Chapter 56: The Steward of Logistics

After breakfast, the villagers, full of energy, shouldered their axes and headed into the forest. Among them were Xu Tieshu and Xu Ping’an.

At that moment, Xu Hui called Fifth Aunt into the courtyard.

“Fifth Aunt, this is my cousin, and this is my cousin-in-law,” Xu Hui said.

Fifth Aunt naturally knew that Xu Mo was the owner of the workshop, so she nodded in greeting as soon as she arrived. “Good day, Young Master Xu, Good day, Madam Xu.”

Having completed her task, Xu Hui said, “You all chat, I’ll go look for Mutou.”

With that, she ran off to Qin Mutou’s house.

Xu Mo exchanged a few polite words before sitting down in the courtyard with Chen Miaoyi and Fifth Aunt.

“Fifth Aunt, I’ve heard that you have great influence in the village. Many people here are willing to listen to you,” Xu Mo said with a smile.

Xu Mo knew how to speak diplomatically. While Fifth Aunt was known for her fiery temperament and sharp tongue, here he praised her as a woman of influence.

Fifth Aunt, however, was self-aware and quickly shook her head, saying, “Oh no, Young Master Xu, I’m just loud and look fierce, so people prefer not to cross me, that’s all.”

Xu Mo waved his hand. “Don’t say that, Fifth Aunt. My wife and I both saw it just now, and we both believe you have real presence!”

As he spoke, Xu Mo glanced at Chen Miaoyi.

Chen Miaoyi immediately nodded. “It’s true, Fifth Aunt. My husband and I both think so.”

Fifth Aunt was flattered—no one had ever praised her like this in all these years.

Then Xu Mo continued, “Fifth Aunt, as you can see, work on the workshop has already begun today. It will be some time before it’s finished. I have a position I’d like you to take on—are you willing?”

Fifth Aunt quickly asked, “What kind of position, Young Master Xu?”

“Head of logistics,” Xu Mo replied.

“Head of… logistics?” Fifth Aunt was stunned. “You want… you want me to be in charge?”

Xu Mo nodded. “Exactly. You’ll mainly be responsible for starting fires, cooking, preparing ingredients, and bringing water to everyone. Of course, all the other women will have to take your orders. If anyone disobeys or slacks off, you tell me immediately. Once the matter is confirmed, that person will be dismissed at once!”

Fifth Aunt hadn’t expected such good fortune to fall on her. She nodded happily, so excited she didn’t know where to put her hands.

Seeing this, Xu Mo smiled and said, “It’s settled then, Fifth Aunt. When we hand out wages later, I’ll announce it to everyone.”

“Thank you, Young Master Xu. Thank you, Madam Xu,” Fifth Aunt said again and again.

She then asked, “Young Master Xu, will my wages as head of logistics be higher than the others?”

“Of course!” Xu Mo replied. “I spoke with the village head last night. The women who cook will each get forty wen a day. Since your position is newly created, you’ll get double—eighty wen a day.”

“Eighty… eighty wen!” Fifth Aunt exclaimed in disbelief, raising her right hand to show ‘eight’ with her fingers, her gaze fixed in shock.

Her husband often worked as a porter outside Xinzhu City, and sometimes, after a whole day of hard labor, earned just over forty wen. Now she could earn eighty in a single day—almost twice as much as her husband!

Xu Mo encouraged her, “Fifth Aunt, as long as you do your job well, I’ll give you a bonus once the workshop is built.”

“Thank you, Young Master Xu… No, thank you, Master. Thank you, Madam!”

Fifth Aunt decided the title ‘Young Master Xu’ was too formal and switched to calling him ‘Master.’

“Very well! That’s settled. Go ahead and get to work. If you need anything, come find me anytime,” Xu Mo said with a smile.

Fifth Aunt left, overjoyed, thanking them profusely.

As soon as she stepped out of the courtyard, several women surrounded her, firing questions from all sides.

Fifth Aunt didn’t keep it secret. She generously told everyone about her promotion, at once drawing envious and admiring looks from the others.

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Afterwards, Xu Mo made his way to the forest.

There, under Xu Tieshu’s supervision, the villagers were chopping down trees with impressive efficiency.

Xu Mo walked forward and soon spotted Qin Mutou and Xu Hui. The two stood by a large tree; Qin Mutou was swinging his axe with all his might, while Xu Hui chattered away non-stop by his side, never pausing for breath.

