The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 267: Chapter 267: Employment Contract

"This is an employment contract. You two..."

Ji Huan handed a thick stack of paper to Ji Xuelan and Ji Mingfang.

Remembering that Ji Xuelan was illiterate and that Ji Mingfang’s literacy was also limited, she pulled out a copy, opened it, and read it to them herself.

"Party A: Ji Huan. Party B: Ji Xuelan/Ji Mingfang. In light of the needs of Party A’s business development, Party B is to be hired to provide labor services for its spice workshop. Following mutual negotiation, this Labor Employment Contract is established with the following specific terms..."

There was no concept of intellectual property in ancient times. If Ji Huan wanted to protect the fruits of her labor, she had to rack her brain.

So she emphasized five points in the contract.

First, Party B must abide by all rules and regulations set by Party A and willingly submit to Party A’s management.

Second, Party B must strictly maintain the confidentiality of all production techniques and formulas related to Party A’s production and is prohibited from disclosing them to any third party.

Third, if Party B violates Party A’s regulations or work discipline, Party A has the right to administer punishment.

Fourth, if Party B abandons their post without Party A’s consent, their pay will be docked according to the number of days of unexcused absence. In severe cases, Party A reserves the right to terminate the contract and hold Party B accountable for breach of contract.

Fifth, if Party A suffers economic losses due to Party B’s negligence, insubordination, or unauthorized actions, Party A has the right to deduct from Party B’s wages accordingly. In severe cases, Party B may be dismissed. In egregious cases, Party B will be handed over to the government office.

All five clauses were aimed at Party B, which seemed a bit selfish, as if she were only considering things from her own perspective.

But it couldn’t be helped.

She wanted to build a utopian workshop, but under the current circumstances, where the necessary conditions weren’t in place, blind tolerance and democracy would only lead to ruin.

It was like how Sun Wukong would never have obediently accompanied Monk Tang on his journey to the Western Heaven without the golden fillet to keep him in check.

Without this employment contract, she lacked the confidence to manage all her employees.

’Although this "golden fillet" of hers was a cheap imitation at best, with no real power beyond intimidating laypeople, it would be enough to maintain control for now.’

The latter half of the contract also protected the rights of Party B.

For example, if Party A were to unilaterally terminate the employment agreement, they would have to pay Party B a certain amount of financial compensation. If Party B were injured at the workplace in the course of their duties, Party A would cover all medical expenses and also provide a certain amount of financial compensation to their family.

"...Once the employment contract is signed, both parties must fully perform the obligations stipulated within. Neither party may unilaterally alter or nullify it."

After she finished reading the entire contract, Ji Xuelan and Ji Mingfang didn’t react for a long time.

Ji Mingfang, lacking experience, assumed this was standard procedure for any job and glanced at Ji Xuelan, seeking her opinion.

But Ji Xuelan had never encountered such a formal arrangement either.

"Th-this, this is?"

"Don’t be nervous. This is mainly to protect both of our interests. It’s to avoid any disputes later by establishing the rules ahead of time.

If a dispute arises in the future and we have to go to the government office, this contract will serve as official evidence. By checking the terms, it will be easy to determine who is right and who is wrong."

Ji Huan explained it to them, clause by clause.

"This lists most of what both parties should and should not do. We can set the rest aside for now, but please pay close attention to these two points.

The first point is that I must pay you on time based on a performance evaluation—in other words, based on how well you complete your work. If I delay or withhold your pay, you don’t need to be courteous; you can take this contract to the government office and report me.

The second point is that while performing your duties, you must also abide by the workshop’s confidentiality rules. Once you enter the workshop, aside from information that is implicitly public, you cannot reveal a single detail about your work without my permission. If your carelessness causes a major loss for the workshop, I will use this contract to hold you accountable."

Hearing her talk about going to the government office, about "you reporting me" and "me holding you accountable," the two siblings looked at each other, unsure how to react.

’What on earth is Ji Huan trying to do? Why does this sound so intimidating?’

"Wan, I... We trust you. We would never go to the government office to report you, whether you could pay us or not. And you can rest completely assured about the workshop’s business. We won’t say a single word to anyone outside, not even to our parents."

Ji Huan smiled.

"I know I won’t default, and I know you won’t report me, but there’s a saying: ’even among brothers, accounts must be settled clearly,’ right? It’s precisely because we’re family that we need to be this formal.

With this contract, we’ll both have clear expectations. We’ll think twice before acting, which will prevent us from making mistakes or letting unnecessary misunderstandings harm the relationship between our families.

Besides, if the workshop really gets off the ground, we’ll definitely have to hire more people later. I plan on having every new hire sign one of these employment agreements. You’re my older cousins; if you don’t lead by example, I’m worried that the others who join later..."

Ji Xuelan was still a little hesitant.

’It didn’t feel right to be so cold and formal with family. Even though their households had separated, they still shared the same ancestors. It was unthinkable that they would actually take each other to court.’

’And she felt that Ji Huan was putting herself at a disadvantage by doing this.’

’She and Ming Fang were one thing; they would help their family member regardless of pay. But who could vouch for the people they hired in the future?’

’What if Ji Huan had cash flow problems and couldn’t pay? What if someone actually took this contract and used it to report her?’

At this point, however, it was Ji Mingfang who calmed down first.

"Is this... an indenture contract?"

His question stunned Ji Huan for a moment. When she recovered, she waved her hands frantically.

"No, no, no! This isn’t an indenture contract! How could I possibly ask you to sign something like that? You are free people, completely free. It’s just that if you come to work for me, you have to follow the terms listed here. If you don’t work for me, or if you stop working here, then of course you don’t have to follow them."

Ji Huan broke into a cold sweat internally. ’On second thought, it really could be easily confused with an indenture contract,’ she thought, and quickly added another clarification.

"This contract only applies to the work itself. It doesn’t affect you in any other way. If you’re still worried, we can go find the village chief..."

Ji Mingfang seemed to understand what Ji Huan meant.

He turned to Ji Xuelan. "Sis, let’s do what Wan says and sign it. Business is business, and personal matters are personal matters. You can’t accomplish great things if you mix the two."

Ji Xuelan was willing to trust Ji Huan, and she was also willing to trust her younger brother, so she nodded.

Ji Huan asked one more time if they wanted to find someone else to look it over for them, but they both said no, so she didn’t insist.

"If you’re sure there are no problems, then once you sign and put down your handprint, the contract will take effect starting today."

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