Starting from a thatched cottage, the farmer embarked on the road to wealth through imperial examina

Chapter 172 Kimchi Processing Workshop

A few days later, the kimchi workshop next to the milk processing workshop was completed, and the jars made in Lai Chongde's workshop were pulled to the door of the newly built workshop by ox carts.

The workers in the processing workshop and the villagers in the village were very curious and came to watch and inquire about the news.

Seeing Ye Changyan and Erniu counting the number of jars and directing the workers who were transporting the jars to place the jars at the designated location, some villagers came forward to ask.

"Sanlang, who built this thatched hut? What are these jars all over the floor for?"

Seeing that the person who asked the question was Diao Dezhui from the village, Ye Changyan, who had no intention of hiding it from everyone, opened his mouth to answer.

"Uncle Dezhu, this thatched shed was built by my family. We plan to use it to build a kimchi processing workshop, and these jars are used to make kimchi."

Everyone became a little confused when they heard Ye Changyan say this, and then they heard Diao Dezhu continue to ask.

"What kind of vegetable is this kimchi?"

"This kimchi is similar to pickled vegetables, and is also a kind of pickled vegetable, but our kimchi processing workshop also makes some different pickled vegetables."

While explaining to everyone, Ye Changyan directed the delivery workers sent by Lai Chongde to arrange the jars in an orderly manner.

When everyone heard Ye Changyan say this and looked at the jars all over the floor, someone asked again.

"Sanlang, does your processing plant recruit workers like Boss Zhong's milk processing plant?"

When everyone heard this, they pricked up their ears, as this was what they were most concerned about. Now everyone knew that working in a milk processing workshop was well paid, but the milk processing workshop was already fully staffed. They didn't know whether Ye Changyan's kimchi processing workshop was hiring helpers.

"Of course, this kimchi processing workshop needs to recruit some people, but mostly short-term workers. Long-term workers are also needed, but we can't recruit many."

Everyone felt a little disappointed when they heard this, but Ye Changyan's next words aroused everyone's strong interest.

"My dear uncles and aunts, although our kimchi processing workshop cannot compare with Mr. Zhong's milk processing workshop and cannot recruit many helpers, our kimchi processing workshop needs a lot of vegetables as raw materials for making kimchi, such as mustard greens, Chinese cabbage, radishes, beans, etc. grown in your fields. We will purchase a lot of them."

When everyone heard this, they all became more interested.

"Sanlang, it's spring now, the weather is getting warmer, and the vegetables in the fields are growing fast. I'm still worried because we can't eat much at home. The vegetables grown by every household are not easy to sell in the town or the county! Will you really buy these vegetables?"

Everyone looked at Ye Changyan expectantly. Every household at the scene had at least one or half an acre of vegetables planted in their fields. Just as this man said, his family could not eat much, and it was not easy to sell. In previous years, these vegetables were mostly fed to chickens and ducks. The few families who raised pigs were slightly better off, after all, pigs eat more.

"Everyone, rest assured. One of the purposes of building this kimchi processing workshop is to help you solve the problem of marketing the vegetables grown in the fields."

After hearing what Ye Changyan said, everyone looked at him expectantly.

"Pull up the radishes from your fields, chop the mustard greens and Chinese cabbages, and send them directly to our kimchi processing workshop. I will buy them at the market price per pound."

Everyone was happy when they heard this. The vegetables had to be carried a long way to the town or county. If Ye Changyan purchased them directly, it would save a lot of trouble.

"Since this processing workshop has just started construction, the amount of vegetables that can be processed each day is limited, so everyone takes turns to send the fresh vegetables to the processing workshop in order."

When everyone heard this, they became worried again. Almost every household in the village grew some vegetables. If this was true, how long would it take for someone to get their turn?

Seeing that everyone looked a little worried, Ye Changyan continued.

"Don't worry, everyone. I just told you that our processing workshop will also make some pickled vegetables. Families with a lot of vegetables can pull up the radishes, cut them into strips, and dry them on bamboo strips. I will buy them at ten times the price of fresh radishes."

When everyone heard this, they immediately became excited again. For example, Diao Dezhuo's field had more than half an acre of radishes that had not yet been harvested.

"The same goes for families that grow a lot of mustard and Chinese cabbage. They can cut the mustard and Chinese cabbage first, split them in half, and use bamboo strips to dry them. However, they only need to be dried until they are 70% to 80% dry before they can be harvested and sent to the processing workshop. I will buy them at six times the price of fresh mustard and Chinese cabbage."

Liu Guihong was extremely happy in the crowd. His family not only planted a field of lotus roots, but also a lot of vegetables. He used to dig some lotus roots every day, add some radishes and other vegetables, and carry them to Qingshan Town to sell. There was always some pocket money at home.

But there are a lot of people selling vegetables recently, and these vegetables are not easy to sell. Hearing Ye Changyan say this, Liu Guihong asked Ye Changyan excitedly for confirmation.

"Sanlang, is what you said true? My family still has half an acre of mustard and half an acre of radishes. If this is true, I will go back and call my family to go to the fields to pick radishes and cut mustard."

"Uncle Liu, what I said is true. Look, the processing workshop has been built and the jars for making kimchi have been delivered. You can prepare them without any worries."

Seeing Liu Guihong nodded with satisfaction, Ye Changyan then spoke to everyone.

"If you have a lot of vegetables in your fields, you can prepare them in the next two days as I just said. As for the fresh vegetables, our processing workshop will need another two days to prepare them. After three days, you can send the fresh vegetables to us."

After hearing such good news, everyone happily dispersed and ran home to prepare to dry the vegetables.

Afterwards, Ye Changyan went to find Zhang, the wife of the head of the village, and asked Zhang to find a few capable wives in the surrounding villages in the next two days. Ye Changyan planned to hire a few long-term workers. In addition, this period is the concentrated harvest season for vegetables, so he would find a few short-term workers and their remuneration would be the same as that of the milk processing workshop.

When Zhang heard this, she readily agreed.

Then Ye Changyan took Fang Xiaotong to the county town and bought some ingredients needed for making pickles, such as salt, white wine, and peppercorns.

The next day, Zhang brought the people she had found over. Ye Changyan was quite satisfied with them. He temporarily hired three daughters-in-law as long-term workers in the kimchi processing workshop, and the other five men and seven women were hired as short-term workers.

Then Ye Changyan and Erniu, together with a dozen newly hired workers, started to get busy.