Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 151 - 150: A Mere Five Coins

Chapter 151: Chapter 150: A Mere Five Coins
In Liu Family Village, with a population of just over two hundred, the conscription of laborers suddenly took away thirty to forty young and able-bodied men. The once lively little mountain village became quiet, and Qin Yao found it somewhat unsettling.
Moreover, even six workers were missing from the manufacturing plant.
When Liu the carpenter came to find her with an anxious look, Qin Yao slapped her forehead. She hadn’t thought of it for the past three days, too preoccupied with watching how Liu Ji prepared tirelessly for survival.
"What should we do now? With so many people gone, we can’t produce the goods due in mid-October. There’s less than a month left, think of something quickly."
For the past two days, Liu the carpenter had also been busy helping his son find someone to substitute for labor service. Their family needed to send someone, but the six-tael slot in Kaiyang County was missed, so they had to pay a high price, ten taels of silver, to hire a replacement.
Fortunately, he was able to act quickly with Liu Dafu and Old Liu, securing the spot. Those who arrived in the afternoon couldn’t find one even at double the price.
However, according to Liu the carpenter’s thoughts, if the price went up to twenty taels of silver per head, he wouldn’t mind taking the risk himself.
Twenty taels of silver aren’t easy to earn. Although being a grain transport laborer is hard, it’s much better than going to war. With some luck and a reliable officer, the chances of returning alive are quite high.
But now that all those enlisted for labor service had left, talking about it was meaningless.
Instead, the current lack of workers at the manufacturing plant was a pressing worry, so much that he developed a sore at the corner of his mouth, making it painful when he opened his mouth wide while eating.
Qin Yao poured a bowl of cool boiled water for him and herself, "Recruit more people."
She was also short one quarry worker, the eldest grandson of the village chief, Liu Qi.
Every family has its own troubles; the village chief’s wife, Liu Qi’s grandmother, was gravely ill, and the money from selling grain after the autumn harvest was all spent on medical bills.
The village chief was the first to receive the news and should have had no difficulty obtaining two exemption quotas.
But in the end, he only got one replacement quota, and the remaining one, Liu Qi, volunteered to fill.
Because the family could hardly afford another ten taels of silver for a replacement.
Fortunately, he was tall, strong, and steady in temperament. The village chief made arrangements, so he should be taken care of to some extent.
Liu the carpenter’s situation was worse, losing five workers instantly. Luckily, Yun Niang didn’t have to serve labor as a woman. With her experienced skills on the team, how could he be merely anxious enough for a sore?
"Where are we supposed to find people now? All the men in Zijing Mansion have gone to be laborers. There’s another wave of wheat to be sown before winter sets in. How can we recruit among the old and the young, women and children?"
In his urgency, Liu the carpenter pulled the corner of his mouth again, hissing in pain.
Qin Yao advised him to take a few sips of water and, after some thought, said, "If we can’t recruit men, then recruit women. Our waterwheel work isn’t heavy, women can do it too."
As for the lack of quarry workers on her side, she’d have to do it herself.
The work was too strenuous for women, and since the team was composed of men, working up the mountain was awkward for them.
Qin Yao was just thankful that the group of polishers was still there, maintaining at least one complete production line.
"Shall we give it a try?" Liu the carpenter no longer insisted on his previous thoughts, as long as the goods could be delivered on time, male or female workers didn’t matter.
So, the two borrowed a gong and went around the village, calling out for workers with no conditions, just anyone willing to work hard and endure hardships.
Sister-in-law Zhou jumped out and asked, "What about me?"
Qin Yao quickly pulled her over, "Of course, you can, sister-in-law, as capable as you are, what’s a little carpentry!"
Sister-in-law Zhou laughed with her eyes curved, "Oh, you’re just talking nonsense. I’m not that skilled, just know how to do some embroidery. I’ve never touched carpentry before."
"It’s fine, it’s fine," Liu the carpenter quickly explained, "The wood, we’ve prepared it all. Just follow along and assemble and piece together."
As he spoke, Liu the carpenter once again felt grateful in his heart for Qin Yao’s assembly line. Each person just needed to learn one process to get started.
Suddenly replacing personnel wasn’t a fear, two days of practice and they’d become familiar.
"Shall we give it a try?" Sister-in-law Zhou asked, smiling at the women who’d come along, now feeling a bit shy.
No matter how busy their families were, to earn money, they’d have to find a way to squeeze some time out.
People had envied those chosen to work at the manufacturing plant, especially Yun Niang, who brought home more than three maces of silver pay last month, making her parents-in-law so happy they kept praising their daughter-in-law everywhere.
Now with this opportunity right here, Qin Yao and Liu the carpenter encouraged them to join, why not give it a try? After all, there’s nothing to lose.
He had previously mentioned it too, once every ten days they got a meal with meat and vegetables, and occasionally when Qin Yao went to town, she’d even bring home big bones for everyone to make soup.
Not for anything else, just for a decent meal, it was worth going.
Seeing the young girls and daughters-in-law in the village gaining interest, Qin Yao immediately brought her sister-in-law He and Yun Niang over to promote it to everyone.
Thus, under their encouragement, the manufacturing plant soon recruited five replacement carpenters.
The original male workers were re-positioned to handle the first process while leaving the rest of the assembly, painting, and other tasks to the female workers. The assembly line finally operated smoothly again.
Seeing the problem resolved and the mid-October order likely to be met on time, Qin Yao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But her own workload increased. After collecting all the stones needed for the remaining orders, at Old Liu’s urging, she picked up a hoe and began a new round of plowing.
Winter wheat had to be sown, even if she didn’t want to bother, the seeds had to be planted first for any hope of a harvest.
After the conscription of laborers, the money from selling grain at the Liu Family’s old house was almost gone for the year.
The stored grain at home couldn’t be touched unless absolutely necessary, so regardless of the hardship, the winter wheat had to be planted without pause.
Fearing that another unexpected tax or irrigation construction requiring labor service might call them away from farming for months with no money to hire replacements.
Farmers dependent on the weather can’t afford any disruption, they can only carefully tend their fields.
While Qin Yao and the villagers busied themselves planting wheat, the grain transport laborers had already left Zijing Mansion.
The recruited laborers, totaling three thousand, were divided into three batches and two routes, escorting the grain and fodder.
Zijing Mansion was selected for two main reasons.
Firstly, Zijing Mansion had a bountiful harvest this year, with sufficient grain reserves.
Secondly, Zijing Mansion was close to the border, allowing for grain and fodder to be transported with minimal loss and fastest speed.
It could only be said, this was fate.
The laborers conscripted from Liu Family Village were dispersed as soon as they reached Kaiyang County.
When Liu Ji saw the situation, he felt uneasy. In haste, he only managed to slip a few copper coins to the officer in charge of monitoring them.
But perhaps the money was insufficient, or perhaps the officer found five cents extremely insulting, he was assigned to a particularly fierce officer.
The first time he heard his name called and met the officer’s gaze, Liu Ji sensed that this journey would be extremely difficult.