Chapter 1058: Splitting the Squid Money (10,000 Words, +25 Monthly Votes)

After finishing the noon Peace Meal, the celebration of Goddess Mazu's birthday was finally over.

In the afternoon, Ye Yaodong took advantage of the free time to ride his motorcycle to the county town to check on the repair progress of the big boat.

The fishing season was nearly over; the catch had clearly decreased in the past two days. It was no longer profitable to run the small boat for just a few dozen yuan a day, so it was time to bring the big boat back for the open sea.

However, as soon as he mounted the motorcycle and stepped out the door, the dogs running around immediately sprinted after him and jumped into the sidecar.

One, two, three—three dogs jumped in; the ones behind didn't react in time, and the motorcycle had already sped off, leaving them behind.

Ye Yaodong saw the three extra dogs in the sidecar in the rearview mirror and couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth, but he didn't stop, fearing that if he halted, even more would suddenly pile on, making it impossible to squeeze them all in.

If these three wanted to follow, let them follow; let them be the coolest dogs for once.

When they reached the shipyard entrance and he stopped the bike, the basket of squid jerky he had placed in the sidecar, which had been piled high, was now scattered and disheveled from the squeezing.

"You've scattered my things; what do you say we do about it?"

The dogs lowered their heads to sniff, then jumped out of the sidecar one by one; Da Da Heizi took the lead, biting the scattered squid jerky in the sidecar and placing it back into the basket.

The other two dogs also hurriedly stretched out their heads to grab the scattered squid jerky, putting each piece back into the basket.

Seeing them moving slowly and covered in drool, Ye Yaodong quickly tapped each of their heads one, two, three times.

"Enough, you don't need to do it; I'll pick them up myself. I'm going to the seaside to check on the fishing boats; when I go inside the shipyard, you stay here and watch these things, understand? I'll be back in a moment."

"Wang Wang~"

The dogs obediently responded, then sat squatting by the motorcycle and waited.

Ye Yaodong walked to the beach first to take a look; the big boat was exactly as it had been, with no progress whatsoever.

It was as if it had been left there untouched for the past ten days.

They wouldn't even work without being urged?

His brows furrowed, and only then did he step inside to confront them.

"Huh? Didn't you say this boat wasn't urgent?"

"I told you to repair those two boats first and put this one aside for now since it wasn't urgent, but you still had to work on it! You can't just leave it there! If I don't urge you, you don't repair it; if I don't come, you plan to leave it there for a year or two, is that it?"

"That's not the case; I was thinking of catching up on the progress delayed by repairing the fishing boats these past few days! Didn't you say it wasn't urgent? Isn't it the squid fishing season recently? I was thinking of taking two days off after the fishing season ends; isn't that about right?"

"It's all your thinking, your thinking! Do you think just thinking will get the fishing boat repaired? Hurry up; I'm going to sea in a couple of days; you must get my boat repaired."

"Okay, okay, okay, I know, I know; I know you're anxious and will arrange it."

After saying this, the man turned to get back to work, but Ye Yaodong grabbed him again. "Then when will you repair it for me?"

"Right away, right away, I'll arrange it."

"Right away, arrange it—when exactly will it be repaired? Don't fool me."

"Arrange it right away, how about tomorrow? The current work can't be delayed; the masters have already done half of today's tasks. If we call them away to do something else in the middle, they'll have complaints. How about tomorrow? Tomorrow there's a shift change; as soon as they arrive, they'll repair it first, then schedule the rest of the work. Is that okay?"

"Then how long will this repair take?"

"Three days, ah no, two days! It will definitely be finished in two days, and you can drive it back on the third day."

Ye Yaodong frowned, glared, and immediately spoke up.

"That's more like it."

"Then can I get back to work?"

"Go ahead."

After receiving a satisfactory reply, he let go and walked out.

He planned to swing by Director Chen's place again and, while at it, deliver the freshly dried squid jerky. When he left, he had specially packed a large basket full, weighing about twenty or thirty jin; since dried goods don't take up much weight, it should be enough for the couple to eat until the New Year.

There was also a small half of an iron bucket of pickled squid eggs; steamed and served with rice, they were absolutely delicious. There were no fresh ones left; he hadn't set any aside the night before, so all of them had been killed and dried.

