Chapter 79: The Jin Family 2/2

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After speaking, Magistrate Gou went to rest in a pavilion made of thatched grass. Seeing this, Li Qingzhi told Magistrate Gou that he was going to find Jin Dajiang.

In the past, the villagers liked to gather around Li Qingzhi to talk, but today, they didn’t dare to get too close.

Li Qingzhi smiled at them before turning to Jin Dajiang and saying, “Dad, I have something to tell you.”

Li Qingzhi called Jin Dajiang aside and asked, “Dad, why did you come? Aren’t you too old for this?”

Jin Dajiang replied, “They didn’t want to come, so I came…”

“Did they give you that one or two taels of silver?” Li Qingzhi thought Jin Dajiang must have come for that one or two taels of silver.

Jin Dajiang said, “They promised to give it, but they haven’t yet…”

Li Qingzhi was a bit speechless at his words.

Over the past few months, Li Qingzhi has interacted with the Jin family’s members, even with Uncle Jin, who only came back once a month.

Actually, this Uncle Jin and his family… they weren’t exactly the worst, but they were all a bit lazy and didn’t like to work.

This wasn’t a big deal, and even… even Jin Liushu, recognized as relatively lazy by Miaoqian Village, would be acceptable in modern times.

He didn’t just lie around the house all day doing nothing. During busy farming seasons, he would work in the fields, and when he had free time, he would go to the county town to find work.

But this was an ancient rural area.

Jin Liushu worked very slowly in the fields and would rest every now and then.

Seeing their older brothers Jin Mulangshu and Jin Zaoshu work less, they didn’t want to work more. But Jin Dajiang wasn’t like that; he worked hard.

As a result, Jin Dajiang inevitably suffered.

To outsiders, Jin Dahai had always been earning money outside and contributing it to the family, so Jin Dajiang’s family benefited, but Grandma Jin was so stingy that she would pick up even a river clam shell she saw and wouldn’t spend a penny.

The Jin family was quite wealthy, but they only ate two meals a day; except during busy times and festivals, they didn’t see any meat or fish.

With this kind of standard of living, they didn’t even need the money Uncle Jin contributed to the family’s expenses.

In fact, Jin Dajiang’s family hadn’t enjoyed any benefits. But for Uncle Jin’s family? They had to contribute to the family’s expenses every month, and they must have felt uncomfortable about it. Naturally, they thought they shouldn’t have to work.

In the end, both sides were losing out.

Actually, according to Li Qingzhi’s thoughts, their family should have split up long ago; then there would be no such issues, and everyone would be happy.

But Grandma Jin didn’t want to split up.

Grandma Jin also thought Uncle Jin’s family had contributed more because they brought money home.

Money was tangible, and she overlooked the physical effort Jin Dajiang and his wife had put in over the past twenty years.

It’s like full-time childcare without any income being considered not contributing anything by some people.

Now, the Jin family asked Jin Dajiang to build a pier and didn’t even offer compensation. Li Qingzhi thought it was a bit too much.

Actually, recently, another thing happened that left him speechless. Although their family owned a lot of land now, due to the large number of mouths to feed, there wasn’t enough grain. Previously, Jin Xiaoshu suggested giving money, but he said there was no need for money; just bring over the grain.

But after Jin Xiaoshu went home and told Grandma Jin, she refused to give it. Jin Xiaoshu even planned to buy grain for him, but he stopped her.

Li Qingzhi said to Jin Dajiang, “Dad, come with me.”

Jin Dajiang didn’t know what Li Qingzhi was going to do, but he subconsciously nodded and followed Li Qingzhi forward, then was led to Magistrate Gou by Li Qingzhi.

Magistrate Gou was already drinking hot tea. Although the pavilion didn’t block the wind, because of the recent events, his spirits were high, and he was in an excited state.

Seeing Li Qingzhi, Magistrate Gou asked, “Who is this?”

“Sir, this is my father-in-law. He’s already of age and didn’t need to come, but he appreciates the contributions you’ve made to the county and came to help voluntarily.” Li Qingzhi smiled.

Jin Dajiang looked quite old due to years of hard labor. Such a person actually came to help voluntarily!

Magistrate Gou was quite pleased and asked Jin Dajiang some questions, mostly related to farming.

This was the county magistrate! Jin Dajiang felt like his heart was in his throat and couldn’t speak.

But with him like this, Magistrate Gou was even more satisfied. Obviously, he wasn’t someone who came specifically to flatter him; he was just an ordinary farmer!

“Dad, don’t be nervous. Magistrate Gou is a good person.” Li Qingzhi reassured him while translating Magistrate Gou’s words.

Jin Dajiang took a deep breath and finally managed to speak fluently.

Jin Dajiang was still sharp-minded, unlike Li Laogen, who was so unreliable. When Magistrate Gou asked him questions about planting time and such, he could answer them all. He even mentioned the recent increase in fertilizer prices due to Zhang Yunquan’s influence, but now the fertilizer prices have finally returned to normal.

These were all things Magistrate Gou liked to hear.

Plus, Li Qingzhi occasionally said a few words expressing admiration for Magistrate Gou… the more Magistrate Gou listened, the happier he became.

At this point, Li Qingzhi casually mentioned that Jin Dajiang would often host feasts in the village. Without hesitation, Magistrate Gou said, “Since Mr. Jin has cooking skills, why not go to the mess hall and be responsible for cooking for these laborers? I can’t let you work for nothing. When the time comes, I’ll have the mess hall give you two taels of silver a month as wages.”

For such a large project as building a pier, a little extra pay for an additional cook wouldn’t even make a dent. For Magistrate Gou, it was no big deal at all.

But Jin Dajiang was already stunned.

Li Qingzhi thanked Jin Dajiang on behalf of him, then took Jin Dajiang to the mess hall.

For the people at that time, eating was extremely, extremely important, and Li Qingzhi specifically emphasized this to Magistrate Gou.

After considering it, Magistrate Gou handed over the mess hall to Zhu Qian, instructing him to find someone to manage it and ensure that the laborers ate well.

This task had to be done well! Zhu Qian not only arranged trustworthy people to manage the kitchen but also, because Magistrate Gou was going to eat with the common people today, he was personally supervising the mess hall.

Li Qingzhi brought Jin Dajiang over and explained the situation. Zhu Qian directly addressed Jin Dajiang as “Old Brother Jin” and asked Jin Dajiang to work with Chef Zhou.

He arranged for Chef Zhou to come and be the head chef.

Since Li Qingzhi knew Chef Zhou, he took Jin Dajiang to find Chef Zhou and asked him to take care of his father-in-law.

Chef Zhou promised, with a pat on his chest, that he would take good care of Jin Dajiang.

Li Qingzhi knew Jin Dajiang wouldn’t be treated unfairly in the mess hall, so he left Jin Dajiang behind and left with peace of mind.

After leaving the mess hall, Li Qingzhi went to the village chief of Miaoqian Village and said, “Village Chief, my dad isn’t of the right age to work here, but he’s good at cooking, so I had him help in the mess hall. Now, Miaoqian Village is short one laborer.”

“What should we do?” The village chief asked cautiously.

Li Qingzhi said, “Let the Jin family send another person. Let it go for today, but make sure they come tomorrow.” If the Jin family had given Jin Dajiang that one or two taels of silver, he wouldn’t have made such a suggestion after arranging for Jin Dajiang, but since they hadn’t given the money…

Since they hadn’t given the money, they should send someone.

The village chief, thinking of Li Qingzhi’s acquaintance with Magistrate Gou, quickly said, “I’ll call someone over!”