Chapter 52 Chapter 52 If you don’t want to be a good person, why do you want to be a king...
Words spoken are like spilled water, they cannot be taken back.
Besides, a man should keep his word. How can he go back on his word?
Xu Yunfan thought of his promise to Qin Run, gritted his teeth and continued on his way.
Qin Run, who was waiting for someone at home, was full of things on his mind. He didn't even turn the fields. He picked up a basket of corn and sat under the eaves waiting for Xu Yunfan to come back.
Xu Yunfan didn't wait for him to come back, but instead waited for Fang the hunter who had only found work for half a day in the town.
Hunter Fang worked in the town for two hours, but couldn't find any work in the afternoon, so he had to return from the town with Fang Yifang and Er in dejection.
Because today's work was to carry heavy bags at the dock, the three of them earned thirty cents. Although thirty cents is a lot and sounds good, the Fang family depends on the money earned by Fang the hunter and Fang Yi brothers to survive, so the Fang family is still living a tight life.
When Hunter Fang returned home, he heard Grandma Fang talking about Qin Run while eating. After dinner, he hurried over with Fang Yi without even taking a rest.
It’s not that Hunter Fang wanted to take over Qin Run’s job, but he thought that maybe Qin Run was really too busy. He and his son had no work to do in the town, so he came to help and didn’t ask for wages.
So, when Hunter Fang arrived, he said, "Run'er, I heard what you told your Grandma Fang. We're here to help, but forget about the wages. I, your Uncle Fang, have nothing to do anyway, so helping out for a day or two is no problem."
The taciturn seventeen-year-old Fang Yi didn't say anything. He sat next to Fang Liehu and just nodded to indicate his position.
"No," Qin Run shook his head. "Yun Fan said that wages must be paid. He is the boss now, and I can't go against him."
"How is this going against each other? I say, kid, you have too much silver, right?" Hunter Fang glanced at the hall and saw no other people.
The village was buzzing with rumors about Xu Yunfan. Hunter Fang, who had never met him, couldn't help but wonder, "Where's he? Not here? We're saving your family money, how could he not be happy?"
A man who doesn't know how to save money is a waste.
Qin Run replied, "Yun Fan went to town and hasn't come back yet. He said that the villagers are not rich and every household has to make a living. Even relatives don't help us this much. So, the wages should be paid. If you work for nothing, the villagers will probably say something behind your back."
For example, they would speculate whether Qin Run was having an affair with Fang the Hunter. Otherwise, since they were not related at all, and Fang the Hunter's family was in such a difficult situation, if he had the time to help, wouldn't it be better for him to go up the mountain and bundle firewood to sell?
Farmers rely on the land for their livelihood. Some people even speculate that Fang the hunter has three children and only owns a few acres of land. With so much land, it will be difficult for the three children to find wives in the future.
Xiao Qin's family has two brothers. The older one is so ugly that he still can't get married and no one wants to marry him. The younger one is a dumb fool who can't talk. But no matter how ugly or stupid he is, he is still a son who can have children, right?
The ancients had a rather feudal idea of passing on the family line. In addition, the Xiao Qin family had fields and land. Once the two brothers married into the Fang family, wouldn't everything in the Xiao Qin family belong to the Fang hunter family?
These malicious speculations made Fang Liehu feel uneasy when he went to help Qin Run. At one point, he didn't know whether he was helping Qin Run or making things worse.
If I help out occasionally, I have to do it secretly and in an embarrassing way.
Hunter Fang had never met Xu Yunfan before, so he couldn't help but be curious, "Run'er, is Xu kid good to you? Did you pay for the hire yourself?"
Regarding the outsider Xu Yunfan, Fang the hunter thought that he should not have much money. But Qin Run was so good that not only did he let him be the boss, but he also agreed to hire him for work. Aren’t the wages in silver?
The more he thought about it, the more Fang Liehu felt that Xu Yunfan was a prodigal son who couldn't stand hardship.
"Uncle Fang, don't worry. Yunfan is very good to me and An Ge'er. When he came, he brought some silver with him. My family's autumn harvest is late. If we don't hurry up, I'm afraid we won't be able to catch up."
During the spring planting season, the Qin family's land was entirely planted by Qin Run and Qin An. The older one was responsible for digging the holes, while the younger one was responsible for placing the seeds and then covering them up.
