Chapter 303: Give as much as you deserve, not a penny less
Sang Zhixia's words were shocking, and everyone looked at each other in surprise.
No one interrupted for a moment. Sang Zhixia smiled, not knowing how to comment on it, and sighed, "The reason I invited you all here today is precisely for this matter."
"I need this batch of goods urgently, but I can't find the right people for the time being. Coincidentally, Craftsman Li took over the order from me before, so I simply gave the work to him and asked him to put in some effort to find the right people for me so that the goods can be produced in time."
What people rely on cannot be empty words.
In order to encourage Craftsman Li to look for people to help with the work, Aunt Xu took the initiative to offer Craftsman Li an extra half a penny as a reward.
It's said that if you receive more money, anyone who knows what's right for you should be content and get the job done. After all, it's just a matter of talking to find someone, and it won't take much effort.
But who knew that he was such a cruel and ruthless person, who wanted to take advantage of both sides.
Seeing the man who learned the truth suddenly open his mouth and was speechless, Sang Zhixia smiled bitterly and said, "Before asking Craftsman Li to help find someone, my elders agreed on the price with him."
"For those over 80 ke, one is 15 wen, and for those under 80 ke, one is 8 wen."
"Did he not tell you the truth?"
"We don't know this either!"
The first person to come to his senses exclaimed in horror, "That's the price he said. He'll even select the finished products. If he doesn't like them, they'll be scrapped and he'll even deduct money from the price!"
"Voided?"
Sang Zhixia narrowed her eyes and asked, "What is the standard for invalidation?"
"It's all up to Big Head Li! If he says no, it's no, and it won't work no matter who goes!"
Not only that, all the obsolete Li craftsmen must also be taken away.
In his words, the materials are all provided by the owner, and even if they are scrapped and unusable, they must be taken to the owner for review, otherwise the owner will not be able to take responsibility if they pursue the matter.
Everyone present had been accused by Craftsman Li of wasting things and had their wages deducted for this.
When everyone heard Sang Zhixia say this, they were all stunned.
It turns out that the master has never been so harsh?
Sang Zhixia rubbed her fingertips and said thoughtfully, "Do you still remember how many of your belongings have been discarded? Are there any that you can name?"
"have!"
"I made ten models of fish playing with lotus flowers, but Li Datou took one look and declared them unacceptable. He ended up paying me nothing for the 50 wen I'd agreed to pay him!"
"Lian Mo's fish playing with lotus flowers?"
Sang Zhixia opened the booklet and took a look. When she found a place that no one had claimed, she laughed out loud in anger.
The mold that this person mentioned did exist, but it was not classified as scrapped and unusable. Instead, Craftsman Li used it under his own name and asked Aunt Xu for a high price for it.
This man's heart is much darker than she thought.
Sang Zhixia glanced at the man, took the pen from Su Niangzi's hand, and drew the set of molds on the man's body. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "What about the others? Has anyone of you been invalidated?"
A stone falls and waves rise.
With someone taking the lead, the rest of the people will feel less nervous when speaking up.
By the time the chatter in the front hall died down again, Sang Zhixia had already roughly sorted out the roster.
Amidst the anxious gazes of many, Sang Zhixia said, "I will pay you whatever we agreed on as wages. I won't break my promise."
"I can settle half of your wages right now."
"half?"
The man who had made the fish-playing-with-lotus pattern blinked in surprise and said anxiously, "I've already delivered the goods, so why are they only paying me half the wages?"
"Yeah, my family is waiting to spend money. If we can't make ends meet, we can't accept the orders from Li Datou."
"If there's nothing wrong with the goods, you can just pay us for it. Otherwise, what's going on?"
Sang Zhixia smiled bitterly and said, "Payment is made in full. This is the old custom since ancient times. Now it's time to deliver the goods. I should indeed settle the wages for everyone, but haven't I seen the goods yet?"
Sang Zhixia closed the roster and handed it to Lin Yun, saying helplessly, "I know your families are not having an easy time, but I have my own difficulties as well."
