jdhmnovel Chapter 230 Later
Chapter 230 Later
The carriage drove all the way into Yushu Village. The snow on the road had been cleared and the driving was relatively smooth.
Shang Wan opened the window and looked out.
Ever since the business of Lingyao Pavilion started to pick up, Shang Wan bought a house in a residential area three streets away from the county school to make it more convenient for Lu Chengjing to study.
The house is not as big as the one they built themselves, but it is big enough for their family.
Xiao Huan was busy with the business of Bao Yue Zhai, so all the medicine-making work in the village was handed over to Shitou. Shang Wan would run around the shop, the house and the farm, and he seldom returned to the village when he was busy.
In just a few months, a lot of changes have taken place in Yushu Village.
The Lingyao Pavilion's business is booming, and the villagers have made medicine making their main business. Although they also continue to work in the fields, their focus has clearly shifted.
In order to process the herbs more cheaply, Shitou discussed with Old Man Wu and others and decided to open up a medicine drying ground near the small hillside, which was specifically used for drying the herbs.
In order to prevent the medicinal materials from being stolen or tampered with, the villagers arranged people to take turns guarding them when they were drying.
In order to improve efficiency, Shitou divided people into several groups, some washing medicine, some cutting medicine, some frying medicine, some drying medicine, some boiling medicine, some grinding medicine, some preparing medicine... Each person is only responsible for one task, and the tasks are assigned according to their abilities.
For example, children and the elderly can be responsible for cleaning the herbs, and as long as they are cleaned cleanly, they can still get paid.
For those who are strong but don't want to use their brains, cutting herbs, grinding them into powder, and moving them back and forth are their jobs.
Those who learn better and more carefully can stir-fry, boil or prepare medicine.
The wages are calculated according to the weight of the herbs processed.
The wages will naturally vary depending on the content of the job.
Cleaning herbs is the simplest and requires the least labor, while boiling herbs is more time-consuming and labor-intensive, involves more steps, and requires the most labor.
It’s not that there are people who volunteered to take on multiple jobs and try to earn more money, but they were ruthlessly rejected by Shi Tou.
Shitou strictly evaluates each person, determines what they are good at, and records them all in a book to facilitate future work deployment.
Shang Wan felt that if things continued like this, Shi Tou might be able to build a pharmaceutical factory.
Of course, medicinal herbs cannot be dried on snowy days. Even though the snow has stopped now, there is still snow piled up on the medicine drying ground.
Through the window, Shang Wan saw a group of people shoveling snow inside. One of them, wearing a rabbit fur hat and a blue and white flowered jacket, was twisting his body to look over here.
Shang Wan waved, and the man dropped the shovel and ran over, shouting, "Sister!"
The person who came was Shi Tou, and his voice was so powerful that it echoed.
Shang Wan asked him to get in the car.
Shitou turned around and said a few words. After the person on the other end responded, he patted the snow on his trouser legs, climbed into the car, and sat down next to Lu Chengjing with a smile.
Lu Chengjing poured him a cup of hot tea.
Shitou took it and held it to warm his hands, wondering, "Why are you back now?"
"It snowed for several days in a row. I was worried about my family, so I came back to check on them."
"I'm watching over you. Everything is fine at home." Shitou blew on his red, frozen fingers. When he felt warm, he reached out and poked Tuanzi who was sleeping in Lu Chengjing's arms.
The baby moved but didn't wake up. He smacked his lips and tilted his head to the side, falling even deeper into sleep.
Shitou laughed but didn't continue poking, nor did he dare to really wake the person up.
He couldn't stand the crying.
Shang Wan closed the window and said to Shitou, "Your brother-in-law is on holiday and will stay at home tonight. Xiaohuan can come back after Baoyuezhai closes."
"Okay." Shitou thought of food first. "Sister, what shall we eat tonight?"
Shang Wan didn’t care, so he had his second hotpot of the day.
