Chapter 59 Hiring Workers

Chapter 59: Hiring Help

That night, Huang Zheng slept fitfully. The next morning, he greeted the early-rising Chang Jinhua and set off for the Zhujian Bookstore.

Chang Jinhua called out, "At least have breakfast before you go!"

Huang Zheng was already at the door and replied without turning back, "No need, Auntie!"

By mid-morning, Meng Wan had dressed neatly and emerged from the west room. Song Tingzhou was hanging clothes in the yard.

"Where's Mom?"

Meng Wan came out holding his toothbrush and tooth powder, asking him.

Song Tingzhou walked over, looked down at him from his height, and suddenly bent down and kissed him. "She went to buy groceries. There's food left for you in the pot. Tired?"

Meng Wan smiled sweetly. "Not really. I'm fine after a good sleep."

Song Tingzhou touched the back of his neck. "I'm going out later when Mom gets back. Want to come with me?"

"Yes, yes!"

Meng Wan sat on a small stool to brush his teeth and wash his face. In the pot, there was porridge and flatbread warmed by Chang Jinhua. After he finished eating and was cleaning up, Chang Jinhua returned with a basket.

"Up already?"

Though it was an ordinary question, Meng Wan felt a bit embarrassed. He mumbled an "Mm-hmm" and changed the subject. "Mom, did you buy groceries? Is there a market nearby? What did you get?"

Chang Jinhua set the basket on the ground for him to see: a few eggs, a bunch of spinach tied with straw, and a piece of pork with more lean than fat.

"I heard from someone that if you go southeast along the street, there's a He Sui Street with vegetables, meat, fruits, and grains, all at reasonable prices. So I asked my way there and found it."

Meng Wan gave her a thumbs-up. "You're the best."

Chang Jinhua chuckled. "You love leafy greens. Tonight we'll steam some rice, stir-fry the spinach, and braise some red-cooked pork."

"Great, I'll help when I get back." With Chang Jinhua back, someone was at home, so Meng Wan prepared to go out with Song Tingzhou.

The windows in the side rooms needed renovation, and the two stoves had to be rebuilt. They needed to find a mason for the work.

Meng Wan thought of Aunt Zhou, who had lent them firewood the night before. The woodcutter from Daguan Village should have received word and delivered the firewood that morning; it was now piled under the thatched shed in the corner. Today, he should return a bundle to Aunt Zhou and also ask if she knew any nearby masons.

Song Tingzhou dragged the firewood, and Meng Wan walked ahead. Passing by the Li family next door, their door was still half-open. They walked past them, and Aunt Zhou came out with a basket, holding the hand of a five- or six-year-old boy.

"Aunt Zhou, I'm glad I caught you. We bought firewood this morning, so I'm returning the bundle you lent us yesterday."

Aunt Zhou said politely, "We're neighbors. There's no need to be so quick about it. It's just a bundle of firewood, no need to mention returning it."

Meng Wan didn't take her politeness for granted. He gestured for Song Tingzhou to deliver the firewood to her yard gate and said with a smile, "Thanks to you, we solved an urgent need. I should return it. Also, there's something else I wanted to ask you. We have some repairs to do at home. Do you know any masons nearby?"

Aunt Zhou pointed at the alley entrance. "Go out of this alley and look across the street. There's another alley diagonally opposite. The house at the very end is a mason's. Just go with your husband. Even if he's out working, the whole family does this trade. You can ask any of them there."

With the information, Meng Wan and Song Tingzhou went to find the mason. The second son of the mason's place was home. Without a word, he grabbed his tools and came over. The work took him only half a morning.

In the afternoon, Meng Wan stayed home, while Song Tingzhou went alone to the horse market. Having no experience in this, he simply hired a carriage driver to accompany him as a companion.

Since the horse was only for pulling a cart, he wasn't too particular. The driver picked a sturdy young horse for thirty-four taels of silver. The horse had a gentle temperament and good stamina, and the driver also taught Song Tingzhou how to ride.

But such skills couldn't be learned in a day or two. Song Tingzhou hired him for ten days of lessons, so that by the time he was familiar with it, he could ride and drive the cart on his own.

With a horse, he needed a manger, and the stone mill for their future business was also bought. The two items together cost over a hundred wen coins.

The prefectural city had one advantage over the town: though things were more expensive, you could buy almost anything you needed on the same day.

Keeping livestock in the yard would inevitably cause odors, so the thatched shed at the front gate was cleared out to serve as a stable. Song Tingzhou moved the stone trough inside and used some thicker branches to make a simple fence.

The stone mill was placed outside the side room, in the open space of the yard. It didn't matter if it was exposed to wind and rain, but the firewood couldn't be left out—it would get soaked in the rain.

