Chapter 165

As for this beautiful sea snail, it also has a few more colloquial names, such as: coconut vortex snail, papaya snail.

What? Coconut snail? Pearls inside? Ye Cheng exclaimed in disbelief upon hearing 'coconut snail'; he had sold so many, it couldn't possibly have pearls, or he'd suffer a huge loss.

Cai Zong waved his hand, "People call it coconut vortex snail, not coconut snail, but it looks somewhat like coconut snail; its surface is relatively clean without spots, unlike coconut snail which has striped spots."

That's fine; if coconut snails had pearls, I'd always feel like I missed something.

Hearing Ye Cheng say that, Cai Zong laughed heartily, "You're overthinking; coconut vortex snails are usually found in Southeast Asia, we rarely see them here, and even if we did, they wouldn't have pearls."

After Cai Zong finished speaking, Lao Zhao raised his cup, "Ah, never mind what kind of snail, it's just for eating; come, let's down a drink, this toast is to our Cai Zong, Cai Zong is erudite."

The meal was fairly enjoyable; Cai Zong knew more about jewelry, Ye Cheng eagerly sought advice, plus Zhao Zhiming cracking jokes on the side, the three ate until 2 o'clock before dispersing.

17 pearl oysters were paid for and taken away by Cai Zong on the spot.

After seeing off Zhao Zhiming and Cai Zong, Ye Cheng rode his bike to the bank and withdrew 25,000.

Today's ten-thousand-worth of oyster pearls, I plan to give half to my older brother, leaving me with 30,000.

That's just enough to lend to Zhang Guafu.

After settling things, Ye Cheng rode his bike toward the village, having drunk a little and riding slowly; by the time he got back to the village, it was nearly 5 o'clock.

Upon entering the village, he saw several people by the roadside pointing and gossiping about him.

Damn!

No way, not again with some trouble; can't let big brother just go out to sea and earn money peacefully?

Back home, Ye Cheng went straight to Zhang Guafu's place, intending to give her the money first.

To get to Zhang Guafu's house, one must pass Li Quezi's shop; he casually went in, bought a pack of cigarettes, and also carried a box of milk.

The cigarettes were for himself to smoke; the milk was for Zhang Guafu's son Xiao Liang.

At such a young age, he needs heart surgery; he's a pitiful child.

Li Quezi looked at Ye Cheng with a playful smile, "You're going to Zhang Guafu's?"

"Ah, buying a box of milk for Xiao Liang," Ye Cheng replied, then felt something off and asked Li Quezi, "You knew too?"

Li Quezi leered, "Of course, everyone knows; Lao Er can do it."

"Well, I can't help it; helping a bit is better than nothing," Ye Cheng shook his head.

"Right, right, you really are helping," Li Quezi laughed.

"That guy laughs weirdly; Ye Cheng gave him a sideways glance—just helping someone, does it need to be so lewd?"

Carrying the milk, Ye Cheng walked to Zhang Guafu's house; she was already standing at the door, looking anxiously.

As soon as she saw Ye Cheng approaching, she hurried forward, looked at the milk, but didn't dare take it.

"Well, this is for Xiao Liang, to nourish him," Ye Cheng handed the milk to Zhang Guafu.

"Oh, I couldn't possibly accept that," Zhang Guafu took the milk but didn't move, merely gazing expectantly at Ye Cheng, the money still not given.

Ye Cheng pulled out an envelope from his pocket, "This is 30,000; count it, then write me an IOU."

Seeing the money, Zhang Guafu excitedly set the milk down, then hastily opened the envelope and began counting it at the door.

She counted it three full times; each time, her urgency lessened, and she grew more reassured.

"No problem, no problem—go upstairs to write the IOU, I'll wait outside," Ye Cheng interrupted her fourth count.

"Ah, no problem, no problem, I'll go write the IOU, Lao Er, come in and sit awhile," Zhang Guafu was still enthusiastic, but Ye Cheng felt a bit uneasy, afraid he couldn't explain clearly, so he insisted on waiting outside.

Seeing Ye Cheng's insistence, Zhang Guafu didn't press further and went back inside to write the IOU.

Ye Cheng stood at the door smoking; meanwhile, a few villagers passed by, he gave a distant greeting, but they covered their mouths and laughed as they walked away, not knowing if something was wrong with them.

After smoking about two cigarettes, Zhang Guafu came out holding an IOU.

Ye Cheng glanced at it; it clearly stated a loan of 30,000, but no interest was written.

Forget it; Ye Cheng also didn't intend to charge interest, mainly because Zhang Guafu lacked the ability.

Zhang Guafu stood aside, a bit embarrassed, "Um, Lao Er, aunt will repay you as soon as possible; as for interest, better just forget it."

"Fine, then hurry and take Xiao Liang for surgery; when you have money, repay me soon," Ye Cheng slipped the IOU into his pants pocket, "Well, I'm off then."

Seeing Ye Cheng truly not mention interest, Zhang Guafu happily thanked him repeatedly.

Leaving Zhang Guafu's, Ye Cheng went straight to his older brother's house.

Upon entering, he saw Jiang Yunxiang and Ye Guowei there, brows furrowed, speaking worriedly.

"What's up? Big brother, sister-in-law, what happened?" Ye Cheng asked curiously.

Seeing Ye Cheng, Ye Guowei gave him a rare glare and said in a low voice, "Come in!"

"Is this going to be a lecture for me?"

Ye Cheng felt a bit bewildered, followed Ye Guowei inside, while Jiang Yunxiang sighed and followed.

"'Dou Dou, go play in the yard first; Dad, Mom, and Second Uncle have some things to discuss.' After entering, Ye Guowei first sent Dou Dou out, leaving only the three of them."

"'Brother, what's going on? Why so serious? It feels like a triple hall interrogation.' Ye Cheng was a bit displeased; after all, he wasn't the original host, and if Ye Guowei really dared to scold him for no reason, he wouldn't put up with it."

Ye Guowei furrowed his brows, glanced at him, raised his hand as if to speak but couldn't find the words, finally letting out a heavy sigh,

"'You, sigh——'"

One long sigh left Ye Cheng feeling quickly shut down; he turned to his sister-in-law, "Sister-in-law, you speak—what exactly is the matter?"

Jiang Yunxiang's face flushed, she waved her hands repeatedly, "Better let your brother say it; your older brother's explanation would be more appropriate."

"Fine, then Ye Guowei will say it."

Ye Cheng turned his head toward Ye Guowei, "Big brother, just say what you have to say quickly; I'll be leaving soon."

Ye Guowei pressed his lips hard, his face turned ashen, then closed his eyes and forced out a sentence with all his strength,

"'Are you and Zhang Guafu involved together?'"

When saying the word "involved," Ye Guowei paused, hesitated over which word to use, and finally settled on that word.

"'Huh? Me?' Ye Cheng pointed at himself, 'Me and Aunt Zhang? What are you thinking?'"

Seeing Ye Guowei speak up, Jiang Yunxiang took over the conversation and said, "Someone saw Zhang Guafu coming out of your place last night with her clothes disheveled."

Fuck!

Indeed, I said Zhang Guafu behaving like that would easily cause trouble; surely someone saw her.