When he arrived, they hadn't finished work yet, but he was invited into the office for tea.

After sitting for a while, he learned that more than half of the group sent over half a month ago were to be executed by firing squad; those not executed were sentenced to life imprisonment, with the least being a minimum of thirty years. They confessed while being beaten and betrayed each other; they were all habitual criminals.

He heard that there were still accomplices at large; ten days ago, they had mobilized to cooperate with the provincial public security bureau in the province to arrest them, handing them over to the provincial authorities for disposition. With so many people involved, this counted as a significant achievement.

"Then... what about the fish canning incident from two months ago? Is there any progress on that?"

"No, that is still in the confidentiality stage; it's not that simple; there is no news or movement yet."

"Oh, it seems like a pretty big deal then; otherwise, two months have passed, and there's still no news."

"I don't know about that; who knows how the higher-ups are investigating? It might involve provinces that are quite far away and involve many parties, so it's not that easy."

"Oh, oh, since it involves so many parties, if the mysteries inside are truly solved, wouldn't that be a major achievement for you too?"

"Hehe, I don't know about that; it's hard to say; we have to follow the arrangements."

"Then the people from the cargo ship were detained, which is one thing, but have the people from the fresh catch collection boat been released?"

"No, because they assaulted police officers; this matter can be big or small depending on how the city decides to arrange and handle it; how long they are detained is up to them."

"Oh."

"Why do I feel like you care so much about this matter?"

Ye Yaodong's heart tightened, and his expression became unnatural; he forced another awkward smile. "Isn't it because I saw it with my own eyes, so I care a bit more? Besides, I'm also a bit worried about that fresh catch collection boat; since it's been detained, can it be confiscated directly? Can I buy it? Haha... hehe... you've seen right through my little schemes."

Director Chen also laughed. "I guessed you were definitely eyeing that fresh catch collection boat, but I can't get it for you. I asked, and it's still detained; those people are probably waiting for their families to redeem them, and the boat is also waiting to be redeemed. I'm not very familiar with the superiors."

"Oh, okay, okay, okay, then it's fine; I certainly can't put you in a difficult position."

"I think you have enough boats already, right? Several boats of various sizes; can you handle operating so many?"

"I can rent them out; I've already rented out the few trawlers near the coast to others for rent, which works quite well. These past few days, since the big boat broke down and is in the factory for repairs, I've been using the small boat to catch squid."

"That's not bad; the dried ones must be very expensive now."

"I thought your fresh ones would definitely sell well too, so I didn't bring the fresh ones; I just brought the dried ones, and also the pickled squid eggs. My mother's cooking skills are quite good, and the flavor is authentic; steaming them with two eggs is great, and even just steaming them plain goes well with rice."

"Okay, okay, okay, you really thought of that; I'll cook and taste them tonight."

"If there's nothing else, I'll leave first; I can't disturb your work. I was at the shipyard today and just stopped by on the way."

"Alright."

After Ye Yaodong was personally sent off, he only turned toward the back gate to get on his motorcycle and head home.

He was afraid of brazenly parking at the door where people from nearby units might see, which would cause unnecessary trouble. When he came over, he either had his dad watch and park it in the alley, or he parked it somewhere inconspicuous himself.

Anyway, at this moment there were also three dogs helping keep watch here.

Going back at this time wasn't very late either, just past 4 o'clock, the sun hadn't set yet, so heading back he'd just make it in time for dinner.

The county town was shabby and rundown, just one street, and he didn't see anything worth browsing. He was also in a hurry to get home for dinner.

Although he rode the motorcycle from time to time, and the villagers had seen it many times, every single time everyone could see it from one end of the village to the other, and they were extremely envious.

His posture riding the motorcycle was exceptionally dashing — not even counting his face, just his bike alone could charm everyone in the village: from eighty-year-old grannies at the top, to two-year-old kids at the bottom, with a whole crowd of men and boys, women and Misses in between.

Hearing the sound from afar, before they even saw the bike, everyone got excited — especially the boys, who shrieked and chased after him from behind, thrilled.

The dogs too stood tall with their chests out into the wind, holding their heads high, looking so smug you could feel it just watching them.

