After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 109

The next morning, Shen Yi first went to Shen Zhuang's house for a visit.

On a freezing cold day, Mr. and Mrs. Shen, along with their two sons, huddled in the main room making wooden buckets and baskets. The doors and windows were tightly closed, but a crack let in a sliver of light.

Upon hearing the knock, Shen Zhuang hurriedly went to open the door and soon led Shen Yi inside.

Seeing Shen Yi carrying things, Madam Xu quickly stood up and asked, "What did you bring this time?"

“It’s goat milk. I squeezed too much this morning, and Xiaotai didn’t drink much, so I’m giving some to my second uncle and aunt.” Shen Yi put the things down and saw several wooden basins and buckets in the main room. He immediately bought two before getting down to business. “Second uncle and aunt, I plan to buy another twenty acres of wasteland. I need some people to help with the work in the spring. I’ll pay thirty coins a day. Can you help me find out more?”

Anyone who is of good character, keeps their mouth shut, and is hardworking can come and do the work.

Both Xu and Shen were somewhat surprised. "Can you manage to take care of all that land? You can't keep hiring people to work all the time! The money you're making isn't even enough to pay their wages!"

Shen Zhuang advised, "Ayi, I know you're eager to make money, but everything has to be done step by step. You can't expect to fly when you've just learned to walk! Take your second uncle's advice, let's just take care of the land we have now, and don't tire out your niece-in-law!"

He was quite afraid that Su Tai wouldn't be able to endure the hardship and would run away, leaving Shen Yi all alone again.

Madam Xu nodded vigorously, “Your second uncle is right. You can’t manage all the land in your family by yourself right now, and Xiaotai doesn’t seem like she can do farm work. I don’t even want to think about adding another twenty acres! Also, why don’t you go out on the boat? You can earn at least forty coins a day by going back and forth. Isn’t that better than farming?”

Shen Yi looked obedient and well-behaved, and the couple thought he had listened to them. Just as they stopped talking, they heard Shen Yi say, "Xiao Tai is pregnant and really can't work in the fields. We still need to hire someone. While peanuts and soybeans are still valuable, I want to plant more. We can talk about the rest later."

"Pfft!" Madam Xu spat out a mouthful of water, and said angrily with her hands on her hips, "You kept such a big thing as Xiaotai's pregnancy a secret until now!"

After reprimanding Wan Shenyi, Xu Shi immediately looked at Shen Zhuang and said, "Alright, you and Ayi go find the village chief. That old man Shen Ying should be quite willing to help, but you have to personally oversee the selection of people. You can't let the village chief make the decision on his own."

After giving her instructions, Xu immediately went outside, saying, "I'm going to check on Xiaotai."

The four men left in the room looked at each other blankly.

When Madam Xu arrived, Su Tai was reclining on the soft couch in the main room, covered with a thick quilt, looking warm and comfortable.

"Oh! Is this couch newly made?" Madam Xu was very curious about the soft couch and sat down to examine it closely.

Su Tai chuckled and nodded, "I asked Shen Yi to make it. In the cold weather, the blankets can be laid out like a bed, and when the weather warms up, the blankets can be removed to make a recliner. We can also put it under the eaves in the yard to cool off."

"This is good, this is good! I'll have Shen Yi's second uncle make one too. By the way, Shen Yi said you're pregnant, how long have you been pregnant?" Xu Shi's gaze fell on Su Tai's belly, as if she wanted to stare a hole through it.

Su Tai smiled and said, "It's still early. The doctor told me to go back for a check-up in a while. Shen Yi is worried and won't let me do any work."

Madam Xu expressed her understanding and said with emotion, "It's normal for him to feel uneasy since there are no elders in your family. Today he even said he wanted to hire someone to help with farm work. I was originally against it, but when I heard that you were pregnant, I let him have his way."

"Just tell Shen Yi what you want to eat, or have Shen Yi come to me, and I'll cook it for you!"

"Thank you, Second Aunt!" Su Tai replied readily. Xu Shi's smile deepened, and she continued, "There's one more thing. There are quite a few families in our village who are doing well, but there are also quite a few families with little land and many people who can't even support their children. I know a few families who are hardworking, but they are a bit poor. The farm work can be left to the men and children, and the women can come out to help. Do you want to use them?"

"If it's usable, I'll go talk to them about it. I promise it won't interfere with your family's important business."

Su Tai smiled and said, "Second Aunt, you are so kind-hearted, we certainly can't hold you back. I only have a few requirements: whether you are male or female, you just need to be hardworking, capable, keep your mouth shut, and be honest and upright. Thirty coins a day. If you cook at home, you can occasionally give them some food. The wages will remain the same."

"Oh! These conditions are even better than the job postings in town. You wait here, I'll go ask right now!" Xu rushed off in a hurry, not forgetting to close the two courtyard gates for Su Tai as she left.

The first house she visited was Shen Mu's house in the west of the village. Shen Mu and his wife had three daughters and four sons. The oldest was only twelve years old, and the youngest was not even one year old. He also had a blind old mother who could not help him with anything.

The family had six mu of fertile land and four mu of poor-quality land. The annual harvest was not enough to feed the whole family. The children were all thin and skin and bones, and they looked pitiful.

Shen Mu's wife, Huang Xinghua, was surprised that Madam Xu would come over at this time. Somewhat embarrassed, she peeked out from the crack in the main room and asked, "What is it?"

Madam Xu, being quite tactful, neither asked any questions nor made any attempt to enter. She simply said, "I've come to tell you something. Shen Yi has bought another twenty acres of wasteland and will need quite a few people to help with the work in the spring. The pay is thirty coins a day. As long as you are diligent and hardworking, it doesn't matter if you're male or female. It depends on whether you want to do it. If you do, give me a definite answer."

Huang Xinghua's cloudy eyes instantly lit up, and without thinking, she nodded frantically, "Yes, yes, thank you so much for coming all this way, I..."

She wanted to thank Madam Xu, but her family was so poor that they couldn't offer anything of value.

Xu waved her hand, "It's good that you agreed. I still have to go find other people, so I'll be going now."

Xu came quickly and left quickly.

Huang Xinghua returned to the main room.

Shen Mu asked, "What does the Shen family want with you?"

Huang Xinghua suppressed her excitement, looked around at the children, and said to her family, "Xu said that Shen Yi bought twenty acres of wasteland and needs some people to help with farm work in the spring. He offered thirty coins a day and asked if I wanted to go. I agreed."

Shen Mu put down his work, his face showing some interest.

Huang Xinghua shook her head at him, "Only one person from our family can go. Although we don't have much land, it's what our family depends on. We can't ignore the harvest from the land just for those wages."

Also, although every household received some high-yield wheat this year, the quantity wasn't much, and our land wasn't enough to plant it all. I was thinking of going over to help and also asking Shen Yi if we could buy some from them.”

Shen Mu's feverish mind gradually calmed down, and he sighed helplessly, "You're right, I'll listen to you. But the wheat seed thing is still far from being finalized, so don't rush to tell people about it and make things difficult for them."

Huang Xinghua nodded repeatedly, "I know."

As she spoke, she looked at the children and reminded them, "Don't go around talking about what happened today, okay?"

The children all nodded obediently.