Chapter 50: Everyone Comes to Help

Lin Xiuqing hugged the huge sum of money and headed home first. In her opinion, now that they’d earned money, it was only natural for him to celebrate with his friends. She wasn’t the petty type.

By the time she got home, the entire Ye family had already finished work and returned from the construction site.

“Ah Qing, I heard Yaodong had quite a good haul on the isolated island today. How much did it sell for?”

Sister-in-law Ye asked curiously.

Second Sister-in-law also stared at her eagerly.

Lin Xiuqing smiled.

“Not much. Most of it was shellfish. They’re all piled up in the backyard. Later I’ll need Big Sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law to help shuck oysters so we can add dishes for the family tomorrow.”

After speaking, she turned and went straight into the room.

Money should never be flaunted. There was no way she’d casually announce the amount and make others jealous. Just yesterday, Second Sister-in-law had already been complaining about unfairness.

Second Sister-in-law curled her lips.

Fine, don’t say it then!

Back in the room, Lin Xiuqing spread the stack of small bills on the bed and counted them carefully again. Once she confirmed nothing was wrong, she took out the money from selling the shellfish earlier and counted that too.

Only the little abalones were worth much. The snails and goose barnacles were cheap, but there had been so much of them, and shellfish were heavy by nature, so altogether they’d still sold for over eight yuan.

Adding in the money Mother Ye had already given her from Ah Dong’s seafood sales, today alone they’d brought in over four hundred yuan.

For their family, that was an enormous amount of money—more than she could earn weaving fishing nets for an entire year.

And together with the reef gathering from the previous two days, they’d already earned six or seven more yuan.

Lin Xiuqing clenched the money tightly in her hands. For the first time in a long while, life seemed to hold a bit of hope again, and naturally, she began to harbor a little more expectation toward Ye Yaodong.

He truly had changed for the better these past few days.

After carefully putting the money away, she went out to help shuck oysters and sort the shellfish into categories so they could be cooked more conveniently tomorrow.

The next morning, because he’d drunk too much the previous night, Ye Yaodong woke up late.

By the time he got out of bed, nobody was home anymore. Only Grandmother remained in the backyard watering the vegetable patch.

“Grandma, did everyone go help with the house?”

The old lady’s wrinkled face folded into a smile.

“Yes. There’s porridge and dried fish warming in the pot. Hurry and eat. You must’ve been exhausted yesterday—you’ve gotten so tanned.”

“It’s fine. Being darker is healthier.”

Ye Yaodong smiled.

“Grandma, I earned some money these past few days. Today’s Saturday. On Monday, I’ll take you to the county hospital to get fitted for dentures.”

“Huh? No, no!”

Grandma hurriedly waved her hands.

“I’m already this old. Why waste money on me? I can just eat fish. I don’t even like meat! I’m not going!”

“Didn’t we already talk about this before? Just listen to me.”

“No, no, I’m not going. You finally earned a little money—keep it for yourself. Don’t spend it on me.”

“I heard it’s actually pretty cheap…”

“Even so, I’m not going! Hurry up and eat!”

The old lady pushed him toward the kitchen as she spoke.

Ye Yaodong simply smiled.

Then he’d just take her directly on Monday.

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

Before he even reached it, he could already see workers along the road carrying stones, hauling gravel, and pushing carts full of yellow earth back and forth.

His mother had said they’d hired more than ten laborers.

When he finally arrived, he saw his second brother working together with several laborers, carrying large stones and laying them flat into a deep pit.

Nearby, an old mason was chiseling stones.

The pit had probably been dug yesterday. Back in this era, rural houses didn’t use foundation piles. They simply dug the ground thirty or forty centimeters deep and filled it with rocks as the foundation.

Mother Ye happened to be carrying a load of gravel over and immediately called out when she saw him.

“You’re not going reef gathering today, and you’re not allowed to run around either. Stay here and help. Otherwise, I’ll tell your father when he gets back.”

