Chapter 689: The Cunning Ye Chenghu

Ye Yaodong also walked over to where his sons had placed their clay jars, watching them squat there excitedly turning things over, pulling them out one by one; he too strolled around, looking on.

It felt quite novel; no wonder they were so excited, rushing home immediately after school without lingering on the road, running straight to the beach.

"Ah! There, there, there, I caught one..."

"I caught one too..."

Ye Chenghu, equally excited, pulled a large black octopus waving its tentacles and brandishing its claws from the jar, "So big! So big! Dad, mine is the biggest, the biggest."

His face flushed red with excitement, and he sprayed saliva wildly as he spoke.

This large black octopus was a bit too big, looking like it weighed over two jin, its head larger than his fist; Ye Chenghu was small with small hands, struggling to hold one of its tentacles, and its slime was too wet and slippery, making it hard to grip.

Amidst the black octopus's wriggling and struggling, he lost his grip and fell straight into the water.

Although the tide had receded, there was still some water left on the surrounding sea surface; once the large black octopus hit the water, it waved its eight tentacles, thrashing and crawling wildly.

Ye Chenghu cried out, trying to grab it several times but missing each time as it slipped away; the other children watching eagerly rushed into the water to catch it, but their hands were too small, and the black octopus was especially slippery, its tentacles covered in slime, so no one could hold on.

Just as they managed to grab it, it slipped away, leaving only slime in their palms.

"You're not allowed to catch it, not allowed, it's mine, it's mine..." Ye Chenghu shouted angrily, jumping and yelling.

Seeing the commotion, Ye Yaodong hurried over; seeing the children nearby bending down to pounce on the octopus in the water, Ye Chenghu was about to explode with anger.

A boy happened to grab two of the octopus's tentacles, lifting it out of the water and raising it excitedly, "Haha, I caught it, I caught it..."

This completely enraged Ye Chenghu; he angrily shoved the boy straight into the water, "This is mine, this is my octopus."

"Ah, damn it, Ye Chenghu..."

The boy pushed into the water cursed angrily a few times, then charged straight back up; the two instantly grappled and began wrestling.

"Ah, I'll beat you to death, it's clearly mine, I caught it in my jar..."

"Who told you to fall in the water? If I caught it, it's mine, damn it..."

"Mine..."

Ye Yaodong watched the two boys wrestling with a face full of black lines; before he could walk over to break it up, all their own children, excited, rushed up.

From one-on-one, it became one-versus-many, then a chaotic brawl of many against many...

Even little Ye Ye Chengyang, tiny as he was, squeezed in, kicking with his short little legs, kicking, kicking, while muttering, "Kick you to death, kick you to death..."

It looked a bit funny...

Who doesn't have a few siblings?

Ye Yaodong shook his head with a helpless smile, first lifting this little troublemaker aside, then shouted, "Alright, stop fighting! If you keep fighting, I'll tie you all up and drag you back, sending each of you home to see if your bottoms will bloom!"

The brawl continued; no one listened to him!

Everyone remained unmoved...

They were fighting with great enthusiasm.

Helpless, Ye Yaodong had to step forward and rescue the one being beaten the worst first.

"Alright, if you keep fighting, you'll get the whip when you go back."

A group of Ye boys, seeing Third Uncle had taken action, had to lower their flags and stop, grumbling.

"Don't steal our things, or I'll beat you every time I see you!"

"What's so great about that? Let go of me, I'm going back to tell my dad..."

The little boy wiped his tears and snot, then sprinted back; nearby, a few children ran with him, his siblings.

"Hmph, my dad is right here!"

Ye Chenghu was very proud!

"Brother, the octopus ran away..."

"Ah! My octopus..." Ye Chenghu jumped up in shock, almost forgetting his octopus.

The creature was already swimming away, gone far; Ye Yaodong quickly grabbed him and called out to stop the children who were about to run forward.

"Don't go further; I'll catch it for you, you continue gathering your bottles and jars."

"Then Dad, you must catch it back; this is the biggest one, we've never caught one this big before; you must catch it back..."

"I know, stop nagging..."

Ye Yaodong rolled his pant legs up high, wading through the water and walking quickly forward; fortunately, this octopus was lounging comfortably in the water, not in a hurry to swim back to the sea.

He walked up, holding a bucket, and scooped it straight in.

Effortlessly...

If he had used his hands, it might have been hard for him too; it was too slippery, disgusting, and would have left him in a mess; scooping it up directly with a bucket was simple and convenient.

Seeing his black octopus caught again, Ye Chenghu immediately became happy, "Caught it, caught it, Dad is so amazing."

