How Could a Man Say No?

Ye Yaodong hurried back to A-Guang's Home. Even from a distance, he could already smell the steamed crabs.

The moment he stepped over the threshold, everyone piped up. "You're finally here! Any later and all you'd get to do is wash the dishes."

"Come on, sit down. We saved that tiger prawn especially for you..."

"You're so late, you owe us three drinks!"

"Three drinks, my ass! We've only got this much booze. Don't let him trick us into letting him drink it all!"

Amid the lively chatter, they finished all the liquor Fatty had brought and cleared every last bit of seafood off the table before going their separate ways.

Ye Yaodong returned home a little tipsy. This time, the door hadn't been locked against him. He locked it behind him and went back to his room.

By the moonlight coming through the window, he could only make out the two children sprawled crookedly in their sleep. His wife had her back to him, and he couldn't tell whether she was asleep.

He stripped down to his shorts, climbed into bed, and wrapped his arms around his wife, pressing himself against her back. She promptly slapped the large hand resting on her waist.

"Go lie at the other end. Don't you think it's cramped enough? It's boiling hot, and you're pressing so close. You reek of booze, too. You stink!" Lin Xiuqing muttered under her breath.

Ye Yaodong simply turned her over and stopped her endless complaints with a kiss.

"You never give it a rest. We only just did it yesterday..."

"Yesterday was yesterday. Today is today. Help me out here, honey..."

"Then you have to come shore gathering with me again tomorrow!"

Ye Yaodong's eyes widened. She even knew to bargain with him at a time like this!

When had she gotten so shrewd?

She was banking on him being too eager to refuse!

What man wasn't easy to persuade in bed?

Besides, he had already planned to explore an uninhabited island tomorrow and try to overcome his fear while he was at it.

"Fine, fine. Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do it. Now work with me. Let's change positions..."

"Then go rinse off first!"

Ye Yaodong was speechless.

The arrow's already on the bowstring! Women are such a hassle!

Lin Xiuqing continued in a whisper, "You smell like booze, and your hands smell like seafood! It's too strong!"

"You're so fussy. First this, then that. I already washed this afternoon..."

"But you've been drinking. You really smell of alcohol!"

Damn it, he grumbled inwardly. Then he seemed to remember the problem with the bed, followed by another thought that set his blood stirring. "Fine, I'll wash. But let's move to the floor. This bed's creaking is too annoying."

"The floor?"

"Never mind what I'm planning. Just go along with me, all right?"

Lin Xiuqing blushed, hesitating. They had a perfectly good bed, yet now he suddenly wanted to do it on the floor...

"Do you want me to go shore gathering tomorrow or not? If you want an ox to work, you have to feed it, right? Give me a little something to look forward to, and I'll do whatever you say."

Seeing her waver, he pressed his advantage. "When we went shore gathering today, I caught you a tiger grouper and a whole cluster of blood clams. My luck's been great lately. Haven't I made you several yuan over these past two days? That's as much as you'd earn making fishing nets for seven or eight days. Tomorrow's the first day of the lunar month, so there'll be a spring tide. Maybe my luck will be even better, and I'll catch some more big ones..."

"All right. Go wash, then. Once you're done, I'll go along with you!"

With her agreement secured, Ye Yaodong sprang up in delight and eagerly headed out the back door to rinse off.

Damn it, after going without for decades, it's time to show what I'm made of!

By the time he lay on the bed, exhausted as a dead dog, he couldn't bring himself to move a muscle. His wife, meanwhile, still had the energy to get dressed and fetch water to wash herself.

He'd put all that effort into satisfying her, and now he still had to work to earn her money!

"Come lie over here. Let's sleep together!"

"My legs are still weak. Haven't you had enough?"

Ye Yaodong was speechless.

"Who do you think I did all that for? Wasn't it to make sure you were satisfied..."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Lin Xiuqing glared at him, embarrassed and annoyed.

"Ah... yes, nonsense... I'm talking nonsense... Come here. There's something I need to tell you." He pulled her down beside him before continuing, "I won't be going to the wharf with you tomorrow..."

"Hey, don't glare yet. Let me finish. A-Guang's going to try borrowing a boat tomorrow. If he gets one, we'll explore an uninhabited island. Nobody goes to those little islands nearby, so there's bound to be more to catch on their rocks than at the wharf."

"Who's he borrowing it from? Would anyone really lend him one?"

"His youngest aunt's husband. We'll see. If he can't borrow it, forget it."

"All right, then. You decide. If you can borrow a boat, go have a look around the island. Just be careful."

"Mm. As long as you don't think I'm breaking my promise!"

He definitely needed to warn her beforehand. Otherwise, if she couldn't find him tomorrow, she'd think he had just been stringing her along, and he'd get the cold shoulder again.

It was rare to see him showing a little initiative, so Lin Xiuqing was happy to chat with him a bit longer. "Now that the family boat's repaired, and the catches have been pretty good these past two days, shouldn't you take turns going out to sea with Dad, like your eldest and second brothers?"

Here we go again!

That question again!

Everyone wanted him to go out to sea. It gave Ye Yaodong a headache, but there was no avoiding it when his family owned a boat-unless he kept loafing around like he had in his previous life and let his wife support him.

"I've never been out to sea. I don't know whether I'll get seasick. If we can borrow a boat tomorrow, I'll take a short trip first and see how it goes."

"Oh."

"Let's sleep."

How could someone who lived by the sea be afraid of being out on the water? He had to overcome this hurdle.

If they couldn't borrow a boat, he would get a couple of friends to accompany him at high tide and try swimming from the beach to the wharf and back. He had already died once, after all. There was nothing to be afraid of.

If something really did happen, his friends would be right there to save him!

Early the next morning, he woke at the sound of Lin Xiuqing getting up. This time, he didn't deliberately linger in bed before rising.

Seeing him get up earlier each day, his family felt a little puzzled but didn't make a fuss. He really had been a bit more hardworking these past two days.

After breakfast, everyone went off to their own tasks. Ye Yaodong was about to head out too, but the Old Lady followed him to the doorway and secretly tugged at him.

He turned to her in puzzlement. The Old Lady quietly took a hard-boiled egg from her trouser pocket and held it out to him, speaking in a hushed voice.

"Here. Take it outside and eat it in secret. Don't let your mother find out."

He looked at the Old Lady in surprise, then glanced guiltily over his shoulder. "No wonder Mum said over breakfast that the hens laid one egg fewer today. You'd taken it."

The Old Lady saw that he wasn't reaching for it, so she slipped it straight into his pocket. Her smile creased her entire face, revealing her toothless gums.

"You've gone shore gathering every day these past two days. You must be worn out. I secretly boiled one this morning before making the rice porridge, to give you a little nourishment. Don't let your mother know, or she'll scold you again."

He tried to take the egg out, but the Old Lady kept holding his hand down to stop him. He felt rather helpless.

The Old Lady had often done this when he was little, though much less often once he grew up. Now she was secretly slipping him an egg again. For a moment, he didn't know whether to feel touched, touched, or... touched... The VIP Membership improved the reading experience. Tap the middle of the screen to bring up the menu, where you can conveniently select “Settings,” “Previous Page,” “Next Page,” or “Back to Top.”