Ye Yaodong looked at his mother helplessly.

He’d come here specifically to help in the first place.

“Got it.”

“The gloves are over by the stone pile.”

“Oh. Where are Ah Qing and the kids?”

“She’s up on the hill shoveling yellow earth. That work’s lighter. The children are by the creek, playing while helping pick up stones.”

He nodded and, under his mother’s watchful gaze, went over to carry stones together with his second brother.

Only after watching him work for a while did Mother Ye finally leave satisfied, carrying her shoulder pole and baskets off to haul more gravel.

As for his gang of good-for-nothing friends, after he’d been carrying stones for a bit, they also gradually showed up one after another to help.

The laborers working there were all village men, mostly older folks. Seeing this bunch, who were usually lazy troublemakers, actually showing up to help, they all praised them repeatedly, saying they’d grown up and become sensible.

The compliments actually made the group feel awkward.

They were used to being criticized and disliked all the time. Suddenly being praised one day felt strange beyond belief.

A’Zheng whispered,

“Damn… we’ve always been treated like pests. Hearing them praise us suddenly makes me feel like I’ve actually become successful or something…”

Xiaoxiao nodded in agreement.

“Exactly. Yesterday I brought home a whole sack of shellfish, and my wife smiled so hard her face practically bloomed into a flower. Once I handed over the money from the fish sale, she became unbelievably affectionate.”

“My mom too. She praised me nonstop and even said next time she wants to eat chicken, I can just go catch one!”

“Must be nice for you guys…”

A’Guang sighed dramatically.

“Poor me, all alone. Nobody praises me. I can only keep the money for myself…”

The moment he said that, everyone immediately turned to glare at him viciously.

“Tonight? A few rounds?”

Since all of them had handed their money over to their wives or parents, their pockets were empty again. Only Fatty and Chen Wei still had cash left. Hearing A’Guang say that made them feel they’d be letting themselves down if they didn’t win a few rounds off him.

A’Guang’s eyes widened and he instinctively covered his pocket.

“Not playing. I quit gambling.”

“You’ve got the nerve to say that? You’re usually the loudest one calling for cards!”

“Starting today!”

Everyone rolled their eyes simultaneously.

What had originally been dull, exhausting labor suddenly became much more enjoyable with the addition of his friends. Carrying and lifting things together somehow felt lively and fun.

That evening, after work ended, Mother Ye quietly asked Ye Yaodong,

“Should we pay your friends half a day’s wages?”

“No need. Just feed them meals. They won’t help for many days anyway, and they won’t come every day.”

“Alright then. I won’t write them down in the work records.”

But after working for two days, when Monday came and Ye Yaodong himself didn’t show up, his friends naturally stopped coming too.

The night before, he’d already discussed things with Lin Xiuqing. On Monday he planned to take Grandma to the county hospital for dentures, so he wouldn’t be helping at the construction site. He’d asked her to let his mother know in advance.

Lin Xiuqing gritted her teeth, unlocked the drawer, counted out fifty yuan, and handed it to him.

“Take it. It should be enough, right?”

After all, it was money he himself had earned these past few days. Though it pained her a little, Grandma truly doted on him.

Ye Yaodong hugged her and kissed her cheek.

He’d known his wife was reasonable. She’d never begrudge him spending money to care for Grandma.

“It won’t cost this much. I’ll give you back whatever’s left over.”

“Mm.”

On Monday morning, Grandma stubbornly refused to go, repeatedly insisting she didn’t have many years left anyway and it wasn’t worth wasting money on her.

Ye Yaodong remained equally stubborn.

“If you don’t go with me, then I’ll just have dentures made myself and bring them back. But if they don’t fit properly, we’ll have to spend even more money adjusting them.”

The old lady was so exasperated her liver hurt. After smacking him several times, she finally gave in and reluctantly followed him out the door.

After all, she didn’t want extra money wasted either.

(End of Chapter)