Chapter 1506: Physical and Mental Health

"You met through drinking?" Lin Xiuqing looked at him with an expressionless face.

Ye Yaodong didn't rush to explain; instead, he recalled what he had just said.

It seemed he had spoken a bit too smoothly...

He had just said whatever came to mind, and it did indeed sound quite misleading...

When someone asked him to take out a loan, he took one; when someone asked him to make a deposit, he deposited 200,000 directly, and later deposited another 300,000 to help them meet their performance targets. It did seem a bit... suspicious, didn't it?

He had been too relaxed...

Since he had nothing to hide, he naturally spoke more freely, saying whatever there was to say.

"Have you figured out how to make up a story yet?"

"Right, drinking... No, why do you call it making up a story?"

The two spoke in unison.

Ye Yaodong glared, "It's true we met through drinking. You know that kelp layman, right? She is the younger sister of the layman's friend. We happened to be drinking together once, so we got to know each other. Making friends, you know—you said it yourself, when you're out and about, you rely on friends; having more friends means more paths."

"You certainly are good at making friends."

"I have to be. But our interactions are strictly professional, and whenever we meet, it's to discuss business. Otherwise, I wouldn't have mentioned it to you so casually."

"Then you hesitated for so long just now. I was wondering if you were racking your brain trying to figure out how to lie or how to quibble."

"I am truly wronged to the Pacific Ocean. I just didn't realize you were jealous; it took me a while to react. Then I thought about what I had just said, and only after I realized where I had misled you could I explain it to you."

"Hmph, when someone asks you to take a loan, you take it; when someone asks you to deposit money, you deposit large sums, one after another. Your relationship must be quite good, right? Is she very pretty?"

Ye Yaodong chuckled, "Do you want to hear the truth?"

Lin Xiuqing stared straight at him, silently conveying: What do you think?

"She is quite pretty, but beauty is useless to me. Money is more important. Without any benefits, who would be foolish enough to take out loans and deposit large sums of money?"

Ye Yaodong wanted to pull her aside to calculate the interest rates again.

"There's no need to go against money. To me, men and women are the same; as long as there are benefits and I don't lose out, that's fine."

"I didn't say anything else. Let's go to the bank and take a look. With so much money deposited there, I won't be at ease if I don't go see it."

Ye Yaodong muttered to himself, *She was so jealous just a moment ago, and now she's too embarrassed to say it's nothing. I don't know if she's going to check on the money or the person. *

"Fine, let's go back and get the deposit passbook, then we'll go check. You'll be at ease, and I'll be at ease too. It just so happens we'll be heading back for the New Year soon, so checking it is a good idea."

"Mm."

On the way back, Lin Xiuqing didn't say anything else. She wasn't as happy as she was at the beginning; she just seemed a bit low-spirited.

Perhaps it was the sense of crisis from living apart!

Cold wind kept blowing into the car as Ye Yaodong drove. He didn't want to talk either, lest he end up with a stomach full of cold air.

Once they arrived home, he took her hand and they went upstairs together.

"Yo, still holding hands just to walk up the stairs..."

"You two are so lovey-dovey, it's like you're not married and are still dating."

"What do you know? This is called 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'!"

Ye Yaodong gave them a sharp look, dropped that line, and took Lin Xiuqing upstairs.

However, as they turned the corner, he noticed Lin Xiuqing had regained three parts of a smile.

Seeing no one behind them, he leaned in playfully, "Better now? Over the jealousy?"

Lin Xiuqing didn't even look at him, pushing his face to the side.

"Go away!"

"I never realized you were such a big vinegar jar. A few words and you act like you've drunk a whole vat of vinegar."

"I did not."

"You did too, the sour smell has drifted all the way to the Pacific Ocean."

Lin Xiuqing was amused by him, "You've already had drinks with her, and I haven't even had a drink with you yet."

"Ah? Haven't we?"

She looked at him with deep, lingering eyes, "What do you think?"

"It's fine, we've shared saliva, that's enough."

Lin Xiuqing couldn't hold back, giving him a reproachful glare, "You have the nerve to say that, your skin is so thick."

Ye Yaodong pulled her into his arms, "Thick skin means I can get by. I'll take you to see her in a bit. She's a 'sea turtle' who returned from studying abroad; how could she possibly look down on a local fisherman like me?"

