Chapter 58
After having warm porridge in the evening, the sky gradually darkened.
As night fell completely, the warmth of daytime gave way to the chilly cold of a deep autumn evening, only inside the thatched hut could warmth be felt.
Fu Wei was alone in the room, not using his crutch, standing quietly behind the slightly open window, gazing into the pitch-dark courtyard.
From behind the window, he could faintly hear soft voices coming from the adjacent room.
Unconsciously, Fu Wei closed his eyes to listen more attentively.
Two oil lamps were lit in the neighboring room, where Yu Ying laid out four thousand five hundred wen on the table, creating the feel of distributing year-end bonuses.
Yu Ying got straight to the point, addressing what everyone was most eager to hear.
“Previously, we kept track of how much each person collected every day, so we'll calculate the payment based on those numbers.”
Yu Ying looked at Uncle He, “Let's start with Uncle He's share.”
Uncle He exhaled, then took out a bundle of bamboo sticks wrapped in cloth, unwrapped it, and laid them on the table.
Yu Ying borrowed Fu Wei's ink and brush, but lacking paper, had to write on the bamboo strips.
She took two bamboo strips to calculate Uncle He's share. One strip was calculated at seven wen per jin, and the other at six wen per jin.
Using the character “正” for calculation, each stroke represented one jin.
She asked her sister-in-law to assist by reading aloud, while she recorded.
After a quarter of an hour, they calculated seventy-five jin at seven wen per jin and thirty-eight jin at six wen per jin, totaling seven hundred and fifty-three wen.
Yu Ying counted out fifty-three wen and added seven strings of coins before handing them to Uncle He, “Uncle He, please count them.”
Receiving the money, Uncle He seemed dazed, scarcely believing he had actually received so much silver.
After calculating Uncle He's share, Yu Ying moved on to Aunt He's.
Aunt He received seven hundred and four wen.
Perhaps because Uncle He and Aunt He were older, with less physical strength and poorer eyesight than the younger folks, they gathered fewer herbs, but the difference wasn’t significant.
He Dalang received eight hundred and fifty-four wen.
Fu Zhen received nine hundred and forty-two wen.
When it was Song Sanlang's turn, Yu Ying said, “Song Sanlang had a shorter time for herb gathering due to his earlier rest, so his share will be a bit less.”
Song Sanlang, aware of this, said, “I understand, Mrs. Fu, go ahead and calculate.”
Yu Ying nodded and after calculating, announced that Song Sanlang’s share was four hundred and seventy-eight wen.
Song Sanlang was momentarily stunned upon hearing the amount, having not calculated it himself.
This was the amount he would earn in three months working for the local gentry, yet he had only gathered herbs for a month and a half.
Moreover, this month and a half had been the most relaxed and comfortable days he had experienced in his twenty-some years.
Once the money was in hand, everyone felt a sense of unreality.
Yu Ying said to Uncle He and Aunt He, “If you still need more to redeem He Erlang, I can lend you some.”
Hearing this, Uncle He came to his senses and quickly shook his head, “It’s enough, enough to redeem Erlang…”
His voice choked up as he spoke these last words.
She had finally weathered the storm.
Auntie He, thinking of her second son, teared up and eventually turned away, covering her mouth as she sobbed.
He Dalang approached his mother, gently patting her shoulder.
Yu Ying empathized with their concern for loved ones, her eyes slightly moistened, but her face bore more of a smile.
After dividing 3,700 wen, there were still 700 left. Yu Ying turned to Mrs. Luo and her sister-in-law, "Besides gathering herbs, mother and sister-in-law have also been helping at home by cleaning, drying, and storing the herbs. These are all tasks. So, based on the number of days Uncle He and Aunt He gathered herbs, which is 51 days, at 5 wen per day, each person gets 255 wen."
Mrs. Luo and Wen Xing were taken aback upon hearing this.
Mrs. Luo said, "It's just a trivial task, not worth mentioning."
Wen Xing quickly echoed, "Yes, just a trivial task!"
Yu Ying still counted out the coins, then said, "Mother, sister-in-law, your help at home allowed me some leisure time while gathering herbs. Moreover, public and private matters should be distinct. If you refuse, I will hesitate to ask for your help in the future."
