"I'm starving! Give me my share of the money!" Zhang Jing'an's legs trembled, acid seemed to churn in his stomach, and cold sweat kept breaking out all over him. He had not had time to eat since noon.
Fang Yun opened his hand, revealing twelve copper coins.
"Old Guo was very grateful to us. He didn't dock our pay even though we didn't work this morning. For the first three days, the two of us get ten copper coins a day between us, and I get another two for shoveling ice." As Fang Yun spoke, he divided the twelve coins into two shares: seven in one, five in the other.
"Also, I advanced the money for the employment agency. You have to pay me back two coins a day." Fang Yun moved two coins into his share of seven.
"You have three copper coins left, just enough to pay for this morning's fried flatbread. I'll take them all." With that, Fang Yun put away every coin.
Zhang Jing'an froze, then shouted angrily, "You skinflint Zhang! Give me back my money!" He reached for the coins in Fang Yun's hand.
Fang Yun stepped lightly back, avoiding Zhang Jing'an, and said, "Let's go home."
Zhang Jing'an suddenly frowned and clutched his stomach, saying in pain, "I haven't eaten all day. Can't you let me have something to eat? Being a precinct chief was hard, but at least I had enough food and warm clothes. How am I supposed to live like this?"
Fang Yun said earnestly, "Jing An, you have to believe in yourself. Even if you shovel dung, you can become Jingzhou City's king of dung, with ten thousand strings of cash wrapped around your waist."
"You..." Zhang Jing'an had not expected him to mock him on top of everything else.