This is also one of the reasons why Lin Guan's family has always been worried about not having enough money. The wages that the Lin family pays to these craftsmen are quite high, and in the past, the Lin family had a silver store, a silk fabric store, and a furniture store, all of which provided opportunities for these craftsmen to use their skills.

  Although wages are high, they also earn a lot. Now all these storefronts in their house are gone, and many craftsmen are temporarily idle.

  Lin Qingwan was also thinking about this point. She handed over the matters of Zhuangzi to Zhong Daguantie and Lin Quan's father and son, so she had time to think about this matter.

  "The silkworms have started spinning silk, and the weaving girls and embroidery girls all have work to do, so we don't need to worry about them. As for the others, there are many hands needed in the garden, let's arrange for the remaining craftsmen to go over. Lin Qingyuan said: "Let's build the corridors, pavilions, and kiosks inside to make them look better, as well as various tables and chairs, and have them all set up properly."

  "When the Wen Garden is built, let them build their own houses, cowsheds, sheep sheds, and dormitories for the long workers," Lin Qingwen pointed to the map: "The farm is so big that in the future, the long workers and the farmers will definitely need to be dispersed to ensure more convenient management of crops and livestock. In this way, we need to build a lot of houses. No matter what kind of craftsmen are needed."

  Lin Qingwan marked out the blueprint she had designed on the map, saying: "The farm, orchard, mulberry garden, and pasture must be separated, but there is only one big river here. Although Jiangnan has a lot of rain, sometimes irrigation is also needed. I thought that after my death, the imperial court would take back this fief, so I didn't dare to make too many moves. But now that the imperial court has designated this fief as my permanent property, we should do better. Water conservancy projects also need to be planned, and all aspects require craftsmen."

  Lin Guanjia's mouth was wide open as he listened, and just as he was about to speak, Lin Qingwen raised her hand and said: "I know what you want to say, we don't have enough money."

  Lin Guan's family shut their mouths and silently stared at her, with an unmistakable attitude.

  Lin Qingwan smiled and said, "Money is not the problem. I'm not going to do well this year anyway. Things can be done slowly, but the blueprint can be planned ahead of time. Most importantly, money really isn't a problem for us."

  Lin Qingwan looked at Lin Guan with confidence and said, "We have so many talented people, are we still afraid of not having money? You just said that you only used twenty pieces of fine silk and one piece of familiar velvet to exchange for those fifteen cows?"

  Lin Guan's family nodded silently.

  "Isn't it saying that one piece of brocade can be exchanged for so many cows, and there's even some left over?"

  Lin Guan nodded his head, "Yes."

  Lin Qingwan's mouth slightly curved up, "I remember that our Lin family's weaving girl just happened to be good at weaving colorful brocade."

  "It's true, but a brocade fabric requires two weavers to work for a whole year to complete it. If you demand even more stringent requirements on the lightness and color, I'm afraid it will take even longer."

  "I remember there were several boxes of colored satin in the warehouse."

  Lin Guanjia couldn't help but cough, staring at Lin Qingyan tensely: "Miss, that's the dowry left for the young lady."

  "And those brocades were just the lower grade of our collected satin and damask, among which there was a piece of brocade with flying butterflies that was stored separately, worth thousands of gold."

  Lin Guan's family pitied Lin Qingyuan.

  Lin Qingwan couldn't help but laugh, waving her hand and saying: "Don't worry, I won't touch these things. As you said, they're for big sister's use, but that also shows we're not lacking in wealth, right? So there's no need to be so cautious. Although the Lin family doesn't have much cash on hand, our wealth is still substantial."

  Last year when they sold the shops, each of them kept their most valuable goods, and as for the Lin family, apart from cash, almost nothing was moved, all were moved to Suzhou, that wealth is not small either.

  It's just hard to cash out.

  But satin and silk fabrics have always been directly usable as currency, so Lin Qingyan was telling Lin Guan that their family actually had a lot of money.

  Besides, they will also harvest a large amount of grain in autumn, and grain is hard currency.

  Lin Guanjia was persuaded by Lin Qingwen, and his hands and feet slowly relaxed. He began to hire people to collect the mountain land that Lin Yuhong had occupied.

  Because of the distance, the foremen and short-term workers had to move there to live, convenient for work.

  Lin Quan was moved by his aunt's trust last time, and this time he took the initiative to take over this difficult task. He handed over the work on this side of the farm to Zhong Daguai, and with a heroic spirit, he led his men to the other side of the mountain.

  Everyone cut down some trees to build a house, and then used the cut grass to simply braid a thatched roof, which became a house.

  A house with only one wooden board left from the past is home to ten people.

  They also hired women to cook for them, and every day they had soup to drink. At this time it was summer, and at night they could sleep with their chests exposed and their backs bare, which wasn't too uncomfortable, except that during the day they got very sunburned.

  Lin Qingwan would occasionally ask the kitchen maid to make sour plum soup for everyone, and then send it out bucket by bucket, relieving a lot of the summer heat.

  The Lin family's actions were too big, but there were only a few who really cared. After all, such a large piece of wasteland was there, and they were anxious to open it up, which was also reasonable. So the big households in Suzhou city just laughed when they heard about it, and didn't think much of it.

