Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 165: Hiring More People

Gu Jinli said, "Aunt Tian, my proposal to hire help is not just because I think everyone is too exhausted, but also to allow all of our families to earn more money."

"With our limited manpower, even if we work non-stop, we can only make a maximum of 1,500 kilos of tofu per day. If we hire people to grind the beans and we focus on making tofu, we could speed things up quite a bit. Producing 3,000 kilos of tofu per day wouldn’t be a problem. The more tofu we make, the more we earn."

"Also, about the spice grinding, it’s a very laborious task. Granny Yan and the others can only grind up to a dozen or so kilos in one day, which is hardly enough to sell. If we hire help, we could grind not just a dozen, but up to forty or fifty kilos a day."

"These spices are different from tofu; they can be stored for up to a year. We can order some pottery jars, sell them to others, and let them resell the spices in other places. This could bring in a substantial profit."

Compared to tofu, she was more optimistic about the spice business; it was the real deal for making big and sustainable income.

Gu Jinli quickly did some profit calculations for everyone: "If we can make 3,000 kilos of tofu and fifty kilos of spices a day, we could earn at least fifty taels of Silver a day."

"Fifty taels of Silver a day!" Everyone was shocked.

"That’s right, we really can earn that much." Gu Jinli looked at Aunt Tian and said, "Aunt Tian, you don’t need to worry about the labor cost. If we spend just two taels of Silver a day on wages, we can earn back several tens of taels more, which is very worthwhile."

Hearing this, the families no longer fretted about the cost of labor and all agreed on hiring help: "What are we waiting for? Let’s hire some people right away."

However, Gu Dafu had some concerns: "If we hire people to grind the beans, won’t everyone know that tofu is made from soybeans? What if someone sabotages by putting something into the soy milk? What if our tofu harms others? And for the spices, hiring people to grind them means they would know what the spices are. Our recipe could then be leaked."

Gu Dafu’s concerns were exactly what the others were worried about.

Gu Jinli had already thought of a solution and said with a smile, "Even if they know that tofu is made from ground soybeans, they still can’t make tofu themselves. The braising sauce is the key to making tofu. As long as we keep the sauce in our own hands, they won’t be able to produce tofu."

"Likewise for spices. As long as they don’t know the exact ratios for blending, they’ll never be able to make flavorful and fragrant spices. They will only end up with spices that are pungent and hard to swallow."

The raw materials for spices are very pungent and need to be blended in precise proportions to neutralize the taste and make them fragrant.

"As for worrying about someone tampering with the spices or soy milk, we can sign contracts with those who come to work and implement a system of joint accountability. If there’s a problem with the tofu or spices, everyone involved in the work will have to compensate for our losses. In severe cases, we can even have them reported to the authorities for investigation. No one will be able to escape."

This was indeed a good solution, but...

"Isn’t that a bit too harsh?" Mrs. Chen asked, and since even she thought so, the others felt that this method was a bit excessive.

Gu Jinli shook her head: "Not at all. Only with joint accountability will workers be cautious. Otherwise, if someone deliberately sabotages and then blames another, our tofu and spices could still be compromised."

What she needed to ensure was that nobody dared to tamper with the tofu or spices. Therefore, joint accountability was the best approach, as the workers would naturally oversee each other to protect their own interests.

After hearing her explanation, the families fell silent for a moment and then nodded, "Xiao Yu is right, let’s do it this way."

"How should we handle the payment? How much should we pay them a month?" Mrs. Chen was most concerned about the money; she would feel the pinch if it was too much.

Gu Jinli stated, "We won’t calculate by month, but by weight. A copper coin for each kilo of ground and filtered soybeans. For the spices, twenty cents a kilo for those that are easy to grind, and eighty cents a kilo for the difficult ones."

This payment strategy was based on a piece-rate system. Paying a monthly salary would inevitably lead to workers slacking off.

After considering the suggestion, the families all thought paying by weight made sense and nodded in agreement.

As for the matter of asking people for help, it was handed over to Third Grandpa and Gu Dashan.

Third Grandpa is experienced, whereas Gu Dashan needs to gain experience. Now it seems like Third Grandpa is taking Gu Dashan under his wing, teaching him everything Old Man Gu didn’t.

Third Grandpa said, "He Laoguo and the others can finish preparing the wasteland by tomorrow. At that time, we’ll see if they’re willing to take on this job. If they are, it’s better to hire them."

He Laoguo has done land-clearing work for several families, and his work has always been good, all honest and dependable people.

"If we hire them and still need more hands, I’ll talk to Village Chief He to help us ask around. With him stepping forward, the He Family People will be more cautious, and it would also be good to build a relationship with him."

Although Village Chief He wasn’t nice to them when they first arrived in the village, after all, they have to live in the village, so it is necessary to have a good relationship with the village chief.

After discussing the hiring matter, it was already dark. People from the few households stood up and headed home.

Today, while settling the monthly accounts, they found out they had made so much money, and Third Grandma was very happy. She went to the backyard, caught a pheasant, and planned to slaughter it to reward everyone.

Gu Jinli saw this and purposely teased with a smile, "Third Grandma, didn’t you say you wanted to keep the pheasants to lay eggs and hatch chicks?"

After coming to Da Feng Village, they had gone into the mountains several times and caught quite a few pheasants, but Third Grandma was reluctant to eat them, saying she wanted to raise them to lay and hatch eggs.

Knowing that she was teasing on purpose, Third Grandma gave her a stern look and said, "Daring to mock your old lady, do you think your Third Grandma is that stingy? Now that we’ve made money, of course, I’m willing to let you eat."

Saying this, she carried the pheasant to the kitchen, skillfully slaughtered it, using half for stew and the other half for a red-braise.

That night, their family enjoyed a delicious chicken soup and fragrant red-braised chicken meat.

The next day, He Laoguo and his workers went to clear the wasteland as usual and first stopped by Gu Jinli’s house to greet Third Grandpa and the others.

In the past, when they worked in town, they used to inform their employers every day before starting work, as that was the custom. Although they are now working in the village, they still adhered to this rule.

Third Grandpa was waiting for them, and when they arrived, he stopped them to discuss the hiring for grinding soybeans and spices.

He Laoguo and others were worried about having no work after finishing the land clearing. Hearing this news, they were naturally eager, and upon asking about the wages, they were completely astonished.

"Gu, Brother Gu, how much copper coins will you pay for grinding a pound of soybeans?" He Laoguo’s somewhat cloudy eyes widened as he stared at Third Grandpa, his calloused hands grabbing Third Grandpa and asking.

Third Grandpa smiled and said, "For grinding a pound of soybeans well and then filtering it, you’ll get one copper coin."

"Wow, really one copper coin!" He Laoguo was exceedingly excited. He had seen Gu Dafu and others work; grinding a pound of soybeans and filtering them didn’t take much time. In one day, a person could easily grind a hundred pounds, which meant one hundred copper coins. In a month, that would amount to three taels of silver, three whole taels! He Laoguo was almost ecstatic.

He Shengzi, who was standing by, spoke up first: "Third Grandpa Gu, our four families will take on this job."

His family was desperately poor, not only having to support a younger sister but also elderly and frail grandparents. He was already sixteen, at the age where they talk about marriage. If he didn’t work hard, he would remain a bachelor for life.

"Right, right, we four families will take the job entirely." He Tugou feared that the work might be snatched away by others and quickly said.

Third Grandpa said, "Don’t rush, let me finish speaking. You see, although this job is profitable, if you want to work for our few families, you have to sign a contract."

Third Grandpa then called over Gu Jin’an to read the contract they had written the night before for them to hear.