Zhang Xiangliang went to Shenglong Inn to apply for a job from Manager Sheng.

Manager Sheng knew Zhang Xiangliang and knew he was honest. Since the courtyard was short of a handyman, he intended to keep him.

"The shop needs someone to feed the horses and sweep the yard. It's three hundred coins a month, plus two meals. If you're willing, you can start today."

The Yulong Kingdom was powerful and had long been able to eat three meals a day, while the Western Xia was poor and its people could only eat two meals a day. The inn provided two meals, which meant that meals were provided for the whole day.

Zhang Xiangliang was naturally willing. He could do things like feeding the horses and sweeping the yard, and more importantly, he could provide meals for the whole day, saving his own family's grain.

He agreed immediately.

Overjoyed, he went home to tell Ye Ting, but found no one there.

He tidied up his house. Manager Sheng said that he could go to feed the horses and sweep the yard at dawn every day, and could go home at the end of dusk, without having to stand guard at night.

After he had tidied up his house and yard, he still hadn't seen Ye Ting return.

Neither he nor Ye Ting could read, so they had to ask Sister Lin next door to pass on a message to Ye Ting: "Sister Lin, my wife is back. Please tell her I'm at Shenglong Inn."

Sister Lin smiled and said, "Okay, okay, it's just a matter of a word."

When Zhang Xiangliang arrived at Shenglong Inn, he happened to meet a group of distinguished guests from out of town who had just entered.

A luxurious carriage, with about twenty guards. The guards looked intimidating, imposing, and with cold, stern faces.

Upon seeing him, Manager Sheng immediately instructed, "Xiang Liang, quickly, park the carriage in the west courtyard and lead the horses to the stable to feed them."

Zhang Xiangliang dared not be careless and, following Manager Sheng's instructions, helped bring over the dismounting stool.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and a very richly dressed man stepped out of the carriage.

The man wasn't very tall, and he wore a large hood that covered his entire face, so you couldn't tell what he looked like. But he had a straight posture and was agile on his feet, so he must have been a young man.

As soon as the man came in, he booked the entire second-floor room.

The young man was ushered into the inn, and Zhang Xiangliang quickly worked with the inn's guards to move the carriage and horses to the west wing.

A short while later, Manager Sheng called Zhang Xiangliang again, telling him to quickly sweep the yard again and sprinkle some water.

Seeing the inn bustling with activity, Zhang Xiangliang knew that the visitor must be an important figure, so he focused all his attention on his work.

Around 3 PM, Ye Ting returned from her parents' home.

When Sister Lin heard the door open, she leaned over the wall and said to her, "Xiang Liang's wife, Xiang Liang asked me to tell you that he went to work at Shenglong Inn."

Ye Ting frowned and asked, "Why did you go to Shenglong Inn?"

“I didn’t know that, your husband told me.”

"Okay, thank you, Sister Lin."

Ye Ting changed into a new pair of shoes and went to Shenglong Inn.

She wanted to stop Zhang Xiangliang.

The monthly wage at Shenglong Inn is only three hundred coins, much less than that at Jinyi.

Besides, if she could work for Jin Yi, she could help steam buns and cook, and then she could see Jin Yi more often.

Although he's disabled and mentally challenged, he's handsome and rich!

While thinking about how to make sure Zhang Xiangliang could never work at Shenglong, he kept moving.

Upon arriving at Shenglong Inn, the greeter at the entrance didn't recognize her and blinked, asking, "Are you here to stay?"

Ye Ting clutched the hem of her clothes and said, "I...I'm looking for my man."

"What are you doing here looking for a man? This is an inn."

"My man is Zhang Xiangliang."

"Oh, is that the new groom?"

“I don’t know what he came here for. He said he was here to work.”

The servant said, "Wait here, I'll go and get someone for you right away."

Ye Ting waited at the door, curiously looking around the inn.

In the distance, she saw two people standing on the second floor of the inn. Their clothes and appearance were the same as the group of horsemen she had seen on her way back.

A short while later, Zhang Xiangliang ran over from the stables, already dressed in the inn's servant's clothes.

"Tingting, I've decided to work for Manager Sheng." Zhang Xiangliang told Ye Ting without giving her a chance to refuse, that he had already agreed to Manager Sheng's offer.

Tears welled up in Ye Ting's eyes instantly. She said, "You never listen to anything I say. My brother and sister-in-law never listened to me either. My words have never carried any weight..."

"Don't cry... I'm doing fine at the inn."

Zhang Xiangliang hurriedly comforted her, whispering in her ear, "A distinguished person came today, and that person rewarded me with one tael of silver."

He had only just started working when he received a reward of one tael of silver!

Ye Ting was immediately excited and quickly did some mental calculations.

Xiang Liang earns 300 wen a month, which is only 3,600 wen a year, equivalent to about 3.5 taels of silver. This noble person gave him 1 tael of silver, which is equivalent to three and a half months' wages!

"Then you should work hard and not rush home." Without telling him to leave, they took the one tael of silver that Zhang Xiangliang had earned, and the couple understood each other without saying a word.

Ye Ting went back and ran into Sister Lin at her doorstep. Sister Lin noticed that Ye Ting had left in a huff but returned with a big smile on her face.

He chuckled and teased, "Xiang Liang's daughter, did you find a gold ingot? Why are you so happy?"

Ye Ting didn't mention the reward money, but said evasively, "I'm idle in winter, so I'll try to earn whatever I can."

Sister Lin gossiped, "It's tiring working at the inn, but if you meet a benefactor, you might just rise to the top in one step."

My family had a neighbor, a boy who was only fifteen years old. He liked to sing little tunes. He used to work as a stable boy at an inn, feeding horses. One day, a distinguished guest came by. He had no other hobbies but enjoyed listening to folk songs. Every time the boy sang one, the guest would reward him with ten taels of silver. And then, guess what happened?

Ye Ting looked at her intently and asked, "What's wrong?"

"That nobleman liked his singing. After listening to him for a few days, he fell in love with him and said that he had no children and wanted to adopt the neighbor's child as his godson. Now the child is not even twenty years old, his godfather has died, and all his wealth has been left to him. He travels in a luxury car, wearing fine clothes and gold and silver. He is a rich man that everyone envies."

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