Chapter 57: Two New Rules

Aunt Wu’s words rang out with conviction, instantly stirring the villagers into a flurry of discussion.

Seeing everyone pointing fingers and whispering about him, Li Sanshui panicked on the spot. He hurriedly protested, “You’re making things up! I—I… When did I ever shirk my duties? I’ve been working hard all day, haven’t I? I didn’t slack off!”

Aunt Wu merely sneered and asked, “Do you even believe that yourself? You claim you worked hard—who saw you? Why don’t you find someone now who can vouch for you?”

Li Sanshui was at a loss for words, sweat beading on his forehead as he stood there, helpless.

At that moment, voices began to rise from among the villagers.

“Now that Aunt Wu mentions it, I don’t think I saw Li Sanshui at all today.”

“I did see him, but that was only at lunch. After he finished eating, he disappeared.”

Perhaps out of frustration, Li Sanshui suddenly lost his temper. Pointing at Aunt Wu, he shouted, “You old woman! Just because last time I accidentally dug up a few of your vegetables, you’re still holding a grudge after all these months!”

Aunt Wu immediately raised her voice in retort, “Li Sanshui, you’ve got some nerve bringing that up. You were clearly stealing from my field, yet you have the gall to call it a mistake? Do you not know how far your house is from mine? Who would believe your story?”

Turning to the crowd, Aunt Wu spread her hands and asked, “Well, do you all believe him? Do you?”

The villagers all shook their heads.

At that, Li Sanshui could no longer endure the humiliation. Flustered, he grabbed his axe and slunk away in disgrace.

Xu Mo stepped forward and said to Aunt Wu, “Thank you, Aunt Wu.”

Aunt Wu quickly replaced her stern look with a genial smile. “Oh, Master Xu, there’s no need to thank me. Our village has benefited from you, so of course, we’ll work hard for you…”

She gestured in the direction Li Sanshui had fled and continued, “Li Sanshui is notorious in our village for being lazy and idle. The moment I saw him this morning, I knew what he was up to. So I kept an eye on him, and sure enough, my suspicions were right!”

When she finished speaking, Xu Mo immediately announced Aunt Wu’s appointment as head of logistics. Those villagers who hadn’t known earlier quickly crowded around to offer their congratulations.

Aunt Wu’s face beamed with pride, her smile so broad it nearly reached her ears.

Xu Mo then turned and said, “Huihui, my dear, please carry on with distributing the wages.”

“All right, cousin,” Xu Hui answered at once, while Chen Miaoyi nodded in agreement.

…

As night fell, Xu Mo and his wife, the Xu Tieshu family, and the six members of Qin Mutou’s household gathered around the table for dinner.

Xu Tieshu, still preoccupied with what had happened earlier, couldn’t help but say, “Xu Mo, I’ve been thinking—now that we have so many people working, there are bound to be those who try to slack off. Why don’t Ping’an and I keep an extra eye out starting tomorrow, just to make sure no one shirks their duties?”

Xu Ping’an agreed wholeheartedly, nodding vigorously.

Xu Hui frowned. “Father, with so many people, can you possibly keep track of everyone? What if you leave, and the moment you turn your back, they start slacking off again?”

Qin Mutou, hearing Xu Hui’s point, hurried to nod in agreement. “That’s right, Uncle Xu. Huihui’s right.”

Xu Tieshu then asked, “So what do you suggest we do?”

Xu Hui, stumped for a solution, threw the question to Xu Mo. “Father, ask cousin! Look how calm he is—he must have an idea.”

In an instant, all eyes turned to Xu Mo.

Chen Miaoyi couldn’t help but ask, “Husband, have you already thought of a solution?”

Xu Mo, calmly picking up some food, replied, “It’s nothing serious—easily solved.”

Xu Hui’s curiosity was piqued. “Cousin, what’s your plan? Tell us!”

The others nodded along.

Xu Mo said, “Piecework pay.”

“Husband, what do you mean by piecework pay?” Chen Miaoyi asked, puzzled.

Not only she, but everyone else was confused as well.

