Chapter 19

When she reached the room, Luo Yan saw her wife checking the accounts.

“Wife, haven’t these accounts already been calculated?”

Li Hanxue looked at Husband and said, “Mm. I’m checking how much food needs to be made tonight. We also need to make tomorrow’s quantity. Husband, can you finish it all today? I just calculated it, and there’s a lot that needs to be made!”

Seeing her wife’s face full of worry, Luo Yan smiled and walked closer to comfort her. “Wife, don’t worry. Wang Ji’s family will be back in a while, and they can help too. Besides, the village chief also came to send people over!”

“How will Husband pay the workers? Wang Ji’s family already has several people, and there is Xiao Xu’s family too.”

“Wife, don’t worry. For now, I only want two households from the village chief’s side. Since they’re from the same village, they can help with making food. Don’t worry. Believe me, today’s work can be finished earlier.” Once those two households were confirmed, they could start working directly. There was no need to worry at all.

Hearing this, Hanxue let out a breath of relief. “That would be wonderful. Before we came home, I kept worrying.”

“Don’t worry, Wife. Bring that new account book of yours. Let’s go to the main room.”

“Why bring the account book over?” Hanxue was very puzzled.

“A few households in the village grow tea leaves and came to sell them to us. I looked at the color, and they all seemed not bad, so I first had them each go home and bring some over…”

“All right.”

After saying this, Luo Yan held her wife’s hand and walked toward the main room.

“Uncles, the goods delivered today will be recorded into the accounts by my wife. It will be the same every time in the future. If demand increases, I will notify everyone in advance.”

“All right!” the men said, so happy they could hardly contain themselves.

Hanxue walked closer and looked at the tea leaves the uncles had each brought. Judging by their quality, they really were not bad. They were much better than the loose tea Husband had bought.

After confirming everything, Hanxue walked over and sat beside Husband. She picked up the brush and began recording, then finally had the uncles press their fingerprints.

After Luo Yan saw that her wife had finished registering everything, she said to the men, “If possible, next time when you come, we can sign an agreement.

“Within five years, your prices will not rise. Within these five years, if uncles can provide me with tea leaves that have been stored for three years, five years, or even longer, I will buy them first.

“If within five years I can help clear out your stock, then at that time, we can discuss things again. What do you uncles think?”

The village chief and Old Master Luo both felt this was very good and hurriedly hinted for the men to agree. The men were just as happy. After seeing the looks from the village chief and Old Master Luo, they immediately replied, “Naturally, that’s fine!”

“Then all right. Next time, let the village chief and Grandpa Luo come as witnesses too. We’ll sign and press fingerprints, clear and proper.”

The men were almost unable to control themselves as they said, ​bailiantales.com​“Naturally, that would be excellent!”

After exchanging a few polite words, Luo Yan let the uncles return first. The two households had also already been decided. One was the next-door neighbor, and the other was a household living a little in front of Luo Yan’s family.

When making the selection, Mother Luo had taken all of Yan’er’s requirements into consideration before choosing. These two families both had good relationships with their family. Whenever the women of these two households were bullied by outsiders, the men and mothers-in-law of the families would step out and protect them. They were two good families.

Mother Luo went out together with the uncles to call those two households over. In just a few minutes, the two households came over together with Mother Luo.

After everyone arrived and sat down properly, the village chief explained things to the two households. After listening, everyone was extremely excited. Usually, if there was work available, the village chief would also come and call people over, but there were very few opportunities, not even a few times a year. If they could work here long-term, that would be wonderful. Making food was something even a woman like them could do, and in their hearts, they truly found it a little unbelievable.

Seeing everyone’s expressions, Mother Luo smiled from the bottom of her heart and said, “Everything the village chief said is true.”

The neighboring family had been seen many times in the original owner’s memories. As for the other household, they lived a little farther away. Luo Yan only recognized that family’s daughter-in-law and old mother. Luo Yan looked at the sky and estimated that about an hour had passed. Wang Ji should be arriving soon. Just as she thought this, she saw Wang Ji riding the donkey cart to the gate, and the people on the cart climbed down one by one.

After greeting Wang Ji’s family and inviting them into the courtyard, Luo Yan saw that there were too many people now, while the main room only had a few chairs to begin with. So she called everyone into the courtyard to talk together.

Luo Yan explained the work that needed to be done and the wages for each position to everyone. Everyone calculated it together. Even on a low day, they could earn several dozen wen, which was even more than the money their men earned from outside labor.

