"Hey, She Dengke, what would you do if you had money?" Liu Quxing sat on the edge of the stone mill platform, munching on the pancakes his master had brought, and mumbled the question.
"Of course, I’d buy a house for my family first. I want a compound with two courtyards; in the back courtyard, I’d have my dad and mom, my older brother and sister-in-law, and the front courtyard for my second brother and his wife, and my third brother and his wife. They’ve had it tough over the years. The entire family squeezed into one room, sleeping on the floor, and turning over was not easy."
"What about yourself? Where will you live?"
She Dengke stuffed the last of his pancake into his mouth: "I’ll stay at the dical Hall, no need for my family to keep a room for ... Liu Quxing, what would you do with money?"
Liu Quxing thought for a mont and said, "I want to get my mom out of the Liu Family so she doesn’t have to second-guess the mistress anymore. Every ti she cos to bring money and food, when she goes back ho she gets nothing but sneers and can’t avoid a round of mockery."
"Money is good," She Dengke said, looking down: "Money’s like an old immortal, capable of making dreams co true."
Liu Quxing suddenly asked, "After you have money, would you still want to apprentice at the dical Hall?"
She Dengke paused, hesitating: "Yeah, if I had money, would I still apprentice..."
Snap.
A bamboo stick landed on She Dengke’s back, searing with pain.
She Dengke turned his head to see Old Yao, who had sohow approached him, glaring at Liu Quxing: "Kid, you motherfucker are setting up again!"
Old Yao sneered at the two of them: "Right, with money, you guys would no longer apprentice at my Taiping dical Hall."
Liu Quxing hurriedly jumped down from the stone mill, smiling obsequiously: "Master, that was She Dengke talking, it’s got nothing to do with . I will definitely learn dical skills earnestly in the hall and earn respect like you in the future!"
Old Yao said sarcastically: "Why would several rich young masters bother suffering and toiling away in my Taiping dical Hall?"
She Dengke panicked: "Master, please don’t misunderstand. We definitely want to remain in the hall to serve you. We rember all the good you’ve done for us these past two years."
anwhile, Liang Gou’er, laying on a straw mat nearby and chewing on a stalk of grass, swung his legs around: "Five thousand taels of silver, how do you plan to split it? Haha, since ancient tis, how many brothers have turned against each other, not because of shared hardships, but because of shared wealth."
Liang Mao’er raised a hand: "I was just here to help out; I don’t need a share."
Liang Gou’er suddenly sat up, frustrated: "You’ve worked the hardest over the past few days, second only to Chen Ji. Why shouldn’t you take a share?"
Liang Mao’er glanced at him: "Bro, stop talking. In any case, you don’t get a share."
Liang Gou’er: "..."
He opened his mouth and couldn’t get the words out for a long ti. Finally, he simply leaned back, covered his face with his straw hat, and shook his leg faster than anyone else.
Gradually, everyone grew quiet and exchanged looks, not daring to speak first.
How exactly should the five thousand taels of silver be divided? Splitting it evenly seed like a fair solution, but everyone knew that wouldn’t be fair to Chen Ji.
Amidst this silence, Bai Li wanted to step forward and speak, but Prince Jing pulled him aside.
He looked at the young n with interest: "The world hustles and bustles for profit. It’s only when real interest is at stake that you can see soone’s true colors. Hold your tongue for now; let’s just see if your friends can withstand this test."
Bai Li hesitated before whispering, "But why test human nature? It’s unfair to the person being tested."
Prince Jing was taken aback, then chuckled: "Silly child, there’s no such thing as fairness in this world. You have to learn to protect yourself."
As he spoke, a carriage slowly stopped outside the kiln factory.
Zhang Zhuo lifted the carriage curtain, grabbed the hem of his official robe, and hopped down, not forgetting to reach back to help Chen Liqin before striding confidently into the kiln factory.
The two approached Prince Jing, Zhang Zhuo greeted with a bow: "Prince..."
Prince Jing raised a hand to stop him: "Hold your words so as not to startle them; let’s watch how they divide the money. It’s always a spectacle when brothers split money. Your timing is perfect, just in ti to catch the show."
Zhang Zhuo was surprised: "Split money? What money?"
Prince Jing said with a smile, "I’ll explain it to you later. Oh, and Mr. Chen, Chen Ji is also part of it."
At that mont, Zhang Zhuo narrowed his eyes, carefully screening each person in the crowd, he pulled Chen Liqin to one side, and asked in a low voice, "Eh, why is your boy also here?"
Chen Liqin hesitated before saying quietly, "I knew he was here since yesterday and ca specially to take him back to Chen Mansion, but he didn’t co with ."
Zhang Zhuo said, surprised, "Such a stubborn kid, he’d rather do tough manual labor in the kiln factory than follow you back to Chen Mansion?"
Chen Liqin sighed: "I, as a father, failed to monitor the situation. After he went to Taiping dical Hall, I instructed the butler to send him his monthly salary. Who would have thought, the servant secretly embezzled, changing the three taels of silver to 300 cents per month, and later just dragging his feet and delaying it. He must have co to the kiln factory to earn so tuition fee for himself, right?"
Zhang Zhuo looked Chen Liqin over: "Mr. Chen, what happened to that servant?"
Chen Liqin replied: "He’s already been executed by caning."
Zhang Zhuo stroked his beard and asked again: "And the butler, has he been executed as well?"
Chen Liqin shook his head: "No, he was caned ten tis as a mild punishnt."
Zhang Zhuo smiled aningfully: "Your son seems to have more resilience than my kid, willing to endure hardships instead of tolerating being wronged at ho. Maybe he’s been frequenting the Gambling House because of bad influences? Listen to my advice, give your boy two hundred taels of silver to ease his anxiety, and then execute that foolish butler to vent his anger. I guarantee you’ll be able to take him back."
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