DEDUCT YOUR ANCESTORS' GRAVES!
Edit: Yunchan
***
Lin Yuan City, Jixiang Tavern.
After closing hours, the tavern was empty of customers, with only three waiters, four chefs, and a plump shopkeeper, his narrow eyes squinting, clacking away on an abacus.
The status of chefs in this tavern was like that of a signature dish on the menu; their wages weren't cut much, so they collected their pay quickly and left just as fast.
It was Han Yin's turn to step forward. She smiled brightly, her eyes full of anticipation.
The fat shopkeeper glanced over at her, muttering as he continued to clack his abacus.
“You were sick for the first two days of the month, so I'm deducting ten *wen* from your wages.”
Han Yin was stunned. “Sick is sick, but I still did plenty of work.”
“Wrong!” the fat shopkeeper said, his eyes narrowed in a smile. “When you're sick, you're not efficient, and you mess up all sorts of things. Not to mention you had a cold, and when you sneezed, you scared away three customers and two young masters who were ordering food!”
He continued to calculate. “Hold on, deducting ten *wen* from your wages is still a bit too little. How about this, I'll deduct another five *wen*.”
His fingers flicked, and the abacus clacked again.
The fat shopkeeper happily continued. “And two days ago, you broke five plates.”
Han Yin protested, “A customer tripped me! Why blame me? Besides…”
Before she had a chance to utter her next sentence, the fat shopkeeper's face hardened, and he forcefully cut her off. “What is the motto of our tavern?”
Han Yin sullenly replied, “The customer is always right…”
“Exactly!” The fat shopkeeper slapped the counter. “The customer is right, which means you are wrong! You broke five top-grade celadon porcelain plates, each worth ten *wen*, so I'm deducting another fifty *wen* from you.”
His fingers flicked, and the abacus clacked again.
The fat shopkeeper calculated and calculated, until in the end, Han Yin's take-home pay was only a measly twenty *wen*.
Han Yin looked at the scattered copper coins on the table, then glanced at the fat shopkeeper, who was smiling as brightly as spring weather. She gasped, “Full wages for a month are three hundred *wen*. Shopkeeper, aren't you ashamed to only pay me this much?”
The fat shopkeeper's bean-like eyes instantly shot out sharp daggers. “Twenty *wen* is enough!”
Han Yin raised an eyebrow. “Enough to eat, or enough to wear?”
The fat shopkeeper leaned his corpulent body out and stared directly at her. “The weather is getting warmer, thin clothes are enough, no need for more. As for food, you can eat the customers' leftovers as much as you like, but remember to record it, so it can be deducted from your wages at the end of the month.”
“Deduct, deduct, deduct! DEDUCT YOUR ANCESTORS' GRAVES!” Han Yin couldn't take it anymore. She slammed the counter, making the coins jump up with a clatter. “You've written 'deduct' so many times, I thought you were a money-grubber, as if every character you wrote was a coin!”
“Rebellious!” The fat shopkeeper was so angry he was panting. His two fat hands slammed down, gathering the money back. “Disobeying orders, cursing the shopkeeper, insulting the shopkeeper's ancestors' graves—I'm deducting another ten *wen* from your wages!”
“This young miss is done working here!” The flame of rage in Han Yin's chest shot straight up to her head. She snatched the abacus from the counter and threw it at the shopkeeper's face.
After throwing it, she pointed at his nose and cursed him. “If I'm not working, I'm not working, but we still need to settle the accounts fairly! The first two days I was sick, that was because you infected me! And furthermore, you were the one who sneezed and scared away three customers, and those two young masters who were ordering food? That was your despicable eyes staring intently at their money bags that scared them away! Don't dump all this on my head! Besides, the customers who broke the plates were already extorted by you for a hundred *wen* in compensation, on what grounds are you still deducting from me?”
She cursed him out for a good while, when suddenly she heard the fat manager bellow, shaking the very foundations: “What kind of nobody are you, daring to hit me!”
“Shut up! I’m going to keep hitting you!” Han Ngam threw another punch, landing it squarely in his right eye.
