On the morning of the third day of the Lunar New Year, firecrackers could still be heard from time to time in the village, and the festive atmosphere was very strong.
The villagers were either visiting relatives or visiting clan members to pay New Year's greetings. The pier and the seaside were quiet, and no boats were launched.
The children were still wearing new clothes and new shoes, and they were walking excitedly through the streets, looking for their friends to play with.
"Da Qiang! Come out quickly! There's someone selling maltose at the entrance of the village!"
Daqiang ran out for a while, and soon came back smiling, pestering his mother to give him a dime to buy some candy.
Chen Daxing was woken up by his son. He yawned, pushed back the quilt, and walked out with sleepy eyes.
"Mother of the child, give him five taels of silver."
The sister-in-law laughed, "Ouch!" and stopped taking out the money.
"Two pieces are enough... He's already so old! Why should he eat candy? Buy three pieces and share them with his brothers and sisters!"
Chen Daxing shook his head: "Buy five taels and share some with Xiaohuzi. My little sister never lets him eat candy. He drools when he sees candy. I can't help but feel sorry for him when I see it."
The sister-in-law laughed and took out a dollar in one breath.
"Go buy some more, one for each of your brothers and sisters, and don't forget little Tiger."
Daqiang and Erqiang stared in disbelief, then cheered in surprise: "What a great Chinese New Year! Even the stingiest mom has become generous!"
The eldest sister-in-law was so angry that she laughed and pretended to spank them.
The two young men ran out, laughing heartily all the way, called their cousins to come out, and then swarmed towards the village entrance.
The eldest sister-in-law looked at the children as they walked away with a loving face, and did not forget to remind them from behind.
"Not too fast! Don't fall!"
She turned and went into the kitchen, smilingly bringing out the porridge and buns she had made that morning.
Chen Daxing came out after washing up, looked at the fragrant steamed buns, then glanced at his wife.
"The sun rises from the west? Making meat buns so early in the morning?"
The eldest sister-in-law sat aside weaving yarn, smiling from ear to ear.
"I'm in a good mood and have nothing to do early in the morning, so I just make dumplings. Don't you have a piece of pork belly at home? Chop it up while it's fresh and make your favorite pork dumplings."
Chen Daxing ate the buns happily, feeling very happy.
"You laughed a lot last night after you brought back two big stacks of money. You laughed all the time last night and couldn't bear to go to sleep. I thought you couldn't get up this morning!"
The eldest sister-in-law couldn't help laughing when she heard it: "Dad, I've never made so much money in a day since I was a child... It's not even a day! I finished my work at four o'clock that afternoon, it wasn't hard at all! It's too much... It's really too much!"
Around eight o'clock last night, Chen Xingling and his wife, Ma Dali and two others rushed back from the provincial capital, exhausted.
They said that they drove all night and arrived in the provincial capital at just after four in the morning.
I rested on the roadside for more than an hour and had a quick breakfast.
Ma Dali was very familiar with the area and took them to the busiest black market in the provincial capital with ease.
As soon as the fresh big blue crabs were put out, they immediately attracted a lot of people to watch.
Chen Xingling took out a scale and weighed them. The big crabs were about three pounds, and the small ones were more than one pound. A big crab cost two yuan, and a small one cost one yuan.
Although some people think it is too expensive, many people still buy it because such a big and fresh blue crab is very rare. In addition, the journey is long and the shipping fee is expensive. The seafood in the provincial capital is basically dried seafood, and fresh ones like this are rare.
It's Chinese New Year and the second day of the first lunar month, and every household is either visiting their mother's parents' home or having their daughters or sons-in-law come back. Thinking that it's a rare opportunity to get together throughout the year, buying such a big crab to treat the guests is both face-saving and generous.
Some people started to pay for it, and soon more and more people came to buy it.
Gu Qi was busy unloading and arranging the crabs, Chen Xingling was in charge of entertaining the guests, and Ma Dali was in charge of collecting and giving change. The division of labor was very clear, and the crabs were sold quickly and in high volumes.
They sold more than a dozen boxes early that morning.
Afterwards, Ma Dali led them to two other markets to sell the remaining crabs.
Later, the sales became more and more popular. Many people came from far away to buy them, and some even competed to buy more. Small crabs could even be sold for 1.5 yuan.
