Thinking of this, Zhao Huan immediately left her Father and walked into the house.
Qin Sang was arranging the placement of the beds when Third Brother's Wife came over and tugged at her sleeve.
"Mother, please come over for a moment, I have something I want to say to you."
Qin Sang followed her into the third brother's room as requested.
"What is it? Speak up. Your Father is still outside; shouldn't you be attending to him?"
Looking into her mother-In-law's calm yet wise eyes, Zhao Huan felt a flash of panic. She held out the five hundred copper coins she had been clutching and presented them to Qin Sang.
"Mother, these five hundred coins are the extra money from when you had my family make the drying racks."
Qin Sang asked, knowing full well the answer, "Oh? Didn't you say they were three hundred and fifty coins each?"
Zhao Huan lowered her gaze and said softly,
"You offered three hundred and fifty coins each, but... I... I only told my Father it was two hundred and fifty coins."
Qin Sang looked at her leisurely.
"So, the extra hundred coins—did you keep them for your private savings?"
Zhao Huan bowed her head. After admitting it, the stone weighing on her heart seemed to loosen, and she could speak the rest without a psychological burden.
"Mother, my Father and the others don't know about this money. It was because I wanted to save some private money that I lied to you. Please don't be angry with my parents, okay?"
Qin Sang naturally had to give her a stern warning.
"If you could lie to me before, how can I trust that you aren't lying to me now?"
Zhao Huan immediately said,
"Mother, I'm really not lying. Just now, when my Father called me to talk, he was asking if I had lied to you."
He even gave me a scolding. He originally wanted to talk to you about the craftsmanship of the bunk beds, but after he found out I'd pocketed the money, he didn't plan to mention it anymore.
Mother, if you want to blame someone, blame me. I was blinded by greed. You already gave us rewards to let us save private money, but I still thought it was too little. You can punish me however you like, just please don't be angry with my family. This whole thing was my own idea."
Seeing her agitation, Qin Sang took the copper coins from Third Brother's Wife's hand and said,
"You heard what I told everyone this afternoon. Since you're sincerely admitting your mistake, fine.
For embezzling the family's money this time, you'll be fined five hundred coins' worth of rewards.
Only when the five hundred coins are fully deducted can you talk to me about rewards again.
Of course, if you feel like not working because there's no reward, just sitting around eating and waiting to be clothed, I will consider splitting the family."
When she first arrived, she was all alone, so splitting the family wouldn't have been good. But now that she had money in hand and her own network of connections, if the third brother wanted to split the family again, she definitely wouldn't refuse.
Zhao Huan felt the sting of losing the money, but she honestly accepted the punishment.
"Mother, then about my Father wanting to talk to you about the bunk beds..."
Qin Sang thought to herself that Third Brother's Wife had quite a few little schemes, but she still had some redeeming qualities—at least she was very filial to her parents.
That Carpenter Zhao also seemed like a sensible person; knowing his daughter was hiding private money, he didn't help her cover it up but instead educated her.
Since it was better to keep the benefits within the family circle, Qin Sang had no objections.
In the modern world, as long as something was useful, it would be copied and pirated. Qin Sang hadn't intended to go into this business herself, so having an extra source of income now was perfectly fine.
"Fine. For every bunk bed your family sells, after deducting labor and materials, I want a twenty percent share of the profit."
Zhao Huan was delighted. She completely forgot about her confiscated private savings and the fact that her rewards were docked for several months. Supporting her waist, she went outside to tell her Father the good news.
After hearing the whole story, Carpenter Zhao was also very happy. He stopped Si Jin and Er Fu as they were weighing the herbs.
"No need to weigh them, no need. These were just gathered in our spare time when there was nothing else to do. Since your family can use them, there's no need to give us flour."
Qin Sang smiled and said,
"Even biological brothers settle accounts clearly. There's no reason to let an In-law work for nothing.
To be honest, we've almost finished harvesting all the mugwort on our back mountain. In the future, we'll inevitably have to collect mugwort from your village. I can't let you work for free every time, or what kind of person would that make me, Qin Sang?"
Carpenter Zhao was stunned.
"You need that much mugwort?"
"Yes, and besides mugwort, there are other medicinal herbs. Look, how about this—In-law, why don't you specifically help me collect herbs in your village?
Every evening, I'll have San Gui go over to haul them back. We'll exchange them all for flour or rice. At that time, I'll pay you a wage of one jin of rice per day. How does that sound?"
How could Carpenter Zhao refuse? With the drought as it was, which family had enough food to eat? They were barely getting by on one meal of porridge a day.
Just by saying a few words back at the village, he could get a jin of rice for free every day. That was thirty jin a month—enough for a family of several to eat. Even if he went out for manual labor, it wasn't available every day.
Qin Sang then spoke with Carpenter Zhao face-to-face about the profit-sharing for the bunk beds, and both parties had no objections.
Qin Sang pulled several more sheets of paper from her bosom. On them were drawings of other styles of bunk beds: one with a double bed on the bottom and a single on top, and even a sofa chair that could be pulled out into a single bed. Carpenter Zhao was left staring in dazed wonder.
This was only because time was tight; Qin Sang hadn't searched through all the items in the Mall. Otherwise, she would have certainly made Carpenter Zhao's jaw drop.
Si Jin had weighed the flour, but Carpenter Zhao wouldn't take it. Qin Sang then had Third Brother's Wife shove it over to him.
Carpenter Zhao was afraid that pushing it back and forth might cause something to go wrong with his pregnant daughter, so he finally accepted it.
After seeing off Carpenter Zhao's family, the medicinal herbs were all moved into the courtyard.
Eldest Brother's Wife went to the kitchen to bring out the evening meal, and Third Brother's Wife followed to help.
The several youngsters all ran to see the bunk beds, and the room was suddenly packed to the brim. The beds were placed on the left and right, leaving just enough space in the middle for one person to walk through.
Qin Sang strung a rope down the middle and hung a piece of linen to divide it, providing at least a little privacy.
In the middle of summer, they hadn't had time to buy straw mats yet, but they didn't mind the bare wooden beds. Covering them with a quilt cover was enough.
Qin Sang put some items that needed to be added into her shopping cart, waiting for the next time she went to town to bring them out legitimately.
The wooden chests and bundles originally in the room were all stuffed under the beds. The remaining space only fit a commode; nothing else could be put there.
Qin Sang felt it was very cramped, but the youngsters were very satisfied.
Having their own separate beds was something they hadn't even dared to dream of before.
"Wen Mo and Er Fu will sleep on one side, with Er Fu on top. Over here, I'll sleep on the upper bunk."
Qin Sang went to test the ladder. The Zhao family's work was good; the materials were solid and steady, without even a wobble.
The railings were made very high, so there was no fear of rolling off the bed.
Eldest Girl climbed onto the lower bunk and lay down for a moment, then turned and scrambled up.
"Grandma, can I sleep with you?"
Qin Sang was amused. "Why? This is a single bed. It'll be very cramped sleeping with Grandma."
Eldest Girl hugged Qin Sang and looked up with her small face.
"I want to hear Grandma tell stories."
Qin Sang smiled and patted her head. "Grandma can still tell you stories while sleeping on the upper bunk."
Eldest Girl's eyes sparkled. "Really?"
Tian Wenmo was puzzled nearby. "What stories?"
Tian Erfu was also full of curiosity. She was currently sitting on the upper bunk. Although it felt like she could touch the thatched roof just by reaching out, she felt as if she finally had a space that belonged entirely to her.