Payday (3)

Qin Jianghe nodded too.

"Auntie, just treat us like your own nephews. Please don't stand on ceremony, or we'll both feel awkward, don't you think?"

Seeing how stiffly the two sat, Auntie Sun laughed heartily.

"Oh, listen to me! You're good brothers with Gao'er, and here I am being so formal. That was wrong of me. Sit comfortably, drink and eat your fill. I'll go hurry him along.

"Just look at him. It wasn't even bedtime yet, but he was in his room wearing nothing but his underclothes. Now he insists on getting dressed before he'll come see you, or he'd feel he wasn't showing you proper respect. Honestly, that stubborn streak of his!"

With that, Auntie Sun left the room and headed for Sun Yigao's room.

Lin Xiao and Qin Jianghe sat in the empty main room of the Sun Household, looking at each other.

Suddenly, they both burst out laughing.

Qin Jianghe said softly,

"I reckon Auntie Sun's nervous too."

Lin Xiao nodded.

"Isn't she? I doubt she often has occasion to entertain youngsters like this."

After all, she had never let Sun Yigao spend time with the village children before, afraid it would interfere with her son's studies and that they would lead him astray.

When Landlord Sun heard they had arrived, he also came out to greet them and sat with them for a brief chat.

Once Sun Yigao came out, Landlord Sun left the main room, giving the three of them some space.

Seeing that Sun Yigao really was dressed neatly from head to toe, Lin Xiao and Qin Jianghe exchanged a smile.

Sun Yigao cupped his hands and bowed to them.

"Sorry to have kept you both waiting."

Lin Xiao hurriedly helped him straighten up.

"Hey! We know each other so well, Yigao. Don't be so formal, or we'll be unhappy."

Qin Jianghe nodded in agreement beside him.

"Exactly! You're so courteous to us, but we won't be nearly as courteous to you. Wouldn't that make us look terribly rude?"

Sun Yigao lowered his head and smiled.

"You're right, brothers. From now on, I'll forget all about such courtesies when I'm with you."

Only then did Lin Xiao and Qin Jianghe smile and say,

"That's how it should be!"

When Sun Yigao learned that Lin Xiao and Qin Jianghe had come to distribute the sect's stipends, he did not refuse. He simply looked at the hundred copper coins in his hand and smiled.

"I always thought that, until I earned an official degree, I wouldn't be able to earn a single coin myself and could only be a rice worm at home. I never expected that I'd receive a stipend without even taking the examinations."

Lin Xiao grinned.

"A hundred copper coins isn't much. It's just a token payment. Our sect is still getting started, but we'll strive to develop and strengthen it so we can give everyone bigger stipends in the future!

"Speaking of which, our sect will only gain more and more members, and many of them may barely know how to read. There'll be plenty more that needs your attention as our teaching elder, Yigao!"

Sun Yigao smiled.

"I'll do my utmost."

After taking their leave of the Sun Household, Lin Xiao and Qin Jianghe went around behind it and came to Jiang Youfu's home.

Jiang Youfu had a large family too, but everyone in the Jiang Household got along very well.

Even so, Lin Xiao and Qin Jianghe only greeted the others before speaking with Jiang Youfu outside the Jiang Household's courtyard.

When Lin Xiao handed Jiang Youfu the string of coins, he took it with great excitement.

"Brother Xiao! That's so much money!"

It never even occurred to Jiang Youfu to refuse.

Whatever Lin Xiao gave him or told him, he had always accepted it without question.

Lin Xiao motioned for him to keep his voice down, then put an arm around his shoulders and asked,

"Tietou said just now that he was going to have his father bring him roast chicken tomorrow from the new shop in town. I hear it's delicious. Do you want some? If you do, take the money to his house and ask him in a bit."

Hearing this, Jiang Youfu nodded his head like a pestle pounding garlic.

"Yes, yes, yes! I'll go find him right now!"

And so Jiang Youfu tucked away the copper coins, still warm from having just received them, and ran toward the Hu Household in the middle of the village, while Lin Xiao and Qin Jianghe continued east.

There was only one household left.

Liu Yunan's.

Before they reached the courtyard gate, Lin Xiao, whose hearing was excellent, heard voices coming from inside the Liu Household's house.

"I went to the clinic to ask today. The old physician said this batch of medicine can be boiled one more time at most. After that, it won't be of any use at all." From the sound of it, the speaker was Widow Liu.

"Sigh, this batch of medicine has seen us through tonight, but it looks like your sister's fever still won't come down... I don't know what we'll do tomorrow..."

Lin Xiao glanced at Qin Jianghe and saw that he appeared oblivious. Only then did Lin Xiao remember that he couldn't hear them.

Lin Xiao tugged on Qin Jianghe's arm and quickened his pace.

As soon as they reached the gate to the Liu Household's little courtyard, he called out,

"Tuzi! Are you home? Jianghe and I are here-"

Lin Xiao heard the shuffle of people putting on shoes inside.

Before long, Widow Liu and Liu Yunan came out.

Widow Liu's eyes were still slightly red and swollen. She forced a smile and said to Lin Xiao and Qin Jianghe,

"Brother Xiao and Jianghe, come in and sit down. I'll get you some water."

Liu Yunan looked a little surprised.

"Brother Xiao, what brings you two here at this hour? Is something the matter?"

Lin Xiao pulled Liu Yunan into the house and motioned for Qin Jianghe to close the door behind them.

After all, the Liu Household's courtyard fence was so dilapidated that anyone outside could easily see everything inside.

Once Qin Jianghe had closed the door, Lin Xiao pulled Liu Yunan down to sit.

"We've come to give you your sect stipend."

Before Liu Yunan could ask, Qin Jianghe took a string of a hundred copper coins from the Storage Bag inside his robes and handed it to him.

Liu Yunan took the string of coins in disbelief, feeling as though even his own voice sounded distant.

"Brother Xiao, this... this is for me?"

Lin Xiao nodded firmly.

"It's a stipend from our sect. Everyone gets one."

A glimmer of tears flashed in Liu Yunan's eyes, but a smile played on his lips.

"Our sect is really wonderful."

Qin Jianghe grinned.

"Of course! From now on, we'll all work hard together and make our sect better and better. Hehe, when that happens, our stipends will definitely keep growing!"

After leaving the Liu Household, Lin Xiao and Qin Jianghe walked home.

Lin Xiao was a little puzzled.

He had clearly finished paying everyone, so why hadn't the task to distribute the stipends shown as complete?

Lin Xiao opened the sect members panel.

Hmm... I seem to have forgotten Xiaoluan.

But Xiaoluan's a little demon chicken. Would giving him copper coins really do any good?

A stipend... ought to be something the recipient can use, at least, right?

After Qin Jianghe went home, Lin Xiao decided to make a trip up the mountain and ask.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

At his current speed, a round trip up the mountain wouldn't take more than a few minutes anyway.

Lin Xiao immediately headed for the mountain.

He had to admit, a higher cultivation level seemed to make a person braver too.

In the past, in an age when it was pitch-black as soon as night fell, there was no way Lin Xiao would have gone feeling his way up a wild mountain in the dark!