The "infighting" between Qin Huai and Qin Shan reached Qin Xiaoxiao's ears. She looked at the two little cubs sleeping sweetly and was worried that they would grow up under the doting of their elders and be difficult to discipline in the future.

However, she was so confident in disciplining her children that she gave up after muttering to herself twice.

At this time of year, we couldn't delay the work in the fields. Mr. Qin and others stayed for two days before going back. Before leaving, they hugged the two little ones and couldn't bear to let go. No matter how close they were, they couldn't get enough of each other.

Qin Xiaoxiao couldn't bear to leave them. If the two little guys weren't too young and worried that they wouldn't be able to adapt to another place, she would have really wanted to take them back to Qingshan Village to live for a while.

After not being able to return to Qingshan Village, she was not idle either. She planned to visit Xingyue Lake and explain the next matters to a few stewards who were helping her take care of the mountain.

Instructing the nannies to take good care of the two little ones, Qin Xiaoxiao took Xiqiao Xingtian into the carriage and headed towards Xingyue Lake.

Last winter, several hills suitable for growing tea trees in Xingyue Lake were cultivated, and tea saplings were planted during her confinement period. The few people Princess Protector gave her were very good at handling things, and they took care of things without letting her worry too much.

Done.

Because she was not informed in advance, several stewards did not know that she was coming, so no one went to greet her. When she arrived at a small house next to the tea garden, she saw several stewards gathering together to drink tea and chat.

This small house was built last year and was used as a residence for those who took care of the tea gardens. It is now also the residence of several managers.

Several stewards also saw her and hurriedly stood up to greet her and salute: "I've seen my wife before you!"

The Princess Protector's palace is very strict. Even if they are not under her nose, few people have the courage to cheat and cheat. They are about forty years old and are the old people in the Princess Protector's mansion. It is not easy for their masters to do so.

With your name in front of you, you don't dare to do anything random.

A while ago, they were busy with An Miao's affairs. They had a rare free time in the past two days, and the weather was neither cold nor hot, so they met to drink tea and chat. However, they did not expect that the new master would see it, and it was inevitable.

I felt guilty and worried about the censure of my new master.

"No gift." Qin Xiaoxiao's expression remained unchanged, looking at one of them and said: "Steward Tian, ​​I heard that the tea saplings have been planted. If it is convenient, please take me over to have a look."

Steward Tian is the chief steward among the four. He is usually the one who takes the lead in matters. He usually comes to the house to listen to Qin Xiaoxiao's arrangements.

"I don't dare, Madam, please." Steward Tian made a gesture hurriedly, bowed and led the way, reminding her to be careful where she steps from time to time.

The tea garden had just been built, and the road leading to the tea garden was very narrow and uneven. Fortunately, Qin Xiaoxiao grew up in the mountains, so walking on such a trail was not uncomfortable, and the group quickly arrived at the tea garden.

At this moment, there were still people on the mountain carrying buckets, busy going back and forth, watering the tea saplings that had been planted recently. She took a closer look and found that there were more than a dozen women mixed in, and she couldn't help but ask the field manager: "Can't we recruit them?"

Do male workers have to hire these female workers?”

Manager Tian felt nervous and replied anxiously: "Husband, madam, the work of watering seedlings is not heavy. These female workers are no worse than male workers, and the wages required are 20% less than male workers, so I hired them."

.”

This is true. To recruit male workers to do the work of planting seedlings and watering them, it costs 30 cents a day. For female workers, 24 cents is enough. It doesn't seem like much, but it adds up to a lot of money over time.

Qin Xiaoxiao made a calculation in his mind, nodded slightly and continued walking up the mountain.

Several stewards looked at each other, not sure whether they were tacitly agreeing that they could recruit female workers, or whether they were dissatisfied with them making their own decisions.

A steward surnamed Ding couldn't help but said: "Madam, these dozen female workers' natal families are unreliable and have been abused by their husband's family for more than ten years. The court changed the household marriage law a while ago, and they shed a layer of skin before they were removed."

My husband's family is divorced, and it sounds like he is a pitiful person."

Now Qin Xiaoxiao was surprised and couldn't believe it: "They all divorced their husbands?"

Manager Ding said hurriedly: "That's true. There were only two at the beginning. Later, the news about the tea garden recruiting female workers somehow spread, and so many came one after another."

If this continues, I am afraid that more and more women will come to work in the tea gardens in the future.

Qin Xiaoxiao looked at the female workers who were sweating profusely in the tea garden but did not dare to stop for a moment, and sincerely admired their courage: "Not bad!"

She didn't expect that her original intention of starting a plantation would help people who really needed help so quickly. It's hard to say whether these women have the courage to leave their oppressive husbands' families, and whether it has something to do with her recruitment of female workers here.

When Manager Tian and others saw this, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

When he arrived at the tea garden, Qin Xiaoxiao observed the tea saplings. He was very satisfied when he saw that most of the tea saplings had new leaves sprouting, and only a few were a little wilted.

Then, she observed the female workers again.

As Manager Tian said, they are indeed willing to work hard, and their work is no worse than that of male workers.

The female workers who were busy back and forth guessed Qin Xiaoxiao's identity, and they all became nervous and worked harder and harder.

Apart from their strength, they have no other ability to make a living. If the owner of the tea garden stops hiring them because they don't think they are doing a good job, they really don't know what to do.

Although I was forced to live by my husband's family before, life was worse than death. When I decided to leave my husband's family, I felt that it would be better to starve to death outside than to be bullied to death by them. Now that I have work and food, who doesn't want to live well?

.

Qin Xiaoxiao noticed their nervousness, smiled and left the tea garden, returning to the small house at the foot of the mountain.

Manager Tian was very conscious and immediately brought the account book: "Madam, here are the income and expenditure details of the tea garden in the past four months. Please take a look."

