The Old Lady smiled, revealing her toothless gums. After handing the child to A Qing, she stood beside the bed and watched Ye Yaodong count the money.
"You haven't had lunch yet. I thought you were discussing something earlier, so I didn't dare knock and disturb you. I'll go cook you something first."
"I'm not hungry," Ye Yaodong squeezed in a reply. "Let me finish counting first."
Lin Xiuqing sat on a nearby stool with the child in her arms to breastfeed her, but her attention remained on them. The Old Lady's words left her feeling a little embarrassed.
"Then I'll help you count. It'll be quicker." The Old Lady sat down beside the bed too and helped sort the banknotes.
"Didn't my father count it and tell you?"
Ye Yaodong nodded, then shook his head.
He was counting silently. How did he have time to answer her questions? Wasn't it a little late to think of asking now?
"What do you mean, nodding and then shaking your head?"
"Quiet! You just told me not to count aloud, and now you're sitting there not counting anything and starting to chatter."
Lin Xiuqing had no reply.
Smiling, the Old Lady tapped him with the money in her hand. "How long could it take to answer her? She hasn't been questioning you nonstop."
Ye Yaodong had just reached a round number, so he graciously stopped. "Dad only knows the approximate total. He remembers how much came in each day, but he didn't add it up every day. He thought adding it was a nuisance and that he'd easily forget the total, so he only remembered the daily takings."
Once Lin Xiuqing had her answer, she stopped disturbing him.
Every time Ye Yaodong counted a hundred notes, he took one out and folded