“How much did you earn, 30 yuan in one day?” Ye Father’s shocked expression mirrored Ye Mother’s, while Ye Oldest sister-in-law was excited upon hearing the amount.
“In just one day, that’s equivalent to Ye Xia’s two months’ salary!”
“Dad, it’s not just one day; it was two days, and we haven’t deducted the costs yet!”
That’s right, the batter for the pancakes used quite a bit of refined flour, and the fried fillings consumed a lot of oil, not to mention the eggs—these are all costs.
Ye Qiu calculated roughly and said, “After deducting the costs, we probably earned about 15 yuan.”
Ye Mother was still very satisfied to hear they made 15 yuan, and she took out 15 yuan from inside and stuffed it into Ye Qiu’s hands, saying, “15 yuan isn’t a small amount. This is all your earnings; I’ll keep the rest to help you get a bride.”
“Mom, I can’t take this money. We all earned it together—You, Dad, Big Brother and Oldest sister-in-law, and even Xiao Hua all contributed. Everyone in our family worked hard, and I can’t let you pay for the eggs and flour!” Ye Qiu persuaded Ye Mother.
“This idea was yours, and you also prepared the seasonings and spices—why should you give us money?” Ye’s Mother insisted on giving Ye Qiu the 15 yuan.
“Mom, we’re family, and we should keep track of things. That flour is from Dad’s hard work in the fields, and he also had to go to the village entrance to mill it!”
Ye Mother nodded, “He is your father; he should help you.”
Ye Qiu continued, “If it weren’t for Dad getting up early and carefully taking care of the fields, and diligently watching over the miller to make sure he ground flour properly for us, would the pancakes be so delicious?”
Upon hearing Ye Qiu mention himself, Ye Father nodded proudly.
“If it weren’t for Oldest sister-in-law getting up before dawn to make pancakes, could we have sold so many?”
“You all went out, while Oldest sister-in-law did all the household work and still had to cook for me. Without the Oldest sister-in-law, could you all rest assured selling things in town? Wouldn’t you have to worry about me while you were in town?”
Upon hearing her name, Ye’s Oldest sister-in-law straightened herself.
“If it weren’t for Big Brother, who would tirelessly transport the orders daily to sell pancakes? If it were anyone else, they might just take the pancakes and disappear.”
Ye Mother countered, “Well, I wouldn’t ask strangers for help.”
“And you, Mom, are our great contributor. Would our pancakes sell so well without you?”
Ye Mother stifled her smile, feeling light all over. “Cough, selling something is second nature for your mom!”
“Mom, would I be the kind of person to hoard the profits? I will definitely show gratitude to you for my earnings. Haven’t you heard what the villagers say about me? They say I just drain my parents’ blood. I want them to open their eyes and see that I, Ye Qiu, am capable!”
Ye Qiu suddenly said bashfully, “Besides, if my future partner knew I had such a bad reputation in the village, how would they dare to be with me?”
When Ye Qiu spoke this, everyone burst out laughing.
Under Ye Qiu’s insistence, Ye Mother couldn’t hold out for long and devised a compromise.
“Of this 15 yuan, 10 yuan are costs for the oil, flour, and vegetables, while the remaining 5 yuan is pure profit. Let’s take 10 yuan as working capital, and the remaining 5 yuan can be split as follows: Mom and Dad each take 1 yuan, Big Brother and Oldest sister-in-law each take 1 yuan, and I’ll keep 1 yuan—just nice.”
Ye’s Mother looked at Ye Qiu with pity, handing out a few yuan, believing it was only natural to help her son with work; how could she take money?
“How can daily necessities cost so much? Besides, when we divided the family, we agreed that all the resources were yours.”
Whenever she told people in the village about how Ye Qiu was dutiful and filial, they thought she was crazy, surely out of jealousy that they feared her son would be more successful than theirs.
The couple, Ye Oldest, was a bit excited with the money in hand; if they could earn just 1 yuan daily, they would have money to send Xiao Hua to school!
That night, Ye Xia returned with the pancakes as promised, but his expression was unusual, full of confusion.
“Things in the city really are different; they even wrap them in paper. How unlike the village…”
His son had been clamouring for pancakes, and when Ye’s Second sister-in-law saw his reaction, she didn’t think much of it and happily opened the paper bag, stunned.
“This… how does this look so similar to the pancake that mother-in-law gave us the other day?” Ye’s Second sister-in-law stared wide-eyed at the paper bag.
At that moment, Ye Xia seemed to regain his senses. “Do you think it looks familiar too?”
Ye’s Second sister-in-law cut the pancake and handed a piece to Ye Chengcai; she and Ye Xia picked up a piece, puzzled, and tasted it.
“This pancake seems a bit different from the one at home?”
“They must have added refined flour; that’s definitely different. But the pickled vegetables inside taste just like what Mom pickled!”
Ye Xia asked, “Is it really or isn’t it?”
“Why not just ask Mom for some pickled vegetables to compare? Then you’ll know!”
Ye Xia, who prided himself on being a stylish worker, viewed himself as worlds apart from the villagers and valued his pride: without even thinking, he immediately refused, “Why would I? You go. It’s always the women cooking at home; how could you ask for that and maintain any dignity?”
Defenceless, Ye’s Second sister-in-law gritted her teeth and forced a smile as she pushed the door to the main room open. “Oh, everyone is here.”
A few people in the room had just finished distributing the money, and upon seeing Ye Second’s sister-in-law, they abruptly masked their expressions of joy.
If that second daughter-in-law had come in just a few minutes earlier, she would have seen the money in their hands. That was close.
It was Ye Mother who composed herself and spoke first, “Ye Er’s family, why are you here? You didn’t even knock!”
Hearing Ye Mother’s question, Ye’s Second sister-in-law responded, “Oh, it’s all because Ye Xia has such a greedy appetite; he insisted on eating Mom’s pickled vegetables, saying he hadn’t had any for days and really missed the taste!”
Ye Mother frowned and replied, “We don’t have much-pickled vegetables left at home. If you really want them, go borrow some from the neighbour.”
They had already separated, and now she and Ye Father would spend the rest of their lives with Ye Qiu. Naturally, they couldn’t support Ye Second’s family anymore, especially not in front of everyone.
In fact, if Ye Second wanted to eat, they couldn’t do anything if he secretly went to the kitchen and took some.
Seeing Ye’s Second sister-in-law empty-handed, Ye Xia asked, “What did Mom say?”