Ch. 141..145: The Princess of Northern Land Chapter 141-145

Chapter 141: Chapter 141: Stirring Wind and Rising Water (5)_1

"When will we ever finish clearing such a large area?" Wu Dayou sighed.

"Even if we could finish, we shouldn’t do it entirely. But don’t worry, with this little manpower we have, it may take us hundreds of years to clear it completely." Lin Ziyin said with a laugh.

The old man, looking out at the endless wasteland, nodded approvingly, "This place is too vast, no one has ever said that it could be traversed completely. To clear it completely is no small task."

"Why can’t we clear it completely?" Zige asked curiously.

"This wasteland is home to many birds, or it’s a stopover for them when they migrate south. If we clear it all, where would the birds go? Also, every place, even every blade of grass, tree or river, has its own laws of survival. If we change too much artificially, nature will definitely revenge against us." Lin Ziyin explained using the simplest principles since he couldn’t explain topics such as soil erosion and wetland conservation to everyone.

"What Ziyin said is right." The old Master Lin nodded, "We have already borrow some survival space from nature, we shouldn’t be too greedy."

The people who came agreed repeatedly.

"Or, tomorrow Dayou and I can hand over the oil mill tasks to others and we can both come here to reclaim the land." Lin Changshu considered the problem of manpower as well.

"I can also come here." Guo Huiniang said, forgetting her fear.

"No." Lin Ziyin shook his head, "The oil mill surely needs you to keep an eye on it. I have other arrangements for the reclamation work. I am planning to hire people from the village, offering them 25 copper coins per day for physical labor. Meals are not provided."

"How much silver will that take?" Guo Huiniang sounded worried, "The household affairs don’t require much of my attention now. If I am idle, I might as well come here and do something."

"Sister-in-law, you and sister should focus on the kitchen work. We will leave Cui family and Hong Zhong to manage this place. During our free time, grandfather and I will look after this place." Lin Ziyin responded, contemplating about the kind of people needed, "Grandfather and brother, you must know who is industrious in the village. When we hire people this afternoon, you guys must filter the candidates well. We don’t need those who are lazy and crafty."

"Of course." Lin Changshu agreed.

"I will also accompany and see." Wu Dayou was very interested in this matter.

Once the Lin family returned to the village, Lin Ziyin, Lin Changshu, the old master, and Wu Dayou got together with Lou Zheng and explained their purpose.

"You’re going to reclaim the wasteland near Heihe?" Upon hearing Lin Ziyin’s word, Lou Zheng’s mouth dropped open in surprise, "That black soil is ominous, how do you take a fancy to such a wasteland?"

"I am partnering with the Prince and the Temple. The Prince was delighted and gave me this piece of land. If I declined, wouldn’t I be slapping on the Prince’s face?" Lin Ziyin said, half-truthfully and half-falsely.

The old man and others, hearing this, did not expose her lies.

Lou Zheng was one of the few who knew about Lin Ziyin’s intention to start the Vegetarian Feast with Ding’an Temple and the Prince, so he really believed what Lin Ziyin told him. "Since this is the Prince’s good intention, you really cannot refuse. These days, the people in the village don’t have much to do and many men go out to cities or markets looking for work. If you provide work, there will definitely be people willing to do it. Moreover, the wages you are giving are five copper coins more than those offered outside."

"Then could Uncle Lou Zheng announce it in the village that we are waiting at home for people to come looking for jobs?" Lin Ziyin said.

"Alright, I will send someone over in the afternoon." Lou Zheng agreed.

After discussing the main matters, Lin Ziyin and the others headed back home.

Chapter 142: Chapter 142: Stirring Wind and Rising Water (6)_1

"The Lin family is having better and better days. With the Ding’an Temple and the Prince looking after them, they’re definitely going to be alright in the future. They are kind-hearted and as they thrive, they think of providing the villagers with a way to make money. Now, even within the village, people have work to do. They won’t keep their eyes on Dazhuang and others anymore," said Mother Zhang, chattering on.

