When the Side Character Gets a System and Travels through Difference Worlds

Chen Tianshui’s expression turned serious. "Understood. We’ll call a clan meeting this afternoon. We absolutely must... must..."

"Unify our thinking," Tan You supplied, seeing that Chen Tianshui couldn’t find the right words.

Chen Tianshui slapped his thigh. "Exactly! We need to unify our thinking!"

The Clan Leader and several clan elders had lunch at Tan You’s home before hastily convening the general meeting. Tan You was only responsible for managing production and sales; the internal administration, naturally, would be handled by the Clan Leader and the elders.

So, as Chen Tianshui spoke at the front, Tan You simply sat and listened quietly. The villagers only began to murmur amongst themselves when they heard that people would be chosen from the clan to work in the workshop.

’Everyone living in this village belongs to the Chen clan,’ she mused. ’That’s actually a good thing. It avoids any trouble with mistreating outsiders.’

Chen Tianshui announced, "The clan has decided that each household must send at least one person to work in the workshop. It’s just starting out now, but if we get more orders in the future, the number of..."

"Employees," Tan You prompted.

Chen Tianshui quickly added, "Right, employees! If the workshop does well, everyone in the Chen clan can come work here, and we’ll ensure all our elders are provided for in their old age."

"Also," Chen Tianshui said, his gaze sweeping over all the wives in the village, "you are not to breathe a word about the soap workshop to your maiden families. If you ruin the clan’s business, the clan can issue a divorce on your husband’s behalf, and you’ll be sent straight back to your parents!"

The wives, some of whom had been entertaining the idea, immediately waved their hands in denial. "We won’t! We won’t!"

"We promise we won’t say a thing."

Chen Tianshui snorted. "That’s for the best. Madam Tan, do you have anything to add?"

Tan You cleared her throat. "The Clan Leader has said everything that needs to be said, so I have nothing much to add. We will strive to make the Chen Workshop bigger and stronger. We’ll strive to give every child an education and let every elder enjoy their later years in peace."

"Hear, hear! Well said, Madam Tan!"

The moment Tan You finished speaking, someone started clapping enthusiastically. Everyone lived in the same village; how could secrets be kept? They all knew where the soap business came from, didn’t they? It was all thanks to Tan You.

So, when Tan You spoke, she naturally had supporters. If the workshop really got going, everyone would have an income, and their lives wouldn’t be as difficult as before.

Tan You simply smiled and glanced at Chen Tianshui. "During lunch, we discussed the current plan for the workshop: we will tentatively select one person per household to work, but they must be between the ages of ten and fifty."

She couldn’t help but frown when she mentioned the age of ten. ’But in this era,’ she thought, ’some children have to start earning a living at seven or eight.’ She couldn’t help but lament how cheap the lives of the poor were.

"If a particular family truly cannot spare anyone, the clan won’t just stand by and watch them starve. The conditions can be adjusted on a case-by-case basis."

"Employees must be careful, meticulous, hardworking, and willing to put in the effort..."

After listing a few more conditions, Tan You addressed the villagers. "For now, it’s one spot per household. Discuss it among yourselves. Once you’ve decided, go register with the Clan Leader."

"There are no gender restrictions."

The moment they heard there were no gender restrictions, the men in the crowd erupted. "Why are you recruiting women too?"

Tan You shot him a look. "I’m a woman, and I’m the one who came up with the soap."

The man gave a sheepish smile. "Madam Tan, that’s not what I meant."

Tan You didn’t press the issue. "I understand everyone wants a job, but you need to consider your family’s circumstances. Women can hold up half the sky. A real man should be out competing in the world, not squabbling with women and children at home for a spot."

"If you already work in town, there’s no need to quit your current job. If another person from your household can work here, your family will have an additional source of income."

The man who had first spoken up muttered, "But no one from our village works in town."

Tan You considered this for a moment. "Then there’s no rush. The soap workshop doesn’t need many able-bodied men at the moment. There will be other opportunities for you all in the future."

Chen Tianshui smiled. "Madam Tan, you have other ideas?"

He hadn’t forgotten the neatly wrapped mosquito coils in Tan You’s storeroom; Xue Guanglin simply hadn’t mentioned them that morning.

Tan You gave a meaningful smile. "You’ll all understand in a few days."

With the Clan Leader and elders presiding, Tan You smoothly selected fifty employees for the workshop. That afternoon, everyone got busy. One team built stoves behind the ancestral hall, while another went to the town’s blacksmith to buy large iron woks.

Still others went out to purchase raw materials. In no time, a great many clansmen were heading out from Miao Gou Village. The once-stagnant village suddenly seemed to come alive.

Standing beside Tan You, Chen Xi watched the bustling villagers, and her eyes couldn’t help but curve into a smile. As she watched them work, she suddenly had a glimmer of understanding of what Tan You had meant about sharing one’s success with the world.

"Mother, when do you think Proprietor Xue will come to order our mosquito coils?"

Tan You replied, "I expect he’ll be here tomorrow. The mosquito coil business may only last a few months and has its seasonal limits, but as long as we have the right raw materials, we can produce them almost year-round."

An Wen glanced at the distant fields and sighed. "I bet a lot of families in the village will start planting mugwort now."

"Mugwort is good stuff," Tan You said with a smile. "It’s best to use aged mugwort for the coils, but we don’t have any at the moment, do we? Fresh leaves will work just fine."

"We’ll just have to put collecting and aging mugwort on the agenda for the future. Oh, right. Find a few people to go gather some leaves from the mountain later. They’ll definitely come in handy."

As they spoke, passersby couldn’t help but prick up their ears. ’From the sound of it,’ they thought, ’does Madam Tan mean the workshop might have another business opportunity in the future?’

’This... This is wonderful news!’

「In town」

Xue Guanglin hadn’t initially realized the power of the mosquito coil. But after sleeping soundly through the entire night, not once woken by a single mosquito, he knew he had passed up something incredible the day before.

So, without even stopping for breakfast, Xue Guanglin took Manager Fan and two young assistants and rushed straight to Miao Gou Village.

Back in the village, Tan You was showing everyone how to render lard. When she saw Xue Guanglin’s carriage approaching in the distance, a smile instinctively graced her lips.

Chen Yue sighed like a little adult. "Mama, Proprietor Xue is here to bring you more money. He must want your mosquito coils."

Tan You gently pushed An Wen’s back. "Go and get the Clan Leader and the elders. Ming Guang, you stay here with the aunts and help render the lard. Keep an eye on the heat."

Chen Xi nodded. "I know, Mother."

Aunt Hua, ever the quick one to speak, chimed in, "We’re all used to working with stoves. You think we can’t handle rendering a bit of lard?"

Chen Xi chuckled. "Of course you can, Aunts. I’m just here to keep you all company so you don’t get lonely."