Chapter 586 - 585: Farmer’s Wife 14
Tan You had a sharp, enterprising nature, while Chen Xi was softer, and there was nothing wrong with that. A sharp edge hidden beneath a soft, harmless facade often made it easier to achieve one’s goals.
An Wen quickly went to find Chen Tianshui. After An Wen explained his purpose, Chen Tianshui slapped his thigh. "Excellent! It looks like everyone in the village will have work to do from now on."
"Let’s hurry over. Have the clan elders all been invited?"
An Wen said with a serious little face, "I’ve already invited the ones whose houses I passed. I just have to go to Third Great-Uncle’s house now."
Chen Tianshui was pleased. "You go invite Third Granduncle, then. I’ll tidy myself up and change my clothes at home."
Yesterday, in his haste to hear the outcome, he had gone to the Chen family home in his work clothes, without even washing the mud from his feet. Thinking back on it now, Chen Tianshui felt a bit improper. With Xue Guanglin visiting again, Chen Tianshui felt he couldn’t be so discourteous today.
By the time Chen Tianshui and the clan elders arrived at the Chen family’s home, Tan You and Xue Guanglin had also reached the doorstep. Everyone consciously slowed their pace to wait, as it was best to discuss such matters together.
The result of the discussion was naturally a joyous one: the Chen clan now had a mosquito coil workshop. Compared to the soap, the mosquito coil workshop could undoubtedly deliver products faster and begin production sooner.
After all, the necessary space and raw materials could, frankly, be gathered by anyone with a mind to do it.
Of course, once the contract was signed, Tan You’s storeroom was completely emptied. Tan You didn’t mind. Once the workshop started production, she could just buy whatever she wanted directly from it.
After seeing Xue Guanglin off, Chen Tianshui grinned from ear to ear, laughing heartily. "No wonder you had people drying wormwood yesterday! You were preparing for this all along."
Tan You said, "The amount of wormwood on the mountain is limited. I suggest we organize people to go out and procure more, just like we do with the lard."
Chen Tianshui calculated the manpower within the clan. "Alright. I’ll arrange for people to go to the neighboring villages to buy wormwood."
Tan You didn’t interfere in this matter. "I’ll leave it to you, Clan Leader. The clan members won’t be complaining now, will they?"
"Why would they?" Chen Tianshui laughed loudly. "They’re overjoyed!"
A dedicated team was put in charge of purchasing raw materials from outside, while the able-bodied men started making charcoal and grinding elm powder. Even the children ran all over the mountains and fields; whenever they gathered wormwood, they would deliver it to the workshop, which would keep a record for them and settle the accounts at the end of the month.
For a time, the courtyards of nearly every household were filled with drying wormwood.
Ten days later, the first batch of mosquito coils from the Chen workshop was shipped out by the Four Seas Grocery Store. As he accepted the five taels of Silver from them, Chen Tianshui’s lips trembled with excitement.
The onlooking clan members were also thrilled. "We’re already making Silver?"
"There’s more! I heard the first batch of soap will be ready to be removed from the molds in another five or six days," an auntie whispered. "Our workshop hasn’t stopped for a moment these past few days. From now on, we’ll be producing soap every day."
"That’s wonderful! Ming Guang, how much soap will we get in the first batch?" Aunt Hua saw Chen Xi nearby and decided to ask her for details.
Chen Xi smiled. "The first batch will have about eight hundred bars of basic soap and four hundred bars of wormwood-mint soap. The workshop expects an income of about fifteen taels."
"Fifteen taels of Silver!" an auntie clapped her hands. "That’s quite a lot! If we ship out products every day from now on, how many fifteen taels will that be?"
Chen Xi corrected her, "That’s not how it’s calculated. We’ve also invested a lot. Everyone went around buying lard under the scorching sun—those labor costs have to be factored in."
"Isn’t labor the cheapest thing there is?" an auntie said dismissively. Indeed, in their eyes, the labor of the poor was the least valuable thing.
Chen Xi replied, "That’s not right. If the uncles hadn’t gone out to collect raw materials, the soap workshop would have shut down long ago. Their contributions are immense, and their labor is very precious."
She had learned this from Tan You. Even if others didn’t see labor as particularly valuable, that wasn’t how Tan You saw it.
"It’s because we have raw materials that the workshop can keep running. Of course, the aunties and grandmas are indispensable too. In short, the workshop can’t do without any of you."
Chen Xi’s final words put the aunties and older women in extremely high spirits. Watching from a distance, Tan You thought to herself, ’Chen Xi really is prime material for a manager.’
"Ming Guang, does the workshop pay... wa-wages... every month?" an auntie asked, unfamiliar with the new term. She stumbled a bit when she said the word "wages."
Chen Xi replied earnestly, "My mother said that for the first month, we’ll only be paid half. We need to leave enough capital for operations, to buy more raw materials, and to purchase various equipment for the workshop."
"But starting next month, we should be paid in full."
"I wonder how much our wages will be." An auntie rested her chin in her hand, her eyes full of yearning. "I heard that a twelve-year-old boy working in town earns about ten wen a day."
"We’re working right here on our doorstep. I’m not greedy. If I can make a hundred wen a month, I’ll be perfectly happy," Aunt Hua said with a smile. "We’re usually only busy for half the day, so we still have time to go home and get other work done."
Chen Xi felt a pang of bittersweetness in her heart, thinking how easily satisfied everyone was. "Regarding wages, my mother said she needs to discuss it with the Clan Leader and the elders. It’s supposed to be based on the workshop’s output."
"The more goods the workshop produces, the higher everyone’s wages will be."
The Clan Leader’s wife stroked Chen Xi’s head. "Ming Guang has become so capable. I’ve decided to have my daughter learn household management too. Look how impressive Ming Guang is now! She can explain the workshop’s business so clearly."
Chen Xi tilted her little face up. "I learned it from my mother. She’s the amazing one."
"Indeed she is," the Clan Leader’s wife smiled. "Your mother is looking for you."
"I’ll go over now, then." After giving a curtsy to the aunties, Chen Xi hurried toward Tan You.
"What’s got you so happy?" Tan You asked softly, seeing the smile on the little girl’s face.
"I am happy," Chen Xi nodded emphatically. "I’m happy seeing everyone’s lives gradually improving."
Tan You smiled too. "As long as you’re happy. Is it tiring to learn all this?"
Chen Xi shook her head. "Not at all. I really enjoy it."
Tan You said, "I’m glad you enjoy it. Our Ming Guang is a promising young manager."
After an anxious wait, the soap was finally removed from the molds, and the Four Seas Grocery Store arrived at Miao Gou Village right away. Nearly every villager was present to witness this grand delivery.
Xue Guanglin had also come this time. "Madam Tan, the shop has been waiting for the clan’s regular and scented soaps. This saves me a lot of trouble."
Manager Fan added from the side, "We’ve had to limit purchases of regular and scented soap at the shop these past few days. We can finally breathe a sigh of relief."