In the recent half-month, Ye Yaodong had managed to rake in nearly 400. This time, he had brought back over 100. A few small amounts here and there added up to a significant sum, far surpassing what she had earned from fishing nets in the past few years.
She hadn’t even noticed that lately, when facing her husband, she couldn’t help but smile widely.
Her demeanor had noticeably warmed up compared to her previously cool attitude.
Perhaps it wasn’t night and day, but it was definitely filled with more warmth.
She never demanded that he earn a specific amount for her, as merely seeing him work hard was enough to satisfy her heart.
Ye Yaodong joyfully wrapped his arms around her from behind and leaned down, whispering in her ear, “Aren’t I impressive? Have you counted how much I’ve earned for you these days? It must be around seven or eight hundred, right?”
“Not that much, over six hundred, I think. This over 100 hasn’t even reached my hands yet.”
“Well, that’s still quite a bit... Ah—what the heck!”
He was just about to take advantage of the good mood and ask for a compliment when, out of nowhere, his eldest son, who had been playing hero under the sheets, suddenly jumped onto his back.
Caught off guard, he nearly stumbled and sent all three of them crashing down.
With a swift move, he reached behind to catch the boy and cursed lightly.
Then he turned around and snatched the bamboo stick from his son’s hand, giving him a light smack on the backside.
“Little rascal, you think you can just jump whenever? What if you fell and hurt yourself?”
“Ah, ah, ah~ that hurts!” Ye Chenghu yelled as he darted around the bed, trying to dodge his father. “You can hold Mom, why can’t I hug you?”
“That’s not a hug, that’s like a mountain crashing down! I’m the one carrying you. Besides, your mother is my wife, and I paid for her; you didn’t even spend a dime on me, so why should I carry you?”
“Then I won’t hug you anymore; I’ll just hug my mom.”
“You little brat!”
He thought for a moment the boy would say he’d give him money when he grew up.
But no, what an ungrateful little rascal, not charming at all.
“Go on, go on~”
After being hit several times, Ye Chenghu was furious and ran to Ye Chengyang, who was clapping and cheering, hiding behind him and shouting, “You traitor! Whose side are you on?”
“Huh?”
“Alright, stop messing around and go to sleep. If you jump any more, the bed might just collapse.”
Lin Xiuqing took the bamboo stick from Ye Yaodong’s hand and placed it on the table.
Then she untangled the quilt draped around Ye Chenghu, scolding him a bit more.
“Always playing around with a quilt like that, if it gets torn, I’ll give you a beating!”
Ye Chenghu stood still with a giggle, obediently letting her unravel him.
Having worked all day, Ye Yaodong lost interest in flirting when the atmosphere was broken.
He simply collapsed onto the bed, exhaling deeply; lying down felt so good!
“Tomorrow morning, I’ll head to the town. Do you need anything?”
“Nope, oh wait, you could get some cloth for yourself. You’ve been saying you want to make two more pieces of clothing but can never find the time.”
“Huh? How would I do that? Should we go together tomorrow?”
“With all the work at home and several piles of shells in the backyard, I don’t have time to go with you. Just head to the shops in town and tell the owner you want dark cotton cloth. Pick two colors and get 2 meters of each.”
“Oh.” He absentmindedly agreed and then realized, “Any shop will do?”
“If you’re not too bothered, check a few more shops and haggle. Buy from the one that offers the best price!”
The corner of Ye Yaodong’s mouth twitched.
If he had known it would be this complicated, he wouldn’t have asked.
As a grown man, how could he go around haggling with women over a few coins and have to ask him to check multiple shops?
“Let’s see when it comes to that. Just remember to bring me the money tomorrow; I don’t have a dime on me right now.”
“Got it. Pull out the wire before sleeping; those two won’t sleep if the light stays on.”
Looking at his two sons, wide-eyed and still playing, Ye Yaodong reached for the wire by the bed, pulled it, and plunged the room into darkness.
Gradually, the two became quiet.
The next morning, as soon as there was movement beside him, he woke up.
But he didn’t want to move; after all, the inn wouldn’t be opening so early.
“Get up!”
He rolled over, one foot accidentally resting on his eldest son lying horizontally.
Sleepily, he mumbled, “Put the money on the table; I’ll go to town later.”
“Okay, when the kids wake up, you can take them to the house first.”
“Mm.”
He didn’t know if it was due to rising early recently that his internal clock was set, but although he was tired, he wanted to sleep a bit longer.
Once she turned to leave, though, he couldn’t manage to fall back asleep and was only getting more awake.
Finally, deciding to open his eyes and sit up, he took the neatly folded clothes from the table and put them on.
Since he couldn’t sleep, he might as well go to town earlier.
He genuinely didn’t believe there would be no one around who would recognize a sea chicken foot at this time.
After that thought crossed his mind, he didn’t wait for the kids to wake up.
He directly went out the back door, instructing Ye Huimei, who was busy opening oysters, to listen for sounds.
If they woke up, let them see for themselves and help out, cleaning and sorting a few things was fine.
If not, she could ask his nephew to take them to the homestead.
Ye Huimei pouted.
Staying home to help? More like causing mischief.
Ye Yaodong quickly took his bucket and rushed out.
He hadn’t expected to run into A Guang at his doorstep, “What are you doing here?”
“Brought you some watermelons!”
“Really? No need to send them to my place; just take them to the homestead. It’s just me and my sister with a few half-asleep kids at home, they’re all out working over there, and the watermelons will quench their thirst.”
“Ah?” A Guang’s eyes flickered, smiling brightly, “No problem! I have plenty of watermelons. Since I brought these, I’ll just leave them here. I’ll carry a basket to the homestead later.”
“Okay, then.”
“No need! I’ll take them inside for you.”
“Such great service?”
“Of course! I’m counting on you to prosper and bring us along!”
“Don’t even think about it; hurry up and book a small boat for yourself.”
Ye Yaodong waited at the door, planning to ask A Guang if he wanted to head to town together when he came out—but the moment A Guang brought the two watermelons inside, he didn’t come back out.
Wondering what had happened, he stepped inside and instantly heard laughter coming from the back door, “A Guang, what are you doing? I’ve been waiting for you forever. Why are you crouching here?”
“Huh?” A Guang jumped, swirling around to glance at him, speaking uneasily, “Oh, you’re still here?”
“Of course! I’m waiting at the door for you. Why are you taking so long?”
He spoke vaguely, “Nothing, just came in to say hi….”
“I’m heading to town; do you want to come along?”
“Not going, I think. It’s so heaty; what’s the point? I have nothing to do anyway.”
“I thought we could keep each other company.”
“Let’s skip it. Aren’t you going to take a basket of watermelons to the homestead? You might as well stop by and see if anything needs doing.”
“Alright, good buddy!” Ye Yaodong, not suspecting anything, said, “Then I’ll head off first.”
On the first day of the serialization, we’re hitting a big update of ten thousand words, so enjoy!
At midnight, we’ll continue updating another ten thousand words!
(End of Chapter)