Chapter 342: It’s a Bonus
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Everyone stood still and looked at Shen Qiuhua and Su Binglan. Some were so excited and nervous that they did not know where to place their hands. Others’ palms were sweating, and they wiped them on their clothes.
The workers would get 150 coins a month. If they brought that money home, it would improve their lives. The workers calculated the money inwardly and knew they could buy many things with 150 coins.
Some even thought of saving a portion and using the rest to buy meat so their family could eat better food. Nonetheless, the workers would get paid the following month again and could save up quite a bit by the end of the year.
Some workers thought of their many family members and that they had not had a good meal in a long time. They typically had coarse grain and wild vegetable soup, which were not very nutritious.
After receiving their salaries, the workers could take their money to the town and buy some meat for making dumplings at home. Also, they heard about the various delicious foods in town.
Su Binglan’s food was delicious, but many could not afford hotpot. Still, they could buy one or two skewers, sesame buns, a bowl of haggis soup, or duck blood vermicelli. The workers could try those foods with their families.
With their salary, the workers’ families could occasionally have some noodles with a few eggs this month. In the past, the villagers would not bear to cook their eggs whenever their chickens laid them. Instead, they would save the eggs and sell them for money.
In previous years, they would be idle at home after the autumn harvest with nothing to do. They would cook and feed the chickens daily but would not be willing to cook delicious food.
However, things had changed. Now, these families had jobs with monthly salaries. It felt good to the villagers. Some felt their whole family would be thrilled when they brought the 150 coins home. Just counting the money together was enough to make the villagers feel good.
Everyone felt a warmth in their hearts when they thought of these things. They already had plans about what they would do with their earnings.
Su Binglan and Shen Qiuhua sat at a table, and Su Binglan placed a big box on it. Everyone in the tofu factory felt like their hearts were in their throats. They were nervous.
After a momentary silence, everyone began to whisper, “Are we really getting paid today?”
However, they asked themselves this question as they suspected that they had misheard.
“I heard from Miss Shen that she would pay our wages. Even Miss Su came here with a box. There should be copper coins in it.”
“I suspected I had misheard them too. So, what I heard was true then.”
“It’s hard to believe. I didn’t expect to get paid at the end of the month. I thought it would be at least half a month later.”
“The Su family are good people. Miss Su won’t shortchange us. She asked us to work at the factory to help us. Otherwise, why would she hire people from our own village?
“Yes, Miss Su only recruits women, too.”
“With these 150 coins, I’ll be willing to eat meat dumplings when I get home.”
“That’s right. I’m also willing to go home and make white steamed buns. We used to eat coarse grain at home.”
“I feel the same. I can’t even bear to add an egg whenever I make wild vegetable soup.”
“Life will be much easier with those 150 coins.”
“Also, this is just a month’s salary. We’ll get paid monthly, so we can earn a lot this year.”
“Miss Su also mentioned there being a bonus.”
“We should receive more coins if there’s a bonus, right?”
The workers discussed these things in whispers. Their voices were very soft, but they could not suppress their excitement.
Su Binglan took out the salary list and said, “Everyone, line up. I’ll call out names, and those I call will come to collect their pay. Lin Dahua.”
“I’m here!” Lin Dahua was so excited when she heard Su Binglan calling her name first that her voice was loud and clear. She walked toward Su Binglan but felt her legs go soft as she approached Su Binglan.
Lin Dahua felt like she was floating. She stood before the table and looked at Su Binglan unblinkingly.
Su Binglan told her, “The basic salary is 150 coins, and the bonus is more than 900, so I’ll give you one silver tael. That’s one silver tael and 150 copper coins. Here you go.”
She passed the money to Lin Dahua as she spoke, and Lin Dahua was astounded. She stood there in a daze, utterly unable to react.
‘0-0ne silver tael? One silver tael and 150 coins? Did I mishear Miss Su?’
Lin Dahua had never earned one silver tael before. When the harvest was good in the past, she would receive one silver tael, but that was a year’s worth of harvests. However, her monthly bonus was one silver tael now.
She thought that her bonus would only be a few extra coins at most, which would have made her happy, but she did not expect to receive one silver tael.
She was so excited that her heart almost pounded out of her chest.
‘Why do my legs still feel weak?’
Shen Qiuhua looked at Lin Dahua’s expression and smiled. “Take it quickly. We still have to pay the workers behind you.”
Lin Dahua finally returned to her senses and gulped her saliva. She asked softly, “Is the bonus one silver tael, Miss Shen?”
She was afraid they had made a mistake.
Shen Qiuhua understood how Lin Dahua felt very well and said earnestly, “Dahua, the tofu factory has done well this month. We’ve calculated a bonus of more than 900 coins, but Binglan said shell give you one silver tael. It’s true, so you can take it.”
Lin Dahua became misty-eyed. “Y -Yes, Miss Shen.”
At that moment, Su Binglan handed over the silver tael and 150 coins to Lin Dahua. She said, “It’s only the first month. Your bonus will be even higher when we produce more products in the future?’
Lin Dahua’s heart felt like it was boiling in lava when she heard that. She felt like she had endless energy to work even more. She reached out and held the silver tael.
Su Binglan said, “Sign here to show you’ve received this month’s salary. If you don’t know how to write, you can draw and make it your own mark.”
Few people in the village could read and write, especially the women, many of whom could not even read a single word. That was why Su Binglan wanted them to draw any symbol. She thought she could teach everyone how to write their names later.
Lin Dahua was illiterate, but fortunately, she could write her name, which was crooked.
Then Lin Dahua returned to where she had been standing after getting her pay because it was not time to get off work yet. She could only go home after completing her shift. Her heart was floating at that moment.
The workers heard the conversation between Su Binglan and Shen Qiuhua. Their eyes were wide open, and they forgot to speak. It was too shocking.
‘The bonus is that much?!’
No one even dared to think of earning one silver tael in a month. In the past, the villagers would smile while they worked whenever they thought about earning 150 coins a month.
When they saw Lin Dahua receiving 150 coins and one silver tael, they were dumbfounded and did not know how to react..
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