TATLC Chapter 27 – Looking for People from Another Village

Lu Lin came back, and Chen Xiaomi asked, “The village head didn’t agree, did he?”

Lu Lin nodded. “Right.” He already expected this situation, so he wasn’t angry. “Let’s hire people from another village. We’ll need to buy some bricks too. The house doesn’t even have a proper foundation! It’s just dirt. We should lay down some bricks.”

Chen Xiaomi frowned. “As long as it’s livable, why bother with all that?”

Lu Lin smiled. “Since we’re building another room anyway, isn’t this just doing things properly?”

Once a young master, always a young master, always insisting on unnecessary luxuries, Chen Xiaomi thought. Although he felt Lu Lin was being too demanding, he didn’t object.

News of Lu Lin’s visit to the village head spread throughout the village, and everyone learned about Chen Xiaomi’s plans to renovate their house.

The villagers were once again shocked by Chen Xiaomi’s extravagance. He just bought a mule and now wanted to build a house. Just how rich was he? Some envious ones sneered, thinking that no matter how rich Chen Xiaomi was, he still couldn’t find anyone in the village willing to help him.

Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi made preparations and headed to the market town two days later.

Many villages had poor people, and there was a specific place in town where villagers gathered looking for work. Anyone needing laborers could go there directly.

Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi carefully selected five men who worked as a team. They regularly built houses for people and had a decent reputation.

Their leader was a man in his late thirties. The team also included two brothers who looked similar, plus two young apprentices.

Liu Guiyong had little land at home, so he often took short-term jobs. However, during this cold season, few people needed workers, and many came to town only to return empty-handed. Liu Guiyong’s team hadn’t found work for several days.

Chen Xiaomi negotiated the price with Liu Guiyong.

“Really? Forty wen per day?” Liu Guiyong asked with surprise.

“Only you get forty wen per day. The others will be paid less,” Chen Xiaomi replied.

Liu Guiyong nodded. “I understand.”

The two sons would get thirty-five wen daily, and the two young apprentices twenty wen each, plus one meal a day. This was already a high rate.

Liu Guiyong had quoted the price expecting some haggling. If Chen Xiaomi had bargained, he would’ve been willing to drop it by five wen. The fact that Chen Xiaomi didn’t haggle at all came as a surprise.

His rates weren’t high to begin with. He was skilled and experienced, but, unfortunately, after a fight a couple of years ago left a scar on his face, finding work had become harder. Even when hired, he was often lowballed.

Having a scarred face was quite serious in this place. Those who wished to become officials couldn’t have facial scars. Once scarred, they would be removed from their position and replaced.

Liu Guiyong was surprised that Chen Xiaomi didn’t haggle, and was even more confused about why he, being from Dashi Village, didn’t simply hire people from his own village.

During this time of year, everyone was idle. Hiring villagers would be cheaper, and living nearby would save travel time. However, Chen Xiaomi didn’t explain, and Liu Guiyong didn’t ask. Regardless, having work was always good.

Having finally secured a job, there was no reason to pass up such a good opportunity.

…

News of Chen Xiaomi hiring outsiders quickly spread through the village.

Chen Xiaomi bought a lot of bricks and stacked them beside the house, which many villagers noticed.

Some who had initially gloated about Chen Xiaomi’s inability to find workers were puzzled when they saw people from another village arrive. After asking around, they learned that Chen Xiaomi had specifically hired them to build the house.

Liu Guiyong and his men were amazed when they saw the kang bed in Chen Xiaomi’s house, but they didn’t ask questions.

The wages were agreed to be paid daily, so Liu Guiyong wasn’t worried about Chen Xiaomi skipping out on payments. Seeing the employer’s wealth, he felt confident about the job.

For lunch, they had rice porridge with pickled vegetables. The rice was coarse grain bought from town, mixed with yam and a bit of minced meat.

The vegetables were pickled greens and sour radish that Lu Lin had bought from Grandma Shen. Grandma Shen’s skill was excellent, making the pickles and sour radish perfect companions to the meal.

Although it was simple meal, Lao Liu¹ and his group thoroughly enjoyed it.

In this season, food was precious. Some households that provided meals only offered plain porridge.

At Lu Lin’s place, there was plenty of yam porridge with meat. Although it was just a small amount of minced meat, it was meat nonetheless.

The two young workers ate with shining eyes. Although Lu Lin prepared quite a lot of porridge, the group finished it all.

The workers noticed that Lu Lin made the porridge using an earth stick. After seeing this, they kept the knowledge to themselves without saying anything.

Lu Lin originally planned to rely on yams to get through winter, so he didn’t spread the word. Now that he had money, he didn’t care much about this anymore.

After eating their fill, everyone worked with great enthusiasm.

When evening came, Lu Lin, who was worried about accidents on the road, sent the men home and had them transported part of the way by mule cart.