Chapter 240 - Chapter 240: Letting Stone Village Villagers Contract the Desertl (1/2)
Chapter 240: Letting Stone Village Villagers Contract the Desertl
Translator: 549690339
Wei Ruo left the brewery, on her way past Stone Village where she stumbled upon villagers who warmly greeted her as she passed by.
“Master Xu!”
“Benefactor Xu!”
“Benefactor, come have a drink at my place!”
Wei Ruo responded to everyone’s enthusiasm with a smile, but declined their invitations.
Shi Dayou, with his hoe on his back, came from his home. Seeing Wei Ruo, he broke into a grin: “Master Xu! You’re here! Is there anything at the brewery that needs help?”
Every time he saw Wei Ruo, Shi Dayou would ask this question.
Wei Ruo replied, “Thank you for your kindness Chairman, but there’s nothing that needs to be done at the moment.”
“You don’t have to always call me Chairman. It’s a bit embarrassing. Just call me Dayou.” Shi Dayou said.
“Alright, Brother Dayou.” Wei Ruo then asked him, “Brother Dayou, how have the sales of the bamboo fungus from the mountain been lately?”
Shi Dayou replied with a smile, “Thanks to you, Master Xu, the bamboo fungus sells well in the city market. We’ve exchanged the silver we earned for rice, flour, and meat, distributed it among the villagers; everyone is very grateful to you for teaching us this profitable way of life.”
“Distributed? Didn’t everyone pick their fungus and sell it themselves at the market?” asked Wei Ruo.
Shi Dayou explained, “No, there isn’t much bamboo fungus on the mountain. If everyone rushed to pick it, it would be gone in no time, and it doesn’t stay fresh for long. But, not many people buy it, if everyone sold it, the price wouldn’t be high. Plus, scrambling to pick wouldn’t be conducive to our farming.”
Shi Dayou continued, “So we decided to send a few women from the village to pick them, anything they pick is considered public property. The silver earned from selling, after paying the women, is shared among us; the rest of the people continue working in the fields.”
Listening to Shi Dayou’s response, Wei Ruo couldn’t help but show admiration. Shi Dayou is indeed a far-sighted, commendable village chief.
Looking at the enthusiastic Shi Dayou in front of her, an idea suddenly sprang up in Wei Ruo’s mind.
“Brother Dayou, have you considered leading the villagers to do some other work?” Wei Ruo asked.
Over the past few days, Wei Ruo had noticed that the per capita farmland in Stone Village was not that large, and the village’s labour force had some to spare. And Wei Ruo just happened to need labourers.
“Other work?” Shi Dayou looked at Wei Ruo in surprise.
“It’s still about farming. I’ve seen that there are still many wastelands not far from my brewery that belong to your neighbouring village. I bought them a few days ago, planning to plant some crops. I need help, so I’m thinking of hiring someone to contract it.” Wei Ruo said.
Wei Ruo had been eying the sandy lands near Government City for a while, but due to things being busy last winter, she had postponed it until now.
The silver taels used for buying the land came from the medical fees Zhu Zongyupaid her last time.
There were already a lot of people in Wei Ruo’s manor, she didn’t want to hire more permanent workers anymore. Choosing to lease it to others could save her a lot of trouble.
Shi Dayou looked surprised, “But, Master Xu, those wastelands can’t be farmed. Not only is the terrain bad, but there are many stones. Crops simply won’t grow there.”
As long as the crops can grow in it, the people from the neighbouring village would not leave it empty, nor would they easily sell it to outsiders.
Who wouldn’t want more land to sow more crops? Those who farm aren’t afraid of hardship, but instead are afraid of not having land to farm.
Wei Ruo said, “Sandy soil can be used to plant crops.”