96 Stealing Workers
Although Zhang Lan and Zhou Yu were also worried that the house could not be built before winter, they were also worried about leaving the construction work to Cao Liu.
Moreover, they were asking for triple of the salary agreed on.
Therefore, they had the same thought as Zhou Xiaoli.
He immediately said, “My girl is right. Since you don’t want to work for our family anymore, leave.”
At this moment, Lin Xiujuan and Liu Liangcai also spoke at the right time. “Brother Zhou, you don’t have to worry about housing. Anyway, no one lives in my uncle’s courtyard. You can stay as long as you want!”
Liu Yan also nodded. “That’s right. If they want to leave, let them. If we can’t finish the construction this year, we will just continue it the next year. Who would want to spoil them?”
Wei Chiyu naturally agreed with Zhou Xiaoli. He nodded and said, “I’m fine with it. The house can be built anytime.”
Seeing the Zhou and Wei families’ attitude, the workers could not help but feel a little uncertain. They subconsciously looked at Cao Liu.
After all, this was a large sum of money. They were worried that since they could not ask for more, they may lose a job and hence end up with nothing.
Cao Liu did not panic at all. Instead, he looked like he had been looking forward to it. “Alright, since you don’t want workers anymore, everyone, follow me!”
“It just so happens that Second Master Wan has a job to be done and needs workers. The salary is much higher than here. Everyone, follow me to Second Master Wan’s!”
The Second Master Wan he was talking about was the younger brother of Landlord Wan.
When the workers heard this, their eyes lit up. That was the Landlord Wan they were talking about, a rich family!
Working for Landlord Wan would definitely be more beneficial than working for the Zhou and Wei families!
They immediately expressed their willingness to follow Cao Liu.
This scene caused Zhou Xiaoli to raise her eyebrows.
Was it such a coincidence?
They had just stopped working for their family, and now they are able to start work at the Second Master Wan’s?
While Zhou Xiaoli was still in doubt, Cao Liu had already left with the group of people.
Those people might have felt that the opportunity of working for Landlord Wan is too good to miss or that they knew that they were in the wrong and were afraid of Zhou Yu’s strength.
They didn’t even ask for today’s salary and left just like that.
In an instant, the surroundings became much more spacious.
She originally thought that all workers would leave, but she soon realized that there were still eight or nine people left.
Among those people, there was a tall and strong man called Ma Fei who always smiled foolishly. He was Foreman Cao’s disciple and often followed him around.
Every time she came to the homestead, he would greet her loudly.
Therefore, Zhou Xiaoli had a deep impression of him.
Zhou Xiaoli asked, “Why don’t you go with Cao Liu and the others? He has Second Master Wan on his side.”
Hearing this, Ma Fei snorted and said in a rough voice, “I know that Second Master Wan wants to build a house. A few days ago, he looked for my master, but my master rejected him because he had already agreed to do the work for your families.”
“After that, my master’s cousin somehow hooked up with Second Master Wan. I think my master’s injury today must have something to do with this.”
Towards the end, Ma Fei was filled with righteous indignation.
Then, he said, “That’s why my master was beaten up. It wasn’t Little Lady Zhou’s fault at all. Now that your houses are not finished, we won’t leave.”
The others agreed.
“That’s right. We’re not leaving. Young Lady Zhou is benevolent to us. She gave us green bean tea with sugar to cool down when she was afraid that we would get heatstroke. We can’t be shameless people like them.”
“That’s right. Even if we’re the only ones left, we’ll build the houses for your two families.”
“Yes, yes! Let’s do it now!”
…
Unexpectedly, these people were quite loyal.
Zhou Xiaoli sighed.
At this moment, Wei Chiyu suddenly said, “There are too few of them. We have to find more workers. I happen to have a friend in the city who has connections in this area.”
Hearing this, Zhou Yu and Zhang Lan saw hope again. They immediately said happily, “That’s great!”
Zhou Xiaoli thought for a moment and asked Ma Fei, “Brother Ma, how is your master now?”
Ma Fei sighed. “Master’s injuries are quite serious, but he’s fine. They’re all superficial wounds. He should recover soon.”
“Before the Master was sent to see the doctor, he gave me the blueprint of the little lady’s house.”
“So, Young Lady Zhou, don’t worry. We will definitely build the house for you. There won’t be a problem!”
Zhou Xiaoli nodded. Ma Fei looked simple-minded, but he was actually very aware of what’s going on.
He knew that she was worried that the workers would not know how to build the house without Foreman Cao being here to guide them.
Zhou Xiaoli was relieved to hear Ma Fei’s words.
However, she still had to give praise as this was a way to connect with people.
She immediately said, “Brother Ma is Foreman Cao’s best disciple. I naturally trust you!”
