She Became A Downfall Noble Lady-Chapter 68 - Whose employee to hire

Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Whose employee to hire

Chapter 68 -68: Whose employee to hire

Qi Younian and his family saw the guests off, and it was already late.

Disturbed by Jinrong, Jiang Yifan, and their party’s visit, they had wasted an entire afternoon, so they had to make do with a simple dinner preparation.

Ye Xinyan helped Nanny Jin quickly clean up after dinner. The family of four had their meal and then got busy preparing for the next day’s stall setup.

It was now midsummer, and it stayed light out late, so the family worked together in the yard, chatting idly as they did.

Their courtyard was some distance from the neighbors. Ye Xinyan looked at the open gate and the low courtyard wall and said to Qi Younian, “Grandpa, our rice tofu business is booming, and we have more customers. But our family has limited manpower, and we can’t make too much. Some guests come and have nowhere to sit, and others come late and can’t get any food. What do you think about us adding a couple of tables and making more each day?”

Nanny Jin also chimed in, “Indeed, these past few days, whenever I see guests come and we can’t serve them, I feel really bad. It’s also holding back our earnings.”

Qi Younian was aware of all these issues. But making rice tofu, baked buns, and spread cake every day already had the three of them very busy, starting each day before the Mao Hour. If they made more, the three of them simply wouldn’t be able to keep up.

Hearing Qi Younian’s concerns, Ye Xinyan tentatively added, “What’s there to fear about having too much business and not enough hands? We’re afraid of having no customers, aren’t we? We can just hire some help.”

Finding help was fine, but the problem was who to hire. This was what really troubled Qi Younian.

After thinking for a moment, Qi Younian said, “If we hire someone, naturally we’ll need to pay them. Having a stable source of income is a great thing in our farming village, and we shouldn’t give that opportunity to outsiders. But with your Great Uncle’s and Great Uncle’s families around, we don’t need that many people. It’s difficult too, isn’t it?”

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As for the third family, not only would Ye Zi definitely not consider them, but he himself didn’t want to deal with them either. If they hired someone from the eldest brother’s family, the third would surely disagree, and if he got involved, it would lead to a lot of trouble.

Ye Xinyan wouldn’t think too much about these things. Even if they needed lots of help, she would not employ people from the third branch. Hasn’t it been said that one bad apple ruins the bunch? Who would dare to deal with them after seeing how ruthless they could be with a child?

Moreover, Ye Xinyan was someone who held grudges. With all the antics of Lady Zhang and Lady Han, reveling in her difficulties, she would not let such benefits fall into their hands.

Ye Xinyan confidently said, “We are hiring help for work, so we naturally want to find diligent and capables hands. Let’s forget about the relatives from Great Uncle’s family… Tomorrow, you can feel out Great Uncle’s intentions. We can ask my eldest cousin and his wife for help. They don’t have children now, and my cousin is honest and hardworking, just right for helping us out. It’s also a way to earn some household money for Great Uncle’s family.”

Considering that they had helped their family with strenuous tasks like carrying water and chopping wood without pay for the past few months, the couple Qi Cheng and his wife deserved to be prioritized for this money-making opportunity.

“What if your Great Uncle comes looking for work?” Qi Younian was a bit troubled.

Dealing with one’s own family is the most difficult; there’s no reasoning, especially since the third is unreasonably inclined. If Qi Younian had to choose, he would rather secretly finance another business for Qi Cheng than provoke trouble with the third.

“I’m not afraid.” Ye Xinyan had already thought about this question, and she confidently said, “In the past, when our family and Great Uncle’s family had matters to attend to, Great Uncle’s people always said they had a shortage of labor and couldn’t spare any hands. Third Aunt and Fourth Aunt also said they needed to take care of their children. It takes us a long time to go back and forth to the county town every day, and both aunts definitely won’t be able to look after the children.”

As she spoke, Ye Xinyan smiled, “Grandpa, how can we, in the pursuit of making money for our own family, trouble Great Uncle’s family? Besides, we wouldn’t dare to let our Jiajia stay with their people. If things get heated, we can just say we’ll ask for their help when Jiajia has grown up some more and forgotten the past incidents.”

Nanny Jin quickly added, “That’s right, Xiao Jiajia is such a smart and sensible child, he almost got scared witless by them. If people from the Third Master’s family come to work at our place now, wouldn’t Jiajia be frightened again, to the point of being too scared to speak up? Going back and forth like this, what if it traumatizes the child and he can’t recover?”

When it came to Jiajia, Qi Younian glanced at the child playing with the pedal car in the courtyard and made up his mind immediately. Compared to putting himself in a difficult position, his grandson was, of course, more important.

“Alright then, I’ll speak to your Great Uncle about it tomorrow. If our family is capable of helping your Great Uncle out, to make their life easier, then that would be the best,” he said.

Ye Xinyan paused for a moment, then added, “Grandpa, now that we have the silver that Sixth Master gave us today, why don’t we look for a place to settle down in the county town? That way, we could save the trouble of transporting so many tables, stools, and utensils back and forth every day, and it would be easier on us as well.”

At this point, Qi Younian hesitated. Clear Water Village was where he was born, and for many years, he longed to return to his homeland. He had just come back not long ago, and now he was supposed to move to the county town…?

Seeing the expression on Qi Younian’s face, Ye Xinyan knew what the old man was thinking, and she tactfully said, “We don’t have to move to the city, just rent a place nearby. If we are to make more food, we will need more tables, stools, and chairs, as well as charcoal stoves, firewood, pots, bowls, and other utensils. It’s too cumbersome to carry them back and forth every day; I think it’s more convenient to rent a house in the county town.”

Not having to leave the village, Qi Younian could accept that, and he nodded, “That works too, our Silver Coin is just enough. Otherwise, let’s sell the donkey and buy a horse-drawn carriage. Carriages are faster, and horses can pull larger loads.”

Actually, Ye Xinyan was already thinking about another business venture. She had originally planned to save up capital through the rice tofu business and then open a shop in the county next summer to sell cold beverages and desserts.

But today, with Jinrong’s involvement, she ended up with thirty taels of silver. Adding that to the silver left behind by that guy when he ate rice tofu and took the folded paper, she barely had enough to start the shop.

What Ye Xinyan wanted to make was something similar to ice cream, ice pops to be precise. Keep in mind this was ancient times; even in wealthy households, ice was only used to cool the room or chill drinks and fruits. If a frozen food item was actually introduced, with the off-season novelty, she could definitely turn ice pops into a highly profitable business.

Now it was midsummer, and if she moved quickly, perhaps she could make a good profit during this hot weather.

However, she was still not sure whether she could successfully create ice pops, so she kept her plans to herself. Her intention was to first find someone to take over the rice tofu stall, so she could smoothly transition into the ice pop business when the time came.

Qi Cheng was naturally the first choice to take over the rice tofu stall. Handing over the rice tofu business to Qi Cheng was the outcome Ye Xinyan most wished for.

The afternoon following the next day’s nap, Qi Younian strolled over to the main house, making an excuse that it was too stuffy inside, and he and his older brother moved to sit under the old elm tree outside the courtyard wall. While cooling off, Qi Younian shared his plans with Qi Yougui.