"Mm, fill it with more water, cover it completely, so it won't easily climb out; go dig through your bottles and jars."

"Okay."

At that moment, Ye Ye Chengyang excitedly brought over a small white octopus, making Ye Chenghu nervous, afraid he would scoop them all up, so he ran forward to continue working.

Striving to scoop out more himself, so Yangyang would catch fewer.

After filling the bucket with water and setting it aside, Ye Yaodong strolled around them again, checking how much they had gathered.

Was it enough for a whole bowl altogether?

Surprised exclamations from the surroundings rose and fell in waves.

With fun and rewards, the attraction was too great for the children; every time they pulled out an octopus, it was a surprise to them.

Ye Yaodong circled twice, and they had all finished digging; then they gathered together, carrying their buckets, comparing and seeing who had caught the most today.

"Hehe, I must have won again; I have a very big octopus, one can beat several of yours."

"But yours is a black octopus; black octopuses aren't tasty, white octopuses are delicious, white octopuses are the most expensive, so your big one is useless!"

"Hmph, it's still the biggest..." Ye Chenghu refused to yield, "I also caught four small white octopuses."

"I caught four too..."

"I only have two Bai Zhang, but I also have one Red Zhang, just a little less than yours..."

They chattered away reporting their counts, while Ye Yaodong stood aside and calculated as well.

Not bad!

That makes twenty-two, enough for two bowls; two tables tomorrow will be perfectly covered.

I mentioned it casually a few days ago, never thought it would hit the mark; these kids, just fooling around, can still bring everyone some good fortune in food.

"Finished collecting, let's go home, home~" Ye Ye Chenghai waved his big hand happily.

"Can we wait until it gets dark to go back? That way, Mother will have nowhere to sell them? Won't that mean we can stay and eat?"

"Are you stupid? Third Uncle is here, isn't he? We just give the octopuses to Third Uncle to sell; we just say we didn't catch any today."

"Eh???"

Everyone's eyes lit up with surprise and delight.

Right, Third Uncle is here today!

A group of children all looked at Ye Yaodong with bright, sparkling eyes, gazing at him with longing; Third Uncle was free, and they hadn't had snacks in a long time.

"Third Uncle~"

It came without any effort; he didn't even have to waste his breath, as these kids had voluntarily offered themselves up.

Ye Yaodong touched his pocket, coins jingling jingling, and several of their eyes all turned to look at his pocket.

He smiled: "Then sell them to me; how much do you plan to sell one Bai Zhang for?"

"Ah? How much can these sell for?"

"We don't want money!" Ye Ye Chenghai quickly spoke up, "Third Uncle just needs to buy us instant noodles for me... if he can also buy Chen Chen Qishui, that would be even better..."

"Yes, yes, yes..." the others quickly chimed in agreement.

Brother Brother Ahai is so smart!

"You're dreaming! How much is a single Bai Zhang worth? A pack of Hongfa instant noodles costs twenty-eight fen, and you still want Chen Chen Qishui? Why not fly to the sky?"

So cunning!

Wanting instant noodles and wanting Chen Chen Qishui; a single Bai Zhang is worth so little, they're clicking their abacus loudly, dreaming so beautifully.

"Hehe~ We can catch for a few more days, and give them all to you."

"Yes, yes, yes, we'll catch for a few more days and give them all to you!"

"Third Uncle, please~"

"Please~"

Ye Yaodong rubbed his chin, "Then how will you explain it to Old Mother!"

"Just say there aren't any!"

"Beating me won't help! There just aren't any!"

"Right, even if you beat me to death, I'll say there aren't any!"

"Mm, mm!" Several girls nodded along too.

It works... they are all very principled young men and women...

For a mouthful of food, what does it matter if they get beaten a few times? It's just a daily occurrence anyway.

"Then fine! I won't care whether you get beaten or not; it's all voluntary."

"Don't worry, Third Uncle, we won't betray you."

Ye Yaodong's mouth twitched.

"Dad, can I sell mine to you too?" Ye Chenghu said softly.

"Hm? You eat mine, drink mine, live in mine, spend mine, and you still want to earn my money?"

Rascal!

"But this is what I caught; if you want it, won't you have to spend money to buy it?"

"Then I won't have to buy you instant noodles and Chen Chen Qishui later, right?"

Ye Chenghu tilted his head and thought for a moment, then nodded, "I want money, not food."

I'll just mooch off Yangyang later~

He thought triumphantly in his heart; it didn't matter if he didn't have any, Yangyang surely would.

Dad bought for everyone, he couldn't possibly not buy for Yangyang; he would just eat Yangyang's later!

He was just that smart!