Chapter 35: Dividing the Earnings

Zhou Huaishan grabbed a brush to start copying the books, while Zhou Qing took a money pouch and headed to the third household.

When Zhou Qing entered, the couple from the third household were in the midst of a combined beating of Zhou Ping.

Zhou Ping was howling like a wolf. Upon seeing Zhou Qing, he immediately dashed behind her. "Big sister, save me!"

Zhou Qing raised her hand and gave Zhou Ping's head a slap. "You went to play on the back mountain, you deserved the beating."

Zhou Ping scrunched up his face. "Big sister, second uncle went too. He took me there."

"Without you causing trouble, would your second uncle have gone crazy and played in the mud?" Zhou Huailin said angrily, glaring at Zhou Ping and raising his hand to hit him again.

Zhou Qing...

He really did go crazy.

"Third Uncle, let's divide the money," Zhou Qing said, finally stepping in to protect Zhou Ping. "Stop hitting him. Ping knows he was wrong and won't go again."

Zhou Huailin glared at Zhou Ping, pointing at him over Zhou Qing.

Zhou Ping pitifully admitted his mistake. "Father, I really won't go again."

Zhao said, "For your big sister's sake, I'll spare you this time. If you go again, I'll break your legs!"

Zhou Qing emptied the copper coins from the money pouch onto the bed, successfully silencing everyone.

Zhao and Zhou Ping stared wide-eyed, exclaiming in unison, "Wow, so many!"

Zhou Yao, who had just finished washing Zhou Ping's clothes and entered the room, was equally stunned. "So many!"

No one in the room, except Zhou Qing, could count. Zhou Qing counted the copper coins one by one. "Altogether, there are 2,870 coins."

One thousand copper coins equal one tael of silver.

"Nearly three taels? That's a lot," Zhao stared in disbelief at Zhou Huailin.

Zhou Huailin smiled and said, "And that doesn't include what we spent on flour, meat and the five large rolls of red paper."

Hearing this, Zhou Ping jumped up. "Father, does this mean the meat and flour in the basket also belong to us?"

Zhou Yao also looked over expectantly.

Zhou Huailin nodded and smiled. "Half belongs to us and half to your big sister's family."

As he spoke, Zhou Huailin pulled a small wooden hairpin from his pocket and handed it to Zhao. "This is for you."

Zhao blushed immediately, holding the hairpin and looking down, "The kids are still here."

Zhou Ping blinked, looking confused, "We're not going to steal it from you, Mom. Why are you guarding it?"

Zhao...

Zhou Qing... Pfft, hahaha.

Zhou Ping successfully diffused Zhao's embarrassment.

Zhou Qing started dividing the copper coins.

"As we agreed before, Third Uncle's family gets four shares, my father and I get six. But we used Shen Li's mule cart, and he wrote most of the characters. He also accompanied us today to sell the items. I think we shouldn't use his help for free. Third Uncle's family still gets four shares, my father and I get four, and the remaining two shares go to him. What do you think?"

Zhou Huailin immediately said, "I have no objections to giving some to Shen Li, it's only right., but it shouldn't be deducted from your share."

Zhao nodded, already wearing the hairpin, which looked quite nice. "That's right, Qing, you initiated this, how can we let you suffer a loss."

Zhou Qing smiled. "This isn't a loss. Let's just follow what I said. We'll divide the earnings based on our contributions. That way, everyone feels satisfied."

Zhou Qing gave the 1,148 copper coins that the third household was entitled to, to Zhao.

Zhao received them with a smile. "I'll make saozi noodles later. Qing, you can't refuse."

Zhou Qing grinned. "Who would refuse saozi noodles?"

After a few jokes, Zhou Huailin took his family's share of flour and meat back to the third household. Zhou Qing took Zhou Yao and Zhou Ping to her room to cut the paper, and Zhao started cooking.

Back on the mountain.

Moonlight shone through the dense forest, casting dappled shadows on Shen Li.

In front of him stood a young man dressed in gray, looking about fifteen or sixteen years old, but with a mature and steady demeanor.

"Sir, while the villagers were playing in the mud at the foot of the back mountain, three wolves and five snakes tried to attack. My men intercepted them. Luckily, the noise they made alerted us. If we hadn't checked, there might have been an accident."

Shen Li glanced at the corpses on the ground.

"In the future, keep an eye on things, just don't get discovered."

"Yes, sir."

Originally, he intended to meet Zhou Qing, but upon receiving a signal from his subordinates near the river, he saw that Zhou Huaishan and the others were safe and decided not to approach Zhou Qing. Instead, he headed up the mountain.

After arranging the night's training, Shen Li went down the mountain.

He caught two wild chickens on the way and brought them to the Zhou family.

When Shen Li arrived, Zhou Qing was helping Zhao bring out bowls of noodles from the kitchen. Seeing Shen Li, she immediately smiled and asked, "Have you eaten?"

Shen Li shook his head honestly. "No."

He glanced at the noodles in Zhou Qing's hands.

Zhou Qing smiled. "Just in time, join us for saozi noodles."

As she spoke, Zhou Ping ran out of the house. "Wow, senior brother, you caught wild chickens! Let's roast them later. I heard that wild chickens can't be kept alive, once caught, they must be eaten."

Zhou Yao slapped Zhou Ping on the head. "What nonsense."

Zhou Ping covered his head and jumped to Shen Li's side, grinning. "It's not nonsense, it's true. Wild chickens have a fierce temper and can't be kept alive."

Shen Li handed the two wild chickens to Zhou Ping and smiled. "Alright, I’ll roast them later."

Zhou Ping happily took the wild chickens. Shen Li walked over to Zhou Qing. "Let me help."

Zhou Qing quickly said, "It's not heavy. Go wash your hands and get ready to eat."

Shen Li still took the noodle bowl from Zhou Qing's hands. Zhou Qing followed beside him. "Where did you catch the wild chickens?"

"On the back mountain."

"You went to the back mountain?" Zhou Qing's face changed, her tone turning serious. "You don't know because you're from the town, but our back mountain is full of wild animals and venomous snakes. I even heard there are wolves."

Shen Li turned to look at Zhou Qing. "Are you worried about me?"

Zhou Qing...

Of course, I’m worried! Isn’t it obvious?

If you get eaten by wolves, who will help tutor my father?

Before Zhou Qing could reply, Shen Li's smile carried a hint of indulgence. "Alright, I understand. I won't go catch wild chickens anymore. Where should I put the noodles?"

"In Third Uncle's room. By the way, I'll give you your share of the earnings later."

Shen Li looked puzzled. "What earnings?"

Zhou Qing laughed. "Today's earnings from selling the calligraphy. You wrote most of it."

Shen Li didn't refuse, only smiling warmly. "Alright."

Zhou Qing...

That was easy?

She thought Shen Li would decline, and she was already racking her brain on how to persuade him to accept.

"Master only earns two hundred copper coins for copying books for Yunhai Bookstore. Why doesn't he copy books for us at the calligraphy shop instead? We pay more."

During the day, Shen Li had been wanting to mention this but hadn't found the right moment.

Zhou Qing shook her head. "Maybe that was okay before, but now you're his apprentice, and he's your master. It feels awkward for him to copy books for your shop. Besides, the shopkeeper of Yunhai Bookstore is a decent person. Once we're more familiar, I'll ask him to recommend a good academy for my father."