Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 286

Chapter 286: 286

April 15th.

By sheer coincidence, a party had been booked for that day, and Nanzhi grandly selected the largest private room on the second floor for it.

The customer, who had originally only booked a small dinner due to a shortage of silver, was startled when he saw the private room.

He wondered how he ended up with such a large room when he had only booked a banquet that cost one tael and one coin.

Despite his confusion, he could only manage a smile and lead his guests to their seats.

The guests he had invited were old friends from many years ago.

These friends were not from Yan City. They had sent a letter a month ago, saying they were coming to Yan City for business and wanted to see him. Unfortunately, his mother had been ill recently and the family’s silver had been depleted.

Ironically, this friend had helped his family a lot in the past. That’s why he had asked about the banquet prices at The Three Tastes early on.

After his friends settled in, he went outside the private room with an uneasy heart to ask the waiter some questions.

During the first day of the second-floor private rooms opening, especially with a pre-booked banquet, Nanzhi and Shen Miaomiao couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. They were both standing on the second floor watching the scene.

When they saw someone come out, the hands of the two girls began sweating.

"Is there anything you’re not satisfied with, sir?" Shen Miaomiao asked nervously, though she did manage not to show it since she had been running the place for a month.

The man was in his thirties and had seen Shen Miaomiao when he booked the banquet. He knew the owners of The Three Tastes were two girls and just asked one question when he saw them.

"There must be some mistake. I only booked a banquet worth one tael and one coin."

Upon hearing his words, Shen Miaomiao and Nanzhi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Shen Miaomiao smiled and shook her head, "No, there’s no mistake. The banquet is worth one tael and one coin."

The man was stunned and somewhat incredulous.

Before he came to The Three Tastes, he had checked out other restaurants.

The cheapest banquet at Zuitingxuan cost two taels of silver, and at Hongfu Building, it cost one tael and five coins. Moreover, it wasn’t always guaranteed that you would get a private room. In the end, he tried his luck at The Three Tastes, which had only been open for a few days.

"And, is this room also included?"

"Yes."

The man exhaled and thanked them before he joyfully returned to the private room.

Quite a few guests, upon learning that the second floor was open, went upstairs to have a look.

Some of them, who had brought friends and did not want to eat in the main hall, simply decided to dine upstairs.

Before leaving, the man who had booked the banquet did not forget to express his gratitude to Nanzhi and Shen Miaomiao.

Life for him was not that hard now, but he didn’t have a lot of silver to spare. For that reason, The Three Tastes had saved him the embarrassment of not being able to host a grand banquet.

It wasn’t until The Three Tastes was closed for the night that the workers all sat excitedly in the main hall, waiting for their monthly pay.

Nanzhi had looked at the account book for the previous month.

Total sales amounted to seventy-two taels. Subtracting sixteen taels in costs, the profit totaled fifty-six taels.

It looked like a much, but other expenses also had to be considered.

About twenty-one taels would disappear once the wages were paid.

Thinking about this, Nanzhi couldn’t help but wince.

Uncle Ping began to distribute the wages.

"Lu Daliang, your monthly salary is two taels. You had three days off last month and there’s an extra commission of three coins. With other subsidies, your total comes to two taels, four coins and thirty-three wen."

Lu Daliang was a bit confused after listening.

When he joined, he was told the monthly salary was two taels. He didn’t quite understand about the commission, but why were there an extra four coins and thirty-three wen?

"Master Lu, aren’t you going to take your silver?" Liao Da elbowed Lu Daliang with a laugh when he saw his confusion.

Reminded by Liao Da, Lu Daliang finally reacted and quickly went to collect his monthly salary.

"Master Lu, after you count your silver, please sign here." Uncle Ping pointed to a place where his name was written.

"Oh, okay, okay." Lu Daliang chuckled and signed.

"Master Lu, why don’t you count your silver?" A worker standing nearby joked.

"Can’t I tell how much silver I have? Go away, or there will be no meat for you tomorrow!"

Feeling the hefty weight of the bag in his hand, Lu Daliang’s smile was so wide his mouth could have easily stretched to the back of his ears.

"Liao Da, your monthly salary is one tael. You took two days off, the bonus and subsidy totals one tael and six coins." Uncle Ping read off the next name on the list.

When he heard he had earned an extra six coins, Liao Da’s eyeballs nearly fell out of his sockets.

"One tael and six coins? Uncle Ping, you’re not teasing me, are you?"

"If you don’t want it, give it to me. I won’t mind." Uncle Ping couldn’t suppress a smile upon seeing his expression.

On regular days, Liao Da was the most witty, always able to amuse anyone he was with. He was also error-free in his work.

"Of course, I want it!" Liao Da squeezed his way to the front, laughing as he signed and then grabbed his money bag.

Which restaurant’s waitstaff could earn so much?

Working for these two proprietors had really paid off!

"Wang Sheng, your monthly salary is one tael. You took three days off, the bonus and subsidy in total is one tael, five coins and twelve wen."

"Zhang Yun, your monthly salary is one tael. You took four days off, had two leave days, the subsidy and bonus in total is one tael and four coins."

"Lin Xiaoquan..."

"Aunt Cui..."

It wasn’t until everyone’s monthly salary had been distributed that Uncle Ping finally closed the book.

Those who had received their silver were all elated, with the exception of Aunt Cui, who seemed slightly dazed.

Noticing her troubled expression, Nanzhi felt concerned and went over to ask about it.

"Aunt Cui, what’s the matter?"

Aunt Cui was daydreaming and only came back to her senses when she heard someone speaking to her. When she turned her head and saw it was Nanzhi, she forced a smile, "Nothing, Miss, nothing."

"Aunt, if there’s something bothering you, you should talk about it. Don’t keep it to yourself." Shen Miaomiao also suggested.

Aunt Cui was efficient at work in the restaurant; not only did she always come early, but she was also the last one to leave. Every day, she always carried a small smile, but when she left at night, she always seemed worried.

It was probably something to do with her home situation.

"It’s just that my son came back a few days ago." Aunt Cui sighed. Her son was currently nothing more than a vagrant and every time he returned, he would ask her for money.

Yesterday, she had heard her son and daughter-in-law arguing inside their house.

The thought of going home to argumentative noise made Aunt Cui feel extremely distressed.

How could her husband, a good man, have a son like this?

"I suppose he’s arguing with my daughter-in-law again." Aunt Cui shook her head, knowing that family issues should stay private, but after enduring it for so many years, she felt like she couldn’t take it anymore.

Her son was no good and her daughter-in-law was a firecracker.

She might’ve been better off dying early.

"Well..."

"No, no, both of you should go back home early and rest. I’ll go home. I’ll come back early tomorrow morning." Aunt Cui could only force an awkward smile. After making sure her money was safe, she slowly trudged out of the restaurant.

Looking at her receding figure, Nanzhi and Shen Miaomiao both felt emotional.

Aunt Cui was older than their mother. They never thought her home life would be like that.

"Every family has its own troubles to bear."

"Yes, indeed...."

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