This job seems simple in terms of steps, but only those who have done it know that the early weeding and soil loosening are hard work and a big project.
Qin Run had been planting corn for several days, and the blisters on the palms of his hands from swinging the hoe grew and burst, and then grew again.
Even so, there were only two people in the family, one adult and one child. After they finished planting the land, others had already finished planting more than ten days ago.
After planting corn, it’s time to plant rice. Every family is busy, so who can leave their spring seeds at home to help you?
In order to catch up with the autumn planting in July, Qin Run had already harvested corn in advance. Even with Xu Yunfan's help, the two of them could not compare with other families.
Hunter Fang thought about it and it made sense. After harvesting the corn, they had to cut the corn stalks and remove the weeds in the field. The land didn't need to be turned over, but the corn and rice had to be dried after being harvested. With two people, there was no way they could finish all the work.
"Okay, then we'll come to work, but Uncle Fang won't earn your wages, Run'er."
The work in the town, if it's easy, you can earn six to ten cents a day, while the dirty, tiring, and heavy work can earn you about twenty cents a day.
Harvesting corn is not a heavy or dirty job, but it is very sunny. Coupled with the dust on the corn leaves and a little sweat, the dust will stick to the skin and cause itching easily.
On Xu Yunfan's first day in the fields, he didn't do much work, but he was already exhausted.
Qin Run thought for a moment and, based on what he had learned about the market conditions while looking for work in town, he offered a price. "Uncle Fang, how about this? You'll get 18 cents a day, and Fang Yi and the others will get 15 cents a day. How's that?"
If the corn is not too heavy to harvest, and they have a cart at home, Fang's father and son don't need to carry it back, which saves a lot of effort. The price Qin Run gave is already a high price.
Hunter Fang had heard about the cart at Xiao Qin's house. He shook his head and said, "This price is too high. Didn't you say that brothers should settle accounts clearly? You should do the work as you should, and pay the wages as you should. If you pay too much, wouldn't it be like Uncle Fang is taking advantage of you? That won't do."
Xiao Qin's family's situation is not much better than theirs. If he still takes advantage of Xiao Qin's family, not only will he feel guilty, but he will also be drowned in the spit of outsiders.
Finally, at Uncle Fang's insistence, Qin Run finally decided that the hunter Fang would be paid sixteen cents a day, and the two children would be paid twelve cents a day.
Fang Hunter was satisfied with the price Qin Run finally offered. "Then it's settled."
On the way back, Hunter Fang told his eldest son, "Tomorrow we go to work. We have to be diligent and try to finish the work as soon as possible."
If the work is done faster, Qin Run won't have to hire so many workers.
In this way, Qin Run can save some money.
After what happened today, even if he hadn't met Xu Yunfan, Fang the Hunter's impression of Xu Yunfan had changed. He was willing to spend money on the Xiao Qin family. It seemed that he was really interested and probably wouldn't leave in the short term.
If Xu Yunfan really despised Qin Run and would leave sooner or later as the other women said, then why would he stay and work at Xiao Qin's house when he had money on him?
The reason why Xu Yunfan stayed was probably because he didn't want to leave. It would be better to have a man at home and someone to discuss things with.
After seeing off Hunter Fang, Qin Run continued to sit back and pick corn, his eyes occasionally falling on the intersection outside the courtyard gate, hoping that the person he was thinking about would appear at an unexpected moment.
On the other side, Xu Yunfan, who had finally arrived in the town, wiped the sweat from his face and walked into the grocery store.
As it was already after noon and the sun was very hot, there were very few people in the town, and only a few people were walking quickly on the road occasionally.
The grocery store owner, drowsy at the counter, suddenly perked up when he saw a customer enter the store. He quickly stood up and greeted him, "What would you like to buy, young man?"
Xu Yunfan glanced around and said, "I want to buy five pounds of red beans, saltpeter, and five pounds of mung beans."
"Saltpeter?" The grocer thought for a moment. "Oh, you mean those things, right? How much do you want?"
Saltpeter is not a common thing, and the grocery store owner doesn't know its specific use.
The reason why this thing is sold in the store is just because he thinks it is new and all the stores under the Huangshang name sell it.
His own grocery store cannot compare with the stores under the Royal Merchants, but he believes that his grocery store is small but has everything.
Other shops have it, but he doesn’t. Doesn’t that make him less competitive?
