Along the way, they discussed opening a clothing store, and the more they talked, the more excited the family became, and they talked about how to use the clothing industry to further mobilize the female labor force. Liu Yao www.biquge.info who wrote and talked about it, planned casually: "Let's develop the garment industry, train some fashion designers, and make Hainan a fashion capital!" Robbed Milan of the business. But then I don't have enough manpower. Just now I was saying that the men are all used up. ”

Liu Man said angrily: "Can't you train female designers to come out? I don't believe that men do everything well. What cooking is made by women, the best chef is made by men, what sewing clothes is made by women, and the best tailors are men. I'm going to make the best tailors in the world all women. ”

"But the best cooks and tailors are men, you can't deny that. This is true in both China and abroad. Liu Yao spread his hands and said.

"Is it true that a man is smarter than a woman?" Liu Man asked dissatisfiedly.

"No, my dear daughter." Liu Yao begins his formal statement in this way: "Just because a man doesn't need to cook and sew clothes for the family, and he doesn't need to have children, he can devote all his time and energy to tailoring or cooking." At the same time, the whole society will support him to do anything that can be regarded as a career instead of opposing it, but women have to put family as the first pursuit and career second. Therefore, in the field of career, every woman looks like an amateur. ”

"Will a woman be opposed if she pursues a career? No way. "Liu Man doesn't know much about both worlds.

"It's not that it's against it, it's that the professional world has been taken over by men. Even if a woman doesn't need to have children, she always has to take the time to have them. Moreover, it is impossible not to take the child with you, so you always have to breastfeed. Yao Ying said helplessly.

"Women's careers are cut into sections by childbearing, and men become the mainstream of the professional world. It's a hard thing to avoid. Even if I might have the power to change customs in this world, it would be difficult for me to do anything about it. Liu Yao also said helplessly.

"Is there no way around it?" Liu Man was a little anxious.

"I have a solution: if your mom is still young, we can consider having another one, and then I will take care of the children at home and be an example. But your mother can't have children anymore. Liu Yao said regretfully.

"You'll find another one. Concubinage is allowed in this world. Yao Ying said sourly.

"Haha, forget it, it's enough for me to serve you." Liu Yao smiled, pointed to the door of the house and said, "Look, someone is waiting for us at the door." ”

Liu Man took a closer look, laughed and said, "It's Wang Daixi." You can think about her. ”

Wang Daixi didn't pay attention to why the family was laughing, and after bowing slightly to everyone, he stood up straight and raised his head and said firmly: "Sir, I still remember you told me that numbers are the most reliable tool. "The little girl's eyes and nostrils were black, and she had obviously stayed up all night.

"Yes, that's what I said, and that's what I believe. Xiaoman, take a towel and let Obiki wipe his face. Liu Yao said while thinking that the oil lamps used for lighting are too inconvenient now, but it is difficult to imagine that electricity generation has been achieved recently. Every time I wanted to do something at night, I was exhausted by the dim and flickering oil lamp. People like Wang Daixi can only burn pine ming, that is, the oil-rich wooden strips of pine trees, and the flame is not only more unstable, but also has a lot of oil smoke, which can blacken the nostrils of people who are close to it.

"Sir, I've counted the numbers, I've counted twice, we're going to have a shortage of food, and we may have to use fewer people."

"Dad, let's ask someone to help with the housework." Xiao Man struggled to bring out a wooden basin, and walked crookedly, splashing all over the ground. In the house, Yao Ying started to cook on the fire, but she was choked by the firewood smoke and coughed incessantly.

"Obiki is telling me to reduce the use of people, probably because we don't have enough food." Liu Yao probably knew what Wang Daixi was going to say, and said to the little girl with a firm face and black smoke: "Wipe your face, have breakfast with us, and then talk slowly." ”

A stack of yellowed rough paper was filled with tiny numbers, but the structure was clear, and the logic clearly stated one thing: people used too much.

The data showed that Liu Yao needed to pay for more food, including the food that had been deferred, the food that had been paid in advance by those who had surplus food, and the interest on that grain, exceeded the output of his own fields for the next season. To make matters worse, the next season's food production will not even be enough to support the current population, not counting the impact of the growing population.

"You give everyone such a good house to live in, and there is a guarantee of wages, so many places need manpower to start construction, so people who are not happy with life in the neighborhood are coming. I've heard that a lot of people are selling their land and houses, and they're rushing here when they're done. Wang Daixi said worriedly.

