allonlinenovel Chapter 206 Are you trying to trick me?
Chapter 206 Are you trying to trick me?
My eldest brother has always been a good person. If it weren't for our father's favoritism, our mother's domineering nature, and our brothers' exclusion of him, he and his wife wouldn't have insisted on separating the family property.
He used to not dare to disobey his mother, but he wouldn't listen to her now. Shen Qianchuan secretly made up his mind that from now on he would only listen to his elder brother.
"Brother, I've been out for too long, the restaurant manager will scold me. You and Xiaotang should go home quickly, I need to get back to work."
Lin Qingchuan nodded and said, "Okay, go back now."
They drove away in their carriage, and Shen Qianchuan lifted his robe and ran quickly back to Juxian Restaurant.
Perhaps he was running too fast and couldn't stop in time, he bumped into Shen Xiaochuan, who came out looking for him with a dark face, and the two brothers fell to the ground.
Shen Xiaochuan cried out "Ouch!" and got up, clutching his sore buttocks. He was so angry that he cursed, "Which son of a bitch didn't watch where he was going and bumped into me? If you're angry, I'll gouge out your useless eyes and feed them to the dogs."
He rubbed his backside and looked up to see that the person he had bumped into was his fourth brother. He snorted coldly and said irritably, "You're quite the lazy one, making my second and third brothers get scolded by the manager. Humph!"
Shen Qianchuan rolled his eyes and turned to walk back.
Shen Qianchuan got up without saying a word. He ran back to the backyard with his head down and saw Steward Li, whose face was as black as the bottom of a pot and whose eyes were blazing with anger. He immediately stepped forward and bowed to apologize.
"Manager Li, I was wrong."
Manager Li sneered, "Oh, I can't accept such a courtesy from you. You are a scholar, and you will be taking the imperial examinations to become a scholar or a provincial graduate. Who knows, one day your luck will change and you will become a high-ranking official. It will only take you a word to send me to jail."
You need to understand why you're working at our restaurant. It's because your family owes us money. Paying back debts is a matter of course, and since you can't pay, you have to work to settle your debt. You're not working for me, so if you dare to slack off or cheat again, you'll have to pay back the money immediately!
Shen Xiaochuan sat in the backyard washing dishes, listening to Steward Li's barbed rebuke of his fourth brother, and he felt very relieved.
The four brothers were doing well working at the restaurant. Yesterday evening, after finishing work and returning home, the fourth brother suddenly proposed to divide the debt, which angered their father so much that he hit him and made their mother cry. It seems that he must have found a way to make money and wants to get rid of everyone.
Bah, what a scoundrel!
Thinking about this, he cursed Shen Qianchuan a hundred times in his heart.
This person is the same. When everyone is stuck in the mud, all they feel is bitterness, exhaustion, and bad luck. But once someone climbs out of the mud, the rest of them feel resentful.
So now, the second, third, and youngest brothers see the fourth brother as if he's an enemy, looking at him with disdain. In the past, no matter who was reprimanded by Steward Li, everyone felt bad, but now, seeing Steward Li reprimand the fourth brother, the three brothers all have a look of schadenfreude on their faces.
The second and third brothers passed by carrying a basket of radishes and greens. The third brother muttered, "Serves them right!"
Shen Qianchuan kept his head down, ignoring his third brother's ridicule.
Steward Li swept his sharp eyes over everyone in the backyard and said, "Get to work! You're all as lazy as donkeys on a millstone. If you keep dawdling, you won't get lunch!" He turned and glared at Shen Qianchuan, saying, "Go and chop all the firewood in the yard. You're not allowed to eat until you've finished!"
Shen Qianchuan was so happy that he even had the energy to wash the dishes. In the past, when Manager Li asked him to wash the dishes, he would be so angry that he would want to smash them all. But today he was in an exceptionally good mood. If he wasn't afraid of being scolded by Manager Li, he would have been humming a little tune.
Shen Qianchuan responded and silently walked to the corner of the wall. He saw a mountain of dry firewood, paused, picked up an axe, and began chopping it piece by piece.
He was frail and had never done any work since childhood. In the six months since he came to Juxian Restaurant, Manager Li saw that he was the most honest and obedient of the four brothers, so he assigned him some tasks such as peeling and washing vegetables. Chopping firewood was a first for him.
He chopped for half an hour, and was so tired that he could barely lift his arms, but he had only chopped a tiny fraction of it. It seemed that he wouldn't be able to eat lunch.
Fortunately, he could sneak upstairs to find Manager Zhang while everyone was having lunch and talk to him as Xiao Tang had taught him.
He slowed down his chopping, but never stopped. When Manager Li went to check, he saw that he wasn't slacking off and had chopped quite a bit of wood on the ground. His expression softened, and he stopped criticizing him.
When noon finally arrived, and everyone was taking turns eating in the kitchen, he saw Manager Li go in to eat, so he immediately brewed a pot of tea and quietly took it upstairs.
Fortunately, Manager Zhang only runs this one restaurant, and he often sits there in his spare time, so he's not hard to see.
When he got to the second floor, he knocked gently on the door. He heard a voice inside telling him to come in, so he opened the door.
When Manager Zhang saw that it was Shen Qianchuan, his face immediately darkened. "What are you doing here? Didn't Manager Li tell you not to go upstairs?"
Shen Qianchuan, carrying a tray, bowed and said, "Reporting to the manager, Manager Li did indeed give us instructions, but I've come today to have a proper talk with you about repaying the debt."
Manager Zhang wanted to say "Get out," but when he heard Shen Qianchuan want to talk to him about repaying the debt, he swallowed the words that were about to come out.
He rolled his eyes and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Oh, do you perhaps have the money to pay me back?"
Shen Qianchuan calmly poured a cup of tea for Manager Zhang and placed it on the table to Manager Zhang's right.
He straightened his back and said, "Shopkeeper, I have already discussed it with my family. The more than four hundred taels of silver we owe you will be divided among the members of our Shen family. My parents will each receive one share, my second and third brothers, my youngest brother, and I will each receive one share. On average, that's more than eighty taels of silver per person. I would like to make a deal with you. Please give me a month. I will repay you five taels of silver every month thereafter, and I will pay it off in a year and a half. If I'm lucky, I can pay it off in a year."
Manager Zhang suddenly narrowed his eyes, slammed his hand on the table and said, "You scoundrel, are you trying to trick me? With your clumsy appearance, you can't lift a finger, let alone pay five taels of silver a month, you can't even pay one tael."
"You haven't paid back the money, and you've only worked at my restaurant for six months? You think I'm stupid?"
Manager Zhang was so angry he was practically fuming.
Shen Qianchuan had already guessed that Manager Zhang wouldn't easily believe him, so he continued, "Manager, the wages of our restaurant's waiters are only fifteen coins a day, four hundred and fifty coins a month, and even with bonuses, it's only half a tael of silver. The debt is more than four hundred taels of silver. If we three brothers were paid according to the waiters' wages, it would take us almost twenty years to pay it off. Why don't you give me a chance to prove that I can pay it off in a year and a half at the latest? Then you won't have to wait that long."
Manager Zhang asked in confusion, "Since you have a way to get the money to pay me back as soon as possible, why did you divide the debt instead of working together to pay it off?"