Chapter 173: A Relative’s Betrayal

"It’s only because Jiaojiao is on good terms with that pod of killer whales. You were just lucky today. If you hadn’t found the school of sardines and Jiaojiao hadn’t been with you, making a few dozen, maybe a hundred, yuan a day is what’s normal. Plus, you have to depend on the weather. In a month, you only get good weather to go out to sea for less than half the days..."

Shen Yunlian was afraid her two nephews would get carried away by the money, so she wanted to clearly explain the risks and rewards.

As they listened, the two Shen brothers calmed down.

Yun Linhai was also very direct. "If you like going out to sea, like fishing and catching fish, I, as your uncle, can take you out to experience it once in a while. That’s fine. But you can’t make big money by relying on fishing your whole life, unless your luck at sea is exceptionally good.

"It’s best if you can focus on your studies, get into a university, and land a stable government job. But if that really doesn’t work out and you’re not afraid of hard work, then I’d welcome you to join me."

Shen Xiuyuan said, "Well, I’ll be back then. Uncle, don’t you get tired of having me around, haha."

Anyway, as far as he was concerned, his first trip out to sea had been a great experience. The haul was good, it was exciting, and he felt like he had really broadened his horizons.

Yun Linhai patted his shoulder, but the movement pulled at his own arm muscles, causing the corner of his mouth to twitch in pain.

"Alright. Next time you visit, I’ll take you to the island to forage on the tidal flats."

Before dividing up the money, Mr. Yun took out two ten-yuan bills and gave one to Shen Kuan and one to Shen Xiuyuan.

This was something Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe had discussed with him and agreed upon earlier.

"Grandpa Yun, what’s this money for?"

Shen Kuan and his brother didn’t want to take it.

"Take it."

Yun Linhai said, "You two were a huge help today. How else could we have hauled in so many fish?"

"It’s ten yuan each. I know it’s not much, but don’t turn it down."

Shen Kuan and Shen Xiuyuan quickly shook their heads. How could they possibly think it was too little?

They didn’t have any income back home. Even Shen Kuan hardly had any cash on him.

Earning ten yuan in a single day felt like a dream.

After refusing a few times, the two Shen brothers finally accepted the money with blushing faces.

Shen Xiuyuan was grinning from ear to ear; he couldn’t have been happier.

He was a teenager, after all. Going from being completely broke to suddenly having ten yuan—of course he was thrilled.

"Your hands will probably need a few days to recover. We’ll send you two back home first thing tomorrow morning. Xiu Yuan, you should go ahead and ask for a day off from school."

Shen Kuan was no longer in school.

He had quit after middle school. For one, his grades weren’t good, and he saw no point in continuing his studies. For another, there was a lot of farm work to do at home, so he had simply decided to stop his schooling and help out.

The courtyard of the new house was very large and paved with clean, flat concrete.

After the money was distributed, the adults gathered in one group to chat while the children gathered in another to play.

Yun Xiaowu and the other kids ran around, dribbling a basketball.

Shen Xiuyuan watched them, wanting to play too, but he could only look on as he was unable to lift his arms.

Yun Jiao sat on a low stool, her fingers stroking the soft bellies of two chubby puppies, her eyes following her brothers as they dribbled the basketball.

Some other adults from the village also wandered over, carrying their own stools, and sat down to join the conversation.

"You all chose a good spot for this house. If I remember correctly, your luck has been amazing ever since you built it. You never come back from sea empty-handed."

Coincidentally, they had started building the house this year, and they had also bought the boat this year. Put together, it was enough to make a superstitious person truly believe that the new house’s foundation had been chosen well.

"Just look at this. Your first trip out to sea after moving into the new house, and you hit such a lucky streak. That’s what I call a great start!"

"Isn’t that the truth. Your family’s fortunes are really looking up."

Grandpa Yun and Granny Yun smiled. "As long as everyone puts in the effort together, of course life will keep getting better."

Granny Yun subtly changed the subject. "By the way, did they ever catch the thief at Yun Dafu’s place?"

At the mention of this, everyone’s spirits rose with excitement.

"Believe it or not, they caught the guy! And you’ll never guess who it was!"

An old woman who loved gossip and knew the inside story slapped her thigh. "It was the son of Yun Dafu’s sister-in-law! He brought people over to steal the money."

"What?"

Instantly, everyone was all ears.

Yun Jiao also came closer, holding Cat Boss, and squatted down next to her mother with sparkling eyes.

’There’s more to the story! Hurry up and tell us!’

"After the police came to their house to investigate, they thought the thief seemed very familiar with the place and knew where the money was hidden. They concluded it was an inside job and told Yun Dafu’s family to carefully recall who they had told about the hiding spot."

"Then, after a few days of investigation, didn’t they just trace it back to his sister-in-law’s family? Apparently, Yun Dafu’s sister-in-law had visited a while back with her husband and son.

"You all know what Yun Dafu’s family is like. The second they have a bit of money, they can’t wait for the whole world to know. So, his sister-in-law mentioned that her son was getting married and needed to buy a house, and she asked to borrow some money."

"As soon as Yun Dafu and his wife heard she wanted to borrow money, their expressions soured. When the sister-in-law’s family left, it was on very bad terms. I heard their son learned the hiding spot from Yun Dafu’s youngest son."

"After that, he came back with two of his friends to steal it. By the time the police caught them, most of the money was already gone."

Someone who hadn’t heard the details gasped. "That was over three thousand yuan! And they’ve already spent it all?"

"You bet."

The old woman cracked a melon seed between her teeth. "My nephew works as a chef at the police station. He told me everything, so it’s all true. I guess everyone will hear the news by tomorrow."

"What did they do with the money to spend it so quickly? And does his sister-in-law know?"

"Know? What would she know?"

The old woman spat out a melon seed husk. "After the three of them split the money, they took it and went to gamble it away on cards."

Gambling. No wonder, then.

Gambling has ruined countless lives throughout history.

"Then they deserved to get caught."

"But what’s the point of them being caught? The family will never get that money back."

They probably wouldn’t be able to call themselves relatives anymore after this.

They chatted until the moon was high in the sky. The visitors left, and it was time for the family to wash up and go to bed.

Early the next morning, Yun Chenbei, who hadn’t gone out to sea and was thus uninjured, was responsible for taking the Shen brothers home.

Since they couldn’t go out to sea for the next few days, Yun Jiao took her menagerie of cats, dogs, chickens, ducks, and geese out to roam and forage.

The weather was gradually getting cooler, so Yun Jiao was now dressed in long pants and long-sleeved shirts.

The grass in the fields along the road was no longer as tender, and there were far fewer insects, so she had to put in the effort to turn over rocks to find earthworms.

Suddenly, Yun Jiao noticed a lot of people running in the same direction, muttering something about Yun Dafu’s family as they went.

Yun Jiao remembered the adults’ conversation from yesterday. She stopped looking for food for the chickens, ducks, and geese, left them in a harvested rice paddy, and told Cat Boss to keep an eye on them.

"Help me out, Cat Boss. Be good, and I’ll give you a nice treat when we get back."

With that, she scooped up the two small dogs and also ran off in the direction of Yun Dafu’s house.

’Gossip time, gossip time!’

Her eyes were sparkling with anticipation.

Cat Boss: ...