"Sea turtle? I'm a leopard."

"Indeed, female leopards are quite fierce."

Lin Xiuqing pinched him.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch..."

"It hurts, that's right. I'm hurting you because I care."

"When did your mouth get so bad?"

Lin Xiuqing looked at his pouting lips and gave him a pat, "Open the door quickly, stop being so unserious."

"Fine, I'll be unserious again once we're inside."

"Find the passbook first. It's already mid-afternoon; if we keep dawdling, the bank will be closed."

"We'll make it. We'll take the motorcycle, *whoosh*, and we'll be there in no time."

Although Ye Yaodong said that, he didn't delay.

His passbook was hidden inside his pillow; he felt for it and found it immediately.

Lin Xiuqing glanced at the two amounts on it: one handwritten for 200,000, one handwritten for 500,000. Both had the deposit dates and the handler's personal seal, and the passbook also had the bank's official seal.

It looked quite legitimate.

She flipped through it, muttered something, and without further delay, took it and walked out.

When they went downstairs, they didn't see those few people who were idle and bored, which was a relief for her ears.

"I don't know where the three of them ran off to play. Is anyone watching them? This isn't like home."

"There is, don't worry. Didn't I tell Aguang when I sent them back earlier? The three of them are together with his daughter; watching one is the same as watching four."

"Let's go early and come back early."

"We don't have to go if you don't want to."

Lin Xiuqing glanced at him, "Get on the bike quickly."

Not checking was impossible!

That was a full 500,000, not 50 yuan. How could she be at ease without confirming it at the bank?

Although there were the handler's personal seal and the official seal on it, what if? There would be nowhere to cry if something went wrong.

Anyway, since they were already here, they had to go take a look and confirm it. While they were at it, she would have the bank calculate the interest for her—both deposits had matured, so she wanted to know the total amount she could collect.

"Hey, why don't you just pay off the 200,000 loan? Anyway, having so much money on hand is just leaving it idle."

Ye Yaodong was already on the bike, "We're already out, so forget it. After the New Year, we're going to set up a decent little factory, which means we'll have to start clearing land and building houses, and that will cost money. We aren't going to the bank to exchange money now; we'll talk about it when we have time."

"Fine, anyway, we have to get through the New Year first."

There was nothing more important than the New Year.

As soon as they arrived at the bank, Ye Yaodong led her to the window to check the deposit in the passbook, asking the girl at the counter to calculate the interest rate for these two sums and how much he could collect upon maturity.

He knew it all himself; the main point was to calculate it for Lin Xiuqing to hear, to put her mind at ease.

Lin Xiuqing looked at the girl and then at Ye Yaodong, feeling that the two didn't seem very familiar?

She whispered, "It's not her?"

Ye Yaodong said helplessly, "Of course not. She's in the small office upstairs, specifically for receiving VIP clients."

"Oh, are you a VIP?"

"Of course. After she finishes calculating the interest for you, I'll take you upstairs to sit for a while."

Lin Xiuqing was a bit curious, "Is it that you have to deposit or loan a certain amount to become a VIP?"

"Right, the minimum threshold seems to be 50,000 or 100,000?"

"Then your level is quite high. Owing 200,000 and depositing 500,000, that adds up to 700,000."

"Hahaha, you're not wrong if you calculate it that way."

After the girl at the counter finished calculating the interest and confirmed how much they could collect upon maturity, Lin Xiuqing was relieved.

Then they headed upstairs.

"Brother Dong is here?"

Shen Ming'e greeted him with a smile, but then she saw Lin Xiuqing following behind.

"Eh?"

The two were holding hands, and she looked at them with some curiosity, her eyes darting back and forth between their faces. She cautiously probed.

"Your... girlfriend?"

Ye Yaodong's face turned black, "My wife. I told you long ago I'm married; where would I get a girlfriend from?"

Lin Xiuqing also glanced at him.

"Hehe, hehe, so it's Sister-in-law. My broken mouth called the wrong person. Pfft, no, it's not calling the wrong person... it's the wrong form of address... no, that's not it either... it's calling the wrong address..."

Shen Ming'e was conflicted, feeling that no matter how she explained it, it didn't seem right; she couldn't explain it clearly.

