Chapter 581: Settle the Accounts

Ah Zheng glared at him in exasperation, "Can't you even make your own decisions? Do you need someone else to decide for you? Are you a coward or what?"

Xiao Xiao, who had been frowning beside him for a long while, finally spoke up, "I thought you weren't that foolish. You turned a perfect hand into complete ruin, and I even thought Ah Guang might pull you back on track so your life could get a little easier, and you wouldn't have to suffer so much—but you really are…"

Ah Guang also looked at him with a strained expression, "Do you think like your father-in-law and his family? Do you also want to split the dried half of the money?"

At that moment, the rat's wife stepped forward and shouted loudly, "It should be this way! If it were fresh, we'd take half the fresh portion—but now it's dried, so of course we take the dried half!"

None of the friends paid any attention to her outburst; they all treated it like wind passing through an ear, ignoring her completely, not even sparing her a glance.

Ye Yaodong stood with his hands in his pockets, staring at the rat, "Your own family matters require outsiders to step in? Isn't that pathetic? The money in your house is all earned by you—shouldn't you be the one calling the shots? It's like you're a son-in-law living in."

"What are you talking about? What son-in-law?"

"What business is it of yours when we guys are talking?" Ah Zheng glared at her.

The rat's in-laws also chattered away from the side, but both Pei's father and Ye's father shut them down.

"My boat was partnered with the rat—what business is it of your Wang family? Shouldn't he be the one deciding? What right do you have to meddle?"

"We're his father-in-law and uncles—his affairs are our affairs. What's wrong with helping out a bit?"

"Can you really make decisions for him? Is everything going to be decided by you?"

…

The voices from the side reached their ears, and everyone turned to look at the rat, all feeling the same exasperation.

Although they'd always known his wife's family was dominant, no one had ever watched another's household so closely—they never imagined he'd become this pathetic, completely controlled by them.

Ye Yaodong had known a little from his past life, but since one was willing to be beaten and the other willing to do the beating, and they'd lived together this long, even if their life was mediocre, it didn't look bad.

It's like drinking water—you alone know whether it's hot or cold.

If he hadn't come over here causing a scene today, he wouldn't have meddled in their family affairs; he might even be accused of interfering. He'd already given him a couple of reminders recently.

"Looking at how this mess turned out, I'm in the wrong—they just had more people, and insisted on coming over to argue. Sigh."

A pitiful person always has something hateful about them—it's universally true.

Ye Yaodong frowned tightly, "That's not how you should talk. What do you mean 'they had more people and insisted on arguing'? Is your matter something they can just decide? Are you a puppet?"

Xiao Xiao also felt exasperated, "I used to think you loved your wife—now I see you're just being used like a donkey."

Ah Guang was too tired to lecture him anymore, "Just tell us—how do you want to solve this?"

The rat frowned tightly, looking embarrassed as he mumbled, "Just use the dock's purchase price. It's always been calculated this way anyway. We agreed at the time: the cargo comes back to you to handle, and the profit is split evenly—it's always been up to you how much you sell it for. Using the dock's price, I'm not losing anything. This is fine."

"Why? No way! We can't calculate it like that—we'd be getting ripped off…"

The rat turned and glared at his wife, "Shut up. What business is it of yours?"

Ah Zheng, enjoying the chaos, said, "Exactly! That's how it should be! A real man must be decisive! When we're discussing matters, where does a wife get the right to interrupt?"

Ye Yaodong added, "Loving your wife is one thing, but letting your in-laws ride over your head? A while back on the boat, weren't you full of bravado and slapped your wife? Why are you so timid now?"

"She has too many brothers…"

"What's this got to do with you? It's like a dog chasing a rat—mind your own business."

"Then first clean my land. Otherwise, pay me fifty cents for hygiene."

The rat's wife widened her eyes, "Are you going to rob me? Fifty cents for a spit? I can buy a pile of candy for fifty cents at the store!"

"Hah, your spit's decades-old phlegm—the candy's sweet and clean. Can its power and concentration compare to your old phlegm? Isn't your phlegm worth more?"

Ah Zheng was so disgusted he shuddered, "Can you stop talking like that? It's gross!"

"Yeah, I'm getting goosebumps," Xiao Xiao said, shivering.

Ah Guang couldn't take it either, "You're making my throat itch."

The rat's wife's face turned mottled with rage. She glared at him fiercely, wanting to curse him—but seeing how many of them there were, she shrank back and walked toward her own family.

The friends were still unnerved by Ye Yaodong's description of the phlegm.

"How did you get so twisted?"

"Fifty cents for a spit? You're something else. Next time someone wipes their snot on your wall, are you going to charge two cents?"

"This is fast money! Even a chicken walking by has to leave two feathers!"

…

The rat's wife returned to her family's group and muttered, relaying the rat's words to her father. Instantly, the entire Wang family objected, shouting, "That won't do!"

"We can't calculate it like that…"

"We'd lose nearly half the money! I heard they pay thirty cents per unit—that's a huge difference!"

