Chapter 1138: All accounts received

Ye Xiaoxi dug them out and buried them again, bustling about for quite a while before standing up. She said to Pei Yu in her childish, babbling way, "We need to water them..."

"You can't play with water. Go, go play with the puppy over there. You just got a spanking for playing with water yesterday, did you forget?"

Ye Xiaoxi pouted aggrievedly, then hummed and picked up the little milk puppy at her feet.

But as soon as she picked it up, she immediately put it back on the ground, took off her own pants, squatted down in the area where she had buried the dolls, and let out a big puddle of urine.

Not content with just doing it herself, she pulled Pei Yu, "Little sister, pee to fertilize."

Then Pei Yu obediently took off her pants and squatted beside her to pee.

Ye Yaodong couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head as he watched. He sat back down at the doorway, letting the two of them play, as long as they didn't cause any trouble.

Ah Guang was also helpless, "I think my daughter is going to be led astray by yours."

"Nonsense, she's drawing inferences about other cases from one instance. Haven't you noticed her memory is exceptionally good?"

"She doesn't look very smart either."

"Children are just like that."

"Nothing else to do, leave her here with you. I'm going back first, I'll come over at noon to take her back for lunch."

Ye Yaodong waved his hand, telling him to go ahead.

Ye Xiaoxi's age gap with the other children in the family was too large; no one wanted to take her along to play. Her little short legs couldn't keep up every day, so she could only run back and forth at the front door or run to other people's houses nearby to play. Pei Yu was considered her best playmate.

Ever since Huimei returned after giving birth, Pei Yu had been taken back. Ye Xiaoxi hadn't been used to it for many days, looking for her the moment she opened her eyes every day. Although she was used to it now, she still had to go to Pei Yu's house from time to time.

The two were exceptionally excited when they got together; as soon as they met, they were either hugging or holding hands.

At this moment, after peeing together, they twisted their bottoms while pulling up their pants, rolling them up crookedly to their waists. They even went to the side to dig up some soil to bury it and cover it up, then laughed and ran out hand in hand.

Ye Yaodong sat calmly at the doorway with the old lady to enjoy the cool air, watching them incidentally. It wasn't until noon when Ye Mu returned full of excitement that he was fed another piece of gossip.

Ye Yaosheng had gone to collect debts around noon, but after running a round, he couldn't get any of them. Later, his wife made an appearance.

"Oh my, I really have to say, this daughter-in-law of Asheng's is truly a good choice. It's just that her husband died early, so her fate seemed a bit poor, but now she really looks like someone who can manage a household."

"You just said his wife went to Ah Guo's house to collect first. Did she get it?"

"You ask if she got it? She stood at the door with a big belly, snot and tears running down her face, and later she just sat on the ground crying, claiming her stomach hurt. It scared the life out of people, so Ah Guo's wife hurriedly took out the money and sent her away like a plague god."

Ye Yaodong listened with a look of surprise, "She's quite formidable. Ah Sheng is honest, so he really needs to find a wife like that."

Ye Mu laughed and patted the table, "Who's to say otherwise?"

"Ah Guo is really something too, acting like this even with his own brother. He might not make big money on this trip, but he should have made some small money. Is he still short of this 300 yuan?" Ye Fu was a bit dissatisfied.

"I heard he wanted to give the money, but his wife stopped him."

Lin Xiuqing asked curiously, "And then she just went like that, collecting from house to house?"

"Yes. I went to take a look later. When she went to collect debts, she didn't even enter the door. She just sat at the main gate, summoned the neighbors, and gave them a piece of her mind. She talked about how hard her life was, how honest Ah Sheng was, how the whole family relied on him, how hard it was to earn money, and so on. Later, she even took out the IOU to show everyone, then hugged her belly and sat on the ground crying with snot and tears."

"Your Second Aunt-in-law was clear-headed when facing outsiders, and she even went along to help scold them, saying that if anything happened to the pregnant woman, she would hold them responsible."

"Then their whole family took turns like this, bringing the villagers to each house, going through the same routine of wailing and shouting. By mid-morning, they had gotten all the money back."

The old lady said, "This is called not shedding tears until seeing the coffin. Debts must always be repaid."

"Everyone was very reluctant. After visiting a few houses, even though she was acting with fake tears, her eyes were red and swollen from crying. I heard that right after Ah Sheng's wife took the money and left, the others all ran to Ah Guo's place. They probably have more to argue about."

Ye Fu said, "Then why did you come back suddenly? Didn't finish watching?"

