Gu Jinli saw them all shivering as they spoke and laughingly said, "Grandpa Guo, it’s not the first time you’re collecting your wages, do you really need to be this nervous?" Old Guo, a bit embarrassed, chuckled and said, "It’s not the same, last time we only got half a month’s wages, but this time it’s a whole month’s worth. We all had to scrape a living from the soil before; when have we ever received full month’s wages? No matter how many times we collect it, we’ll always be nervous." Those who could receive a full month’s wages were the clerks working in the shops; in their eyes, those clerks were successful people. From the He family, only the village chief’s second son had ever collected a full month’s wages. None of them had ever done so. Now that they could, Old Guo and the others felt exceptionally proud and were beyond excited. Knowing they were eager to get paid, Gu Jinli didn’t waste any more time, telling them, "Get in line to receive your change." "Line up to collect your wages!" Old Guo shouted, and the workers of the workshop immediately split into two lines, one for those who ground beans, lining up in the courtyard, and the other for those who ground spices, lining up in the main hall. Gu Jin’an, holding the account book, calculated the bean grinders’ salary. After the accounts were settled, Gu Dashan handed out the silver, and upon receiving it, they had to press their thumbprint onto the account book to confirm they received their wages. Gu Jinli, with the spice grinders’ account book in hand, walked into the main hall along with Mrs. Cui. Mrs. Cui had always been timid. Gu Jinli wanted to help boost her courage, and nowadays, she would take Mrs. Cui along for any task she could. After sitting down, Gu Jinli opened the account book, glanced at the calculated accounts, and called out, "Grandma Yang, you ground fennel. This month, a total of one hundred and fifty jins, twenty-five cents per jin, you have a total of three taels and seven hundred and fifty cents. Check the amount, and if it’s correct, press your thumbprint on the register, and then you can receive your money." Grandma Yang was He Shengzi’s grandmother, and villagers called her Old Lady Yang. Old Lady Yang, hearing she earned over three taels of wages in a month, was so thrilled she trembled all over. It took her a while to regain her composure, smiling, "That’s right, that’s right, it’s exactly this amount. Shengzi has been keeping track for us." Saying this, she dipped her thumb tip into the ink and pressed it onto the register. Mrs. Cui counted out three taels and seven hundred and fifty cents and handed it to Old Lady Yang, "Three taels and seven hundred cents, please take it, madam." She also reminded her, "Make sure the amount is right before leaving. If you find a mistake later and come back, we won’t make up the difference." Old Lady Yang took the silver, had her granddaughter count it three times, and once her granddaughter nodded confirming the amount was right, she pocketed the silver and said to Mrs. Cui and Gu Jinli, "Grandma Dong, Young Master, the wages are correct... Thank you so much, madam, this is life-saving money for my family." Old Lady Yang’s words were no exaggeration. Last year during the labor service, her grandson Shengzi almost didn’t make it back. If they couldn’t earn silver this year, by October, Shengzi would have to serve the labor service again, and who knew whether he’d come back alive. "This is what you rightfully deserve," Gu Jinli smiled at Old Lady Yang and called out, "Next, He Daosui." "Here!" He Daosui had been waiting eagerly, and immediately stepped forward, standing obediently in line upon hearing Gu Jinli call her name. Jinli said, "You ground one hundred and eighty jins of cinnamon, twenty cents per jin, making a total of three taels and six hundred cents of wages." "Yo, Dao Sui, you’ve done well, earning more wages than your grandma," He Dazhuang’s wife, standing behind He Daosui, heard about He Daosui’s substantial earnings and praised her. "The wages Aunt Dazhuang earns for her efficient work must surely be more than mine," He Daosui replied accurately, as He Dazhuang’s wife was the fastest worker there. When it was He Dazhuang’s wife’s turn to collect her wages, everyone was astonished, "Eight, eight taels and four hundred cents! Woah, Aunt Dazhuang, you’re going to be rich!" He Dazhuang’s wife ground tsao-ko, which was hard to grind. A pound could fetch eighty copper coins, and in one month she ground out a total of a hundred and five pounds. He Dazhuang’s wife had a big round face full of smiles and laughed aloud, "What fortune have I made? It’s all hard-earned money, hard-earned money indeed." He Tugou’s wife was grinding cinnamon, another tough one, but with the right tools in the workshop, she also ground out a hundred pounds, earning eight taels of silver as wages. Mother and daughter of Mo Qinzi ground cardamom, which fetched thirty copper coins per pound. Together the two ground out four hundred pounds, earning themselves twelve taels of silver. Twelve taels of silver! Ms. Zhang, upon receiving the silver, was so excited that it almost caused her to blackout, nearly fainting. Thankfully, Sister Qin was quick and supported her. "Ma, hang in there, where have we gotten to? Following the Young Master, our good days are still to come," considered Sister Qin as her mother seemed too overwhelmed by the silver and was about to faint. Ms. Zhang touched her somewhat dizzy head, her eyes rimmed with red, and said, "You’re right, our good days are just beginning." Thirty minutes later, Gu Jinli distributed the wages to everyone and said, "Take a day off tomorrow, everyone should rest well." She knew that He Dazhuang’s wife and the others didn’t want to take a day off and only wanted to work and earn money, so she added, "Everyone has been working hard for a month; there must be a lot piled up at home. Take advantage of the day off to catch up on home chores, then come back to work with peace of mind the day after tomorrow." After her persuasion, everyone finally agreed to take the day off. Soon after, everyone tightly clutched their money bags as they left Gu’s Workshop. Just as they left the workshop, the men from their families came to pick them up. They all knew today was payday at the workshop and came specifically to escort them home to prevent any mishap. Mo Kui, seeing his daughter and wife, hurriedly approached and asked, "My wife, Sister Qin, have you received your wages?" Sister Qin nodded with a smile, "We got it. Let’s go home, Dad." This wasn’t the place to talk. "Aye, let’s head home. Brother Ming is still waiting at home," Mo Kui said, protecting his wife and daughter as they hurried back. Mo Kui’s family rented a house in the Back Village, two mud rooms plus a lean-to kitchen. They were close to the end of the village, so the three quickly arrived home. Mo Xiangming had been waiting for them. Seeing their return, he immediately ran up and asked, "Ma, big sister, how much did you earn this month? Is it really twelve taels?" Every day, Sister Qin would keep track of their earnings. She was illiterate, so she used a primitive method of marking horizontal lines on a pillar in their house for each pound of spice they ground that day. Therefore, the family knew how much they had ground that month and roughly calculated how much wages they would receive. Sister Qin nodded at him and cheerily said, "Yes, exactly twelve taels, not a cent less." In the backyard, the two brothers, Mo Xiangnan and Mo Xiangxi, were so astonished upon hearing the news that they almost cried out. It was indeed a fortune to earn twelve taels of silver for a month’s wages. They could no longer contain themselves and slipped back home quietly to relay the news to Elder Mo. After fainting twice, Elder Mo’s health had declined, but he remained restless, always keeping an eye on Mo Kui’s family, just waiting for Gu’s Workshop to pay out the wages.