HLnovel Chapter 322 Picking Persimmons
Chapter 322 Picking Persimmons
Xiaoyu stared blankly at the persimmon tree for a moment, then said with some disappointment, "Sister, we planted two persimmon trees, why are there only so few fruits? The color doesn't look good either, it's not red enough, it can't compare to the ones sold at the market at all."
Lin Xiaotang thought for a moment and said, "It's probably because our persimmon trees are newly planted, and the fruit they bear doesn't look as good as other people's. Once the persimmon trees grow bigger in a couple of years, they'll look just like the ones they sell."
Xiao Jiu, who had never eaten persimmons before, didn't know what they looked like either. So he said, "We're already back, so let's pick them first and get back to the county as soon as possible so Uncle Qingchuan and the others won't worry."
They couldn't reach them from under the tree, and Xiaotang and Xiaoyu couldn't climb trees either. In the end, Xiaojiu brought a stool and stood on it to pick them one by one.
Two persimmons were growing too high, and even standing on a stool, Xiao Jiu couldn't reach them, so she climbed up and picked them.
Xiaoyu couldn't resist picking one that looked a bit redder and trying it. It was so astringent that her face immediately scrunched up, and she quickly spat it out.
"Ugh...it tastes so astringent, it's awful, ptooey..."
Lin Xiaotang hurriedly said with concern, "Spit it out quickly, just spit it out completely. This persimmon looks like the skin is already red, but the inside is probably not ripe yet. It needs to be left for a couple more days before you can eat it."
Xiao Jiu originally wanted to fetch a bucket of water for Xiao Yu to rinse her mouth, but when he saw that the well was empty, he remembered that the bucket for fetching water had been taken to the county when they moved.
If you can't rinse your mouth, you can only spit it all out.
After they finished packing, they drove the carriage back to the county. On the way, Xiaoyu lay dozing in the carriage, while Xiaotang and Xiaojiu sat outside driving the carriage, chatting from time to time.
When they got back to the pig's trotter shop, they put the persimmons on the stone table in the courtyard. Everyone gathered around to look at the ordinary-looking persimmons, their faces full of disgust.
"What kind of persimmon is this? Why does it look like this? It's neither red nor yellow, how can it taste good?"
"This persimmon tree must be fake; it's not a good tree."
"These persimmons might need to be warmed up a bit..."
Xiaoyu immediately recounted her experience of vomiting after eating the food to everyone in a vivid and detailed manner. Everyone laughed heartily, patted her head, and praised her for being so obedient and tasting it for everyone first.
With the busy farming season over, business at the shop has gradually picked up, and customers have even started placing large orders, sometimes ordering dozens or even hundreds of braised pig trotters at a time, which has kept them even busier.
Lin Xiaotang felt that the shop should build a cellar to store more raw pig trotters; otherwise, the stored pig trotters would soon be used up, and the shop would not be able to take on any more large orders in the future.
After much deliberation, she consulted with her father, Uncle Shuisheng, and Uncle Wu Yu, and to her surprise, everyone supported her idea.
So they started hiring people to dig a cellar in the backyard of the pig's trotter shop, and they also asked Manager Su how to make an ice cellar. Manager Su then asked a friend to buy them two carriages' worth of ice.
Of course, the ice in these two carriages was worth a lot of silver, and they immediately returned the silver to Manager Su.
At first, Manager Su politely declined, but they kept insisting that he accept the gift. He then told them how to preserve the ice cellar and reduce ice loss, instructing them to carry water into the ice cellar. He explained that the water would also turn into ice due to the ice cellar's influence, thus increasing the amount of ice consumed.
Once they had an ice cellar, they began buying up large quantities of raw pig trotters.
Gradually, they ran out of manpower, so Lin Xiaotang and her father decided to hire helpers. They posted job advertisements, and immediately many men came to apply. In just two days, more than ten men came.
Lin Xiaotang and her father looked at the dozen or so job applicants in front of them and couldn't help but scrutinize each one.
Lin Qingchuan, who was frowning slightly, couldn't help but whisper, "Tang'er, isn't the middle one a bit too old?"
Lin Xiaotang remained expressionless, gritting her teeth and squeezing out a low voice, "This is more than just old; this man looks at least fifty years old. If we make him drive a carriage to deliver braised pig's trotters to the restaurant every day, the bumpy ride back and forth is too much for his health. If something happens to him, how will we compensate him?"
