stingy landlady

Chapter 140 The Farmhand Gets Married (1)

"Oh, you naughty girl! You're making fun of me too!"

Wanrou reached out to tickle Jushuang! Jushuang giggled and hid behind Guizhi.

"Ahem!" Xu Hong coughed lightly twice, suppressing a laugh as he looked at the two of them and said:

"Alright! Now that Miss is back, let's get down to business!"

Wanrou and Jushuang wanted to avoid them, but Guizhi stopped them.

"Since we're talking about marriage, all of you should listen in!"

Xu Hong did not object, saying:

"Lin Shiliu and Lin Shiba returned with six women! It was supposed to be five people, but now there's one more, Lin Shiba's sister!"

His younger sister is a widow, and she brought her daughter with her! Apparently, they want to see how things go for now, and if they find someone suitable, they'll get married!

Gui Zhi and the others listened quietly as Xu Hong continued:

"The candidates have all been chosen! The young lady hasn't returned yet, and they're not married yet! For now, the women will be living in one room!"

I also bought some fabric, cotton, needles and thread, and asked them to make bedding for their own rooms! These women probably used to do farm work at home! As soon as they saw it was harvest time for rice, they followed their husbands to work without saying a word!

I just took a look, and they're all incredibly quick and efficient, just as good as us men! Amazing!

Guizhi nodded slightly in response:

"Alright! If you all think it's good, then it's good! Since everyone agrees, let's not waste any more time. Let's have a group wedding ceremony! Let's double the joy! We'll all have our wedding banquets on the same day!"

"Uncle Xu Hong! It's been so long, and I haven't paid everyone's wages. You know it's because I haven't had any money coming in! I guess everyone's getting upset, right?"

Xu Hong shook his head and said:

"That's not true! Everyone knows that the man had nowhere to put these generals, so he forced them into Miss's hands! I also explained Miss's situation to them. If they have a good place to go, we won't stop them!"

It's not that the pension isn't enough; some people have no relatives left when they return to their hometowns, and some have already had their houses and land divided up by their brothers! Some have even spent all their pension and have nowhere to eat!

That's why, for all sorts of reasons, they've come here out of desperation! In the village, we have food and lodging, and the landlord isn't harsh, unlike other landlords who make them pay out of pocket! If they still dare to be picky, I'll kick them out!

"There will never be another employer as good as Miss Guizhi! She even built a house for us and helped us find a wife! You couldn't find one like her even with a lantern!"

Guizhi feigned shyness:

"Uncle Xu Hong! It's not as good as you say! You're making me feel embarrassed! Hahaha!"

As she talked, she couldn't help but laugh! Everyone laughed at Guizhi for being so witty!

Guizhi took out a thousand-tael silver note from her bosom and handed it to Xu Hong, saying in a serious tone:

"Uncle Xu Hong! The money from last time has been used to build houses, buy cloth, and so on. I think you've spent almost all of it! Go to the bank and exchange these banknotes to settle the wages of the farmhands for the past few months!"

Okay! Let's not deduct anything from them. For now, let's settle for two taels of silver per person per month! We'll discuss it further when our circumstances improve!

Giving them money will give them more confidence in getting married! Only with the ability to support a family can they find a good wife!

Xu Hong hesitated and said:

"Miss! Aren't we offering too much? They don't need that much right now! How about..."

Gui Zhi insisted:

"Whether it's more or less depends on individual opinions! With so many people, it's hard to reach a consensus! If someone says it's too much, then someone else will definitely say it's too little! Let's leave it at that for now!"

As for those women…

Xu Hong continued:

“They’ve all just arrived, and their intentions are still uncertain! We’ll have to wait a while before making any decisions! We can’t pay them yet, in case one of them has ulterior motives and runs away with the money! Then we’ll lose both the people and the goods!”

Although Guizhi found Xu Hong's comparison of the women to merchandise rather jarring, she assumed it was based on experience and didn't object.

"Wanrou and Jushuang will each receive a monthly allowance of two taels of silver! Don't think it's too little!" Guizhi said to Wanrou and Jushuang.

While making her wedding dress, Wanrou listened to the two talking, and her eyes welled up with tears again when she heard Guizhi's words.

"Having a place to settle down and make a living is much better than losing all your gold and silver! You're so kind, Miss! Actually, I think if I have food, clothing, and shelter, there's nothing else I need to buy! Whether I get a monthly allowance or not isn't that important!"

Guizhi felt like teasing him again.

"If Wanrou has several babies, will it cost her no money?"

Wanrou spat in embarrassment, glaring at Guizhi with a frown, and said:

"Miss! I'm talking about serious matters, and you're just teasing me! I'm ignoring you!"

After saying that, she really started making the wedding dress seriously.

Xu Hong looked at Wanrou with doting eyes, then smiled and said to Guizhi:

"Miss! Wanrou is shy and easily embarrassed! Let's not tease her! They feed the chickens, ducks, and geese every day, do needlework, and cook. It's quite hard work for them!"

"Just accept the monthly allowance given by the young lady. If you don't need it now, save it for later!"

Guizhi looked at Xu Hong with amusement, and Xu Hong bowed with his hands clasped in greeting!

"Alright! Okay, enough joking! Uncle Xu Hong, how are you going to calculate your wages?"

Xu Hong opened his mouth and glanced at Wanrou. Although Wanrou and Ju's hands didn't stop, their ears perked up!

"I'll take whatever you give me, miss!"

Guizhi considered it carefully.

"Uncle Xu Hong! You were supposed to be my bodyguard, but now you're my steward! Let's calculate the bodyguard's fee at ten taels of silver! After all, the risks involved are greater!"

Uncle Xu Hong will take twenty taels a month upfront! If you can get a share of the profits from the wardrobe, hehe! You'll get a bonus at the end of the year!

"How was it, Uncle Xu Hong?"

Xu Hong was indeed surprised.

"How can it be so high? It's almost the wage of a servant in that household in the prefectural city!"

"Miss! Where did you get this money? You can't spend it recklessly! Even if we sell all this grain, it won't be enough!"

Guizhi said earnestly:

"Uncle Xu Hong! Then let's work hard to earn money! We have empty cattle pens! Let's buy more than a hundred bulls to raise, and three pig pens, so we can raise another two hundred piglets!"

Now that the rice harvest is complete, the rice husks and wheat bran from grinding the rice can be mixed with swill to feed the pigs! Also, don't throw away the rice straw, corn stalks, or corn husks, and don't sell them! Use them to feed the cattle!

There are still a few months until the New Year. If we buy a hundred goslings, we can sell the adult geese during the New Year and make some money.

Our batch of pigs should be ready for market by the time of the Chinese New Year!

Let me tell you, when sows are in heat, you need to find boars to breed with them. We should keep them all and raise them ourselves! All the boars have been castrated, and we'll slaughter them for meat during the New Year!

"Our town can't sell that much meat, but we can sell it in the county seat, even the prefectural city! Oh! Okay! I reckon a few dozen pigs like this will sell out in the county seat!"