"I thought you'd just stay in the house and count the numbers." Liu Yao smiled, picked up the teacup and drank it slowly, and asked, "If our thousand acres of land are opened, how can there be enough food to eat, right?" ”

Mr. Zhao Shilu said that he could not guarantee that the river would be built before the water rose. Moreover, the rise in water may be advanced. ”

Liu Yao felt that the tense was a bit serious, and asked with the teacup, "That...... Fork River Village, they should still have a lot of food. ”

"I don't have an exact number, but they have changed the seeds, and it is estimated that there is not much food in stock." Wang Daixi pointed to the data on a piece of paper and said: "This is the grain they exchanged, this is my estimate of their yield this season based on the number of acres of their fields, almost seventy percent of them are exchanged with us for good seeds." ”

"That's good, I'm happy, you've done a good job with this ********!" Liu Yao began to be surprised by Wang Daixi's sensitivity and thoroughness to the surrounding situation.

"But I'm just bringing bad news, and I can't make food." Wang Daixi spoke with a crying voice.

"Don't be afraid, you just care about the numbers. How to conjure up food is someone else's business. Liu Yao comforted the little girl, looked at the data on the paper, and asked, "Is the income of the blacksmith shop included?" ”

"Forget it. However, the blacksmith also had to consume charcoal and buy pig iron, which was very labor-intensive, and the furnace had to be repaired. The steel that is smelted is made into our own tools, and very little is sold, so in fact, there is not much money. ”

"yes, the takeaway is small, and when the stove is being repaired, everyone stops." Liu Yao nodded and said. "This means selling as much as you can outside, and maybe building two stoves so that people don't sit idle."

"There weren't that many iron tools. Now there are six people outside to buy ironware, and all four of them have gone to Qiongzhou and Guangfu to buy them, which is just enough for the stove to burn. Wang Daixi shook his head and said.

"That's right. It seems that it is imperative to open your own mines. But that's a lot of people. I'm either going to stop some projects, or I'm going to have to make food. Bring joy, after you have eaten, go and invite Mei Yuanwai and Sun Zhenggang, Zhao Shilu, Yu Chaoqin and the person in charge of the workshop, and I will discuss it with them. ”

Mei Xianzhuo took Zhao Shilu, Sun Zhenggang, and Li Jiangong to come in the afternoon, and said as he entered the house: "Mr. Liu, this project may be really too much, and it took me half a day to call these brothers together. ”

Liu Yao beckoned everyone to sit down in the courtyard and said, "It's been almost two months since the last time we discussed and asked you to do things. In the future, we will meet every month, talk to each other, and discuss anything. Everyone nodded yes. Liu Yao said again: "Today, I brought me some numbers, I read them again in the morning, and the numbers are all right, and the calculations are right." The conclusion of these figures is that our grain will not last for the next season, and the total grain output for the next season will not be enough for these people to eat. Moreover, the number of people who come to our village to settle down is still increasing. ”

Facing everyone's surprised faces, Liu Yao added: "It's because the food in our whole village is not enough for the people who have settled in our village to eat, and it's not that I can't distribute food." It was only one month after the autumn harvest, and there were still five months left until the summer harvest. I have only enough food to be distributed for two months, and there is a gap of two months. The food in the hands of everyone in the village can last for three months, and there is a one-month shortage. ”

"Let's stop making wine and raising pigs, which consume food, right?" Sun Zhenggang first thought of the matter at hand.

"That's a real savings. But the losses are also very large, and the pigs and cattle are only half the size. Mei Xianzhuo shook his head and said in embarrassment.

Yu Chaoqin has been looking at the numbers of the blacksmith shop, and he also borrowed an abacus from Liu Man to play. After a busy day, he stood up and said: "The income of the blacksmith shop can be a little higher, and we can make more elaborate tools, knives, scissors, kitchen knives, butcher's knives, and now the hoes and shovels in our village are all steel, which is too wasteful." A hoe made into scissors can be sold for 20 times the price. ”

"Do your apprentices know how to fight these tools?" Liu Yao was a little worried.

Yu Chaoqin became excited: "That's what I eat!" Hoes and shovels are not my profession. And they all laughed.

Zhao Shilu pondered and said, "This is very good." You sell tools to the county, and you buy grain in the county and ship it. It's just that we're going to open a store in the county. Gonggong, your business is here again. ”

Liu Yao added: "This shop can't just sell ironware, our paper, joinery, and waterwheels can all be sold in the store. ”

Sun Zhenggang suddenly stood up and said, "Sir, everyone, can I let the little girl go to this shop to learn to do business?" ”

Everyone felt that it was sudden. People who have children in school have pondered: Sun Qiaoqiao is a little unable to keep up, and he has not yet been divided into classes. But Qiaoqiao is just ten years old, what can he learn?

