Zhou Ziqiong's eyes welled up with tears, and she couldn't speak.
At this moment, Jing Zhe stepped forward and said with a smile, "Everyone of you are the people my sixth sister values most and trusts the most, so Zhou Family Cloth Shop will not let you down!"
So he turned to Zhou Ziqiong and asked, "Sixth Sister, how many months' wages does the Zhou family's cloth shop owe in total?"
"..."
Zhou Ziqiong opened her mouth, but didn't say anything, because she knew what Jing Zhe meant. He simply wanted to settle everyone's monthly wages for her, and he certainly had the ability to do so.
But Zhou Ziqiong didn't want him to take the lead, so she hesitated.
Seeing that Zhou Ziqiong wouldn't say anything, Jing Zhe could only ask the shop assistant, "Do you still owe us ten taels of silver for the monthly wages?"
Upon hearing this, Old Li quickly waved his hand and said, "It's just a little over a month's salary, how could it be ten taels?"
After listening to Lao Li's introduction, Jing Zhe realized that other famous shops in Ruzhou City paid their employees a maximum of 100 coins a day, which amounted to only three taels of silver a month.
However, Zhou's cloth shop paid them seven taels a month, more than twice as much as other shops, which is why these people were so loyal.
The Zhou family cloth shop owes them more than a month's wages, but only a little over eight taels, less than ten taels.
After listening, Jing Zhe calculated that there were exactly twenty remaining shop assistants. He then took out a five-hundred-tael silver note from his clothes and prepared to distribute it to them at a rate of ten taels per person.
Upon hearing this, Lao Li and the other shop assistants quickly shook their heads.
"Young...Young Master, how can we accept this?"
At first, Old Li didn't know how to address Jing Zhe, but then he thought that since he was Zhou Ziqiong's younger brother, it wouldn't be too much to call him "Young Master".
“Our monthly salary is only a little over eight taels of silver, how could we possibly ask for an extra tael? Besides, the Zhou family's cloth shop is going through a very difficult time right now, and it pains us old folks to see it like this. Since young master has these five hundred taels of silver, you should keep it to help the cloth shop!”
"Yes, let's help the fabric workshop!"
Jing Zhe smiled, but showed no sign of stopping: "What Song Dalu said earlier was true. At the Lantern Festival poetry gathering the day before yesterday, I did guess all the riddles correctly and won more than 12,000 taels of silver from Manager Hu. Even after paying your monthly wages, I still have more than 10,000 taels left. So our cloth shop is short of everything except silver!"
"..."
Everyone fell silent, thinking that this seemed to make sense. They hadn't considered that Jing Zhe's money wasn't from the cloth shop—Jing Zhe and Zhou Ziqiong were family, so wasn't it the same?
However, Old Li still shook his head: "Young master, even if our cloth shop is rich, we can't ask for more money! Just give us our share of the monthly wage, we can't take anything more!"
"This extra money isn't just for free. Firstly, it's a reward for everyone's loyalty. But the most important thing is that our Zhou Family Cloth Shop is about to fight a comeback battle. If we win, not only will our Zhou Family Cloth Shop be able to revive, but we can also bring down the Qu Family Cloth Shop, which has been repeatedly going badly. At that time, everyone will be very busy, so consider this money as a reward for your hard work. Just don't complain about being tired and scold me and my sixth sister!"
"..."
After listening to Jing Zhe's explanation, everyone finally accepted the silver notes, naturally saying that they didn't mind the trouble.
After they distributed the money, Jing Zhe took it upon himself to give them a day off and told them to rest well when they returned to Zhou's cloth shop the next day, as they would be busy then. Everyone nodded in agreement and left happily.
...
As soon as the shop assistants left, Jing Zhe closed Zhou's Cloth Shop and hung up a sign outside that read "Closed Today".
Zhou Ziqiong kept her lips pursed, looking unhappy.
Jing Zhe asked with a smile, "Sixth Sister, are you unhappy because I took matters into my own hands for the Zhou family's cloth workshop?"
Zhou Ziqiong shook her head and looked at him, saying, "Zhe'er, why are you using your own money to pay the cloth shop's monthly wages?"
Aren't they all the same?
Jing Zhe was clearly taken aback, because he really hadn't expected that Zhou Ziqiong would be angry because he had paid for her.
"no the same."
Zhou Ziqiong still fumed.
Jing Zhe smiled and said, "Sixth Sister, let's put ourselves in each other's shoes. If I encountered difficulties and you happened to have money, would you help me out?"
"Of course!"
"Then let's settle it!"
Jing Zhe clapped his hands: "Just like Sixth Sister would help me, I will definitely help Sixth Sister too!"
Zhou Ziqiong continued to shake her head: "That's different! I'm your older sister, it's only right that I help you! But you..."
Seeing Zhou Ziqiong hesitate, Jing Zhe continued, "I'm the same way. I'm your brother. Isn't it only right for a brother to help his sister?"
"It's just different!"
Zhou Ziqiong snorted coldly and then fell silent.
If it were before, like when she was a child, Zhou Ziqiong would definitely agree with this statement. Moreover, if Jing Zhe stood by and did nothing to help her when she got into trouble, she would be unhappy and go up to question him.
But things are different now. He already has a wife, and not just one. Although she is his older sister, he knows that compared to his wife, his older sister is always second.
If it were any other kind of help, he would help, but what would his wife think if he helped with something that required money?
Will she feel that her older sister, who has acknowledged him as her brother, has not only failed to help him much, but also has to spend his money?
The thought of this made Zhou Ziqiong uncomfortable. She would rather not let him help the Zhou family cloth shop than be looked down upon by his wife. This was Zhou Ziqiong's current state of mind.
Jing Zhe, unaware of Zhou Ziqiong's deep thoughts, patted his chest and said, "Didn't Sixth Sister see the Lantern Festival Poetry Gathering? I won over ten thousand taels of silver just at Juxianlou. Putting aside everything else, I'm certainly not short of money. How could I stand idly by when Sixth Sister is in trouble?"
Although Jing Zhe's words made Zhou Ziqiong feel comfortable, she still couldn't help but pout: "It's true that you have a lot of money, but you also have a lot of wives. They all need you to support them, so you can't just spend your money recklessly! Besides, we've only known each other for a few days, and you've already spent so much money on me. If people find out, they'll think that I, as your older sister, am deliberately trying to take your money!"
"..."
Hearing this, Jing Zhe chuckled and finally understood why Zhou Ziqiong was so unhappy even though he had helped her with money!
So that's where the problem lies!
Jing Zhe stepped forward and put his arm around Zhou Ziqiong's shoulder: "Sixth Sister, since they are my wives, they are naturally of one mind with me. I am willing to help you, and they certainly won't say anything."
He then laughed and said, "At worst, Sixth Sister will also become my wife. What can they say then?"
"..."
————
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
