Chapter 113

"Brother, what is this?" Xiao Hu also stood on the stone and looked.

After seeing clearly what it was, Xiao Hu directly exclaimed, "Holy crap! So many shrimp monsters!"

On the Beach ahead, for some unknown reason, a large group of small things appeared, each carrying various shells and running quickly.

These are hermit crabs, also called shrimp monsters, a rather peculiar creature; most people keep them as pets, but in fact many also like to eat them.

The appearance of hermit crabs is rather ugly; well, it really is a bit ugly.

The two claws are outside, the body inside.

By rights this thing isn't much to eat; the two claws are hard and have no meat, but nature is just that peculiar.

The hermit crab's body is soft and very tasty; when eating, you simply pull out the body to eat, not the claws.

To be honest, Ye Cheng has eaten it before; the texture is fine, but it's too ugly, which somewhat affects the appetite.

Of course, it doesn't hinder making money.

"Come on, what are you waiting for?" Ye Cheng flicked away his cigarette with a whoosh and then rushed over.

Although this thing carries a big shell, after all it's still a crab, and it runs pretty fast.

Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu's pursuit was exhausting; their eyes and limbs were completely out of sync—looking left, the ones on the right ran off; looking ahead, another would dart under their feet.

Ye Cheng accidentally stepped on and killed one, which pained him—these are all money, after all; why die without dying, couldn't you at least let me sell them for money before you die?

Just then, a steady voice came from behind: "Lao Er, let me help you catch them; I'm experienced and catch a lot."

Ye Cheng turned his head and saw it was Duan Chunsheng.

He held a bucket in his left hand and tongs in his right, one tongs per crab, fast and accurate; while working, he showed Ye Cheng his bucket and explained,

"Lao Er, my bucket originally had nothing; after I'm done picking, I'll give it all to you."

Having said that, he lowered his head and began to work busily.

This made Ye Cheng feel a bit embarrassed.

He thought about rushing over to grab or steal, but he didn't expect there to be people in his own village working for free; this isn't their village's style.

Regardless, with Duan Chunsheng's help, Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu were less panicked, and Duan Chunsheng, being a veteran, was faster than both of them.

After more than half an hour, the three cleared the area of hermit crabs; of course, a few smart ones returned to the sea, and Ye Cheng didn't bother chasing them.

"Well then, Lao Er, this whole bucket—should I pour it into your Snakeskin Bag?"

Duan Chunsheng stood before Ye Cheng holding a bucket full to the brim of hermit crabs; it was clear he had picked them carefully, the crabs in the bucket were about to crawl out.

"Xiao Hu, help gather them." Ye Cheng said to Xiao Hu, then after speaking he put down his things and gave Duan Chunsheng a cigarette, saying, "Uncle, come, let's rest a while; let Xiao Hu handle it."

Duan Chunsheng didn't refuse, took the cigarette and lit it; sparks flickered in the night, Ye Cheng took a deep drag, glanced at Duan Chunsheng beside him, who had helped but made no demands.

The more this happened, the more embarrassed Ye Cheng felt.

"Uncle, how much did you gather just now from foraging?" Ye Cheng asked proactively.

"I estimate I got about five catties of frog crabs, plus a bit of pipa crabs, hermit crabs, and sea snails; later I'll go again and expect to make about 100 yuan." Duan Chunsheng said in a relaxed tone, satisfied with today's haul.

After saying that, Duan Chunsheng intentionally turned his head to look at Ye Cheng and teased, "Lao Er, it's different being out with you; I used to forage and never had such a haul."

Ye Cheng gave a faint smile, noncommittal.

"By the way, Uncle, how much more money do you need to buy a boat?" Ye Cheng asked casually.

Duan Chunsheng took a deep drag of his cigarette, blew a smoke ring into the night sky, the ring slowly expanding and dissipating,

"To buy a boat I'm still short 8,000; adding some extras, it'll be about 10,000 yuan."

Duan Chunsheng said this somewhat gloomily; 10,000 yuan is not a small sum in these times.

Even if Ye Cheng has a system, each foraging trip yields only a few thousand yuan, and saved up to now he has only just over 10,000.

"Uncle, I can lend you 10,000, but interest will apply." Ye Cheng said softly.

Regardless, Duan Chunsheng seems down-to-earth and not greedy, so Ye Cheng is willing to lend a hand.

But he also doesn't want to help for free; having learned from past mistakes, doing good doesn't necessarily bring a good reputation.

Duan Chunsheng slowly turned his head, opened his mouth wide, looked at Ye Cheng in disbelief, and murmured, "Lao Er, you really are willing to lend me money?"

Hmm, I can lend you at one percent monthly interest.

"One percent monthly interest?" Xiao Hu, who was working nearby, stopped in surprise.

One percent monthly interest generally means a monthly rate of one percent, which is an annual rate of twelve percent.

The law prohibits usury, but ordinary private lending ignores this; villagers usually charge two fen interest, so unless it's urgent, no one wants to lend money.

Now Ye Cheng says one fen interest; by commercial loan standards that's indeed high, but in private lending it's actually half the usual rate—Xiao Hu's family has borrowed before, so they naturally know how low this rate is.

Upon hearing one fen interest, Duan Chunsheng's face instantly lit up with joy, but to confirm he asked again, "Lao Er, the one fen interest you mentioned is monthly, not daily, right?"

Ye Cheng was speechless; a daily interest of one fen—are you trying to get me to break the law?

"Uncle, one fen interest is an annual rate of ten percent—what do you think?" Ye Cheng lowered the rate again.

This interest is already very low; any lower would be the interest-free rate among blood relatives.

Duan Chunsheng excitedly jumped up from the stone hill, grabbed Ye Cheng's hand firmly, his eyes shining, his dark face showing a flush of excitement, "Lao Er, you've really helped me a lot; rest assured, once I have the money I'll immediately prepare to go out to sea, in a few months I'll be able to repay you, I will absolutely not default."

You know my skills; as soon as I go out to sea, I'll definitely have a haul, and in just three to five months I'll be able to repay you.

Ye Cheng's mouth twitched, he said with a grin, "Uncle, I know you can repay, I know you're diligent, but could you first let go of my hand?"

Duan Chunsheng's grip is a bit strong; it's about to crush Ye Cheng's hand.

Only then did Duan Chunsheng notice the pained expression on Ye Cheng's face; he hastily released his hand, gave Ye Cheng an awkward look, scratched his head, and quickly pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, saying, "Come on, Lao Er, have a smoke, have a smoke."

He did this for fear of hurting Ye Cheng; Ye Cheng regretted it.

Seeing Duan Chunsheng's nervous look, Ye Cheng patted his arm and comforted him, "Uncle, just having smoked, smoking again would feel awful; rest assured, I'll go get the money for you when I get back—but we need to agree that you'll give me an IOU, and you'll have to tell your sister-in-law, so I'm not taking advantage of your family; don't come knocking on my door to scold me again."