"Mother, I’m afraid some people won’t be satisfied even when they benefit from this," Mrs. Yu said with some worry.

"Ziyin specifically said that we shouldn’t deal with the cunning ones. I’ve got this figured out. Old Man Lin has been in the village for much of his life, wouldn’t he know who can be hired and who cannot?" Lou Zheng glared at her as he spoke.

"Why are you glaring at your daughter-in-law? She’s making a point. The Lin family’s good deed could attract trouble instead. Some people cannot bear to see others do well. Even if they benefit, they might not appreciate the kindness. If they don’t get chosen, who knows if they would cause a scene in front of you, the village head," Mother Zhang rained on his parade.

Lou Zheng was taken aback, realizing there were always a couple of discontented families in the village.

Zige and Guo Huiniang were afraid that the villagers would come early to apply, so once they got home, they quickly made lunch, rushing to fill their stomachs.

Sure enough, as soon as they put down their bowls, noisy sounds came from outside the courtyard.

"I’ll go take a look," Lin Changshu stood up and said as he put down his bowl.

"I’m going too," the old man chimed in.

Ziyin was undoubtedly going to check it out as well, so she ran along, trailing behind the old man and Lin Changshu.

"Old Lin, is your family really hiring? Twenty-five copper coins a day?" Someone shouted out loud the moment they saw them.

"Able-bodied men are paid twenty-five copper coins a day —we don’t provide food," Lin Changshu clarified on behalf of the old man. "There’s another type of work, measured by field size, with payment calculated accordingly."

"How are you calculating it by field size?" someone anxiously asked. If it was more profitable to do it this way, he certainly wanted to choose this method. With the hot weather and people idle at home, he might make a profit.

"For field size, it’s fifty cents per acre," replied Lin Changshu. This number was also calculated. A capable man could till about half an acre in a day, so fifty cents per acre was reasonable.

"In that case, count my family in," someone shouted.

"We’ll also follow the per-acre method."

...

When it came down to it, most people chose to calculate their payment per acre.

"Hold on," Ziyin suddenly spoke up. But seeing her as a young girl, the villagers didn’t take her seriously. They all hovered around the old man and Lin Changshu, fearing they’d lose out.

Ziyin sneered and stepped aside.

"Quiet," the old man sternly spoke up. "If this continues, no one will have work."

This statement had an intimidating effect, and the crowd fell silent immediately.

Some people were not happy with the serious appearance of the old man, but they needed the job from the Lin family. So, though they disagreed, no one dared to speak up.

"The Heihe land was granted to Ziyin by the Prince, so Ziyin’s name is on the deed. She will be the one calculating your final wages," the old man explained.

All land belonging to Ziyin! Everyone looked at Ziyin in surprise.

"Ziyin, we are neighbors. You’ve given the Bai Family thirty copper coins as wages. You must not favor them over us," another "neighbor" from Lin family’s left, with a face full of dissatisfaction, continually grumbled.

Ziyin recognized this fat woman.

The fat woman’s family name was Zhou. Although she claimed to be a neighbor of the Lins, her home was quite a distance away. At least, it took half an incense stick’s time to walk home. Previously when the Lin family was poor, Zhou’s wife often humiliated them. Furthermore, since the fat woman was good friends with Yan, since Zige’s marriage with the Ma family was called off, she often gossiped about Zige in the village.

Chapter 143: Chapter 143: Stirring Wind and Rising Water (7)_1

"Right, right, we’re all from the same village, Ziyin, you can’t show favoritism like this," someone else starts shouting.

Changshu and the old man are a little anxious. The people in the village see each other all the time, they can’t afford to sour their relations with them. Ever since Ziyin woke up, she’s been notably stubborn. These people better not provoke her.

"If you feel it’s unfair, auntie, you are more than welcome not to do the work." As expected, Lin Ziyin responded rudely as soon as the fat woman finished speaking.

"What are you talking about? Lin Ziyin, don’t you bully people just because your family has a bit of money." The fat woman immediately accused Lin Ziyin.

