Chapter 20

Li Hanxue did not do as Luo Yan wished. Her finger lightly tapped Luo Yan’s cheek, soft and gentle. “Hurry and go cook. I’m hungry.”

Hearing her wife say she was hungry, Luo Yan quickly turned her head and said with concern, “I’ll go right now. Eat some fries first to cushion your stomach.”

The meal took around one or two hours to finish. Father Luo had already returned home from work, and after seeing the village chief and Old Master Luo, he joined the chatting group.

Every dish was made in two portions. Two of the family’s chickens were slaughtered. One was stewed into soup, and the other was braised, with both divided into two portions.

The duck eggs had only been pickled for a few days, so the flavor was not very obvious yet, but in this environment, they still counted as a solid dish. Luo Yan specially chose the duck eggs placed at the very bottom.

Because she had bought sauce, Luo Yan made the ribs she had bought into sauce-flavored ribs. The ribs were all cooked at once and just happened to fill two plates. Because the aroma of the sauce-flavored ribs was too tempting, everyone could not help swallowing.

Everyone watched Luo Yan cook and stir-fry, secretly swallowing the whole time. They did not know what Luo Yan had added to make the dishes smell this fragrant!

After the food was ready, everyone was extremely enthusiastic about carrying the dishes out and placing them on the tables, thinking that it was best to hurry and eat.

They clutched their stomachs. They had been enduring this whole time.

While everyone was carrying the dishes, Luo Yan went to the room to call her stolen contentwife to come eat. When they came out, a certain someone walked out of the room with a smug smile on her face.

Husband really was! Just because she cooked a meal, she wanted a reward…

The village chief, Old Master Luo, Luo Yan’s family, Wang Ji and his father, and the men from the other two families sat at one table.

The other women and children sat at another table. It was packed so full that they could barely all sit down.

The children were fine and did not take up much space. They stood in front of their mothers, full of anticipation as they waited for tonight’s meal.

Usually, they could only eat meat during the New Year. Yet tonight, Luo Yan had made several meat dishes in one meal.

Even the vegetarian dishes smelled better than what they made at home! Since the village chief’s table had not yet moved their chopsticks, this side could not start eating first.

Because of this, more and more gazes turned toward the other table, hoping they would hurry and pick up their chopsticks to eat.

When Hanxue sat down, she noticed that today’s ribs were different. But judging by their appearance, the flavor should not be bad.

When Father Luo came back today, he had been startled. Only after understanding the situation did he realize what had happened.

This—he was still outside doing labor, yet his daughter had already started hiring people…

He secretly asked Yan’er how much money she had earned. After learning the answer, he was astonished. He had not expected that in just two or three days, she had already earned this much money, especially on opening day!

Fortunately, he knew everything his daughter was doing. Seeing the village chief and Old Master Luo from the village, he could also go forward and speak with them properly.

During the conversation, he suddenly discovered that his wife had written the hiring agreements. He took the agreements and looked them over, and once again, he was shocked!

Was this written by his wife? He had never expected that after more than ten years of marriage, his wife had such talent. Thinking this, he looked upon his wife even more highly in his heart.

Now, looking at the table full of food, he could not control himself. After working all day, he had already been hungry for a long time.

“Village Chief, Old Master Luo, let’s not wait anymore. Hurry and pick up your chopsticks and eat!” As he spoke, his hand had already picked up a piece of chicken and placed it into his bowl.

The village chief had also been smelling the aroma for a long time and was about to lose control. Hearing Father Luo’s words, he followed by repeating them, and they began eating.

When the other table heard this, they immediately began moving their chopsticks too.

Seeing everyone act like hungry wolves, Luo Yan hurriedly stood up and picked some of every dish for her wife…

Seeing Luo Yan do this, no one said anything. [unauthorized copy]Because they were already unable to control themselves and were eating, so they had no way to speak…

Hanxue watched as Husband specially took a bowl and picked dishes for her. Her heart felt very happy, but with so many people around, including elders… she was so embarrassed that she did not dare lift her head. She could only silently eat.

As she was eating, she suddenly felt a warm breath by her ear. Immediately after, she heard Husband say, “Eat slowly. If you can’t finish or don’t like something, put it in my bowl.”

…

!!!

This person! Really. Hanxue was so embarrassed she could hardly stand it and only gave a gentle “Mm.”

Seeing her wife become shy, Luo Yan happily began eating her own meal.

After the meal, everyone was so satisfied they could hardly bear it.

After dinner, in front of the village chief and Old Master Luo, all the contracts were signed one by one.

Each family returned with that written agreement in hand, their hearts extremely happy. To them, this was not merely a piece of paper, but an important item that could earn them money.

After interacting with them just now, Luo Yan could also sense in her heart that, in these two families, the relationships between the mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law were not bad. When making the food and pastries, they had helped one another.

Not only that, Wang Ji’s family was the same. Luo Yan smiled in her heart, very happy.

When Wang Ji left, Luo Yan had him ride her donkey cart back. It was late now, and walking on the road would definitely be unsafe. The donkey cart was not only faster, it was also more convenient and safer.

Luo Yan paid everyone their wages for today. However, from now on, wages would be settled once a month.

Luo Yan first had Wang Ji milk the cows, starting tomorrow morning. They agreed on how much he would milk each time. Each cow would be milked three times a day, and the two cows together could earn him thirty-six wen.

Hearing the wages, Wang Ji agreed without even thinking.

As for the village chief’s side, Luo Yan also spoke to him. Every two or three days, someone could deliver a bundle of firewood to the Luo family. Of course, there were conditions for each bundle of firewood too, and the wages for one bundle would be calculated at six wen.

As for who would come to deliver it, that was the village chief’s matter. When the time came, he would simply find someone to sign with her and deliver the goods, and Luo Yan would pay.

After everyone left, only the messy remains of two tables were left to clean up. This time, all four members of the family helped. Hanxue and Father Luo cleaned up, while Luo Yan and Mother Luo washed everything. Very quickly, it was all done.

After cleaning up, they boiled a large pot of hot water to use for washing up at night.

After Hanxue and Luo Yan both took hot baths, they lay on the bed feeling light and relaxed. It felt as if they had just fought a battle, and their bodies were sore.

As soon as Luo Yan lay down, Hanxue moved closer to her. Because they were too tired, neither Luo Yan nor Hanxue spoke. They only wanted to rest properly and sleep.

Luo Yan wrapped an arm around her wife’s waist and held the person in her arms a little tighter. Before she knew it, Luo Yan had entered dreamland.

Hanxue listened to Husband’s steady breathing, not daring to make any large movements. She was afraid Husband had only just fallen asleep and that she might wake her. This person had been busy the entire day today. Not only that, she had also needed to use her mind.

For everyone who signed today, Husband had considered the other party in great detail. If they did well, became skilled, and so on, then under certain conditions and after a certain amount of time, their wages could increase.

This kind of arrangement was very good at making the people who signed work hard for her. As for matters involving her own interests, Husband was not vague at all either.

Hanxue also suddenly understood why Husband had bought books on the law. So it turned out she had already had ideas from the beginning. What was happening now was merely all within Husband’s plans.

Author’s Note:

Hanxue: Husband, you really are such a clever ghost!

Luo Yan: Wife, where did you see that from?