Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1588 Stone Coins
"So, I'll only receive my payment later?"

Although his initial intention was to sound out Master Sa's opinion, he was also genuinely concerned about how much money he would receive. After all, the amount was quite substantial.

"You can take it now if you want. But Yanqiu is taking it now. You don't want to take the payment in advance and then have no reason to ask Yanqiu to treat you to dinner, do you?"

"I've never looked before. But is it possible now?"

"Hmm." Master Sa tilted his head. "She's quite a rich woman now, you know. She always takes the money in advance. If you go to her for a meal now, she'll definitely treat you."

"Wait a minute. How much money did she take?"

“She gets a fixed pay of 500 a day. I’m very generous, so I gave it to her as soon as filming started.”

"She makes 500 a day? That's 15000 a month?"

"It's less than 15000 because we don't pay on rest days, only on weekdays. Two-thirds of the month is workdays, so it's about 10,000 per month. The filming period is three or four months, so the total pay, plus subsidies, is about 50,000."

Shang Luo blinked: "Yan Qiu's salary is 5?! Then mine is..."

"Five percent of the box office. We expect this film to gross between 3 billion and 5 billion, so your salary will be around 100 million."

"???"

Why is there such a large difference in your salaries?

"Master Sa, why is there such a big difference?"

"What, you're feeling sorry for her? Why don't you give her some of your earnings?"

"That doesn't make sense. So, Master Sa, you must have made some preparations, otherwise there wouldn't be such a big difference, right?"

"That's the difference. Yanqiu is our company's exclusive employee. She won't go anywhere else, and she gets a basic salary all year round. So her pay is exactly this much. You're different. You're an outsider we brought in, so my pay includes a sponsorship for Lei's department. You'll be useful with the money. As for that little girl, she won't be of any use even if she gets the money."

"But she still seems to be..."

"Tsk tsk tsk." Master Sa shook his head repeatedly. "Feeling sorry for him? Feeling sorry for him. Don't tell me you don't feel sorry for him. Aren't you thinking, 'This old man is exploiting child laborers'?"

"No, no, no, I would never dare to think that."

At least Old Deng wouldn't dare to call it out, right?

"Don't worry." Master Sa took out his phone, brought up a page, and waved it in front of Shang Luo—Shang Luo didn't see what it was, only a long string of zeros on it.

"this is?"

“I’ve been saving money for her since she was little. She was seven or eight years old then. I told her that I’d save the money for her first, and give it to her when she grows up. I guess a lot of people have said that to her, and then they take the money and play mahjong. But I’m different. I really saved it for her, and it even earns interest.”

Shangluo recalled—the number was indeed illegible because the zeros were too long, and Master Sa had given too little time. But it was undoubtedly a huge sum of money, a sum that would leave Zhu Xianxi speechless.

"I've been thinking about when to give it to her, after all, it's quite a lot of money." Even by Master Sa's standards, it's a considerable sum. "Why don't you help me think of something?"

"Huh? Is this something I should be thinking about?"

"How about we make it into a dowry for her when she gets married? We'll add another sum after this new film is finished, and I'll personally give her another one at the wedding. In total, it'll be roughly this much." He flipped his fingers back and forth several times, but Shang Luo still couldn't figure out how much it was. But if all of this were added together, even the Dao Ancestor would probably want to confiscate his property.

[Wow, she really is quite wealthy! I always wondered how she could be broke; turns out she's saved it all up!]

“Don’t tell her now,” Master Sa replied. “I doubt she knows about this herself. At least, wait until the film is finished before telling her. This is too much money; I’m afraid it will unsettle her—believe me, anyone would be unsettled by this amount. Because after so many years of saving, it’s a considerable sum.”

"Mmm." Shang Luo nodded.

"But you can ask her to have dinner now. She doesn't usually have any money to spend. Her room at the Jinling Hotel is a long-term lease paid for by the company, and the company also provides her with a car. So no matter how much money they give her, she doesn't know where to spend it. The 500 yuan they give her a day is just pocket money. See if there's anything she wants to buy. She just got paid, so go ask her to treat you."

