Let Me Handle It
Su Li rubbed her brow. That old midwife Zhang's shabby delivery cloth almost caused Wu Caiwei to get an infection during childbirth. She didn't want to give Zhang a single coin, let alone triple pay. What a pipe dream!
"No way. You acted on your own and messed things up, so you won't get a penny. Midwife Liu obeyed orders and completed the task, so of course I'll reward her. I'm a person who clearly distinguishes rewards and punishments," Su Li said firmly.
Zhang midwife gritted her teeth and conferred with her old partner. The partner said, "Miss Su is young and inexperienced, just a greenhorn who hasn't weathered many storms. We don’t fear her. We have to make a fuss; the bigger the fuss, the more money we get!"
Zhang midwife said, "The old man is right. This is just bullying honest folks. The baby who cries gets the milk. Whoever stays quiet will have their money withheld. We know how to make noise, so we get paid!"
"Yes, let's make a fuss at her house!" Zhang midwife and her children and grandchildren, once they agreed, became the backbone of the group, all saying, "With so many of us, triple pay isn’t enough for our errands. We want ten times the pay!"
"Ten times pay? Why don’t you go rob someone then!?" Su Li got angry all of a sudden, her face cold as she stood up and said to Qingmu beside her, "Drive these scoundrels out!"
Zhang midwife shouted loudly, "We’re not leaving! We’re staying right here today!"
Just as Su Li was about to speak, Yuanbao said beside her, "Wife, it was my idea to let them in earlier. Now you want me to drive them out, is that okay?"
Su Li looked at Yuanbao, wondering if this silly husband could handle the situation well.
Yuanbao seemed to see through her thoughts, pouting with a very wronged look: "Wife, do you think I’m an idiot who can’t do anything...?"
"No, I absolutely don’t think that!" Su Li said, softening immediately because she was especially susceptible to this act.
"Then let me help you this time. I want to contribute to our family too," Yuanbao said, grabbing Su Li’s hand and blinking, looking adorably eager to please.
Su Li really couldn’t bear to refuse. Otherwise, Yuanbao would think he was a useless man.
Su Li thought for a moment and said, "Alright, you handle this. It’s your responsibility now. If it really doesn’t work... then just pay them off. Our family isn’t short of a little silver."
If it were Su Li herself, she definitely wouldn’t have spent that money. But since it was Yuanbao handling it, she was really worried he might not settle it well, so she relented.
"Wife, you go rest. Don’t worry," Yuanbao gave a knowing look. Lingdang immediately came over, supporting Su Li’s arm, saying, "Master, I have a dish to ask you about. Come teach me."
"Oh? Lingdang is so eager to learn, good good..." Su Li was completely distracted and was led away by Lingdang.
Zhang midwife saw that the head of the Su family had left, leaving only a silly husband behind, so she was even happier. She chuckled to her old partner, "Great, Lady Su must be scared because we have numbers, so she ran off. Leaving a fool to clean up the mess means we can extort him properly! After all, he’s a fool, easy to trick into paying!"
Her old partner gave a thumbs up: "Old lady, you’re amazing!"
Then Zhang midwife changed to a stern tone and half-threatened, half-intimidated Xiao Zetian, "Hmph, you don’t know my old lady’s background, do you? My nephew works as a constable in the Qingmiao City government. If you don’t pay us, I’ll tell him to arrest you all and confiscate your property. Scared now?"