Hiring farmhands

While Rong Zheng was taking his exam, Ye Yun handled hiring farmhands for their household. He went to Yao Jizheng's home in a remote spot at the edge of the village.

He saw Yao Jizheng's wife, Madam Ding, sorting firewood, presumably to take to town to sell. She picked out the good pieces and tied them into bundles. Most villagers cut their own firewood in the mountains and would not spend money buying it.

Madam Ding was a little puzzled to see Ye Yun, but her hands did not stop moving. The firewood had to be taken to town that afternoon to sell. Her family did not have enough to eat, so she had to make every moment count. "What brings you here, Yun-ge'er?"

A child of about five heard someone arrive and poked his head out of the main room, looking curiously at Ye Yun. His clothes were very old and did not fit him; they had probably been passed straight down from an older child.

Madam Ding was in her thirties, but years of hard work had left her looking haggard. She had more wrinkles than other women her age and looked to be in her forties.

Ye Yun walked into the courtyard and said, "Auntie Ding, here's the thing. Spring plowing is almost here, and we have thirteen mu of land. We'd like to hire farmhands to work it. Since your family doesn't have any fields, I came to ask whether you'd be willing."

"Really?" Thinking she had misheard, Madam Ding hurriedly stood up to confirm it.

Her family had no paddy fields and relied entirely on odd jobs to buy grain. But there was too little work in the village, and they could not do the jobs available in town. They wanted to work for a landlord too, but the landlords already had regular farmhands, leaving no openings for their family.

Life was so hard that they had not even been willing to buy meat for the New Year. They were nearly out of rice; where would they find money for meat? Their youngest child drooled whenever he smelled meat and cried and screamed terribly.

They had been in no mood to celebrate the New Year, all of them worrying about how they would get through the coming year.

Ye Yun nodded. "Yes, Auntie."

Madam Ding was overjoyed. Her eyes, dulled by years of labor, instantly lit up. She dropped the firewood in her hands and hurried to invite him inside to sit. This was a wonderful job-more than ten mu of land that would need tending over a long period. That meant many days of work and a good deal of wages.

But amid her delight, she stopped again, her expression turning slightly awkward. Ye Yun wore new clothes and was so good-looking, like a young nobleman.

Her house was too dark inside, and her youngest child was standing there in ragged clothes, peering out. Ah, it was truly shabby. She felt too embarrassed to invite him inside.

Afraid her prospective employer would turn up his nose and she would lose this good job, she eagerly went inside and brought two stools into the courtyard. The sunlight was good here, making it look a little tidier. She wiped a stool with her sleeve before asking Ye Yun to sit.

Then she washed her hands, dried them on her clothes, and poured Ye Yun a bowl of boiled water. They were so poor that they did not even have tea leaves.

Looking slightly embarrassed, she said, "We rarely have visitors, so we don't have any tea. Here, have some water."

Ye Yun accepted it and said, "I've discussed it with my husband. We'll pay seventy wen per person per day."

Heavens, that was very good pay. Landlords only paid their farmhands sixty-five wen a day, so this was five wen more. Madam Ding grew even more respectful. "Then how many people are you planning to hire, Yun-ge'er?"

This was very important. There was only so much land. If there were more people, the work would be divided among them, leaving fewer days of work and less money.

"Just you and Uncle Yao, for the thirteen mu."

Madam Ding's face blossomed into a smile. Her family had very few odd jobs, and the two of them could easily tend those ten-odd mu of land.

At last, they had something to count on for the coming year. Perhaps they could even eat a meal of meat on festive occasions. Seeing her children so sallow and thin pained her too, and she wanted them to have better lives.

She promised, "Don't worry, Yun-ge'er. Old Yao and I work hard. We certainly won't drag things out and make you waste money."

"Of course I trust you, Auntie."

As they spoke, Yao Jizheng came in carrying a heavy load of firewood on his shoulder. Two sons of around thirteen or fourteen followed him, both carrying firewood on their backs. Behind them was a daughter of eight or nine with a vegetable basket over her arm. She had probably gone into the mountains with them to gather mushrooms and wild fruit.

Yao Jizheng was an honest, straightforward man with a dark complexion. Seeing his wife chatting with Ye Yun with a beaming smile, he was puzzled for a moment. Madam Ding had not smiled once in all these days.

They had not even been able to afford meat for the New Year, and the whole family had been deeply subdued. Life grew harder by the day, and they had even considered selling one of their children. But they could not bear to do it. All they could do was each eat a little less and scrape through one day at a time.

After he put down the firewood, Madam Ding called him over and happily told him that they were going to be hired as farmhands.

Yao Jizheng was thrilled to hear it. His eyes suddenly shone, and he hurriedly said respectfully, "Thank you, Boss."

They had not even signed the contract yet, but he was already calling him that. He wanted this job so badly.

Ye Yun said, "Uncle Yao, here's the situation. We'll have to wait until my husband comes back to sign the contract. If you trust me, you can start tending the fields now. You can come to our house to have each day you work recorded, and we'll settle the wages once a month."

Yao Jizheng said, "Yes, yes, Boss. Of course we trust you. The two of us will start working in your fields tomorrow. We'll make sure they're beautifully tended."

Ye Yun said, "If you tend the fields well and produce more grain, we'll ask you to keep managing them next year."

Yao Jizheng said, "Yes, yes."

The next day, Yao Jizheng and Madam Ding went to work in Ye Yun's fields, carrying hoes and sickles.

A villager working in the neighboring field saw them. "Old Yao, has Rong Zheng's household hired you and your wife to work their land?"

Yao Jizheng wiped away his sweat and smiled. "Yes. Rong Zheng is our employer from now on."

Their employer? Did that mean they had been hired long-term?

The villager went on to ask, "Have they left all their fields to the two of you?"

Yao Jizheng said, "Yes, they've left all thirteen mu to my wife and me." He chuckled. "We'll have plenty to keep us busy now!"

He was happy. Such a good job meant a great deal to his family. He had to do his utmost and satisfy his employer.

The villager was astonished. How lavish! Only Landlord Ye's family could afford to hire long-term farmhands in this village. Rong Zheng had quite a bit of money on hand.

Soon, the villagers began talking about Rong Zheng's household again.

"Did you hear? Rong Zheng has started hiring farmhands to tend his fields long-term."

"Really? Heavens, his family has quite a bit of money! They can afford farmhands now."

"Indeed. That's quite lavish by our village's standards. His style is almost on par with a landlord's."

"What do you mean, on par? He might be even grander than a landlord in the future. He's the only scholar in our village. I heard he went to the county town for an exam a few days ago! If he earns scholarly honors, he'll become an official!"

"Pfft, aren't you getting ahead of yourself? He's taken the exam several times already and never passed, has he? Who knows whether he'll make it this time!"

"Exactly. He's taken it three times, so this must be the fourth, right? Ah, Rong Zheng is rather slow when it comes to studying."

"Why don't you try taking it, then? You barely know a few characters yourself, yet you have the nerve to call him slow!"

"Oh, get lost. Anyway, even if Rong Zheng passes this time, I think he'll only be a tongsheng. That doesn't make him an official!"

"I heard there are plenty of tongsheng in town. People there don't think much of that status. It's only because scholars are so few out here in the countryside that we think it's something special."