Chapter 589 - 588: Peasant Woman 17
The end of the year arrived quickly. Only after Four Seas Grocers shipped away the last batch of soap before the new year did Tan You announce, "In a moment, we’ll be distributing year-end bonuses and New Year’s benefits. We’ll have a seven-day holiday for the Spring Festival, starting tomorrow. Work will resume promptly on the fifth day of the first lunar month."
None of the clansmen objected to this holiday arrangement. Everyone was trying to make money—the sooner they got back to work, the sooner they could earn. Who wouldn’t want to save up more Silver?
After Tan You finished her announcement, four able-bodied young men carried two tables and some chairs to the open space in front of the ancestral hall. Piled beside the tables were small mountains of food, bolts of cloth, cotton, and other goods.
Chen Xi smiled gently. "The Mistress has said that regardless of whether you work in the soap workshop or the mosquito coil workshop, everyone’s New Year’s benefit is the same."
"Ten pounds of meat, ten feet of cloth, and four pounds of cotton. Everyone, line up, press your thumbprint here with me, then go over to Granny Cuihong to collect your benefits."
The clansmen beamed. Although they weren’t as desperate for meat as they used to be, seeing so much of it had everyone calculating how they should cook it for the New Year’s feasts.
Soon, everyone had collected their benefits. Tan You cleared her throat. "Those were the holiday benefits. Now, we begin distributing the bonuses."
At the mention of bonuses, the crowd grew even more excited. Just two months ago, the workshop had launched four new types of soap, and production capacity had quadrupled. But so far, everyone had only been receiving their base wages, so they had no idea how large their year-end bonuses would be.
This time, Tan You was the one sitting behind the table, with Chen Xi and An Wen standing on either side to assist her. Even the employee with the easiest daily job in the workshop received a year-end bonus of five taels of Silver.
To say nothing of those who went out to procure raw materials—they were all grinning from ear to ear.
Chen Tianshui and the other clan elders sat to one side, smoking their long-stemmed pipes. Watching everyone joyfully depart clutching their Silver, smiles couldn’t help but spread across their faces. As leaders of the clan, they naturally wanted everyone’s lives to improve.
"Mistress, are we going to continue making soap after the new year?" Chen Tianshui asked about their plans for the coming year once all the bonuses had been distributed.
Tan You replied, "After the new year, we must first prepare for the spring planting. We need to stockpile grain, as the land is our foundation. No matter how much Silver we earn, it’s all for nothing if we don’t have food."
"Yes, yes, of course, we have to farm our fields." Chen Tianshui slapped his forehead. "But that will delay production at the workshop."
Tan You said, "Then we’ll hire people for the spring planting. We can ask the birth families of the wives in our clan to come help, and we’ll just pay them some Silver Coins. No matter what, the spring planting is the most important thing."
"Oh, right. The fertilizer I was composting is almost ready. After the new year, we’ll spread it on the fields during the spring planting. There’s probably only enough for two plots of land, so everyone can see the results first."
Chen Tianshui nodded repeatedly. "You’re so thorough, Mistress."
Tan You sighed. "It’s not that I’m being thorough. It’s that our ability to withstand risk is too low right now. We can’t afford to take strides that are too large. We have to take it slow, one step at a time."
’There are still a few years left to plan. If before, Tan You had only thought of securing a small, peaceful corner for herself, her mindset had now shifted. She had to lead her clan and survive the coming age of chaos.’
’That meant their personal safety needed a much greater guarantee. And the prerequisite for everything was money and food.’
"The soap workshop will continue to operate after the new year. Also, we must continue building houses for the clan. I’ve noticed some of our people have reached a marriageable age. If we build more houses, they’ll have places to live in the future."
Over the last few months, all the houses in Miao Gou Village had been torn down and rebuilt. The master craftsmen had only been sent off the day before. But it was far from enough; for now, they could only guarantee one house for each large, extended family.
But as people grew up and married, families would naturally divide. Cramming so many people into a single house would easily lead to all sorts of conflicts. Besides, Tan You herself preferred smaller family units, as they were simply more practical.
Chen Tianshui stroked his beard. "That can be done. After the new year, I’ll have my son Gang’zi go to town and hire the master craftsmen. Should we still build according to your plans, Mistress?"
Tan You nodded slightly. "Yes. In addition, we need to organize the able-bodied men to dig several tunnels, leading all the way into the mountains... We must build a shelter there, and the supplies inside will need to be regularly restocked..."
Chen Tianshui greatly admired Tan You’s principle of preparing for danger even in times of peace. He nodded vigorously. "Rest assured, we’ll get it arranged right after the new year. We’ll be preparing on two fronts."
After a long discussion where they laid out all the work plans for the coming year, Tan You finally led Chen Xi and An Wen back to her family home. Tan You, too, now lived in a new house.
It was a neat row of tile-roofed houses, with a room for each child. However, Chen Xing’s room was empty. At only three years old, she didn’t dare to sleep by herself, so she shared a room with Chen Yue.
Now, every family in the Chen clan had built heated kang beds and hollow, heated walls. With the beds padded with cotton quilts, and the kangs and walls fired up, there had been very few reports of clansmen freezing to death in the clan this winter.
Looking quite proper, Chen Yue led Dazao by the reins. "Mother, did we get this much meat from our distribution this year?"
Tan You tapped her on the head. "I bought half of it."
Chen Yue said, "I knew it! Mother, what are we going to do with all this meat? Are we going to make more cured meat?"
Tan You smiled. "You like cured meat?"
Chen Yue replied, "Who doesn’t? Ever since you led everyone to make that first batch, Mother, I’ve seen almost every family in the village drying their own cured meat. It doesn’t spoil, it lasts a long time, and it’s delicious. Mother, can we make another batch?"
"It’s a pity the piglets our clan is raising aren’t ready for slaughter yet."
She sighed as she spoke. "Mother, after you castrated those boars, they all became very docile. It’s just that... well, now everyone’s a little afraid of you."
Tan You shook her head. "What’s there to be afraid of? Other people are doing it now, aren’t they? It’s not difficult."
She had only performed one demonstration for the clan, but afterward, the able-bodied young men hadn’t dared to approach her for days. Tan You found it rather amusing. ’A sterilization procedure... Who would have thought it would come in handy in ancient times?’
As she led the children into the courtyard, two half-grown puppies ran up to greet them. They were just common village mutts, but they were exceptionally docile and well-behaved.
’If she didn’t have to think about the age of chaos that was just a few years away, Tan You felt that this kind of rural life was truly pleasant. With work, an income, pets, and children, one could say life was without a care.’
’But she couldn’t allow herself to get lost in these present comforts. After all, the age of chaos would truly be upon them in just a few short years.’
Pushing those thoughts aside, Tan You looked at Chen Yue. "Alright, let’s make another batch of cured meat. But surely the clan isn’t drying this much just for their own consumption, right?"
Chen Xi laughed. "When Manager Fan visited last time, he saw the cured meat. He thinks it’s a viable business opportunity; at the very least, the merchant caravans would love it. Lately, whenever the people from Four Seas stop by, they always ask around the village. Just the day before yesterday, they bought and took away half a carriage full of it."
Tan You understood. "So, the village is about to get busy."