What if they mistakenly thought he had another girlfriend? Wouldn't that cause the couple to fight?

But she really hadn't expected it to be his wife.

There were quite a few bosses who came here to make money, and none of them brought their wives; they were all mistresses, girlfriends, or dates. Having one at home and several outside was common, and changing them every so often was also normal.

She couldn't be blamed for mistaking the woman appearing by his side as a mistress.

Ye Yaodong's face grew darker and darker, and he also felt he couldn't explain it clearly.

"Can you not speak? When I go back, I'm going to get scratched and have to sleep on the floor tonight."

"Sit, sit, sit. It was my misunderstanding. It's the first time I've seen a woman by his side, and so intimate, so I was quite shocked and a bit unsure. I didn't expect it to be Sister-in-law. Is Sister-in-law here to play? I've never seen you before. I'm really sorry."

"Hehe, it's almost New Year, so I brought the kids over to play for a few days, and we'll go home together when the time comes."

Ye Yaodong also said, "She was a bit worried about having so much money in the bank, so she thought she'd look around and check the accounts while she was at it."

"You can rest assured about that. Everything is written in black and white on the passbook, and the passbook is stamped with the official seal, so it can't be fake. Plus, there's the handler's personal seal. As long as you don't lose it, the bank will recognize it."

"Mm, just checking casually to put my mind at ease. I wasn't at ease at first either, so I came every few days to confirm."

"You've earned it all. Taking out a 200,000 loan and depositing it back in, you've earned so much interest for free. Now the higher-ups have realized it too, and it's not easy to borrow anymore; they even charge interest now, no more interest-free loans."

"That's still worth it, low interest on loans, high interest on deposits."

"Ordinary people wouldn't dare to borrow, and it requires approval; it's not like you can get it just because you want to."

"Mm."

"Sister-in-law is here, what about the kids? I remember you saying you have many children?"

"Three, I brought them all over to play, and we'll go back together for the New Year in a while."

"That's great. Getting the family together early and being able to go around and play—you don't look very old either, sister-in-law."

"We're the same age."

"You've found a treasure."

Lin Xiuqing smiled, not explaining the bitter days of the past few years. "Whether it's a treasure or not is hard to say."

"I think Brother Dong is very self-disciplined; he's much better than my brother and the others."

Ye Yaodong chuckled, thought for a moment, and then stood up. "Nothing much, we'll be heading off first. I won't disturb your work. We were just downstairs and thought since we were already here, we'd come up to say hello."

This girl was too straightforward and naive. Saying he was better than her brother and the others—didn't that just imply her brother and the others were too promiscuous?

If he hung out and drank with them, wouldn't that be a case of "near ink, one gets stained"?

"You're leaving before even having any tea?"

"We still have a few kids at home, so we won't stay long since there's nothing else."

"Alright, then take your time."

Ye Yaodong nodded and pulled Lin Xiuqing out, and Shen Ming'e saw them to the door.

"Ah! A motorcycle! You bought a motorcycle?"

"Yeah, just bought it not long ago."

"We can't even buy these here. Where did you buy it? It must have cost several thousand, right? The red one is really good-looking."

"I went to the Magic City to buy it a while back. It took three months just to order it; I waited a long time to get my hands on it."

"That's true. It's not surprising you bought a motorcycle; you could even buy a car."

"We're off."

Ye Yaodong waved at her and started the engine.

In winter, the sun sets early, and by now, it was already gone. When they arrived home, some people were already carrying their rice bowls to get food.

"Dinner has already started. Let's go get our food too. Eat it while it's hot. Since it gets dark early now, we can only go to sleep early after eating."

"Okay."

"You've seen what she looks like now, so you know I wasn't lying to you. Just an ordinary friend, you're reassured now, right?"

Lin Xiuqing argued, "I wasn't worried; I just went to check on the savings and interest rates."

"I'll believe that when I see it."

Lin Xiuqing didn't argue back; having a sense of crisis was normal.

"You rest in the room for a bit, I'll go get the food and bring the three kids back while I'm at it."

"Okay."

The three kids all knew they were going to the Magic City tomorrow, so they had been chattering away for a long time. The two brothers even kept asking Ye Xiaoxi what the foreign-style houses in the Magic City looked like, and what the Magic City itself looked like.