The rat's father-in-law stomped two steps forward, glaring sharply at the rat, "We all came here to stand up for you, and you just give in like this? Are we wasting our effort?"

"Do what's right! Fight for what's yours! Why let yourself get cheated? Money that belongs to you must be taken—what kind of man are you? Letting others talk you into anything? Are you too weak to call for help?"

"I brought a whole crowd to back you up, and you're acting like a coward? What's the point? I'm going to die of anger!"

The friends crossed their arms and watched the old man scolding the rat, while the rat stood there stunned, not uttering a word in return.

Seeing how uncomfortable the friends looked, their brows knotted so tightly they could trap flies, their mouths opened and closed several times—they desperately wanted to shout back!

No wonder they never got along before!

None of them were this pathetic—they wouldn't just stand there and take being yelled at.

It was suffocating to watch.

The Wang men gathered around, all scolding the rat.

"So many people came to back you up—why are you cowering?"

"The money that's ours must be taken from them!"

"How useless! You can't even demand your own money?"

"How can you just accept whatever they say? Are you that stupid?"

The rat's face flushed red. He clenched his teeth and shouted, "This is my own matter—I'll handle it myself. You all go home."

"How dare you? We came here out of kindness to help you, and now you're kicking us out?"

"Exactly, what's wrong with you?" the Rat's wife was furious.

The Rat glared back, "Shut up! It's all your meddling. You troublemaking pest. Tell your family to go back home right now."

"Damn! You haven't even crossed the river yet, and you're already trying to dismantle the bridge!"

"Everyone, come help! You don't say a word of thanks, yet you complain and drive people away..."

The Wang family instantly raised their voices, all surrounding the Rat with furrowed brows and angry stares, looking as if they would beat him up at the slightest provocation.

Ye Yaodong's forehead throbbed; his mouth itched to curse back, to roll up his sleeves and beat them up, to grab a broom and chase them all out.

"Sai Lin Mu, are you done? If you're done, get out of my house immediately and stop causing trouble."

"The matter of the dried fish isn't over yet..."

Ah Zheng jumped out impatiently to scold, "Bullshit! The Rat already said it should be settled according to the dock's rules. What does it have to do with you? They were in the wrong to begin with. You were the ones playing dog catching mice and meddling unnecessarily. If it weren't for this, we would have finished collecting the goods by now and could be sitting down for a couple of drinks."

"Dongzi, lend me some money. I'll settle the account with him right now to avoid trouble."

Otherwise, if they cause a scene again after we return, or come knocking door-to-door repeatedly, who can stand it? He wouldn't be able to live his life.

While this is happening, if it can be resolved, just give the money and be done with it, to avoid trouble arising from a long night.

Ah Guang truly felt that his momentary softness had led him to take on a hot potato, and he regretted it terribly.

He was looking for trouble for no reason. If he had known his father didn't want to work and wanted to rest for the winter, he should have just found someone else to go out to sea with, avoiding this mess.

"Just you wait."

Ye Yaodong turned and shouted to Ah Qing, who was standing aside listening to them, "Ah Qing..."

"I know. I'll go get the money right now. Is one hundred yuan enough?"

Ah Guang said, "Not enough. Bring one hundred and thirty-two yuan."

"Okay."

Lin Lin Xiuqing also wished they would resolve this matter and leave immediately, so everyone wouldn't be gathered there watching the show and whispering behind their backs.

They had been busy until now and the whole family hadn't eaten yet. If giving money could send them away, she naturally didn't hesitate a second.

Seeing Lin Lin Xiuqing go inside to get the money, the Old Wang family members were so angry they felt like iron that couldn't be forged into steel. There were so many of them, yet he was still so cowardly, not even daring to ask for more! He had made them all lose face!

At this moment, some villagers who heard about it were still around, and with nothing to do, they came over one after another to watch the spectacle.

The place was packed three layers deep with people. Some even loved to climb onto the walls, but only after getting pricked by the glass shards on top did anyone dare climb the wall again; they only dared to squeeze by the courtyard gate, peeking in cautiously.

She went quickly and returned, handing the money directly to Ah Guang. "Count it. Don't mess up the money, or trouble will arise again later."

"Mm."

After Ah Guang counted it himself, he handed it to the Rat to count.

The Rat didn't even count it; he just folded it and tried to stuff it into his pocket, but Ah Guang didn't want him to just shove it away carelessly like that.

"You should count it. What if there's a discrepancy or some money is missing? If something happens later, it's better to count it clearly now so we can settle this once and for all."

"Alright."

Although the Old Wang family members were still muttering there that the money wasn't enough, claiming they were immoral and deliberately giving too little and so on.

But there were many Ye family members present, and the villagers were also pointing and talking; they only muttered a few words.

In fact, their attention had all shifted to the banknotes in the Rat's hands, and they all stared watching him count the money.

If he hadn't counted it, he wouldn't have felt the pain, but the more he counted, the more the Rat's heart ached.

It had only been a short while, yet he earned over one hundred yuan. This was much easier to earn than doing odd jobs, and the money came much faster, especially considering the cargo was scarce during the earlier period.