Chapter 767: Caring for the Lin Family

At the dinner table, the whole family kept discussing the matter of building the workshop. Everyone felt that it wouldn't work without someone watching over it, and it wouldn't work without something to enclose it.

That large piece of open land—if anyone could come and take a look, touch it, and if stray cats and dogs could also wander over, would that be acceptable?

Later, they discussed just cutting a few bamboo poles to stand up around the perimeter and then using old fishing nets to enclose it. They didn't expect it to stop people, but it would at least prevent people from easily touching or messing with things.

The father and son had to go out to sea and had no time to set it up. It just so happened that after measuring the land tomorrow, they could hand the work over to the two brothers-in-law who were coming. This would also give them immediate work to do, saving them from just sitting around tomorrow and feeling uneasy about taking the money.

The two sisters-in-law from the Lin family could also immediately join the squid-slaughtering army upon arrival, so everyone would have work.

Once the squid fishing season ended, they would immediately start laying bricks for the walls. Since they had just earned a large sum of money, taking a little out to build the workshop wouldn't make them feel too heartbroken.

In the time it took to eat dinner, they had simply finalized the matter of the small workshop.

Outside the house, the women slaughtering squid were still working with great enthusiasm. Their voices were much louder than those inside the house, and there were also neighbors from nearby who had come to watch the excitement, along with children running and jumping at the entrance.

After finishing their meal, they joined in, and Ye Yaodong and Ye Fu also went back and forth carrying water.

Squid dried fish is generally sun-dried lightly.

Slaughtering squid generally involves making a cut from the head down to the middle of the abdomen, then making a cut on the left and right sides of the two eyeballs, and then cleaning out the internal organs starting from the tail, while retaining the white backbone.

Those few women were specifically in charge of slaughtering; once slaughtered, they would toss them into the baskets at their sides, while Ye Mu, Lin Xiuqing, and the old lady sat there cleaning them.

To prevent Ye Xiaoxi from causing trouble while they weren't paying attention, Aqing put her into a standing cage to watch them work.

Brother-in-law Lin Xiang Hui arrived very quickly. Just as they were busy with great enthusiasm, he brought two women and Lin Guangyuan over.

Seeing a large group of people in their courtyard busy processing squid, the newcomers immediately rolled up their sleeves to help and joined the chatting and laughing group.

When Ye Chenghai saw Lin Guangyuan arrive, he went crazy with joy. The group of children were incredibly excited, calling out "Cousin! Cousin!" one after another.

Lin Guangyuan was also happy to death; he hadn't come over to play for more than half a year, and he had been thinking about it every day.

Seeing the whole family busy, the brother-in-law didn't go home immediately but snatched Ye Yaodong's work, helping to carry water.

Ye Yaodong had no work for a moment, so he just stayed there watching his mother and the old lady drying the squid.

You really can't deny it: having an elder in the house is like having a treasure. These middle-aged and elderly women really know more than young people.

There are two ways to dry squid: one is to dry them on bamboo mats or fishing nets, and the other is to tie the tail of the squid with a rope and hang it on a frame to dry. When hanging to dry, you must use bamboo strips to prop up the squid's body to prevent it from closing up, which would affect the drying process and also for the sake of aesthetics.

Ye Mu and the old lady also first laid the cleaned squid flat on bamboo mats, and then laid them flat on the fishing nets to dry.

After being turned and dried many times under the sun and blown by the sea breeze, the squid became dried fish.

Next, they still had to pile the dried squid together to let it "bloom."

After a period of time, a layer of white frost like that on a dried persimmon would appear on the surface of the squid, which then became standard top-quality squid dried fish.

They certainly couldn't wait for the squid to "bloom." Anyway, as long as it was dried, they could pack it in sacks and have someone transport it away. After a long time, it would naturally "bloom."

"Ah! You're going to pick up squid? Then I want to go pick up squid too!" Ye Chenghai shouted excitedly.

"Alright, alright, let's go pick up squid together, we'll have company."

"That probably won't work. If I'm going to pick them up, I should be helping my own family. I'm going to tell my mother that I want to go too." After saying this, Ye Chenghai ran toward his mother.

Ye Dasao was tired after a whole day, but the neighbor's house was so lively that they didn't go back to their room to sleep immediately, but stayed on the side watching with the neighbors and chatting.

Hearing her eldest son say he also wanted to go out to sea to pick up squid, she immediately glared at him. "You have school tomorrow, don't let your mind wander, we don't need you."

"I want to go, I want to go."

"Don't even think about it. If you don't want to study, then don't go in the second half of the year, just go out to sea to work with your father."

Ye Chenghai looked stubborn. "I want to go now, I want to go tonight."

"I'll break your legs."

"If you don't let me follow, I'll follow Third Uncle, go help him pick them up, and give everything I pick to him!" Ye Chenghai said, stiffening his neck without fear of death.

Ye Dasao threw a fierce glare at him and looked around for a stick. "I'll break your legs in advance right now..."

"I just want to go, I just want to go. If you don't let me follow, I'll follow Third Uncle."

"You've rebelled, haven't you? If you don't get a beating for three days, you'll be tearing off the roof tiles..."

Ye Dasao was so angry that smoke was about to come out of her head. She pulled a stick from the firewood pile in front of the house. The other children around had originally been eager to try, but seeing that posture, they immediately shrank their necks and hid in the corner.

They had originally thought that if Brother Ahai succeeded, they should be able to as well, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.