They chased all the way to his front door, only to be stopped by the barking of his family's dogs. They could only watch helplessly as two more dogs jumped into the sidecar. Ye Yaodong didn't bother with these dogs — it was routine anyway — and just pushed the motorcycle straight into the yard.

"Chenghu, Yangyang, your dad's motorcycle is so cool!"

"Of course, we ride it every day."

"Bragging — we've never even seen it…"

"It's my family's motorcycle, how could I not have ridden it? I'm going to ride it right now to show you. You just stand at the door and watch, don't leave…"

Ye Chenghu rushed home in high spirits. Seeing his dad holding a nylon bag about to cover the motorcycle, he quickly stopped him, then went to paw at the dogs in the sidecar.

Only three had followed him out, but by the time they got back to the front door, two more had already squeezed in inside, and another two couldn't squeeze in, so they followed along the side barking wildly.

"Get down… all of you, get down for me…"

"Woof woof woof woof woof…"

"This is my spot, all of you get down for me…"

"Did you hear me? Hurry up…"

He desperately hugged the dog's head, trying to drag the dogs down, but those dogs clung on tight, not budging an inch for the longest time, even twisting their heads trying to slip out of his grip, barking nonstop.

"All of you get down, you stinky dogs, you laze around in there every day — get down…"

Unable to budge them by hugging their heads, he went for their legs, grabbing both front paws and tugging. The dog had no choice but to let him drag one out.

But before Ye Chenghu could do anything, one of the two substitute dogs on the side immediately squeezed in, while the other failed to get in, fell to the ground, then scrambled back up at top speed, barking nonstop.

Ye Chenghu was furious. He'd barely managed to drag one out, only to end up making a wedding dress for another dog.

"You stinky dog, who told you to get up there? Get down, get down…"

He was so angry he shrieked nonstop, smacked the little yellow dog that had seized the opportunity a few times on the head, and only after tugging until he was out of strength did he plop down on the ground, panting.

Ye Yaodong watched his performance with distaste for quite a while, then finally took the nylon bag and covered the motorcycle.

"Don't cover it, Dad, I haven't sat on it yet."

"Even if you waited till tomorrow, you still wouldn't get to sit on it."

"Carry me up."

"Too late. I was standing right here watching for a long time, and you never thought to ask me to carry you up — you were over there tugging with the dogs. Where's your brain? I'm not helping you, so dumb."

"Hehe, Chenghu, so your family's motorcycle is actually for the dogs to ride — you don't even get a turn…"

"These stinky dogs, next time I'm never playing with them again. Anyway, of course I've ridden my family's motorcycle — you guys definitely haven't."

Ye Chenghu had no way to deal with Ye Yaodong, and no way to deal with these dogs either, so he could only let out a tsundere snort, then drop one line and run into the house himself.

Anyway, they were definitely jealous his family had a motorcycle — the whole village only had one, and it was theirs. Hmph~

Ye Yaodong had already gone inside ahead of him to wash his hands and face.

Lin Lin Xiuqing had almost finished making dinner, just waiting for him to come back to eat. The moment Ye Chenghu stepped through the door, he was sent off again to call Ye's father and mother.

He was also very happy to run errands — the moment he was called, he immediately ran outside cheerfully.

"How's the boat repair going? When can it be brought back?"

"Don't even mention it. That old guy heard I wasn't in a rush and just left it there — hadn't touched it in half a month. I went over and gave him a scolding before he agreed. He'll finish repairing it in the next couple of days."

"How is he still like that? Back then we weren't in a rush because it was still Fishing season, we wanted to finish repairing those two boats first. It's been so long, it should've been repaired long ago."

"Mm, luckily these two days don't matter either. Let's just wait — perfect for resting at home for a couple of days."

"Not catching squid anymore? There's still some left now."

"We are. Even a mosquito's leg is still meat. We'll go again tomorrow, and head back early then. Also, Fishing season is almost over. Big Brother and Second Brother have been collecting cargo for nearly ten days now. Tonight, take out the bills and do the math — there's been quite a lot of money recently, it's the big share, so settle it with them directly. Saves dragging it out another two days, and the two sisters-in-law will start hinting and asking about it again. After all, Ah Cai's place can settle every few days."