Seeing that no one had any objections, Luo Yan had her wife write the hiring agreements so everyone could sign and press their fingerprints later. The village chief and Old Master Luo were kept behind to eat dinner together later. Since the neighboring Luo family was close, Luo Yan also borrowed their kitchen for use.

Under Luo Yan’s guidance, the mung bean cakes and little milk-scented buns were quickly made. This time, they made a large amount, and Luo Yan gave some to each family to eat.

Some people could not hold back and began eating as soon as they got them. The moment it entered their mouths, they were already unable to control themselves.

The taste was far too good!

Luo Yan only made one cake, which was left for everyone to eat together at night. Tomorrow, the aunties would go to the shop with them to work. That way, when the named buyers came to pick up their orders, the food would be freshly made.

The large table at home was not enough for everyone to sit around, so the neighbor’s table was also brought over to use. After the mung bean cakes and little milk-scented buns were finished, Luo Yan began preparing dinner together with the aunties.

Seeing that Yan’er could command everything smoothly by herself, Mother Luo went over to help Hanxue write the agreements while chatting with the village chief and Old Master Luo.

Hanxue was not very surprised that Mother could write, but Mother’s handwriting was even better than hers, which surprised Hanxue greatly.

Then, feeling embarrassed and shy, she continued writing the remaining agreements earnestly. With Mother’s help, the agreements were finished very quickly. Hanxue took all the agreements to the village chief to confirm, then returned to her previous seat and drank the tea Mother handed her.

Today, she discovered that not only was Husband naturally intelligent, Mother was the same. Thinking of it this way, Father should also be…

The village chief looked over the agreements and found no problems. That boy Xiao Yan had explained every clause of the agreement in great detail. Not only that, it was also written that way. There were rewards and penalties, and the major points were all in accordance with the law… and so on. All of it was beyond his expectations.

After sitting for a while, Hanxue could not sit any longer. Beside her were not only Mother, but also the village chief and an old master who seemed to carry quite a bit of weight. Staying one more second meant one more bit of awkwardness. She found an excuse and went to look for Husband.

When she walked out of the main room, Hanxue saw everyone in the courtyard setting up dining tables. Later, this table would be eaten outside. Fortunately, it had only just entered autumn, so the weather was not very cold yet.

Hanxue continued walking. When she reached the kitchen doorway, she saw [unauthorized copy]that the room was full of people. Husband stood beside the pot and was currently cooking.

The auntie tending the stove saw Hanxue and hurriedly said happily, “Young Madam Luo, are you finished with your work?”

Young Madam Luo? My wife??

Just as Luo Yan thought this, she immediately turned her head and looked over, meeting her wife’s eyes.

…

Husband’s face was a little red…?

The moment Luo Yan met her wife’s gaze, she immediately smiled gently at her. “Do you want to come in?”

There were too many people in the room, and because they were cooking, the temperature had risen quite a bit too. Hanxue shook her head at Husband, indicating she would not go in.

“All right. Wait for me.” After saying this, Luo Yan hurriedly plated the dish she had just finished making. She spoke briefly with the auntie beside her, then took the freshly fried fries and the sauce she had bought and walked toward her wife.

“Let’s go back to the room.”

“Do you want me to carry that?”

“No need, no need. Let’s go quickly.”

…

Being this anxious did not feel like anything good…

After they reached the room, Luo Yan placed the fries and sauce down. One portion had sauce, and one did not. “Wife, try this. This is made with potatoes and oil. It’s called fries. Very fragrant~”

Hanxue looked at Husband’s face full of desire to share. This should also be very good food. She looked toward the fries and picked one up.

Luo Yan only felt that her wife was unbearably adorable. Holding it in her hand, Hanxue looked at the fry, then blinked at her before finally starting to eat.

After tasting both kinds of fries, Hanxue felt that both were very delicious. The fries dipped in sauce had a slightly heavier flavor, so one could dip less. Without sauce, they tasted crisp and fragrant. “Both are very delicious.”

“As long as Wife likes them. Stay in the room and eat slowly, and rest properly for a while. I’m going out to keep working.”

“You’ve worked hard.” Husband’s face was not as red now as it had been earlier.

“It’s not hard.” Luo Yan looked at her wife and smiled with ill intentions. “Wife, kiss me once as a reward.” As she spoke, she leaned her face closer.

…

Author’s Note:

Li Hanxue: The fries are delicious.

Luo Yan: Wife, reward me. Just one little kiss.

Author: …