They were so full of expectation and joy that they didn't even want to sleep at night.

It was the same last night. It was their first time sleeping in this kind of bunk bed, and they were sleeping on the top, plus it was a new place, so the two brothers were extremely excited. They kept tossing and turning on top, which led to Ye Xiaoxi not wanting to sleep on the bottom either, making a fuss about wanting to climb up.

The three of them together were like 1,000 ducks, incredibly noisy.

The bed below them kept shaking, and they were scolded until past 10 o'clock before they were willing to sleep.

It was the same tonight. After dinner, it was dark, and the cold wind was howling outside, so none of the kids went out. It was already 8 o'clock when Ah Guang finally came over to pick up Pei Yu.

But even with one child less, the commotion they made was not the slightest bit smaller.

Ye Yaodong saw that it was still early and didn't urge them to sleep; it was useless anyway. Until it was time to sleep, they would be noisy regardless.

It was just that when he came back after going to the bathroom, Lin Xiuqing somehow had a few "little yellow books" in her hands.

"You like reading these too?"

Lin Xiuqing rolled the books into a bundle and tapped him on the head. "Reading this all day? It's almost worn out from being flipped through."

"The long night is lonely and boring. Let's read together; I have more."

"I'm not reading it, and you shouldn't either. This cover is too revealing; it's not good if the kids see it."

"They're already making a racket; who's going to pay attention to you?"

Ye Yaodong excitedly dug out a few of his prized possessions and then, with familiar ease, flipped to the folded pages, showing them to her like he was presenting a treasure, even reading them out loud.

Lin Xiuqing was so embarrassed she hurriedly covered his mouth.

"Don't let the kids hear..."

"Their voices are louder than a hundred of me talking; it'd be a miracle if they could hear."

"I'm not reading..."

"Read it, what are you afraid of? It's just the two of us. We're an old married couple, what does it matter? Once you read it, you'll know the profoundness of Chinese characters!"

Lin Xiuqing glanced at the revealing text and felt shy, just wondering how someone could be so bold as to write it out directly, and with such a revealing cover too.

"Let's go to sleep early; we have to set off early tomorrow morning."

"We'll make it in time. We're riding the motorcycle straight to the pier, are you afraid we won't make it?"

"Then how are you going to bring the motorcycle back?"

"I'm not bringing it back; we'll just take the boat across with the people and the motorcycle together. It's just a bit more boat fare."

"Oh."

"Come on, read for a while before sleeping. Chinese characters are profound; just looking at them can make one full of infinite fantasies..."

"You old lecher."

"You can call me a lecher or a pervert, but you can't call me old."

Lin Xiuqing couldn't stop laughing.

"Stop laughing, look here." Ye Yaodong kept holding the little yellow book, wanting to share his hobby with her. "It's good to be literate after all; I've finally realized the joy of words."

"You even found such a good thing from being literate."

"Yeah, it's good to be literate; the fantasy space is even bigger."

"Who have you been fantasizing about?"

"Beautiful female stars!"

Lin Xiuqing grabbed his ear. "You're certainly honest!"

Ye Yaodong slapped her hand twice before she let go. "Be gentle. Didn't you like hearing the truth? Then of course I'd tell the truth."

She grabbed the book in his hand and pressed it directly under the mattress.

"What are you doing? Do you think I don't have any more?"

Ye Yaodong walked around the room and fished out two more.

"You only fantasize about what you can't get! I'm just thinking about it casually. The one I'm actually sleeping with, of course, can only be my wife."

"Heh, then if you really encountered one, would you sleep with her?"

"That's impossible. I have the lecherous heart but not the lecherous guts. I only think about it casually when I'm looking at this stuff. Isn't it because you're not by my side? That's why I need to look at this. If you were here, why would I need to look at this? Right? I'm a fine young man, I have needs too."

Lin Xiuqing changed the subject, not wanting to dwell on this with him. She couldn't even control him as a person, so how could she control which female star he fantasized about in his head?

The men in the village were all still thinking about Teresa Teng.

"Where did you get so many explicit books? Did you spend all your money on this?"

"I didn't buy them; I got them from Fatty. Whenever he has good stuff, he saves a few for us."

