Chapter 12

So Tired, Everyone’s Jealous of Me

Manfah dedicated all her time to working in the garden. Sometimes she harvested the crops herself. The physical labor was as exhausting as she had anticipated, but fortunately, she had the spring in the dimension to help. Drinking from the spring daily made her body stronger and allowed her to work for longer periods.

Manfah was trying to rely less on the system these days and was attempting to adapt to being a true gardener because soon she would have workers to take care of the garden.

Grandpa Puang had opened a shop selling sun-dried pork for several days now. Manfah hadn't planned to sell sausages and ham yet because she needed to wait for the pig farm construction to be completed. The refrigerator and freezer she bought were used to store fruits for now.

Manfah chose to plant more kiwis, strawberries, and cantaloupes.

Sister Prae had become a regular customer, buying her fruits to make desserts.

She sold them at a much cheaper price, or even cheaper than the market price that foreigners sold them for.

The villagers felt comfortable supporting her shop.

The shop hired two employees to help manage it. They were locals from the province but lived in different villages. Previously, they had worked in Siam City but couldn't handle the pressure.

Grandpa Puang and she had a chat with them. Overall, their personalities seemed good. As long as they didn't have a habit of stealing and were diligent in their work, that was enough.

Manfah paid them thirty baht a day. The shop opened from morning until 7 PM, and they could take one day off a week.

Both employees were men. The first was named Din, aged 33.

The other was named Phai Khiao, aged 35.

Manfah called them Uncle Din and Uncle Phai Khiao. They were a bit surprised to learn that Manfah was their employer. At first, they thought they were being tricked, but Grandpa Puang calmly explained everything. Only then did they realize they hadn't been deceived into working. Luckily, they didn't have to bring their land deeds to prove anything since they were at home. Heh heh.

Uncle Din and Uncle Phai Khiao were taken aback by the money Manfah offered.

They requested to receive a monthly salary, but for this week, they asked for an advance of seven days because they needed to provide for their families first. Both of them had wives and children.

The work rules weren't too strict. If they sold out quickly, they could go home early.

Manfah thought that by paying them well, they would be motivated to sell and take good care of the shop.

A comfortable job with good pay was something to cherish.

Grandpa Puang visited the shop every day without fail. Manfah was happy to see Grandpa Puang lively and cheerful every day. In the evenings, he would sit down to watch his favorite TV shows right on time. Grandpa Puang's life was truly enviable.

On a new morning just like any other, Manfah was busy picking mangoes and putting them into a basket. Mafueang had arrived unnoticed and was now pouting at her, clearly upset.

Manfah glanced at her briefly before returning her focus to the mangoes.

"Ignoring me again, Man?"

"Can't you see I'm working?"

"I came all the way here to play with you."

"Then let's play 'pick the mangoes.'"

"You're just trying to make me work."

"I'll give you five bags of sun-dried pork."

"Now that's tempting."

Oh… it takes a little bribery to get her to help with the mangoes. Haha.

Once Manfah finished with the mangoes, she moved on to dealing with mangosteen, papaya, bananas, and oranges. Then she continued with the vegetables: cabbage, morning glory, cilantro, spring onions, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, cucumbers, tomatoes, and bell peppers.

Mafueang watched Manfah work tirelessly, amazed.

"Aren't you tired, Man?"

"Nope, just the usual. Are you tired?"

"Yeah, I'm hungry."

"Alright, let's head inside. You can watch TV first; I'll go to the kitchen."

Today, Manfah decided to make shrimp stir-fried with spicy sataw. Mafueang had never tried shrimp before. Manfah started by cooking the rice and then moved on to pounding the spicy curry paste.

She prepared the spicy curry paste first, then stir-fried it until fragrant before adding the shrimp from the dimensional system. Once the shrimp was nearly cooked, she added sataw and followed with kaffir lime leaves. She seasoned it with fish sauce and sugar. Next, she fried some eggs sunny-side up. She served two plates of rice topped with the eggs and then added the shrimp stir-fried with spicy curry paste and sataw.

Both plates were placed on the table in front of the TV.

"This looks delicious. Is this shrimp?" Mafueang looked at the shrimp with interest.

"Yes, it is. Let's eat."

"If my mom knew, she'd be so jealous. It's so flavorful."

"You're so cheeky."

"Hehe."