"Alright, okay. I'll take out the bills in a bit, do the math myself first, then get them to come over and settle up. While I'm at it, I'll just split the squid earnings for this month directly based on current income. The accounts for the second half of the month — the trawl net stuff at home — we'll settle with them at the end of the month."

Lin Lin Xiuqing also understood that going so long without settling would definitely breed little schemes. You could owe others, but you couldn't let others owe you — she understood that psychology too.

She wasn't in a rush to settle the trawl net payments, so she settled the squid payments to them first.

Her family only collected the squid from the fishing boats, they hadn't taken in the other cargo. As usual, she let them sell it directly at the dock, so she only needed to settle the squid accounts first, and while she was at it, settle the sisters-in-law's wages along with the wages for the four kids they brought along, calculated by the day.

As for the hired boatmen and fuel expenses, of course those would be settled at the end of the month, when calculating the whole month's trawl net cargo accounts.

"The wages for the three boys and Ye Xiuxiu also have to be calculated and given to the two sisters-in-law."

"I know. There'll probably be a fuss again in a bit. They've all been working hard lately, tanned blacker than charcoal. If we don't give them a little something to buy snacks, that'd really be too unfair."

"Mm, we'll see in a bit. If there's nothing to split, just give each of them two more yuan from you — count it as extra wages for a day and a half."

"Alright."

Two per family was just eight yuan more. Lin Lin Xiuqing also felt the kids had been working hard, really putting in effort, and were pretty pitiful — they had to give them some encouragement, couldn't let their enthusiasm be dampened.

Ye Ye Dasao and Ye Ye Ersao had been waiting there long ago. If they hadn't been so busy lately they couldn't keep their feet on the ground, going out early and coming back late, dragging their exhausted bodies every day, coming back to eat a meal, take a shower, and sleep — they simply hadn't had the mind to think about settling accounts.

At most, before bed, they'd mutter a few words about when the squid payment would come — surely not waiting until the end of the month?

It was only today, after a day of rest, that their minds started stirring, and they spent the whole day thinking about it.

Lin Lin Xiuqing calling them to settle accounts after dinner hit exactly the right note — they hit it off immediately. They had originally been wondering whether to come over after dinner to give a reminder.

With money to split, everyone came over overjoyed.

Even the children from both families came running over eagerly, all wanting to listen and see how much money they could get.

Whether there was a share for them at all!!!

Both families stayed together to fish, and the difference in earnings wasn't much—accumulated, it was only a few dozen yuan apart, but everyone split it together anyway.

The two families hauled nets and caught squid at the same time, and the returns were quite good. Normally a small boat could catch five or six hundred jin a day; six or seven hundred jin was considered a bumper catch. During the peak of fishing season, they could catch over a thousand jin, but prices were low then, averaging just over two mao over a few days, dropping as low as two mao at the lowest.

After the peak of fishing season passed, the daily catch dwindled day by day, and now near the end it was only three or four hundred jin a day.

Lin Lin Xiuqing settled each invoice according to that day's purchase price. The purchase price naturally referenced the price at the dock from Ah Cai and the others, and the weighing was also done at his place.

From the 26th of last month to before the 3rd, because prices were high, they sold everything to the dock—they didn't want any. Once the price dropped to just over two mao, their workshop started buying.

So the real accounts for receiving goods were from the 4th to the 12th, but the two sisters-in-law each took two children out to sea to work starting from the 1st, so their wages had to be counted from the 1st.

During the period they were receiving goods, just from catching squid, the daily amount ranged from over 200 jin to just a few dozen—the low ones were from the most recent three days, after all, it was nearly the end.

Daily catches dropped sharply from over 100 jin to sixty or seventy, fifty or sixty, but the first few days had very high numbers, and the accumulated earnings were truly not small.

There were also two overcast and rainy days in between, but it was just light drizzle that passed quickly. However, it did affect the squid spawning. Fortunately, there hadn't been any heavy rain this whole fishing season, so it hadn't caused much delay.

"Big Brother, the total price of squid received over these 9 days is 1,336 yuan, 6 mao, and 7 fen."

"Ye Erge's 9 invoices, total squid price is 1,402 yuan, 1 mao, and 5 fen. You do the math—I've recorded the total price of each invoice on it. You verify and see if it's correct."

