Back to the small fishing village in 1982

Chapter 1176 Going Home
"Everyone please move to the door!"

Ye Yaodong and the others didn't understand, and seeing the crowd walking out, they followed them out.

When they walked outside the door, there was already a lion dance team on the red carpet at the door, and a suona team sitting on the side, which made the scene look even more festive.

The whole air was filled with piety and celebration.

A large group of villagers stood at the door, some of them were from other villages who came over to watch the fun. There were three layers inside and three layers outside, and the people at the outermost edge kept jumping up and down to watch.

It was only a short while ago that they came out. No one expected that there would be so many people outside. But it's normal when you think about it. How many villages can hold such a grand ancestor worship ceremony now? Moreover, there are operas performed for 7 days. Even the Chinese New Year is not so lively.

This was also the first time they had seen such a grand ancestor worship ceremony.

At this time, someone stood in the middle of the ancestral hall and shouted, "The time has come. Now let's hold the ancestral worship ceremony."

As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of firecrackers rang out.

A pair of brightly colored lion dance teams also stood in front of the ancestral hall. The lion heads in their hands were colorful and lifelike, and stood out particularly brightly among the crowd of people wearing gray clothes.

At the same time, the sounds of suona, gongs and drums also rang out, like thunder, stirring the emotions of the villagers.

The lion dance team sometimes jumped and sometimes tumbled with vigorous and powerful movements.

The children gathered at the front and clapped their hands excitedly. The adults were also very excited, with thrilling expressions on their faces, and they also clapped and cheered.

Everyone feels that the Chinese New Year is not as lively as this. In these few days, we have seen the most excitement in our lifetime.

The lion dance lasted for half an hour before stopping.

The sound of firecrackers rang out again.

"All Ye clan members, please enter the ancestral hall!"

The person who was speaking should be the gentleman who was invited here, and he was speaking in the local dialect.

Ye Yaodong and the others didn't quite understand what they heard, but they pricked up their ears and watched attentively. They followed what others did and filed in with everyone else.

As soon as they entered the ancestral hall, someone led them to stand in rows according to their seniority.

At this time, Ye Yaodong also saw the size of their family. There were hundreds of people standing there, filling every corner of the ancestral hall.

Even the male children of a few years old were brought along and stood in the back row according to their seniority. They all stood at the door and were watched by a special emcee.

However, there are some children who, although young, are older in generation, and there are always children of seven or eight years old beside and in front of them.

"Dear guests, dear clan members, ancestor worship is a solemn and dignified activity. Please stand still and keep quiet. Do not move around at will."

"Please wear your red flower..."

Then someone brought a red tray and gave red flowers to all of them, asking them to pin them on their chests.

"The ancestral worship ceremony has officially begun. Please invite the main worshiper, Mr. Ye, and the accompanying worshiper, XX clan member. Please wash your hands..."

"Please ask the officiating priest to burn incense..."

A special person lit three sticks of sandalwood and handed them to an elder of the tribe.

The clan elder held a large incense stick, waved it in each of the four directions of southeast, northwest, northeast and southwest, and then said to everyone in a loud voice: Today is an auspicious day. We, the descendants of XXXXX ancestor of the Ye family, are holding a ceremony to worship our ancestors. We respectfully welcome our ancestors to take their seats and enjoy the incense and candles offerings of our descendants.

Then he turned around and inserted the incense into the incense burner on the altar...

The ceremony proceeded slowly, solemnly and dignifiedly. Everyone stood straight, looking straight ahead, and listening with their ears pricked up.

Ye Yaodong and a group of people stood together, watching the actions of others like puppets. They took the incense when they were given it, bowed when they were asked to, stood up when they were asked to, and bowed when they were asked to.

Everyone spent the whole morning burning incense, kneeling and kowtowing.

No one moved around randomly, and no one went in or out, except for the person in charge who came back and forth to bring incense to everyone.

During the ceremony, sacrificial texts were read and representatives of clan members gave speeches. The ceremony was extremely complicated and grand.

It was not until noon that all the ceremonies were completed and the sound of firecrackers outside could be heard again.

Then there were bursts of sound of gongs and drums, creating a joyous and lively atmosphere.

As soon as the ancestor worship ceremony was over, everyone started chatting and laughing. It had been so solemn and quiet just now, but now the noise was so loud that it seemed to burst the roof.

People lined up to go out one after another.

Ye Yaodong and his group all stood aside to let others pass first while they walked up to the clan elders.

I had already told them when they came yesterday that after the ancestor worship was over today, they should not leave yet, but wait by the side. His grandfather's branch should also be noted in the family tree, and all of them should be written under his grandfather's name.

When he was writing in the family tree, he stretched his head to take a look. There were blank spaces next to and below his grandfather's name. The elders wrote down his grandmother's name first, and then it was his turn.

After handing out the red envelopes yesterday, they had already written the names of their family members on red paper. Those who didn't know how to write asked others to do it for them.

At this time, you just need to use the red paper to confirm who each person is, and then copy the names on the red paper into the family tree.

After all the family trees were listed, they all knelt down and worshipped together before they officially acknowledged their ancestors.

