After dinner, Lin Xiuqing handed Mother Ye fifteen ten-yuan Great Unity notes in front of her two sisters-in-law. Mother Ye said nothing, simply smiling as she accepted them.
But after dark that evening, Mother Ye slipped into Ye Yaodong's room again. Fortunately, neither he nor his wife had gone to sleep.
"Mom?"
"Shh, let's talk inside."
Puzzled, Lin Xiuqing gently closed the door and lowered her voice. "What is it?"
Mother Ye took a square handkerchief from her pocket and unfolded its four corners. Wrapped inside were ten Great Unity notes Lin Xiuqing had given her that afternoon.
The couple stared at Mother Ye in surprise. "Mom, what are you doing?"
"Your father and I talked it over. It's not often Dongzi wants to work seriously. Consider the Small Wooden Boat our contribution to helping you start from scratch. You don't need to pay us. We're both still young enough to work."
Lin Xiuqing exchanged a glance with Ye Yaodong. "Wouldn't that be unfair? The Small Wooden Boat belongs to the whole family. If our sisters-in-law find out you gave it to us, they're bound to make a fuss."
"Then just don't tell them. Besides, they're not losing out. We know perfectly well what they're calculating. They just want to go fishing with your father so they won't have to put up any money and will still get a share of the earnings. You get the Small Wooden Boat and support yourselves, while those two fish with your father and split the money. That's fair enough."
"If you paid for the Small Wooden Boat to work on your own, while they went along with your father and made money without investing anything, you'd be the ones losing out. Keep it. Your father and I see things clearly. We won't let