Song Tingzhou bought a cartload of thatch along with hay for the horse, and got some wooden posts from the carpenter's. While he had time, he built a new shed for stacking firewood, intentionally extending it a bit so that later, if they wanted to raise chickens or ducks, they could set up a frame next to it.

Chang Jinhua and Meng Wan had prepared the meal and were waiting for news from Huang Zheng. It wasn't until dusk that he returned to report that he had been accepted. He came to pick up his luggage and was about to leave.

Song Tingzhou urged him to stay for dinner, and Chang Jinhua, as an elder, gave him some heartfelt advice and let him take the bedding set to use.

Thus, the three members of the Song family settled down in Changping Prefecture. During the day, Song Tingzhou attended the prefectural school, while Chang Jinhua and Meng Wan added things to the house and planted leafy greens, green onions, and garlic in the yard for everyday use.

The prefectural school had a rich curriculum. The teachers were, at minimum, xiucai, and mostly juren, covering the Four Books and Five Classics, poetry and prose, as well as etiquette, rituals, astronomy, calendar, arithmetic, and the Six Arts.

Song Tingzhou's top priority now was riding.

At the school, he practiced archery and riding, and the carriage driver continued coaching him on the way to and from school. After a while, Song Tingzhou could ride alone without the cart carriage.

The furniture they had ordered from the carpenter's shop, like tables and chairs, was delivered one by one. They had been spending a lot of money, and it was time to get their business going.

The window facing the street was opened and propped open. Inside, a table was placed by the window, and next to the window, a small door was installed for customers to enter for eating in.

The side room was spacious and bright, with six tables neatly arranged. Spoons and chopsticks were washed clean and placed in bamboo tubes for use.

Meng Wan painted a new signboard to hang by the window. Unlike the one in the town, this time Song Tingzhou also added calligraphy to it.

Firecrackers crackled and popped at the entrance of the small shop. Early morning workers in the west of the city were already busy, and the aromas from various breakfast stalls filled the air. The sound of firecrackers drew most people's attention, and Meng Wan carried two plates of cut-up fried dough, calling out loudly.

"Free samples of tasty fried dough sticks!"

The same stunt worked, but the price of fried dough sticks was a bit higher than in the town.

"Four wen per stick, three sticks for ten wen. A bowl of fried dough pieces: three wen. Tofu pudding, three wen per bowl." Although the prices were higher, the portions were generous. One large fried dough stick was enough for Meng Wan, and in the west of the city, where most workers were laborers, a bowl of tofu pudding with two or three sticks would fill even Song Tingzhou.

It couldn't be helped; prices in the prefectural city were high. If they didn't raise prices, they'd barely break even, if not lose money.

Customers slowly trickled into the small shop. Meng Wan and Chang Jinhua worked nonstop frying the dough sticks, and the tofu pudding sold out early.

"Miscalculation. I knew there was heavy foot traffic here, but I didn't expect this many people." By the end, they couldn't even wash bowls fast enough – they ran out. Some customers brought their own bowls, but most just stood and ate.

"Hire someone! Quick!"

Exhausted from the morning's work, Chang Jinhua still had to prepare the dough for the next day. Now she finally understood why Meng Wan wanted to hire a helper—if they didn't, they'd be worn out. Besides, Meng Wan needed to find time to write his scripts.

Meng Wan had planned ahead. That evening, when Song Tingzhou returned, they talked about it in bed.

"So? Did you meet Feng Jinzhang at the prefectural school?"

Song Tingzhou had just bathed and came in, steam still rising from him. Meng Wan, sitting up under the quilt, asked him.

Song Tingzhou slipped under the covers and pulled Meng Wan into his arms. "I saw him in riding class. We exchanged a few words. When I asked about Sister-in-law Chunfang, he was evasive. It sounds like she came with him, but I don't know where she's working."

The minimum requirement for admission to the prefectural school was the xiucai degree, and above that, juren. The juren classes started with the characters 'jia' and 'bing', while the xiucai classes started with 'yi' and 'ding'.

Each category is further divided into twelve classes based on the Earthly Branches: Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai.

Aside from initial placement based on imperial exam results, there are various assessments monthly, quarterly, and yearly. Top performers not only remain in the elite classes but also receive actual silver rewards.

As the Top Scholar, Song Tingzhou was placed into the Yizi Class as a scholar, while Feng Jinzhang entered the Yihai Final Class. However, the academy has an assessment system, and given Feng Jinzhang's superior literary talent, it's just a matter of time before he joins the Yizi Class.

But his pride outweighs everything else. Feeling inferior to Song Tingzhou, he remains aloof even when they meet in class. When Song Tingzhou asked about Lu Chunfang, he was evasive and unwilling to elaborate.

Meng Wan looked up in his arms and asked, "Did you tell him that if Sister Chunfang comes to help, we'll cover her room and board and pay her nine hundred wen a month as wages?"

