Chapter 287 A Man's Dignity

After seeing off the villagers and closing the courtyard gate, Qin Yao was the only one left. Finally, she had time to sort out the money she had earned from selling her grain.

Liu Ji had recovered a lot. He leaned on the stick that Erlang had picked up for him and went to the main room. Seeing the large basket of silver coins on the ground, his eyes lit up. He reached out and picked up a few copper coins and threw them back. Hearing the pleasant metallic sound of the copper coins colliding, he asked curiously:

"Madam, how much did we sell it for?"

Qin Yao was using her abacus to make a clacking sound. "I sold 6,000 jin yesterday, of which 1,000 jin was from the old house. The selling price was 30 wen per jin, so the total was 180 liang. Minus the 30 liang from the old house, the total was 150 liang."

They sold more than 5,000 kilograms today. Excluding the part sold on behalf of the villagers, the remaining 4,700 kilograms were all theirs.

Today's selling price is twenty-five wen per catty, and the revenue is one hundred and seventeen taels and five qian. Adding up the two trips, it is two hundred and sixty-seven taels and five qian of silver!

Liu Ji stared at the abacus in Qin Yao's hand, and when he saw the final number, he couldn't stop smiling.

The original cost was only more than thirty taels of silver, and I made a profit of more than two hundred and thirty taels.

"My wife, you are truly a god. You were able to calculate this in advance. Our family deserves to become rich!" Liu Ji praised with a thumbs up.

Qin Yao turned to look at him and asked expressionlessly, "Have you reviewed your lessons today? Have you finished the mock tests? How far have you progressed in studying the Four Books and Five Classics?"

Liu Ji took a deep breath, turned his head, silently left the main room with his stick, and returned to his room.

All I heard was the door slamming shut, followed by the rustling sound of grinding ink from inside.

Qin Yao snorted, turned around and smiled, asking Erlang and the others to get a rope to string the copper coins together.

The twins were so happy! They loved doing this job!

Four small stools were placed in a row in front of the basket. As soon as Si Niang sat down, she couldn't wait to pick up the rope and asked, "Mother, how many should I string together?"

Qin Yao arranged: "Da Lang and Er Lang will string a hundred of them, and after they are done, San Lang and Si Niang will string ten into a string."

The two little ones cannot count more than fifty, otherwise there will be confusion, so it is most appropriate to arrange them to count the big coins.

Qin Yao waved her hand, and the four siblings immediately took action and began the repetitive and "boring" task of stringing money.

But they had to string a hundred of them at the beginning, and Sanlang and Si Niang couldn't get in at all. They kept urging them anxiously: "Big brother, second brother, hurry up."

Erlang said angrily, "How can this be fast? If you count wrong, you have to start over. Hey, don't talk to me. How many times have I counted?"

Qin Yao reminded: "Fifty-eight."

Erlang looked at her gratefully and continued counting hurriedly.

Dalang was much more patient. He gave the twins a small basket of copper coins and asked them to count them in piles of ten and put them on the table. This way they could count a hundred faster and the twins would also feel involved.

Qin Yao praised: "Da Lang, your idea is very good."

The little boy's ears turned red with embarrassment.

The money was strung and Awang’s dinner was ready.

The meal today is relatively light, but meat dishes are essential.

The pork stalls in the town are no longer open, so there is no fresh meat to eat. Fortunately, a lot of bacon was smoked last December, and there is still some left. I eat it every few days, and it's barely enough to satisfy my hunger.

Ever since he revealed his true identity to Qin Yao, Awang now sits at the dining table with a small stool and eats with Qin Yao's family.

However, he sat a little further away and ate very quickly. Whenever he saw the first person put down their bowl and chopsticks, he would put them down immediately and then stand up to clean up.

The four brothers and sisters of Dalang who took turns to do housework on duty were not used to it at first, but this way, they had more time to do their own things, such as reading, practicing calligraphy, or playing with other children.

Jinhua is now particularly envious of Si Niang, who can not only go out to play but also does not have to help with housework. One day when she came home, she said to her father Liu Zhong:

"Dad, you can go to town like Uncle San and bring someone back to work for our family."

As expected, my butt was bruised.

Erlang was just sharing this with his parents as a joke when Shunzi suddenly shouted happily from outside the courtyard: "Third brother, are you feeling better?"

Liu Ji, who was sitting in the room and was forced to read, immediately came out of the room and asked curiously: "Shunzi? What are you doing here?"

Shunzi first greeted Qin Yao in the main room with a smile, then pointed to Liu Ji's room. Seeing Qin Yao nod, he walked up to Liu Ji with a smile, helped him into the room, and said very attentively:

"Third brother, you look much better now. You can even walk. The ointment that Doctor Jin gave you is really good. Third brother, look at the bruises on your face. All of them have disappeared. You are my suave, handsome and unparalleled third brother again."

Liu Ji was very happy to hear Shunzi's words, but because the two of them were so "like-minded", as soon as he sat down, he leaned against the head of the bed, crossed his arms, and asked with a sneer:

"Tell me, what do you want to ask me for?"

As he asked, he glanced outside the door. Not seeing Qin Yao coming over, he guessed that Shunzi must have done this with her instructions.

Shunzi spoke directly and asked with a wry smile, "Third brother, when will you return to the academy?"

Liu Ji himself didn't know, but the city gates would not be opened until the issues concerning the refugees were dealt with.

"It will probably take more than half a month." He hadn't been back to the academy for a long time and he really wanted to go back. At least there, Qin Yao's eyes were not staring at him all the time, and he could take a breath.

Unlike at home, if you provoke him for no reason, getting scolded is a small matter; getting beaten is really fatal.

Shunzi looked at Liu Ji's unrestrained desire and sighed, "Third brother, you should be content with having a wife like Qin Zongguan."

Now, in the nearby villages, whoever knows about Liu Ji's family's past situation would envy him for being able to eat such a meal?

Liu Ji snorted, "You are her lackey now. Don't think I don't know that you have long since given up on me, your third brother, in your heart. If you have anything to say, just say it. I don't bother to say any more to a traitor like you!"

Shunzi sat upright, "Third brother, the factory wants to run a literacy class, but it's still short of a teacher. I thought, third brother, you are at home, and you are a student at the academy with a good reputation, this is a coincidence."

Before he finished speaking, Liu Ji waved his hand and refused three times: "I don't want to go, I don't want to, don't call me!"

It turned out that they were here to conscript young men for that evil woman Qin Yao, so he refused to be a free laborer.

Shunzi: “.”

"Just listen to what I have to say first."

Liu Ji: "You traitor!"

Shunzi sighed, took out a cloth bag from his arms, and held it in his hands, making a crisp clinking sound. Before he could put it down, Liu Ji quickly reached out his hands and snatched the bag away.

When he opened it, he saw a string of copper coins, a total of one hundred coins.

Liu Ji excitedly grasped Shunzi's hand and said, "Shunzi, do you know what this hundred coins represent to a penniless man?"

Shunzi was a little frightened by his reaction, "Dai, what does it represent?"

Liu Ji stood up from the bed and kissed the money bag twice: "This is a man's dignity!"

(End of this chapter)