Wooing a man with the wages I pay you? Clever

The old lady laughed in exasperation.

Xie Yuan continued, "Besides, sharing your fine tea with one more person makes it more enjoyable, doesn't it?"

"You're a good person. Surely you wouldn't begrudge a youngster like me a few cups of tea?"

In the livestream chat.

[Hahahahaha, Young Master Xie really has some nerve.]

[Young Master Xie, do you want to listen to what you're saying?]

[Such an original excuse. Impossible to argue with.]

[Young Master Xie, you're making me want to ask Granny for a cup of tea too.]

[Go on, person above. Let's see if you can get a cup out of Granny.]

[Granny likes Young Master Xie. Otherwise, she wouldn't let an outsider keep taking advantage of her.]

"You little rascal." The old lady laughed as she scolded him. "Since you've kept an old woman like me company, you can drink as much tea as you like."

Xie Yuan pushed his luck. "Can I take some away?"

"There's someone who hasn't tried your tea yet."

The old lady said, "You mean the fellow learning paper crafting from Old Yuan?"

Her eyes gleamed with curiosity. "I thought you'd forgotten about him."

"You can't take any away, but you can bring him over. I'll make sure he gets his fill."

Xie Yuan stood up. "Then I'll take you up on that."

He went into the shop with a grin, but he didn't head to the back courtyard.

The old lady was being generous, but Xie Yuan couldn't really take advantage of her.

After sitting silently behind the counter for a while, he took out his phone and sent a message.

He had just put his phone down when the shop's landline rang.

Xie Yuan answered. "Hello, funeral shop. What would you like to buy?"

There was a young man on the other end.

"Is this Young Master Xie? I'd like to order ten custom paper figures."

Had a viewer from the livestream come calling?

"You're watching the livestream."

"What do you need paper figures for? If you're just trying to support my business, there's no need."

The caller hurriedly explained, "No, I really need paper figures."

"I had a buddy who passed away young. I'm worried he'll be lonely down there on his own, so I want to burn some paper figures to send down to him."

"I've asked his family about this, and they agreed. They're the ones who asked me to order the custom paper figures."

Xie Yuan believed him. "Do you know how much the paper figures cost?"

"Ten paper figures won't come cheap."

The caller said, "That's fine. Both our families are fairly well-off. We can afford a few paper figures."

"Oh, and we want the elaborate kind we've seen on the livestream, not the ordinary ones."

Xie Yuan asked, "What about the styles?"

"One of each type."

After hanging up, Xie Yuan went to the back courtyard.

"Old Yuan, ten custom female paper figures."

Old Yuan looked up, a flicker appearing in his eyes for the first time. "Are you sure it's ten?"

"My paper figures don't come cheap."

Xie Yuan nodded. "Ten. He specifically asked for custom ones. Price isn't an issue, and he's already paid the deposit."

Old Yuan lowered his head and continued working. "Got it. I'll start once I finish this order."

Xie Yuan crouched beside Old Yuan. "Old Yuan, how much are you planning to pay me for ten paper figures?"

"You little..." Old Yuan looked up. "Don't worry. You'll get your wages."

He pointed at Mu Ze. "You. You've been watching for two days. Help with some of the simpler steps, and I'll pay you both extra."

Mu Ze thought for a moment. "Why not have Young Master Xie help? He's good at painting. He'd be suited to coloring the paper figures."

Xie Yuan looked at Mu Ze. "Mu Ze, did you not learn anything?"

"That's not it." Mu Ze shook his head. "I can handle simple paper pasting and coloring."

"I wanted Young Master Xie to join in so he could earn a little extra."

In truth, he wanted to spend more time with Xie Yuan.

Xie Yuan was always in the shop out front. Sometimes he wouldn't see him for an hour or two.

Xie Yuan said, "You'll have to ask Old Yuan whether he'll pay extra."

Old Yuan pointed out mercilessly, "You two are trying every trick to squeeze more wages out of me."

Even the livestream commenters could sense Old Yuan's exasperation.

[Hahahahaha, Old Yuan's face is completely expressionless.]

[Young Master Xie really has some nerve, still thinking about getting paid more.]

[I'm dying. Has Xie Dog never seen money before? He's even haggling over this. Does he have no respect for his elders?]

[Why are that person's fans still here? I thought you'd been scared off by all the scolding. Looks like Young Master Xie went too easy on you.]

[What? Jumping out so eagerly because you're afraid Young Master Xie will earn too much and show up your favorite?]

[Am I wrong? He just doesn't respect his elders.]

The chat erupted into an argument.

In the back courtyard, Xie Yuan showed no restraint. "The production team's prize for first place is too generous. Our Mu Ze wants it."

Mu Ze looked at Xie Yuan. His face was as gentle as ever, but his eyes were especially bright.

His mind was filled with those words from Xie Yuan: Our Mu Ze.

Old Yuan stared at Xie Yuan. "Wooing a man with the wages I pay you? Clever."

Xie Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Just tell me whether it's a yes or a no."

"Yes." Old Yuan nodded. "More work, more pay. Perfectly reasonable."

Xie Yuan tugged at the dazed Mu Ze. "Come on, get moving."

Mu Ze came back to his senses. Looking at the hand clasped around his wrist, he felt bubbles filling his heart.

"Okay."

With the two of them helping, Old Yuan made the paper figures a little faster.

Watching Xie Yuan color a paper figure, Old Yuan looked thoroughly pleased. "Not bad. A practiced hand. Your painting looks even better than mine."

Xie Yuan asked, "Can I get a raise?"

Old Yuan glared at him. "Is money all you can think about?"

"No. Get on with your work."

Xie Yuan pursed his lips and continued coloring the paper figure.

Coloring was one of the easier steps in making paper figures. Xie Yuan worked quickly and soon finished coloring all the figures Old Yuan had made.

He stood up and stretched. "That really is tiring."

Old Yuan glanced at him. "Soft and delicate. It's good that you can't endure hardship."

Not understanding what Old Yuan meant, Xie Yuan returned to the shop out front.

Not a single customer had come in while he was helping in the back courtyard.

For a funeral shop, this was an everyday occurrence.

The livestream viewers, however, were a little worried.

[With so few customers, can they really make any money?]

[I suddenly feel a bit sorry for Old Yuan. With barely any customers, he's probably sunk a lot of his own money into this.]

[It's normal not to have customers. The shop is tucked away in such a remote alley. Most people don't even know there's a funeral shop in there.]

[Right. The transport links are decent, but it's too out of the way. Unless you're familiar with the place, you really wouldn't know there's a shop in there.]

[Heh, do you still think Xie Dog is right to ask for more pay? He's just taking advantage of an old man.]

[Seriously, Young Master Xie is helping, and the boss is willing to pay him more. What are you being so bitter about?]

The chat broke into another argument.

After lunch, Xie Yuan lay on a recliner in the funeral shop for an afternoon nap.

[Watching Young Master Xie rest is suddenly making me sleepy too.]

[Seriously, Young Master Xie's looks are unbeatable. I'm jealous.]

[So sweet. He's really likable when he isn't talking.]

[Such a sweet boy. Why did he have to have a mouth?]

[How about we jointly petition Young Master Xie to mute himself?]

[Would Young Master Xie still be Young Master Xie if he didn't insult people?]

[True. That mouth of his is exactly what I'm here for.]

On camera, Xie Yuan suddenly broke out in sweat, his brows knitting tightly together, as though he was sleeping very uneasily.