Xu Mo explained, “The more trees you chop, the more wages you earn. More work, more pay; less work, less pay; no work, no pay.”

Xu Hui, quick-witted as ever, clapped her hands in praise. “Cousin, you’re so clever! What a brilliant idea!”

Qin Mutou, seeing her reaction, hastily put down his chopsticks to join in the applause. “Wonderful! Truly wonderful!”

Chen Miaoyi and Xu Tieshu also nodded approvingly.

Only Xu Ping’an frowned, looking thoughtful.

“What is it, brother? You don’t think cousin’s idea is good?” Xu Hui asked.

Xu Ping’an shook his head. “It’s not that. I’m just thinking—what if someone comes just for the food, eats, and then leaves without working? Wouldn’t we be at a loss?”

Xu Tieshu nodded in agreement. “He’s right, Xu Mo. Our food is good, with meat at every meal. If people come just to eat and don’t work, we’re the ones getting taken advantage of.”

Chen Miaoyi, Xu Hui, and Qin Mutou all found this reasonable, so they began discussing how to address the issue.

Truth be told, Xu Mo didn’t really mind if the villagers ate an extra meal or two; he figured it wouldn’t cost much and wasn’t worth quibbling over.

However, after listening to the discussion for a while, he soon changed his mind. If things went on this way, it would only encourage laziness among the villagers, and over time, the problem would worsen, driving up his costs even further.

After a moment’s thought, Xu Mo said, “If we want to prevent people from eating without working, I have a solution.”

As soon as he spoke, the room fell silent, all eyes on him again.

Xu Mo, unhurried, continued, “Starting tomorrow morning, before anyone eats, we’ll collect twenty copper coins from each person. If they work and claim their piecework wages, we’ll return the twenty coins to them in full…”

“On the other hand, if someone doesn’t take part in the work for the day, it means they didn’t do any labor. In that case, their twenty coins will be kept as payment for the meal. What do you think?”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Xu Hui exclaimed delightedly, “Cousin, you’re a genius! How did you come up with that?”

Chen Miaoyi was equally impressed, nodding happily. Xu Tieshu was thoroughly pleased as well. “Good! We’ll do exactly that starting tomorrow!”

The next morning.

From outside in the yard came the sounds of activity. Without needing to look, Xu Mo knew it was Aunt Wu and the others preparing breakfast.

Not wanting to wake Chen Miaoyi, Xu Mo got out of bed as quietly as possible. However, the women outside were not at all considerate, and their loud voices and laughter soon woke her.

Opening her eyes and seeing Xu Mo was already up, Chen Miaoyi quickly sat up. “Husband, let me help you dress.”

Xu Mo shook his head. “No need. Sleep a little longer—it’s still early.”

But Chen Miaoyi glanced at the sky and said, “It’s not early at all, husband. Look how bright it is. I should get up too. Besides, it’s so noisy outside, I can’t sleep anyway.”

As she spoke, she got out of bed and carefully helped Xu Mo dress.

Afterward, Xu Mo went out and found Aunt Wu, explaining the new rule that starting today, everyone must pay twenty coins before eating.

Aunt Wu wholeheartedly agreed, repeatedly praising Xu Mo for being educated and full of good ideas.

Before long, the villagers began to arrive in ones and twos.

Once enough people had gathered, Xu Mo announced the two new rules: piecework pay and the twenty-coin meal deposit.

No one objected to the piecework system; after yesterday’s incident with Li Sanshui, everyone understood it was meant to prevent loafing and cheating.

But the rule about paying twenty coins before eating drew some resistance and sarcastic remarks from a few villagers.

Aunt Wu, now head of logistics, was having none of it. She marched up and sternly questioned whether they were reluctant to pay because they hoped to eat for free without working.

Of course, that wasn’t really their intention; their reluctance stemmed from having to pay before earning any money, and a fear that they might not get their coins back.

Xu Mo understood their concerns and immediately sent for the village head.

He then announced in front of everyone that all deposits would be held in the care of the village head, so no one would need to worry about not getting their money back.