"Before I see the goods, I can only give you half of the price."
"Impossible!"
"Big Li had been urging us to work day and night, rushing to finish the work at hand. He even took away the finished work. How could he not have seen anything?"
"Didn't he say he'd come to deliver the goods? It's been three days, where's the goods?"
Sang Zhixia shrugged and smiled, then sighed, "That's worth saying."
"You guys made the stuff, so I should pay you the wages. But now Craftsman Li is holding back on the goods, so I..."
Sang Zhixia paused, then said with a headache, "I really can't reach an agreement with him, and I haven't seen how good your crafts are yet."
"I heard you were all in a hurry to get paid, so I called you here. I figured I'd pay you half of your wages first, so you can take it home for emergencies. As for Craftsman Li..."
"Once I've made an agreement with him and he delivers the goods to me in full, and after I've inspected them and confirmed they're all correct, I'll naturally pay you the remaining half."
After saying this, Sang Zhixia winked at Madam Su.
Madam Su nodded in understanding, turned around and brought out a small tray. Lin Yun held up the list and read, "Master Su!"
"Why!"
"The wages should be two taels and six qian, but I will now pay half of that, which is one tael and three qian."
Madam Su took out some silver from the small tray and gave it to him.
Su Da took it with both hands, his face astonished: "There are still one or two or three coins?"
"certainly."
Sang Zhixia smiled and said, "Whatever salary I promised at the beginning, that's what I'm paying now."
"It's just that the remaining half can't be completed for the time being. I hope you can understand."
After Sang Zhixia finished speaking, Lin Yun called out names. Those who came forward with their names called received wages beyond their expectations based on what they had made.
But every time Lin Yun read out how much should be paid and how much is paid now, these people's expressions would become more complicated.
It turns out that the master really doesn't torture people.
The wages were never harsh.
Although the half they have now is more than they imagined, there is still half left!
If it weren't for that bastard Li Datou interfering, they would have received twice as much as they do now!
Li Datou embezzled the money against his conscience, but it was all their hard-earned money!
The last person was called forward to receive the silver they were owed. Sang Zhixia pinched her aching brow and said slowly, "That's how it is. I asked you all to come so that we can all understand what's going on and avoid any estrangement."
"After all, there will be plenty of opportunities to interact with each other in the future. I don't want to cause a rift between us and delay future interactions because of such a dishonest person."
"I've deducted half of your wages, but don't worry, as long as I get the goods from Craftsman Li, I will definitely deliver the remaining half to you without a penny less."
Sang Zhixia stood up with a tired look on her face and said, "It's done. I won't take up any more of your time."
"Lin Yun, please arrange a few cars to take everyone back safely. Don't let anything go wrong along the way."
Lin Yun bowed his head in agreement and made a gesture of invitation to those who were not happy after receiving their wages: "Everyone, please come in."
Someone hesitated as they stepped out, but the person dawdling behind them couldn't help but turn around and ask, "Are you saying that Li Datou withheld the goods and is negotiating terms with you by raising the price?"
Sang Zhixia had a complicated expression and didn't say anything.
The man who asked the question immediately burst into anger: "I knew that bastard couldn't do anything a human could do!"
"Since Li Datou has come to negotiate with you, he must be hiding somewhere in the city right now. Tell us where he is and we'll go settle the score with him ourselves!"
"That's right! We made the stuff, and he withheld more than half of the wages midway through, but now why is he making it so that we can't get the other half?!"
"We're not going back! We're going to find Li Datou!"
Amidst the excitement, Sang Zhixia looked helpless: "I've already settled half of the matter for you. This matter..."
"You paid me in full even though you haven't seen the goods. That's very kind of you, but the goods in Li Datou's hands are all made by us, so he has no say in the comings and goings!"
"Let's go get the goods back. If you see them, will you give us the remaining half of the wages?"
Sang Zhixia's eyes flickered when she heard the voice, and she curled her lips and said, "Of course."
"Give me exactly what's due, not a penny less."
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