Chapter 1309: Allocation of Gold

"How… how so much…?"

The old woman's eyes were no longer cloudy, but her hands shook uncontrollably, her voice trembling.

Ye Ye Xiaoxi watched curiously; she was the least affected among them.

"It's all money, money… Dad made big money, made a lot of money."

Ye Yaodong smiled and squatted beside her, "Isn't your dad awesome?"

"Super awesome, super awesome! My dad is the best, a 100-point dad!"

"Hehe, give me a kiss."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi leaned in, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Mwah~ kiss kiss kiss~ You're the best, 100 points!"

"100 points, hahaha…"

Ye Yaodong was so delighted by her praise that he pulled a hundred-yuan note straight from the pile on the ground and gave it to her.

"Buy yourself some candy!"

She reached out to take it, turning it over to examine both sides, feeling unfamiliar, "How much is this? I don't want it—I want coins, I want coins."

She casually tossed it aside and began rummaging through the coins, specifically searching for one-fen coins.

"I want this one."

"You don't want watermelon, you want sesame seeds? Then pick, pick whatever you like."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi happily flung herself onto the pile of money.

Lin Lin Xiuqing had recovered from her shock and looked at him, "You've sent back fifty thousand yuan in installments—how come there's still so much left? How much is here?"

Ye Yaodong stood up and said, "Didn't I tell you about the fishing season up there? Isn't it normal to make big money?"

"But I never saw you send money back—I thought you only reported good news and hid the bad. And you kept saying there were so many boats up there, thousands upon thousands of fishing vessels every day—how much cargo could there be? Could you even make money off it?"

"How wouldn't you make money? Up there it's a fishing ground, extremely liquid. I was worried you'd keep going to the bank to withdraw cash—it's unsafe. Didn't you know they've already recognized you after those few withdrawals?"

He'd mentioned this over the phone, but she never imagined he'd saved up this much—she thought it was just a bit more than usual trawling.

After all, the jellyfish profits came from discovering a trench and engaging in buying operations, which is why they made so much.

When he talked about the fishing ground having abundant catch and the fishing season, she assumed it was just slightly more profitable than regular trawling.

Besides, he never mentioned how much he earned in any of his calls—how was she supposed to know he'd saved this much?

Long-distance calls were too unclear to discuss details—only safety updates and brief personal updates were possible.

"Then… how much is here?" Lin Lin Xiuqing looked up at him, her face bright with delight and anticipation.

"Guess."

"Ten… ten thousand?" she ventured.

Coins made up a large portion of the pile; she couldn't estimate the total, but felt it couldn't be less than ten thousand.

Ye Yaodong smiled and shook his index finger, "Double."

"Twenty thousand!" she gasped, one hand covering her mouth.

The old woman gripped his clothes, nervously asking, "You… you said how much?"

"There's a bit over two hundred thousand here—I didn't count the loose change, but the whole number is definitely two hundred thousand. You won't sleep tonight—just count the money."

Lin Lin Xiuqing laughed and playfully slapped him, "Look at you! How did you make so much? You already sent back fifty thousand, and now you've got two hundred thousand left? You left in August—only four months?"

The old woman added, "No wonder you didn't want to come home—you only returned now."

"Of course. You stay only if you're making money. Otherwise I'd have come home long ago. No gold nest or silver nest beats your own doghouse—where's the comfort like home?"

"Knowing home is comfortable is good. Earning money outside is earning money, but it's hard work. You've made so much you can't even spend it. Enough, enough—it's enough to eat and use. Don't go far away again—it worries us too much…"

"We'll see."

Ye Yaodong brushed her off and turned back to sorting the gold—but when had the little one climbed onto the chair again?

"What are you doing?"

Ye Ye Xiaoxi sat cross-legged on the chair, hanging one gold necklace on each ear.

Three large gold bangles adorned one wrist, two silver bangles the other, and her chubby little arms were covered in gold rings.

She turned her head, beaming, clutching a thick gold necklace and three silver chains in both hands, refusing to let go of either gold or silver.

"Dad, do I look pretty?"

"Hahaha, pretty—you're a little rich girl."

The old woman beamed and kept praising her, "Beautiful, looks so blessed."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi happily shook her head, "I want to look in the mirror, I want to look in the mirror…"

Lin Lin Xiuqing hurried over and held her down, "My ancestor, you're not even pretending to be modest—you've put everything on yourself, not a single piece left."