"Who am I bullying?" Lin Ziyin held her ground, "The money is mine, the strength is yours. I exchange my reasonable payment for your strength. If you think it’s unfair, you don’t have to take the job, as I said, I can’t bully you without your permission."

After speaking, she looked at the fat woman with a mocking smile.

"How did you not bully us? You pay the Bai family thirty coins a day for three people, why do you short us five coins?" The fat woman protested.

Whether she accepted it or not, Lin Ziyin wasn’t going to indulge her.

"Auntie, let’s discuss this civilly." Lin Changshu stepped in to mediate, out of respect for their shared village ties.

"No, we won’t settle this until we get an explanation today." The fat woman, far from backing down, raised an even bigger fuss. "She can’t just get away with bullying people like that."

"Anyone else think the wage I offer is unreasonable?" From her seat on the chair Yu Qiaoqiao brought for her, Lin Ziyin addressed the crowd.

The crowd fell silent.

Everyone might have initially thought they were getting a good deal with a daily wage of 25 coins. However, after the Zhou family caused a scene, many started to get greedy. If the Zhou family succeeded, maybe the Lin family would raise their daily wage to 30 coins, an extra five a day, only a fool wouldn’t want that.

So, quite a few were biding their time.

"Those willing to accept the twenty-five coin wage, come to the right." Lin Ziyin guesses what most of the crowd were thinking.

A portion of the crowd unhesitatingly moved to the right to line up.

"Anyone else?" Lin Ziyin asked again.

A few more hesitant people stepped forward, leaving not too many villagers remaining, but there were still seven or eight families.

"Grandfather, brother." Lin Ziyin waved them over, "Come with me to the yard."

"Ok." Lin Changshu cast a rueful look at the still-fussing crowd, then went grumpily into the yard.

Some people wanted to follow them into the yard to see, but the likes of Yu Shaohui were guarding the entrance like door gods.

Seeing this, they had no choice but to give up and continue waiting in the shade.

It wasn’t long before the three people from the Lin family emerged again.

The summer sun was scorching, many of the people standing outside had sweated through their clothes: seeing Lin Ziyin and the others finally emerge they started to grumble.

"What’s going on? You’ve left everyone out here in the sun."

"Just got a bit of money and they’re putting on airs?" Others were even more blunt in their criticism.

These people were very sure that the Lin family wouldn’t dare to fall out with them - after all, there were quite a few people standing on their side.

"We’re very sorry for the long wait," the one to speak was still Lin Ziyin.

"Hurry up, the sun is hot, we feel like we’re being roasted," someone yelled out loudly.

The vast majority of the villagers were standing on the right, their expressions were relatively calm.

"Today’s recruitment is over. Those standing on the right, please come over here to register," Lin Ziyin loudly declared, every word clear, so everyone could hear her.

Upon hearing this, some people were happy while others were distressed.

"Lin Ziyin, what are you playing at? You’ve made your decision before we’ve even settled things?" An unhappy member of the Zhou family challenged her, his rotund figure quite imposing.

"I’m sorry, but our family is very modest, this is the most we can afford to pay. If you all feel it’s too little, there’s nothing I can do. I can’t delay your income because I can’t pay enough. So, I have to go with those who don’t think the pay is too low," Lin Ziyin answered calmly with a smile.

The fat woman was stunned, the others too, caught off guard.

"Lin Ziyin, you can’t do this." The fat woman grew desperate, seeing Lin Ziyin ignore her, she rushed towards Lin Ziyin, but Yu Qiaoqiao quickly blocked her. "Have you no respect?"

"Can respect be exchanged for money?" Lin Ziyin retorted, "If I can’t afford you, then I can’t afford you, I can’t hire you and then when it comes time to pay, just give you respect instead of money, can I? I’m guessing you wouldn’t accept that."

"You made it very clear you were hiring, but now that we’re all here you aren’t hiring anyone. What do you mean by this?" Zhou Dasheng also stepped forward to accuse Lin Ziyin.

