In just the few days since he had last come, Father Lin and Lin Mother had already sold several hundred yuan's worth of goods. Having so much money left them uneasy all night, and they had to hide it in various places.
Father Lin found a burlap sack among the piles of dried fish and rummaged around inside for quite a while before pulling out a cloth bag.
"You really hid it well."
"I had to. With this much money, I was terrified of thieves, or someone breaking in to rob us. I was so worried I couldn't sleep at night. I'd even get up in the middle of the night to feel around in the corner and check on it. Take it all back with you. Then I can stop worrying and get a good night's sleep tonight."
As he spoke, he pushed it into Ye Yaodong's arms.
Ye Yaodong felt its weight as he took it and nearly lost his grip.
"Hold it steady. There are coins and notes in there. You haven't collected it for a few days, so it's gotten pretty heavy."
"Several hundred? Have you counted it?" He lifted the cloth bag in his hand, testing its weight. There really was quite a lot.
"I counted each day's takings. We brought in over a hundred every day-over a hundred and thirty on the good days, and a little over a hundred on the slower ones. As the total got bigger, adding it up became too much trouble, so I don't remember the exact figure. I only remember how much we sold each day. I didn't bother adding up the total."
"Anyway, it's all in there. These five days should come to around six hundred. Want to pour it out and count it yourself? Today's takings