Chapter 211

Shuiqing pointed to the other side of the kitchen and said to the five of them, “There are a few stove holes on the opposite side of the dining hall, originally used for brewing and steaming rice. Since the court banned private brewing last year, they’ve been idle. After lunch, you can go there to work.”

Today, there are many people to feed, and this kitchen will likely be in use in the afternoon.

That area has been kept very clean because Qin Yilin has been using it to dry yams recently, so there’s no need to clean it again. You can finish early and still have time to rest in the afternoon.

Zhou Yu bowed and responded, “Understood.”

Earlier, Shuiqing had dragged out the cloth bag with difficulty, but Li Dani easily lifted it with one hand, and the other four followed her to the room on the other side of the kitchen.

Shuiqing was amazed.

That bag contained at least a hundred pounds of white flour! Li Dani had lifted it with just one hand, and without showing any signs of struggle.

Behind her, Qin Yilin remarked, “It’s great that you have these people now; you can accomplish many things.”

Shuiqing agreed.

With many mountains and lands, she indeed needed people.

Qin Yilin understood that Shuiqing’s idea of accomplishing many things was different from hers, so she clarified, “I’m not talking about farming or land work.”

Shuiqing raised her eyebrows slightly.

Qin Yilin realized that Shuiqing, coming from a farming family, wouldn’t know much about these things, even if she had grown up in a household in Niutou Town without servants.

She explained softly, “For tasks like farming and the initial processing of medicinal herbs—washing, cutting, drying—we can hire men and women from the village with silver.

But for tasks like adding certain ingredients for steaming, the duration of steaming, and the control of heat—these are advanced skills. We can’t let the villagers handle them at all. This way, we can ensure the long-term sustainability of our medicinal herb business.

And with the indenture contracts of these people in your hands, even if someone is particularly greedy, they wouldn’t dare betray the master family. Just that threat alone ensures they won’t easily turn against us.”

When the quantity of medicinal herbs is small, she, He Li, and Jiajia can handle it themselves, but when the quantity is large, it becomes impossible!

Especially since the harvest period of medicinal herbs, like grains, is concentrated in a short time. The herbs must be processed while fresh to maintain their quality and medicinal effectiveness, otherwise, their value significantly decreases.

With the people brought by Master Bai, they can entrust these advanced tasks to them with confidence. The three of them can then focus on the key points, ensuring the secret techniques are kept safe and the herbs are processed quickly.

Shuiqing then realized that Qin Yilin was talking about medicinal herbs.

While Shuiqing didn’t understand the intricacies of processing medicinal herbs, she did understand intellectual property. In China, they use contracts and agreements with core personnel, legally binding them. Here, there were no such contracts, but indenture contracts were even more effective.

“Alright, I don’t understand medicinal herbs, so you take full charge!” Let the experts handle professional matters.

Qin Yilin appreciated Shuiqing’s straightforward approach, open and magnanimous!

She never pretended to understand what she didn’t, nor did she interfere with the work of professionals. If she trusted someone, she fully entrusted them with the task without meddling;

If not, she kept her distance.

While the two were talking and laughing, Li Dani on the other side opened the cloth bag and was stunned to see white flour instead of black flour.

“Why is it white flour? Did the lady take the wrong bag?”

“It should be black flour. Even if it’s not black flour, cornmeal or millet would be good enough, but white flour?”

The group discussed it and unanimously agreed that the lady of the house must have accidentally taken the wrong bag.

“I’ll go ask,” Li Dani said as she tightly secured the cloth bag and took it back.

Zheng Yan remarked, “In the past, when the old master came, the steward used white flour and rice to entertain him. Who are we to eat white flour for several days?”

Li Erni agreed, “That’s right. That bag must be over a hundred pounds. I ate noodles made of white flour for the first time this morning. It was so smooth!”

“It’s good enough that we have something to eat. Have you forgotten what it felt like to be hungry?” Wang Qiuyue sighed deeply.

The others pursed their lips and admitted it was true.

They were already so poor that people on the road tried to rob them. Those people were probably struggling to get even half-full…

Li Dani returned quickly, and she had another bag in her other hand.

Li Erni went up to her, “Sister, did you change it?”

They were sisters, married to two brothers in the same family. When the flood came, they were together. Her sister reacted quickly, grabbing a floating log and pulling her along, which saved her life.

The women on the estate couldn’t swim, and only the two sisters survived from their family.

“No, I didn’t change it. The lady said it’s the right one! It’s white flour!” Li Dani still seemed incredulous as she spoke to her sister.

Li Erni opened her mouth, and after a moment, managed to say, “How good is our new master?”

Wang Qiuyue, Zhou Yu, and Zheng Yan were overjoyed.

Li Dani handed over the other bag, “The lady said we worked hard on the road, and tomorrow they’re going on a long trip, so they need to eat well for such exhausting work.

She gave us peanuts, sesame seeds, sugar, and salt. We can decide how much to make sweet or salty.”

The four of them hurriedly opened the sack and saw small cloth bags filled with peanuts and sesame seeds, as well as oil paper packets of brown sugar and salt.

“The lady also said that once we’re settled, we won’t have white flour and rice anymore. We’ll be eating cornmeal and potatoes, so we should be prepared.”

The four thought they misheard and looked up at Li Dani, “Why do we need to be prepared to eat cornmeal?”

A pound of cornmeal could buy two pounds of black flour!

In the past on the estate, even black flour wasn’t always available. Cornmeal was a treat only during festivals when the master gave it as a reward.

Li Dani also didn’t quite understand. She scratched her head and guessed, “Maybe she means if we eat cornmeal, we should work harder and better?”

The four of them deeply agreed with this reasoning and nodded vigorously, “If we’re eating cornmeal, of course we need to work better!”

Otherwise, they wouldn’t be worthy of the cornmeal.

As for potatoes, they might get used to them by then.

The five of them organized everything and prepared their work. Lunch was already prepared when they returned.

Soon enough, the call for lunch came.

When the five of them saw the midday meal, they finally understood what Li Dani had said about “white flour and rice.” They had eaten white flour noodles in the morning, and now there was rice for lunch!

Not just rice, but the dishes that accompanied it—they hadn’t even had such good food during New Year’s!

They had only seen such a feast when the old master visited the estate and the steward prepared a banquet.