That evening, the Lin family laid out a whole tableful of food. Lin Mother brought out everything she had stored at home. The mud crabs Ye Yaodong had brought were stewed in wine, the sea bass was made into a clear soup, the pig's trotters were stewed too, and she even slaughtered another duck.
The table was packed with fish and meat. They didn't eat this well even at New Year. The children at the table drooled over the food, but they couldn't touch their chopsticks until all the adults were seated.
Meanwhile, Ye Yaodong was still trying to turn down the money.
He really felt he hadn't done much work-just tied up the fish and gotten up early to sell them. An equal share didn't seem quite right. After all, going into the river to catch fish in the middle of the night was hardly a pleasant experience. And this was his brothers-in-law's money they were dividing up. However he looked at it, it didn't seem right.
"We went together, so of course we split it together. There's no need to talk about who did more or less. We're family; why be so particular? Besides, when is anything absolutely fair? How could the work be divided perfectly evenly?"
"Exactly. You put in effort too, so just take it. There's no need to stand on ceremony with family."
"Everyone's waiting for you to eat. Stop dragging this out."
In the end, they pressed the money into Lin Xiuqing's hands. She decided to accept only the thirty-odd yuan from the separate sales, leaving the hundred yuan from Director Chen for her eldest and second brothers to split equally. Only then was the matter settled.
Having money coming in was something to celebrate, and they were celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival early today