Gu Qingcheng nodded, praising her rarely, "That's the right way to think about it. My demands aren't high. Just treat cooking here as if you're cooking for your own family.
I won't say more. You all understand. I hope no one makes the same mistake as Ju Hong again, and I hope you all support He Hua.
As long as you keep the canteen this clean, you can all receive an extra three jin of rice each month!"
"Ah? Really? That's great!"
The three kitchen ladies' faces lit up with joy.
Who doesn't work for a living? They were already satisfied with receiving 20 jin of rice in 20 days.
Now, if each person could get an extra three jin of rice, it meant their families could have white rice for an extra 2-3 meals a month. What a wonderful thing!
Gu Qingcheng rewarded and punished clearly, using both kindness and authority to support He Hua, giving her face. Now, no one dared to defy He Hua anymore.
He Hua knew Gu Qingcheng was on her side. If Gu Qingcheng hadn't intervened to resolve this matter, and Ju Hong had simply refused to admit fault and badmouthed her in the canteen every day, her position as a team leader would have been difficult.
He Hua looked at Gu Qingcheng with admiration.
Gu Qingcheng measured their loyalty. He Hua's loyalty reached an excellent score of 95, while the other three women achieved an excellent score of 80.
Indeed, a person's loyalty to another first requires emotion. With emotion, the loyalty score increases.
The loyalty of the other three women had also increased because she had given them an extra three jin of rice.
Ju Hong's fate also made them realize the preciousness of their current job, and their loyalty to it rapidly strengthened.
Gu Qingcheng instructed:
"Then dispose of that pot of braised pork. Wash the pot clean and prepare another dish. They'll be here soon. If there isn't enough time, just chop up two salted ducks."
"Yes."
He Hua quickly got to work.
Gu Qingcheng then asked the other two women to boil hot water, explaining that the craftsmen would be arriving soon and needed hot water for bathing.
Boiling hot water was simple: wash the large pot clean, fill it with spring water, cover it, add firewood, and once the water boiled, transfer it to a large wooden barrel and continue boiling more water.
This job was so easy. For this, they received one tael of silver a month, and 20 jin of rice, no, now 23 jin of rice. Such an easy and profitable job, and Ju Hong didn't cherish it?
The remaining kitchen ladies muttered to themselves, secretly rejoicing that they were still working there.
To facilitate cooking for the public canteen, Gu Qingcheng had the village craftsmen punch holes in sections of bamboo, connecting them end-to-end to form long water pipes. These pipes channeled water from the mountain stream into a bamboo trough in the canteen. Below the trough were four openings in circular holes, where the spring water would flow into four huge water vats placed below.
The canteen water was drawn directly from these vats daily, which was very convenient.
The task of carrying water, which deterred many women, simply didn't exist for them here.
As they spoke, Mr. Jiang had already arrived on the mountain.
Gu Qingcheng asked him to hand over the people he brought to Liu Ding for processing and then led him to the canteen for a meal.
He Hua sliced one salted duck and one salted chicken, making a cold platter, and asked Gu Qingcheng if it was acceptable.
Gu Qingcheng said it was.
She brought out a jar of 25-proof sorghum wine to offer Mr. Jiang.
She dared not bring out the 50-proof Maotai, fearing that Mr. Jiang, who might not have drunk high-proof liquor before, would get drunk immediately.
The 50 craftsmen Mr. Jiang had brought this time were all top experts in their fields. For example, the blacksmith Chen, who was known as the "Lu Ban of the Mountains" below, had exquisite craftsmanship and could forge particularly small components.
Gu Qingcheng wanted to build a waterwheel, which would require such craftsmen.
Furthermore, Gu Qingcheng had also begun clearing a three-meter wide road along the current mountain ridge to facilitate the movement of carriages, ox carts, and horseback riding between the mountains in the future.
With improved transportation capabilities, supporting industries also needed to develop, such as craftsmen who built carriages and blacksmiths who shod horses. The demand would be enormous.
Therefore, she needed a large number of skilled personnel and would rely on Mr. Jiang frequently.
After drinking Gu Qingcheng's baijiu, Mr. Jiang praised it profusely, saying he had never tasted such fine wine. However, the liquor was strong, and after three cups, he slumped over the table and fell asleep snoring.
Gu Qingcheng had someone carry Mr. Jiang to a guest room to sleep. She wanted him to rest there for the night and not rush down the mountain. He always came and went in a hurry. This time, she wanted him to have a deep experience of life in Phoenix Village.
The craftsmen Mr. Jiang brought had already been dewormed and bathed.
The public canteen prepared their first meal on the mountain: white flour noodles with double eggs, symbolizing peace and good fortune, and each person also received two meat patties.
Craftsmen engaged in physical labor consumed a lot of energy and had large appetites. A bowl of noodles with two eggs would not satisfy them, so Gu Qingcheng thoughtfully added two more meat patties. With some oil and meat, they wouldn't get hungry as easily.
On their first day in Phoenix Village, they weren't required to work immediately. Instead, accommodations were arranged, and they were asked to report their specialties, which Huang Wenming would then register.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Dai Fa, who accompanied Gu Qingcheng and the others for lunch at the canteen that afternoon, felt that the kitchen ladies in the canteen were exceptionally enthusiastic today. Even the dishes they cooked tasted better than usual.
Dai Fa rubbed his nose and asked Gu Qingcheng:
"Does Mi Guo often come here to play recently?"
"No, why?"
Gu Qingcheng asked, puzzled.
"Oh, I thought the kitchen ladies had learned a few tricks from him. Their cooking has improved so much."
Gu Qingcheng laughed heartily. It seemed that after firing Ju Hong, everyone had become more obedient and put more effort into their cooking.
People's potential is limitless; sometimes, you just need to push them.
When managing people, you can't always be soft-hearted.
The refugees came from all over the country, having endured immense hardships. Those who survived here were no ordinary people.
During their escape, the fear of hunger had made them temporarily docile in Phoenix Village, but to truly control them and make them completely obedient, strong and decisive measures were necessary.
In the past, they only thought Gu Qingcheng was foolish and rich. But now, they realized that when Gu Qingcheng needed to discipline people, she was not soft-hearted at all.
Dai Fa had a good tolerance for alcohol. After drinking half a jar, he was slightly tipsy but remained sober. Gu Qingcheng then gave him two more jars of sorghum wine.
Dai Fa, a bit drunk, started talking about Luo Juan. He said Luo Juan had found a young man she liked, and they were dating.
He was considering if the time was right to ask Gu Qingcheng to accompany him to visit the young man and "warn" him, to finalize the matter.
He thought the young man was decent, but it wasn't advisable for them to date for too long, to avoid the young lady suffering any disadvantage.
Gu Qingcheng, of course, agreed to take on the task.
She had just helped Huang Wenming find a match, and now she was taking on a similar task. Was she becoming a matchmaker?
Did everyone have such high expectations of her?