"Oh, then I'll go?"

“Go ahead, go ahead. I checked your schedule, and you don’t have any classes this afternoon. Oh, by the way, here’s today’s pay.” Master Sa took out five bills from his bag. “Could you take today’s pay to her for me?”

The Jinling Hotel is right across from the Grand Palace, and the Imperial College is also across from the Grand Palace, so the two are very close to each other and can be reached on foot.

When they arrived at their destination, it was around lunchtime, but Yanqiu wasn't in her room; she was in the gym.

When Shangluo arrived, she was walking out with a towel in her hand.

"Hmm? What brings you here? Is there something you need?" There were still beads of sweat on her forehead, but she didn't smell of sweat; instead, she smelled of perfume.

"I've come to deliver your wages for today. Today, Master Sa led our class."

"Huh? You're paying me already? That's fast, I haven't even started working yet. How much is it? 300?"

"500."

"Wow! That's so generous! 500! Shangluo, shall we go out for dinner?"

"Eat? Why not just eat at the Jinling Hotel?"

"Eating here is free! We have to pay to eat out! 500 yuan! That's enough to buy so much food."

"Okay. So where do we go?"

"You choose, of course you choose."

Shangluo was caught in a dilemma because he didn't know how much it would cost.

Yanqiu seemed very happy. If Shangluo didn't let her spend money, he was afraid it would damage her confidence. This money had to be spent. However, if too much money was spent, Yanqiu would probably be very happy, but Shangluo would feel sorry for her because he had made her spend more money.

But then I thought about it again, and Yanqiu still had such a large sum of money on her, the number of zeros after that string of numbers was simply astonishing.

Although Yanqiu didn't have the money on her, Shangluo knew she was wealthy.

Suddenly, Shangluo remembered something.

"Hmm? Why is your heart beating faster?" "Didn't we talk about this in class just now?"

Wait a minute! Ah! The old man is waiting here! This is... this is a stone coin that sank in the sea!

On the island of Samoa, there was a stone coin that belonged to a wealthy family. This stone coin was enormous, but it could not be seen or touched, because although the stone coin had completed its processing ritual, it sank into the sea not far from the shore during its transport to the island—this was mentioned in the previous lesson.

If the people on the island want to trade for that stone coin, they stand on the shore and point in the direction of the stone to make the trade.

And here—in Yanqiu, there was a sum of money that no one hadn't seen or touched. Shangluo only glanced at it vaguely, but he didn't actually see how much money it was; Master Sa only claimed that there was such a large sum.

Does this money actually exist?

She didn't exist until the money actually reached Yanqiu's hands.

But Shangluo believes it exists.

So, the reason you believe this is...

"Yes," Shangluo realized, "it's because the Celestial Master has absolute credibility when it comes to money."

The Celestial Master is trustworthy; he wouldn't lie to her. Celestial Master Sa has never done so, nor will he in the future. It's like having this sum of money saved up; although it might seem stingy now, this invisible and intangible money will definitely come at the right time in the future—all because of one thing: money is just a number to the Celestial Master, it's not important at all.

Over the years, Master Sa had amassed an astronomical sum of money. Yanqiu's money was merely a drop in the ocean for him, utterly insignificant. Shangluo believed Master Sa because he had no reason to deceive Yanqiu on this matter.

[So, Master Sa is trying to tell you that you can completely trust the Celestial Master? On all sorts of issues?]

"This must be what Master Sa wanted to say."

【What about Yanqiu's meal? Do you want her to spend more money or less? If she spends too little and doesn't get enough to eat, she'll probably be angry. If she spends too much, you'll feel bad, right?】

"I can't eat anymore, I really can't eat any more."

Yanqiu leaned back: "So why did you eat at McDonald's?"

"I suddenly had a craving for McDonald's today. Ah, well, I'm stuffed."

[Actually, even if you eat until you're stuffed at McDonald's, it shouldn't cost 500 for two people. I did the math, and 224 for two people is pretty good for you guys.]

