They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 38 She's simple-minded, not stupid.
Back home, they divided the money. Yesterday, they harvested 106 catties of agarwood seeds. After deducting costs, Xu Zhichun earned a little over two taels of silver. Zeng Xiaoyan and Aunt Zhu'er each earned over six hundred coins. Liang Mingliang added 40 coins to the rent for the oxcart, which remained unchanged. He was quite satisfied—after all, his wife earned more.

They packed up and went home early, while Uncle Yang Ming and others who were clearing the land were still working hard and hadn't gone home for lunch yet.

When they saw that the sun was high in the sky, they were tired and hungry, so they told each other to go home to eat and rest before coming back.

The agreement was to finish in three days, and given their speed, it shouldn't be a problem; it's not like they're slacking off.

Xu Zhichun has returned, and they came to greet him on their way back.

Xu Zhichun smiled and said, "I was just about to go and greet Uncle Yang Ming and Brother Mingjia. You must be tired after working all day. Go back and have lunch and rest before you come back. I bought a few big steamed buns. You can each take two home."

Xu Zhichun came out carrying a small basket of steamed buns. The snow-white steamed buns were bigger than an adult man's fist and looked very firm. They seemed to smell the tempting aroma of white flour.

Uncle Yang and the others were dumbfounded.

"Gulu!"

The sound of Liang Chunfen swallowing broke the stunned silence.

Uncle Yang Ming hurriedly waved his hand: "How can this be? We've already received our wages, this won't do."

"Yeah yeah!"

It's not that we don't want to eat white flour steamed buns. You know, even when we steam buns at home, we only use dark flour. We only steam white flour steamed buns once a year, during the Lunar New Year or the Mid-Autumn Festival, to satisfy our cravings. If the family is struggling financially, they don't even have them during the Lunar New Year or the Mid-Autumn Festival.

This wasn't something cheap. They were a little worried that Xu Zhichun might deduct their wages if he gave them white flour buns.

White flour steamed buns may smell delicious, but the wages smell even better.

Seventy-five coins can only buy twelve or thirteen catties of white flour, but can buy twenty-five catties of black flour.

Every bite of a white steamed bun costs money.

Xu Zhichun had no idea what they were thinking.

"Uncle Yang, please don't be so polite. I bought these especially for you. You do hard work, so you shouldn't neglect your health. Two steamed buns aren't much; it's just a small token of my appreciation."

"this--"

Everyone looked at each other, understanding what Chun meant—no deduction of wages?
Liang Mingjia, somewhat embarrassed, tentatively asked, "Zhichun, are you giving us these steamed buns for free? Won't you deduct them from our wages?"

Yup!

Everyone's eyes conveyed the same meaning.

Xu Zhichun was stunned, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

That's exactly what she was saying!

"Of course not. The agreed-upon wage is twenty-five coins, and this steamed bun is an additional subsidy; it won't be deducted from the wage."

"real!"

"what!"

"Of course it's true! Uncle Yang, please don't be shy. Take the steamed buns and go home to rest."

"Okay, okay, thank you, Zhichun!"

"Don't worry, Zhichun, we will definitely do a good job."

Everyone cheered, relieved, and took their steamed buns, running home with great enthusiasm.

What a pleasant surprise! The kids at home will be overjoyed, and the parents and wife will also get a taste.

Liang Chunfen was left until the end by Xu Zhichun under some pretext, who secretly gave her an extra one, saying, "Keep it quiet and don't let anyone know you have an extra one." The remaining two were left for her child.

Even if they knew, no one would say anything. Xu Zhichun can give her things to whomever she wants, and besides, Liang Chunfen is so simple-minded, who would compete with her for them?
It's just that everyone is working together, and it's not good for Liang Chunfen to get an extra share. It's not good to make it public.

Liang Chunfen nodded and grinned, "Sister-in-law Zhichun knows I have a big appetite, hehe!"

Xu Zhichun smiled and nodded: "Yes."

Liang Chunfen patted her chest and said, "Although I eat a lot, I also work hard."

Xu Zhichun gave a thumbs up and sincerely praised, "Yes, I know, you're really amazing!"

