1,078. Having Others Do Your Work on Chol HaMoed

Hilchos Shvisas Yom Tov 7:23

Merchants who sell produce, garments and utensils may do so discreetly for yom tov needs. For example, if a shop opens to a corner or to an alley, the proprietor may conduct business in the normal fashion. If the shop opens to the public thoroughfare, the proprietor should open one door and close the other. On the day before Shemini Atzeres, he may take his produce out and decorate the marketplace with it in honor of the holiday. Spice merchants may sell their merchandise publicly, in their normal manner.

Hilchos Shvisas Yom Tov 7:24

Whatever one may not do himself on chol hamoed, he may not ask a non-Jew to do for him. If a person has no food to eat, he may do anything that is otherwise prohibited on chol hamoed. He may likewise engage in business activities in order to earn a living. A rich person is permitted to hire a needy person who doesn’t have food to eat to do things that are otherwise prohibited on chol hamoed. This is permitted in order to enable the needy person to earn a wage that he can then use to buy food. Similarly, we may buy things that are not needed for yom tov if the seller needs the money to buy food.