She added: "We only took squid from the 4th to the 12th, all priced according to that day's dock transaction price, and the invoices were also opened with help from Ah Cai's side. The payment for goods from the 26th to the 3rd will be settled together at the end of the month, including the net-hauling invoices during this period, which will also be settled together at month's end. Those invoices for the net-hauled fish goods are with you."

"Got it, so just settle the squid payment to me first, and we'll do the final accounts at month's end."

"No, it's that we first split the payment for goods during this period in half, then settle the wages for you taking the children out to sea these few days all at once, so we don't have to settle your wages for these days at month's end."

"As for the fuel costs and the wages for the extra boat hand each of you hired separately on your boats, we'll settle that at month's end, same as always."

"What's special this month is that the squid from the 4th to the 12th was taken by us, and during this period we also have the wages for your 6 people added in, so let's settle this extra portion first. The other invoices in your hands will be settled together at month's end."

The two sisters-in-law thought it over and understood—it turned out they weren't settling the full payment for the squid taken from them, but directly splitting it in half first and settling once.

Ye Ye Dasao thought it over and figured it was fine, to get this portion split early.

"Then... then this works too. First settle the invoices in your hands, and at month's end we'll settle the invoices in our hands, along with fuel costs and boat hand wages."

"Right, that's what I mean. And the wages for you mothers and children are just for these few days, so we'll settle them together too."

"We're planning to go at night too, preparing to go for another two or three days."

"That's fine, then it works out perfectly to count it up to the 15th, getting half a month's wages."

Both sisters-in-law beamed with joy. Three people in one family, and they could squeeze in another three days—the wages weren't small.

"Then let's calculate and see if it's right. If it is, we'll settle it this way first."

While the adults were calculating, the children nearby all pricked up their ears. Knowing that each of them who went out to sea had half a month's wages, they all grinned from ear to ear, full of anticipation as they waited.

Just waiting for the adults to finish calculating and take the money, to see if they could think of their hard work.

The two sisters-in-law took turns pressing the calculator, first verifying the payment for each invoice, then adding them up. Once the results matched, they happily agreed.

Lin Lin Xiuqing took the calculator and continued pressing as she spoke: "Big Brother's side is 1,336.67, Ye Erge's side is 1,402.15, totaling 2,738.82. The wages for 6 people are all calculated at 3 yuan per day for temporary workers. For the children, we count them as one strong laborer each—after all, we're all family, no need to be too particular. Total wages are 270. Subtract that, and the remainder is 2,468.82. Split into three portions, each person gets exactly 822.94."

After finishing, she held up the calculator for them to take a look.

"Right, right, no problem..."

Both nodded repeatedly.

As long as they felt there was no problem, then the accounts were fine. Anyway, Big Brother and Ye Erge only ever listened from the side when calculating—as long as the two sisters-in-law felt it was fine, that was enough.

"Good, this number plus the wages, no problem. Then I'll go get the money for you."

"Good, good, good."

Both responded with beaming smiles, waiting at the side, and casually chatted with their own men.

"The harvest was pretty good. Luckily there wasn't any rain for this half month or more. Even when a few drops fell, they passed quickly. This year was really a bumper harvest."

"Yeah, last year one heavy rainstorm lasted over a week, and we earned less than half—lost a fortune."

"If we had this kind of weather every year, you'd never have to worry about not making money..."

"Don't get your hopes up. We all have to make a living at the mercy of the weather. Good weather means food on the table; bad weather, and the whole fishing season could be ruined."

"Jinx! Luckily Monday is almost over, even if it rains it doesn't matter now."

"You're the jinx here."

"Hehehe~"

Everyone cheered up. Anyway, it was nearly the end, so whether it rained or not didn't cost them much—they had already earned their money.

"Dad, we all have half a month's wages, so that should be 45 yuan. Aren't you going to share a little with us?"

Ye Ye Chenghai had learned to be smart this year. He scooted up to his dad to speak, not waiting for his mom to say anything. His mom was stingy and tightfisted—ask her and you'd get nothing and probably a beating. His dad was much easier to talk to.

Asking his dad still held hope; asking his mom, hope was slim.