Treating someone to a meal at McDonald's is a perfect amount of money—just enough for two people to eat their fill without spending all the money, and it also brings emotional value to Yanqiu.

"Next time... next time, let me save up a few more days, how about we go out for a meal again? I'll choose next time."

"Um," Shangluo thought for a moment, "how about we eat here again?"

Before Yanqiu actually received the money, he still didn't want her to spend it all. However, after figuring out Master Sa's problem, his mood improved considerably, and he could eat more of the foods that bring happiness. If you ask what brings the most happiness, it's fried chicken and soda.

"No, I won't come again. You know I still have a lot of extra training to do after eating all this, right? I only came because you wanted some. You really know how to cause me trouble."

"Ah, this..." He'd forgotten about that. Yanqiu was currently exercising; there must be some reason. "Are you preparing for the role of Wang Lingguan?"

Yanqiu nodded: "I have to train for a long time every day now to keep my shoulder muscles looking more prominent, so that when I play the role, it won't be obvious at a glance that the gender is wrong—I also need to practice my voice. I have to go to the soundproof room to calibrate it this afternoon. It's been a long time since I used Wang Lingguan's voice, and I'm still not used to it. So next time, I'll pick the place, and we'll eat something light. See you next time?"

"Wait a minute. Actually, you..."

"Ok?"

What, you're going to tell me now?

For a moment, Shangluo really wanted to speak out. Yanqiu was extremely dedicated to her work, constantly preparing for her acting career. If she were to enjoy herself, that would be one thing. But Yanqiu lived a very disciplined life because the role of Wang Lingguan demanded a lot from her body; she couldn't eat too much, nor dared to.

Considering her expertise and other qualifications, this salary isn't exactly low, but it's certainly not much—as a family of military craftsmen, Shangluo does nothing at home, yet her monthly allowance is more than that. In the capital, this amount is practically the wages for odd jobs; even recent college graduates earn more than that.

The thought of Yanqiu receiving wages that didn't match the value of her labor made Shangluo want to speak up.
"Never mind, never mind. I'm fine."

"Oh dear." Yanqiu patted his shoulder. "If you have something to say, wait until you've thought it through next time. I'm always here to listen. You can also tell me if you're unhappy about anything."

"Oh, I see."

"Well, see you later."

"Tsk tsk tsk tsk~~" Zhu Xianxi covered his face with his hands, "I'm crying so hard, waaaaaah~~ Miss Yanqiu is so gentle."

"Senior brother, you're so disgusting, it's giving me goosebumps."

"Oh? Is that so? I thought all young people talk like that, so it's just following the trend. Zhu Ling really should say this."

"You're not that old, are you?"

“My mindset is old now.” Zhu Xianxi took a sip of tea. “So, these old men really do like riddles. They went through all that trouble to tell you that they are trustworthy.”

"I think this should create a more lasting impression, since it's like something we came up with ourselves."

"The old man still treats us like little kids. He just says what he wants to say, instead of using all this 'patient and persuasive' stuff, as if he's afraid I won't understand."

However, this incident made Zhu Xianxi realize that there was actually nothing to worry about, including the Celestial Master Sa and all the other Celestial Masters, all the way up to the Dao Ancestor.

Including Master Sa, whom they had previously assumed valued money highly. But in reality, Master Sa had prepared an astronomical sum for Yanqiu, and he didn't care at all about spending it. Now, it seemed their previous worries about the Master were unnecessary.

"It seems that the ultimate problem lies with ourselves," Zhu Xianxi said in a deep voice. "We ourselves are the biggest problem. If this ascension is not handled well, it may become the end of our civilization."

"Regarding this, Master Sa seemed to have left me a message this morning before he left, which I didn't quite understand at the time, but now I think I do."

"What did he say?"

"He gave the example of taxing stone coins. A black checkmark was used to indicate taxation, and a red checkmark was used again to indicate that the tax had been paid."

"Ah, you mean that amazing man who levied taxes on Samoa Island? We still remember that incident vividly. Wait, is he trying to subtly guide you into something by bringing this up with you?"

(End of this chapter)