The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan
Chapter 142: Work hard, and I guarantee you’ll have meat in every meal (first update)

Chapter 142: Work hard, and I guarantee you’ll have meat in every meal (first update)

Bater looked at Li Xianyun and said, "I see, but can a person like Shart really change for the better? What if he doesn’t change?"

Li Xianyun’s lips curled into a smile as she said, "If he doesn’t change, then we’ll have to resort to force. We’ll beat him up on a dark and windy night, make sure he’s in bed for ten days to half a month. With no light or visibility, he won’t be able to swindle anyone and will just have to suffer in silence. After his injuries heal, if he continues to cause trouble, then we’ll just have to beat him even more severely than before. If we do this a few times, I guarantee he won’t dare to misbehave again."

Upon hearing this, Bater smiled and said, "Young Master, may I be the one to beat him up?"

Li Xianyun looked at him and replied with a smile, "Don’t worry; I know you’ve been frustrated just now. You won’t be left out; you can go and vent your anger properly."

Bater smiled and said, "Thank you, Young Master."

Li Xianyun looked at the queue of people and said, "There might be other hooligans and ruffians coming to cause trouble later; most of them are bullies who are cowards at heart. Not many are like Shart, who isn’t afraid of getting beaten. You just do what you need to do with force, and they’ll naturally quiet down."

"Understood."

Bater was highly skilled in martial arts, and his specialty was beating people up.

By 11 AM, the number of villagers in line had not decreased but only increased. Many people from the surrounding villages had also heard the news and had come.

Seeing the crowd growing, Zhuo Ma said to Li Xianyun with some concern, "Master, what should we do if the crowd keeps growing like this?"

Li Xianyun replied, "Of course we will welcome them all, no matter how many come."

She paused and then instructed Bater to call Habu.

Habu rushed over and said to Li Xianyun, "Young Master, I didn’t expect so many people to come. Villagers from all around have heard the news and have come."

Li Xianyun said, "It’s fine. I just looked over there and the eight Drying Rooms can be filled in about eight or nine days. According to this trend, there’s simply not enough space for all the grapes. You still have the blueprints I gave you, right?"

"I’ve kept them all, didn’t dare to throw them away," Habu replied. "Young Master, do you mean to expand the Drying Rooms?"

"Exactly," Li Xianyun said. "Initially, I only had you construct eight Drying Rooms because I was afraid there wouldn’t be enough grapes. Now, you go and oversee the construction of twenty more Drying Rooms and five more workshops, and see if we can fit all the grapes in. If that’s still not enough, we’ll build more."

The saline-alkali land was very spacious, so adding twenty more Drying Rooms and a few workshops was not an issue at all.

Habu said with concern, "Young Master, can you really sell all these grapes?"

"Don’t worry." Li Xianyun pulled out a silver note worth three hundred taels from her sleeve and handed it to Habu.

"So much." Habu took it and said in disbelief.

Li Xianyun replied, "This silver is not only for building Drying Rooms and workshops but also includes money for food. We need to provide meals for the workers these days. You’ll be responsible for obtaining food. It’s almost 11 AM; arrange for someone to go to the market to buy some food and distribute it to everyone. Don’t try to save too much money, everyone has worked hard for half a day, and having some good food will give them the energy to continue working."

"Okay, Young Master always thinks of everything."

Li Xianyun continued, "Tomorrow, when constructing the new Drying Rooms, try to build them farther away from this area to avoid dust contaminating the grapes here."

"Also, spread the message that we will start purchasing grapes every day from 7 AM until 5 PM, so that the villagers who are not aware of the purchasing times don’t pick their grapes too early and have them become less fresh overnight."

"Alright."

Li Xianyun further instructed, "For the first two days of grape purchasing, I’ll be involved. After you get the hang of it, you’ll be responsible for purchasing the grapes. You can intentionally train some reliable people, which will make things easier for you."

"Okay."

"Get busy now."

Habu went back to where he was previously directing and arranged for some to go buy food, and sent others to inform the village chiefs of the nearby villages about the grape purchasing times so they could tell the villagers.

All the villages were in a similar situation with fruits like grapes not selling well, so now that the villagers had a way out, the village chiefs were all willing to cooperate.

News spread quickly.

The villagers in a rush to pick grapes had a sense of assurance now, as they no longer had to sell all their grapes in a single day.

By midday, the meal had arrived, with roasted buns and flatbread, milk tea, and small chunks of roasted meat.

Many of those working were poor; their families often had one meal but not the next, rarely affording even the smallest piece of meat. Now, they had the chance to eat roasted buns and meat, a feast even better than what they would have during the Corban Festival (equivalent to the Chinese New Year).

Li Xianyun arranged for those working to take turns eating, so that work wouldn’t be delayed and everyone would still get a chance to eat.

Some strong men began to eat contentedly, but there were others who held their roasted buns with hesitation.

Seeing this, Li Xianyun asked, "What’s wrong? Doesn’t it suit your taste?"

A strong man replied, "It’s not that it doesn’t suit my taste; I just can’t bear to eat it. I’d like to save it for my children and wife at home."

Truly a family man at heart.

Li Xianyun said, "If you want to take some home, that’s fine, but you can’t take too much—just enough for one person, or else there wouldn’t be enough for everyone."

She said the latter part with a laugh, clearly joking.

Habu had chosen people who were hardworking and reliable in character.

The man also responded with a smile, "Don’t worry, my lord, I won’t take more than my share."

Overhearing that they could take some home, others were reluctant to eat as well, and they began wrapping their half-eaten roasted buns in paper bags to tuck into the pockets of their clothes, merely nibbling on flatbread instead.

Seeing this, Li Xianyun said, "Work hard and I promise you, in the future, you will have meat for every meal."

If someone else had said this, everyone would have considered it boasting.

But when Li Xianyun said it, everyone believed her, and they all thanked her in unison, "Thank you, my lord."

The line to buy grapes was long, but it was organized and efficient under the direction of Habu and a strong man.

After seeing that the situation here was stable, Li Xianyun and Bater went to work in the Drying Room.

The work inside was time-consuming and labor-intensive.

She led several men in removing unwanted leaves and spoiled grapes from the bunches brought in, and then they hung the grapes densely packed on wooden racks.

From top to bottom, they arranged everything layer by layer.

Li Xianyun instructed them to pile the discarded spoiled grapes and dry leaves just outside the door, so it was easier to clean up.

When people focus on their work, time always seems to fly by.

Before they knew it, the sun had begun to set.

Bater, who was picking off leaves, said to Li Xianyun, "My lord, we should head back, or it’ll be too late, and the family will start to worry."

Li Xianyun looked up towards the outside and, true enough, the golden glow of the setting sun shone through an ’X’-shaped window, casting its light inside.

Everything around was bathed in a golden hue.

Indeed, it was getting late.