After planning well for the Mid-Autumn Festival, Lin Xiuqing wore a brighter smile.
She pulled on one end of the fabric as she opened it for inspection, only to find it a bit too long.
"How many meters did you buy?"
"Two meters. Didn't you tell me to buy two meters?"
"You're so tall that you need two meters; I don't need that much!"
"That's fine. You can make another pair of pants to match."
"Those can't be long pants; at most, they could be shorts," Lin Xiuqing murmured for a while before putting it all away.
Since they had already bought it, they could only make do.
Once everything was packed up, Lin Xiuqing's attention shifted to the sea turtle's feet.
"Can you still dig up those sea turtle feet? They're worth so much!"
Ye Yaodong lay on the bed, shaking his foot.
"I don't know if there are any on other islands. Without the tide, it's hard to go. These things grow in the intertidal zone, where the waves crash year-round. If you go there normally, the tide doesn't go down too low and you could easily get knocked into the sea by the waves. It's quite dangerous."
"Then let's wait until the first or the fifteenth of the month to see if we can find any. If we do, we can dig a few. If not, it's fine; making this much is already quite good, and thankfully someone buys them."
"Mm."
"Do you think it's strange that a foreigner would come to our small place?"
"Isn't it quite normal? They probably got to know the prince of Hongsheng while studying abroad and came here to have some fun. Why worry about that? They should come to pay attention to me," he said with a mischievous grin.
Lin Xiuqing instantly understood his meaning and shyly glanced at the two children who were playing.
She said softly, "Don't you get tired? Working so hard all day and then trying to think of sneaky plans..."
"What’s tiring about that? They’re two different matters. I ate five sea turtle eggs yesterday and another two today. I'm just testing the results. Hurry and lull those two kids to sleep..."
As it turned out, the sea turtle eggs were quite effective, indeed boosting energy and nourishing the kidneys, which filled him with pride!
The next day, he rose feeling refreshed and remembered there were about 5 or 6 eggs left from the night before, so he hurried to the kitchen to check but found only soup.
"The sea turtle eggs are gone?"
"You woke up late; I ate the last two."
Ye Yaopeng chuckled.
"You know the effect is good, right? Didn't bother to leave one for me."
The other four must have been taken by his father to sea for a meal.
Originally, it was his turn to go out to sea yesterday, but he chose to go to the town.
His father called for his older brother, and that night, A Hua went out instead, leaving him with no turn.
"Hehe..."
Ye Yaopeng felt awkward and didn’t know how to reply.
Their mother urged, "Hurry up and eat breakfast. After you finish, get to work. They’re just a few eggs. Those sea turtle eggs are pretty fishy; what's the big deal?"
"Got it."
At night, he planned to drop by A Guang’s place to bring a few back.
He was a single man; it wouldn’t be good if he overdid it!
But unexpectedly, before he could even visit A Guang, A Guang came bustling over to work early in the morning.
"Have you taken the wrong medicine? You actually came here to work so early? Haven't seen the sun or done any labor? You're so eager without pay?"
"I came over with good intentions to help you, and you say such things."
"Alright then, looks like you're determined to work hard. Do a good job, and later tell my mom to calculate your wages."
"Pfft," A Guang scoffed, "Do I really need that little bit of money?"
"Aren't you saving up for a bride? Every bit counts!"
"You might as well take me out to sea a few more times; that would be quicker."
"I don't even have time to go myself; there's a pile of chores waiting at home. Going to the isolated island daily isn't safe either. Aren't you trying to buy a boat? Go to A Cai's house tonight and see if you can get some money. The sooner you get it, the sooner you can buy a boat."
"That's true. We should go get the money tonight. It's been a day, and we're not obligated to always pay him in goods."
After working hard for two days, A Guang made a good impression on Ye's mother.
When the evening shift ended, she enthusiastically invited him to dinner with a smile.
Ye Yaodong wouldn’t let him refuse and pulled him by the shoulder towards home.
In truth, A Guang wasn't thinking of refusing.
He was just happily following them for a free meal.
After dinner, he even helped clean the dried clams and sea gourds until Ye Yaodong called him to get the money, and only then did he follow along.
For several days, he worked as a free laborer; even when Ye Yaodong went out to sea with his father, he still came over as usual and sometimes brought watermelons.
Ye’s mother even felt a bit shy and insisted on counting his wages.
A Guang repeatedly declined; he hadn't come to work for money, but Ye's mother insisted on pushing it on him.
Since he didn't want to offend her, he took it temporarily and planned to give it back on the table when he left later.
Only then did Ye Mother smile and say, "This is more like it! Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare let you come work. I hadn’t known you before, but I’ve seen you for a few days now, and you really are a good young man."
He scratched the back of his head awkwardly and smiled foolishly.
"Seeing you’re not too young anymore, I should hurry and have your aunt arrange a match for you. It looks strange not to have a woman at home. Get a wife to organize things; your two younger sisters are growing up too, and in a couple of years, someone should also be finding them a match."
"Hehe, if your aunt knows of a suitable match for me, she can introduce me."
As he spoke, his gaze started to wander a bit.
"Ah~ I’m so busy with building houses every day that I hardly have time to be a matchmaker. If you’re not in a hurry, I can keep an eye out when the house is built."
"Hehe, that's fine, I’m not in a hurry. I’m still a year younger than Dongzi."
Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes from the side, "What are you comparing to me? I have two kids, and you don't even have a wife in sight."
"Right! You should quickly get your aunt to find someone for you. If it's suitable, let’s celebrate this year!"
"Alright, alright..."
In his heart, he felt the same, but well... it wasn't proper to say it outright.
He had to take things step by step, or else he’d face trouble and ruin things.
He switched the topic, "Dongzi, how many crab nets have you made?"
"Not many. I have to build houses during the day, so I can only make them for a while after dinner. I've managed to finish five."
"Get someone to help! The sooner you make them, the sooner you can put them into the sea and see returns."
"There's no rush; there’s plenty of work at home. We can take our time."
Once he made ten, he could put them in the sea at once; otherwise, it wouldn't make sense to have just five or six in the water and then take a boat just to collect them.
That wasted too much time.
Ten is still a small number, but at least it could make a coherent line, just barely enough to put out.
"Keeping those crab nets at home is a waste; why not take them to the pond tonight and see if you can catch some loach for stew? We might as well try the waters too?"
Ye Yaodong's eyes lit up at the suggestion; that sounded great!
(End of Chapter)