Qin Xiaoxiao took it and looked at it. Seeing that the accounts were careful and clear, and there were no discrepancies in the income and expenditure, he expressed approval: "I feel relieved that Manager Tian is doing the job."

Manager Tian felt relieved and said humbly: "Thank you for your praise, madam. This is the duty of a slave."

Qin Xiaoxiao put down her account book, pointed to the chairs on both sides and said, "Sit down and talk."

The four stewards sat down respectfully.

"The four people here are indispensable for being able to build a tea garden in just over half a year." Qin Xiaoxiao praised sincerely. The ability of these four people to do things is indeed beyond praise: "I have always made clear rewards and punishments. As long as you can do what I tell you,

Do it well and I won’t treat you badly.”

After saying that, she looked towards Xiqiao.

Xiqiao took out four identical money bags and gave them one to each of them.

This was prepared before coming. Each purse contains three taels of silver, which is enough for them to have one month's worth of silver.

Manager Tian and others were so surprised that they quickly stood up and thanked them: "Thank you, madam!"

Qin Xiaoxiao waved her hand and talked about another thing: "The female workers you recruited do a good job. As long as they are not lazy and slippery, their daily wages will be the same as male workers."

Steward Tian and others looked at each other, but Steward Tian stood up and said: "Madam, I think we can save money if we can, and those female workers have no objection."

Qin Xiaoxiao appreciated his sense of saving money and said with a smile: "Before, you also said that these female workers are no worse than male workers. In this case, they should be treated equally and given equal remuneration. But if someone works dishonestly, no matter what

Both men and women will have their wages reduced."

Manager Tian understood what she meant and responded respectfully: "Madam, don't worry, I will definitely do as you are told."

Qin Xiaoxiao nodded and continued: "The subsequent maintenance of the tea garden requires at least two fixed manpower. Let's see which two of the hired people are the most reliable. If they are willing, sign a fixed contract with them.

One tael of silver per month."

Manager Tian hurriedly said: "I have already made up my mind, and I will sign a contract with them according to Madam's wishes."

The subsequent maintenance of the tea garden is nothing more than weeding, irrigation, fertilization and fire prevention at a fixed time. There is no need for dozens of people to stay in it every day. When it is time to work, just hire a group of people.

For fire prevention, these two fixed personnel are needed to patrol day and night. The seedling stage is fine now, and in a few years the tea trees will produce tea, so we must be vigilant to prevent someone from setting fire to the forest.

In contrast, next year's mulberry orchard will require a lot of manpower. On the one hand, it is necessary to maintain the mulberry orchard, and on the other hand, it is necessary to raise silkworms. This is not something that a few people can do.

Immediately afterwards, Qin Xiaoxiao discussed the mulberry garden with them.

She planned to start a mulberry orchard next year, so she had to send two people to the south to buy dwarf mulberry seedlings and find some masters who were good at raising silkworms. Both of these were no small tasks.

After some discussion, it was finally decided that Manager Zhang and Manager Tao would go south.

The journey to the south is long and accidents are easy to occur. Qin Xiaoxiao did not set a time limit for the two stewards to return. As long as they can get things done while ensuring their own safety, she will not blame them even if they are delayed.

At noon, Qin Xiaoxiao and the others had no time to rush back to the capital, so they had a meal at the Villa in the Heart of the Lake.

The garden in the center of the lake was no different from the first time she came here. The flowers were in full bloom now, and the garden was full of birds and the fragrance of flowers. If she hadn't missed her two little cubs at home, she would have wanted to stay here for a few days before going back.

After returning to the mansion, she first went to the main hall.

Princess Protector was concerned about the tea garden and sent her back to her room to rest.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she stepped into the door of Anyiyuan, she heard two little guys crying at the top of their lungs, as if they had been greatly wronged. She thought something had happened and ran into the house quickly.

"What's going on? Why are you crying like this?" Seeing the nannies hugging the two cubs anxiously, Qin Xiaoxiao stepped forward to check on their condition.

Mingyue checked them before she came back, and said quickly: "There is nothing wrong with the two young masters. They may have fallen asleep."

As soon as the words fell, Qin Xiaoxiao stopped crying silently in her arms, moved around in the quilt, and stretched out a small hand restlessly.

Probably because my brother stopped crying, Nao Nai, who was still in the wet nurse's arms, also stopped crying and stretched out his two little paws.

Qin Xiaoxiao didn't know what the two little guys were doing, so he had to sit down and hold each other in his arms: "Why don't you cry again? You can't think that I want to cry, right?"

After saying that, she laughed first.

The little Zaizai, who is more than one month old, does not know how to recognize people. He usually feeds mostly on the wet nurse's milk. How could he miss her and cry?

How did she know that milk dolls can't recognize people, but they can distinguish smells. Even if they drink milk from the wet nurse and their own mother, they still prefer her arms.

I haven't been held by her all day today, so it's normal for me to cry and be unable to be coaxed.

Seeing that Qin Xiaoxiao didn't mean to blame them, the nannies felt relieved.

One of them said flatteringly: "You two young masters must be missing me and want to cry. My wife never cried like this at home before, but now she doesn't even cry when I hug you!"

Qin Xiao smiled, and when she saw the two little guys chirping, she felt a slight swelling in her chest, and said to the nannies, "You guys go down first."

Several wet nurses figured out her temper, and they went out happily.

Qin Xiaoxiao asked Xiqiao to fetch a basin of warm water, scrubbed his chest clean, and then picked up the two little ones who were waiting for feeding and fed them.

After they had eaten and drank enough, and finally fell asleep obediently, she also breathed a sigh of relief, held their little hands and sighed: "How can they be said to be able to run if they are so small?"
To be continued...