They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 50 I will absolutely not tell.
Liang Chunfen wasn't full yet, she was far from full, but she was too embarrassed to say it.

Xu Zhichun noticed her hesitation and smiled, telling her to serve the rice from the pot. Seeing that her sister-in-law Zhichun wasn't joking, she sheepishly went to serve it.

After finishing this big bowl, I felt about half full.

Xu Zhichun was truly shocked; no wonder her aunt had repeatedly emphasized that she had a large appetite!
Even though there was no rice left in the pot, if she wanted, they could take noodles from the harbor warehouse and cook them for her; they could just make up some excuse to cover up where the noodles came from.

Just thinking that she probably wouldn't eat so freely on a normal day, and that her stomach might not be able to handle it if she ate too much at once, I didn't make her any more noodles. Instead, I let her finish the whole big bowl of chive and egg soup and the rest of the vegetables.

Let's gradually increase the amount of food she does each day to help her adjust.

Xu Zhichun would never do something like working for his own family and not having enough to eat.

Anyway, she didn't care about the amount of food. The port warehouse was piled high with rice, flour, oil, and grains, enough to feed tens of thousands of people for ten lifetimes.

Liang Chunfen was overjoyed.

A satisfying and complete takeover.

She put down her bowl with a satisfied sigh, then perked up: "Sister-in-law Zhichun, I'm off to work!"

Xu Zhichun nodded and chuckled: "Go ahead, just do it the same way you did this morning, I'll be there in a bit."

She needed to feed the pigs and chickens first, collect the eggs laid by the hens that day, and wash the dishes.

After three days, the potato planting and sweet potato seedling cultivation were completed. Xu Zhichun also figured out Liang Chunfen's appetite, which was about four times that of an adult man, so it was alright.

Having finished planting these things, Xu Zhichun planned to go to the county government office to "present" them. There was no other work to do for the time being, and Chunfen was probably going hungry again after she went home. Xu Zhichun really liked her; she was simple, enthusiastic, and quick and efficient. If it came to hiring workers, there was no one better than her. After spending a few days together, Xu Zhichun no longer regarded her as just a hired hand, but more like a younger sister.

We have plenty of food at home, so it doesn't matter if we support another one. However, there needs to be a set procedure for this; it can't be done as she pleases.

Xu Zhichun first asked his brother-in-law for his opinion, analyzed the pros and cons, and expressed his opinion on hiring Liang Chunfen as a long-term worker.

Liang Mingxuan only recently got to know Liang Chunfen and expressed his agreement: "Sister Chunfen is very simple-minded, strong, and does things well. Sister Chunfen's family is also very nice. With her help, my sister-in-law can have a lot less work."

More importantly, he could see that Chunfen really admired her sister-in-law. In her eyes, whatever her sister-in-law said was right, and she would do whatever her sister-in-law said without hesitation. Liang Mingxuan felt that it was quite necessary for his sister-in-law to have such a person by her side.

With her brother-in-law's agreement, Xu Zhichun was relieved and happily said, "Here's my plan: I'll only tell Aunt Xu about this. If she agrees, we'll do it this way. Our family will provide Chunfen with one lunch, and we'll also pay her three hundred copper coins a month. We'll call Chunfen over if we need anything, otherwise she can come as she pleases, but we'll provide lunch every day. However, Aunt Xu's family should keep this a secret; don't tell anyone else. It's not good if others find out."

"Of course, I'll put in a good word with the village head."

No one in the village knows how much money they've made, but hiring a long-term worker would be too conspicuous and inappropriate.

The reason for greeting the village head is that he is the village head, and this matter should be informed to him.

Liang Mingxuan readily agreed: "Sister-in-law's arrangements are excellent. I will follow your advice."

Having reached an agreement with her brother-in-law, Xu Zhichun went to Chunfen's mother and subtly brought up the matter.

How could Chunfen's mother disagree? She originally only wanted to do odd jobs, but now she has a stable job, which is a pleasant surprise.

