Chapter 50: Working together

Lin Xiuqing hugged the huge sum of money and went home first. Since they had earned money, she felt it was only right to celebrate with friends; she wasn't a narrow-minded person.

When she arrived home, everyone in the Ye family had also finished work and returned from the construction site.

"A-Qing, I heard Yaodong had a great harvest on the isolated island today. How much money did he sell it for?" the eldest sister-in-law asked curiously.

The second sister-in-law also looked at her with burning eyes.

Lin Xiuqing smiled. "Not much. Mostly shellfish, they're all piled in the backyard. Later, I'll need Eldest Sister-in-law and Ye Ersao to help shuck oysters; we'll add a dish for the family tomorrow."

After saying this, she turned and went into the room. Wealth shouldn't be flaunted; how could she just blurt it out and make people jealous? Just yesterday, the second sister-in-law was shouting that it was unfair.

The second sister-in-law curled her lips; fine, don't tell then!

Lin Xiuqing put the small bills on the bed and counted them again. After confirming there was no mistake, she took out the money from selling the shellfish earlier and counted it. Except for the small abalone which was worth some money, the snails and pen shells were very cheap, but there was a large quantity, and these shelled items were quite heavy. In total, they sold for over 8 yuan.

Added to the money Ye Mu had given her earlier from Adong's sales, they had brought in over 400 yuan today. For their family, this was a large sum of money, even more than what she earned weaving nets for a year.

There was also the money from the last two days of beachcombing, which added up to six or seven yuan. Lin Xiuqing gripped the money in her hand, feeling that life had a bit of hope again, and she couldn't help but have a bit more expectation for Ye Yaodong.

She felt he had indeed changed for the better over the past few days.

After putting the money away, she went out to help shuck oysters. The other shellfish also needed to be sorted and picked, so they would be easy to cook tomorrow.

The next day, because he had drunk too much the night before, Ye Yaodong woke up late. When he got up, there was no one left at home, only the old woman watering the vegetable patch in the backyard.

"Grandma, have they all gone to help at the house?"

The old woman smiled, her aged face wrinkling into a ball. "Yes. There's porridge and dried fish warming in the pot; go eat quickly. You were exhausted yesterday, weren't you? You've gotten so tanned from the sun."

"It's fine, being a bit darker is healthy. Grandma, I've earned some money these past two days. Today is Saturday; on Monday, I'll take you to the county hospital to get a set of removable dentures."

"Huh? No, no," the old woman quickly waved her hands. "How old am I? Why waste that money? I can just eat fish; I don't like eating meat! I'm not going!"

"Didn't we agree on this a couple of days ago? Listen to me."

"Not going, not going, I'm not going. You've finally earned a few yuan, keep it for yourself; don't buy things for me."

"I heard it's quite cheap, not expensive..."

"Then I'm still not going! Go eat your meal quickly!" the old woman said while pushing him along.

Ye Yaodong smiled; he would just take the old woman directly on Monday then.

After a simple breakfast, he headed straight to the construction site.

Before he even reached the place, he saw workers carrying stones, shouldering gravel, and pushing yellow soil back and forth on the road. He heard from his mother that they had hired over a dozen workers.

When he arrived at the construction site, he saw his second brother working with the workers to lift stones and place them flat into the large pit they had dug.

On the side, a master craftsman was chiseling stones.

This large pit was probably dug yesterday. In the countryside, building houses didn't involve piling; they just dug the ground thirty or forty centimeters deep and filled it with stones, which counted as a foundation.

Ye Mu happened to be carrying a load of gravel over. Seeing him, she quickly said, "You didn't go beachcombing today, and you're not allowed to run around either. Just stay here and help, or I'll tell your father when he gets back."

Ye Yaodong looked at his mother helplessly; he had come here to help in the first place.

"I know."

"The gloves are by the stones."

"Oh, where are A-Qing and the kids?"

"She's on the mountain helping to shovel yellow soil; that job is a bit lighter. The kids are by the stream, playing while helping to pick up stones."

He nodded and, under his mother's watchful gaze, went to move stones with his second brother.

Ye Mu watched for a while before satisfiedly picking up her shoulder pole and bamboo basket to continue carrying gravel.

As for his group of fox friends, after he had been working for a while, they also came over one after another to help lift.

The workers were all villagers, mostly older, and seeing these few being unusually diligent and actually coming to help, they all praised them a few times, saying they had grown up...

It made them all feel a bit embarrassed!

Used to being criticized, suddenly being praised one day made them feel somewhat uncomfortable...

A-Zheng whispered, "Damn, I've always been hated by everyone. Hearing them praise me, I suddenly feel like I've actually amounted to something..."

Xiao Xiao nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Yesterday I brought home a sack of shelled goods, and my wife's face bloomed like a flower. After I took the money I earned and gave it to her, she couldn't have been more enthusiastic."

"My mother too, she praised me heavily and even said that next time she wants to eat chicken, she'll go catch one!"

"That's great, your treatment... pity me, a lonely person, no one to praise me, I have to keep the money all to myself..."

Hearing this... everyone turned their gazes fiercely toward A Guang. "A few rounds tonight?"

After they all handed in their money, their pockets were empty again, and Fatty and Chen Wei hadn't even received their share yet. A Guang saying this made them feel like they'd be letting themselves down if they didn't win a few rounds from him!

A Guang glared, instinctively covering his pocket. "Not playing, I'm quitting gambling!"

"You have the nerve to say that? You usually shout louder than anyone!"

"Starting from today!"

Everyone rolled their eyes!

The originally dull and boring work, with the addition of this group of little friends, became a bit more fun amidst the lifting and moving.

When they finished work in the evening, Ye Mu asked Ye Yaodong in a low voice, "Should we count half a day's wages for this group of friends of yours?"

"No need, just feed them. They won't be able to work for many days, and they won't come every day either."

"Alright then, I won't record it."

After working for two days, Ye Yaodong didn't go on Monday, and his friends didn't go either.

He had discussed it with Lin Xiuqing the night before: on Monday, he would take the old woman to the county hospital to get dentures, so he wouldn't go to work the next day. He asked her to tell his mother.

Lin Xiuqing gritted her teeth, unlocked the drawer, counted out 50 yuan, and gave it to him. "Take it, is it enough?"

It was money he had earned these past few days anyway, so even if she felt a pang of heartache, it was only for a moment, and the old woman really did love him.

Ye Yaodong hugged her and kissed her cheek; he knew his wife was sensible and wouldn't be reluctant to take the money or refuse him being filial to the old woman.

"It won't take that much. I'll give you back whatever is left."

"Mm."

On Monday morning, the old woman refused to go, insisting she wouldn't live much longer and there was no need to waste money.

Ye Yaodong was persistent. "If you don't go with me, I'll just go get one myself. If it doesn't fit, I'll have to spend more money to adjust it!"

The old woman was so angry her liver hurt; she slapped him a few times before reluctantly following him out the door.

She was also afraid of spending too much money. ===== CHAPTER 51 =====