Hearing his daughter say this, he couldn't help but worry.
They definitely need to hire young workers. Older people can't withstand the constant bumps and bruises. To put it bluntly, if something happens on the road, their pig's trotter shop will have to close down. If the authorities come, they'll be forced to shut down.
It's not that he lacks compassion and doesn't give older people a chance to earn money; rather, they also have many concerns and definitely prioritize stability.
So he walked up to the middle applicant and said somewhat apologetically, "Uncle, I'm so sorry, we need someone younger for this job. Why don't you go and see if there are any other openings?"
The man sighed, shook his head, and said, "It's alright. I was just here to try my luck. Since it's not a good fit, I won't make things difficult for you. Farewell."
After saying that, the man walked out of the crowd and left the pig's trotter shop.
Lin Xiaotang noticed two people behind her whispering to each other and glancing around at the place in the yard where the braising pots were set up. Their eyes were darting around, and they didn't seem like well-behaved people.
She suddenly realized that among these job applicants, some might have ulterior motives. Wanhe Restaurant had already made a name for itself, and their pig's trotter shop, influenced by Wanhe Restaurant, had gradually become famous in the county and was doing well. Surely some people would be envious and try every means to steal their skills. These two seemingly restless people might be here to steal their skills, or they might be spies planted by other restaurants.
She absolutely would not allow any parasites to infiltrate the pig's trotter shop!
So she tiptoed over and listened carefully to what the two were talking about.
One of the men covered his mouth and whispered, "I thought this pig's trotter shop was hiding something special, but it's just a few braising pots. If we knew what they put in them, we'd open one too, maybe it'd do even better business than this place..."
“Who says otherwise? If we can get the recipe, why would we need to work for the shopkeeper? We can just take the recipe and open our own shop. Why be a shop assistant? We can be the shopkeeper ourselves.”
"Shh, keep your voice down, don't let anyone hear you."
Lin Xiaotang walked between the two, tilting her head up and smiling innocently.
"Hey, uncles, sorry, I heard you. May I ask which restaurant owner sent you? As far as I know, there are several restaurants of all sizes in our county that sell braised pig's trotters. Don't you have your own recipe? Why are you here to pry into our recipe?"
Furthermore, you not only obeyed your boss's orders to steal our recipe, but you also harbored selfish motives, intending to open your own shop after stealing it. Not only are you disloyal to your boss, but you also have malicious intentions in coveting our braised pig's trotters recipe. If you know what's good for you, get out of here now, or we'll send you to see the authorities immediately.
Lin Xiaotang was innocent at first, but then she spoke sharply and sternly, which frightened the two guilty men so much that their legs went weak and they almost knelt down.
They immediately begged for mercy, saying, "Yes, yes... we're sorry, we were just talking nonsense because our mouths were itchy. Please don't take it seriously, please don't report us to the authorities. We'll leave now."
"Yes, yes...yes, let's get out, let's get out right now."
After saying that, the two of them ran off one after the other.
The remaining applicants looked at each other in disbelief. They hadn't expected that someone would sneak in and try to steal the pig's trotters shop's recipe while they were applying for a job as a waiter.
Luckily, the young maid of the master was clever and discovered the scheme of those two scoundrels; otherwise, their chance would have been snatched away by those two scoundrels.
Lin Qingchuan was also relieved. Luckily, his daughter could tell people from people. Otherwise, if these two people with bad intentions had really gotten in, their braised pig's trotter recipe would have been stolen, and the pig's trotter shop's business would have been greatly affected. Even Wanhe Restaurant would have been affected.
How will he explain this to Manager Su?
He cleared his throat and said with a serious expression, "Our pig's trotter shop may not be the biggest in the county, but we can absolutely guarantee that the wages we pay are among the best in the county. There are quite a few people applying for jobs today, and I believe that everyone really needs a job to support their family and really wants to work hard."
But just now, two people with ill intentions tried to sneak in and steal our braised pig's trotters recipe. Luckily, we saw through them in time, and they didn't succeed. If we had caught them red-handed, we would have definitely handed them over to the authorities.
So now I'm ringing the bell for everyone. If anyone still wants to steal the recipe, or has any other intentions, I advise you to give up now. You can still leave now, but if I find out later, I will definitely send you to the authorities and make you spend the rest of your lives in jail.
