Chapter Seventy-Four: No Delays in Paying Migrant Workers

The hunters, seeing Li Qing speak up, quieted down slightly. They still respected this “female manager” who could read and write.

Li Qing raised her voice, saying, “I understand how you feel. I am the manager here, and I haven’t been paid either. I stand in the same position as you do.”

“If simply gathering here could get us our wages, I would join you myself. But this won’t solve the problem. The Xu family’s money doesn’t come from nowhere, and Young Master Xu is still out, working hard to earn money for all of us. We should use this time to hunt more game, not waste it on suspicion and distrust…”

Just as Li Qing was struggling to make herself heard, a voice interrupted her: “Miss Li, save your breath. We’ve already agreed: if we don’t get paid, we’re not leaving.”

Another hunter chimed in, “That’s right. If we don’t get our money, we can’t even put rice in the pot. None of us can afford to starve.”

“Exactly, we’re not working for the Xu family for free any longer.”

While Li Qing stood at a loss for what to do, a man strolled up to the archery range, poked his head around, and said, “Well, well, what’s all this about?”

Li Qing’s headache worsened when she saw who it was—the very last person she wanted to encounter: the third young master of the Guo family, Guo Decai.

Guo Decai quickly guessed what was happening, sneaking about with a smirk as he circled the protesting hunters. “What’s this? Here to demand your wages?”

The hunters gave him cold looks, which only made Guo Decai more pleased. “Didn’t I say this wouldn’t work? You all let yourselves be fooled by that Xu family brat, and now look! You’ve got nothing to show for your hard work. You might as well have sold all your meat to my family in the first place!”

Even though the hunters disliked Guo’s family even more, some secretly regretted not selling their meat to him; at least then they would’ve gotten some cash, instead of having nothing now.

Afa was fuming at Guo Decai’s smugness, but he couldn’t say a word—after all, with empty pockets, he lacked any confidence.

Guo Decai then glanced at Li Qing, his tone mocking, “A decent young lady like you, instead of staying in your chambers, has to show her face in public for a bit of money. And now? No money, and your reputation’s ruined.”

“What did you say?” Li Qing’s tone was icy.

Guo Decai replied, “What I say doesn’t matter; it’s what you’ve done that counts. As the saying goes, repeated slander will wear down even the strongest bones, gossip can melt gold…”

“Smack!”

Li Qing slapped Guo Decai across the face.

Guo Decai, clutching his cheek in shock, said, “How dare you hit me?”

Li Qing replied, “With that filthy mouth of yours, what do you expect?”

Guo Decai looked around and, seeing the hunters’ unfriendly stares, shouted, “What are you all looking at? If Young Master Xu really refuses to pay, what can you do? Won’t you just come begging the Guo family for justice?”

The hunters all lowered their heads—he wasn’t wrong. If they couldn’t get justice from the Xu family, they’d have to turn to the Guos.

Such was the political reality of Deer Crane Ravine: all justice was in the landlords’ hands.

Guo Decai’s pride grew. “Let me tell you, if you all hadn’t helped him out that day, I would’ve already smashed that brat’s skull in!”

As he blustered, a voice called out from behind, “Whose skull were you planning to smash?”

Guo Decai grunted, “Of course, that Xu family brat… Young Master Xu!”

He spoke the first “Young Master Xu” as he turned his head, but the second came out in surprise when he saw who was standing behind him.

It was none other than the very person he was talking about, mounted on a horse behind him.

Xu Wenshan, still on horseback, looked around at everyone and said, “What’s going on here? Is this a square-dance gathering?”

Guo Decai pointed at Xu Wenshan, yelling, “He’s back! He’s back!”

He quickly darted behind the hunters. “Here you go—the one who owes you money is back. Go on, ask him for it!”

The hunters stared at Xu Wenshan, momentarily lost for words.

Behind Xu Wenshan, Shaya, Spider, and Xu Jing each drove a carriage, and Lu Ze even had two carts in tow.

Xu Wenshan patted his head. “Today’s payday, isn’t it? I almost forgot. Well, I made it back in time.”

He turned to Xiaocui, “How much do we owe for wages this time?”

Xiaocui checked the ledger and replied, “The hunters’ wages total 2,872 coins, the butchers’ 820, other workers’ fees are 220, and Miss Li’s probation salary is 450. All together, that’s 4,362 coins.”

The onlookers gasped inwardly. Young Master Xu was remarkably generous with wages. Not long ago, they’d fought fiercely over five strings of coins, thinking it was a fortune they’d never see in a lifetime—yet here, in the very first month, over four strings were being handed out as wages.

This only made them more anxious—could Young Master Xu really pay as promised?

Xu Wenshan did a quick calculation; with just two good pelts, he could recoup that sum. He glanced back at Xu Jing, who was watching the villagers thoughtfully.

From the back of the carriage, Xu Wenshan hauled out a burlap sack and dropped it with a clatter. “Here you go, Xiaocui—time for payday.”

When Xiaocui opened the bag, the metallic clatter and the overwhelming scent of copper left no doubt—it was full of money.

Xu Wenshan had actually brought back a whole sack of coins!

Realizing what was happening, the hunters gave a cheer and rushed forward.

“Line up! Line up! What are you scrambling for? Planning to rebel?” Afa stood with his hands on his hips, his voice now booming with confidence. “Get in line!”

Before Xu Wenshan arrived, he’d been shrinking back in fear of being targeted; now, with the money here, he was swaggering.

The hunters lined up happily, one after another, to collect their wages. Off to the side, Guo Decai tried to slip away quietly.

“Third Young Master Guo, where are you off to?” Xu Wenshan suddenly called out.

“Uh…” Guo Decai froze, caught in his tracks.

“You’re here to buy some meat, aren’t you?” Xu Wenshan tilted his head.

Guo Decai forced a smile. “Meat… haha, right, I’m here to buy meat.”

“Then what are you waiting for? Go on, buy some!”

Ever since Xu Wenshan had shot him with an arrow, Guo Decai had been a little afraid of him. Now, with Xu Wenshan exuding an undeniable air of authority, Guo Decai was even more intimidated. He slunk over to the provisions shop and bought a cut of meat.

Xu Wenshan walked up to him, took the meat from his hands, and slapped him across the face with it—left, right, and then left again—three times in all, as if with three resounding slaps.

“You say our meat is good, yet you badmouth me behind my back? I can’t just pretend I didn’t hear.”

Guo Decai, cowed, had no fight left in him. The memory of when Xu Wenshan had taken down more than a dozen members of his family in one go still haunted him. Xu Wenshan gave him a kick and snapped, “Get lost!”

Guo Decai scurried home, and Xu Wenshan called after him, “Remember, your father still owes me twenty strings of coins. It’s all clearly written in the contract—you’ve got three years to pay it back. Don’t forget!”

Guo Decai stumbled, almost falling, but then straightened himself and hurried on home.