Liu Ran smiled shyly at the compliments. He hung his head low and continued his meal.
The cautious couple was quite pleased to know that their son was commended. The uptight feeling they had been clinging onto had relaxed for the most part.
After dinner, Ye Liu sat on a stool in satisfaction, picking his teeth. “Dad, mom, stay for a while longer. Let the food digest. I’ll take you home on the bullock-cart later.”
“Sure, we’re in no rush,” Liu Quanyan nodded.
They were more than happy to stay on longer, since they rarely dropped by.
Liu Ran dragged Liu Liushi to the second floor. He brought her to his room and shared more ideas and exciting tales with her.
“Li Wazi, I’ve calculated the dividends for this month. We can split four taels of silver each. Let me get my accounts book, I’ll count for you,” Ye Mo told Li Wazi who sat beside him. Then, he got up to get the booklet and the money.
Li Wazi’s joy was clearly reflected on his face. It always felt like a dream when he received his share of the revenue on this day every month.
He said with a silly smile, “Mo, you don’t have to trouble yourself to count again. I trust that you won’t make any mistakes.”
Liu Quanyan could not believe the dialogue he was hearing. They could actually earn four taels of silver in a month?
He had heard that their tomato sauce was tasty and popular, but he had never thought that they could earn that much.
Their one month’s dividend amounted to what a regular farmer might earn in two, maybe three years!
Liu Quanyan gave it some thought. Considering how much they currently earned, in addition to how loyal they were towards his daughter by having sworn they would never marry another woman, he was quite happy for Liu Duo. If they could hurry up and have a kid, that would be perfect!
Liu Quanyan even thought that his initial decision was not that terrible after all. She might be a shared wife, but she was living in luxury.
An hour later, Liu Ran returned downstairs with Liu Liushi, happily engaged in conversation.
“Dad, it’s almost time to go.” Ye Liu stood up and stretched.
Liu Quanyan got on his feet too. “Alright, thank you again, Liu.”
“Nothing to it, dad. We’re family. That’s quite unnecessary,” Ye Ling said.
“That’s right! Dad, you better not repeat that, alright? We might think otherwise,” Ye Liu said with a grin as he walked towards the bullock-cart temporarily left in the yard.
Liu Quanyan and Liu Liushi spotted that and followed him.
Liu Duo watched silently by the sidelines. Liu Ran could not bear to part with them, so he had an idea.
He waited until the trio had left on the bullock-cart before he slowly walked back from the entrance.
Ye Mo handed over the dividend to Li Wazi, then passed the salary to Uncle Liu.
After Li Wazi’s family left for home, Ye Mo went to boil water in the kitchen while Ye Yang swept the leaves off their yard.
“Ran Er, you have school tomorrow. Best take a bath and retire early.”