Chapter 45 - Transmigration: The Farm Life of a “Fool”

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Chapter 45: Clearing Land

 

 

The next morning, after breakfast, Xu Ran asked Tangtang and Guoguo to stay home and practice their writing, while he and Liu Tong each went their separate ways—Xu Ran to the village chief's house and Liu Tong to find Wu Mei.

 

When Xu Ran arrived at the village chief's home, they were in the middle of breakfast. Looking at the humble meal on the table, Xu Ran realized that even the village chief, for all his status, didn't eat particularly well. Truly, this era was a time of great poverty.

 

Xu Ran got straight to the point. "Chief, I'd like to hire some help to clear the wasteland I just bought. It's over thirty mu, and there's no way I can manage it on my own. I'm open to hiring day laborers or long-term workers, and I'm flexible on the pay. But there's one condition: I need the work to be done to my satisfaction."

 

The village chief looked Xu Ran up and down before replying, "Xu Ran, hiring people to cultivate that much land will cost you a fair bit. Do you have enough money?"

 

Xu Ran nodded confidently. "Rest assured, Chief. If I say I'll pay, I'll pay. Now, how much is the daily wage for a day laborer?"

 

"Few people in the village hire short-term workers, but it's usually eight coins a day, without meals or lodging."

 

Xu Ran thought for a moment, "How about this: I'll also pay eight coins a day, but I'll provide lunch as well. How does that sound?"

 

"Good. Since you're offering food too, I'll help you gather some men. Now's a good time—most folks have finished their busy season and would otherwise go into town to look for work. Earning money right here in the village will certainly appeal to them."

 

Xu Ran smiled, "Thank you, Village Chief. Just tell those willing to work to bring their tools and gather outside my house tomorrow morning."

 

The village chief nodded. "Sure."

 

"Oh, and one more thing, Village Chief. I need to buy some rice and vegetables. You know, we don't grow our own, so we usually buy from the town. With more mouths to feed, I'll need to stock up. Do you know anyone in the village who might be willing to sell some?"

 

"If you need brown rice, my family has plenty. I can weigh some out for you later. As for vegetables, my brother's family has some. We'll cut what we have and send it over to you. You can pay us whatever you feel is fair—after all, we're neighbors."

 

"Thank you very much, Village Chief. But could you also help me transport the rice to my house? We don't have much in the way of tools, and I'll pay you the town's rate for it. I wouldn't want to put you at a disadvantage."

 

The village chief, grinning, agreed readily, "I'll have it sent over later. Would two hundred jin* be enough?"

 

[T/N: "斤" (jīn) is a unit of weight commonly used in everyday measurements. Historically, 1 斤 is approximately equal to 0.5 kilograms or 1.1 pounds.]

 

"That'll do. Thank you for your help, Village Chief."

 

After returning from the village chief's house, Xu Ran began rummaging through the things in their home. They didn't have much, and he wasn't planning to use the potatoes yet, so those needed to be stored in the cellar. The chili sauce was already down there, so there was no need to worry about it. However, the millstone outside needed to be covered. The bamboo they had left from building the house had mostly been burned for firewood, and there wasn't enough to shelter the millstone. He would have to find something else.

 

After some thought, Xu Ran decided to gather some straw. Wu Mei's family likely had some. He gave Tangtang and Guoguo a few instructions and headed out.

 

When he arrived at Wu Mei's house, Wu Lan and Liu Qing were both there, but the men of the house had all gone out.

 

Liu Tong stood up the moment he saw Xu Ran, "Ah Ran, what brings you here?"

 

"I came to see if I could get some straw to cover the millstone. Wu Mei, do you have any to spare?"

 

"We do have some, but not much. We keep most of it for the ox."

 

Liu Qing chimed in, "Come to my house. We've got some we were planning to use for kindling."

 

"Thank you. By the way, Liu Tong must've told you about clearing the wasteland tomorrow. Would you help me with the cooking? I'll pay eight wen a day, and meals are included—just like the other workers."

 

At the mention of payment, Wu Mei protested, "There's no need to pay us. It's hard enough for you to earn money, and that wasteland will take ages to clear."

 

Xu Ran waved it off, "Don't worry about it. It won't take as long as you think to clear the land. Besides, not only are you coming, but Brother Xu An and the others will be there too. I'll explain everything to you all tomorrow."

 

Seeing Xu Ran's insistence, Wu Mei couldn't refuse. Liu Qing and the others, always deferring to Wu Mei's lead, naturally agreed as well.

 

After chatting for a while, Xu Ran and Liu Tong followed Liu Qing to collect the straw. As they walked, Liu Qing gave Liu Tong some advice, "Liu Tong, be careful not to hire just anyone. Some people are just looking to slack off and collect their pay."

 

"There's no need to worry about that. I'll have a foreman keep an eye on things. If anyone is caught slacking, they'll be sent home and won't be hired again," Xu Ran replied confidently.