Ye Ye Chengjiang also immediately scooted up to Ye Ye Yaohua to chime in, "Dad, we've been working really hard this half month. We got up at night and followed you adults until afternoon. Look, we're tanned like charcoal. Look at little sister—she's still a girl—look how tanned she is, just like us."

He was clever too, knowing to pull out the only girl to mention, to awaken the old father's sympathy.

Not waiting for the two fathers to speak, the two mothers spoke up.

"Money, money, money! Ask you to do a little thing and all you think about is money all day—have you fallen into a money pit? Spoiled rotten, doing a tiny bit of work and already wanting to split money. What use is it for little hands like yours to hold so much money?"

"Whose kids are like you, thinking about money all day? Go out and ask around—which family's children get paid by their parents for helping out at home?"

Ye Ye Chenghai immediately stuck out his neck, his eyes wider than his mother's, "The key is this isn't you paying me—this is the public's money paying us. You took it from us and won't give us a single cent—does that make sense?"

Last year he was small, his words carried no weight, and he could only be bullied and cry in grievance. This year he'd grown up, grown taller, and had three allies, so he spoke with much more righteous confidence.

"Is that the attitude you have when talking to your mother? What do you mean 'does that make sense'? Are you being reasonable yourself?"

Ye Ye Chenghai didn't look at his mother, but turned to look at his father, "Dad, just tell us—are you going to share a little hardship pay with us or not? We worked so hard, didn't slack off. You can't be planning to have Third Uncle subsidize us on top of that, right?"

The old lady couldn't sit still either and helped speak up, "Exactly, Dongzi is still an uncle, not their biological father. You can't have him subsidizing and soothing your children all the time, can you?"

"These children have been working really hard lately, going out at night just like you adults, staying out until afternoon before coming back. You adults know it's hard work, but the children are even harder off than you—they're still growing! If you don't give them a little money to buy something sweet to eat, how hurt must they feel inside?"

"You know working means getting paid—do you think they're fools? You should give them something, can't let the children's hearts grow cold. You have to reward them a little."

Ye Ye Dasao and Ye Ye Ersao exchanged a glance and immediately had nothing to say. If it were just one child, they could still suppress it, but now there were four children, and on top of that, the adults were all backing them up.

Ye Ye Xiuxiu also tugged at Ye Ye Yaohua's hand and whispered, "Dad, look at what I dried. Aren't you going to reward me by buying candy to eat, buying soda to drink? I've been working so hard, I never get enough sleep every day, and on the island I still have to go hungry. Dad, at night you still need me to..."

The two old fathers had already softened the moment their children started talking. They as adults found it hard, let alone the children. Giving them no comfort at all would truly be unreasonable.

"I'll give it, I'll give it all. Once your third aunt brings the money over later, I'll give each of you five yuan." As Ye Ye Yaohua spoke, he also patted Ye Ye Xiuxiu's head.

Five yuan!

Ye Ye Ersao turned her head and looked at Ye Ye Yaohua in surprise. "Isn't that too much?"

Although she had already softened and compromised a little in her heart, she figured at most she'd give one yuan. That was already a lot—where would they need five!

"Just give five. They've already earned you half a month's wages. What's wrong with giving them a day and a half's wages? They definitely won't spend it all, right?"

"Right, right!"

"Right, right, right! We'll definitely save it up and absolutely won't spend it recklessly."

Ye Ye Xiuxiu and Ye Ye Chengjiang immediately smiled so wide their eyes narrowed. It far exceeded their expectations—they'd figured at most they'd get two yuan to be brushed off.

Ye Ye Chenghai and Ye Chenghe also immediately widened their eyes and quickly turned to look at Ye Ye Yaopeng.

Ye Ye Dasao also spoke up, "Five yuan is too much, isn't it? If they go buy a bunch of useless little figurines, what'll we do when Zhuzhu comes back?"

Ye Chenghe quietly asked Ye Ye Chenghai, "Bro, can I talk now?"

"Shut up."

After Ye Ye Chenghai glared at Chenghe, he turned to look at his dad. "We definitely won't buy recklessly. Where would I need to buy Zhuzhu or figurines? I've always won them from other people. Even Chenghe's were deducted from mine—he doesn't need to buy either."

"Second Uncle already agreed to give Ajiang and Ye Xiuxiu five yuan. Dad, you wouldn't be that stingy, would you?"

