Chapter 232

Aunt Zhang, while shouting, hunched over and glanced towards Sun Jinhua’s side.

Strange, usually, whenever the Ding family was mentioned, Sun Jinhua’s family would pounce like cats seeing fish or wolves seeing meat, eager to bite off a piece.

But today, there was no reaction at all, as if they hadn’t heard a thing. This was not their usual behavior.

Sun Jinhua had plenty to say but held back, remembering the planned marriage connection with the Ding family. She swallowed her words, thinking that what the Ding family saved would benefit her son. It was good for Hu Wenhua to help the Ding family build their wall!

The more they saved, the better.

Without finding anyone to back her up, Aunt Zhang continued on her own, “I say, let’s not rush. Take it slow. After all, it’s the Ding family that will delay the progress, not us!”

Aunt Li couldn’t help but laugh.

Everyone was working on their own sections. The faster they finished, the sooner they could rest. Who would follow her idea of taking it slow?

The Zhang family really didn’t get it. Just because their men didn’t work, they thought other families’ men wouldn’t either?

It was wise of the village chief to allocate sections to each household. Otherwise, if everyone worked together, the Zhang family wouldn’t contribute a single person!

“Well, I didn’t expect such concern for our Ding family! Apologies for being late, but we definitely won’t be slow!” Qin Yilin’s cheerful voice came through.

Everyone looked up from their work.

Zhang Chunhua was delighted. Finally, the Ding family was going to start working!

Ding Jiajia might make money processing medicinal herbs, but farm work was surely beyond her.

She looked up and saw neither Ding Heli nor Ding Jiajia, just Aunt Ding and five sturdy women.

What? Ding Heli didn’t have to work, and Ding Jiajia wasn’t needed either?

Aunt Zhang snorted and looked towards the voice. She wanted to see how the Ding family had the nerve to boast.

The Ding family had just three people, even fewer than her own family. Although her husband didn’t work, her daughter was a capable worker. Ding Jiajia, who couldn’t carry anything heavy, was no match for her Chunhua.

Then she saw Qin Yilin leading five robust women over.

She recognized these women as Hu Shuiqing’s servants, having seen them in her dining hall a few days ago.

“Couldn’t wait for Hu Wenhua to help, so you directly roped in Hu Shuiqing’s servants to do the work?

Ha, currying favor really pays off. Now you don’t have to work yourself. How convenient.”

Zhang Chunhua felt a pang of jealousy. She was more determined than ever to marry into the Hu family. Aunt Ding just cozied up to Hu Shuiqing, and she sent five people to help. If she became Hu Shuiqing’s sister-in-law, she would get anything she wanted.

Sun Jinhua felt jealous too. She was Hu Shuiqing’s sister-in-law! Helping an outsider but not her?

Then she thought, helping the Ding family would benefit her son in the future. Her family would profit, and she felt a bit better.

Zheng Yan spoke up loudly for everyone to hear, “Aunt Ding hired us for thirty wen a day. The boss agreed. There was no taking advantage of the boss, and Aunt Ding even offered to provide food during the work period.”

Aunt Ding had offered to pay for their meals, but the boss declined, believing it was mutual assistance without the need for such precise accounting.

The workers, hearing Aunt Zhang’s sour words, had little reaction. The Ding family was skilled at gathering medicinal herbs, and anyone capable would want to help them too. But when they heard Zheng Yan’s words, they straightened up in disbelief.

“Thirty wen a day?”

“And providing meals during the work?”

Aunt Ding was really generous!

In the city, even strong men working as laborers only earned twenty to thirty wen a day. Only those carrying heavy loads could earn forty wen a day, and that job required not just hard work but also considerable strength!

Now, building this wall was just a bit tiring when making the earthen bricks, but it was nothing compared to carrying heavy loads. Women could easily handle it, and yet Aunt Ding was paying them thirty wen a day?

Aunt Zhang swallowed her saliva. Thirty wen a day! Aunt Ding really didn’t know how to manage money. With that money, hiring men would be much more cost-effective. Why hire women?

No matter how strong a woman was, she couldn’t compare to a man.

She wanted to rush back and call her husband to earn this thirty wen, but she feared he wouldn’t agree, especially since he had scoffed at the idea of earning just one hundred wen a day when working elsewhere before.

Thinking about how they missed out on that one hundred wen a day made her feel a deep sense of loss.

Sun Jinhua was even more anxious. Thirty wen a day for five people meant one hundred and fifty wen a day!

How could the Ding family be so wasteful! It was as painful as cutting her own flesh.

She shouted hoarsely at Qin Yilin, “This won’t do! You can’t spend money like this!”

Qin Yilin frowned. Did she need an outsider to tell her how to spend her own money?

Fan Sanzhu also felt distressed and wanted to impress his future mother-in-law. He gritted his teeth and said, “Aunt Ding, you don’t need to hire anyone. After we finish our own work, I’ll come over to help you! You can save your money, and Jiajia won’t need to tire herself out.”

Qin Yilin: ….. She had money to hire help; Jiajia wouldn’t have to work hard anyway!

It was just over a hundred wen a day, totaling a bit more than a thousand wen to get everything done. Why wait?

“No need, I think it’s worth it. You all should focus on your own tasks first.”

Sun Jinhua felt like her heart was bleeding. Why was the Ding family so unresponsive? They didn’t appreciate kindness. Her son had offered to help, and they didn’t even seize the opportunity. What fools.

Qin Yilin didn’t even look at the two families and directly addressed the five women she brought, “Let’s get started.”

Li Dani, Wang Qiuyue, and Zheng Yan were all excellent workers back at the manor. Having eaten well and slept soundly these past few days, they felt even stronger.

Well-fed and energetic, they seemed to have boundless strength. Once they started, they felled the small trees with just a couple of swings, cut the wild grass with a single swipe, and within a morning, they had cleared the Ding family’s assigned plot clean.

The villagers were amazed!

The manor workers were even better at this than them! If they had to sell themselves into servitude, they might not even be able to compete…

They quickly shook their heads, ridding themselves of such thoughts. What were they thinking, considering selling themselves into servitude? It must have been Fan Damu’s influence.

The Fan and Zhang families had intended to take a break, but seeing the five women Qin Yilin hired still working, they gritted their teeth and persisted.

They couldn’t let themselves be outdone by those women.

However, the heat was intense, and the work exhausting. Maybe it was okay to be outdone…

“Everyone, come quick! The people who went out are back in the village!”