"Haha!" Liang Chunfen grinned from ear to ear, overjoyed. No one had ever praised her like this before. Others would only say things like, "My goodness, this silly girl is so strong!" or "Who would dare marry this silly girl with the strength of an ox? She could beat a man to death if they had a disagreement." Things like that never sounded like compliments. Don't think she couldn't understand.

She's just simple-minded, not stupid.

Liang Chunfen was overjoyed, wishing she could jump up and spin around. Her eyes were practically sparkling as she looked at Xu Zhichun. "Sister-in-law Zhichun, you're such a good person! I'll definitely work hard!"

Liang Chunfen turned and ran away after saying that.

Xu Zhichun chuckled lightly, thinking that this girl was a good person after all.

Liang Chunfen ran all the way home, and shouted as she entered the fenced yard, "Mother! Mother!"

Chunfen's mother was cooking rice porridge with beans for lunch when she heard her daughter shout. Startled, she rushed outside, asking, "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

Liang Chunfen excitedly held up a steamed bun to show her: "Look, a steamed bun!"

"Huh?" Spring Equinox Mother was taken aback: "Where did this come from?"

Her tone was both surprised and stern: "Has this child become a thief? Absolutely not! He should never become a thief, even if it means starving to death!"

Liang Chunfen was startled by her mother's stern questioning. She glanced at her timidly and stammered weakly, "It was given to me by Zhichun, Sister-in-law Zhichun."

Spring Equinox Mother: "Zhichun gave it to you? Why would Zhichun, who was perfectly fine, give you a steamed bun?"

Still plain white steamed buns! And they're huge! Three of them!

That sounds so unbelievable.

If Chunfen's mother hadn't known that the silly girl never lied, she definitely wouldn't have believed it without a second thought.

Liang Chunfen hurriedly explained, "It was given to me by Sister-in-law Zhichun. I even have one more than others. She told me not to tell anyone. She said I'm so clever and praised me!"

When Chunfen's mother heard that others had it too, she was relieved. After asking her questions, she understood what had happened and was delighted. She affectionately patted Chunfen's head and said with a smile, "You know Chunfen's mother is a really good person. You must work hard."

"Yes, yes, I can! I'm very strong." Seeing her mother smile, Liang Chunfen smiled with relief and presented the steamed bun to her mother like a treasure: "Mom, you eat."

Chunfen's mother chuckled and sighed, "This silly girl."

She knew that the silly girl could be incredibly stubborn, so she took a small bite and pushed it back, saying, "Mom's finished eating, you eat."

Liang Chunfen chuckled and took a big bite: "So fragrant and delicious!"

Chunfen's mother left two steamed buns, saying, "You can eat these when your father and the others come back."

"Ah."

When Chunfen's father, elder brother and sister-in-law Liang Minghe, and Mao Shi returned at noon, they were surprised to see two white steamed buns. After Chunfen's mother explained the reason, they were quite happy.

The family shared the other two pieces; although it wasn't much, it was good to have a taste and satisfy their cravings.

Chunfen's mother added two more spoonfuls of porridge to her daughter's bowl, which, although still not enough to fill her up, at least made her feel a little fuller.

Mao was still quite impressed and full of envy: "It seems that Zhichun and the others must have made a lot of money selling things, they're so willing to spend."

Chunfen's mother sighed, "That's her skill, and it's rare to find someone with such a kind heart."

That's true; even if other families are wealthy, they wouldn't be so generous.

Liang Chunfen looked at her mother expectantly: "Mom, can I still work for Sister-in-law Zhichun from now on?"

The whole family laughed.

Mao joked, "You've got some ideas, you want to eat white flour buns every day?"

How could that be? No family could afford to eat white flour buns every day.

Liang Chunfen nodded, then shook her head. Her mind was a bit of a mess, and she didn't know whether to nod or shake her head. She said awkwardly, "Sister-in-law Zhichun praised me."

She felt happy, so she was willing to do chores for her.

Mao was taken aback: What does that mean? Why can't she understand? Oh well, it's not the first time she's misunderstood this silly girl.

Spring Equinox Mother's heart stirred. If... if it were really possible...
Please support me! Keep reading, everyone! I'll update diligently on November 11th.

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(End of this chapter)