Chapter 57: Hiring People

Chapter 57: Hiring People Hearing Wang Shen’s words, Yao Zhi thought about the grains she sent over and asked again, "Aunt Wang, how much is the grain price?"

"The General’s wife sold the grains for eight wen per jin in the beginning. But this morning, we heard that the price of grain has dropped to five wen per jin."

This time, Yao Zhi was surprised by Wang Shen’s words. She sold the grains for four wen per jin. If they sold it at this price, they barely earned money.

She thought for a moment and realized that the General’s wife was trying to lower the market price of grains. This move was not to earn money but to relieve the commoners’ food shortage.

After a moment of pause, she asked again, "Aunt Wang, beside the store owned by the General’s wife, are other grain stores selling their grains?"

Wang Shen nodded and replied, "Two grain stores opened for business today. But they sold the grains for eight wen per jin."

"Although it is more expensive compared to the one sold by the General’s wife, it is still better than nothing. After all, the General’s wife limits the purchase. Even if you have money, you can only buy five jin per person."

"But those two stores didn’t have any limit. I heard that a lot of wealthy families from nearby cities bought a lot of grains from them."

When Yao Zhi heard this, she could not help but admire Xue Ya’er for her good business method. Now that the market no longer lacked grains, the commoners would not starve to death even if they had a bad harvest this year.

After they chatted for a while, Wang Shen leaned closer and whispered, "Yao girl, I heard that the situation on the border has stabilized and the troops will be able to return soon."

Yao Zhi’s eyes flickered as she thought of her husband. "Aunt Wang, does that mean that my husband will be back soon?" she asked.

Thinking that she was happy, Wang Shen nodded and added, "Usually, the soldiers will receive a few off days depending on their rank. Your husband should be able to have at least five days off this time."

Yao Zhi did not feel excited or disappointed. She did not have any interactions with her nominal husband besides sharing lunch with him. Therefore, he was practically a stranger to her.

But when she met Wang Shen’s meaningful gaze, she could only lower her head and pretend to be shy.

Thinking that she was shy, Wang Shen did not stay any longer and said, "Yao girl, I have to go back now. Let us chat another time."

"Okay," Yao Zhi nodded.

When she was alone, Yao Zhi quickly finished washing her clothes and hung them on the bamboo poles to dry. Afterward, she went to the kitchen.

Looking at the open kitchen, she thought for a moment before she stored all supplies into her system’s storage. With this kind of kitchen, the supplies would go bad faster.

Since it was not yet harvest time, most of the villagers were idle. Thinking of it, she got a bamboo basket from the cabinet and packed five jin of millet into a small cloth bag. Besides that, she also added five eggs and a small tube of salt containing around one hundred grams.

Looking at these items, she nodded and covered the basket with a piece of fabric. After locking the doors, she wore a bamboo hat and walked to the village chief’s house.

As she walked, Yao Zhi looked around and saw that the ground was drier than before. Even the most stubborn weeds were not able to survive. Using her palm to cover her eyes, she raised her head and glanced at the scorching sun.

"If there is no rain soon, the harvest will fail," she muttered softly.

Her eyebrows were knitted tightly when she thought about the consequences of not being able to get a good harvest. With the drought, famine would follow. With famine, people would die and soon, plague would arrive.

While she was lost in thought, she arrived at the village chief’s house.

At this moment, the wooden gate was opened, and Yang Sanlang was chopping the firewood. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt, and his muscles bulged as he swung the ax.

Thanks to the hot weather, the firewood dried quickly. He was preparing more firewood to fill the woodshed.

Seeing him, Yao Zhi greeted him with a smile, "Brother Sanlang."

Hearing her voice, Yang Sanlang stopped what he was doing and straightened his back. The moment he saw her, his eyes lit up, and a smile appeared on his tanned face.

"Sister Yao Zhi, what brings you here?" he asked while wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Yao Zhi walked closer and explained, "Brother Sanlang, I have a favor to ask the village chief. Is he at home?"

Yang Sanlang nodded and said, "My father is resting in his room. Let’s go inside first."

The two of them entered the house, and he poured her a cup of cold tea before he went to call his father.

Yao Zhi took a sip of the cold tea and placed the cup down.

This tea was made by the village chief’s wife, and the quality was low. But even so, not many families were able to afford tea. So, being able to serve tea to the guests was considered very polite.

Soon after, Yang Sanlang finally returned with his father.

He glanced at the cup and noticed that she only drunk a little. It seemed that she did not like tea. He took note of this and decided to prepare sugar water for her next time she came to visit.

After they took their seats, the village chief asked, "Yao Zhi, do you need anything?"

Yao Zhi placed the bamboo basket on the table and replied, "Village Chief, I come to ask you for a favor."

The village chief only glanced at the bamboo basket but did not check the contents. He first drank some tea before he asked, "You can tell me first what you need."