"You can't hit me. Anyway, if you don't let me follow, I'll secretly follow Third Uncle." Ye Chenghai dodged everywhere, continuing to argue without fear of death.

"If you have the ability, don't come back tonight!"

"Great, that's great! I was just waiting for those words. I'll sleep at the old house with Ayuan tonight."

Ye Chenghai jumped up excitedly, fearless. At only 14 years old, the rebellion of puberty had already begun to show in him.

"You little coffin-born, why did I give birth to a coffin-born like you? Don't run..."

"If you don't move, you're a turtle; if you don't run, you're a fool!"

"Don't let me catch you, if I catch you, watch me beat you to death."

Ye Dasao held a whip and chased after him in anger, cursing as she ran. However, the young man's speed, stamina, and explosive power were incredibly good. No matter how she cursed or chased behind him, she couldn't catch up, and in a few moments, he had disappeared without a trace.

Since she couldn't catch up or hit him, and had nowhere to vent her nameless anger, she could only curse Ye Yaopeng when she returned.

"Look at your son, he's only this big and you can't control him. You don't even know how to discipline him."

"Discipline what? If he wants to go, let him go. It doesn't matter if he doesn't go to school for a few days. Anyway, he already knows the characters. Do you still expect him to pass the university entrance exam? Knowing a few characters is enough."

Ye Dasao's words were blocked, and she had no way to refute them, so she could only sulk there. "Then don't study in the second half of the year, it's a waste of money."

"Suit yourself."

With both of them having an indifferent attitude, Ye Dasao felt even more depressed.

Seeing that Ye Chenghai had actually succeeded in his revolution, Ye Chengjiang felt very moved and also went up to Ye Ersao to apologize with a smile.

"Mother, can I go with you to pick up squid too?"

Ye Ersao raised her eyebrows, grabbed his ear directly, and dragged him toward home.

"Ah, it hurts, it hurts... Mother... Mother... what are you doing? Can't we talk nicely?"

"I'll break your dog legs, anyway you don't want to go to school all day long."

"That's not it, the teacher said we should love labor, labor is glorious..."

"May Day has already passed, what slogans are you still shouting? One by one, you don't learn anything good all day."

"Ah, I won't go, I won't go, hiss~ oh~ oh~ don't hit, don't hit~"

Ye Chengjiang didn't expect that Ye Chenghai wouldn't be beaten and would succeed in his revolution, while he himself couldn't escape the devil's claws.

The adults watched the show and just took it as a bit of fun. What child isn't naughty and doesn't get a beating?

When Ye Yaodong went out to the pier at night, he saw that Ye Fu and Lin Guangyuan were already there, and Ye Chenghai was also following along happily.

"Third Uncle, good morning~"

"Good lad, you really didn't go home to sleep last night?"

"Hehe, I slept with Ayuan, Grandpa and Grandma both said it was okay."

"Okay, you've got enough guts! Now your skin might be peeled off tonight to stir-fry as pork skin; it won't just be bamboo shoots stir-fried with meat on the menu."

"Hehe, I'm taller than my mother~ I'm not afraid~"

Ye Yaodong gave him a thumbs up. "You've really grown up, your wings have hardened. If you're not afraid of death, just be my black slave."

"What's a black slave?"

"A slave from ancient times, you know? That's what it means."

"Then Third Uncle, does what I pick up belong to me?"

"Are you here to sponge off the rich? You're not here to be a black slave!"

Ye Chenghai chuckled. "If I pick them up for my own family, my mother definitely won't give me money, and working for her is working for nothing. Third Uncle, you're so generous and you love me so much, you definitely won't let me work for nothing, right?"

"Who said that?" Ye Yaodong knocked him on the head hard. "Your abacus is quite sharp, isn't it? You ran here specifically to earn money. I thought you were here to be filial and help me work."

"Third Uncle, just calculate my wages for me, I'm very easy to talk to, you can just give me one or two yuan."

"Hmph hmph..." Ye Yaodong waved his hand toward the distance. "Big Brother, Sister-in-law, Ahai is here."

If this kid worked himself half to death and gave all the results of a whole day's labor to him, his sister-in-law would be furious, and he wouldn't have a good life when he went back. Don't let him get caught in the crossfire.

"Third Uncle..."

"Your father and mother are out, just go with them."

Ye Chenghai had a mournful face, watching them board the boat with longing eyes.

Lin Guangyuan also felt it was a pity, thinking the two of them would have company.

Ye Yaodong patted him on the head. "When you're alone on the island later, don't run around, and don't go into the water. You can only pick them up on the beach. Pay attention to safety, you know?"

"I know, I will be obedient, and I can swim too."

Lin Guangyuan was already 16 years old. In the past two years, his height had been shooting up, and he looked like he was almost 1.7 meters tall. He wasn't a child anymore.

When the time came, he would give him a headlamp to shine, and they would be able to see the light moving from far away, so they would feel more at ease.

It was precisely because he was older and often helped his family with work that he was more sensible. Otherwise, if it were Ye Chenghai, he wouldn't have brought him. Bringing him out meant taking responsibility. He was also thinking about taking care of his brother-in-law's family more.

If there were many squid stranded on the island at night, he would stay and pick them up for a while. If there weren't many, he would leave them for Lin Guangyuan to work on slowly, and he would go trawling. Otherwise, if they weren't picked up in time, they would just end up in the bellies of the seagulls. ===== CHAPTER 768 =====