The three of them were busy until noon that day. After drinking some water, they were too tired to eat, so they collapsed on the foam boxes and fell asleep.
It was around three or four in the afternoon when the three of them found a restaurant to eat their fill, filled the car with hot water, and then drove back.
The largest foam box was opened, and colorful coins fell to the ground one after another, leaving everyone stunned!
Last night even Chen Sanshui and Liu Peiyun joined in counting the money and sorting it out, ten yuan into ten yuan, five yuan into five yuan, one yuan and five cents, and so on.
After counting, Chen Xingling finally calculated the total number, which was more than three thousand five hundred.
Chen Xingling explained that this was all due to everyone's efforts, so everyone had to get a share of the money. She, Gu Qi, and Ma Dali were busy for two days and one night, and they worked the longest hours, so they got a bigger share.
Everyone agreed that it was very reasonable.
So, Chen Xingling began to divide the money - five brothers, four sisters-in-law, and father, plus Gu Yi and his wife, a total of twelve people.
They each got 200 yuan, and there was more than 1,100 yuan left, which she, Gu Qi and Ma Dali divided equally, with each getting more than 300 yuan.
Everyone quickly said no, saying that they worked harder selling crabs in the sports car and they should get more.
Gu Qi shyly refused, explaining that without everyone's help, the three of them would not be able to sell crabs, and that one cannot cook without rice.
Ma Dali emphasized that his family was good at catching crabs. They had helped to cut vines on the mountain the day before and went to the island to survey the area. These were all hard work.
Finally, Chen Xingling made the final decision, and his brothers were unwilling to refuse.
So, Chen Daxing went home last night with 400 yuan.
The eldest sister-in-law laughed so hard that her mouth couldn't stop: "I counted and counted last night, several times in total, but I couldn't count it... It's only been a little over half a day, how can I earn so much!"
Chen Daxing gulped down his porridge and spoke frankly, "That's because our little sister wants to take care of us. We only get one dollar a day for prying oysters here, and some small ones only get eight or five dollars. If it were other bosses, they would just let us go to the island to catch blue crabs, and then give each of us one dollar. How would we know where the big bosses would transport them to sell and how much they would sell them for? It has nothing to do with us, right?"
If it weren't for the little sister being so generous and bringing back a few yuan and a half for everyone to witness the counting, they would have no idea that giant blue crabs could be sold for so high a price in the provincial capital!
If she gives dozens of yuan to each family member, it is enough to make money. After all, half a day's income is equivalent to more than a month's income. How can she not make money?
But my youngest sister gave each person 200 yuan at once. Except for my fourth brother’s wife who didn’t know how to tie crabs, all other families gave 400 yuan.
"That's right!" The eldest sister-in-law said hurriedly, "The sister-in-law loves us! She lets you fish and sell fish for half a day, and work for her for half a day to earn money. After a few months, you all got a lot of money. It was hard to find a half-day job before, and at most you could scrape together some money to buy rice and cigarettes. In the past few months, you brothers have been much more financially comfortable. You don't lack food and drink, and you don't lack clothes and rice when you have money. Your life has become better and better."
Chen Daxing smiled so hard that his eyes were invisible. He whispered, "Ever since my little sister started studying for the college entrance exam, she has become more and more capable. She works hard for half a day on New Year's Day, and we have enough rice and cigarettes for the year. All thanks to my little sister..."
The eldest sister-in-law smiled and said, "When I first got married, she was still a little girl. When the matchmaker took me in, she saw our sister-in-law and kept saying that she looked lucky and wealthy. She also said that she would be a matchmaker for her and find her the best family to marry. The matchmaker has seen a lot of people and can judge people accurately!"
"Haha!" Chen Daxing lowered his voice and warned, "With her help, our whole family won't have to worry about anything this year. Whenever little sister or little tiger comes over, you should take good care of them, especially little tiger."
"You don't have to tell me!" The eldest sister-in-law nodded quickly: "I know it!"
The other families of my younger brother also praised my sister-in-law for her ability, generosity and kindness.
Chen Jixing was teasing his wife for not learning how to tie crabs and missing out on a great opportunity to make money.
"Honey, two hundred bucks! Half a day is too much!"
Zhu Siya, however, was holding the quilt in a daze, as if thinking about something, and asked, "Old Four, how about -- how about we bring my younger sister into the new factory?"
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