There were fewer people in the ancestral hall at this time, and those who came and went were only setting up tables and chairs and serving food and wine.

"It's OK. After you all recognize your ancestors, your grandfather's tablet will be placed in the ancestral temple later. If you are a hundred years old, your tablet can also be placed in the ancestral temple and enjoy the incense of future generations."

When Ye's father and his three brothers heard that they could enter the ancestral hall through ranking, and that even they would be able to enter in the future and enjoy the incense and worship from their descendants, they were very excited.

Uncle Ye also smiled and thanked repeatedly, "Thank you very much, this is all arranged by God. I didn't expect that after fifty or sixty years, I can still find my ancestors and return to my roots."

"Yes, Dad can rest in peace now."

The elder of the clan also smiled and said, "He can indeed die with a smile on his face. He should have no regrets. I heard that some of his grandchildren are very successful. Some of them are officials, and some of them make a lot of money."

"Our roots are here. Even if you go abroad, you have to come back more often. Overseas Chinese have come back from overseas. If you become successful, you have to contribute to our family."

Ye's father nodded quickly and recognized the one who was an official and made a lot of money.

"Of course. The ancestral temple is here. If there is anything in the future, just notify us and we will come over. We will donate money and manpower if we can."

The elder nodded, "That's good. You guys go to the door first to see the excitement. The dragon dance is starting outside now. After the dragon dance is over, the banquet will officially start at noon."

"Starting from today, we will have a buffet for three consecutive days. You can come and eat every morning, noon and night. This is because our people have made progress and have not forgotten their roots. They have made a lot of money and come back to give back to their hometown."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Go ahead. It's rare to be so busy. After dinner, you can go to the stage to grab a seat. You have to go two hours in advance, otherwise you won't be able to get a seat in the front."

"Okay, then we'll go out first."

Ten tables have been set up in the open space in the middle of the ancestral hall, and many dishes have been served.

They didn't feel comfortable staying here any longer, after all, no one had taken their seats yet. They planned to go to the door first to see what was going on, after all, dragon dancing was rare.

This is a real investment, and the company has real money. The overseas Chinese must have sponsored a lot, with lion and dragon dances, three-day buffets, and seven-day opera troupes... It's a huge expense.

When we walked out, the noise outside was deafening, with all kinds of gongs and drums, cheers, and laughter everywhere.

And along the road of the ancestral hall, there are tables everywhere, dozens of meters away from the door.

Judging from the number of people who just offered sacrifices to their ancestors, there are at least two to three hundred males alone, and each of these males has at least four or five family members connected to them. The older generation has many children, so it is normal for even married women to bring their families back for the buffet.

There are also villagers from this village who, although their surname is not Ye, are also from this village.

He estimated that there were more than 100 tables outside, with dozens of women busy serving food. Many people had already taken seats at the tables in advance and were eating while watching the fun.

As the dragon dance gradually moved from the gate into the village, the elders who were watching the fun at the gate called on everyone to go into the ancestral hall and sit down to eat.

Of course, this kind of banquet also has certain seating requirements, and only family members with the surname Ye are allowed to enter the ancestral hall.

Therefore, the people sitting here now are the same group of people who offered ancestor worship this morning.

They weren't familiar with anyone. They came here yesterday and got to know some clan elders and relatives from his grandfather's generation.

This morning he shamelessly struck up a conversation with other overseas Chinese, but he wasn't so shameless as to go over and squeeze into a table with them.

So at noon, the brothers still sat together. If one table couldn't accommodate them, they would split into two tables.

The biggest thing is ancestor worship. After that, they have nothing else to do.

But I didn't feel like leaving immediately, especially since the village had been quite busy in recent days.

So they stayed. Like his father, eldest uncle and second uncle, apart from watching the fun, they also chatted with the villagers. Although they didn't speak the same language, it didn't hinder communication.

He kept looking for Lao Hai to chat and talk. After all, he was most familiar with Lao Hai in the whole village, and Lao Hai often hung out with those overseas Chinese, so he also hung out with them.

After a whole day, they became more familiar with each other. Even his fish sauce and lighter were close to the exit. It all depended on whether he could keep up the good work.

After getting to know the people better, he felt like returning home and wanted to go back and do something big, but this couldn't be done in a hurry.

He patiently followed them to listen to the opera, drink tea, and chat, and suddenly it was dark.

The overseas Chinese only stayed until dark, then got on the car and left the village together.

Ye Yaodong and his friends stayed there for three full days, including three days of feasting and three days of watching plays. Then they sat contentedly on the tractor arranged by the village and left the village.

The tractor that Lao Hai came with is now leaving with a truckload of his brothers, and he had said hello to them in advance.

When they left, it was not just their family that left, but also some young and middle-aged people in the village who were temporarily summoned back to worship their ancestors, so the village arranged a car to take them out.

When we left on the third day, three large tractor carts full of people were pulling out of the village. When we were on the road, we saw that people from the nearby village were also pulling two large carts.

The surrounding villages are intermarrying, and relatives are connected to each other, so it is normal for people from nearby to be summoned back.

Fortunately, the weather is cold now, so it won’t be uncomfortable for everyone to squeeze together.