"I'll give, I'll give. You two are the same—one person five yuan, save it up, don't spend it recklessly. Otherwise if you spend it recklessly, your mother confiscates your money and I can't do anything about it."

The two brothers were instantly delighted too—they had theirs as well.

As long as their dad said it out loud, then even if their mother wasn't happy she'd definitely give it. Besides, at Third Uncle's house everyone heard, and Great-Grandma heard too—so many witnesses.

Lin Lin Xiuqing had heard too. When she came out with the counted money and handed it to the two sisters-in-law, those children stared at their respective mothers counting the money like tigers eyeing prey. Once the counting was done, each one held out their palm asking for money.

"I must have owed you in my past life. I feed you, clothe you, and still have to pay you to work."

"Of course, we're labor too."

"Talk back one more time and you won't get a single cent."

Ye Ye Chenghai immediately shut his mouth, and Ye Chenghe kept covering his mouth too.

Only after receiving the money did Ye Chenghe ask with a beaming smile, "Bro, can I talk now?"

"Go ahead, go ahead."

"That's great, so much money. I'm going to save it up."

Ye Ye Dasao also glared at her two little debt-collectors. "Save it all up for me. If I catch you spending it, you'll both get a beating and the money will be confiscated."

"Got it, got it."

Money in hand, of course anything sounded good.

The other two girls, Ye Ye Jingjing and Ye Ye Tingting, who hadn't been taken out to sea and hadn't gotten any money, could only watch enviously from the side.

Ye Yaodong hadn't said a word the whole time, just leaning against the wall watching the two families' little drama. After they successfully got the money, he laughed too.

Seeing the other two little nieces had no share, watching enviously, he said to Lin Lin Xiuqing, "Give those two little ones one yuan each too. Save them from watching while all the older brothers and sisters have some and only they two don't, able only to stare longingly."

"Dad, we don't have any either!"

"Yeah, Dad, we don't have any either. Everyone else has some—shouldn't we have some too?"

Ye Ye Chengyang and Ye Chenghu immediately perked up and hurried over to their dad to make their presence felt. Originally they'd thought it had nothing to do with them; the two had even squatted in a corner playing with marbles.

"I'll give, I'll give. You four who didn't go out to sea also get one yuan each."

"Yay~"

"That's great!"

The two brothers immediately ran to Lin Lin Xiuqing again. The two little girls had originally been a little hesitant, unsure, but seeing them step forward, they eagerly gathered around Lin Lin Xiuqing too.

A'dong had spoken up, so she couldn't refuse either—so many people were watching.

She thought about it. Originally she'd planned that if the children couldn't get money, she'd secretly give each two yuan to comfort them. Now giving her own children and the other two was no different, and it saved money.

But if outsiders were given, there was no reason not to give her own children. She helplessly patted her pocket again—she didn't have four yuan on her either, only a few notes of a few mao and a few fen.

"Wait here for me, I'll go get it for you."

"Okay, Third Aunt."

Everyone got a share, no one was left out. The children were happy, the atmosphere was good, all of them chattering and beaming—it was a pleasure to watch.

Ye Yaodong smiled at Ye Chenghe. "Why wouldn't Brother Brother Ahai let you talk just now?"

"My brother said my stinky mouth would ruin things and told me to shut up. If I dared make a sound and we couldn't get money tonight, he'd beat me to vent his anger."

"Good brothers~"

"Hehe, yeah, my big brother is pretty good sometimes."

Ye Chenghe was overjoyed, counting the money in his hand over and over. It was only five one-yuan notes, but he counted them as if there were fifty.

Ye Yaodong, however, was covered in black lines and shook his head speechlessly. This kid was a lost cause. In this life he'd probably be completely wrapped around his brother's or his future wife's finger—sold off and still helping count the money.

Ye Ye Dasao and Ye Ye Ersao watched their happy, smug looks and kept nagging them not to spend the money recklessly, to save it up.

Lin Lin Xiuqing went in briefly and came right back out with four yuan. There was no need to count carefully—she quickly gave each of them one note.

"Save it up, don't spend it recklessly, or the next thing you know your mother confiscates it and you'll have nowhere to cry."

