Someone brought over a table and chairs, and Jinyi and Jinxiu sat down.
Jinyi picked up the ledger. "Wu Erniu's household — ten days' wages come to a hundred and thirty-three wen. Have a look and see if that's right. If so, come up and collect."
A man shuffled forward stiffly. "That's... that's... that's right."
He had no idea whether it was right or not. All he knew was that Jinyi had said he was getting a hundred and thirty-three wen.
Given his family's circumstances, if they were careful — sent the children out morning and evening to dig up wild herbs to boil with the coarse grain — a hundred and thirty-three wen worth of grain would keep the family fed for a whole month.
And this was only ten days' pay — the wages from the other twenty days could go entirely into savings.
How much could they put away in a year?
How long before he'd saved enough to find his eldest a wife?
Jinxiu took the money pouch, counted out one qian of silver and thirty-three copper coins, and handed them over.
"Next — Liu Gouwa. A hundred and forty-one wen. Is the amount correct?"
The man called Gouwa was thirty years old but looked fifty. He stepped forward with barely contained excitement, then immediately started making eyes at Wu Erniu — who had just pocketed his wages — the way only old friends do.
The message was unmistakable: *Can't keep up, can you? Earned less than me, didn't you.*
Wu Erniu glared right back. *Just you wait — when my son takes your daughter for his wife, my family gains a mouth and yours loses one. We'll see who's crowing then!*
Gouwa, true to form as a friend who could read his mind, somehow caught the meaning perfectly and shot a glare straight back.
*Dream on, you wretch! There's no chance I'm marrying my daughter off to a pauper like you!*
The wages for all ten households came to just over a tael of silver.
In the context of the Zhao household's earnings, it wasn't quite a drop in the ocean — but it was hardly a strain.
"Jinxiu, I'm putting you in charge of managing the distillery from now on — I need to keep an eye on the construction site."
"Don't worry, Elder Sister — I'll manage it well."
"It doesn't need too much attention. Production here runs on a fixed routine — you just need to stop by every now and then, and come to hand out wages every ten days."
"The main thing to watch is the grain and firewood supply — that's where problems tend to crop up."
"Yes, yes — Elder Sister, I'll manage it well, I promise."
Jinxiu was elated. Finally she could be like her elder sister — doing real work for the Master. She was over the moon.
Jinxiu's father, who had tagged along as an escort to add a bit of presence to the group, was even more beside himself. His own daughter was going to be in charge of something — was she going to become a senior maid with real authority, like Jinyi?
From now on, when people saw him, they'd say, "That's Miss Jinxiu's father" — now that would really be something to be proud of.
The moment Jinyi and the other three left, the distillery erupted into noise, voices overlapping from every direction.
"Wife, while there's still light, go into town and get some grain — oh, and pick up a few liang of meat while you're at it — and bring me back a crock of rice wine. *The wine here?* Are you trying to get yourself killed, woman?"
"Big girl, go with your aunt into town and buy some grain — nothing else, mind you. We've still got debts from the lean years to pay off."
Before long, a group of a dozen or so women and children headed out together.
Jinyi and the others hadn't actually gone far — they were outside the perimeter wall, checking for any cracks or damage that might need repairing.
So everything that went on in the courtyard reached Jinyi's ears.
"Now that we can produce our own spirits, there's no need to make everyone trek all the way into town to buy it at a higher price."
"Jinxiu, tomorrow pick someone from the distillery to hang a sign at the gate — sell spirits there too, at the same price as in town."
"It's not about making a big profit — mainly just to make things convenient for everyone."
"Then once the Master's commercial street is finished, move the business over there."
"Oh, and as the Master said — give them incentives, a guaranteed base, then work out the commission rate carefully. Too much or too little, and it'll cause problems."
"Encourage small traders and vendors — we don't want powerful merchants accumulating great wealth."
"I've got it, Elder Sister — I'll think it through properly when I get back." Jinxiu hurriedly jotted the tasks down in her notebook.
It was something the Master had said: the faintest ink outlasts the sharpest memory — write it down and you won't forget.
"Let's go — the wall's fine. Back we go."
