Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Thirty-Five Top-Quality Ginsengs (2)
"Alright, I will." Feng Xuxu caught the implied meaning. Although she could be slow at times, her mind was still sharp when it mattered. It was just that... seeing a handsome man could indeed be a bit, cough cough, distracting.
"These two top-quality ginseng roots, I’ll offer you ten thousand pieces of silver." Xiao Chen cut straight to the chase with a high bid. In the pharmacy, they might give at most a couple of hundred silver pieces.
Having left the Zuiyun Pavilion Restaurant, Feng Xuxu took a stroll and saw it was almost Wei Time. She walked to the city gates, hailed an ox cart, and returned home, finally arriving back at Feng Family Village at the beginning of Shen Time.
"Aunt Hui, I’m back." Feng Xuxu pushed open the gate to the small courtyard, saw Aunt Hui cleaning, set down her cloth bundle, and went forward to take the broom from her hands.
"That’ll do, Xuxu, you’ve been out nearly a day now. I can still handle these chores. Go wash up; Feng Xi just got back and was asking for you," Aunt Hui said with a wave of her hand, insisting that Feng Xuxu not do the work.
"My brother was looking for me? Alright, auntie. Then I’ll go see him first." Feng Xuxu thought her elder brother might be looking for her to talk about building temporary housing. A few steps later, she remembered that in town, she had bought two pieces of cloth for Uncle Hui and Aunt Hui, Sister Jiaojiao, Brother Yijiang, as well as for herself and her elder brother Feng Xi. As the weather was warming up, she had also bought several pieces of light, soft cloth to make two sets of clothes each for them to wear in rotation.
"Auntie, I bought two pieces of cloth for each person; they’re in the cloth bundle. Remember to take it inside later," Feng Xuxu pointed to the cloth bundle on the table in the courtyard and told Aunt Hui.
By the time Aunt Hui saw the items on the table and turned back to talk to Feng Xuxu, there was no one to be seen in the courtyard. She sighed resignedly, smiled, shook her head, and continued with her work.
"Big brother, you were looking for me?" Before entering, Feng Xuxu’s voice could be heard. Inside, Feng Xi rubbed his aching forehead upon hearing his sister’s call.
"Little sister, you’re a grown woman now, you can’t be calling out like that. It’s not proper and might draw laughter," Feng Xi patiently instructed his sister.
"Hee hee, got it, big brother. It won’t happen again," she replied playfully, sticking out her cute pink tongue at her brother.
"How did things go in town this time? Did you find the craftsmen?" the elder brother asked worriedly.
"Uncle Ma arranged everything. There are over a hundred people. During the construction, they’ll stay here, in temporary shelters. We only need to provide them with three meals a day."
"With food for so many people, we might need a few extra hands to help," Feng Xi expressed his concern.
"Yes, so this time I’m going to hire some more women. In a day or two, it’ll be time to plant the rice seedlings. We’ll need to hire more people then, and we’ll provide meals for their work. Once the seedlings are in, it’s immediately time to plant our thousand acres. We can’t afford to waste time!" Feng Xuxu had it all planned out, ensuring that manpower wasn’t wasted and everything was scheduled efficiently.
Feng Xi nodded as he listened, agreeing that the arrangements made sense.
"Big brother, what did Uncle Tiemu say when you visited him?"
"Uncle has replied. He’ll come over tomorrow morning to start building the temporary housing with the wages at twenty-five coins a day, including lunch."
"Okay, then. I’ll ask Aunt Hui later which women in the village are swift and efficient. We’ll hire a few more, offering twenty coins a day and three meals. What do you think, brother?"
"Alright, we’ll do as you say." Feng Xi agreed.
"Also, on my way back from town, I stopped by the grain store and arranged for them to deliver extra food every day. Coarse grain flour, wheat flour, and rice. As for vegetables, we’ll contract out from our villagers. If that’s not enough, we’ll buy more from town. And as for pork, I remember there’s a butcher in our village, we can place orders with them." Feng Xuxu aimed to perfect every detail, carefully considering what else might be needed.
