Chapter 0037: Not much, just a million.
"Li Bin! How can you talk to us like that?! We're only doing this for your own good! Why do you have to bite the hand that feeds you? You don't appreciate good intentions at all! Honestly!" Shen Yun also glared at Li Bin, scolding him with some anger.
"Oh? For my own good? In that case, I must have misunderstood. Since that's the case, Auntie, how much do you pay your packagers a month? If it's more than what I earn from writing, I'd be happy to come work for you." Li Bin asked, looking at Shen Yun with a calm smile, neither humble nor arrogant.
"The average salary in our factory is a little over four thousand. How about this: if you come, we'll pay you 1800 during your apprenticeship. Once you're officially hired, I'll give you four thousand." Shen Yun said with a condescending tone.
As for how long the apprenticeship would be, Shen Yun didn't say a word.
Given Shen Yun's stingy personality, Li Bin figured the apprenticeship would probably last at least half a year.
"What? That low? Then... I'm afraid that won't work. Although I don't make much from writing, I still get a hundred thousand or so in royalties a month. I thought you were preparing to offer me a monthly salary of 200,000." Li Bin shook his head with feigned regret, saying it with a straight face.
"A hundred thousand? Pfft!... Brother-in-law! You used to be just incompetent, but now you've completely lost your shame! How dare you spout such a lie? Do you think we don't know what you're like? A hundred thousand! Are you dreaming?"
Du Bin looked at Li Bin with a disbelieving smile. He simply couldn't believe that Li Bin would dare to tell such a lie, one that could be easily debunked with a little checking. He felt that Li Bin must have gone crazy from poverty, living in a dream world from all that writing.
"Li Bin, it's fine if you're not capable. I used to think you were an honest and decent person, but it's not good to lie like this. We're all family. You might be able to fool outsiders with your lies, but don't we know what you're really worth? Now, it seems your character is flawed too."
Shen Yun immediately followed up, speaking to Li Bin in a high-and-mighty, lecturing tone.
"We originally wanted to help you, to let you learn a skill in our factory so you could have a future. But now it seems you're truly a lost cause." Du Jian-guo snorted with authority, glaring at Li Bin and berating him.
Li Bin watched the family of three showing off in front of him. He waited calmly for them to finish, then took out his phone, opened the Alipay interface, and said, "I really haven't earned much this year, just a million or so."
With that, Li Bin slapped his phone down on the table.
Du Bin glanced at it suspiciously, and when he saw the long string of digits in Li Bin's Alipay account, his eyes immediately widened in shock.
"Ei... eighty... eighty-something thousand!!!"
"What?!!" When Du Jian-guo and Shen Yun heard Du Bin shout "eighty-something thousand," they immediately leaned forward in shock, staring at Li Bin's phone in disbelief.
"It's really eighty-something thousand!! Our factory works hard all year for a profit of only four or five hundred thousand..."
"How is it possible to have so much? Can writing this... this web novel online really be this profitable??!"
Seeing the money in Li Bin's phone, their attitudes immediately did a one-eighty.
"This isn't just a screenshot you got from someone else, is it?" Du Bin grabbed the phone, logged out of Li Bin's Alipay, and opened it again. After checking several times, he leaned back against the sofa, dumbfounded and speechless.
"Pfft!~~~" Wen Lan, who had been watching from the side, had long expected this scene. Seeing the family of three from her aunt's side get their comeuppance, she couldn't help but burst out laughing.
It was rare for the Wen family to hold their heads high in front of the Du family, and this made Wen Lan secretly give Li Bin a thumbs-up, winking at him in appreciation.
Wen Wan, on the other hand, looked at Li Bin with an expression of utter disbelief. She stepped forward, picked up Li Bin's phone, glanced at the Alipay balance. She stared at Li Bin with wide, shocked eyes, her gaze full of questioning suspicion.
"Uncle, Auntie, I read web novels all the time. Lots of people like reading online now. I wrote some in my spare time when I was in school, but my writing skills are average, so I only earned a few thousand in royalties."
Yu Yanyan, standing nearby, looked at Li Bin with a worshipful expression and said excitedly, "Brother-in-law, can you teach me? My dream has always been to become a writer!"
"Xiao Bin, what book are you writing that's so profitable? Why didn't you say something sooner? We thought you weren't earning any money and wanted to help you... hehe... why don't you teach our Bin Bin, let him write with you?" Seeing the money, Shen Yun's attitude towards Li Bin changed immediately. She put on a fawning, embarrassed smile.
"Writing requires talent. Not just anyone can do it. Bin Bin only has a vocational school education. With that level of education, he probably can't write books..."
Just then, Shen Han, who had been eavesdropping in the kitchen, walked out carrying a dish with a smug, triumphant look on her face. She said in a sarcastic, gleeful tone:
"I told you our family's Li Bin had potential and would surely have a bright future. Now, our Li Bin can be considered a writer. Maybe in a little while, he'll become a famous author, a big celebrity! What's this little bit of money?"
Shen Han was truly holding her head high today. Her whole being felt at ease!
Her heart felt sweeter and more comfortable than if she had eaten honey!
*****
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