu Rongrong was a merchant after all; applying her reasoning across the board, she mapped the concept onto all the villages of Yunwu Town. If this production team model could truly be established, Yunwu Town would certainly no longer be in its current state.
Looking at Qiu Rongrong with immense praise and gratification, Qiu Zhi nodded: “Rong’er is entirely correct.”
The others nodded in agreement as well. Only Magistrate Chen’s grin stretched exceedingly wide. Stopping his meal, he laid down his chopsticks and rubbed his hands together, saying, “Well now, these items were all created by my eldest niece, so my eldest niece must still call the shots! We certainly can’t teach everyone for free, can we?”
In truth, Magistrate Chen was immensely happy in his heart, even feeling a bit excited. If things were truly done this way, he, as the county magistrate, would be the very first to receive commendation. As long as he refrained from doing anything against the law in his future official career, it would be equivalent to placing one foot firmly on the ladder to success. Never mind whether he could climb to high positions in the future; at the very least, his lifelong official luck would be secured.
Yet all of this had been brought to him by the Wen family. After all, who else could achieve what the Wen family did—willingly handing over profit-making secrets with both hands? No one!
The Wen family possessed grand righteousness—this was something he had always known. He simply hadn’t expected the Wen family’s grand righteousness was not directed merely at the people around them, but at everyone. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t moved.
With the widespread adoption of sweet potatoes, someone would eventually figure out these recipes regardless, so Wen Yao had never planned to keep them hidden. Hearing Magistrate Chen put it this way, Wen Yao simply joked with a smile: “Then how about I sell the recipes to Uncle Chen? That way, how they are distributed becomes your affair!”
Magistrate Chen’s eyes lit up. Indeed! Since production teams were to be established with each village as a unit, he could similarly purchase these processed byproduct methods from Wen Yao in the name of the yamen, and even report to the court to request funds!
Each village would gain a livelihood, Wen Yao would receive the silver she deserved, and he would earn prestige—it was simply a good thing that achieved multiple goals at once!
Magistrate Chen let out several loud laughs and said, “No wonder your dad says young minds are truly sharp! Why didn’t I think of that? Right, right, right! Rest assured, Uncle Chen will certainly not treat you poorly. When the time comes, my eldest niece will still need to help Uncle Chen offer more ideas!”
As Magistrate Chen spoke, he raised the wine cup in front of himself.
Wen Yao raised the tea before herself with utmost generosity to return the toast: “Easy to say, easy to say! Everyone together, working in unity for common prosperity!”
“Right, right, right! Working in unity for common prosperity!”
“Working in unity!”
As everyone’s emotions were ignited, all raised the cups before themselves. The entire courtyard of the Wen household overflowed with cheerful laughter and visions of a bright future.
After finishing the meal, Magistrate Chen didn’t leave either, but returned to the study alongside Wen Xiuyi and Qiu Zhi, bringing along Old Man Wen in his capacity as an experienced farmer, preparing to thoroughly discuss every detail regarding the production team plan.
This discussion lasted until midnight, and Magistrate Chen simply stayed the night at the Wen residence instead of going home. Early the next morning, right after eating breakfast, he went straight to the yamen together with Wen Xiuyi, sending people to summon the village chiefs of every single village in Yunwu Town to the yamen for a grand meeting.
At the same time, the Wen family’s oil mill officially opened its doors to the public.
On the day of the opening, a dense crowd gathered at the entrance of the workshop—there were villagers from Gutong Village, as well as people from Jiao Village brought over by Brother-in-law Jiao upon receiving the news, surrounding the area in a tightly packed throng.
When Old Madam Luo came to open the workshop doors, seeing this densely packed crowd made her almost assume she had walked to the wrong place. She knew there would be many people, but she hadn’t expected there to be this many.
“Why are there so many people?!” The moment Old Madam Luo’s voice sounded, everyone began retreating in unison, clearing out a wide space along the path in front of the workshop entrance.
Everyone harbored lingering fears regarding Old Madam Luo’s fierce toughness.
The village chief had been summoned to the county yamen for meetings for several days in a row, so he wasn’t here to maintain order at the moment. Over these past few days, he had been leaving early and returning late every day, the corners of his mouth curled exceedingly high. Whenever villagers ran into him and asked, the village chief would say nothing, merely telling them that their good days were coming soon, so just wait for it.
Seeing him tease them, everyone stopped caring. After all, what matter could be more important than pressing oil right now?
Old Madam Luo didn’t recognize the people from Jiao Village, seeing only many unfamiliar faces. Looking over at her brother-in-law standing together with Little Madam Luo at the main entrance, she understood.
“So Brother-in-law has arrived!” Old Madam Luo called out a greeting to Brother-in-law Jiao.
Brother-in-law Jiao smiled, addressing her as Eldest Sister.
Old Madam Luo grunted an acknowledgment, turning to face the crowd as she spoke: “The oil mill opens today, but there’s no way we can press oil for so many households in a single day! At most, we can press for five households a day.”
Seeing a commotion stir in the crowd, Old Madam Luo hurriedly added: “There’s only one oil press, and pressing oil takes time! This workshop of my family isn’t going to run away either—come one by one, take it slow! That’s how it’s going to be. Those who arrived late can go home now. Oh, right—take your beans back with you! If you leave them at my doorstep and they get lost, I won’t care!”
Saying that, Old Madam Luo began looking around for Wen Yao.
Little Madam Luo pointed toward the courtyard: “Inside the house! She arrived long ago.”
Old Madam Luo scanned the area, spotting Second Master Wen in the crowd.
“Second Son!”
Second Master Wen hurriedly stepped out carrying his family’s one hundred catties of beans, responding, “Eldest Sister-in-law!”