  But for the vast number of poor and ordinary people, it was different. The reputation of Lin's family quickly spread among the middle and lower classes.

  Everyone knows that Su Zhou Lin Gong has a sister who was granted the title of Junzhu and received a large piece of land, which is in need of someone to open it up.

  Many workers are needed, and the wages are sufficient. Twenty cents a day is paid, and although the large farm on this side of the mountain does not provide board, they can bring their own food from home and hire two women to help with cooking.

  It's better for a woman to hire her own daughter-in-law than to let an outsider work in her household.

  The pasture on the other side of the mountain is too far away, and the workload is heavier over there, with poorer living conditions. So they still provide three meals a day, I heard the food is very good, every other day there's a meat dish, and every day there are various soups.

  Afraid of Lin's family owing wages?

  Don't worry, the Lin family's wages are settled every ten days, and they are settled immediately after leaving. It is convenient and quick, no need to worry about being deducted by the master like in previous years, the work done in spring can only be paid after the new year.

  Then Zhang San happened to go to Lin's house and worked for ten days, after receiving his wages, he took a day off and went back to bring all his brothers from his own family. In just two days, the brothers who grew up playing together in the same village, as well as various cousins from home, all came over, you brought me, I brought you, everyone came to Lin's house to work.

  Not only idle laborers in Suzhou city, but also villages under its jurisdiction, and even distant villages have people coming to apply.

  The Lin family's Zhuangzi is a bustling scene every day, with money flowing out like running water.

  Lin Guanjia and Zhong Daguanshi forced themselves to calm down, trying not to look at the decreasing amount of money.

  Then, Xia received it.

  Winter wheat can be harvested, families with many brothers can take out two to return home to collect grain, while those with fewer brothers can only bear the pain of asking for leave to go back.

  As a result, the number of people in Zhuangzi suddenly decreased to only one quarter of the original number, but this number was still considerable.

  The two old farmsteads of the Lin family also planted winter wheat, and Zhong Daguan arranged for the short-term workers to harvest the wheat first, and then continue to work in the large farm and pasture.

  It was also at this time that the major households in Suzhou City felt the impact brought by the Lin family, because they couldn't hire short-term workers this year.

  The local landlords were reported by their subordinates: "We went to the streets to recruit people, but except for those who are used to being lazy and slippery, we couldn't find any other laborers. After inquiring, we found out that everyone had gone to the Lin family."

  They brought goods to sell and also informed the merchants who came to buy some grain that they would not be hiring any more short-term workers. "I found several acquaintances, but they all declined. The Lin family pays a good wage, but they are not willing to come back."

  The merchant was furious, "Isn't it just twenty coins? I also gave twenty coins."

  "But the Lin family also provided meals, and for those who didn't have meals provided, they would send sour plum soup or some cooling medicine every day. Moreover, they only worked four hours a day, and the hottest two and a half hours in the middle of the day were off."

  In the summer, the working hours arranged by Lin's family were from 6:00 am to 10:00 am and from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The five hours in the middle of the day were for a nap, and no one was allowed to work during that time.

  But businessmen are different, their work is uncertain, most of them work at the hottest noon, carrying big bags, and many people will eventually get heatstroke.

  Even if they get heatstroke, migrant workers don't have money to buy medicine, so they just drink more water or go outdoors to pull some radix isatidis and boil it in water for drinking.

  Landlords were even more ruthless, hiring short-term workers and treating them like livestock, except for a few large families who valued their reputation. Other households started working at dawn, resting only during lunchtime, and then worked until sunset.

  Why was Lin's family able to gather so many laborers in such a short time in ancient times when it was so closed off?

  A very large part of the reason is their scheduled working hours.

  So the landlords also raised the price to twenty cents a day, but still no one came to respond. To know that the landlords used to hire short-term workers for eighteen cents a day, while businessmen have already raised it to twenty-three cents.

  No one left Lin's house and threw themselves into their arms.

  But goods must be unloaded and wheat must be harvested.

  Everyone can only raise the price to twenty-five cents a day, and it's considered to have attracted people, but the number of people attracted is also limited.

  Lin Qingyuan did not stop the temporary workers from leaving, as this was a voluntary arrangement between both parties and she had no intention of offending others.

  Lin Guanjia and Zhong Daguantie won't stop them either, they originally wanted to take advantage of the busy farming season to give the short-term workers a month-long vacation.

  But thinking that soon it will be autumn harvest, and then even busier, the Lin family is short-handed, and at that time, the rice fields still need to be harvested by temporary workers. If they take a break now, it won't be reasonable later on.

  So this time can only be held back.

  But others can't find workers at home, and if they raise their wages again, they will be reluctant, so they can only come to the Lin family, hoping that the Lin family will be generous and release a batch of short-term workers for them.

  Lin Qingwan listened to Lin Guan's account and shook her head with a wry smile, "We can't just fire the short-term workers, can we? If we raise their wages and still can't hire anyone, then it's their own problem. Why don't they think about the reason behind it?"

  Lin Guan's eyebrows furrowed as he said, "I'm afraid they will only blame the Lin family and won't think about their own reasons."

  Lin Qing said faintly: "With such a character, there's no need to bother with him anymore."