Chapter 49: Dividing the Earnings

“These aren’t all mine. I brought some sacks. These two bags and this small pile here are mine. The others didn’t bring sacks, so everything else got piled onto the boat. They’ve all gone back to get bags now,” Ye Yaodong explained.

He handed the bamboo basket and bucket to his mother, saying, “This is what I caught. Take it to Ah Cai and see if they’ll buy the sea centipedes. The bamboo basket also has seven green crabs.”

Mother Ye was stunned by his haul. “So many green crabs! The isolated island has this much to catch? Even sea centipedes? This bucket isn’t light!”

Looking at the wriggling sea centipedes in the bucket, she wasn’t disgusted at all. Instead, her eyes sparkled with joy. These sea centipedes were a delicacy, and the tidal flats near their home didn’t have them.

“The isolated island is untouched. The reefs are teeming with all kinds of things. Look at these mussels and clams, all so plump! The others caught a few green crabs too. There’s so much here. If I weren’t worried about overharvesting, I could’ve dug up more.”

“This is plenty. If we can’t eat it all and it spoils, that’d be a waste. I’ll take these to sell. Anything else?” Mother Ye said cheerfully, clearly proud of her third son’s rare productivity.

Ye Yaodong nudged a small pile at his feet with his toe. “Some of this still needs sorting. There are some big snails that could sell well, and there’s Buddha’s hand shellfish too. The mussels aren’t worth much, so just keep them for the workers building the house.”

“Got it, got it. I’ll sell these first, and we’ll sort the rest of the shells later.”

When the others returned with sacks to pack their haul, Father Ye’s fishing boat also arrived.

Hearing Mother Ye talk about how their third son had a great day—catching half a bucket of sea centipedes, seven green crabs, and earning over ten yuan from sales, along with hauling back two sacks of shellfish—Father Ye’s usually stern face softened. Their fishing boat only made about twenty yuan that day, and considering Ye Yaodong’s shorter trip and significant harvest, it was indeed impressive.

The family worked together to transport the shellfish back home. Once there, Mother Ye sorted some mussels to cook into a pot of noodle soup as snacks for the workers, who were helping build the new house.

After hauling everything back, Ye Yaodong gulped down half a pot of tea and plopped down in the living room to rest, waiting for dinner.

Father Ye, sitting shirtless with his treasured pipe, took a few puffs before asking, “Did the others catch much?”

“Not as much as I did,” Ye Yaodong replied, too tired from the day to engage much in conversation.

“There’s no tide tomorrow. Let’s wait until the 15th when the tide is good again, and we’ll see if we can rent another boat.”

“The old lady who rents the boats keeps raising her prices. It’s not worth it. Let’s wait and see,” Ye Yaodong said, wary of the risk of not making enough to cover the cost.

Father Ye nodded. “Alright, we’ll decide then. After dinner, go with your wife to Ah Cai’s place and collect the 1,000 yuan we earned from yesterday’s sales. Whatever portion we’re owed, we’ll split it.”

“Got it.”

Meanwhile, Lin Xiuqing, Ye Yaodong’s wife, had learned from Mother Ye about his earnings for the day. She hurried home after receiving a small wad of cash from her mother-in-law, too excited to even eat the snack Mother Ye had brought for the workers.

When she got back, Ye Yaodong had just finished his meal and put down his bowl. “Did you eat the snack? There’s still some left in the pot,” he asked.

“I will,” she said as she started eating.

Father Ye and the eldest brother, Ye Yaohua, left for the construction site after their meal, leaving the couple at home.

As Lin Xiuqing ate, she asked, “Your mother didn’t say much earlier since there were others around, but she secretly stuffed me with this wad of small bills and whispered that it’s from the things you sold today.”

“Yeah,” Ye Yaodong replied, recounting his day’s harvest and pointing to the back door. “There’s still a pile of shellfish there. After you finish eating, sort through it. See if there’s anything else that can be sold. Then take it to Ah Cai’s place and settle yesterday’s accounts.”

Lin Xiuqing’s eyes sparkled with delight, her smile growing as she nodded. Nothing pleased her more than having a husband who could earn money.

Seeing the noticeable change in his wife’s attitude over the past few days, Ye Yaodong felt that all his hard work was worth it.

“Mom seems to have sold those three small white octopuses. Otherwise, I could’ve made some wine stew for you,” he said.

“What’s there to eat? Anything that can be sold should be sold. Dad’s trawling has left us with piles of small fish and shrimp, and now with all the shellfish you’ve brought back, we’re definitely not short on food.”

But it’s not the same.

In her previous life, she had died from colon cancer, likely related to her diet. This thought had always weighed on him, and now that he had a second chance, he was determined to provide her with better meals.

“Alright, let’s wait until the family splits up,” he replied.

Living with the extended family meant they couldn’t enjoy special meals on their own without raising eyebrows, especially considering his previous reputation as a useless freeloader. If they were caught indulging, his two sisters-in-law would surely have something to say.

Lin Xiuqing quickly finished her meal, washed her bowl, and headed to the backyard to sort through the shellfish. She carefully picked out anything she thought would fetch a good price.

Large snails, pen shells, wild abalones—all of these were packed separately into buckets. The smaller ones, which wouldn’t sell for much, were left behind for their own use.

To be fair, Ye Yaodong had already focused on digging up the bigger shellfish earlier, so after her sorting, not much was left.

Luckily, she wasn’t interested in the mussels and clams, so they still had two sacks of those.

“Should we shuck the oysters for sale?” she asked.

“Forget it. A whole sack like that would need Mom and the others to help. You wouldn’t be able to finish shucking them all tonight on your own. Let’s keep them for the family to eat,” Ye Yaodong suggested.

“Alright then,” Lin Xiuqing replied, a bit disappointed. A sack that size could yield several pounds of oysters.

Seeing her miserly expression, Ye Yaodong chuckled. “Once you’re done, grab yesterday’s receipt. I’ll go call Ah Guang and the others, and we’ll head to Ah Cai’s place to settle the account.”

“Okay,” she nodded.

When they left Ah Cai’s house, pockets full of cash, Ye Yaodong glanced at the vast sea in the distance. This is the treasure trove of the entire village.

It was said that his grandfather wasn’t originally from the village. He had come all the way from Zhejiang during a famine, begging for food, and eventually settled here, making a living off the sea.

This sea had sustained so many lives.

Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Ye Yaodong grinned. “Let’s go to Ah Guang’s house and split the loot!”

1,601 yuan and 88 cents was a fortune in those days—equivalent to two years of wages for a laborer. After deducting boat rental and diesel costs, the four of them still had 397 yuan each.

“My wife did the math: about 397 per person. Count your share, and once everyone’s done, we’ll double-check the leftover change,” Ye Yaodong said, dumping the stack of bills onto the table.

The money they had made from selling other goods had already been set aside by Lin Xiuqing and wasn’t included in this split.

The others cheerfully counted their shares and tucked the money into their pockets. Left on the table was 1 yuan and 88 cents.

Ye Yaodong grinned and asked, “So, there’s just over a yuan left. Should we split it, or…?”

“No point in splitting that—just use it to buy some wine,” someone suggested.

“Yeah, let’s get some wine! After a full day of hard work, we deserve a celebration. We’ve got fish from today’s trawling and plenty of shellfish for snacks,” another chimed in.

“Sounds good, sounds good!”

“Let’s invite everyone else, too.”

“They’re going to be so jealous…”