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Chapter 59: Earning Money Again
“Why is this coconut snail just a shell? Where’s the meat?” Ye’s mother asked, helping with the sorting.
“It’s in the basin, look for it. We can slice it and stir-fry it at noon.”
“I’ve opened it, but there’s nothing inside?” Ye’s mother asked casually, not really believing that a Mele pearl would come out just by opening a shell.
“Mm.”
He lied smoothly, while Lin Xiuqing glanced at him with some guilt.
He winked at her before saying, “You should go wash up to avoid catching a cold. I’m here with Mom and the others.”
She understood what he meant and nodded, heading back to the house to hide the Mele pearl. She’d been worried it might fall out, so she kept her hand over the pocket, afraid it might get lost.
She left a green crab with no large claws and one with little meat, along with some small fish, shrimp, and stone crabs. Everything that was worth something was put into a bucket by Ye’s mother.
“Since it’s not raining too hard now, you should go and come back quickly. Remember to put on the raincoat.”
Ye Yaodong spotted the old-fashioned raincoat hanging by the corridor. He didn’t mind it. It was much more practical than an umbrella and wouldn’t flip over in the wind.
With two buckets in hand, he stepped outside, while the women inside began preparing the fish, cooking, and adding water and coarse salt to the clams to keep them alive.
Usually, the village was filled with the sounds of daily life, with women sitting by the doors or weaving nets. But today, every door and window was tightly shut, and the roads were completely empty.
When Ye Yaodong arrived at Ah Cai’s house, he found him shirtless, sharpening knives and killing fish. Seeing someone approach, he came out holding a knife.
“What are you doing, Cai? I’m delivering goods, not robbing you. Do you really need to come out looking all fierce with a knife?”
“Haha, oh, I didn’t realize,” Ah Cai laughed awkwardly, noticing the knife in his hand. “What brings you out on a typhoon day? Is your dad really out at sea in this weather? Doesn’t he value his life?”
“No, no. I just picked these up when the tide was receding,” Ye Yaodong explained.
“Smart move, you knew the big waves might bring in things. Let me see what you’ve got.” He tucked the knife behind his waistband and leaned over to look at the buckets.
“Not bad, looks like there are five or six green crabs here. And they’re pretty big. Is that a sea eel under them? What else is in there? Hold on… what’s this? A grouper? It really is a grouper!” Ah Cai squatted down to take a closer look at the fish, impressed by its markings.
Ye Yaodong couldn’t help feeling a bit smug. It was just a grouper, but if Ah Cai knew about the Mele pearl he had, he would probably be even more surprised.
“Give me a price! How much will you buy it for?”
He kicked the bucket, and the startled grouper flipped its tail, splashing seawater all over Ah Cai’s face. Ah Cai just wiped his face with his hand, unfazed.
“This fish is rare around here. Sometimes they’re caught at the fishing dock, but let’s weigh it first.”
Ye Yaodong nodded, following him inside with the bucket.
Live fish are hard to weigh, but luckily Ah Cai had a basket. After weighing it quickly, they returned the fish to the bucket.
“One pound and eight ounces. How about I give you 8 yuan for it?”
“Can’t you make it 5 yuan per pound? Come on, raise the price a little. You’re selling to some rich boss who’s going to sell it for double. Are you really going to cheat me, someone from the same village?” Ye Yaodong asked with a smile.
“Quit talking nonsense. Who’s cheating you? You think people buy things and make double the money just like that? Money isn’t easy to make!” Ah Cai shot back.
“Tch, you should know that there are a lot of people in town who know their stuff. For wealthy customers, a few dozen yuan is nothing for a meal. They just want good stuff. I’ve seen someone spend hundreds on a bottle of wine at Hongsheng Hotel and rack up a thousand yuan bill in one night. Don’t try to fool me!”
Ah Cai widened his eyes, grumbling, “That’s the hotel’s profit. They mark up the food several times, that’s normal. I’m just a fish vendor, how much can I earn?”
“Forget it, I’ll sell it to you for 12 yuan,” Ye Yaodong said, getting straight to the point.
“What? You’re asking for way too much! I’ll lose money at this rate…”
“Then I’ll take it to Ah Gui’s place,” Ye Yaodong said, referring to another fish buyer at the dock.
“Hey, hey, hey! Wait, wait! You young people are too impulsive. You’re already about to leave without even negotiating properly. Fine, 10 yuan. That’s my final offer… okay, okay, 12… 12 yuan…”
Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes. After all that hesitation, he knew that Ah Cai, being so crafty, was making money left and right. He’d been around long enough to know that the fish, if sold at a hotel, could fetch a good price—far more than what he’d paid.
The price for the remaining green crabs and fish was fair, all settled at the regular acquisition rate.
In the end, he only earned about twenty-something yuan, but Ah Cai didn’t delay payment. He counted the money and handed it to him right away.
“All settled, no debts left,” Ah Cai said.
“Thanks!” Ye Yaodong replied.
“Don’t mention it. Bring more good stuff next time. This typhoon weather is such a hassle, and I still need to send the fish to the dock to keep them alive,” Ah Cai added.
Ye Yaodong took off his raincoat, carefully stashing the money and heading back home. The weak sunlight from the morning was now blocked by strong winds, and the rain was falling so hard it almost stung his face.
By the time he returned home, the scent of cooked food filled the air. It was rare for the whole family to be together, all taking a break.
Seeing Ye Yaodong come in, Ye Father immediately put down the tobacco he was rolling. “How much did you sell the grouper for?”
“12 yuan!”
“That much?”
“Yeah, I made a random guess to push him, and he actually agreed,” Ye Yaodong said with a grin.
Ye Father just shook his head. Who knew you could bargain like that?
Ye Mother, stirring the food in the wok, asked as she flipped it, “How much did you make for all of it?”
“25 yuan and 80 cents!”
“Not bad, not bad. Just a quick trip out, and you earned as much as some people do on a whole day at sea.”
Ye Ersao couldn’t help but comment, “Yao Dong’s luck has been really good lately. Every time he goes out, he comes back with a huge haul. You must have made hundreds by now, right?”
That bitter, jealous tone almost made him roll his eyes.
“Yeah, I’ve been lucky. I’m going to take a shower now.”
“Dongzi, use the hot water. You’ve been in the rain, so you can’t take a cold shower or you’ll catch a cold.” The old lady, sitting in front of the stove, smiling, handed him a thermos of hot water.
“Okay.”
Although he preferred cold showers, he couldn’t ignore what the old lady said.
It was still raining outside, so he carried the water inside to wash and handed the money to his wife. As soon as he entered, he saw her sitting by the window, using a needle to pick sand out of her palm.
“What’s going on? Did sand get in?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll help you with it.”
“You should wash up first. Don’t catch a cold.”
“Oh, here’s the money I made from selling the goods. Keep it. I left 80 cents.”
Lin Xiuqing took the money, counting it, and was pleasantly surprised. “This much from selling everything?”
“Mainly that grouper was expensive, and those green crabs were big. One of them weighed about two pounds. The other fish were cheaper.”
“That’s great. We only went out for half a morning, and look at all this profit. We really hit the jackpot.”
“Yeah, you’ve got the Mele pearl safely hidden, right?”
“Don’t worry, I’ve hidden it well.”
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ShangWiz[Translator]
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