freenovelworld Chapter 149 Zhangjiagou
Chapter 149 Zhangjiagou
As I approached the door, I could hear noises coming from outside, indicating that quite a few people had arrived.
Song Jiaojiao asked the doorman to open the door and saw a large group of heads, led by an elderly man in his sixties.
"Gentlemen, what brings you to my palace?" Song Jiaojiao asked with a smile. Xu Da stood to the side, nervously watching the villagers at the entrance, afraid that they might do something inappropriate.
The villagers were surprised to find that the new owner of the mansion was a woman, and for a moment no one spoke.
Seeing that no one spoke, the old man had no choice but to step forward himself. "Ahem, I am Zhang Yun, the village head of Zhangjiagou. I have come to inquire whether the landlord will continue to pay the land taxes this year?"
"Hello, Village Chief Zhang. My name is Song Jiaojiao. As you can see, I am the new owner of this village. I'm afraid there's no way to get the land on the village."
As soon as Song Jiaojiao said this, the villagers of Zhangjiagou immediately became excited.
"Why shouldn't we pay our wages? We rely on this land to make a living!"
"We used to hire servants every year, why aren't we hiring them this year? This is going to drive us crazy!"
Some of them were so emotional that they started shouting loudly, as if Song Jiaojiao was committing a heinous crime by not giving them her maids.
Song Jiaojiao never expected that her words would provoke such a strong reaction from the villagers of Zhangjiagou.
"Everyone, be quiet and listen to me," Zhang Yun roared with a powerful voice.
I never expected this elderly man, who is over sixty years old, to be so energetic.
The villagers gradually quieted down, which showed that Zhang Yun's influence was quite good.
"Mr. Song, you're new here, so you might not be familiar with the situation in Zhangjiagou. Zhangjiagou is surrounded by mountains on all sides, and there's only one narrow path leading out. The mountains are mostly loose rocks, making it impossible to farm."
There are only about twenty households in the village, and each family has less than an acre of land allocated to them. Over the years, we have basically survived thanks to Master Lin's manor. If we can't get land this year, I'm afraid many families will starve to death.
Everyone was so agitated just now because they were afraid of running out of food. We hope Master Song won't take it to heart.
Zhang Yun said with tears in his eyes, "If I had any other way, I wouldn't have come to Song Jiaojiao."
Song Jiaojiao hadn't expected Zhangjiagou to be in this state. Thinking back to when she heard Steward Lin mention the land-to-commission ratio, she still felt a deep sense of disgust.
Unexpectedly, it became the villagers' lifeline.
But she had no choice. She needed the land. If she had just bought it for fun, she could have rented it out. But she needed a lot of chili peppers, and she bought the estate specifically to grow them.
The chili seeds have already started to sprout a couple of days ago, and we're just waiting for the weather to warm up before planting them.
Song Jiaojiao looked helpless and was about to say something when Xu Da stopped her.
“Madam, you can hire them as long-term laborers. There’s simply not enough time to manage two hundred acres of land with just these people on the estate.”
Hearing Xu Da's words, Song Jiaojiao suddenly realized! That's right, two hundred acres of land—how could a dozen people possibly manage it, not to mention feeding the chickens and pigs afterwards?
“Village Chief Zhang, I really have no way to get the land. To be honest, the main reason I bought this place is because I value the land here.”
Upon hearing Song Jiaojiao's words, Zhang Yun's shoulders slumped, as if he had lost all his energy.
“真的不行吗？哪怕一半就好，比例也不按4、6，按3、7来分，你7我们3也不行吗？”
Zhang Yun looked at Song Jiaojiao expectantly, but only saw Song Jiaojiao shake her head helplessly.
Seeing this, Zhang Yun was completely listless. Just as he was about to say something, he heard Song Jiaojiao continue.
"However, our estate has more than 200 mu of land, but there are not many people on the estate, so we definitely can't manage to farm it all ourselves. Therefore, we plan to hire 100 long-term laborers. I wonder if the villagers of Zhangjiagou are willing to do so?"
Upon hearing Song Jiaojiao's words, Zhang Yun was overjoyed. He had thought there was no hope at all, but unexpectedly, a new path opened up before him.
"Yes, yes, everyone from Zhangjiagou is willing!" Zhang Yun said excitedly, afraid that if he was too late, Song Jiaojiao would change her mind.
"Let me get the ugly stuff out of the way first. This time, the long-term contract is for ten years. Each person will manage two acres of land. Their daily tasks will be weeding and watering, and harvesting the vegetables when they are ripe. And most importantly, the long-term workers will follow the instructions of Manager Xu. If anyone does not work properly, they will not only have to compensate for the crops on the two acres of land they manage, but they will also be expelled and never hired again."
Song Jiaojiao paused here, and seeing that the villagers of Zhangjiagou did not show any dissatisfaction, she continued speaking.
"Of course, the wages of farmhands are also different: 750 cash a month for men and 700 cash a month for women."
The villagers were immediately in an uproar over Song Jiaojiao's words. They hadn't expected that this time they needed not only male workers, but also women.
But on second thought, women are indeed needed. There are only about 20 households in Zhangjiagou, with no more than 60 adult men. If only men are needed, it may not be enough.
Zhang Yun was not at all unwilling; he simply couldn't stand it. This way, women could work, and the wages weren't low either—700 a month, which would amount to 8 taels of silver a year. This was much more profitable than farming.
The grains in town cost only 5 coins per pound, so how much grain could you buy with 8 taels of silver?
"I've explained the rules. As long as we follow them, everyone will be fine. So, those who are willing to come tomorrow, please come here at Chenshi (7-9 AM) to sign and put your fingerprints on the document. Let's all disperse for today."
Song Jiaojiao thought that there might not be enough time to prepare the contract today, so she had to set the date for tomorrow.
When Village Chief Zhang heard Song Jiaojiao say this, he realized he needed to hurry back and inform everyone. He thanked Song Jiaojiao and left with the villagers.
Song Jiaojiao entrusted the task of hiring long-term workers to Xu Da, and she also entrusted all the subsequent planting matters to Xu Da. She needed to go back to the village and also go to town to check on how the barbecue restaurant was doing.
The next morning, Song Jiaojiao drove off in her carriage. She had bought quite a few oxen on the estate, partly for plowing and partly because having an oxcart made it easier to get around.
When I arrived at the barbecue restaurant, they were putting up some finishing touches, so it looks like the restaurant will be open for business in the next couple of days.
When Mu Qing saw Song Jiaojiao coming over, she quickly went up to her and asked, "Mother, everything's ready at the estate. Have you had breakfast?"
"That's about it for the estate. We'll leave the rest to Xu Da. We haven't eaten yet. What did you all eat today?"
Song Jiaojiao saw the breakfast that had just been placed on the table and asked.
"I cooked some porridge and served it with kimchi. I asked Monchi to go buy some steamed buns; we haven't started eating them yet."
“Then I’ve come at just the right time,” Song Jiaojiao said with a smile.
After the group finished breakfast, Mu Qing introduced the store's decoration and layout to Song Jiaojiao.
“Mother, I asked the craftsman to open two more windows in the attic and put four tables there, with screens separating each table, so that if any female guests come later, they can dine in the attic.”
Mu Qing led Song Jiaojiao up to the attic. Looking at the much brighter attic, Song Jiaojiao had originally only intended to use it as a temporary residence, but she never expected that Mu Qing would turn it into a place exclusively for women.