"I had an urgent need to pee, so I came back first. Seeing that you were already eating, I thought since I was back, I might as well eat first."

"You even hold in a pee until you get home. You old woman are really something, 'the fertile water doesn't flow into outsiders' fields'."

Ye Yaodong couldn't help but laugh out loud. His father was really something; he could even use that phrase like that.

"Even eating can't block your mouth."

After scolding Ye Fu, Ye Mu turned her head to glare at him, "What's so funny?"

He said nothing while laughing.

When he had laughed enough, he said, "The Fengshou is going out to sea at night. I plan to run to Zhejiang Province again in a few days to continue salvaging sea urchins for another month. Then, just like the previous two years, I'll return in time for National Day. It should be getting cool by then."

Ye Mu frowned, "Why not go next year? Everyone else is back, isn't it unsafe for just your boat? Anyway, didn't you say those sea urchins grow in the trenches? No one else can go down to salvage them, so they won't disappear. It's the same if you go next year."

"It might be safer for me to go with one boat than for so many people to go together. Who knows what the situation will be next year? Now, if I wait a few days and give the locals a few more days to salvage, they should be about fished out."

"Your guts are getting bigger and bigger."

"What does that have to do with anything? It's all going out to sea anyway. Also, Ah Guang plans to follow the Fengshou to the province at night, and I'm preparing to go with him to ask that Ye Yaohai in the province about our ancestral hall. It's hard to explain clearly over the phone. Since I have time these two days and have company, I'll go together."

"That's fine. It's the ancestral hall after all, so it's better to ask clearly. Otherwise, when you go to Zhejiang and come back, you might not have time to ask when you're busy with other things, and you'll have to rush to worship the ancestors."

Ye Fu agreed with this. The ancestral hall, worshipping ancestors, and entering the genealogy—this matter was quite important.

"After I finish eating, I'll go to the homes of the other few boats to settle the accounts, and then go at night. They only returned yesterday, and I was embarrassed to go settle accounts early this morning. It's just right to go after lunch."

"I don't know if they kept the cargo lists. The acquisition point definitely has records, I'm just afraid they deliberately didn't keep them and then underreported the accounts."

"Let's see. It's not just them on the boat; they also hired people to work and people who followed to salvage. Even if they didn't keep cargo lists, it wouldn't be too outrageous."

He didn't leave anyone behind himself, so it was a test of character. It was possible they didn't keep cargo lists or were in a hurry and didn't take them. As long as it was about right, he wouldn't be too calculating.

After all, it was only a few days. Splitting it in half would only be a few hundred yuan, which was small money to him now.

Those who rented his boats were all cousins. As long as it wasn't excessive, he could turn a blind eye; he could just consider it helping them out.

Ye Fu responded, "Still counting on using your boat to make money, with so many people watching."

"Then when will the boat in the county be opened back? It's been over half a month. Your Second Brother has already opened his back. In a few days, you're going to Zhejiang again, so you definitely have to open the boat in the city back first, and then rent it out. You can only leave after arranging things."

"I will. I definitely have to get things done before leaving. I'll tell Ah Hai in the evening to urge the factory to open the boat back directly in the next two days."

As long as the boat is back, there's no fear of no one renting it. There are plenty of people lining up, and it can be done in less than half a day.

Seeing that he had everything in mind and had already arranged it, Ye Mu didn't say much more. She hurriedly finished her meal and went out immediately. She didn't know the result of the others making a scene at Ah Guo's house.

And Ye Yaodong continued chatting with his father.

"The No. 2 boat parked outside the pier won't be rented out for now. When the time comes, it will follow the Dongsheng to be brought over, and then left for me to salvage sea urchins. You can take it to fish."

"Why make it so troublesome? In that case, it'll be a dozen people again. Just rent that boat out directly, and settle the accounts after returning in a month. If the Dongsheng goes there to trawl, it might as well go with the Fengshou."

"Forget it, that's fine too."

The Dongsheng can run faster coming and going, without having to look after the small boat.

While the father and son were discussing, Lin Xiuqing also turned out the previous cargo lists. Because the accounts hadn't been settled for the three boats that had just returned, they were placed separately. Now she only needed to sort out each boat's share for Ye Yaodong.

After Ye Yaodong finished chatting with his father and they had discussed it, the two of them took the cargo lists and went out to collect the debts.

It wasn't good to go collect debts early in the morning, but since they were idle after lunch, it didn't matter if it was hot; there was money coming in anyway.

The father and son went to three houses. Only Ye Yaosheng's cargo list was complete. The other two boats were missing one or two sheets more or less. Three cargo lists for three trips a day were fixed, but it was possible they forgot to take them when they were busy. They didn't hold on to it; whatever the cousins said was what it was.

