She gave Pu Pao a reward of one hundred cents. She had originally wanted to give more—not because she was wealthy, but as a way of helping the Liu Family. On second thought, she decided against it. There had to be a proper way of doing things. If she gave five hundred cents today, then a reward of one tael of silver later, when Pu Pao became even more capable, wouldn't seem like much. People were like that; they were only happy if their wages increased year after year. If she gave too high a reward from the start, it would diminish the value of hard work later on.
Pu Pao's little face flushed with happiness. She said in a small voice, "Thank you, Young Madam. I haven't even done much work, and you've gone to the trouble of teaching me to read. I've already gotten my wages, and now a reward… My dad said yesterday that I'm earning even more than he usually does."
