The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 170: Hot Money_1

Twelve villages in all, Li Qing only just managed to finish his rounds as night fell completely.

Even though he spent most of the time sitting in the car, Li Qing was nearly worn out to the point of collapse.

He didn’t even have time to eat lunch or dinner, scrounging meals at the villagers’ homes.

By the time they arrived in town, it was already past seven.

Gao Li, who had been waiting since morning, was nearly turning into a "waiting-for-husband" stone.

"Brother Gao, must have been anxious waiting today, huh?" Li Qing asked.

Gao Li looked somewhat dispirited, "If I’d known it would take this long, I definitely would have gone home to rest."

Li Qing stuffed two hundred yuan into Gao Li’s hand, "Brother Gao, buy some water for everyone."

"Isn’t this too much?" Gao Li said, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

What kind of water could possibly cost two hundred yuan?

Li Qing laughed, "Keep the change for yourself."

"Qingzi, there’s no need, I just had to wait a bit longer..." Gao Li was truly feeling a bit ashamed.

Li Qing waved his hand dismissively, "Go on, we still have to make a trip to the county city, and it’s getting very late."

Seeing this, Gao Li reluctantly pocketed the money.

Li Qing checked and tallied up by the roadside, also re-weighing the Wenguan Leaves Liang Zhongliang and the others had brought back.

The six of them had purchased a total of four hundred and thirty catties of Wenguan Large Leaves.

The total cost was thirteen thousand and seven hundred, yielding a net profit of four thousand three hundred.

But Liang Zhongliang and the others had dipped into their own pockets for four thousand seven hundred.

Li Qing listed all the details one by one, instructed everyone to load the Wenguan Leaves onto the truck, and then hurried to the county city.

Lü Family Restaurant. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

After the lanterns were lit, the ordinarily unassuming restaurant suddenly took on an impressive air.

Li Qing, with various documents in hand, settled accounts with Zhang Senlin’s side and, together with Brother Gong, found Lü Zong.

"Lü Zong, here’s all of today’s income and expenses," Li Qing said, placing all the documents and money on the table.

Lü Zong glanced over them, "It looks like the capital is short—I’ll prepare twenty thousand for you."

"As for the rest, I don’t think I need to look at it, your accounts are very detailed."

"In the future, you don’t need to report everyday, it’s too troublesome running around daily."

Fearing any complications, Li Qing was relieved only after Lü Zong confirmed his decision.

"Lü Zong, let’s still report daily, in case there’s a mistake, we can rectify it in time. Besides, I need to deliver Wenguan tender leaves every day, so I have to come into the city either way," Li Qing said.

"Oh right, I meant to talk to you about that. Wenguan tender leaves—I can’t handle that here, so I owe you an apology," Lü Zong suddenly said, "The market for tender leaves is too high-end for me to touch."

"You should still supply Yu Baishuo with the tender leaves, and moreover, you’d better find a way to establish a good relationship with her. Your business with the tender leaves is more stable than with the Wenguan Large Leaves, and it has more prospects," he added.

Li Qing was slightly surprised internally.

A market that even Lü Zong couldn’t handle—how high-end must it be?

Yu Baishuo, guarding that very ordinary-looking warehouse, turned out to be someone even Lü Zong couldn’t compete with.

For Li Qing, however, this was actually good news.

The price offered by Yu Baishuo was much higher than what Lü Zong was paying.

It was only because of his relationship with Lü Zong that Li Qing hadn’t wanted to cut off this connection.

"I really let you down with this, I’ll make it up to you in other ways," Lü Zong said apologetically.

Li Qing quickly responded, "Lü Zong, there’s no need for compensation."

"Don’t!" Lü Zong raised his hand, interrupting Li Qing decisively, "It’s just a small token of my appreciation. Don’t refuse it."

Having said that, he divided the money Li Qing had just placed on the table into three parts.

One part was Li Qing’s earnings for the day, forty percent, amounting to one thousand and seven hundred.

The other two parts were the same, each thirty percent, amounting to one thousand and three hundred.

These were the earnings for Lü Zong and the wages for Gong Ge and others, respectively.

This money, once laid out on the table, instantly showcased the huge disparity.

Li Qing suddenly realized that he had taken the biggest share.

"Lü Zong, about this distribution ratio, could I possibly take two percent less?" Li Qing said.

"Do you want to give it to Gong Ge and the others?" Lü Zong asked with a smile.

Li Qing smiled and said, "I just feel like I’m taking a bit too much, the specifics are up to your arrangement, Lü Zong."

He did indeed think that way, and even if it was just two percent less, based on today’s situation, he would still have a nine hundred income, which was quite substantial.

Moreover, Gong Ge and the seven others, splitting one thousand and three hundred among themselves, would each make less than two hundred, which indeed seemed rather meager.

Lü Zong’s mouth curved slightly upward as he looked at Gong Ge, "Gong Ge, you see, following Qingzi to work wasn’t a mistake, right?"

Gong Ge smiled like a Maitreya Buddha, his eyes nearly disappearing into his grin, "Qingzi, don’t be like that, you’ve worked hard both mentally and physically, take what you deserve. If this income stabilizes, Liang Zhongliang and the others are already much better off than before, their wages have nearly doubled."

Lü Zong stood up and stuffed the money into Li Qing’s hands.

"Qingzi, you heard them, we can’t give those guys too much honey at once, it could choke them."

"Here’s the deal, you’ll take your share according to this ratio for this month, and next month, we’ll make adjustments."

"If you’re still not at ease, consider it compensation from me. Now, that should be alright, shouldn’t it?"

Li Qing had no choice but to take the money.

But in his heart, he still felt somewhat unsettled.

Taking the lion’s share, even overshadowing Lü Zong, wasn’t exactly something to celebrate.

Afterward, Lü Zong added twenty thousand to the capital and handed it over to Li Qing.

Li Qing did not refuse this, as it was Lü Zong’s business, and it was right and proper for him to put in the capital.

Upon leaving Lü Zong’s office, Li Qing first settled the money that Liang Zhongliang and others had advanced.

Then he handed five hundred yuan to Gong Ge, "Gong Ge, treat everyone to a late-night snack, I’m heading back first."

"You really don’t need to worry, Liang Zhongliang and the others won’t feel unbalanced, they earn as much as their abilities allow." Seeing Li Qing’s concern, Gong Ge reassured him warmly.

"It’s just treating everyone to a late-night snack, Gong Ge, don’t overthink it." Li Qing chuckled and said.

Gong Ge’s words did indeed worry Li Qing somewhat.

They were all doing more or less the same work, yet he was taking one thousand and seven hundred while others got only around one hundred and eighty or ninety.

The gap was simply too wide.

Li Qing couldn’t figure out what Lü Zong was really thinking.

Though he couldn’t resist, he should still show some consideration.

"Alright, I got it. I’ll take the money and distribute it to them later," Gong Ge said solemnly.

Li Qing nodded, waved his hand, and left Lü Family Restaurant.

Lü Zong, as usual, wanted Li Qing to go out and play in the dance hall outside, to unwind a bit.

But having been tired from the day’s work, and with his mind still in turmoil, Li Qing had no interest in playing.

Later, he made a trip to Yu Baishuo’s place.

He had thought that by almost ten o’clock, Yu Baishuo would be resting.

But when Li Qing got there, this woman was actually dancing outside the warehouse, belly exposed.