After settling the accounts, they very smoothly received the money on the spot.

Originally, for the three boats, the money that should be split to him was over 3,000 yuan each, with some more and some less. Plus, they had fished for a few more days than him, so each boat had an extra 500 or 600 yuan.

By the time they finished settling the accounts at Ye Yaosheng's house, the cloth bag he brought was already stuffed full.

Ye Yaosheng's wife was also full of smiles, constantly inviting them to sit for a while, and even cut a big watermelon to treat them.

"Sister-in-law is almost due, right? I heard about your battle record from my mother at noon. It's good that the money was collected. After all, it was all earned by your own hard work and life-risking. How could you let others take advantage? If you earned the money and didn't spend it, but gave it to others to spend, just thinking about it would make you vomit blood."

"Isn't that so? Ah Sheng couldn't get the money, and I was so angry I could vomit blood. The family was already poor, and it was hard to earn some money, but it was gone before it was even warm in our hands. I was almost so angry my stomach hurt. Fortunately, it wasn't all for nothing."

Ye Yaodong looked at her towering belly. She wore few clothes in summer, and the big belly was exceptionally conspicuous, especially since she was thin and small, with exceptionally thin limbs. Just seeing that belly sticking out, he would feel embarrassed if he didn't ask a question.

However, he asked Ye Yaosheng, "Sister-in-law is almost due, right?"

Ye Yaosheng was glowing with health. When happy events happen, one's spirit is refreshed. This question hit the mark, and the smile at the corner of his mouth was almost splitting to his ears.

"They say there's still a month and a half."

His wife also said, "Everyone says my belly is pointed, so it should be a boy. I hope it's what everyone says. Tomorrow I'll go to the village shaman in the next village to have her feel the bones. Everyone says that shaman is very spiritual; she knows if it's a boy or a girl in the belly just by feeling it."

Hearing this, Ye Yaodong's brows were almost pinched enough to crush a fly.

"Sister-in-law, don't you believe in these shamans?"

"Just feeling the bones, what's the harm? I definitely won't eat any messy talisman water."

"It's useless to feel it in advance, it's a waste of money. Who knows if it's accurate? A child this big in the belly is already formed. It's not that if the shaman says it's a boy, it's a boy, and if she says it's a girl, it's a girl. Anyway, you'll know when it's born. Could it be that if she tells you it's a girl, you won't want it? It's already so big."

"Uh..."

She was speechless for a moment, feeling that what he said also made sense.

"Then... then forget it. Just earned some money, can't spend it recklessly like this. Anyway, whether it's a boy or a girl, it must be born, can't just conclude based on someone's words."

After she finished speaking, she patted her head again, "I'm confused, I listened to your mother's deception again. I shouldn't have listened to her and agreed this morning. I just thought that since she helped me get the money back, I felt she wouldn't always help with the wrong things, so I believed her once."

"You go tell her later that I won't go see the shaman with her tomorrow. She's always talking about gods and ghosts all day. If she gets angry, you just tell her to go ask the shaman herself when you will get rich."

Ye Yaosheng had a look of embarrassment.

"Nothing else, I'll go back first."

Ye Yaodong stood up directly. He was just saying it casually while chatting and eating watermelon. They could look after their own affairs.

He found that those shamans who talk about gods and ghosts, jumping gods, and whatever can possess the body, it's better not to contact them if you can. If you really want to have some faith, it's really not as practical as worshipping Mazu or Guanyin.

He held the heavy cloth bag in his hand, reached out to squeeze it, and then threw it onto his shoulder.

It was just in the village, so he wasn't afraid of anything. He didn't even need to hide the money bag as he swung it around. There were few people moving around in the village at noon, except for children.

Those wild children didn't care if it was hot or if they would get heatstroke; they were all running around playing wildly at noon.

"This suddenly added so much, it's really easy to earn, money comes really fast." Ye Fu's eyes would aim at his cloth bag from time to time, full of envy.

"The more money, the faster it's earned; the less money, the slower it's earned."

"Right, that's the principle. The more money, the more invested, and of course, the more and faster it's earned."

Ye Yaodong calculated in his heart that with another account added today, he had 210,000 yuan on hand. It was indeed fast.

When settling accounts two months ago, there was only 130,000 yuan. This month, encountering the fishing season, the output was exceptionally fast, almost doubling. If he hadn't returned early and was still over there, that was unquestionable. ===== CHAPTER 1139 =====