After finishing their meal and resting for a bit, Luo Ge and her company began peeling the plums.
Not long after, Li Shopkeeper also had some peaches sent over.
Seeing that there weren't many peaches, and that they were easier to handle than plums, Luo Ge decided to start with the peaches first.
The method for making dried peaches was simpler than plums, but it required relatively fresh, crisp peaches to taste better.
First, wash the peaches without peeling them, and then cut them into chunks.
Next, add sugar and marinate them for two hours, then add lemon juice, put everything in a pot and simmer with a lid on. After it boils, leave it to stew for about half an hour, then take them out and sun-dry.
There's no need for additional steaming, sun-drying for two to three days is enough.
(Note: The method for making dried peaches was learned from a certain website.)
Fortunately, she was a food blogger, so she had lemons at home, and her spatial realm also had a few lemon trees.
She planned to move one out to plant, or grow some seedlings to plant, feeling that she would likely use them frequently in the future.
"Wife, go take a rest, I can handle the rest." Ever since finding out that his wife was pregnant, Gu Jinchen refused to let her do any work.
Seeing that she had finished with the peaches, he immediately said that he could handle the plums himself, or find someone to help peel them if needed.
The main trouble was just peeling the skin, the other steps were simple.
"It's alright, I can manage, it's only been one month, it won't affect me." Seeing his attitude, Luo Ge said helplessly.
She truly wasn't at the stage where she couldn't do any work, and this task wasn't strenuous either, especially since she was using a hand-cranked peeling machine, which made it much easier than before.
Plum drying can actually be done without peeling, but since these were wild plums that were quite tart and sour,
not peeling them would affect the taste, making them drier and harsher.
The main selling point of this product was the flavor, so there was no choice but to endure the trouble.
"Wife, listen to me." But this time, Gu Jinchen was insistent, feeling that she had already done a lot of work today and shouldn't continue.
Given her restless nature, she would surely overexert herself.
Seeing his stubbornness, Luo Ge had no choice but to give in, but as she sat watching him and the two little ones working, she truly felt guilty.
Worried that the two little ones might mishandle the knives, he only allowed them to help marinate the plum flesh to remove the sourness, so most of the work was done by Gu Jinchen himself.
Luo Ge watched, wanting to say something but stopping herself, having been stopped by him several times when she tried to approach.
"I'll go ask Wang Sister-In-Law to come help." Seeing this, she sighed and said.
Now that they had started harvesting plums, Li Shopkeeper would probably continue sending more over.
The peeling step would undoubtedly continue for some time, so they would inevitably need help sooner or later.
"Okay." Gu Jinchen had no objections, having had the same plan himself.
"Do you think a daily wage of 35 wen without meals would work?" After thinking it over, Luo Ge asked again.
She knew that this price was considered relatively high for the time, but it was mainly due to the close relationship between the two families.
Moreover, they were well aware of Wang Sister-In-Law's family's difficulties. When Gu Jinchen was away, it was Wang's family who helped care for Gu's seriously ill elders and the two little ones until he returned.
Although the expenses for caring for them had been settled at the time, they remembered this kindness in their hearts, so they wanted to help as much as they could.
Furthermore, this task required maintaining the same motion for an extended period, which was quite tiring, and might not last very long.
The plum season would pass, and they weren't sure about the other fruits yet, so they couldn't make any guarantees. That's why she suggested this.
"That's fine, you decide, I'll go with whatever you say." Hearing her plan, Gu Jinchen nodded directly and added, "From now on, you can take charge of all household matters."
"Huh?"
Ah... in this era, it was traditionally the man who made the decisions in the household, with patriarchy being quite prevalent. He was a native of this era, so for him to say this, she was truly quite surprised.
"Alright." But seeing his smile, she didn't say anything further.
In these past few days, the households hadn't been as busy as before, mainly just needing to remove weeds and apply fertilizer in the fields and farmlands.
Although they didn't have to rush with the work, it was still a continuous stream of tasks that never stopped.
There were no jobs available in the town now, so Wang Big Brother was idle at home. Hearing about Luo Ge's family harvesting plums, he had already gone up the mountain.
Aunt Zhang also went along, and when Luo Ge went over, Wang Sister-In-Law was just about to leave as well.
"Sister-In-Law."
"Luo Ge, why did you come over? Is there something you need?"
After considering it, Luo Ge explained her plan to Wang Sister-In-Law honestly.
"Sister-In-Law, you can consider it first and let me know once you've decided."
Seeing that Wang Sister-In-Law was about to leave, Luo Ge said so, and was about to return.
"Hey, this is a great opportunity, what's there to consider? But this daily wage is too much, I can't accept it."
It should be known that when her husband went to town to help others, he made at most twenty wen a day.
Now, just for helping to peel some fruit, she would get thirty-five wen a day. That was truly too much, she couldn't accept it.
"This doesn't include meals, and peeling fruit may seem simple, but it's quite tiring.
Moreover, the plum season is just for a short period, so you'll probably only be able to work for a little while."
Hearing Wang Sister-In-Law's words, Luo Ge explained honestly.
"Even so, I can't accept that much. What relationship do we have?
I'm happy to help without pay, you're already doing me a big favor by offering me this job."
"Cut it in half, and that would be fine. Don't you know what kind of person your sister-in-law is?"
Wang Sister-In-Law understood Luo Ge's intentions very well in her heart, and was grateful, knowing that Luo Ge wanted to help their family. But receiving so much made her feel uneasy.
The Gu family also owed her family no small favor.
Thirty-five wen, cut in half would be seventeen or eighteen wen, which was even lower than what they usually earned as hired help. Luo Ge felt a bit uneasy about this.
After all, the usual wage included meals, but hers did not.
After some back and forth, they finally settled on a daily wage of twenty-five wen.
After discussing with Luo Ge, Wang Sister-In-Law packed her things and prepared to come help, bringing Tie Dan along as well.
"Sister-In-Law, aren't you going up the mountain?"
"No, my husband has already gone up, and my mother-in-law went with him. Quite a few people from the village have gone too.
There's only so much space up in the mountains, if I go now, I probably won't be able to pick many. Your family will likely be too busy today, so I'll come help first."
Today, most people from the village had gone, so there probably wouldn't be many left near the Gu family's village. She planned to have her husband check her mother's village on his return.
Wild plums grew easily, so there were some in most of the mountains.
The Wang family were all honest people. Taking advantage of Luo Ge's family, they understood and didn't tell the other Wangs in the village. They also went to pick the fruit secretly.
Moreover, this morning when those people came to the Gu family's home, it was Wang Sister-In-Law who had secretly gone to call the village chief.
As more people came, she was afraid Luo Ge and her family would be bullied, so she hurried to call for help. That's why she later blended in with the crowd of Gu Clan people returning.
Hearing this, Luo Ge didn't say anything further.
"If there's time in the future, Sister-In-Law, please have Aunt Zhang come help as well? I'll give you both the same daily wage, is that alright?"
When she returned and saw that people had already begun delivering plums, Luo Ge said.
"Of course, I'll tell my mother when I get back."
"Good."