Their shop only needed early mornings to be grueling; afternoons were free. This price was already pretty good.

Song Tingzhou gave him a quick kiss and said, "I did, but he wasn't interested."

Meng Wan mused, "That means Sister Chunfang's current job pays more. But as a woman with no particular skills, what kind of work could pay that much?"

It wasn't that he insisted on hiring Lu Chunfang; rather, he felt she worked hard, was kind-hearted, and had never caused any friction when they shared a courtyard. She was a truly wonderful person. If she kept toiling in the fields, she'd only wear herself out. Wouldn't Feng Jinzhang be eager to work her to death so he could marry someone new?

Since they needed to hire someone anyway, why not her? It would help her out, and since he and Chang Jinhua knew her well, they could trust her. That would free up his time to write his story scripts.

Song Tingzhou wanted to ease his worries. "How about I ask Brother Feng again when I see him tomorrow?"

Meng Wan's eyes crinkled. "No need. If he can't be bothered with you, we won't bother with him. If it weren't for Sister Chunfang, I wouldn't have asked you to seek him out in the first place."

Song Tingzhou pulled him closer, nuzzling each other intimately.

"My husband is right. A man who values reputation over family isn't worth getting close to."

Meng Wan caught the hand that was wandering on his body and gave it a playful slap as a warning. "Sleep! We have to get up early tomorrow."

A desk was placed against the wall by the kang, shared by the couple.

Song Tingzhou got up to blow out the oil lamp. "Alright, sleep."

But beneath the covers, there was no sign of peaceful rest.

Chang Jinhua and Meng Wan struggled on for two more days. Not only had they failed to find Lu Chunfang, but the shop's customers kept increasing. Chang Jinhua couldn't handle it anymore; she couldn't keep an eye on everything in the front, and a few dishonest people had already stolen their fried dough sticks without paying.

Before the sun had even reached its zenith, it wasn't even nine o'clock yet, when Chang Jinhua and Meng Wan had sold out and wearily closed up shop.

They wiped tables, swept the floor, closed the windows and doors. First, they carried the cash box back into the house—that was most important. The dirty bowls and chopsticks filled two large basins, which they hauled into the courtyard to wash for the next day's use.

They worked on closing tasks until noon, then sat on the kang to count the money. Once counted, Meng Wan calculated the day's expenses and income, keeping careful track of everything.

"Today we made two batches of tofu pudding and used three large basins of flour for the fried dough sticks... After deducting costs, we earned a total of seven hundred and two copper coins."

It was profitable, but exhausting. After resting through the midday, Meng Wan sat at his desk to draft a help-wanted notice. He didn't list all the conditions, fearing it might attract people with bad intentions.

Now Hiring:

One dishwasher, one person to sell fried dough sticks.

Women or ge'er (men who act as wives) allowed. One meal provided. Salary negotiable.

Interested parties may come to discuss in person.

After writing it, he had Chang Jinhua post it on the shop door. Meng Wan still had to practice calligraphy and write his story script, while Chang Jinhua went to buy groceries and prepare dinner. They had a clear division of labor, always looking out for each other, and never had any conflicts.

Meng Wan was bent over his desk, scratching his head as he plotted his story. A wanderer of the martial world, possessing peerless martial arts skills, meets a fox spirit—beautiful and dazzling, pure as snow, innocent as a newborn. Their encounter sparks the flames of love, but the world refuses to accept it.

The popular works on the market were merely about common men and women's love. His story broke through Yu's traditional notions of ghosts and monsters—there was no way it wouldn't take off.

His mind was full of flashing blades and clashing swords, and his pen raced across the paper. Suddenly, he heard someone calling at the courtyard gate.

"Hello? Anybody home?"

Meng Wan's pen paused, and a small blot of ink stained the rough paper. He sighed internally—he had just gotten a burst of inspiration. He called out, "Coming!"

He went out to the courtyard gate and saw Chang Jinhua had also returned, holding a vegetable basket and eyeing the woman at the gate.

Meng Wan was surprised. "It's you?" It turned out to be Miss Li from next door—the one who had shut the door on him last time.

"Wan Geer, do you know her?"

"She's Sister Li from next door."

Miss Li's face showed no trace of a smile, nor did she greet Meng Wan. Instead, she lifted her chin toward Chang Jinhua and said, "Are you the ones hiring? I want the job. How much per day?"

Chang Jinhua was taken aback. Although she came from a village and wasn't as worldly as city folk, she could still tell what someone was like. This girl spoke without even calling them by name, and while not exactly arrogant, she showed little respect toward an elder.

Chang Jinhua frowned. She didn't answer Miss Li's question but instead said to Meng Wan, "I'll go inside and get the vegetables ready. You handle this."