Whenever sweat appeared on Qin Mutou’s face, Xu Hui would wipe it off with her handkerchief.

At these moments, Qin Mutou would blush with embarrassment, and apart from grinning sheepishly and chopping with even greater effort, he was at a loss for what else to do.

Xu Mo watched them for a while before quietly turning away.

After some time, seeing that there was nothing for him to do in the forest, Xu Mo headed back to the house.

There, Chen Miaoyi was feeling bored. When she saw Xu Mo return, she volunteered, “Husband, let me help with something. I’m so idle—I’m bored out of my mind.”

To her surprise, Xu Mo reached out and pulled her close by the waist, whispering in her ear, “Then let’s do something inside, and you won’t be bored anymore.”

As he spoke, his hand slid down her waist.

Startled, Chen Miaoyi’s cheeks flushed crimson. She tried to push him away. “Husband, what are you saying? There are so many people outside—how can you say such things? Please, someone might see us!”

She was so flustered her neck turned red, but she couldn’t break free from his embrace.

“If you keep this up, husband, I’ll… I’ll…” Chen Miaoyi’s tone grew vexed, almost angry, but she dared not show it entirely.

“What will you do?” Xu Mo teased. “Will you eat me up?”

He knew he’d teased her enough, so after these words, he released her.

But as he let go, he quickly pinched her shapely rear.

“Ah!” Chen Miaoyi, caught off guard, let out a soft, shy cry, her voice sweet and alluring.

She quickly covered her mouth with her hand and glanced anxiously outside, fearing someone had heard.

“Don’t worry, there’s no one,” Xu Mo said with a laugh.

Finding no one had heard, Chen Miaoyi turned back, pouting at Xu Mo, her face so red it seemed about to drip.

“I’m not talking to you anymore!”

She stamped her foot lightly and turned to leave.

Xu Mo followed her, smiling. “Miaoyi, if you’re really so restless, why not help Huihui keep the accounts and hand out wages? What do you think?”

“Sure!” Chen Miaoyi, delighted to have something to do, immediately turned back, nodding eagerly, her eyes and lips overflowing with joy.

As previously arranged, Xu Mo would provide two meals a day for everyone—breakfast and lunch. For dinner, the villagers would return home to eat.

When work ended at dusk, Xu Hui set out a table and together with Chen Miaoyi began distributing wages.

Xu Hui had already recorded the names of all the villagers earlier in the day, so now it was simply a matter of calling out each name and handing out the pay.

“Wang Fushan,” Xu Hui called loudly.

“Here! Here I am!”

A middle-aged man emerged from the crowd, beaming as he came forward to receive his sixty wen from Chen Miaoyi.

“Zhao Dahe…”

“Wu Liang…”

“Li Youcai…”

Xu Hui called out each name, and Chen Miaoyi handed over the wages. The process was orderly and efficient.

“Li Sanshui,” Xu Hui announced.

“Here, I’m here.”

A man in his early thirties, thin and wiry, hurried over, grinning from ear to ear.

But just as Chen Miaoyi was about to hand him his sixty wen, Fifth Aunt rushed over, shouting.

“Li Sanshui, you’ve got the nerve to come for your wages?”

Before her words had faded, she’d reached Li Sanshui and gave him a shove.

Unprepared, Li Sanshui staggered back and landed hard on the ground, grimacing in pain.

No one understood what was happening; the crowd exchanged bewildered glances.

Xu Tieshu quickly helped Li Sanshui to his feet and turned to Fifth Aunt. “Fifth Aunt, what are you doing? If there’s a problem, talk it out—why resort to this?”

Xu Mo also stepped forward. “Fifth Aunt, what did you mean by that?”

Fifth Aunt, furious, addressed Xu Mo. “Master, this Li Sanshui is utterly shameless!”

She pointed at Li Sanshui and raised her voice. “Everyone listen! Li Sanshui has been slacking off all day!”

The crowd burst into commotion.

Li Sanshui himself was flustered.

Fifth Aunt continued, “This morning, after working only a little while, he sneaked off while everyone was busy and didn’t return until just before lunch. The same thing happened after lunch—he disappeared as soon as work resumed and only came back before we finished!”

She scolded, “Li Sanshui, our Master treats us so well, giving us meat at every meal and paying such generous wages—yet you’re lazy and deceitful. Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?”