Most of these people were genuinely looking for work, but they didn't expect such a mishap to happen. They were afraid that Lin Qingchuan might be worried that there were still people with ulterior motives among them, so he sent them all back.
So everyone chimed in, saying, "Boss, we really came here because we heard the wages are high. If you're worried that there are any ulterior motives among us, feel free to check. If you find anyone dishonest, report them to the authorities immediately. We will all support sending that bad apple to the authorities."
"Yes, we can't let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch. We're all honest people who just want to find a stable job and earn some wages to support our families. Don't you all agree?"
"That's so true. We all came here for the high wages, but who knew we'd end up with those damned scoundrels."
"Boss, I swear, I will work diligently, do more and talk less. Please keep me."
Someone quickly added, "Boss, please keep me. I eat little, I'm strong, and I'm willing to work hard. You definitely won't lose out by choosing me."
Someone nearby immediately objected, saying, "Hey, with your silver tongue, you can't possibly be an honest person."
"That's right, we're all grown men, who isn't strong and willing to work hard? Who would apply for a job if they weren't willing to work hard?"
Because the pig's trotter shop was only hiring two people, more than ten people applied. Everyone was scrambling to get the job, afraid that they would be left out. It would be so frustrating if such a high salary went to someone else and they didn't get the chance.
In the courtyard, everyone was talking at once, and even got into a dispute, arguing until their faces were red.
Lin Qingchuan shouted, "Everyone, please be quiet and listen to me. Our pig's trotter shop only needs two people right now, and there are quite a lot of applicants. I want to remind everyone that we will definitely have some people selected and some people will not be selected. Those of us who are selected should not be arrogant. In the future, we will still have to rely on our abilities."
If the work doesn't match what was promised, we'll replace you. Those who aren't selected shouldn't take it to heart; Dushui County is big, and there are other jobs waiting for everyone.
Everyone gradually quieted down, their faces tense and their hearts pounding with anxiety.
Among them, some come from relatively well-off families and just want to find a high-paying job, while others come from average families and just want to apply for jobs that allow them to support their families.
Finally, Lin Xiaotang and her father looked around and found two young men who seemed honest and simple. They weren't handsome, but they were decent-looking and their eyes didn't wander around. They seemed to have a good sense of propriety.
A braised pig's trotter shop needs a tactful employee because there are many women and children in the family. If two employees who are not tactful were to offend the women, what would happen?
Lin Qingchuan singled out the two young men and asked, "What are your names?"
“Back to my employer, my name is Sun Xing.”
"My name is Zheng Fengchun."
The name sounded reassuring, and the father and daughter exchanged a glance before deciding on the person.
Lin Qingchuan looked at the remaining people and said, "Everyone, I'm sorry, we have chosen these two to stay. You can go back now. We have taken up a lot of your time today, so please give each of you one coin for tea."
I can't afford fine tea, but I can still have a cup of tea made from broken tea leaves.
Those who were not selected were initially very disappointed, but they never expected that they would still receive money, even if it was only one penny. But something is better than nothing.
Everyone immediately dropped their sour faces, smiled, stepped forward, took a coin from Lin Xiaotang, thanked her, and left.
Only Lin Qingchuan and his daughter, along with two newly hired employees, remained in the courtyard. The two employees were very polite and bowed to the father and daughter again.
"Greetings, Master. Greetings, Miss."
Lin Qingchuan smiled and said, "No need to be polite. Starting tomorrow, someone will guide you to familiarize yourself with the route. Our shop has people who specialize in braising pig's trotters, so you don't need to worry about that. We mainly supply pig's trotters to several restaurants."
Currently, each person spends half a day visiting one place and the second half buying live pig trotters. The starting wage is three taels of silver per month. If the work goes well, we will raise the wages. Is that acceptable to you?
Sun Xing immediately replied, "Yes, I can accept it. I'll follow the owner's arrangements."
They start by paying three taels of silver a month, and if you do well, you can get more money. What a great deal! You'd be hard-pressed to find one like this even with a lantern.
Zheng Fengchun nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, I can accept it. The employer pays three taels of silver a month, which is too much. If I hadn't just pinched myself, I would have thought I was dreaming."
"Since everyone can accept it, let's agree to it this way."
The next day.
Lin Qingchuan had Wu Yu and Shui Sheng each take a new employee to run the routes. The plan was to wait until the two employees memorized the routes and were able to deliver to the restaurants on their own before they would leave and focus on buying live pig trotters.