NOVPUB
Chapter 762: 752
The group didn’t go home for lunch; instead, they had their meal at the farm cafeteria.
While eating, Wang Dan couldn’t help but click her tongue in approval and said, "Yunfang, you’re too generous as a boss. Just look at these dishes."
Shen Yunfang glanced at her own bowl, where Wang Dan was picking up a chopstickful of eggs.
"What’s the matter?" she asked, puzzled.
"What’s the matter? This is persimmon stir-fried with eggs, there are so many eggs in it. That must cost a lot," said Wang Dan, concern in her voice as she swiftly popped the eggs into her mouth.
"Sister-in-law, it’s winter; persimmons are more expensive than eggs, so adding more eggs is actually saving me money," Shen Yunfang explained with a smile.
Wang Dan was speechless.
Goudan quickly handed her a bowl of soup at her side.
After gulping down a bowl, Wang Dan finally caught her breath, set down the soup bowl and smacked Li Hongxing on the arm, "You dead man, you saw me choking and didn’t even offer me water."
Li Hongxing felt embarrassed being called out in front of everyone, but also feared his wife’s fierceness, so he could only lower his head in silence, his face reddening.
Having scolded someone to her satisfaction, Wang Dan didn’t give it another thought and turned back to continue chatting with Shen Yunfang.
"I really forgot, only your place still has persimmons this time of year. Back home, we eat potatoes and cabbage every day, or pickled vegetable dumplings. Where would we get such good food?" Wang Dan went on, clicking her tongue again. Then she leaned into Shen Yunfang’s ear and said in a low voice, "I think there’s really no need to serve these people such good food. You could just sell it and make a good profit. Why not grow more cabbages and potatoes? Just stew them and that’s a dish right there."
Shen Yunfang couldn’t agree with her, but in order to avoid further discussion on the subject, she simply nodded, "Hmm, I’ll consider that in the future."
"Exactly, back in our place, some families only serve pickled vegetables to their workers," Wang Dan assumed she had persuaded Shen Yunfang and was quite pleased with herself.
"Alright, let’s eat quickly so we can help out with more work after the meal," Li Xianglian nudged Wang Dan, hinting her to stop talking.
That morning, the young girl guiding them got stuck when they reached the breeding section because they saw Goudan. Wang Dan grabbed him and started crying on the spot, then asked how he had been these days.
Seeing that Goudan couldn’t escape his mother’s clutches, Li Xianghe gently persuaded the young girl to leave and come back in the afternoon to continue the tour.
After the young girl left, Li Xianglian and Li Hongxing helped Goudan clean up the workshop.
So, they hadn’t even visited the vegetable greenhouse yet.
"You really have a knack for working anywhere you go. We’re here to visit, not to work," Wang Dan mentioned their current role with a hint of pride. Then, remembering something, she turned to Shen Yunfang again, "Oh right, I forgot to ask you, how much do you pay the workers here a month?"
"Fifty yuan." Goudan was a worker there, and it was impossible to hide his wage. Shen Yunfang simply stated it outright.
Wang Dan gasped, "Are you crazy, paying so much in wages? That’s almost as much as factory workers earn."
Shen Yunfang looked at her speechlessly, "Sister-in-law, are you saying I’m paying Goudan too much? Your own son is also getting a high salary, you know."
Wang Dan choked again, fortunately with nothing in her mouth this time, or she would have needed another drink. It took her a while to process with blinks of her eyes before she realized what was going on. Indeed, her own son was also earning the same high wage of fifty yuan. Her remark was indeed problematic.
"Hey, I’m not saying that giving Goudan fifty bucks was wrong since he’s your nephew, but you can’t be so generous with the other workers. You have no idea—some of the old farmers who go to the city for work only make about twenty a month. Just pay these workers twenty, and they’ll be eager to work for you," Wang Dan’s scheming began again.
Shen Yunfang looked at her, "Sister-in-law, you know my nature, I treat everyone equally. If I cut wages for the staff, then Goudan will have to take a cut as well."
"That, that doesn’t seem quite right. Hehe, you just decide for yourself, don’t listen to me, I’m just talking nonsense." Wang Dan wouldn’t actually suggest losing money for her sister-in-law to then lose out on her own son’s account, so she very naturally changed her tune.
Shen Yunfang put her bowl and chopsticks on the table.
"I’m done eating, have you all finished?"
"We’re done," the children all raised their hands, showing they had finished long ago.
"Then, sister-in-law, take your time. I’m going to take the kids back," said Shen Yunfang as she stood up, and the children followed her out.
"Hey, wait for me," Wang Dan was left alone at the table—she had been so busy talking that she still had half a bowl of rice left.
"Hurry up, everyone’s gone," said Li Hongxing, suddenly feeling uncomfortable as many people started looking at them.
Wang Dan didn’t want to waste the half bowl of rice she had left and quickly shoveled it into her mouth, rushing to finish. Once done, she hurriedly wiped her mouth and went after the others.
By the time the couple reached the office, there was no one in sight. They had to ask around before learning that Shen Yunfang had led everyone to the vegetable greenhouses.
Standing at the Drying Yard, they could see the slightly arched greenhouse in the distance. Without needing to be led, Wang Dan pulled Li Hongxing along as they chased after the others.
Shen Yunfang was showing Li Xianglian and her husband around one greenhouse after another.
The peak harvest time for vegetables had passed, and orders from different units had all been delivered. The remaining vegetables in the greenhouse were not too many and were either waiting to be sold wholesale after the New Year or for the staff to sell on-site.
Li Xianglian and her husband were amazed at the scale of the vegetable greenhouse.
"Yunfang, how big is this greenhouse? It seems like I can’t even see the end," Li Xianglian said excitedly, holding Shen Yunfang’s arm.
They were now entering a greenhouse where cowpeas were grown.
"Each greenhouse is the same size, two hundred meters long and ten meters wide," Shen Yunfang explained, "Watch your step."
The center aisle featured a newly installed semi-automatic irrigation system that had played a significant role over the year, saving the staff much effort and time.
As Li Xianglian walked further inside, she noticed not too many full-sized cowpeas left on the racks, just a few finger-length ones that still needed time to grow before they could be picked.
"Such a big area, and you only have one person taking care of it, can they handle it?" Liu Jianjun, accustomed to working hard, saw some weeds among the rows and reflexively started weeding as he walked.
"Indeed, it’s a big place, and one person has to do both planting and watering, which keeps them very busy. That’s why I offer a higher wage and a bonus. Like sister-in-law said, those who work outside only make about twenty a month. Though it’s busier here, I can pay around seventy to eighty. Tell me, if you were in their shoes, would you prefer to earn an easy twenty, or would you rather work harder for my seventy to eighty?" Shen Yunfang always knew that each of her workers had a massive workload, but accordingly, she compensated them based on their labor. She believed that people with capability and ambition would be willing to work for her. 𝖓𝔬𝖛𝔭𝔲𝖇.𝔠𝔬𝖒
"What, you pay your workers seventy to eighty?"