Xiaohuan came back earlier than expected and brought a lot of fresh ingredients, even river fish.
Everyone helped to wash and slice the ingredients. Xiaohuan boiled a pot of bone soup as the soup base, and started to stir-fry the ingredients when the time was almost up.
It was too cold to eat in the main room, so we simply moved the stove and the meal to the stone house.
The kang was heated so hot that when you sat on it you started to warm up from the buttocks on. Everyone was eating until their foreheads were sweating, but they felt refreshed.
Lu Chengjing poured homemade fruit wine for everyone. Yuanyuan also wanted to drink it, so Shang Wan replaced it with freshly squeezed juice.
It was a lively occasion, we ate and talked, and before we knew it, two hours had passed.
Snow started falling outside the window again, and the hot steam from the hot pot drifted out and instantly condensed into ice beads.
"I'm so full!" Shitou leaned back with his hands, looked at the snow outside the window and sighed, "Hotpot tastes better when there are more people around."
Yuanyuan thoughtfully stretched out her little hands to rub his belly.
Shang Wan gave Lu Chengjing a look, and it was time to get down to business after dinner.
Receiving the signal from his wife, Lu Chengjing straightened his crooked body and cleared his throat, "Ahem."
Xiao Huan and Shi Tou, who were sitting opposite, looked over and said almost in unison, "Brother-in-law, have you caught a cold?"
Lu Chengjing shook his head and looked at Shitou. "After the New Year, you will go to Sanshan Academy to study. I have already discussed it with Dean Wang. I will take you to visit him in two days."
Sanshan Academy is the only academy in the county. Although it is not as good as the county school, it is better than ordinary private schools.
Shang Wan originally wanted Shitou to study in the provincial capital, where there were more choices. Even if she had to spend money, she could get Shitou into the academy.
However, Lu Chengjing felt that the most important thing for Shitou now was to lay the foundation, and Sanshan Academy was enough.
The stone that fell from the sky with the task of studying: "?!!"
His eyes widened in surprise, and his arms lost their support and he fell directly onto the kang.
Yuanyuan quickly pulled her uncle.
Xiaohuan also helped pull the person up and sit him down.
Shitou opened and closed his mouth for a long time before he uttered a word: "Can I not go?"
Shang Wan and Lu Chengjing said in unison: "No."
"Why?" Shitou's thick eyebrows were wrinkled together, like the wrinkles of a steamed bun. "My brain is not as good as my brother-in-law's. I am not cut out for studying. I will never pass the imperial examinations. It's a waste of money to send me to school."
Such unambitious words, Shang Wan wanted to slap him after hearing them.
"You haven't even tried. How do you know you're not good at studying? I noticed that you memorized medical books very well."
Shitou waved his hands and said, "I just memorize by rote. I can't write poems or articles like my brother-in-law."
Lu Chengjing said: "You don't know how to do it, the academy will naturally teach you."
Shitou made an excuse, "There are so many things going on at home. If I go to study, who will take care of it?"
"Once you enter the academy, I will naturally arrange for someone to take over. You just focus on your studies." Shang Wan did not give Shi Tou any chance to shirk.
Shitou had a sad face, "Is it really impossible not to study?"
Shang Wan nodded: "Yes."
Shitou was immediately delighted. Before he could utter a word, Shang Wan asked, "What do you want to do if you don't study?"
Stone:"?"
Shang Wan pointed at Xiao Huan and said, "Xiao Huan likes to cook, and her dream is to open a restaurant of her own. What about you?"
Shi Tou was stunned by the question.
Shang Wan continued, "You will be seventeen after the Chinese New Year. Those who got married early may even have children. You will have to support your family in the future. Have you ever thought about how you will make a living?"
Shitou didn't think much about it. He scratched his head and said, "I'll just follow you. I'll do whatever you tell me to do."
Anyway, my sister and brother-in-law will not ignore him.