Liu Yao sighed in his heart: Pity the hearts of parents all over the world, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, there is no exception. This Sun Zhenggang is just looking for a way out for his daughter, and he is usually very slow to react, but now he reacts quickly and his thinking is alive. Just thinking about it, I heard Li Jiangong say: "It's not me who pushes it. I couldn't finish shopping, just buying iron and pig iron, and I went to Guangzhou. I don't care about selling salt now. ”

"I have an idea. There are not enough people in our village, can we use the people in Chahe Village? I think the fat man and a few of his men look very capable. Liu Yao came up with a new idea.

"Okay, let's let him make some money, we can solve the problem of manpower shortage, and we can also make the relationship between the two villages better." Mei Xianzhuo also thinks this method is good.

"This matter should be fair, let's make a bidding and tell everyone that anyone can come to this business, as long as you buy as many iron tools as you can at one time, we will cooperate with him." Liu Yao put forward the concept of bidding with great interest, but he didn't expect to get a bunch of strange expressions.

Mei Xianzhuo looked at everyone's expressions, and then saw that everyone's eyes turned to focus on himself, coughed, and said with an embarrassed face: "Let's look for Huang Fat Man because we believe that he can handle this matter well." Now you are looking for Huang Fat Man again, and you say that anyone can do this, that is because you don't believe Huang Fat Man, and you look down on this matter. In this way, most of the fat yellow people will not come to cooperate with you. ”

“.…..” Liu Yao was very surprised, and he couldn't react at once.

"And the yellow fat man will feel humiliated by you and make a grudge against you." Li Jiangong added.

"Then, okay, if you don't bid, you'll be a fat man." Liu Yao said helplessly.

"But he's going to buy us five hundred taels of silver at a time!" Mei Xianzhuo was inspired and viciously offered the bid.

"Just give me five days." Yu Chaoqin said happily that it seemed that he was indeed tired of playing hoes and shovels. Liu Yao couldn't help but ask him: "Mr. Yu, have you finished your hoe and axe?" ”

"It's not close...... But it's about the same, I'll sell the things first, and I'll have five days, without delay. Yu Chaoqin hurriedly explained.

“…… Okay, you arrange it well" Liu Yao was a little helpless.

Zhao Shilu looked at the data on the paper, and after muttering a few words to Wang Daixi, he said: "These five hundred taels of silver are enough to eat for about a month." Huang Fatzi has eaten so many goods, and the next purchase is estimated to be half a year later. So we have to find another way. ”

Mei Jiaju stood up and whispered, "Hello gentlemen, I have an idea here. ”

Mei Xianzhuo's eyes widened and he was about to scold, Liu Yao hurriedly spoke: "Jiaju, you say, any ideas are welcome!" ”

"I heard Zhong Laosi say that the mermaids in Shilu Port can't be eaten, can we exchange some fish with ironware?" Mei Jiaju asked crampedly.

"What's so good about fish? If you can get this fish, wait for you to think of it? If you take too much, it will stink, and if you take less, it will not be enough for labor money. Mei Xianzhuo still found an opportunity to scold his son.

Liu Yao walked over and patted Mei Jiaju, who had already lowered his head deeply, stood beside him and said, "I think this method is good." Fish is not easy to get, but we can dry it into fish. Now it's hot, and it can be dried in a few days. It happened to be the farming slack again, and the women had nothing to do at home, so they could go to Shirokugang to dry fish. ”

Sun Zhenggang patted it and said, "This fish is also top of the grain." Lao Mei, you are still scolding, if my kid is so smart, I will wake up laughing. ”

Li Jiangong frowned and said, "It's just that it's troublesome to transport it in." The current of the Shiroku River is very fast, and it is very difficult to row against the current. ”

Mei Xianzhuo temporarily put aside his anxiety with his son and arranged affairs: "Gonggong, you still have to put down the things in hand first, and you still have to come to talk about business with Huang Fatzi." You can't do without our people in the store, you have to arrange for a few men to go in. As for buying fish, dried fish can be dried, and you can also go to Shiroku Port to see if there is a way for those boaters to ship it. ”

Wang Daixi saw the opportunity to put forward the figures: "If other workshops can earn 187 taels of silver every month, plus dried fish can buy 2,700 catties per month, and each catty of dried fish can top two catties of grain, we can last until the autumn harvest!" ”