Yu Ying placed the two shares of money on the table in front of them.
Mrs. Luo and Wen Xing still refused to take it, and Yu Ying said with a smile, "Then it shall stay here."
After the laughter, there were still about 250 wen left. Yu Ying counted out 20 wen and gave them to Fu An, "This is your pay."
Fu An, who was just there for the spectacle and longingly eyeing the pile of coins, was startled when he saw the coins handed to him, exclaiming in amazement, "I get some too?!"
Yu Ying smiled and said, "You've been a great help too, so you deserve pay. Save this money until there's something you really want to buy."
Fu An glanced at his parents and, seeing his father nod, hesitantly took the 20 coins, gratefully saying, "Thank you, Auntie!"
Yu Ying smiled again, counting out another 10 wen, "This is for Ning Ning."
Little Fu Ning, upon hearing this, grinned, revealing her dimpled cheeks, and eagerly stretched out her little hands.
Yu Ying placed the coins in her palm, smiling at her.
After receiving the coins, the little girl was overjoyed.
Yu Ying then turned her attention back, dividing the remaining 200 wen into five equal parts, and said to everyone, "Big brother, Uncle He, Aunt He, He family's eldest, and the third Song brother, you've helped a lot besides gathering herbs. This is a bonus. Though small now, it will surely increase over time."
Anticipating their refusal, Yu Ying preempted their objections, adding, "Once given, I don’t intend to take it back, and even if you return it, I won’t accept it."
As she spoke, she stood up with a smile and said, "Let's not discuss the path ahead tonight. Let's just enjoy the moment. I'm going back to my room now."
Although she paid out four thousand five hundred coins, Yu Ying still made about five thousand, thanks to their help. That's why she couldn't afford to be stingy.
After returning to her room, Yu Ying met Fu Wei's gaze behind the window. After a brief silence, she smiled at him generously.
Fu Wei met her smile with a faint one of his own, as if the subtle atmosphere that had emerged in the room earlier had never happened.
That night, everyone received some silver. Though their hearts were filled with mixed emotions, they were mostly hopeful about the days to come.
Chapter 58
After having warm porridge in the evening, the sky gradually darkened.
As night fell completely, the warmth of daytime gave way to the chilly cold of a deep autumn evening, only inside the thatched hut could warmth be felt.
Fu Wei was alone in the room, not using his crutch, standing quietly behind the slightly open window, gazing into the pitch-dark courtyard.
From behind the window, he could faintly hear soft voices coming from the adjacent room.
Unconsciously, Fu Wei closed his eyes to listen more attentively.
Two oil lamps were lit in the neighboring room, where Yu Ying laid out four thousand five hundred wen on the table, creating the feel of distributing year-end bonuses.
Yu Ying got straight to the point, addressing what everyone was most eager to hear.
“Previously, we kept track of how much each person collected every day, so we'll calculate the payment based on those numbers.”
Yu Ying looked at Uncle He, “Let's start with Uncle He's share.”
Uncle He exhaled, then took out a bundle of bamboo sticks wrapped in cloth, unwrapped it, and laid them on the table.
Yu Ying borrowed Fu Wei's ink and brush, but lacking paper, had to write on the bamboo strips.
She took two bamboo strips to calculate Uncle He's share. One strip was calculated at seven wen per jin, and the other at six wen per jin.
Using the character “正” for calculation, each stroke represented one jin.
She asked her sister-in-law to assist by reading aloud, while she recorded.
After a quarter of an hour, they calculated seventy-five jin at seven wen per jin and thirty-eight jin at six wen per jin, totaling seven hundred and fifty-three wen.
Yu Ying counted out fifty-three wen and added seven strings of coins before handing them to Uncle He, “Uncle He, please count them.”
Receiving the money, Uncle He seemed dazed, scarcely believing he had actually received so much silver.
After calculating Uncle He's share, Yu Ying moved on to Aunt He's.
Aunt He received seven hundred and four wen.
Perhaps because Uncle He and Aunt He were older, with less physical strength and poorer eyesight than the younger folks, they gathered fewer herbs, but the difference wasn’t significant.
He Dalang received eight hundred and fifty-four wen.