"Uncle Pai has been coming over almost every day lately."

"Yeah, the durians are selling well."

"They're really tasty. I feel bad for Dad who can't eat them often."

"My dad took some durians to share with his friends at the land office. Everyone was grinning from ear to ear."

"The durian smell must have been strong. Haha."

"Exactly. You can't eat them at work. Even uncut, you can smell them. It must be torturous. My dad mentioned you want to start a pig farm?"

"Yes, a big one."

"You'll need to hire a lot of people."

"Uncle Pai can manage the work. I need to save up to buy gold bars."

"Why's that?"

"The system sets the price for the machinery. To use them, you have to pay twenty gold bars per machine. I'm planning to buy two machines for making sun-dried pork, two for ham, and two for sausages."

"Let me count first. We need to save up 120 bars."

"Uncle Pai and I are splitting the cost. We're partners."

"Oh… I see. That's great. At least Uncle Pai is helping with the money."

After we finished eating, we washed the dishes. Manfah returned to work in the garden, with Mafueang helping her. However, Mafueang couldn't help for long because she got tired, so Manfah gave her some spring water from the dimension to drink.

"Manfah, this water is amazing. I suddenly feel energized."

"That's good. You rest while I plant some vegetables." Manfah then conjured four rows of vegetables and watered them within the dimension.

Mafueang watched her magical planting with great interest. "My friend is the coolest."

Manfah took Mafueang to see the construction of the worker's quarters. The quarters were designed to accommodate a hundred people. Families would stay together in one unit, while singles would be separated by gender. There were separate bathing facilities for men and women, as well as a dining hall.

The contractor's name was Watchara, a friend of Uncle Pai. When Uncle Watchara found out she was the client, he was very surprised. A twelve-year-old hiring someone to build worker's quarters! Uncle Pai had hinted at it, but he thought it was a joke. Eventually, he realized it was true. Manfah explained her vision for the worker's quarters, and both were startled to learn it was indeed for the workers. Of course, it was true. She believed it would keep things orderly and prevent chaos. The workers would feel safe and happy with their accommodations. Although it was expensive, it was worth it for the future.

Since she needed money urgently, Uncle Pai ordered people to harvest durians and mangosteens every day without stopping! They brought a truck to load the fruits twice a day, morning and evening. In the dimension, Manfah had planted a lot of durians and even expanded the land there.

"Hello, Uncle Watch."

"Oh, hello, little Man."

"This is Mafueang, Uncle Phin's daughter," Manfah introduced her friend.

"Hello, Uncle Watch."

"Hello there, the daughter of Village Headman Phin."

"I brought Mafueang to see the worker's quarters."

"Come on, I'll show you around myself."

Then Uncle Watch took them around, avoiding any dangerous areas.

"I bought an additional two acres because the land wasn't enough."

"When did you buy it?"

"When I stayed at your house."

"Is the land in our village really that cheap?"

"This area is at the end of the village, so it's cheaper than elsewhere, just a few thousand."

"Your few thousand is still considered expensive by the villagers. Don't forget, our teachers only earn two hundred baht a month."

"That's true," Manfah laughed awkwardly.

"By the way, Uncle Watch, how many houses are you building?"

"Twenty houses, each with six rooms and one bathroom."

"But you've already built separate bathrooms for men and women."

"It's convenient at night. Sometimes the workers' relatives come to visit."

"You think of everything."

"Putting myself in their shoes. I'm providing good money and accommodation, so I expect the workers to take good care of my garden."

Watchara was quite surprised by Manfah's thinking. She didn't seem like a typical twelve-year-old; she had a vision beyond her years. Maybe he should ask Pai about Manfah again.

"I'm going to hire cooks from the village too. The workers need to have meals."

Mafueang nodded vigorously. "Being a worker in your garden is really comfortable."

"Interested?"

"No way. You'd work me to death. Why don't you hire a housekeeper too?"

"Grandpa Puang likes to do the housework himself," Manfah shrugged. It's not that she didn't want to hire one.

"Bragger, bragger," Mafueang teased her with mock annoyance. "Having a friend like you makes me die of envy."

"Ha ha, don't just blame Mafueang. Even I am envious."

"Uncle Watch, you’re joining my friends too. Ugh! It's exhausting having so many people jealous."

"Your face doesn't show that at all, you show-off. Hmph!"