After the saltpeter arrived, the grocery store owner was worried again. He had bought this stuff two years ago and it was gathering dust in every corner. Not only had he not been able to sell it yet, he didn't even know how to use it.
Every time a customer comes to the store to buy something, they have a clear purpose. If they don’t recognize the item and don’t know its use, who would be willing to spend money to buy it?
Now that a customer finally recognized the goods, the unsold goods were finally sold. The grocery store owner finally breathed a sigh of relief. When he faced Xu Yunfan, his smile was even more friendly. "Wait a minute, little brother. I'll go pack the goods right away."
Xu Yunfan is a young master and has never known what bargaining is when it comes to spending money.
But things are different now. Xu Yunfan thought of Qin Run's happy face when he bargained many times and saved a few cents. In addition, after going through a period of hard times, Xu Yunfan knew too well the importance of a few cents.
"Boss, I bought so much, can I get a small discount?"
"Hey..." The grocery store owner walked to the counter and fiddled with an abacus. "Wait a minute, let me calculate the total price. Red beans and mung beans are both five cents a pound..."
Xu Yunfan: “…”
Xu Yunfan was silent for a moment. Five catties of red beans and five catties of mung beans, the price of red beans and mung beans was five cents. The twenty-odd catties of saltpeter was a slow-selling product, so the grocery store owner sold it at a cheap price of fifty cents. Therefore, the total amount was one hundred cents.
It was a very simple arithmetic, and Xu Yunfan figured it out in one breath, while the grocer was still counting beads up and down at the counter.
Xu Yunfan reluctantly stepped forward, placed one hand across the counter, and looked at the abacus beads. "Haven't you figured it out yet? It's just a matter of a hundred coins."
The grocery store owner, who had just figured out the amount, looked up and smiled sheepishly, "Hey, little brother, you can calculate too? You're really good at that! I haven't even figured it out yet, but you already know how much it costs! That's amazing!"
Xu Yunfan: “…”
What's so amazing about this? It's just elementary school math. If he can't even solve this, then all those Mathematical Olympiad awards are for nothing.
However, in ancient times, few people could read, and some algorithms were not as convenient as those in later times. Xu Yunfan did not show any arrogance, but said with a little distress: "This is a whole number, there are no decimals, and I bought so many."
The grocery store owner thought for a moment and said, "How about this, if you buy something else, I'll definitely give you a discount."
Xu Yunfan thought about it and nodded, "That's fine, give me another pound of brown sugar."
A pound of brown sugar cost fifty-six cents, and the grocery store owner charged Xu Yunfan fifty cents. Xu Yunfan then took out a pound of glutinous rice flour and gave him a few cents less.
Xu Yunfan felt very happy, thinking that he was very capable and could save money. He was truly a rare good man.
A good man like him is already very good, and he is getting better and better every day. No wonder Qin Run has such good vision and likes him.
He is so nice that even he is almost falling in love with herself. It would be abnormal if Qin Run didn't like him.
Before leaving, the grocery store owner kindly walked Xu Yunfan to the door and said, "Little brother, next time you need to buy something, remember to buy it from me. I can give you a discount."
Xu Yunfan came here several times to buy things, and he spent hundreds of coins each time and bought a lot. Who wouldn't like such a customer?
The grocery store owner kept smiling and walked Xu Yunfan out the door.
Xu Yunfan, carrying a backpack, said, "Okay, okay. If you give me a discount next time, I will definitely buy from you in the future."
The town is so big anyway, it doesn't matter where you buy it. If they are willing to give you a discount, wouldn't it be a shame not to take advantage of it?
Why don't you do what a good person does?
On the way back, Xu Yunfan was sweating profusely. He was thirsty and hot, so he couldn't help but quicken his pace. He just wanted to go back as soon as possible and drink a few bowls of water to quench his thirst.
It was already afternoon when we arrived at the village entrance.
Xu Yunfan guessed that it was around four o'clock.
The villagers who were taking a lunch break started to go out. Those who needed to go to the fields went to the fields. In short, they were very busy.
"Hey, Xu kid, you just came back from the market?"
"Well, brother, are you going to harvest rice?" Xu Yunfan looked at the stranger in front of him with a sickle in his hand. He didn't know this man, but the other party knew him.
It seems that I have become a household name in the village.
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