The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

"Then I'll go hire someone."

After Gu Dahan figured it out, he went to the village to hire people.

Tong Huaqiong stopped her, saying, "Go to the pig farm and check on the pigs. I'll go hire someone."

Although Gu Dahan realized the limitations of his previous thinking and agreed to hire people to take care of the crops, how could a person's mindset change so quickly?

I'm afraid he'll feel awkward about hiring someone.

Even if they offered him enough wages, Gu Dahan would still feel like he needed their help.

The matter of hiring people had to be handled personally by Tong Huaqiong.

After sending Gu Dahan to the pig farm, Tong Huaqiong took two bags of newly released peach blossom pastries to the village chief, Liu Tielian.

She plans to ask the village chief to help her hire someone.

The village chief, after all, was familiar with the people in the village.

Tong Huaqiong went to Liu Tielian's house and explained her purpose to him.

"This is great news, fantastic news!"

The village chief got excited when he heard that Tong Huaqiong wanted to hire people.

Most people in Qinghewan have relied on their few acres of land for generations to make a living. To earn a living, they usually have to go to the town, Pingchuan County, or Fucheng, where they usually do hard labor such as carrying sandbags.

Some of the Xu family's sons had connections and mostly followed Xu Jin to burn charcoal on the mountain. Not only was the work arduous, but the coal mine would collapse from time to time; last year, two people were killed in the collapse.

Even for jobs like this, Xu Jin wouldn't hire anyone who wasn't a member of the Xu family.

There were also jobs where one could work on the estates of landlords or tend to their crops, but most employers were stingy and exploited them repeatedly.

Even when hail or other weather conditions caused reduced crop yields, some landlords would demand compensation from their hired laborers for the lost harvest.

Liu Tielian, as the village chief, also had ambitions. He hoped to develop Qinghewan and achieve the "full granaries" and good life that Magistrate Liu had mentioned.

Making money isn't that easy.

Over the years, only Tong Huaqiong's business has taken off in the town.

Peach Blossom Dessert doesn't need anyone right now. Besides, even if it did, it's impossible to cram the entire village in.

Now that Tong Huaqiong needs to hire people for her dozens of acres of land, Liu Tielian feels this is a great thing from the bottom of his heart.

He can provide villagers with opportunities to earn money, and he can take care of his family right at his doorstep. Plus, given his understanding of Tong Huaqiong, he believes that Tong Huaqiong would definitely not make everyone suffer financially.

Putting everything else aside, the employees at Tong Huaqiong's pastry shop are said to be among the wealthiest in Yanguan Town. In addition, the village's pig farm hired two elderly, widowed men from the village to feed the pigs and look after the farm. The villagers can clearly see that they have white flour to eat every day and also receive money.

Liu Tielian suddenly realized that Tong Huaqiong's willingness to ask him to hire people was a sign of trust, high regard, and a way of supporting him as the village chief.

He secretly vowed to make sure he selected the right person for Tong Huaqiong.

"Don't worry, Aunt Dashu, I'll take care of hiring people. I won't hire anyone who's lazy or slacker, anyone who's glib or glib, and anyone with a history of petty theft or gambling." Liu Tielian patted his chest and assured Tong Huaqiong, "I'll definitely pick out clean and honest people for you."

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself, "Otherwise, how do I find the village chief? Goodness, he really thought of the criteria for hiring people."

“I need ten people first. I want to hire these ten people long-term. They can also rent my land if they are willing,” Tong Huaqiong said.

With about fifty acres of land under her own control, Tong Huaqiong estimated that ten people would be enough to handle spraying pesticides and disinfection, as well as the upcoming corn harvesting season.

However, these ten people need to work for Tong Huaqiong for a long time. In addition to the work in the fields and the pig farm, Tong Huaqiong also plans to grow cotton and contract hilltops to grow orchards, all of which require manpower.

From now on, these people can go wherever they are best suited. If there aren't enough people this season, Tong Huaqiong also welcomes other villagers who are willing to do odd jobs.

