Chapter 243 - Chapter 243: Chapter 243 Selling Late Rice Seeds_l (1/2)
Chapter 243: Chapter 243 Selling Late Rice Seeds_l
Translator: 549690339 I
After Wei Ruo departed, Shi Dayou instructed the villagers to return to work in the fields and went home, shouldering his hoe.
The contracting matter that master Xu had just discussed with him was his top priority at the moment.
Once home, Shi Dayou summoned several respected elders from the village to his house and detailed the plan to cooperate with master Xu, seeking their opinions.
The senior villagers were very supportive, as there was no set rent to pay, only a fifty-fifty split, and they naturally would accept such a fair deal.
Moreover, they had a surplus of labor in their village. If they could combine their efforts and explore other livelihoods, it could be a prosperous year for everyone!
The elders instructed Shi Dayou to treat Xu Heyou well. Given the village’s limited skills and opportunities, and their inability to negotiate business with city dwellers, they were grateful for any help. They were determined to seize and cherish this opportunity.
Once he received the elders’ approval, Shi Dayou passed the news to Wei Ruo.
Wei Ruo didn’t procrastinate. After all, time waits for no one, and neither does the land in the spring. Planting needed to commence immediately.
Therefore, Wei Ruo quickly signed a contract with the people of Stone Village.
On the day contract was signed, Shi Dayou brought along some selected villagers to labor on the sandlot purchased by Wei Ruo.
In selecting people, Shi Dayou considered many factors. The first principle was voluntariness. Some households, with fewer laborers, were barely managing their own lands and couldn’t take on additional work.
However, some families, who had many members but little land, were eager to seize this new opportunity to earn money.
Based on voluntary enrollment, Shi Dayou and some village elders made some adjustments: if a family had three people enrolling, they typically allocated one or two positions depending on the family’s situation, striving to distribute the positions as evenly as possible.
However, due to the varied circumstances of each household, achieving complete equality was impossible.
Fortunately, with Shi Dayou, the village chief, and the village elders taking charge, the villagers were satisfied with the final result.
Then, the chosen villagers went to the large sandlot purchased by Wei Ruo to begin working: weeding, removing rocks, plowing, and properly fertilizing.
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Weighing many factors, Wei Ruo was mindful of seeding late-ripening rice. Two days later, she advertised her late-ripening rice seeds in villages afflicted by seedling disease, informing them that it was not too late to sow them.
Upon hearing this news, villagers flocked to Wei Ruo’s estate.
Outside the gate of Wei Ruo’s estate, several bulging burlap sacks were piled on the ground, and people were still moving more out from inside the estate.
The first villagers to arrive glimpsed the sacks and their eyes sparkled. They guessed those sacks might be filled with the late-ripening rice seeds they desired.
However, the sight of seven or eight robust men standing near the sacks dissuaded them from approaching recklessly.
At that moment, Wei Ruo came out from the estate and the villagers couldn’t resist inquiring.
“Master Xu, we heard you have seeds that can still be planted now to yield crops. Is it true?” An old man cautiously asked Wei Ruo.
Wei Ruo recognized the old man. He was the one who had accused her of cursing them when she urged them to change seedlings during her visit to Madam Xu’s farm.