Fishing for Crayfish

"We'll see. At the end of the year, we'll slaughter two of these pigs and send them some meat. Let them name their price. If it's good, we'll raise more; if not, forget it. No point going to all that trouble." Ye Huan settled the matter.

"Also, Grandpa, is anyone in the village free? I want to hire two people just to look after the livestock and orchard on the back hill. Three thousand five hundred a month. Do you think that'll work?"

"Mm, your Uncle Dajun. He was discharged from the army with a disability. His legs give him a little trouble, but he can walk just fine. It hasn't been easy for him to go away for work all these years, either. He'd do. As for the other one, your Sixteenth Grandpa. He lives alone, with no family. He's hardworking and has a fair bit of strength. He used to roam the mountains with us." Grandpa thought for a moment and suggested two people.

"Sure. I'll go ask if they're willing after we eat." Ye Huan nodded.

"You get on with your own things. I'll ask. It'd be awkward for you." Grandpa tapped the table as he spoke.

"All right." Ye Huan thought it over and agreed.

"Mom, if you can't keep up, find a couple more people to help. Don't worry about spending money. You don't get rich by pinching pennies," Ye Huan said, worried his mother would wear herself out.

"All right, I'll see." His mother didn't object. Picking vegetables early every morning and tending the vegetable plots during the day really was getting to be a bit much. After all, their family wasn't farming just two or three mu.

The vegetable plots alone covered over twelve mu, and during this autumn's planting, all ten mu of paddy fields had been planted with those foreign seeds her son had given her.

Ye Huan planned to use these to replace all the family's ingredients with produce from his space, which would benefit their health. He didn't dare sell ingredients from the space, afraid something might happen and he would be hauled off and sliced up for research.

At least until he became invincible, he wouldn't sell any. Safety first. Lie low until he was invincible.

After lunch, his mother and Bai Jie both went to take a nap. His father no longer needed to get up early and had nothing to do, so he went to doze for a while too. He would work in the fields with his mother that afternoon.

Grandpa went off to find workers for Ye Huan. Afraid of disturbing his family's afternoon naps, Ye Huan had specifically told the construction crew they could start later in the afternoon. Generally, the workers didn't come over until after two thirty.

Ye Huan had arranged with the construction boss that once the pavilion in his courtyard was finished, the crew would build houses for Bai Jie and Da Hu's grandfather. Bai Jie's would be a three-room brick house with a tiled roof and a courtyard, with a kitchen and a storeroom in the front courtyard and a toilet and bathroom in the back courtyard.

That would be enough for the mother and daughter. Da Hu's grandfather's house would be a small two-story building. After hearing his grandson say he wanted to live there when he came back, Da Hu's grandfather had asked Ye Huan to tell the crew to build two stories.

The construction boss was delighted to land two more jobs and promised Ye Huan he would do a beautiful job. He had already gone to measure the housing plots and find someone to draw up the plans.

As for the renovations to Ye Huan's home, after asking about his requirements, the boss said he could handle them. It wasn't a major renovation anyway, just a refurbishment, mainly retiling some areas.

He estimated it would take half a month at most. As for Bai Jie's house, he expected it would definitely be ready to move into by the New Year, while Da Hu's grandfather's house would wait until after the New Year. So Ye Huan left everything to this crew. From his dealings with them so far, they were decent, honest people who didn't cut corners.

He also planned to build a safe house by the orchard on the back hill, somewhere he could stay when he had nothing to do. It didn't need to be large, just big enough for a bed and a desk.

Just imagine lighting a solitary lamp amid the wind and rain, brewing a pot of tea, browsing the internet, reading a book, and playing with Xiaobai. How peaceful it would be in a setting like that.

He had already picked the spot, too: the top of the little slope in the orchard. There was enough land there to build a multistory house, but he didn't need that. Just one little cabin like the one he had described would be enough.

Of course, adding a tiny bathroom and toilet beside it would make it even more complete. He wasn't in the habit of pooping under trees...

In short, it absolutely mustn't be too big. Shelter from the wind and rain was enough, small and warm. Oh, and add a fireplace. Perfect.

He left this to the boss as well. After hearing his requirements, the boss said, "Other than digging the foundations deeper and using plenty of materials to withstand storms, the rest is simple. Once your renovations are done, I'll send two people over. This'll be quick. Don't worry."

"All right. Make sure you use plenty of materials, including the steel security grilles outside the doors and windows. Use the thick stuff. Don't try to save money." Although Ye Huan was no longer afraid of wild animals, he wouldn't skimp on anything that needed doing. It was only a safe house, after all. It wouldn't cost much.

He reckoned the price of a bathroom in a big city would be enough to turn this safe house into something like a doomsday bunker.

Once everything was settled with the boss, he took Jingjing out to play. The giant wild boar in his last video of going into the mountains had gone viral too, but Ye Huan hadn't shown them the treasures. He still understood the principle of keeping wealth out of sight.

Looking at his follower count, which had already reached fifty thousand, he wondered why only a few dozen or a hundred people showed up for each livestream. He didn't understand, nor did he care. His whole approach was to do whatever he pleased.

He had Jingjing with him, and before long, Little Tangyuan arrived with Little Flower too. Well, Ye Huan was a kindergarten principal again. With two children, two dogs, and a wolf in tow, he had each little girl carry a small red bucket and took them to the ditch to fish for crayfish.

In the countryside, few people bought crayfish to eat. They caught their own with a line or went into the river to catch them. But since Ye Huan had two children with him, fishing it was. He could livestream it too.

After finding a shady spot under a big tree, Ye Huan gave each girl a homemade crayfish rod: a bamboo stick with a line tied to it and a piece of wild goat liver attached.

Then he gave them a little net of the sort used to scoop up fish for fun and left them to it. He set out three rods of his own, found a good angle, mounted his phone, and started streaming.

"Holy shit, this streamer really does whatever he wants. Last time he was fishing, he just ended the stream without warning. What's happening today?"

"Huh? Two little rosy-cheeked kids. Are they fishing for crayfish?"

"What adorable kids."

Ye Huan didn't go over to check. In just this short time, his livestream already had over a hundred viewers, much better than last time.

Returning viewers knew what this streamer was like and introduced him to the newcomers.

"This streamer's a total idiot. He doesn't look at the screen or interact. He's just here to enjoy himself."

Then the livestream's audience grew from over a hundred to over five hundred, but those five hundred-odd people simply watched the three of them fish for crayfish with rapt interest.

The thing was, Ye Huan had a rather miserable showing today and suffered a slap in the face. With three rods, he had caught only a dozen or so crayfish in half an hour. If that had been all, it would have been one thing.

But under the eyes of everyone watching the livestream, Jingjing and Little Tangyuan, two tiny children whose combined ages didn't even add up to seven, filled both little red buckets in half an hour.

The viewers were stunned. "Damn, what kind of treasure spot is this? I want to go."

"Has nobody noticed how pathetic the streamer is? He can't even match two little kids."

"Haha, the streamer's face is red. This is hilarious."