"Mother, if you think it’s a good idea, then the other aunties and elder women in our village will surely agree," Lian Manman said.

In the village, the young girls and daughters-in-law, much like Lady Zhang, spent the whole year working in the fields, rarely having the opportunity to handle silver coins. Even if they were industrious and strong, there were few chances to earn money. For them, earning a few wen money every day was quite a substantial income. Saving up bit by bit, they could afford to buy a few yards of patterned fabric, a bar of fragrant pancreas soap, a box of rouge, or even supplement family expenses, adding some grease to the household—such earnings were indeed satisfying.

"I’ll go find people right away; they’ll be rushing to join," Lady Zhang said happily.

"But if we’re buying cabbage and also paying people, can we still make money?" Xiao Qi asked hesitantly, looking rather pitiful.

Indeed, it would all be for naught if they were busy but ended up not making any money.

"We should be able to," Lian Shouxin said. "Why don’t we ask father to come over and work it out with an abacus?"

"No need," Lian Manman said. "I’ve already done the calculations, and we can make money."

Lian Manman then shared the results of her mental calculations.

A pound of pickled cabbage sells for one wen money. The cost of the cabbage is one-fourth, the cost of labor one-tenth, and miscellaneous costs such as firewood and vinegar are also calculated as one-tenth. Thus, for every pound of cabbage pickled, their net profit would be about 0.55 wen money. If they pickled 500 pounds per day, their daily profit would be 275 wen money, 825 wen money in three days, and calculated at 30 days per month, that would amount to 8,250 wen money.

At first glance, the profit might seem small, but over a month, it could amount to more than eight taels of silver in net profit. Although eight taels of silver might not be a significant amount for a very wealthy family, it is not a small sum for an average rural household.

In her past life, Lian Manman had read novels where hundreds or thousands of silver coins were involved. Yet, having lived in this world for several months, she realized that silver coins were quite valuable here. Of course, this didn’t mean that there were no newly rich, but they were very rare. For most people, meeting such an opportunity was once in a lifetime. The majority of households accumulated silver coins bit by bit and took generations to truly become rich.

Lian Manman wasn’t without regret that she couldn’t become rich overnight. However, upon further reflection, being able to save money step by step, and leading a stable life, wasn’t a bad thing at all.

"This is just the business from Big Boss Woo for now. In a few days, when business picks up, we can earn double the money," Lian Manman said confidently.

The family discussed for a while and then started to take action.

Lian Shouxin went to find his brother, Lian Shouli. The two brothers set up a shelter under the west wing room. Since the dozens of jars of wine had not yet been sold, they simply set up two shelters: one was dedicated to storing the wine, and the other would be the pickling workshop for the pickled cabbage.

Wu Lang took some money from Lian Manman and set off for Zhao Family Village to purchase several large jars for pickling the cabbage.

Lady Zhang also wasn’t idle. She dressed up neatly and, taking Lian Manman and Xiao Qi with her, stepped out to buy cabbages from households with an abundance of them. Many families had planned to sell their cabbages in town, and seeing them come to buy saved a lot of trouble. The price offered was fair, so naturally, everyone was very happy and agreed to deliver the best cabbages to the Lian Family.

Lady Zhang had not only to secure a cabbage supplier but also to recruit workers.

As for who to hire, Lian Manman and Lady Zhang had discussed it. They would primarily look for young daughters-in-law and girls who were clean, efficient, skilled with a knife, and hardworking. Lady Zhang was familiar with the young women in the village and had already selected several candidates in her mind.

This was an opportunity to earn money, so naturally, Lady Zhang would first approach her closest friends, and the person in question was none other than their next-door neighbor, Chunzhu’s Wife. After Lady Zhang explained the situation, Chunzhu’s Wife immediately agreed without hesitation.

"What does the wage matter? There’s nothing left to do in the fields right now, and the household chores are easily finished. I’d just be idle otherwise, so I might as well help out my sister-in-law," Chunzhu’s Wife said with a smile.

"This isn’t just for a day or two, and the work isn’t light. We can’t let you work for nothing. I’ll tell you, since I’ve taken on this business, I thought to myself, no matter what, it’s better to earn a few wen money every day with all of us sisters together than to idle at home," Lady Zhang said to Chunzhu’s Wife. "You and I both know you’re quick with your hands; you could earn two silver coins in a month. Having some cash on hand, what can’t you do?"

"Indeed, sister-in-law, thanks for thinking of me," Chunzhu’s Wife replied. "Sister-in-law, how many people do you need? What about Guangyuan’s Wife? She’s more capable than me and also very clean."

Guangyuan’s Wife and Chunzhu’s Wife were from the same village; they knew each other before they were married, and now, based on their marital homes, the two women were technically sisters-in-law.

"Guangyuan’s Wife? I know her; she’s fit for the job. Count her in," Lady Zhang said. "We’ll need to hire a few more. I plan to invite Yuchang’s Wife, Er Dan’s Wife, Sister Qingyun..."

Lady Zhang then told Chunzhu’s Wife several names, all of them the most skilled daughters-in-law in the village, and they all got along well with Lady Zhang on regular days. As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together; the people Lady Zhang valued also had excellent characters.

Chunzhu’s Wife was a warm-hearted person. While sending Chunzhu off to help set up the shelter at the Lian Family home, she enthusiastically volunteered to accompany Lady Zhang from house to house to order cabbages and recruit workers.

By evening, everything was prepared, and all that remained was to start work. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)