It was almost noon when they got back to the village. Ye Cheng quickly ate a bite and went to sleep.
Even with his young body, Ye Cheng felt his heart racing; his body was sending out warning signals, and he needed to go to sleep immediately.
...
Ye Cheng and the others went to sleep, but soon the news that Ye Cheng had made over 100,000 yuan in one night by buying a large boat spread back to the village.
In the afternoon, those bored middle-aged women started discussing things at the village entrance.
"Yunxiang, is it true that your second son made over 100,000 yuan selling swimming crabs this morning?" Several older women started chatting around Jiang Yunxiang.
Jiang Yunxiang had no idea; she hadn't gone out to sea with them, and she hadn't seen Ye Cheng in the past few days.
"How would I know? It can't be that bad. It's over 100,000 yuan, that's several thousand kilograms of swimming crabs. My Cheng's boat can't even hold them all," Jiang Yunxiang argued.
"What can't be packed? Your second son got a bigger boat, worth 300,000 yuan!" an older woman said with envy.
"Huh? I, I don't know." Jiang Yunxiang looked bewildered.
"Tsk tsk tsk, Yunxiang, she's gotten too big for her britches and doesn't even tell you guys anymore."
"That's right. They didn't have money before, so they relied on you guys. Now that they have money, of course they're going solo."
That's how villagers are; they gossip about whose feast they're eating at.
Who's popular and who's not?
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yunxiang immediately became displeased, stood up, pointed at everyone, and said sternly,
"What nonsense are you talking about? My Cheng is not like that. The farm was contracted by Cheng. Otherwise, my Guowei would still be working as a laborer at the dock. You are just sour grapes."
"Let me tell you, if any of you speak ill of my Cheng again, don't blame me for being ruthless in the future."
Jiang Yunxiang's tone was fierce; if this had happened before, she probably would have been scolded back.
But they don't dare now. The Ye family is now rich and powerful, and they can't afford to offend them.
Moreover, and most importantly, they also want a share of the profits.
It was Aunt Qian who stepped in and smoothed things over.
"Alright, Yunxiang, everyone was just talking casually. Sit down, sit down."
Jiang Yunxiang then sat down indignantly. It was true that Ye Cheng had been busy lately, but it was also true that he hadn't been coming home as often. She still needed to invite her brother-in-law home for a meal, otherwise their relationship would have faded.
It would be even better if she could introduce him to a relative from her own family, but judging from his appearance, it seems he has a few girls outside, which is giving Jiang Yunxiang a headache.
"Oh, by the way, I also heard that Widow Zhang went out to sea with your second son yesterday and they split ten thousand," an older woman said, changing the subject.
"What?! How much???" The group of people were startled.
Ten thousand.
What does that mean?
They can't even save 10,000 yuan a year.
"Impossible, ten thousand for just one night at sea?"
"Did he sleep with someone?"
Ten thousand yuan is really a lot of money, and they can't help but have all sorts of wild thoughts.
However, someone immediately refuted this.
"Pshaw! If it's just for sleeping with someone, I'd have ten thousand yuan. I wouldn't even need him to lift a finger. I'd just do whatever he tells me to do."
“Exactly, my husband probably sent it over a long time ago. I’d be willing to pay 2,000, let alone 10,000.”
“That Ah Hong from the next village, she says she works in the city, but she’s actually doing that kind of thing. She only earns a little over 20,000 yuan a year. Earning 10,000 yuan a night is like being inlaid with gold.”
A group of old women, all of whom were married, and since people in the village are known for their directness, their words were even more vulgar and offensive.
Seeing that no one believed her, the old woman from before became anxious, "It's true, Widow Zhang told me herself. But she said the wages were 500 and the red envelope was 9500. Brother Chunsheng from the Duan family also went to sea, and he got 10,000 each. Does she mean she's indiscriminate in her relationships with both men and women?"
Seeing how earnest she spoke, the group began to look around, each with their own ulterior motives.
Finally, all eyes were fixed on Jiang Yunxiang, their gazes filled with eager anticipation.
"Yunxiang, could you ask your second son if he needs anyone to go out to sea tonight? I can do it, I can do anything."
"I can do that too, all night long, since I can catch up on sleep during the day anyway."
"Take me with you, I'll give you a discount."
"Don't even mention ten thousand, I'd do anything for a thousand."
The group made Jiang Yunxiang feel embarrassed.
"What nonsense are you talking about? My son Cheng goes out to sea to fish, but you're making it sound like he does something else."
"Auntie, could you please talk to Brother Cheng for me? He might give me some work to do. My family is really struggling to make ends meet." Suddenly, a timid voice rang out.
Jiang Yunxiang turned her head and saw Han Xiaotao. She was Chen's wife, but her husband died young, so she was a widow. She was only in her early thirties and had a four-year-old child with no source of income.
"They are pitiful, but they are members of the Chen family, and Jiang Yunxiang holds grudges very well," she said calmly.
"Little Peach, it's not that I don't want to help you, but you've seen how your Chen family has treated us. Besides, your Chen family has so many people, and you're still digging ponds to raise crayfish. Doesn't anyone care about you orphans and widows?"
Han Xiaotao said bitterly,
“Auntie, you know I’m just an orphan and a widow. There are so many people in the Chen family, why would they take care of us? Besides, I don’t get any benefit from their crayfish farming business. Now that the child is growing up, we haven’t eaten meat for a week.”
As Han Xiaotao spoke, she began to sob, making the older women feel a little embarrassed to take the food from her.
Jiang Yunxiang was a person with a hard heart but a soft heart. When she heard that someone hadn't eaten meat for a week, she thought of her children.
Thinking back to his own family, Ye Guowei is getting tired of eating meat and keeps complaining that he wants to eat something lighter.
"Hey, Han, why don't you tell Chen Jinhai about your suffering?" Jiang Yunxiang's tone softened.
"Sister, I told them, but they said they weren't starving, and that we should be grateful if they could feed us." Han Xiaotao cried, tears streaming down her face.
"Pah! We should be grateful we've even eaten our fill. Did they think we were farmhands for landlords in the old society? That old bastard Chen Jinhai!" Aunt Qian started the cursing.
She was close to Jiang Yunxiang and basically had no contact with the Chen family. She could scold them, but the other older women wouldn't dare to do that, and they all kept quiet.
"Yunxiang, please help Xiao Han. Let him work on Acheng's boat for a few days. At least let the child have some meat to eat," Aunt Qian continued.
Jiang Yunxiang sighed.
"Okay, I'll go to Cheng's place in a bit. I reckon he's still sleeping. I'll talk to him when he wakes up."
Upon hearing Jiang Yunxiang agree to help, Han Xiaotao immediately went from crying to smiling, and began to express her gratitude through tears.
"Thank you, sister. Thank you, sister. I will definitely remember your kindness when I make money."
"Forget about gratitude or anything like that. You've earned money, so give your child some good food. You can't let your child go hungry."
“I know, sister. I’ll go hungry myself, but I won’t let the child go hungry.”
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