Fu Zhen received nine hundred and forty-two wen.
When it was Song Sanlang's turn, Yu Ying said, “Song Sanlang had a shorter time for herb gathering due to his earlier rest, so his share will be a bit less.”
Song Sanlang, aware of this, said, “I understand, Mrs. Fu, go ahead and calculate.”
Yu Ying nodded and after calculating, announced that Song Sanlang’s share was four hundred and seventy-eight wen.
Song Sanlang was momentarily stunned upon hearing the amount, having not calculated it himself.
This was the amount he would earn in three months working for the local gentry, yet he had only gathered herbs for a month and a half.
Moreover, this month and a half had been the most relaxed and comfortable days he had experienced in his twenty-some years.
Once the money was in hand, everyone felt a sense of unreality.
Yu Ying said to Uncle He and Aunt He, “If you still need more to redeem He Erlang, I can lend you some.”
Hearing this, Uncle He came to his senses and quickly shook his head, “It’s enough, enough to redeem Erlang…”
His voice choked up as he spoke these last words.
She had finally weathered the storm.
Auntie He, thinking of her second son, teared up and eventually turned away, covering her mouth as she sobbed.
He Dalang approached his mother, gently patting her shoulder.
Yu Ying empathized with their concern for loved ones, her eyes slightly moistened, but her face bore more of a smile.
After dividing 3,700 wen, there were still 700 left. Yu Ying turned to Mrs. Luo and her sister-in-law, "Besides gathering herbs, mother and sister-in-law have also been helping at home by cleaning, drying, and storing the herbs. These are all tasks. So, based on the number of days Uncle He and Aunt He gathered herbs, which is 51 days, at 5 wen per day, each person gets 255 wen."
Mrs. Luo and Wen Xing were taken aback upon hearing this.
Mrs. Luo said, "It's just a trivial task, not worth mentioning."
Wen Xing quickly echoed, "Yes, just a trivial task!"
Yu Ying still counted out the coins, then said, "Mother, sister-in-law, your help at home allowed me some leisure time while gathering herbs. Moreover, public and private matters should be distinct. If you refuse, I will hesitate to ask for your help in the future."
Yu Ying placed the two shares of money on the table in front of them.
Mrs. Luo and Wen Xing still refused to take it, and Yu Ying said with a smile, "Then it shall stay here."
After the laughter, there were still about 250 wen left. Yu Ying counted out 20 wen and gave them to Fu An, "This is your pay."
Fu An, who was just there for the spectacle and longingly eyeing the pile of coins, was startled when he saw the coins handed to him, exclaiming in amazement, "I get some too?!"
Yu Ying smiled and said, "You've been a great help too, so you deserve pay. Save this money until there's something you really want to buy."
Fu An glanced at his parents and, seeing his father nod, hesitantly took the 20 coins, gratefully saying, "Thank you, Auntie!"
Yu Ying smiled again, counting out another 10 wen, "This is for Ning Ning."
Little Fu Ning, upon hearing this, grinned, revealing her dimpled cheeks, and eagerly stretched out her little hands.
Yu Ying placed the coins in her palm, smiling at her.
After receiving the coins, the little girl was overjoyed.
Yu Ying then turned her attention back, dividing the remaining 200 wen into five equal parts, and said to everyone, "Big brother, Uncle He, Aunt He, He family's eldest, and the third Song brother, you've helped a lot besides gathering herbs. This is a bonus. Though small now, it will surely increase over time."
Anticipating their refusal, Yu Ying preempted their objections, adding, "Once given, I don’t intend to take it back, and even if you return it, I won’t accept it."
As she spoke, she stood up with a smile and said, "Let's not discuss the path ahead tonight. Let's just enjoy the moment. I'm going back to my room now."
Although she paid out four thousand five hundred coins, Yu Ying still made about five thousand, thanks to their help. That's why she couldn't afford to be stingy.
After returning to her room, Yu Ying met Fu Wei's gaze behind the window. After a brief silence, she smiled at him generously.
Fu Wei met her smile with a faint one of his own, as if the subtle atmosphere that had emerged in the room earlier had never happened.
That night, everyone received some silver. Though their hearts were filled with mixed emotions, they were mostly hopeful about the days to come.
