Crossing the farm gate, the whole family reunites in the disaster year

The noodles mixed with buckwheat flour had a rough texture, but everyone enjoyed it very much, even Old Mrs. Cui ate half an extra bowl.

The Cui family has been busy these days.

After dinner, Silang came to the east room and placed two large strings of copper coins on the table.

"Aunt San, this is the bill from the brick kiln this morning."

The two large strings of copper coins were quite heavy, but Shilang kept them in his arms for the entire morning and didn't feel the weight at all.

Lin smiled gently: "Have you counted this money?"

Silang chuckled shyly. "I counted it twice at the brick kiln. It was two taels, three qian, and a little over fifty wen."

This is yesterday's earnings.

Lin quickly calculated in his mind that the salary for hiring someone was 600 wen, plus 100 wen for rent, and the cost of renting a car.

Yesterday's net profit was one tael and seven qian.

This profit is basically in line with Lin's expectations.

As agreed before, Lin counted out the wages and put them in a cloth bag separately, and divided the remaining money equally with Silang.

Faced with the copper coins handed over by Lin, Silang waved his hand habitually.

Lin's tone left no room for doubt: "You've been very busy these past few days. We agreed before that each of us would share half of the profits. This is what you deserve."

Si Lang pursed his lips and said, "I didn't do anything. In fact, I didn't contribute as much as Youxi and the others. Aunt San, you should pay me according to the worker's wages."

Lin looked at him and said, "Silang, remember, the more work you put in, the more money you earn. Just like in a shop, the shopkeeper does far less work than the handyman, yet he spends all day fiddling with an abacus and yet he takes away most of the shop's profits. Think about why."

Silang's expression was slightly serious as he thought about the question raised by his third aunt.

He seldom went to the city, and only went there a few times with his third aunt, and did not pay attention to the shops on the street.

But he often went to the brick kiln and had contact with the manager. Shilang recalled every word and action of the brick kiln manager.

It seems that he really didn't contribute at all. Every time he went to the brick kiln, the manager seemed to be idle in the yard...

No, it’s not that they have nothing to do. The manager arranges what work the workers should do.

Shi Lang probed, "Because... because the shopkeeper has to arrange the workers to work, and also keep track of the shop's accounts, and also..."

Shi Lang vaguely felt some clues, but couldn't put them into words, and his face turned red with anxiety.

Lin smiled and said, "You're right. The importance of the shopkeeper in the shop is like the brain..."

"brain?"

Shiro asked curiously.

Lin changed her words: "The shopkeeper is like the roots of a big tree. The tree has a trunk, branches, leaves, and even fruits in the summer. All of these are inseparable from the trunk to absorb nutrients."

"If you cut off the branches, the tree will not die, but if the roots die, the whole tree will die."

Shi Lang immediately said, "I know this. When there is a flood, the roots of the crops in the fields rot and die, but normally the leaves are eaten by insects and they don't die immediately."

Lin nodded: "That's right, let's talk about you."

"Your role in this is like the roots of a tree. Only with you can the entire workshop operate and achieve long-term stable profits. Do you understand what Third Aunt means?"

Shiro understood, but disagreed.

"But it's all because of you, Auntie..."

"That's because you need time to grow. Before you can stand on your own, Third Aunt is the driving force behind you, pushing you to a sufficient level."

Shiro opened his mouth but couldn't speak for a long time.

He originally thought that he was just helping his Third Aunt and that he was already very satisfied with the money he earned from her. However, he did not expect that his Third Aunt would do more and go further than he thought.

Can he really?