Chapter 443: Han Xiaotao Comes to the Door

Ye Cheng got a stick, pulled aside a bundle of water grass, and casually grabbed a small shrimp from it.

The shrimp had grown to four centimeters long, its two pincers waving vigorously, as if trying to protest.

Ye Cheng picked it up and examined it closely; the shrimp was plump, not hollow inside, good to eat, only its shell was a bit soft.

Ye Cheng nodded,

"Vitality's not bad, growth is fine; how long do you think until they can go into the big pond?"

"Brother, this shrimp is still molting; once its shell hardens, this size is ready to go into the adult shrimp pond."

"Good, you're raising them well, but you need to record everything so you'll know what to expect later, and keep up with the feed; I'll give you some more money."

Saying this, Ye Cheng pulled out another twenty thousand yuan,

"This money, when you use it you need to keep a ledger, like Aunt Zhang does—not to audit, but so I can calculate costs later; got it?"

The two nodded,

"Brother Cheng, don't worry; we're quite satisfied with this job—much better than what Feiyang does."

Mentioning He Feiyang, Ye Cheng also sighed, guessing that Aunt Qian wanted to find him something for He Feiyang to do.

This He Feiyang is a bit flighty; he needs something to temper him.

After chatting with the two for a while, Ye Cheng went back to sleep.

Just as he reached his doorstep, he saw someone loitering in the dim side of the streetlight.

"Who?" Ye Cheng called out softly.

The figure sprang out like a startled little white rabbit—it was Han Xiaotao.

She looked at Ye Cheng with a flustered, embarrassed expression, wringing the hem of her clothes,

"It's me, A Cheng, it's me."

"Little Madam Han, what do you want? You're standing in the shadows—I thought some pretty female ghost had come for me." Ye Cheng teased.

Ye Cheng's words made Han Xiaotao's face flush again; she said somewhat embarrassedly,

"I saw no one at your house, so I didn't dare go in."

"Come in; I live alone, and my place is rundown—nothing valuable."

Ye Cheng said, pushing open the courtyard gate and walking in.

Speaking of which, my house really is a bit run-down; the gate was fixed by my older brother last time, it was fine at first, but now it's started creaking again.

Maybe it's time to rebuild—get a seaside villa with floor‑to‑ceiling windows and all.

But if we were to build, this plot isn't suitable—it's too far in, the foundation's too small; we'd need a larger parcel from the village.

Thinking about other things, Ye Cheng suddenly forgot Han Xiaotao was still there and went straight into the room to lie down.

Han Xiaotao had followed him in, expecting to sit down and talk, but Ye Cheng went straight to bed.

She was dumbfounded—was this some kind of hint?

But she wasn't ready for that.

"Um… A Cheng, shall we talk outside?"

"Huh?" Ye Cheng snapped awake—damn, there's still someone here.

He sheepishly sat up,

"Sorry, I zoned out, I zoned out."

Han Xiaotao kept her head down, silent, thinking to herself, "Who knows if you're really zoning out or doing it on purpose."

"Sit down, want some cola?"

Ye Cheng opened the fridge, took out two bottles of happy water, opened them and gave one to Han Xiaotao.

"Thanks." Han Xiaotao took a sip, then set the cola on the table.

Ye Cheng, however, gulped it down hard, wanting to gulp it, wanting the feeling of bubbles fizzing all over his mouth, then he opened his mouth and let out a loud 'ah' as he sprayed it out, leaving him feeling refreshed.

"You have something for me?" Ye Cheng asked Han Xiaotao after finishing his cola.

Han Xiaotao looked at Ye Cheng with a flushed face, a bit afraid to speak.

"It's fine; just say what you need—we've worked together this long." Ye Cheng comforted her with a few words.

Only then did Han Xiaotao slightly lift her head, look at Ye Cheng, and begin to speak.

"Um… A Cheng, is your boat still going out to sea?"

Hearing her ask that, Ye Cheng realized she was probably looking for work.

"The big ship's under repair, the small one's out at sea, but the small boat—me and Xiao Hu are basically handling it, so we might not need extra hands for now." Ye Cheng spoke frankly.

Hearing Ye Cheng say that, Han Xiaotao's face fell a little; she lowered her head and stayed silent.

This made Ye Cheng a bit embarrassed, as if he'd been bullying her.

The atmosphere turned cold all of a sudden; unable to do anything else, Ye Cheng just kept talking.

"Right now it's like this; also, I mainly hire help because tying crabs is troublesome—if it's just pulling nets later, I might not need so many people; you get that, right?"

As Ye Cheng spoke, Han Xiaotao's head drooped lower and lower, almost to her chest.

Seeing this, Ye Cheng scratched his head, thinking it would be better to argue with himself or scold himself.

With her head down like that, not speaking, she's a woman—Ye Cheng also didn't feel comfortable raising his voice.

Besides, it's not Aunt Zhang—if it were Aunt Zhang, Ye Cheng would just speak up; everyone's used to her.

"Um… Little Madam Han…" Ye Cheng trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Han Xiaotao was now torn inside; Ye Cheng's many excuses surely meant that, when he'd lain on the bed earlier, she hadn't done as he wished.

Thinking back to when they went out to sea, Ye Cheng had clearly shown interest in her.

And now that she'd rejected him, he was deliberately making things difficult for her.

Han Xiaotao bit her lip, then suddenly stood up.

Ye Cheng still thought she was about to leave, so he stood up, intending to see her off.

Unexpectedly, Han Xiaotao lowered her head and walked over, straight into Ye Cheng's bedroom.

This...

Ye Cheng instantly felt a bit unsettled.

"Um, actually it's me." Ye Cheng said, following her inside.

As soon as they entered, Han Xiaotao flung herself into Ye Cheng's embrace, but she still didn't dare lift her head, just holding him motionless.

Damn it, Ye Cheng's body reacted instantly, frightened he didn't dare move, standing there, afraid of bumping into someone.

Seeing Ye Cheng not moving, Han Xiaotao had no choice but to move herself; after lightly stroking his back for a while, she squatted down.

Immediately after, Ye Cheng felt a chill on his legs, not knowing when his pants had disappeared.

Hiss—

This feeling is deadly.

Unable to continue like this, Ye Cheng hastily stepped back and pulled out.

Han Xiaotao looked at him, somewhat puzzled.

Ye Cheng also didn't know what to say, could only pull up his pants first, then said,

"You go back first; I'll think about it and see what job I can find for you."

Han Xiaotao stuck out her tongue and lightly licked her lips, then stood up and glanced at Ye Cheng.

"I didn't do it well?" Han Xiaotao asked.

"Good! It's just that I don't want to do this to you." Ye Cheng spoke frankly; it was still enjoyable.