Chapter 320: Plague ( 1 )

Chapter 320: Plague ( 1 )

Hearing the young servant’s words, Yao Zhi sighed and said, "If you are grateful, then work hard. As long as you are loyal and work honestly, I will never mistreat you."

"We will remember your teaching, Master," the servants replied in unison.

"Alright. Get up and eat your food," Yao Zhi waved her hands.

While they were eating, she peeled some apricots and sliced them. Afterward, she put them on trays and baked them to make fruit chips. These would be given to the slaves as snacks to improve their vitamin intake.

After the servants finished their meals, Yao Zhi said, "Xi Yi will be responsible for managing the women. From now on, all of you will listen to her and follow her orders. The children can join Ah Qi and learn some words from Ah Si."

"Understood," the maidservants nodded.

"Master, you can leave this matter to me," Xi Yi said.

Yao Zhi nodded and turned to the male servants. "All of you, follow me."

She led them to the backyard and walked to her husband.

Fu Chen’an smiled when he saw his wife and said, "Wife, you are back."

"Husband, these are people I bought. There are 7 maidservants and 5 children. They will be under Xi Yi’s management. These people will be under Ling Yi’s command."

Fu Chen’an had no objection and nodded. "Okay."

"Husband, they will be responsible for taking care of the farmland. So, I want to build some houses for them on the land. The houses will be built separately, and they will be responsible for the land near their house."

Fu Chen’an considered it and said, "This is a good idea. This way, they don’t have to waste time walking to the land. It is also easier to watch the land at night."

"How many houses should we build?" Yao Zhi asked.

"We might need at least 10 houses to watch over all the farmland."

"Then let’s build 10 houses."

After they reached an agreement, Fu Chen’an went to inform the craftsmen. When they heard this, they were surprised. They thought this was a small project, but suddenly, the customer asked them to build a total of 17 houses.

"It might take a longer time to finish our job."

"It’s okay, we will pay you as per our agreement, 500 wen per day," Fu Chen’an said.

"Alright then."

With the craftsmen agreeing to take the job, Fu Chen’an ordered the servants to help build the bathhouses and toilets. With more people helping, the process speed increased drastically.

In the next few days, Fu Chen’an spent his time helping the craftsmen build houses.

The newly bought servants helped them take care of the farmland, so Yao Zhi no longer had to worry about no one watering and weeding the crops.

As for the maidservants, they help Xi Yi handle the house chores and cooking.

Now that they had entered the beginning of spring, Yao Zhi asked them to help her clean up the house and wash the winter clothes, blankets, and bedsheets.

With so many new faces appearing in her house, several villagers came for a visit on the 6th day since she bought the servants.

Seeing them coming, Yao Zhi stopped what she was doing and went to greet them. "Sisters-in-law, Aunts, what brought you all here so early?"

The Village Chief’s eldest daughter-in-law, Chen-shi, glanced at the women washing the bedsheets near the well and said, "Yao-shi, we heard that you brought a group of strangers back from the town. So we came to meet them."

After she said this, a middle-aged woman nodded and added, "We heard that a group of wanted criminals was seen near the mountain area. For everyone’s safety, we should be more careful."

Yao Zhi was taken aback by her words and asked, "Aunt Yang, where did you get the news? It’s a serious matter if a group of wanted criminals hides in the mountains."

Aunt Yang was the village chief’s cousin and known for her love of gossip.

When she saw that Yao Zhi was interested, she leaned closer and whispered, "I heard this from a friend of my brother-in-law’s friend’s son-in-law. This news is real, and they even posted the criminals’ drawings in the town."

Yao Zhi was really unaware of this matter and asked, "Aunt Yang, shouldn’t we strengthen our village’s safety measures? What if they come to our village and kill someone?"

Seeing her worries, Chen-shi quickly said, "Yao-shi, don’t worry. We already informed everyone to avoid going to the mountain until the government catches the criminals."

After hearing their words, Yao Zhi understood their intention of visiting today. She led them into the yard and said, "Sister-in-law, these people are servants I bought from the town to help me take care of my farmland."

"Their backgrounds are clear, and they are registered in the Yamen. So, everyone can rest assured. In the future, they will be staying at the houses built on my farmland and won’t bother the villagers."

When Chen-shi heard this, she clenched her fists. She glanced at the villagers and decided not to ask Yao Zhi about her husband’s job now.

Noticing her deep frown, Yao Zhi held her hand and said in a low voice, "Sister-in-law, these people will be responsible for taking care of the farmland. I still have to depend on Brother Dalang to manage my land."

The moment she heard this, Chen-shi understood. The offer was still valid, and she heaved a sigh of relief. She smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Yao-shi."

"Sister-in-law, your family has helped me a lot. It’s only natural for me to repay your kindness."

Chen-shi was delighted by her words. But she still knew that Yao Zhi’s kindness and generosity couldn’t be taken for granted.

Since her husband would work for Yao Zhi, she couldn’t treat her as casually as before. After all, she would become their family’s employer in the future.

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Yao Zhi didn’t bring them to the backyard but showed them the newly planted gardens.

Everyone was curious about what she was building in the backyard. But without her permission, they didn’t dare to go. After all, her husband was a squad leader in the army.

Twenty minutes later, the villagers left, and she continued washing the bedsheets.