Chapter 178： twelfth lunar month

  Chapter 178 Twelfth Moon

  The original houses on the Zhuangzi were not enough for the newly hired people to live in, so these people lived in temporary shacks from the moment they moved in, and then some people were drawn out to build new residences.

   At the same time, Wei Ruo's five small workshops were also built.

   Now the five workshops have been completed, and those residences are still under construction because of their large number.

  Wei Ruo hopes to get everyone to move in before the temperature freezes below zero.

  As soon as Wei Ruo came, Manager Yu took her to inspect the newly-built house: "Look, my boss, the beams will be erected in a few days, and they will be completed before the end of the month."

   "Well, you guys did a good job." Wei Ruo said.

   "It's all because of your kindness, my boss. Everyone knows that you built these houses for them to live in. They are very grateful and work very hard." Guan Shi said.

The land is so valuable, the other family must want to reserve more arable land or build houses for themselves, but their owner has spared no expense in freeing up a large area of ​​land to build more houses so that the hired long-term workers and family live better.

  The former long-term workers in their village used to live in a smaller place than this one. Usually several long-term workers squeezed into one room. How can there be such a comfortable and small room to sleep in?

"I hope they will work on Zhuangzi wholeheartedly and treat Zhuangzi as a place like home. Naturally, they should be provided with a place that can shelter from the wind and rain like their home, with food to eat and clothes to wear. Otherwise, why should I ask for it?" They can do things well for Zhuangzi and treat Zhuangzi like home."

   "My boss is kind!" Manager Yu couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

  He worked as a long-term worker for 20 years and then worked as a manager for the past 10 years. This is the first time he has encountered an employer with such an idea.

"Just do as I said, don't worry about the high expenditure on Zhuangzi, as long as it is a reasonable and compliant expenditure, and the money is actually used where it should be used, I will not be stingy. In the coming year There are more crops, and these are coming back."

  At present, Wei Ruo has a few stores that are making stable profits, and expenses will not be a problem. After the cooperation with Zuixianju starts, an additional income can be added.

  And Wei Ruo's ambition is not only in a drunk fairy house, she is also planning to open the market of ordinary people, as well as restaurants in other places, all of which are in her future planning.

   "Okay, don't worry, my boss, I will record every expense on Zhuangzi in detail, so as to ensure that every money spent by my boss is clearly spent."

  Wei Ruo nodded, the account books must be clear.

   Then Wei Ruo went to the workshop. Since he was just starting out, it was inevitable that there would be some problems. Wei Ruo still had to put in more effort to supervise the work these days, and correct the problems in time when he found them.

  ###

   Time has entered the twelfth lunar month.

  A heavy snow covered the entire Taizhou Prefecture.

  The inside and outside of Fucheng is covered with silver, and there is a thick layer of snow on the eaves, branches, and steps.

  It's freezing cold, and the temperature is even colder than in previous years.

   Such an age is really sad for people from poor families.

   Some families have started to sell their daughters, and the better ones are sold to rich families as maids. Regardless of whether the contract is dead or alive, at least they can have enough food.

   Those who were almost not so lucky were sold to be concubines, bought by a prostitute and went north, and some were made into horses.

  Although Wei Ruo didn't witness these things with his own eyes, he knew that they happened for real.

  The houses on Wei Ruozhuangzi were all completed before the heavy snowfall, and everyone moved in.

The food on Zhuangzi is also enough. In addition to the rice stored in Zhuangzi's warehouse, Wei Ruo also has several carts of sweet potatoes transported from Xingshan County, plus a large amount of vegetables grown after the rice harvest in Xiaoyang Mountain, Xingshan County. pickled vegetables (pickled radishes, pickles, mustard greens, etc.).

  These grain reserves are enough for more than 200 people in Zhuangzi to survive this winter.

  After seeing what happened to the poor people outside under the freezing weather, many refugees who were taken in felt more grateful to Wei Ruo.

  If they were not taken in by Wei Ruo, they would either be frozen to death or starved to death at this moment.

  Even the local residents who are hired are equally grateful, because not every employer treats long-term workers so preferentially. To catch up with this age, not only did they not reduce their wages, but they also added extra cotton coats to them.

  The Xiaowei’s mansion distributed charcoal fires to each courtyard, and the distributed charcoal was smokeless charcoal, which was better than ordinary black charcoal, and the house would not emit black smoke when it was burned, making it smoky.

  At the same time, two new quilts for this year were distributed in each courtyard.

   These are all attributed to Wei Mingting's promotion. Not only did he receive a reward, but his salary also increased, and the situation in the Captain's Mansion naturally improved a lot.

   Then Yun invited a tailor to come to the door, tailor each young master and lady's clothes, and made clothes for the New Year.

   Among them, Wei Ruo made three sets, and the others, including the eldest son Wei Yichen, only made two sets.

   This is because Wei Ruo doesn't have much clothes. Now that he is in Fucheng, he has to attend some occasions. Wei Ruo is the eldest daughter in the mansion, so naturally he can't change back and forth, so there are only two or three outfits that can be worn out.

  Originally, the Yun family also wanted to make an extra body for Wei Yichen. Wei Yichen had just gone to Anzhou Academy to study, and he met many people, so he needed to be more respectable.

  But Wei Yichen refused during the fitting. He told Yun that he went to Anzhou Academy to study, not to compare with others, and there is no need to care about these external things.

  Wei Yichen knew in his heart that Xiaowei's mansion was not considered rich, and this year's food was not enough and the weather was extremely cold, so there were more places to spend money.

  And he has made enough clothes in previous years, so he will save some this year.

  Wei Qingwan felt sad for a long time when she found out.

  But her sadness and unwillingness failed to cause any change. Except for her two loyal servants, no one else in the mansion knew her emotions and thoughts.

  ###

   On the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, the day before the Laba Festival, Wei Ruo and Xiumei made several large pots of Laba porridge and distributed them to the people in Zhuangzi.

  Although tomorrow is the Laba Festival, Wei Ruo had other plans on the day of the Laba Festival, so the Laba porridge for the people in Zhuangzi was distributed one day in advance.

  The Laba porridge made by Wei Ruo and Xiumei is full of ingredients, and the people in Zhuangzi started to gobble up the porridge after drinking this porridge.

  In addition to the people in Zhuangzi, Wei Ruo also packed a few barrels, wrapped them in cotton cloth, and brought them back to the city.

  Nurse and Uncle Xu's share must be indispensable, as well as the shopkeeper and clerk of Sibaozhai, Chen Aqing from Xuji Lo-Mei Shop, and another little clerk.

  In addition, in the Zhuangzi in Xingshan County, Wei Ruo had sent a letter a few days in advance, asking the manager of the Zhuangzi to cook Laba porridge for everyone on the Laba Festival.

  (end of this chapter)