Not far from the Cathedral Square of Tournest, there is a damp and gloomy alley, which is very narrow, and when the donkey carries two baskets full of baskets on his back, the donkey driver must be very careful to avoid the tragedy of the donkey getting stuck in the walls on both sides of the alley.

And that's not all the trouble this alley has for the donkey herders.

The church squares and the bustling shopping streets of Tournest are now paved with stone slabs and cobblestones, but the alley will probably remain the same in another fifty years' time—a dirt road that has been pitted by pedestrians and cattle, and a puddle of water left by the previous rain's rains. Fortunately, the young man in charge of driving the donkey was not a superior man, nor did he have any delicate cleanliness habits, and he was comfortable with having to step into a puddle of water or have a few fresh mud spots splashed on his bare legs by the donkey's footsteps.

Because of its narrowness, the whole alley can be said to be seen all year round, and the walls on both sides are either made of wooden planks or stones, showing the wealth of its owners. But whatever the material of their back walls, many years later, were now covered with moss, and near the ground there were weeds growing in every crevice, and in a few places wild flowers were blooming, so that the donkey would always try to tilt his head and take a bite, and then the donkey driver would fiercely whip and curse the donkey to keep it going.

They—the donkey driver and the donkey—finally came to their destination, and the ochre-red back wall showed the extraordinary magnanimity of the owner, and in the center of the wall was a small, inconspicuous faded door.

"Phew, phew." The donkey driver stopped the donkey and went forward and struck the door with his fist.

He's here. It was an appointment, so it didn't take long. The door creaked open, and a woman dressed as a cook in an apron greeted him. Bring him and the donkey carrying the goods into the door.

Then the cook went upstairs and called the hostess to check whether the vegetables, fruits, butter, cheese, eggs, and firewood brought by the tenant were in accordance with the quantity originally agreed.

The hostess did not come downstairs to do an examination, for she trusted the cook very much, for she had worked for their house for thirty years, and was a most decent servant, and she never stole her master's food at every opportunity, as other cooks did, nor did she mix water with her master's wine in order to sell the extra wine to the vendor for two allowances. The food and spices handed to her are never short, and every guest who visits complains about the lack of food. Or the taste of the wine is too light.

Therefore, the hostess trusts the cook as much as her right hand.

And this cook has never lived up to the trust of her master, as long as she manages the kitchen for a day, no matter how clever the little maid is, she will never want to rub oil from her.

"Just look at it." The hostess said.

The cook, who had heard the order, returned to the kitchen, and counted the number of goods poured out of the basket as the young tenant boy did, and she ordered them carefully and earnestly, without any slackening or any affection in the absence of the hostess.

She was a decent servant.

After the points are finished. The young man took out a large bag of things from under the basket and handed it to the cook, who in turn handed him a large bag of things, and the two exchanged them tacitly. The young man counted a few small silver coins and put them in the cook's hand.

Then the two said goodbye, and the young man drove the donkey out of the mansion.

After sending the lads away. The cook began her private work - she found the goose feathers from the young man's squander, smooth and neat, and cut them. Tear off the narrow side of the feather and polish the feather stalk twice on a grinding stone. Then use scissors to narrow the feather stem.

She did it leisurely and unhurriedly, not fast, in fact, the pay for this private work was very meager, that is, her speed was very fast, and she could not support herself with the income from this work.

However, she doesn't need this job to support herself.

This is where cottage industry trumps workshop craft - incredibly cheap cost.

No matter how cruel and mean the owner of a handicraft workshop is, he must not starve his workers to death, and he may be paid less than three meals a day, but he must give his workers one meal a day, otherwise how will his workers live?

And cottage industry is different.

The housewife can be paid so little that she does not have to eat a meal, and she does not have to be provided with her accommodation by her boss - she depends on her husband for food and shelter, and her work is at home, and working for the boss is just two lamp oil dollars.

In Italy, where capitalism first emerged, the merchant distributed the wool he bought to various households, so that the housewives could spin the wool in their spare time, and then send it to the factory, where the workers would weave the wool into tapestries and other things. In the famous book "Decameron", this mode of production is used as the background

A tragic love story, a young man who is responsible for delivering wool to various homes, falls in love with a girl who spins wool for his boss.

Even in the 21st century, this extremely cheap form of labor, without counting labor hours and labor laws (like online writers, gig workers do not pay any social security and do not have triple wages on national holidays) is still widely prevalent - child labor is illegal, but children help with work with their mothers after school, such as gluing rhinestones and weaving Chinese knots...... It is not illegal, but it is also considered a symbol of industriousness.

Moreover, this type of work seems to be more tender than factory work, and child laborers who serve in this kind of labor may be beaten in the same way, but being beaten by their mothers and being beaten by a foreman are two different things, and women do not have to leave their housework and children and run between the factory and home.

In an era when there is no family planning, and every woman has a large group of children thanks to the health care of the Great Demon King, this kind of subcontracted domestic labor is obviously very advantageous.

However, when the Great Demon King implemented the household subcontracting system, he didn't think about the problem of child labor at all.

When she found out - when she saw a mother sitting upright with one foot on an improved pedal spinning wheel and one foot on a cradle and busy cutting feathers in her hands, her eldest child shearing feathers beside her, the second eldest child grinding feathers, the third child giggling and tearing feathers thinking that it was not a job but a fun game, and the fourth child lying in the cradle and sleeping soundly because she was full of the abundant milk of her mother, who earned enough food from her work, - She was dumbfounded by this little family feather making zuò assembly line.

"A three-year-old is doing my work?!" She shouted.

When she was shocked by this, she obviously did not think that in the mansion of Karl, a former wool monopoly merchant who was her hidden enemy of the Bishop, there was a cook who was extremely loyal to her master, and was busy making arrows for her master's enemies......

Even the cook's master doesn't know, let alone her master's enemies! (To be continued......)