The village chief said, "It's easy to find ten able-bodied young men in the village."

Tong Huaqiong thought for a moment and said, "It doesn't necessarily have to be male laborers; women can do it too. I see that many women in our village are very capable when it comes to working in the fields and mountains. They are more efficient than men and don't slack off."

“People like Guangkui’s wife, Bai’s eldest daughter-in-law, and Xu’s daughter-in-law are all very capable. We at Peach Blossom Dessert Shop don’t need any staff right now. If we did, I would love to recruit them all to our shop.”

The village chief knew Tong Huaqiong's hiring style very well; she didn't discriminate against anyone, as long as they were capable and had good character, she was willing to hire them.

Even Tong Huaqiong, a member of the Xu family known for her good character and hard work, did not refuse.

Moreover, they often favor capable women.

Village Chief Liu Tielian mentally assessed the situation and quickly came to a conclusion.

So Liu Tielian described his candidates to Tong Huaqiong in great detail, including some that Tong Huaqiong knew and some that she didn't.

Tong Huaqiong searched through Tong Dajiao's memories for the unfamiliar people. She found that several of these people had advised Tong Dajiao in her previous life, some had sympathized with Chen Sufeng, and some had secretly given Man'er food.
Tong Huaqiong felt that these people were at least morally upright.

Apart from Granny Huang and Granny Yan, everyone else in the village who had clashed with Tong Dajiao was a reasonable person.

Tong Huaqiong was initially satisfied with these candidates, but as for how well they performed, she would let them work for a few days and then observe.

If it's not good, she can fire her.

This is nothing.

"We won't shortchange anyone on the monthly wages. In addition, if you're willing to accept meals provided, my family will provide one lunch. If you're not willing to accept meals provided, I will subsidize you with refined rice and flour. If you don't want refined rice and flour, you can exchange them for millet and wheat grains." Tong Huaqiong explained the benefits of her hired workers, and sure enough, the village chief's eyes lit up.

This was the first time he had ever heard of not accepting meals and receiving a rice and noodle subsidy.

Nowadays, apart from the Gu and Xu families, no one in Qinghewan eats refined rice and flour every day. Tong Huaqiong's move was to serve refined rice and flour.

He could imagine that if this news got out, people would flock to his doorstep to apply for the job.

"Of course, the money and rice this month aren't free. You have to work according to my requirements. If anyone violates them twice, they'll be fired and never hired again," Tong Huaqiong said.

Liu Tielian said, "These rules should be established, after all, nothing can be accomplished without rules."

Tong Huaqiong said, "Then I'll have to trouble the village chief. It would be best if we could hire the men today."

The village chief said, "Don't worry, Aunt Dashu, I'll go find these people for you in a bit, and they'll be at your house by evening."

Tong Huaqiong nodded, indicating that she would wait patiently for good news from the village chief.

After finishing discussing hiring people, Tong Huaqiong called out to the village chief who was about to leave, saying, "Village chief, there's something else I'd like to discuss with you."

Liu Tielian stopped and asked, "What is it?"

He felt that what Tong Huaqiong said must be a good thing.

Tong Huaqiong then explained that most of the villagers' corn had been infected with ear rot and bollworms, and that she had prescribed fungicides and insecticides.

“I want to distribute the medicine I prepared to everyone for spraying, hoping to save as much of this year’s corn harvest as possible,” Tong Huaqiong said. “Village chief, you’re probably wondering why I didn’t keep the prescription to myself and why I’m distributing it to everyone. I have my own selfish reasons. We all live in the same village. If everyone’s harvest is reduced while my family has a bumper harvest, wouldn’t that make people envious?”

"Besides, the people I hired will be spraying pesticides as soon as they go out into the fields. I can't keep this a secret, so I might as well prepare more pesticides for everyone."

Tong Huaqiong's face was sincere, conveying the message that she was doing this for the good of Qinghe Bay. (End of Chapter)