When Xu Zhichun said that her daughter would only work when there was something to do, and would be free to do whatever she wanted when there was nothing to do, Chunfen's mother was not willing to agree. She hurriedly said, "There will always be work. How can we let her be idle but still get paid and come to your house for meals? If there is really nothing else, let her go up the mountain to chop firewood, check the water in the fields, tidy up the ditches along the fields, or cut pig feed, carry water, or weed the fields. That would be fine too."

Xu Zhichun thought about it and agreed, then added with a smile, "Our family is small, and there's not much work to do during the off-season. Auntie, just let Chunfen take her time. Don't rush her and tire her out." Chunfen's mother chuckled, "Zhichun, don't worry, that silly girl won't get tired!"

When Liang Chunfen's family learned of this, they were overjoyed. Although they only provided Liang Chunfen with one lunch, it was white rice or steamed buns and noodles made from white flour. They heard that she also ate meat almost every day, and her meals were unlimited. Her meal probably saved the family a lot of money. Not to mention, she would also receive three hundred coins a month.

Three hundred a month, that's quite a lot.

Liang Chunfen was even happier, and she was happy to follow Sister-in-law Zhichun.

Soon the villagers discovered that Liang Dong's silly girl was running to Xu Zhichun's house every day, whether she had something to do or not. Every morning she would fetch water for him, then run around the mountain playing wildly. She would cut a bundle of firewood and instead of carrying it back to her own house, she would carry it to Xu Zhichun's house, or she would cut pig feed and deliver it to Xu Zhichun's house.

"What a simpleton."

"Why don't her parents do anything about her being so simple-minded?"

Everyone was genuinely grateful to Xu Zhichun for the sweet potatoes and potatoes, but the silly girl was also genuinely naive.

However, everyone soon discovered that this simple-minded girl was doing odd jobs for the Xu family, and the Xu family invited her to stay for lunch.

That makes sense now.

Everyone knows that this silly girl has a big appetite.

Then someone teased Liang Chunfen, "Silly girl, you go to your sister-in-law Zhichun's house every day. What delicious food has your sister-in-law Zhichun given you? Are you full?"

Liang Chunfen just smiled sheepishly and didn't answer.

Mother told her not to tell anyone; Sister-in-law Zhichun also said not to tell anyone.

She listens to her mother and also to her sister-in-law Zhichun; she listens even more to the two of them saying the same thing.

I will absolutely not tell.

When the members of the Liang family's eldest and second branches found out, they were all very dismissive. This Xu was so lazy that she tricked Liang Chunfen, that simple-minded girl, into doing chores like fetching water and chopping wood. She bribed her with just one meal. She was incredibly cunning.

Chunfen's mother never mentioned asking Liang Chunfen to help make konjac tofu, which made Xu Zhichun particularly satisfied.

She doesn't plan to hire anyone else for the konjac tofu business for the time being.

They've been digging for konjac for so long, but the raw materials are always a problem. Wild konjac isn't always found in such large patches; some grow quite fragmented. Perhaps it won't be long before it becomes harder to find them.

So Xu Zhichun simply assigned Liang Chunfen a task: to go up the mountain and help find where there were wild konjac plants, preferably in large areas.

Fortunately, this is the nature of konjac. Since no one digs it up, year after year, the tubers keep increasing and new ones keep growing, growing more and more.

Xu Zhichun felt that fifteen mu was not enough, and planned to buy several dozen more mu of land adjacent to the konjac patch to plant konjac all over it. He also planned to buy some more land on the hillside behind the house, so that sweet potatoes and potatoes could be planted there later.

After arranging Liang Chunfen's affairs, Xu Zhichun resumed his normal routine of going to town to set up a stall with Zeng Xiaoyan, Aunt Zhu'er, and the others. Uncle Qitian also took on new jobs and went to town, but unlike before, he didn't take jobs for wealthy families and stay in their homes. There was no place for him to stay in small households, so he preferred to go home and would return to the village every evening.

The bamboo basket contained several sweet potatoes and potatoes—both raw and cooked—and Xu Zhichun went to the county government office.

(End of this chapter)