The Farm Life Of a "Fool"

Chapter 23

Xu Ran asked Tangtang and Guoguo to practice calligraphy at home the next morning after breakfast. He and Liu Tong parted ways, one heading to the village chief's house and the other searching for Wu Mei.

The village head's family was having breakfast when Xu Ran arrived. Xu Ran observed the food on the table and discovered that, considering his position as the village's chief, the food was average. It was true that the majority of citizens in this era were poor.

"Village head, I want to invite someone to help our family open up the newly purchased land," Xu Ran said emphatically. "On a land of more than 30 mu, we can't do the farming by ourselves. We may recruit people for a short or long period of time. Money isn't a problem, and it can be discussed, but there is one requirement: their work must be satisfying.

"Oh, Xu Ran!" exclaimed the village chief after looking Xu Ran over. "Hiring workers to work the land costs a lot of money. Are you sure you have enough money to do that?"

"Don't worry about money, village head," Xu Ran said with a nod. "Since I promised it, I will pay for it. By the way, village chief, how much should I pay a day worker?"

"These days, few people in the village recruit short-term workers, but they are usually able to pay a worker 80 pence a day, not including food and lodging."

"How about this way, village head? I'll also pay 80 pence a day including lunch?"

"All right, because you say so, I'll go ahead and seek the assistance of others. It just so happens that everyone has finished their work by this point and is looking for short-term work in town. They will now earn money without having to leave the house. They'll probably want to take your work, in my opinion.

"Thank you very much, village head," Xu Ran said with a smile. "Please advise those who are willing to come to properly prepare their tools. They can only meet outside my house in the morning tomorrow."

The village head nodded, "All right."

"By the way, village chief, I would like to purchase some rice and vegetables. My family hasn't done any farming, so we have to buy all of the food in town. More people are going to work these days, and they will need to eat. Do you know of any families who would be willing to sell us some food?"

"If you want to buy brown rice, my family has some. Allow me to weigh some for you later. My younger brother will provide you with some vegetables. I'll give him permission to send them to you. You decide how much to pay in terms of money. We are all from the same village, after all."

"Well, thank you very much, village head. But can you also deliver your brown rice to my home? You know I don't have any vehicles. I'll pay you according to the price in town." Xu Ran didn't want to let the village head lose money. He also knew he couldn't save much money in it, either. By doing so, he could also make a good impression on the village head.

Smilingly, the village head nodded and agreed, "I'll send it to you in a minute. Is 200 kilos enough for you!"

"Enough. Thank you, village head."

Xu Ran started tidying up his bamboo house after returning home from the village head's house. Really, there weren't so many things in it. He had to put the potatoes in the cellar because he didn't want to take them out for the time being. The chili paste was already stored in the cellar, so there was no need to worry about it. However, he wanted to find a way to cover the stone mill outside. During this period, the bamboo that was left after the building of the house had been used as firewood and it was almost burnt out, so they were not enough to cover the stone mill well. And he had to find another way instead.