Chapter 100: Chapter 100 Trouble in the Village (2)_1 Chapter 100: Chapter 100 Trouble in the Village (2)_1 “It’s so comfy.” Changting is rolling around on the heated brick bed with Yanzhi following.
Watching this, Lin Changshu felt gratified. It felt as though all the fatigue accumulated throughout these days was worthwhile.
“Miss Lin, the tools you requested are bought today,” Si Si said, stopping by in his cart early in the morning.
“Alright.” Lin Ziyin nodded.
“Deliver it to the oil mill on the outskirts,” she instructed Si Si, “Thank you for your hard work.”
“Move.” Si Si commanded the young servant who was with him. During that time when Si Jinhan injured Lin Ziyin, Si Si had been his accomplice, and had henceforth always carried guilt towards Lin Ziyin. Therefore, he was always eager to help out with anything that Lin Ziyin directed.
“This is the spot, thank you very much,” Lin Ziyin said to the young servant upon arriving at the oil mill.
The young servant then placed everything down.
“What do we do with all these things?” Wu Dayou, looking into a pile of iron tools for a good while, could not figure out what to do with them.
With a light smile, Lin Ziyin said to him, “You and my brother can lend a hand, and I will assemble.”
Because she didn’t want Si Jinhan to know her business strategies, the design blueprint she had previously given him was of the machine parts only.
“Let us do the heavy lifting,” said Lin Changshu.
Thus, the three of them got to work: Lin Ziyin fetched the wooden stand she built, and by the end of the morning, she had assembled a simple oil press.
“When do we start pressing oil?” Lin Changshu asked.
“We can start tomorrow. But we need more workers here at the oil mill, and we will be short-handed at the tofu store,” Lin Ziyin said.
“What do we do, then?” Wu Dayou and Lin Changshu began to worry.
“Why not hire some people?” Ziyin suggested, “Brother, please ask Brother Bai and Brother Bai Er to come. And bring Wu Dali and Wu Erli from Lou Zheng’s house.”
“How much should we pay in wages?” Lin Changshu asked.
“Wages will be twenty-five Wen a day.” Lin Ziyin replied, “Their tasks must be restricted to grinding soymilk and steaming soybeans. However, we must make them sign an agreement that they won’t disclose the Lin family’s recipes, otherwise they will be required to compensate. Furthermore, they will need to avoid interfering with the Lin family’s most important procedures.”
Lin Changshu felt torn. It felt as though he was not trusting his fellow villagers by getting them to sign an agreement.
“The agreement must be signed.” Lin Ziyin firmly held her ground.
“Alright then,” Lin Changshu agreed, planning to discuss this matter with everyone in the evening.
However, by evening, a serious incident occurred in the village.
“Dear, how could you just leave like this?” The chilling cries pierced through the black night, sending shivers down spines.
“What happened?” Ziyin asked.
“I don’t know,” Zige shook his head.
“I’m going out to check,” Lin Changshu said.
“I’m coming with you,” Wu Dayou quickly stood up.
After the two men hurriedly left, Guo Huiniang quickly bolted the door.
Although living in a large house was nice, many of the rooms were unoccupied, making the house seem empty and a bit anxiety-inducing at night.
Lin Changshu and Wu Dayou were gone for a long time and didn’t return, making Lin Ziyin anxious.
“I’m going out to check.” The cries outside multiplied, intensifying the fear; children crying for their fathers, wives crying for their husbands, people arguing—the signs of a disaster were clear. Everyone in the house was becoming uneasy.
“I’m going, too,” Guo Huiniang said, “I’ll bring the kids.”
All the members of the Lin family then went out, following the light of a fire to the open space at the entrance of the village.
The area was filled with most of the villagers. Because there were so many people, Ziyin couldn’t see the people who were crying inside the crowd, nor could she figure out what was going on.
“Shuanzhu’s wife, hang in there. You still have a child in your belly,” someone yelled from the middle of the crowd.
Then there was a flurry of commotion again.
Shuanzhu’s wife? A shy young woman flashed across Ziyin’s mind.
“What’s the matter?” Guo Huiniang finally spotted Lin Changshu in the crowd while holding two children.
“Fang Shuanzhu and the Wei brothers went to the city for work and ran into a spy from Tatar who got in, they’ve been killed,” Lin Changshu answered sorrowfully.