Ma Fei scratched his head and chuckled. At first, he was a little embarrassed. Then, he patted his chest and promised Zhou Xiaoli.
“Miss Zhou, don’t worry. I’ll build a house for you even if I have to risk my life!”
Zhou Xiaoli smiled. “Thank you very much, Brother Ma. How about this? We’ll visit Foreman Cao tomorrow and invite some workers to help.”
“Everyone is tired today. Let’s go home first. We’ll start work again after I find the workers.”
Then, she said, “But don’t worry, everyone. I’ll count today as a full day’s work.”
Hearing this, the smiles on their faces widened.
They had thought that they would be wasting the afternoon since there is no work to be done and they did not have any prior arrangement.
Since Zhou Xiaoli was willing to give them a day’s salary, they were naturally happy.
It was their morals that did not allow them to leave the work unfinished just like that, but they also wanted to earn money.
Therefore, they all happily said their goodbyes.
Now that everyone had left and the matter was resolved, Zhou Yu suddenly remembered that his donkey cart was not tied up!
He immediately slapped his thigh and shouted, “My donkey cart!” Then, he went to the back.
Then he saw that their donkey cart was parked outside the homestead. Little Wolf was nestled in front of the donkey cart like a guard, watching it and not letting anyone else approach.
The donkey was also obediently eating grass at the side.
Zhou Yu immediately patted his chest and rejoiced. “Aiya, good, good. The donkey cart isn’t lost.”
At this moment, an enthusiastic villager beside him smiled and sighed. “Brother Zhou, what breed is your dog? It’s really powerful!”
“You don’t know, just now, Old Madam Ma and her daughter-in-law wanted to take your donkey cart away amidst the chaos earlier, but your dog discovered them. Good lord, you should see how your dog bit and chased them away!”
“Old Madam Ma and her daughter-in-law’s clothes were torn and they were attacked to the ground. I almost died of laughter.”
Old Madam Ma!
A name that they have not heard of in a long while. Ever since they scammed her of a donkey and two chickens, Old Madam Ma and her daughter-in-law had avoided her like the plague.
She had not seen this mother and daughter-in-law duo in the village for a long time.
Now, she actually dared to steal the donkey cart. Fortunately, the wolf cub was here.
Zhou Xiaoli squatted down with a smile and patted the wolf cub’s head. “Little Wolf is awesome. I’ll reward you with meat when we get back later.”
96 Stealing Workers
Although Zhang Lan and Zhou Yu were also worried that the house could not be built before winter, they were also worried about leaving the construction work to Cao Liu.
Moreover, they were asking for triple of the salary agreed on.
Therefore, they had the same thought as Zhou Xiaoli.
He immediately said, “My girl is right. Since you don’t want to work for our family anymore, leave.”
At this moment, Lin Xiujuan and Liu Liangcai also spoke at the right time. “Brother Zhou, you don’t have to worry about housing. Anyway, no one lives in my uncle’s courtyard. You can stay as long as you want!”
Liu Yan also nodded. “That’s right. If they want to leave, let them. If we can’t finish the construction this year, we will just continue it the next year. Who would want to spoil them?”
Wei Chiyu naturally agreed with Zhou Xiaoli. He nodded and said, “I’m fine with it. The house can be built anytime.”
Seeing the Zhou and Wei families’ attitude, the workers could not help but feel a little uncertain. They subconsciously looked at Cao Liu.
After all, this was a large sum of money. They were worried that since they could not ask for more, they may lose a job and hence end up with nothing.
Cao Liu did not panic at all. Instead, he looked like he had been looking forward to it. “Alright, since you don’t want workers anymore, everyone, follow me!”
“It just so happens that Second Master Wan has a job to be done and needs workers. The salary is much higher than here. Everyone, follow me to Second Master Wan’s!”
The Second Master Wan he was talking about was the younger brother of Landlord Wan.
When the workers heard this, their eyes lit up. That was the Landlord Wan they were talking about, a rich family!
Working for Landlord Wan would definitely be more beneficial than working for the Zhou and Wei families!
They immediately expressed their willingness to follow Cao Liu.
This scene caused Zhou Xiaoli to raise her eyebrows.
Was it such a coincidence?
They had just stopped working for their family, and now they are able to start work at the Second Master Wan’s?
While Zhou Xiaoli was still in doubt, Cao Liu had already left with the group of people.
Those people might have felt that the opportunity of working for Landlord Wan is too good to miss or that they knew that they were in the wrong and were afraid of Zhou Yu’s strength.
They didn’t even ask for today’s salary and left just like that.
In an instant, the surroundings became much more spacious.
She originally thought that all workers would leave, but she soon realized that there were still eight or nine people left.
