Salary Payment (Part 2)

Lin Xiao arrived outside the courtyard gate of the Hu family. Auntie Hu invited him in to sit, but he declined, only troubling someone to help call Tietou out.

There was no helping it; the Hu family had not divided their household, so a large extended family was all squeezed into one courtyard to live.

With so many people and prying eyes, Lin Xiao did not really like going inside.

As soon as Tietou came out, Lin Xiao pulled him into a dark corner.

Then, in this dark corner, the two secretly went about the business of paying wages.

Upon receiving the money, Tietou's eyes lit up.

He asked in a whisper, "Brother Xiao, is this really for me?"

Lin Xiao nodded, then realizing it was too dark for him to see, also whispered,

"Yes, put it away safely in your storage bag. Do not let your Second Aunt find out, or she will make a fuss and force you to hand it over to the family."

Tietou nodded hastily, pulled out a storage bag from his chest, and put the money inside:

"Do not worry, Brother Xiao, I know. Hehe, tomorrow I will have my dad bring me back a roast chicken to eat. Have you heard? A roast chicken shop opened in town a few days ago, and their chicken is so fragrant! It is not expensive either, only thirty-eight copper coins!"

Hearing this, Lin Xiao immediately took out thirty-eight copper coins and handed them to him, saying:

"Tomorrow, ask Uncle to bring one back for me too!"

Tietou patted his chest and said:

"No problem, leave it to me!"

Because Tietou's father, Third Uncle Hu, usually went to town to take on odd jobs for people, he would go to town every day.

And since Third Uncle Hu had a pretty good relationship with Lin Dayou, Lin Dayou would occasionally ask Tietou's father to bring things back for him.

Often, when Third Uncle Hu went to the Lin house to deliver things to Lin Dayou and Lin Dayou was not there, it was Lin Xiao, who was idling at home, who received them. Therefore, Lin Xiao was quite familiar with Third Uncle Hu.

Having agreed on the roast chicken, Lin Xiao bid farewell to Tietou and headed to the next house.

Meanwhile, Tietou, having returned home, was pulled aside by Third Aunt Hu, who had been waiting in the courtyard. She asked softly:

"Tietou, did that second boy of the Lin family really strike it rich in town today?"

Hu Liang impatiently brushed off the arm she was tugging and said:

"Ugh, no! Third Aunt, can you stop blindly asking around?"

Third Aunt Hu was displeased. Instantly dropping her hushed tone, her voice rose high:

"Hey! How am I blindly asking around? Everyone who came back from the market today is spreading the word. They said that the second Lin boy was doing some unknown business in town, and a huge crowd gathered in front of his stall. Even if those people only gave one copper coin each, would he not still have made a fortune?

It is not that your Third Aunt wants to scold you, but you have been playing with that second Lin boy for so many years, how come you have not learned the slightest bit of his money-making skills? That boy is something else too; you have such a good relationship with him, yet he does not think to bring you along when there is a good thing going. He just cares about hogging it all to himself..."

At this moment, a room door smacked open. Hu Liang's mother stood there and shouted at Hu Liang:

"Tietou! Hurry up and come inside to sleep! What are you running around outside for in the middle of the night! Are you not afraid of bumping into a ghost!"

Upon hearing his own mother's shout, Hu Liang immediately ran toward the house.

"Hey! Mother, coming, coming! I will sleep right away!"

In the courtyard, only Third Aunt Hu was left, stomping her feet in anger under the moonlight.

"Bah! Who are you calling a ghost? You are the ghost!"

Without stopping, Lin Xiao arrived at the next house.

The Qin family.

The Qin family had a small population, and their family relationships were simple.

The two elders at the top of the family had passed away early, so the family had been divided long ago.

Qin Jianghe's father, Uncle Qin, lived with his wife, Madam Liu, and their two sons, Qin Jianghai and Qin Jianghe.

Qin Jianghe was the second child.

So he was relatively free.

That was why he had the time to become buddies with Lin Xiao and the others.

Speaking of Qin Jianghe, he actually had quite a shrewd mind.

But Lin Xiao didn't mind this.

Because, at his core, Qin Jianghe was still a fairly simple person. His shrewdness was entirely developed during his childhood, living in a large, undivided household when his grandparents were still alive.

The complexity of the Qin family in the past was even greater than that of the Hu family.

Qin Jianghe's family was the first branch, but because his grandparents were quite fertile and capable of raising children, his father, despite being the eldest son, had eight younger brothers and sisters.

Later, they all got married and seemed to have inherited the grandparents' genes, being incredibly fertile themselves.

Therefore, Uncle Qin wasn't as favored in the eyes of the old couple.

After all, their first branch hadn't produced any more children after Qin Jianghai and Qin Jianghe.

The highly fertile Qin grandparents naturally loved the sight of endless children and grandchildren, so they understandably favored the other branches that could produce more offspring.

With favoritism naturally came conflict.

And with conflict came open strife and veiled struggles.

As a child, Qin Jianghe was exceptionally good at reading people's expressions and playing mind games with others.

However, his shrewdness was only directed outward, never at his own people.

Thus, Lin Xiao didn't dislike this aspect of his personality at all.

On the contrary, he actually liked it a lot.

Because he himself was fiercely protective of his own.

Lin Xiao and Qin Jianghe met in the main hall of the Qin family's house.

Knowing that Lin Xiao had business to discuss with Qin Jianghe, Uncle Qin, Aunt Qin, and Qin Jianghai all returned to their own rooms, leaving the main hall for the two young brothers to talk.

Lin Xiao likewise pulled out a string of coins, handed it to Qin Jianghe, and chuckled,

Our sect is a proper sect, after all, and a proper sect must provide a stipend. This is your stipend.

Hearing this, Qin Jianghe found it hard to refuse and accepted it.

Brother Xiao, I'll also try hard to think of ways to make money. Next time, I want to earn money for our sect too!

Lin Xiao smiled and said,

Alright, in the future, we'll all make money together and properly develop our sect.

Saying that, Lin Xiao took out the rest of the money and handed it to him, adding,

Originally, the job of distributing salaries and managing money was the duty of you, the Financial Elder. I've already handed it out to two households for you, so you have to come with me in a bit.

Knowing that this was Lin Xiao's way of getting everyone more familiar with his role as the Financial Elder, how could Qin Jianghe refuse?

He hurriedly nodded and said,

Of course, of course. Don't worry, Brother Xiao, I will definitely keep this money safe! I even hug my storage bag while I sleep; no one will ever steal money from my hands!

Therefore, after bidding farewell to Uncle Qin and Aunt Qin, the two of them headed out together.

Qin Jianghe patted the storage bag in his arms, which contained over two thousand copper coins, feeling a burning passion in his heart.

He was going to distribute money to others!

Even though he hadn't earned this money.

But in the future, he would work hard to find ways to make money for the sect!

The next household was Sun Yigao's.

The Sun family's population was even simpler.

Landlord Sun, Aunt Sun, and Sun Yigao, their only son.

Seeing them arrive, Aunt Sun enthusiastically welcomed them into the main hall.

Gao'er is changing clothes, Brother Xiao, you guys have a seat for a moment!

Aunt Sun brought them two cups of water and then took out a box containing several types of dried fruits, placing it on the table for them to eat.

Lin Xiao quickly said:

"Aunt Sun, please rest. We just came over to deliver Brother Sun his sect stipend."

Since Aunt Sun knew about their sect's affairs, Lin Xiao spoke openly without trying to hide anything.