"No, there's still this."

She pushed the three pairs of gold earrings toward her mother, "I don't want these."

"Too small, huh?"

Lin Lin Xiuqing laughed and poked her forehead with her index finger, then removed all the gold from her.

Ye Ye Xiaoxi looked pitifully at Ye Yaodong, "Dad… I want it…"

"Yes, yes, there's something for you."

"Don't spoil her—why should a child wear gold?"

"I didn't buy her gold—I bought her one silver necklace and a pair of silver bangles. Both boys each got a silver necklace too. Tomorrow we'll take them all to the Guanyin statue for blessing, then put them on for protection."

The old woman nodded in agreement, "Yes, they must be offered before Guanyin—only then will they be protected."

"Didn't my mother, as her grandmother, buy some when she was a month old?"

"Did she? I forgot."

Ye Yaodong thought for a moment—he seemed to recall it.

"What are you remembering? When you bought these, you didn't even give me a heads-up beforehand, just went and bought so many on your own…"

"It doesn't matter, it's just a silver necklace."

He picked out the necklace that belonged to Ye Ye Xiaoxi along with two silver bracelets, and put them on her wrists and neck. She was so delighted that she kept stretching out her hands to look at them again and again, utterly enchanted.

"Wear what? Put them away. If we go out and they get bumped or lost, that was money spent too."

"Let her wear them. If she doesn't wear them now, when will she? When she's old?"

Ye Ye Xiaoxi also shouted loudly, "I want to wear them, I just want to wear them."

"Showing off!"

She raised both little hands high, happily waving them back and forth, then tried to climb down using both hands and feet. But the moment she bent over, the coins in her pocket all clinked and scattered all over the floor.

"Ah, my money."

Everyone looked down at the pennies all over the floor and burst out laughing.

When given money, she didn't even know to take the larger denominations—it was all penny coins.

Ye Yaodong watched, barely holding back his laughter. "I gave you money, and you don't even know to pocket it properly."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi tilted her head up and said innocently, "It's full, the pocket can't hold any more."

"Tomorrow I'll have your mom sew your pockets a bit bigger."

"Okay, okay!"

The old lady said with a smile, "Sew the pockets bigger, just right for going to collect New Year's money."

"Mm-mm, I want New Year's money."

Ye Yaodong divided up the gold on the table again. "This is yours, this is yours, this is for my mom, this thick necklace and ring are for my dad."

Lin Lin Xiuqing looked at the money all over the floor—over two hundred thousand—then looked at the gold and stopped refusing. Her face broke into a smile as she happily took it in her hands, though her mouth was still talking.

"Give it to me, and I wouldn't dare wear it out either. Too showy—I'd have people watching with envy. I'll put it away first."

The old lady pushed the gold in front of her back to him. "I'm old, I don't need to wear these. You keep them, trade them for ones you'll wear yourself."

"Look at you—I bought for the whole family, but you yourself don't have any. The gold necklace you got for your dad is even made so thick, such a waste."

"Keep that one for yourself. This thin one of mine, swap it to your dad. A thin one is enough for him, no need to wear one so thick—it's a waste. Keep it for yourself, don't give it to him."

Ye Yaodong picked up the necklace, about to put it around her neck.

"No, no, I don't want it…"

Ye Ye Xiaoxi shouted from the side, "Yes yes yes… I want it…"

Ye Yaodong shoved his backside toward her face, knocking her to the ground.

"Yes yes yes, you want everything. Don't you already have yours? Want some farts too?"

"Hmph, you're not a 100-point dad anymore."

"Then give me back the money and the bracelets and necklace."

"No, they're mine."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi tucked both hands back into her sleeves, then thought about sticking them out to cover her pockets, in a fluster. Then she simply ran back into the room to hide.

Ye Yaodong said to the old lady again, "It's for you, so just take it. Don't keep pushing it back and forth. Wear it, and tomorrow when you go out, won't you be able to brag? Your grandson's love wasn't wasted."

The old lady beamed radiantly, her hand constantly touching the pendant on the necklace. "Then I'll wear it out and show the others, tell everyone this was all bought for me by you. Once I've strolled around the whole village, I'll give it back to you."

He chuckled continuously. "Then go stroll first. Once you've walked around the whole village and told every single person in the village, then come back and return it to me."