Chapter 397

By the time Ye Cheng got back to the village, it was almost noon; he just grabbed a bite to eat and then hurried to sleep.

Even though his body was young, Ye Cheng felt his heart racing a bit, his body sounding the alarm; he needed to sleep quickly.

Ye Cheng and the others had fallen asleep, but soon the news that Ye Cheng had bought a big ship and made over ten thousand in one night spread back to the village.

In the afternoon, those bored women had already started discussing things at the village entrance.

"Yunxiang, you say your Lao Er sold ten thousand or so of swimming crabs this morning—is that really true?" a few married women began to gather around Jiang Yunxiang and chat.

How would Jiang Yunxiang know? She hadn't gone out to sea either, and she hadn't seen Ye Cheng these past few days.

"How would I know? It's impossible—ten thousand or so would be several thousand pounds of swimming crabs; my A Cheng's boat couldn't even hold that much." Jiang Yunxiang explained.

"What do you mean it won't fit? Your Lao Er switched to a big boat—300,000!" a married woman said, her face full of envy.

"Huh? I—I don't know." Jiang Yunxiang looked bewildered.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Yunxiang, they've gotten all full of themselves and won't even tell you."

"Exactly, they used to have no money and relied on you all; now they have money, so of course they're striking out on their own."

That's how village people are: they eat at someone's house and then gossip about them.

Whoever rises, they drag down.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yunxiang instantly became displeased, stood up, pointed at everyone, and said sternly,

"What nonsense are you spouting? My A Cheng isn't anything like you say; the fish farm was also contracted by A Cheng—otherwise my Ye Guowei would still be hauling goods at the Matou. You're just sour grapes because you can't have the grapes."

"Tell you all, if anyone speaks ill of my A Cheng again, don't blame me for being rude from now on."

Jiang Yunxiang's tone was fierce; if this had been before, she'd probably have been shouted down already.

But now they dare not, because the Ye Family now has money and influence, and they can't afford to provoke them.

Moreover, most importantly, they also want a share of the profits.

Or it was Qian Shen who stepped in to smooth things over,

"All right, Yunxiang, everyone's just talking off the cuff—please sit down, sit down."

Only then did Jiang Yunxiang sit down, resentful; it's true that Ye Cheng has been busy lately, and it's also true that he's been coming home less often—this younger brother-in-law really ought to be called home for a meal, or else their feelings will fade.

It would be even better if we introduced him to a cousin from our maternal side, but looking at him, it seems he already has a few girls outside, which gives Jiang Yunxiang a headache.

"By the way, I also heard that yesterday Zhang Guafu went out to sea with your Lao Er and they split ten thousand." a married woman said, changing the subject.

"What?! How much?!" a crowd jumped in shock.

"Ten thousand."

"What does that even mean?"

They couldn't save ten thousand in a whole year.

"No way—just one night out at sea and they get ten thousand?"

"Could it be that they were paid to sleep with someone?"

Ten thousand dollars really is a lot, so they can't help but speculate wildly.

But then someone immediately objected.

"Tch! If ten thousand bucks were for sleeping with someone, I wouldn't even need him to move—I'd just pose however he told me to."

"Exactly, my husband probably would have already sent him off; forget ten thousand, I'd be willing to do it for two thousand."

"That A Hong from the neighboring village says she's working in the city, but she's actually doing that; she only makes over twenty thousand a year coming back, so making ten thousand in one night is like plating it in gold."

A bunch of married women—anyway, village folk normally speak bluntly, and now their words are even more fierce and wolfish.

Seeing how earnest she was, the crowd began to glance left and right, each harboring ulterior motives.

In the end, all eyes settled on Jiang Yunxiang, filled with anticipation.

"Yunxiang, could you ask your Lao Er if they need more hands to go out to sea tonight? I can do anything, I'm willing to do any work."

"I can too, I can work all night—after all, I can catch up on sleep during the day."

"Bring me along too—I'll work for less."

"Forget ten thousand—I'll do any job for just a thousand."

Several people felt embarrassed by what Jiang Yunxiang had said,

"What are you all talking nonsense about? My A Cheng goes out to sea to catch fish, yet you make it sound like he's doing something else."

"Aunt Qian, could you talk to Cheng Ge for me and see if I can get some work? I'm really struggling to get by at home." Suddenly, a timid voice sounded.

Jiang Yunxiang turned her head and saw it was Han Xiaotao, who is a daughter-in-law of the Chen Family; her husband died early, so she's also a widow, now just over thirty, with a four-year-old child, and has no source of income.

She's pitiful, but she's from the Chen Family, and Jiang Yunxiang holds a grudge, so she said coolly,

"Xiaotao sis, it's not that I won't help you—you've seen how the Chen Family treats us, and besides, the Chen Family has plenty of people; they're even digging ponds to raise crayfish, yet no one looks after you widows and orphans."

"Xiao Tao Meizi, it's not that I don't want to help you, you Chen Family have seen how we treat you, besides, you Chen Family aren't lacking people, you're still digging ponds to raise crayfish, so no one looks after you widows and orphans?"

"Aunt Qian, you know I'm just a lone widow and orphan; with so many people in the Chen Family, they won't look after us. Besides, even if they're raising crayfish, I get nothing from it. Now my child is growing, and we haven't had meat in a week."

Han Xiaotao kept saying this and then burst into tears, making several of the married women feel a bit embarrassed to outdo her.

Jiang Yunxiang is basically a soft-hearted person; hearing that they hadn't eaten meat in a week, and thinking of her own child,

Then she thought of her own home—Ye Guowei now finds meat a bit greasy and keeps complaining he wants something light.

"Um, Xiaotao sis, if you're having such a hard time, why don't you tell Chen Jinhai?" Jiang Yunxiang's voice softened.

"Sister, I already told him, but he said we're not starving, and just being fed is already good enough." Han Xiaotao cried, tears streaming like pear blossoms in rain.

"Pah! Acting like being fed is enough—what do you think this is, an old society landlord's hired hand? Chen Jinhai, you old bastard!" Qian Shen led the cursing.

She and Jiang Yunxiang are close, basically they don't associate with the Chen Family, so swearing is fine, but the other married women wouldn't dare to swear like that—each kept silent.

"Yunxiang, help little Han—let him work a few days on A Cheng's boat, at least so the child can eat some meat." Qian Shen continued.

"Yun Xiang, help Xiao Han, let him work a few days on A Cheng's Boat, at least let the child eat some meat." Qian Shen continued speaking.

Jiang Yunxiang sighed,

「Okay, in a bit I'll go to A Cheng's place; I guess he's still sleeping now, and when he wakes up I'll talk to him. 」

Upon hearing Jiang Yunxiang agree to help, Han Xiaotao immediately switched from crying to laughing, tears still on her face as she began to thank,

「Thank you, sister, thank you, sister, I will definitely remember your kindness when I make money. 」

「Don't go on about this kindness or not; when you make money, give the child something good to eat—you must not let the child go hungry. 」

「I know, sister, I might go hungry myself, but I would never let the child go hungry. 」