The corpulent manager’s body was flabby and weak; how could he have the strength to fight back? Covering his right eye, he continued to yell: “Quick! Quick! Are you all dead?! Catch her and take her to the authorities, quick!”
“Wham——”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Han Ngam landed another punch on his left eye socket: “Go to the authorities for what? You have to pay to go to the authorities, you know! Without about ten taels of silver, don’t even dream of winning. But seeing a doctor gets you a discount, only a hundred *wen*. Since you’re going to see one anyway, I might as well give you a few more injuries, so you can get your money’s worth!”
As she spoke, she continued to hit him, *thump thump*. Whatever her hand grabbed, she threw straight at the manager’s fat face. She threw all the teacups, then the ledgers, and after throwing all the ledgers, she even picked up the money box and swung it.
With a “Crash!” the money in the silver box scattered, clinking all over the floor.
Han Ngam casually bent down, picked up a small silver ingot, weighing it in her hand, then swaggered over to the fat manager: “Look closely, two taels of silver. I’m not taking much from you, and it’s still one tael short, mind you. Consider it payment for your medical treatment, so you weren’t beaten for nothing!”
After saying that, she tucked the silver into her chest, turned, and ran out.
The two remaining shop assistants had secretly resented the fat manager for a long time. They stood by watching, secretly delighted. They all played a double game, stalling until this moment before rushing forward to catch her, but she slipped through the gap between their bodies, as agile as a loach.
Running out of the tavern, Han Ngam glanced left and right, then reached up and tore down the banner hanging high above. She flung it to the ground, stomping on it fiercely. After stomping, she snorted twice in disdain, then finally plunged into the sea of people on the street, running straight towards outside the city.
At the same time, inside the Jixiang Tavern, the fat manager lay sprawled on the ground, wailing loudly and reaching out, watching her go. He howled mournfully: “Don’t run! You’ve only paid for the treatment, there’s still the medicine money...!”
The two shop assistants burst into laughter. This fat manager truly only had money in his eyes; he only cared about money, not his life!
After Han Ngam finished beating the man, she also vented all the pent-up frustration of the past three months. At first, she felt very satisfied, but after leaving the city, her steps gradually grew heavy.
After causing such a commotion, she could no longer live in Lin Yuan City. But the world was vast, and human nature was equally sordid everywhere; changing places might not necessarily be better. The worst part was that she had just passed her thirteenth birthday, her body was gradually developing, and in another two years, it would be difficult to disguise herself as a man, and she would encounter even more trouble than now.
“Damn it!” Han Ngam couldn’t suppress her melancholy, and she forcefully kicked away a small stone at her feet.
But since things had come to this, being miserable wouldn’t do any good. She quickly adjusted her mood, discerned the direction, and headed towards the abandoned temple where she had once resided.
By now, night had fallen. The early evening moonlight, hanging halfway up the mountain, was still dim and unclear, making her only able to vaguely discern the path beneath her feet.
The spring chill was biting, and the night wind grew even more piercing, blowing against her, chilling her to the bone.
Han Ngam clutched the thin clothes on her body tightly and quickened her pace. But just then, something suddenly fell from the sky in front of her. With a “Thud!” it landed about a *zhang* away from her, sending dust scattering everywhere.
What was that?
She walked closer out of curiosity, but before she could see clearly, her right ankle was seized.
She looked down, startled, and Hàn Ngâm suddenly jumped up as if pricked by a needle. Immediately after, she bent down and frantically brushed at her right leg, struggling twice with all her might before finally dislodging the terrifying thing from her leg.
What in the world!
A real, live person just dropped from the sky! And the thing that had gripped her ankle was that person's pale, blood-soaked hand!
Hàn Ngâm took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She looked straight ahead and walked quickly past, but...
She thought for a moment, then backed up and reached out to turn the person's face up for a look.
Under the pale moonlight, a face drenched in fresh blood was revealed, with hair matted together.
So ugly! So ghastly!
She frowned, frantically let go, left the person behind, and bolted.
~ End of Chapter 1 ~