Chapter 108: Pay Day

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Fang Zerong’s gaze shifted to the small box on the table. The rice dumplings inside looked much more exquisite and smelled even better. “General, this is…”

Tang Jinghong looked down at the rice dumpling with a gentle gaze. “Qingzhi specially made this for me.”

Fang Zerong clearly noticed that Tang Jinghong’s tone was much gentler when he said the word “Qingzhi”.

He looked at Tang Jinghong in a daze. After a while, he asked, “General, did you realize something?”

Tang Jinghong tilted his head. “Realize what?”

Fang Zerong said excitedly, “You like AAiss Chu!!!”

He had known Tang Jinghong for almost seven years. Tang Jinghong was like an iron tree that would never bloom. Now, there was finally a woman in his life.

Tang Jinghong was not embarrassed to be discovered. Instead, he smiled and picked up a rice dumpling.

It was a peach blossom dumpling. The pink color of the peach blossom petals had already fused with the meat, dyeing the entire rice dumpling pink.

Fang Zerong looked at him enviously. “General, give me one.”

There were a total of ten rice dumplings in the small box, and every one of them was different. Tang Jinghong didn’t want to give away the rice dumplings that Chu Qingzhi had personally made for him. “No, eat yours.”

Fang Zerong looked at Tang Jinghong. “You can’t finish it all anyway. Don’t be so stingy.”

Tang Jinghong retorted, “Who said I can’t finish it all?”

Fang Zerong thought to himself, It seems that I have to use a trick. He suddenly turned his head and shouted, “Miss Chu.”

As expected, Tang Jinghong fell for it and subconsciously looked at the tent door.

Fang Zerong immediately reached into the box to steal the rice dumplings. However, just as he reached above the box, Tang Jinghong grabbed his wrist.

Fang Zerong moved his wrist. “Let go!”

Tang Jinghong did not let go immediately. Instead, he grabbed Fang Zerong’s wrist and pulled him to the entrance of the tent before letting him go. “Go back and eat your rice dumplings.”

Seeing that Tang Jinghong treated the box of rice dumplings like a treasure, Feng Zerong knew that he could forget about getting one. He left with resignation.

Tang Jinghong returned to the tent and sat on a stool. He picked up the rice dumpling again and slowly enjoyed it.

After finishing one rice dumpling, he took another box that contained 200 rice dumplings and asked someone to send it to General Fan’s residence.

After General Fan received the rice dumplings, he sent some to his friends. He even sent someone to the palace to give them to his daughter. In the end, even the emperor ate two.

In the Chu Village.

In the evening, Chu Qingzhi informed everyone to come and collect their wages.

The villagers were extremely grateful to Chu Qingzhi.

At this moment, everyone in the village came to Chu Qingzhi’s house.

Chu Qingzhi stood in front of them and said with a voice that contained spiritual energy, “1’11 pay those who made rice dumplings first. When you hear your name later, come and get the money.”

In the courtyard, there were four small tables. Shen Ruyue, Chu Xuhua, Chu Qingyue, Chu Third, and Chu Qingning each sat behind a table.

On the small table in front of them was a pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, as well as a box containing money.

Chu Xuhua and the others had studied for more than 20 days and knew a lot of words. They could help.

Shen Ruyue picked up the list in front of her and read, “Chu Xuede worked for four days and will be paid four hundred copper coins.”

Chu Xuede hurriedly went forward and took the money with a smile. “Thank you, Ruyue.”

Shen Ruyue nodded at him and continued reading. “Chu Xialan…”

Chu Xuhua, Chu Qingyue, and Chu Third also read the names at the same time. People whose name was called would go forward to collect their wages.

After a while, Shen Ruyue called out a name, which shocked everyone present.

“Chu Laipi.”

It was already dark, and there were only a few torches in the alley, so no one noticed Chu Laipi standing at the back of the crowd.

Under everyone’s shocked gazes, Chu Laipi walked up to Shen Ruyue and rubbed his hands. “How much did 1 earn?”

Chu Laipi and Chu Peipei probably decided to turn a new leaf. Suddenly, one day, the two of them came to Chu Qingzhi’s house with bamboo leaves on their backs.

After Chu Qingzhi took the bamboo leaves, they became even more motivated and kept sending them over. This was why they also had wages.

Shen Ruyue said in a businesslike tone, “You can get three hundred copper coins.”

Three hundred copper coins? Chu Laipi grinned.

It was a lot of money. This was his first time earning money. When Shen Ruyue placed the silver in his hand, he felt like he was floating in the air.

When Chu Laipi’s parents saw that their son had earned money, they sniffed and tears immediately rolled down.

They couldn’t believe that their son was actually learning to be a decent person.

Chu Laipi bowed gratefully to Chu Qingzhi. For some reason, he wanted to bow to Chu Qingzhi.

Chu Qingzhi put on a serious expression. “Stop doing illegal things in the future. Find a proper job to make a living.”

Chu Laipi quickly replied, “Yes, 1 will.”

Everyone was stunned.

Why did Chu Laipi respect Chu Qingzhi so much?

As expected of their village treasure, she could even make people turn over a new leaf.

Unknowingly, Chu Qingzhi’s status in the village was getting higher and higher.

The four of them gave out the wages at the same time. The progress was very fast. Among the people who made rice dumplings, the most received four hundred copper coins, and the least received two hundred copper coins. Everyone was extremely happy.

Then, it was time for people who made ice cream bars to receive their wages.

As of today, they had worked for exactly 20 days. They were supposed to receive their wages at the end of the month, but tomorrow was the Dragon Boat Festival. Some families needed money to buy stuff, so Chu Qingzhi thought that she might as well pay them together.

Chu Xuhua looked up and shouted, “Chu Lanzhen!”

Chu Lanzhen and the other four girls were in charge of making the Twelve Zodiacs ice cream bars for the restaurant. Their pay was one hundred copper coins a day.

They had worked for 15 days and received a tael of silver and 500 copper coins. To them, who had never earned money before, this was not only their first time earning money, but it was also a huge sum. Their hands were trembling as they held the silver. They were indescribably grateful to Chu Qingzhi.

After the five of them received the money, they thanked Chu Qingzhi profusely.

Chu Qingzhi had been maintaining a faint smile on her face. She was friendly. When someone came to thank her, she would encourage them. Her words were sincere and unknowingly affected everyone.

Other than the five of them, the people who made the ice cream bars were paid two taels of silver.

The villagers worked hard and hadn’t been absent for a day. If they were missing a day, they would lose a lot of money.

After getting paid, the villagers walked home happily, planning what to buy tomorrow. No one had ever looked forward to the Dragon Boat Festival as much as this year.

The Chu family slowly quietened down..