The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 145: Scaling Up_1

Li Qing left Yu Lan’s house at around one in the morning when the sky was a brilliant tapestry of stars.

The village was silent except for the occasional unknown wild animal sounds echoing across the fields.

Li Qing straightened his back and hurried home.

Once home, he fell straight into bed and slept a sound sleep like no other.

The next morning, he was roused by the alarm clock, still groggy.

Picking up his phone, he saw it was already eight o’clock.

To avoid repeating last time’s mistake, Li Qing had set several alarms for himself.

This was the third one.

The earliest one was at six-thirty, but he was so tired that he hadn’t heard it at all.

Li Qing swiftly climbed out of bed and brushed his teeth and washed his face.

Just as he had tidied himself up, Han Mei had already arrived.

After a quick breakfast, Li Qing called Gao Li, and they started the daily routine of heading into the mountains.

The rugged mountain path felt surprisingly less difficult to traverse.

Visiting a few villages took up the morning, and it was nearly noon by the time they were finished.

Today, they collected about ten pounds less of the tender leaves compared to yesterday.

Villagers from Shanglin Village and a few other villages were saying that the tender leaves were becoming harder to pick.

If Li Qing hadn’t suddenly started buying the large leaves, they would have soon run out of work.

Although there were fewer tender leaves, there was no shortage of large leaves; they had gathered nearly two hundred pounds in total.

Back in the village, after unloading the Wenguan Leaves, Li Qing told Gao Li about the discussion from the day before.

"Three thousand a month? Qingzi, isn’t that a bit high? Two thousand five or six hundred would be more reasonable," Gao Li hesitated when Li Qing mentioned hiring Yang Xuelan for three thousand a month.

This took Li Qing by surprise, "You think it’s too much?"

"As a person, you gotta be generous. Picking Wenguan Leaves is roughly a half-day’s work. I think three thousand is indeed a bit high. My wife and Yu’er almost make ten thousand a month working for you," said Gao Li.

"I thought you would say it’s too little," Li Qing laughed, "For now, let her take three thousand. And it’s not just about picking Wenguan Leaves, I also need to find time to harvest my garden."

"If we’re nearly making ten thousand, and I still say it’s too little, would I even be human? Who else can earn nearly ten thousand a month by just taking a few steps from their front door? It’s practically unheard of," Gao Li said loudly.

Li Qing laughed, "Alright then, talk to Yang Xuelan later."

"We’ll deliver today’s batch after sorting the Wenguan Leaves this evening!"

Gao Li nodded excitedly, "Okay, I’ll go tell her right now, get her to come over quickly to help."

"Also, if there’s anything else, let me know."

Li Qing was shocked.

Gao Li was actually offering to help proactively.

It was as rare as seeing a ghost in broad daylight.

Not long after Gao Li left, Yang Xuelan arrived dressed in loose wide-leg pants and a white tight-fitted short-sleeve shirt, with a pair of gloves in her hand. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Qingzi, are you really paying me three thousand a month?" Yang Xuelan asked incredulously.

Li Qing smiled, "Why? Do you also think it’s too much?"

"You’re not setting the pay high on purpose because of that matter, are you?" Yang Xuelan asked with a tilt in her eyes and a smirk at the corner of her mouth.

Li Qing paused for a moment.

She was reading too much into it.

"If that’s what you want to think, I won’t deny it," Li Qing said with a resigned smile.

When he set the salary yesterday, his real concern was that it might be too low.

The daily wage for a laborer is roughly around one hundred and forty yuan now.

This job is a bit easier, and it doesn’t take too long, so he finally settled on three thousand.

If the profits turn out good later on, he’ll consider giving a raise accordingly.

Yang Xuelan’s face showed a hint of shyness as she looked around and whispered, "You don’t have to do this, I would definitely pay you. Even if you insist, at most I would let you do it a few more times."

"That works for me," Li Qing laughed, "But don’t overthink it, it’s not for that reason."

Joking aside, he always felt odd linking that issue with money.

It was better to make things clear.

"Qingzi, whether it’s because of that or not, I would still do it a few more times for you. Otherwise, with such a high wage, it would weigh on my conscience. Carrying bricks at the construction site only earns people one hundred and twenty or thirty a day, yet for some simple sorting you’re willing to pay three thousand," Yang Xuelan said softly, "Is there anything that needs to be done right now? I can start working on it."

Li Qing didn’t explain any further, since things had been made clear.

"Since you’re so eager, you can start by sorting these Wenguan Leaves we’ve just collected," Li Qing said.

"Mostly these two hundred kilograms of large leaves are mixed with a lot of tender leaves. Pick them out and then spread them out a bit for drying. These leaves have to wait two days before they can be sold, and if drying isn’t done well, they will end up unsellable."

"Got it, go ahead with your work, I’ll take care of this here," she said.

Yang Xuelan gave a grand wave of her hand and headed into the thick of things with her plump waist twisted.

Li Qing’s gaze swept over Yang Xuelan’s full backside.

Even though her pants seemed quite loose, they made her behind appear even fuller and softer.

When Li Qing returned to the house, he had just brewed a pot of tea, and both Han Mei and Yang Xuelan arrived.

Today was their last day collecting Wenguan Leaves in the neighboring village.

"Qingzi, Yue’er and I have approached several villages these past two days, and we should be able to gather some more. I’ve informed them all to sell the tender leaves and large leaves separately. You can just go tomorrow to collect them," Han Mei said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead, grabbing Li Qing’s tea cup to take two big gulps.

"Why is it hot?" she said.

"I just brewed the tea," Li Qing said with a smile.

"I’ll go get some water; the weather’s getting hotter and hotter," Han Mei said, fanning herself at the neckline as she hurried off.

Li Qing opened his mouth to speak, but his words couldn’t keep up with Han Mei’s brisk pace.

Shortly past noon, a steady stream of villagers started arriving at Li Qing’s home, carrying baskets and holding bags.

Li Qing’s price of thirty-two yuan per kilogram of Wenguan Large Leaves had by now spread throughout the village.

In the crowd, Li Qing spotted quite a few members of the Hu Family.

It seemed that instead of supporting Hu Youqing, they preferred to earn extra money.

Almost everyone greeted Li Qing with a smile, and some even warmly offered him a cigarette upon meeting.

This scene left Li Qing feeling somewhat dazed.

Ever since his family was left with just him, the village had barely spared him from scathing looks and gossip.

It had been a long time since he had seen such warm smiles.

He greeted everyone to take a seat at their leisure, and he began weighing the leaves, while Han Mei handled the accounts and payments on the side.

Tian Yue’e and Yang Xuelan were in charge of sorting and drying the Wenguan Leaves.

The work kept them busy until almost five o’clock.

Li Qing left the remaining tasks to Han Mei to oversee.

He, along with Gao Li, then rushed off to the county town in a hurry to deliver today’s goods.

The principal for the large leaves wasn’t much.

But the soft tendrils as tender as hair weighed down Li Qing with a burden of twenty to thirty thousand yuan, not something to be taken lightly.