Linxia

Chapter 37, Kickbacks

After leaving the shabby tavern at the entrance of the shanty town, on the last short stretch of the way back, Fang Lin noticed that something was a little strange about You Chaodong and Fu Hong. He knew that it was probably Song Kai and his gang's "showing off their wealth" that made them suspicious, but he ignored it, separated from You Chaodong, Fu Hong and Geng Shi, and went straight home.

Fang's mother was cooking. When she saw Fang Lin coming back, she turned around and said, "My son has been running all day. Are you hungry? The meal will be ready soon."

After showing concern for his son, he casually asked, "By the way, have you found a job?"

"I'm still screening, I haven't found it yet."

"No rush, take your time."

"Ah."

The meal will be ready soon.

During the meal, Fang's mother talked about the prices in the capital: "It's good here, but things are too expensive. Cucumbers are ten copper coins a pound, eggplants are four copper coins a head, mustard greens are thirteen copper coins a pound, sesame oil is thirty-two copper coins a pound, peanut oil is only sixteen copper coins, and beef is fifteen copper coins, but I didn't get the one that fell to death..."

——Beef is cheaper than pork. This is because the government deliberately suppresses the price to prevent people from slaughtering cattle.

"This afternoon, a laundry shop came and said that we could bring our dirty clothes there and pay for them after they were washed. Mother wanted to try it, but was stopped by Sister Guihua, who said it wouldn't be too late to go home and ask you, Brother Lin." Tian Xuan also said at this time.

"Don't answer it for now. I'll pay more attention tomorrow and see the market situation in this area." Fang Lin said.

In his opinion, human nature is to seek profit. If people come to him eagerly, they will surely be able to make up for it from other places. It is very likely that the money they offer is lower than the market price. Sister Guihua may have stopped Fang's mother because of this. When Tian Xuan said this at this time, she probably also saw it.

"It's not bad here. We are all in the same village. If anything happens, just call us and they will come over. I don't think we need to be too scared."

Uncle Fang had obviously thought about it in advance. He spoke for a long time before stating his purpose: "I thought I'd go to the dock first and try it out."

His son has grown up and is smart and capable. The family is gradually centered around Fang Lin. He has no intention of arguing with his son or arguing about anything. However, out of his dignity as a father, he does not want to be supported by his son, as that would be too embarrassing, so he wants to go back to work as soon as possible.

"also."

Fang Lin understood his father's feelings, thought for a moment, and agreed: "Dad, I'll keep an eye on the city for you to see if there are any suitable jobs. If you're in a hurry, you can go to the docks first. There's a big shortage of porters over there. By the way, the one at the far east has a better reputation and the daily wage is six cents."

"Six cents?" Father Fang looked up when he heard this. "The Song and Bai families went to see Officer Xiao and signed a one-month contract for porters. Didn't they say they would pay five cents a day?"

"Oh?"

Fang Lin was also surprised. Before, Song Kai and his gang showed off without mentioning how much money they earned. He thought it was only six cents!
"If you ask around, you'll know. The Song family wouldn't lie. That's it..."

Fang's father, Fang's mother, and Tian Xuan were all smart people. They naturally understood what Fang Lin had not finished saying, which was that the petty official named Xiao had taken kickbacks!

But if you think about it carefully, this is reasonable! Why would Xiao, a petty official, introduce you to a job for free for no reason? What is he trying to achieve? To help others, to satisfy himself, to realize the value of life? This is simply nonsense!
The world is bustling with people, all for profit; the world is bustling with people, all for profit. No one will do something that has no benefit. If someone really does it, there must be a deeper reason behind it.

The family thought about this and recalled the performance of the clerk named Xiao yesterday. They felt that more things became clear. He had defended the people of Xiaohe Village in front of passers-by before, probably to leave a good impression so that it would be easier to get kickbacks.

"If we sign a one-month contract, we will collect one cent per person per day, which means three taels of silver per person per month, and three taels of silver for ten people. If the porter demand is particularly urgent, maybe we can get another sum from them, and eat both ends! It's true that the clerk named Xiao takes money to do his job, and he is really cruel when it comes to cheating people!" Fang Lin thought to himself.

…Geng family.

While Geng Shi was chatting with his wife, they also learned about the fact that the official surnamed Xiao took kickbacks. He hesitated for a long time before saying, "I thought he was a good official!"

"Good officials, good officials, what good officials are there? All crows in this world are black!"

Su Xiaoqing said, and then warned her honest husband: "Don't tell anyone about this."

"I know!" Geng Shi was honest, but he was not ignorant. Why would he tell anyone about this? Would it offend anyone?

He was still thinking about it, and after thinking it over and over again, he finally couldn't help but sigh.

In fact, even if they didn't say anything, Song Kai and the others would know about it sooner or later. But even if they knew, they would probably be angry but not speak out. They came to ask for it, and they signed the contract voluntarily. So what if they made a fuss? What could they do?

Besides, the people do not fight against the officials. Although they are only at the bottom of the pyramid of "officials", just a petty official, they are just ordinary people with no power. How can they fight? They can only keep things quiet.

This is not because he is cowardly, but because of practical considerations. The minor official named Xiao is in charge of various matters such as grain distribution. If he really falls out with others and they fall out with each other, they will take the opportunity to cheat him and do something cruel to him. You may even end up with your family destroyed.

……

"It's really dark!" Fu Hong also lamented this: "Linzi is right, look at it more and compare it, it's right!"

He had originally planned not to "mess around" with Fang Lin tomorrow, but now that he thought about it, he decided to follow him for two days and see how it goes.

……

"It's all thanks to Linzi, otherwise I would still be kept in the dark!" You Chaodong also sighed.

"You fool, you've been sold out, yet you're still saying nice things to people!"

The You family's wife disagreed, "I also heard what you did today. It's fine to go to the docks and workshops, but why go to the rice shops, pawnshops, bookstores, restaurants, teahouses, etc. on the street? If you want to do those jobs, you either need connections or skills, such as literacy.

Boss, I don't mean to say which one do you have? So, is that kind of work something we can dream of? It's just a daydream!

Even if a blind cat finds a dead mouse, and they really find two or three such good jobs, will it be your turn? Linzi himself has one, his father has one, then the Geng family who are closer, and finally Fu Hong and you, but think about it, as the head of the family, can four or five pie in the sky fall at once?"

"That's the truth!" You Chaodong listened to his wife and pondered. It was true. After thinking for a while, he said, "That's right. I won't go messing around with Linzi and the others tomorrow. I'll go to the dock and take a look. I'm content with the six cents a day salary."

"That's right." The You family's wife supported her husband: "People should still be down-to-earth, know themselves, and earn money honestly. This is the hard truth."

……

The next day, Fang Lin, Geng Shi and Fu Hong met and found that You Chaodong did not come. They went to You's house to look for him and learned that You Chaodong was not going.

……

(End of this chapter)