Chapter 98: Claiming Credit

Hoping to console him, Qin Huiyin gently patted Tang Yixiao on the crown of his head. “Why are you still acting like a vinegar jar?”

Tang Yixiao turned away awkwardly at her teasing. He was jealous. He was angry. He was afraid that Song Ruizhe would steal her away.

Qin Huiyin slipped an arm around his shoulders. “Don’t worry. You will always be my very best little brother, my only little brother.”

Tang Yixiao’s face brightened again. “Then take me with you tomorrow.”

“No. You stay home and help out. Three Grandfather and I will be enough,” Qin Huiyin said.

“What could you possibly do that I can’t come along for?” Tang Yixiao snorted. “All that talk about being your only little brother—it’s all a lie.”

Tang Lvwu sighed helplessly. “Little Brother, Yinyin has serious matters to attend to.”

“I’m not going to cause trouble. Forget it, then. If I’m not going, I’m not going.” As he spoke, Tang Yixiao scooted aside and turned his face toward the window.

Qin Huiyin could not help wavering.

Should she bring him after all?

No, better not. The boy clearly disliked Song Ruizhe. If the two of them met, who knew what ugly things they might say to each other? Better leave him behind.

Meanwhile, Song Ruizhe had bought back the supplies. He did not hand them directly to Chen Zhe, who was in charge of purchasing; instead, he went to Yang Batou.

The people standing beside Yang Batou, hearing that it was Song Ruizhe who wanted to see him, let him through at once and did not even bother to report it.

Song Ruizhe had not expected that his attempt to curry favor would earn him such special treatment from Yang Batou. He did not notice that the light in Yang Batou’s eyes dimmed when he saw him enter empty-handed.

“What is it?” The brat had a bad temper, but he had a younger sister with excellent cooking, so for the sake of the appetizing sauce his sister had sent, Yang Batou decided to favor him a little.

“The iron goods that Manager Chen assigned me to buy have already been purchased.”

Yang Batou frowned. “He assigned you to buy iron goods?”

The procurement was Chen Zhe’s responsibility. By rights, it should not have been handed to anyone else, and even if it were delegated, it would not have fallen to someone as young as Song Ruizhe.

Still, if it was assigned, then so be it. As long as he did the job well, youth was no great matter.

There was no need to report such a small matter separately. There had to be something else.

“Any other difficulties?”

“None, really. I just need Brother Yang to help me with one thing.”

“You tough little bone, you’ve finally learned some flexibility.” Yang Batou’s expression softened. He waved Song Ruizhe closer. “Come here.”

Song Ruizhe stepped forward and handed him the procurement list.

Yang Batou glanced over it casually, but when his eyes fell on the figures recorded there, his expression turned serious.

“Are the prices on here written incorrectly?”

“No, they aren’t.” Song Ruizhe looked utterly perplexed. “Those prices were all set by Manager Chen. He also gave me this amount of money, not a single coin short.”

“You’re saying Chen Zhe gave you this money to make the purchases, and you actually bought all this?”

Yang Batou’s face darkened.

“Yes. Manager Chen said this was the usual price for his purchases. If I failed to do it properly, then I’d be incompetent. This was my first time handling such an important errand, and I don’t have Manager Chen’s connections. It took a great deal of effort to complete the task he gave me. There’s still one small issue, and I need Brother Yang to make the decision.”

A flash of ridicule crossed Yang Batou’s eyes.

That Chen Zhe truly was audacious beyond measure.

He handed over this little sum to his underlings to make the purchases; once the job was done, the leftover money could be quietly pocketed.

This was a major dam project, and there was more than one foreman. Chen Zhe was the biological nephew of Foreman Chen, and Foreman Chen happened to be Yang Batou’s sworn rival. Now that a blade had been delivered right to his door, how could Yang Batou not use it?

When he looked at Song Ruizhe again, his gaze had become complicated.

He had originally thought the boy was merely a troublemaker, good for nothing but stirring up disputes. Now it seemed he had misjudged him. This kid had a clear head and plenty of scheming in him.

“What do you want me to help you with?”

Song Ruizhe then explained the process by which he had purchased the iron goods at the lowest possible price.

He erased all traces of Qin Huiyin. It was not that he wanted to claim credit for himself, but that he did not wish to drag a young girl into this. Building a dam was an affair of the court, and procurement was a mess tossed to him by the higher managers. If Yang Batou learned that Qin Huiyin possessed such formidable skill in handling affairs, she would likely never have another peaceful day.

“You brat, you’ve done a great service,” Yang Batou said excitedly. “If everything we needed could be supplied by these so-called vendors, think how much silver the court would save.”

“Brother Yang, do you mean this official seal can be stamped?”

“Stamp it, absolutely stamp it,” Yang Batou said. “Come with me now. I’ll take you to see the lord in charge of this dam project. Organize your thoughts properly on the way. When you meet him later, don’t panic—just state your ideas clearly. Still, you’re not one to fear trouble, so you probably won’t lose your nerve.”

At the temporary dining shed, Chen Zhe held his bowl and came to collect his meal. Though everyone was taking food, his bowl was larger than the others’, and the server gave him twice as much.

“Brother Chen, over here—here...” Song Tiegen waved him over.

Chen Zhe came over with his bowl and sat beside him. “Didn’t find any good food today?”

They had free time every day, during which they could go out for a stroll. They only had to return within the appointed time; if they were absent when attendance was taken, their wages would be docked.

“No time to go out today. I’ll treat Brother Chen to roast duck another day,” Song Tiegen said generously.

“You really know how to win people over,” Chen Zhe said with satisfaction.

“Brother Chen, Song Ruizhe still hasn’t come back. He must have botched the task you gave him, right?” Song Tiegen said gleefully.

“A couple of days ago I told him to bring me a jar of sauce to taste, and he was stingy and refused. When you’re out here making a living, if you don’t know how to conduct yourself, you have to pay the price.” Chen Zhe’s lips curled into a vicious smile.

“Brother Chen is still too soft. If it were me, I’d make sure he couldn’t even swallow the loss.”

“You brat, don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. Using your older brother to deal with him?” Chen Zhe laughed and cursed. “Still, that kid really is too arrogant. He ought to be taught a lesson.”

“Manager Chen, the county magistrate wants to see you.” A constable shouted loudly.

“The county magistrate?” someone nearby said. “Manager, if the magistrate has personally summoned you, it means he knows you’re reliable and wants to reward you handsomely.”

Chen Zhe smiled with pride. “I’ll go take a look. Brothers, eat more. I won’t have time for this bowl anyway—take it apart among yourselves!”

His bowl was full of meat. The moment he said they could share it, the crowd surged forward and quickly snatched every last slice from it.

Chen Zhe’s eyes were full of disdain.

His uncle was a foreman who oversaw several hundred men. Though he worked at the dam too, he did only the sort of jobs that involved barking orders at others; he never had to do the grueling labor himself.

Not only that, but his wages were higher than everyone else’s.

These bumpkins were truly filthy. He did not even want this bowl anymore—he ought to get another one. He was sickened by them.

Chen Zhe followed the constable to the place where the county magistrate was currently waiting.

“Lord Wen, Magistrate, Chen Zhe has arrived,” the constable announced as he brought Chen Zhe into the temporary inspection office.