wasn't one ready-made, he would have to find a stonemason to make it. Other tofu-making tools could be obtained from Liu Erbo. Besides that, he wanted to hire a few people to handle sales, bookkeeping...She pondered what to give as a return gift and sent two jars of fruit wine. It was made from wild grapes and wild kiwis on the road of exile, aiming for a fresh and wild taste. In addition, she prepared several bags of yam cake, chestnut cake, etc., although these things weren't rare, they were homemade with sincerity. The slightly more unusual items were vegetables like Chinese broccoli and winter spinach, as well as green cabbage, which were not yet available in the capital city. She had people pluck a lot of them, neatly arranging them in baskets. Finally, she added a down-filled riding jacket.

Zhao Sanyou's promised duck down hadn't arrived yet. This down vest was made by Wei Liang collecting feathers from the village. After cleaning and removing any odor, he chose suitable lining fabric to prevent shedding. He instructed Wei Ci to stitch every line meticulously. The outer layer used a dark-colored Songjiang cloth, the style was simple, similar to a later-day vest. It could be worn snugly under clothes for warmth without looking bulky, perfect for a refined young master like Su Zhe.

She hadn't originally planned on starting this business. It was Xu Huaiyi who felt that just one tofu shop wasn't enough. He wanted to diversify their income streams, making sure they had multiple avenues of profit—"lights on in the east, lights on in the west"—to be secure. Besides, there were still people idle on the farm. Planting wouldn't begin until next spring, so they needed something to keep them occupied now. Otherwise, it would be wasteful to have them just sit around eating their rice.

This excuse wouldn't fool Gu Huanxi, but she was too lazy to argue with him. Anyway, whatever his intentions were, they would eventually be revealed.

That's why she prepared this vest in advance. With the finished product, as long as Su Zhe tries it on and experiences the benefits of down, it will be more effective than a thousand words.

Cooperation comes naturally.

As expected, when Li Guanxi left, Gu Huanxi specially explained the use of this vest. After hearing it, his eyes narrowed with delight, and he repeatedly assured that he would personally deliver it to the young master.

"This was sewn by the maidservant in the house. The stitching is rough, I hope Young Master Su won't mind."

"Oh, no, no, Mrs. Xu, you're too kind..."

He gently stroked it, knowing without even trying it on that this down vest was wonderful. It was both light and warm; the young master would certainly like it.

Interestingly, after he left, Zhao San's family sent over duck feathers, one truckload after another. The procession was quite impressive, but once it entered the village, the smell wasn't pleasant.

Gu Huanxi asked Wei Ci to lead the people directly to the farm to handle it. She also taught Wei Ci how to handle it, but after handling it, she needed to sew it up, which required help from women in the village.

Hu Yingjie is now the manager of the estate, Xu Huaiyi told Gu Huanxi that this man was reliable, so Gu Huanxi entrusted him with this matter and didn't worry at all.

It's just that the village is hiring a lot of people, and I ran into a little trouble.

The villagers were short-handed.

At that time, there were over three hundred people who fled the war. That included all ages: men, women, and children who could work. The elderly and young children couldn't. After removing those unable to work, there were more than a hundred left. Now, over sixty have been recruited by the tofu workshop. If we recruit any more, each family won't have enough people left to set up stalls.

Besides, we also need someone to take care of the household chores at home, cook and look after the children, as well as someone who is busy clearing the land and burning charcoal. In short, we are short-handed.

Fortunately, Headman Hu recommended a dozen or so honest and reliable workers, which barely made up the numbers. Thus, the tofu workshop had over one hundred workers, which could be considered somewhat sizable.

But Gu Huai knew that these people were still not enough. After the down from the Zhuangzi was processed and sewn together, many people would need it.

Therefore, relying solely on villagers is not enough.

In the evening, Gu Huanyi waited for Xu Huaiyi to get into his car and then discussed with him, “I understand Village Head Xu's good intentions. He wants everyone in the village to have work. However, this is unrealistic. Moreover, if a workshop only employs villagers, problems may arise in the future. I think we should recruit people from other villages to balance things out.”