The old lady also smiled at their cheerful faces one by one. "This is from your Third Aunt, not from your mother. Keep it safe, don't let it be confiscated. What should be saved, save it up. What should be spent on treats, go buy some treats. You've worked hard these past days—reward yourselves a little. You still have to go out to sea tonight, eat something sweet and go to bed early."

"Okay~"

They immediately ran outside happily.

Ye Ye Xiaoxi tried to follow with her little short legs, but was left behind and couldn't catch up no matter what. Furious, she threw her head back and wailed in the yard. Lin Lin Xiuqing hurried out, carried her inside, and coaxed her, saying she'd take her later, which finally calmed her down.

The other brothers and sisters-in-law, seeing the accounts were already settled and the children had all run off, also headed back to their own homes.

After everyone left, Lin Lin Xiuqing also put away the invoice and the calculator.

"Today's takings are over 800, by month's end we should still get several hundred more, plus the other two boats' shares, and our own family's — this month is a bumper harvest too."

"Should we also pull out Big Cousin's and Brother Brother Asheng's accounts and settle them first?"

"No need. Whether it's the goods they sold from the trawl nets or the cuttlefish they sold to us, aren't all the invoices in our hands? It won't get muddled — they all have to be paid by us anyway. Besides, they're not like Ye Ye Dasao and Ye Ye Ersao, nagging away and getting on people's nerves."

"That's true. They've always settled at the end of the month anyway. Fishing season doesn't really mean much to them — at most they'll just get a bigger payout at month's end."

"Right, the two sisters-in-law are different. In the past, the invoices were always in their hands, the money went into their pockets first, and only at month's end would they split it with us. Now this batch of cuttlefish money was collected right here in our hands, so of course they won't be happy. They'll definitely be thinking about settling the accounts early and getting the money back. So let's settle theirs early, save the talk."

"Mm."

The old lady also muttered from the side, "Your two sisters-in-law are just stingy. Every day money comes in but nothing goes out, they guard the cash in their hands like it was their eyeballs, can't even spare a bit for their own kids. Every day they need you to subsidize them, as if you gave birth to them. Just wait till they're old and the kids don't show them any filial piety — then they'll have nowhere to cry."

"It's fine. When I'm old, they can all come be filial to me — I won't mind having too many."

"They definitely will. You dote on them so much — every day buying this to eat, buying that to eat, taking them out to play, and giving them pocket money every now and then."

"They'll definitely be filial to you too. You, their great-grandmother, speak up for them every day, fight for them to get money, and every day grab a handful of candy, a handful of peanuts and sunflower seeds for them to eat."

The old lady's weathered face broke into a smile. "Good, good, good. If I can live a few more years, I'll still get to drink my great-granddaughter-in-law's tea, and get to hold my great-great-grandchild — five generations under one roof. I'd laugh myself awake from the dream."

"Then I guess Ye Chenghe will have to put in some effort, get married and have kids sooner."

"Hahahaha… don't you go teaching the child bad things. He's still young, how could he marry so early? Wait a few years and let Brother Brother Ahai get married first."

"I think Brother Brother Ahai's a lost cause — Ye Chenghe will probably be faster. Brother Brother Ahai's still rolling marbles on the ground all day, but Ye Chenghe already knows how to coax the girls in his class, following behind them every day."

"Still, he can't be a little hooligan. It has to be in a few years, when he's a bit older. It's not like when we were young and could marry at sixteen or seventeen, eighteen. Nowadays people say you have to be 20 before you can go get the certificate and stamp."

"Oh, in the countryside who's that fussy? If they take a liking to each other and both sets of parents agree, at seventeen or eighteen just hold a banquet first, and when they're old enough go get the certificate later — it's all the same."

"Heh, he's still young now, we'll have to wait a bit."

"Then a little later, get Brother Brother Ahai to put in some effort, get him to wise up sooner — should be able to let you hold your great-great-grandchild a bit faster."

The old lady tapped his stool leg with her cane. "Nonsense. Don't you go leading the children astray — they're all still young."

"I know, I know, I was just saying it, teasing you."

"Go on and take the child to buy something to eat — she can't wait any longer."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi, once set on the ground, grabbed Ye Yaodong's hand and wouldn't let go, tugging him to walk outside the whole time, endlessly chanting: "Go… go…"