188 Chapter 188 Chili Seedlings
Zhou Ying and Gu Chengrui looked at each other. In the end, Zhou Ying still nodded with a troubled expression. “Alright, you can come, but only to help clear the tables and do cleaning jobs. As for the monthly payment, it’s 300 coppers.”
Of course, the reason she agreed so readily was not that they really pitied her.
Although there were only a mother and daughter in their family, they had five acres of land. In addition, Widow Hua’s needlework was spectacular, and she had always taken on a lot of work in the village or town. Chunhong’s excuse wasn’t valid at all.
Instead, she felt that there must be something strange about her doing this, and it was better to keep her under their nose and see what she was up to.
“Thank you, you two. Can I come to work the day after tomorrow? My legs are a little weak now.” Chunhong asked with a smile.
“Sure, but remember, you must be at the restaurant by noon. Otherwise, we’ll have to dock your pay if you’re late. We’ll deduct three coppers for each time you’re late, which is our restaurant’s rule.” Zhou Ying reminded her.
Chunhong was stunned for a moment as she did not expect there to be such a rule, but she still nodded and said, “Alright, I’ll remember that. You guys go ahead with your work, and I’ll head back now.”
After saying that, she turned around and walked out.
Seeing this, Zhou Ying sent her out. Just as she was about to lock the door, the patriarch and the village chief came together. She hurriedly greeted them, “Grandpa village chief, uncle, please excuse me. I’ll go make a pot of tea.”
“Oh, there’s no need for that when it’s so late. We’ll leave after we ask you something.” The patriarch quickly stopped her.
“Uncle, you’re here for the chili, right?” Gu Chengrui asked.
“Yes, I wanted to ask you how many seeds you can give out. Now that the villagers’ enthusiasm is high, the Qian clan also wants to plant them. I’m afraid you won’t have enough seeds, which will disappoint everyone.” The parrot nodded.
“Indeed, this matter has to be settled in advance. Otherwise, good things may turn bad in the end.” The village chief agreed.
Gu Chengrui nodded in understanding. “I won’t hide it from you. We have planted nearly 11 acres of chili seedlings, which will be enough for about 55 to 60 acres of land when they fully grow.
“I don’t know how much land the village had cleaned up.
“As for the seeds, you can plant them on your own, just like how you usually plant vegetables, but you’ll have to wait a little longer.”
“Oh yeah, I wanted to ask why you had to cover the seedlings with a tarp. Can’t you wait for the weather to be warmer before you grow the seedlings?” The village chief asked in confusion.
Even the patriarch was curious. He had wanted to ask before, but the oil mill had been busy recently, so he had forgotten.
“Because there are many pests and diseases in the summer, the rain will also affect the chilies; we want to make them mature earlier to increase their production.” Zhou Ying explained.
Even in modern times, pests and diseases were difficult to control. It was impossible to prevent all of them, so she didn’t want to cause more trouble if she didn’t prepare fully.
The patriarch and the village chief were farmers, so they quickly understood what she meant. They looked at each other and said, “We understand. We’ll go back and do the math now.”
“It’s been hard on all of you. The extra land can allow everyone to grow more vegetables, such as cabbage, lettuce, and so on.
“If you guys don’t have seeds, I’ll help you buy some back, and you all just have to provide the grown vegetables to the restaurant by then.” Zhou Ying stood up and said.
“This is also a way to balance things out. We’ll make the arrangements accordingly.” The village chief nodded in agreement.
After the two of them left, two more patients came to visit.
After sending them off, the couple went straight into the inters.p.a.ce to work. Many crops had matured and were ready to be harvested.