 

"That sounds like a good plan. You're really thorough, Xu Ran. There's a difference in people who've had an education," Liu Qing said with a sigh of admiration.

 

Xu Ran felt a bit embarrassed. In the modern world, this kind of thinking was common sense.

 

After collecting the straw and returning home, they found the children waiting eagerly in the yard. It seemed they were hungry because, as soon as they saw Xu Ran and Liu Tong, they ran over and clung to them.

 

Guoguo tugged at Xu Ran, "Daddy, I'm hungry."

 

Tangtang quickly added, "I'm hungry too," rubbing his little belly as if to emphasize his point.

 

Xu Ran couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, alright. Daddy will make something for you to eat."

 

Xu Ran's cooking had now surpassed Liu Tong's, and the children loved his food. The moment they heard Xu Ran would be cooking, they cheered and ran off happily.

 

Xu Ran chuckled, both amused and exasperated. The children had clearly become more clever—they'd learned how to act cute to get what they wanted.

 

But Xu Ran was pleased. At last, the children were behaving more like real children.

 

The next morning, a group of villagers, summoned by the village chief, gathered outside Xu Ran's home at dawn. Xu Ran quickly wolfed down a few mouthfuls of breakfast and hurried out to greet them.

 

He brought out all the sunflower seeds he had purchased the day before, making a sincere gesture of goodwill.

 

Most of the men were honest folk, and before they even began working, they were already snacking.

 

After distributing the seeds, Xu Ran spoke, "Everyone, my courtyard is small, so I won't invite you all in. The village chief helped me gather you here, and as you know, I recently bought thirty mu of barren land. It's just me and my husband at home, and we really can't handle all the work ourselves, so I'm asking for your help."

 

"But of course, you won't be working for free. I'll pay each of you the same rate as other day laborers in the village: eight wen a day. I'll also provide lunch. However, let me be clear—those who work hard will be rewarded. But anyone caught slacking off will be asked to leave and won't be hired again."

 

"I've appointed three overseers, and you'll be divided into three teams. Each team will be responsible for ten mu of land. The team that finishes first will not only receive their daily wage but also an extra two coins per person each day, along with a jin of pork upon completion."

 

Hearing this, the workers began murmuring amongst themselves. This was by far the most generous offer they had ever seen in the village. Normally, no one would receive such benefits for this kind of work. Many of them were now filled with motivation—if they came in first, they'd earn ten wen a day and a jin of white meat, which was worth more than ten coins alone.

 

Seeing their reactions, Xu Ran continued, "The second-place team will also receive a reward—an extra coin per person each day, though there won't be any white meat."

 

"As for the third-place team, they will only receive their wages. Now, let me introduce the three overseers."

 

Xu Ran pulled Xu An, Xu Fa, and Xu Zhen from the crowd and pointed to them, "These three gentlemen are your overseers, and I'm sure everyone knows them. After those of you who wish to stay have divided yourselves into three teams, they will lead you to your designated ten mu."

 

"So, who's willing to take part?"

 

Xu Ran's sincere, respectful manner earned him quite a bit of admiration from the group.

 

"This is such a great offer—of course, I'll do it, Brother Xu Ran!" one man called out.

 

"Me too!" echoed another.

 

"I'll do it as well!"

 

Once the first person agreed, more quickly followed, and in the end, about thirty men chose to stay.

 

Xu Ran left the team division to Xu An and the other overseers. His role was simply to provide the funds.

 

The location of the thirty mu of land was easy to find, so Xu Ran didn't need to worry about that either.

 

Xu An, Xu Fa, and Xu Zhen hadn't expected Xu Ran to organize things so thoroughly. But they understood that Xu Ran's trust in them was largely because they had helped him before. Without that goodwill, they wouldn't have been hired for such a relatively easy job that paid so well. Naturally, they had no intention of betraying his trust and worked all the harder.

 

As for the cooking, Wu Mei and his two companions were put in charge, while Xu Ran and Liu Tong handled the errands.

 

Xu Ran drove Wu Mei's ox-cart to town, where he bought pork bones and white meat. The white meat was for stir-frying, and the bones were for making soup.

 

The brown rice from the village chief's family, along with vegetables from his brother's household, had already been delivered the day before, and Xu Ran had paid a few taels of silver for them.

 

In addition to the main tasks, Xu Ran organized a group of children to gather edible roots from the fields being cleared—after all, they could be used as vegetables too.

 

At noon, when the workers returned to eat, they saw the table laden with four different dishes and a soup, the kind of meal they would usually only have during the New Year. Now, they were getting such a feast just for doing work. Not only was the food excellent, but they were also getting paid, so everyone marveled at the generosity of their host.

 

Before the meal, each person was served a fragrant bowl of bone broth. After filling their stomachs, they worked even harder in the afternoon.

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