Xu Huaiyi pondered for a moment, "Not enough people"

"It's manageable for now, only because recently we've had disaster relief efforts and the weather has turned cold. Many families can't go out to set up stalls or farm, so there are idle hands available. But in a few days, that won't be the case anymore. Besides, we also need workers on the plantation who can sew clothes. The guards you hired can handle some rough work, but they can't do fine stitching."

"Then I'll go buy some more people, those who are bought are more reliable than those from outside the village and better to use than those from our own village. At least we won't have to worry about them being fickle."

Gu Huanxi instantly understood, "That's fine, our family isn't short of silver right now, but would there still be disaster victims willing to sign a deed of servitude"

The disaster relief efforts near the city gate have gradually gotten back on track, and more and more people are joining in. Regardless of what banner they're waving, whether it's for blessings or something else, they're all contributing real money and effort. The victims are truly benefiting from this, with a constant buzz of activity at the daily soup kitchen. There are no more starving mouths to worry about.

If one can survive just by breathing, who would want to be a slave to others

Xu Huaiyi explained, “There are still natural disasters. Although people can drink two bowls of porridge every day, this is not a solution in the long run. Besides, people from nearby villages are pretending to be disaster victims to receive porridge. With so many people gathering together for several months, the workload is too great, it burdens the people and finances, and it's not a sustainable solution…”

“So the Ministry of Finance still adopted my post-disaster relief plan. To completely solve the problem, we need to disperse the disaster victims to villages, but there aren't enough houses in the villages. Many people will have to be placed in separate areas where new houses and a new village can be built. The Ministry of Finance will provide funding for this; it doesn't require much money. Mud-brick walls and thatched roofs are sufficient, so the cost won't be high. It just takes some effort...”

Gu Huanxi asked, "How many disaster victims are willing to go"

Xu Huaiyi nodded, “As long as one isn't foolish, they can naturally understand. I suggest using labor for relief. This way, both the imperial court and the disaster victims benefit. The people will have silver to take care of their food and clothing, and with houses, they can settle down. Those who still remember going back home can first set up temporary shelters and wait until later before registering their domicile. There are also a few, the elderly and children, who have almost no ability to work and can only rely on relief. We are currently counting their numbers. When we have the figures, we will send them to the Orphanage Bureau. Some people are widowed with several children. They don't meet the requirements to be sent to the Orphanage Bureau to build houses and register their domicile. They are afraid they can’t manage on their own. These women...we can buy them..."

Gu Huanxi pondered for a moment, "That's reasonable. Bringing so many children wouldn't be very helpful with the work... Don't you have other plans"

Xu Huaiyi chuckled, “It’s not really a grand plan. How much can a child eat Just keep them around for now. I'll pick out the promising ones and nurture them for a few years. Who knows, they might prove useful later on. Or perhaps, give Xiaoyu and A Li a few maidservants to keep them company. Wei’an is too quiet; it needs some lively children around.”

Gu Huanxi didn't object, just asked, "How many children do you plan to buy"

Xu Huaiyi vaguely said, "I'm not sure either, let's wait and see."

Gu Huanxi didn't probe further, changing the subject: "Is the orphanage reliable"

Xu Huaiyi said, "The system of the Imperial Orphanage is fairly complete, and its reputation is decent. It has always been overseen by the reigning empress. For their own reputations, they wouldn't mess it up. However, the orphanage can't accommodate so many people at once. They recently plan to build another house and expand a few more. Do you know who is in charge of this"

"It seems it's not the Second Prince." The Second Prince is the Empress's own son. Such a prestigious mission to raise his fame, yet she didn't give it to her son. Is this to avoid suspicion

"Well, it is the First Prince." (End of Chapter)rities between this and what happened tonight"Everything is very strange, with no clues at all. We can only explain it with ghosts and gods, but that kind of explanation simply condemns them without a...