At the mouth of the gorge, a few men carrying loads of firewood on their backs crossed paths with a ragged group of a dozen or so — men and women, young and old alike.
"Excuse me — is Master Zhao's place up ahead?"
"It is. What are you going there for?"
"We heard that Master Zhao is a man of great compassion — that no matter who comes, there'll at least be food. So here we are."
"So I've heard. Seems he needs quite a few people to clear wasteland — and you can stay on and farm."
"And what brings you all this way?"
"We're from the nearby villages. Master Zhao's place needs firewood, so we come every day with a few loads to sell."
"You can sell firewood for money? How does that work?"
The man hesitated, reluctant to say — worried about the competition — but in the end he was too honest to hold back.
"Not much farm work at this time of year, so I spend half a day cutting firewood. Bringing it here earns me about three wen a day."
"Three wen for half a day — six wen for a full day — that's a hundred and eighty wen a month?"
"That — that's enough to feed a whole family. There's a way out for us after all!"
"That's right, Third Uncle — there's a way out. If we stay here and help Master Zhao clear the land, we might even get a few mu allotted to us."
"Come on, everyone — keep moving."
The group quickly made their way to the construction site and asked whether this was Master Zhao's place.
Builder Wang heard the commotion and came over to have a look. The dozen or so people were all visibly malnourished — at most two or three were in any shape to join his construction crew.
So he set the thought aside and led them all to the gate of the Zhao estate.
In the sitting room that had been specially set aside in the middle courtyard, he found Zhao Baihui and the four maids.
"Master Zhao, these people have come to seek your patronage. I had something to discuss with you myself — they were on my way, so I brought them along."
"Much appreciated, Builder Wang. Jinyi, go and get them settled — the front courtyard for now."
"Since Builder Wang is here, let's discuss something — pull a few of your men and put up some housing near my estate for people who come to us like this."
"Oh — you said you had something to bring up, Builder Wang. What is it?"
Builder Wang had been turning this over in his mind for many days without being able to make up his mind. Now that he was here in person, he steeled himself and spoke.
"Master Zhao, I know you're a good man. That's why I want to bring my crew and put ourselves in your service."
"Put yourselves in my service? What do you mean?"
Builder Wang's expression grew sombre. "Master Zhao, what you don't know is that our whole crew comes from the same village — we're all kinsmen, uncles and cousins and brothers."
"Our village was struck by disaster years ago. People couldn't survive."
"At the time I was an apprentice in town — I couldn't do much for the folks back home, but I couldn't stand by and watch them starve either."
"So I went begging at every door I could find, scraped together what work I could, and brought the men out to build houses and walls."
"As long as there was food in our bellies, we worked."
"That's how it's been for over ten years now. I've gone from a young apprentice to a middle-aged man."
"It's a hard life, this trade. You pour out everything you have every day and still barely manage to keep fed and clothed."
"Last year, we were pushing to meet a deadline and get paid — and there was an accident. One man died, two were crippled. All of them my own kinsmen, my brothers and nephews. The one who died... he was my own nephew..."
"My condolences, Builder Wang."
Hearing this, Zhao Baihui understood Builder Wang's predicament.
In this era, there simply wasn't enough construction work to go around. Working in this trade meant giving more and earning less.
And it came with real risks.
His own ventures were only getting started, and the pace of building would only accelerate from here — but if Builder Wang merely worked with him as a contractor, he'd only ever earn the going market rate.
If he became part of the household, though, things would naturally be different.
Builder Wang had seen with his own eyes how the maids' families were treated — and what life was like over at the distillery.
"Builder Wang, you have my word."
"Going forward, you'll still be in charge of managing the construction crew — but you'll answer to Jinyi and the others."
"Pay for the workers will depend on the job — for the men, based on the demands of the work, daily wages will be set at six to ten wen for now."
"As the foreman, your wages will be set at ten wen for now."
"Your work is hard. As a benefit, meals will be provided — we can work out the particulars separately."
Builder Wang dropped to his knees before Zhao Baihui with a thud.
"Thank you, Master. The kindness you have shown me — I, Wang Changjiang, will never forget it as long as I live!"