Among those people, there was a tall and strong man called Ma Fei who always smiled foolishly. He was Foreman Cao’s disciple and often followed him around.
Every time she came to the homestead, he would greet her loudly.
Therefore, Zhou Xiaoli had a deep impression of him.
Zhou Xiaoli asked, “Why don’t you go with Cao Liu and the others? He has Second Master Wan on his side.”
Hearing this, Ma Fei snorted and said in a rough voice, “I know that Second Master Wan wants to build a house. A few days ago, he looked for my master, but my master rejected him because he had already agreed to do the work for your families.”
“After that, my master’s cousin somehow hooked up with Second Master Wan. I think my master’s injury today must have something to do with this.”
Towards the end, Ma Fei was filled with righteous indignation.
Then, he said, “That’s why my master was beaten up. It wasn’t Little Lady Zhou’s fault at all. Now that your houses are not finished, we won’t leave.”
The others agreed.
“That’s right. We’re not leaving. Young Lady Zhou is benevolent to us. She gave us green bean tea with sugar to cool down when she was afraid that we would get heatstroke. We can’t be shameless people like them.”
“That’s right. Even if we’re the only ones left, we’ll build the houses for your two families.”
“Yes, yes! Let’s do it now!”
…
Unexpectedly, these people were quite loyal.
Zhou Xiaoli sighed.
At this moment, Wei Chiyu suddenly said, “There are too few of them. We have to find more workers. I happen to have a friend in the city who has connections in this area.”
Hearing this, Zhou Yu and Zhang Lan saw hope again. They immediately said happily, “That’s great!”
Zhou Xiaoli thought for a moment and asked Ma Fei, “Brother Ma, how is your master now?”
Ma Fei sighed. “Master’s injuries are quite serious, but he’s fine. They’re all superficial wounds. He should recover soon.”
“Before the Master was sent to see the doctor, he gave me the blueprint of the little lady’s house.”
“So, Young Lady Zhou, don’t worry. We will definitely build the house for you. There won’t be a problem!”
Zhou Xiaoli nodded. Ma Fei looked simple-minded, but he was actually very aware of what’s going on.
He knew that she was worried that the workers would not know how to build the house without Foreman Cao being here to guide them.
Zhou Xiaoli was relieved to hear Ma Fei’s words.
However, she still had to give praise as this was a way to connect with people.
She immediately said, “Brother Ma is Foreman Cao’s best disciple. I naturally trust you!”
Ma Fei scratched his head and chuckled. At first, he was a little embarrassed. Then, he patted his chest and promised Zhou Xiaoli.
“Miss Zhou, don’t worry. I’ll build a house for you even if I have to risk my life!”
Zhou Xiaoli smiled. “Thank you very much, Brother Ma. How about this? We’ll visit Foreman Cao tomorrow and invite some workers to help.”
“Everyone is tired today. Let’s go home first. We’ll start work again after I find the workers.”
Then, she said, “But don’t worry, everyone. I’ll count today as a full day’s work.”
Hearing this, the smiles on their faces widened.
They had thought that they would be wasting the afternoon since there is no work to be done and they did not have any prior arrangement.
Since Zhou Xiaoli was willing to give them a day’s salary, they were naturally happy.
It was their morals that did not allow them to leave the work unfinished just like that, but they also wanted to earn money.
Therefore, they all happily said their goodbyes.
Now that everyone had left and the matter was resolved, Zhou Yu suddenly remembered that his donkey cart was not tied up!
He immediately slapped his thigh and shouted, “My donkey cart!” Then, he went to the back.
Then he saw that their donkey cart was parked outside the homestead. Little Wolf was nestled in front of the donkey cart like a guard, watching it and not letting anyone else approach.
The donkey was also obediently eating grass at the side.
Zhou Yu immediately patted his chest and rejoiced. “Aiya, good, good. The donkey cart isn’t lost.”
At this moment, an enthusiastic villager beside him smiled and sighed. “Brother Zhou, what breed is your dog? It’s really powerful!”
“You don’t know, just now, Old Madam Ma and her daughter-in-law wanted to take your donkey cart away amidst the chaos earlier, but your dog discovered them. Good lord, you should see how your dog bit and chased them away!”
“Old Madam Ma and her daughter-in-law’s clothes were torn and they were attacked to the ground. I almost died of laughter.”
Old Madam Ma!
A name that they have not heard of in a long while. Ever since they scammed her of a donkey and two chickens, Old Madam Ma and her daughter-in-law had avoided her like the plague.
She had not seen this mother and daughter-in-law duo in the village for a long time.
Now, she actually dared to steal the donkey cart. Fortunately, the wolf cub was here.
Zhou Xiaoli squatted down with a smile and patted the wolf cub’s head. “Little Wolf is awesome. I’ll reward you with meat when we get back later.”
