Hearing Granny Zhong’s words, Lu Ye was quite surprised. He pondered for a moment and said aloud, “Everyone, yesterday, my wife has already made our position clear. If anyone wishes to sign up for work at our place, the daily wage is 30 wen. If you find this 30 wen insufficient, you need not come.”
Hearing the commotion outside, Bai Sheng and Du Min also came out.
Granny Zhong smiled wryly, “Employer, being able to find work now is already a great boon. Thirty wen a day is ten wen more than other places, but even so, we cannot survive. Thirty wen is simply not enough to buy food and water. By the time we save enough money, we would have already starved to death.”
“Yes, in this world, even with money, it is very difficult to buy food and water. Food and water are more precious than gold!” Tian Guihua said loudly.
“Employer, we just want to live! Moreover, we have always trusted the employer. What Zhou Ligen does has nothing to do with us. We hope the employer will take us in!” Zhao Dazhuang kowtowed.
“We just want to live! We beg both employers to take us in!” Everyone kowtowed and pleaded.
Lu Ye looked at Bai Sheng, and Bai Sheng did not avoid his gaze, meeting it frankly. It seemed she was not angry about yesterday’s events.
Lu Ye inexplicably felt a complex emotion. He both wished she wouldn’t be angry and also wanted her to be angry.
Feeling rather pathetic, Lu Ye berated himself mentally.
Bai Sheng stepped forward and said to the crowd, “I know all of you want to live! To survive, even if you harbor great dissatisfaction and doubt towards me, my husband, and our family, you will suppress it, or hide it for the time being. After all, compared to survival, those things are nothing.
However, one day, when you no longer depend on us and can survive on your own, will those suppressed dissatisfactions and doubts suddenly awaken and become a sharp blade that wounds our family?”
“No! They won’t! We are only grateful to the employer, without any dissatisfaction or doubt!” Tian Guihua explained earnestly. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
“Yes, employer,” Granny Zhong nodded repeatedly, “I, this old woman, have lived this long and seen many people. I can clearly discern everyone’s disposition. Both employers are benevolent and are by no means wicked people with dark intentions. Being able to live under your care is a blessing my family of three has cultivated for eight lifetimes!”
“Yes, it is a blessing for us to follow the employers, cultivated for eight lifetimes!” Hu Da Niu immediately echoed.
The others also echoed immediately.
Du Min swept a glance over everyone and said irritably, “You say nice words now, but who knows about the future? After all, hearts are hidden behind stomachs. You know their faces but not their hearts. If the employers take you in, what if there’s another ungrateful wretch like Zhou Ligen in the future?”
Yang Shi, Hu Da Niu’s wife, who usually didn’t talk much, looked at Du Min and said softly, “Therefore, we are selling ourselves to the employer. Once we become household slaves, our life and death are in the employer’s hands. If, one day, we forget our place and do anything detrimental to the employer, we can be punished at the employer’s will!”
Du Min fell silent. Initially, she and her husband had the same thoughts.
Lu Ye said loudly, “Thank you for your trust and for thinking so highly of us. My wife and I will discuss this matter and then reply to you all. Everyone, please rise and go home now.”
“Employer, we will not rise until both employers agree to take us as household slaves!” Ma San pleaded loudly.
“Yes! None of us will rise until the employers agree to us!” Everyone shouted in unison.
Liu Shi, Zhou Ligen’s wife, said, “Employer, although Zhou Ligen is my man, he is he, and I am I. In my heart, both employers are people I deeply respect! Please, employer, take me as a slave! I am strong and capable of work!”
Bai Sheng sighed softly and said to the crowd, “Everyone, please rise and go back. We will consider this matter.”
No one stood up. All the gaunt faces showed unwavering determination.
After all, seeking the employer’s shelter was their only hope for survival at the moment.
Seeing their stubbornness, Bai Sheng was also quite helpless. They were counting on her and Lu Ye to be soft-hearted. Since that was the case, if they liked kneeling, they could kneel for a while longer.
Bai Sheng exchanged glances with Lu Ye and the three children, then silently walked out of the house.
Regardless, they still had to do their morning exercises.
Du Min winked at Feng Pingyuan, and they both followed.
Du Min asked sheepishly, “Elder brother, elder sister, can we join you for exercises?”
Lu Ye glanced at Bai Sheng and smiled, “Of course. But you must be consistent from now on.”
“Yes, we will definitely persevere,” Du Min and Feng Pingyuan nodded together.
Because both of them were very weak, Lu Ye only asked them to run two laps and then gradually increase later.
After the exercises, they returned home, and everyone was still kneeling there.
As if they had conspired, not a single person compromised first.
Lu Yun looked at Tian Dou and Tie Zhu, who were already struggling to maintain their kneeling posture, and couldn’t help but frown slightly.
He looked at Bai Sheng but did not speak. Although he felt sorry for his two companions, he was even more unwilling to displease his sister-in-law.
For breakfast, Bai Sheng distributed one flatbread and a ladle of water to everyone in the family.
Du Min and Feng Pingyuan, along with the three children, ate heartily without any regard for the kneeling crowd, causing everyone to swallow their saliva.
After eating, they gulped down water.
Everyone: What to do? We really want to beat them up. Aren’t they insensitive? Don’t they see us kneeling here, starving?
After eating and drinking their fill, the family members went about their own tasks.
In the makeshift shelter, Lu Ye looked at Bai Sheng and hesitated for a moment before saying, “Bai Sheng, I’m sorry about what happened yesterday.”
Bai Sheng raised her eyes and smiled, “What happened yesterday?”
Lu Ye’s expression faltered, and he pointed to Bai Sheng’s lips and his own mouth, “Yesterday… you… I…”
“Oh,” Bai Sheng patted her head and laughed heartily, “Yesterday’s incident. I kissed you actively, and you pushed me away. Actually, you don’t need to say anything; I understand. Don’t worry, I won’t do that again.” Even if she had a thick skin, she still had her pride.
You understand? Understand what?
What did ‘won’t do that again’ mean?
Hearing Bai Sheng’s words, Lu Ye felt his mind becoming even more confused.
“What about those people outside?” Bai Sheng changed the subject.
Lu Ye straightened his thoughts and said, “After all, they are more than ten lives. If they were complete strangers, it would be fine. But after interacting for these few days, we have gotten to know each other. You certainly cannot bear to abandon them. Since that is the case, then agree to them.”
This man! He was like a worm in her belly! How could he understand her thoughts so well!
Bai Sheng gave Lu Ye a deep look and nodded, “You are right. But this time, even if I agree, I must let them know that this chance to survive was something they begged us for, not something we offered willingly! Only in this way will they know how to cherish it.”
“So, let them continue kneeling?” Lu Ye chuckled.
“Continue kneeling! But we still need to go out and persuade them,” Bai Sheng said, winking.