Lin Xiuqing's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Isn't he running the cafeteria? Isn't he a cook?"

"Yeah, but nobody said a cook can't have a side hustle. This kid has made quite a bit from these crooked ways; it's much more than what he makes as a cook."

"Ah, so that's how it is. You guys, one by one, none of you are decent people."

"I'm quite decent, and they're actually quite decent too. Reading this isn't against the law, so why can't we read it? It can even be beneficial for physical and mental health!"

"Sophistry!"

Lin Xiuqing confiscated the one in his hand again.

"You want to keep it all to yourself and read it secretly alone, right?"

Lin Xiuqing rolled her eyes at him; only his mouth was the worst.

"Go tell the three of them to sleep early."

Ye Yaodong had no choice but to tap the bed board. "Quiet down, everyone, get to your positions!"

"What time is it, Dad? We're getting to our positions already?"

"It's 10 o'clock. There isn't even a sound of talking outside, and you guys are the noisiest. Hurry up and sleep."

It was actually just past 9 o'clock, but if he didn't say 10 o'clock, they wouldn't sleep.

"Okay, positions."

"Returning to our respective places."

Ye Yaodong carried down Ye Xiaoxi, who was also shouting about returning to her place, and put her in Lin Xiuqing's quilt.

Then he patted Lin Xiuqing, winked at her, and nudged his chin toward his own bed, full of deep meaning, hoping she would understand.

Lin Xiuqing only gave him a look and then told him to turn off the lights.

It was pitch black, and the kids were even more excited. They were still chattering across the beds and only quieted down after being called several times.

Ye Yaodong waited until there wasn't a single sound in the room, then called out in a tiny voice, "Aqing..."

"Aqing..."

"Dad, what are you doing?" Ye Chenghu responded.

"...... Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"Dad, I'm not asleep either!" Ye Chengyang suddenly spoke up.

"Dad, me too!" Ye Xiaoxi also stretched her hand out of the quilt and raised it to answer.

Lin Xiuqing was extremely helpless. She hurriedly wrapped her in the quilt and then turned her head to scold.

"Why are you like a piece of rat dung? She was almost asleep, and you're still calling, calling, calling?"

How was he to know that half an hour had passed, and if he called out casually, all three could respond in succession.

The ones who should respond didn't make a sound, and the ones who shouldn't, did so again and again.

"Hurry up and sleep, no one is allowed to chatter."

Iron-head Hu: "Dad, it was clearly you!"

"Shut up and sleep."

Ye Chengyang said in a low voice: "Close your eyes and sleep."

"Hahaha..." Ye Xiaoxi laughed arrogantly and wantonly, which was particularly abrupt in the silent dark night.

Lin Xiuqing covered her mouth and warned her in a low voice, and only then did they all quiet down.

Ye Yaodong, however, was really like a piece of rat dung and spoke up again, "The kids are asleep, tell me..."

Iron-head Hu: "Dad, what do you want to do?"

"Throw you out."

"You were the one who spoke first, not me."

Ye Xiaoxi also said in a low voice: "Sell brother to a beggar..."

Ye Chenghu retorted, "It's more like selling you!"

Lin Xiuqing exploded, "All of you shut up."

It was quiet.

Ye Yaodong also honestly shut up.

Then he waited and waited, waited and waited...

It wasn't until he couldn't breathe and someone pinched his nose tightly that he woke up.

Ye Chengyang was lying on the edge of his pillow, saying in a very, very low voice: "Dad, it's dawn, let's go to the Magic City..."

Ye Yaodong hurriedly scooped the child into the quilt, looked at the light coming in from outside the window, and also touched the watch under his pillow.

"It's still early. Why are you so early and so excited? Hurry up and go back to sleep."

"I can't sleep. How much longer until we set off?"

"I'll call you. Sleep."

Ye Chengyang lay inside, right next to his dad, feeling extremely at ease, closed his eyes, and fell asleep again in an instant.

This was hard on Ye Yaodong.

He was already awake, so how was he supposed to sleep?

This stinky kid...

Was it really worth getting up before dawn just because he was excited?

He didn't even know how he fell asleep last night. He clearly wanted to wait for the kids to fall asleep before calling Aqing over.

(End of chapter)