"I didn’t mean anything by it. My money is my own, and I’ll use whoever I want to use. Even if you complain to heaven and earth, it won’t faze me. Who said I fooled all of you? Didn’t I just hire a big bunch of people? I can’t be expected to hire every Tom, Dick and Harry that shows up, can I?" Lin Ziyin’s words were quite harsh.

"Exactly, you guys were the ones who didn’t want to be hired." The chosen people immediately responded.

"In any case, it’s the employer who chooses the workers, not the workers who choose the employer." A more realistic person spoke the blunt truth.

"Qian Xuan, record the names of the people we’ve hired, and note down how they want to be paid. Once you’re done with that, all of you can gather up at Heihe tomorrow," Lin Ziyin didn’t want to stand under the boiling sun at noon any longer, so she quickly delegated the tasks to her servant, then without acknowledging the awkwardly standing group of people, she and the old man and Lin Changshu went into the yard.

Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Thinking About (1)_1

"People should be content," said a chosen worker, looking at the gloomy faces of those not picked. He shook his head, sighed, and walked away with a few others. They had to hurry back home to prepare their tools; their whole family needed to start working the next day in order to earn as much as they could this summer.

They didn’t have the luxury to meddle in others’ affairs.

"Why weren’t we picked?" the remaining people were taken aback. They didn’t say anything wrong, did they? If Lin Ziyin wasn’t satisfied with their wages, couldn’t they negotiate? How could they simply be rejected?

"What should we do now?" they asked each other, completely clueless.

"We can’t just let them disregard us," Zhou Dasheng fumed. The Zhou family was accustomed to taking advantage of others, having routinely exploited the Lin family. Now that the Lin family had moved, why the cold shoulder?

"Disregard us? Who are you kidding?" some selected workers who were still around retorted, regarding Dasheng with scorn. "The money is owned by the Lin family. They can choose whom they want to employ. Even if you went to complain to the emperor himself, you wouldn’t have a leg to stand on."

Having said that, they brushed off the disgruntled group and went their own ways.

"Summon Lin Changshu, give us an explanation!" a stout woman yelled defiantly at the entrance of the Lin’s residence.

Qian Xuan and his group watched all this with indignant hearts. Yu Shaohui and Kong Yier scoffed, strode over, and thrust their palms onto a large wooden beam. In an instant, the thick beam shattered to splinters, some of which flew and hit the people, causing them to cry out in pain.

"Are you not content with the wages? Then, find some wealthy employer in the market. As Mr. Lin said, if he can’t afford you, he definitely won’t hire you. As for those who want to stir up trouble, we’re not afraid. We have justice on our side, and the king of Feng City is known for his fair governance. If you get hurt while causing trouble here, we’re not afraid to argue our case at the government offices," Qian Xuan taunted standing up.

The color drained from many faces in response to Shaohui and Yier’s display of force. Who would dare provoke them further?

Truthfully, these people were just interested in getting benefits. Deep down, they merely subscribed to a peasant-like mentality, often bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Therefore, the way Shaohui and his group handled the situation was spot-on, and the crowd dispersed almost instantaneously.

"If you refuse the toast, you must drink a forfeit," Kong Yier laughed, watching the retreating figures with disdain.

"Enough, don’t stir up more trouble for the master," Yu Shaohui said.

"Understood." Yier nodded, grabbed a table and walked into the courtyard with Shaohui following behind.

Qian Xuan watched them go with a somber expression, then silently stepped into the courtyard.

The strenuous cultivation work started the next day.

"Ziyin, what should we do with the chopped reeds?" someone asked.

"Place them on the empty ground over there," Lin Ziyin instructed, pointing in the distance.

"What about the reed roots?" weren’t a problem amongst the experienced farmers, even if the job was tough. What troubled them more were the reed roots in the ground.

This plant had developed roots, making it extremely tough to eradicate fully from the mud.

"You have to dig them out," Lin Ziyin replied. "For those areas with reeds, you get an extra twenty copper coins per acre," Ziyin announced.

"Great, we will make sure to completely remove the reed roots." The promise of extra pay excited everyone.

Every family chosen for the job threw all they had into the effort. The adults chopped and flipped the soil, while older children and the elderly carried reeds and gathered roots. In this way, large families had the advantage, and by midday, many families were working efficiently and harmoniously together.

Chapter 145: Chapter 145: Thinking About (2)_1

Having a tacit understanding naturally speeds up progress.

Lin Ziyin counts the number of workers. The principal labor force consists of around a hundred or so people. The number is insufficient, she shakes her head secretly.

You must understand, in ancient times, without mechanization, everything relied on manpower. Therefore, the progress made in a day isn’t much.

Lin Ziyin doesn’t expect to be able to marshal her forces in the manner of the Imperial Court when they first colonized the North Wilderness, with a hundred thousand soldiers going into battle and countless good men and women across the great rivers of the North and South settling down in the North Wilderness to reclaim the wasteland. Even that was achieved with the help of mechanization.

As she watches the busy workers, she considers whether or not to recruit more people from the outer villages to work.

She is inclined to act upon her thoughts. After lunch, she discusses her plans with the old man.

"Although the weather is getting warmer, thankfully there isn’t much farming work to do and many people at the market are looking for work. If you need help, you should be able to recruit quite a few people." Lin Changshu agrees with her opinion.

"I’m also thinking of selling a few more workable oxen." Lin Ziyin continues.

"That’s great." Guo Huiniang is delighted upon hearing this. Oxen are the lifeblood of farming families. Given the Lin Family’s previous circumstances, they definitely couldn’t afford oxen. But now, having oxen not only adds wealth to the family but also provides a measure of security.

"Given the future expansion of the land, we will need to buy some livestock. Since you’ve thought it through, let’s visit the livestock market this afternoon." The old man agrees with her idea.

"You don’t know how to buy livestock. Just wait at home while Dayou and I, along with one or two others, handle it." Lin Changshu, aware that Lin Ziyin’s outings always attract trouble, hurriedly stops her from going with them.

"I will accompany them." The old man declares, "Ziyin, you keep an eye on things here."

Lin Ziyin, aware of her family’s concerns, agrees with a smile.

"Ziyin, don’t worry. With grandpa and big brother around, we’ll surely bring back good creatures." Wu Dayou comforts her with a smile.

"Just buy as many as we can afford." Lin Ziyin says. In reality, she doesn’t have much money, barely more than a thousand taels.

Saving some money to pay the workers, Lin Ziyin reserves three hundred taels for herself and gives the remaining thousand to Lin Changshu to handle.

Being well-funded speeds things up. By dusk, when the old man and others returned to the village, they brought back six large oxen and a calf. The fur of these animals shone with health, and their muscles bulged, making it clear they were good oxen.

Almost every household in the village had gone off to reclaim the wasteland, so there were fewer people left in the village and not many bystanders.

But the Ma Family saw everything.

This time when Lin Ziyin recruited workers, Ma Dalang didn’t participate. Firstly, because of Ma Erlang’s actions, if the Ma Family showed up, the Bao Family would certainly hold a grudge. Secondly, the Lin Family didn’t welcome the Ma Family, so even if they went, the Lin Family wouldn’t assign them any work.

However, these days, seeing the whole village discussing the affairs of the Lin Family, the Dalang family was already regretful.

Especially Ma Zhicai, upon hearing that the wasteland Lin Ziyin owns was gifted to her directly by the Prince, and that the Lin Family has a good relationship with the monks at Ding’an Temple, he was filled with regret.

If only he hadn’t rejected Lin Zige, the house built for Wu Dayou by the Lin Family would have not only been his own, but he would have also established relationships with the Prince, the Si Family, and Ding’an Temple. His future prospects would have been incredibly bright.

In the morning, he saw Lin Zige wearing a lake green summer dress. She was once his fiancée.