Father Ye sat next to him and whispered, "I didn't expect so many people to be working outside. As soon as the three-day buffet was over, so many people left together."

"That's normal. Didn't you see that those who left were all young people? They can work hard and try their luck while they are young. They can also make more money. Besides, our big family seems to be very united. Many of these people seem to be working together."

"Yes, yes, yes. It seems that they all work together. It seems that many of them are in the same group with Lao Hai."

"Well, never mind. We are all relatives anyway."

They can't speak the local dialect, so of course there's another level of distance between them, but in terms of seniority they are still relatives, so it's naturally easier to build relationships with them than with outsiders.

If we dare to fight and take risks now, we will definitely be fine in the future.

After chatting with his father for a few minutes, Ye Yaodong closed his eyes and rested.

His elder uncle and second uncle beside him were chatting with their son, and other people were also chatting, so the atmosphere was quite lively.

This time they set out at dawn, and when they arrived at the provincial capital, it was only 8 o'clock in the morning, when the streets were the busiest.

The tractor did not take them to the dock, but first took them to the entrance of the busiest department store in the city. After all, there were not only them on the tractor, but also many other people.

It is impossible to send everyone to their destination. We can only send them to the most central place and let others go wherever they want.

However, there were a lot of them, and if they asked to be taken to the pier, they would have been taken there, but they still followed everyone else and got off in the city center.

This was also the request made by everyone after discussion, after all, it was their first time in the provincial capital.

Now that they were here, there was no reason not to stroll around the streets of the provincial capital and take a look around. It was only early in the morning anyway, so there was no rush for them.

If you don't walk around and have a look around, you'll have nothing to brag about when you go back, and no material to tell others that they have been to the provincial capital.

If I can't even describe what the provincial capital looks like, then isn't that a lot of opportunity for me to show off?

Besides, since we are here now, we must bring back some local specialties or some items from the provincial capital to show off, so that the trip will not be in vain.

Father Ye understood the feelings of the others, and after discussing it, he agreed immediately, and then they all got off the car together.

Ye Yaodong didn't care. He had been to the provincial capital many times, so there was nothing wrong with just a little stroll around.

What's more, his day with those overseas Chinese was not in vain, as he now had a lot of foreign exchange coupons in his hands.

It just so happened that they had nothing to do, so they played cards and gambled. He joined in when he was bored. The foreign exchange coupons in his hand were all won by him, worth about one or two hundred yuan.

Everyone knows that he can't keep the money he has. Once he has some money, he wants to look around and buy everything he doesn't have at home.

So he also went straight into the department store, then went to the Friendship Store, and spent the whole morning shopping with everyone, and then everyone came out of the store satisfied.

"Dongzi, you are really rich. All these things cost a lot of money, one or two hundred yuan, right? And there are foreign exchange coupons, so you can spend them just like that."

"Isn't money meant to be spent? It's a rare trip to the provincial capital, so the family members should bring some gifts. Aren't you willing to spend a lot this time? You bought a few dozen dollars, right? Uncle's living standard has been rising sharply recently? It seems that you have saved a lot of money for the coffin?"

"No, no... These were all bought by others. Not many of them are our own."

Don't believe him.

It's because my eldest cousin owed too much money to the villagers, and he didn't dare let people know that they bought so many things, so he wanted to cover it up.

Ye Yaodong turned his head away and said nothing.

Father Ye pointed at the rope in his hand and said, "What kind of books are these? Why buy so many? My child at home is about to cry. I ask him to write every day, and you bought so many. He must be crying."

He had an indescribable look on his face. Half of the things in the box were calligraphy copybooks he had bought. He planned to practice calligraphy in his spare time so that his handwriting would not be too shabby to show off.

"Two of them are sweater pattern books, for Ah-Qing to knit a sweater and crochet cotton shoes and hats. The others are exercise books and extracurricular reading materials. Buying books is always better than buying toys. Ah-Qing's niece is quite good at reading, so I'll give her a few books when the time comes."

"It's good to be able to read, so you should give it to those who can read. No one in your family can read, and if you give it to them, they will all cry to death."

"Let's go, let's go. You are so disappointing. I am getting angry just by talking about it. Let's go to the roadside and wait for the bus. If there is a bus going to the pier, we can get off and walk for a while."

No one had any objections. No one had ever ridden a bus before. Such a high-end car was unthinkable in the past. For them, being able to ride on a tractor was considered good.

This is also an experience, and it is something you can brag about.

Ye Yaodong still wanted to find Lao Hai to inquire about the plastic bag factory, so he was not in a hurry to go back. After arriving at the dock, he let them get on the boat by themselves. He told them that he had something else to do and would be out for a while, and asked them not to run around. Then he went to find Lao Hai again.

It’s not that he doesn’t want those people to go out and stroll around on their own and then come back to the pier.

Instead, he was worried that these people would not be able to come back once they went out. They did not speak the language, could not speak Mandarin, and did not know the way. If they got lost, he would be in trouble too.

It would be better to wait until they finish shopping, then take them all to the boat and wait there, and then come back and sail back together after he finishes his business.

This was his boat. Even though they all wanted to get home before dark and enjoy the scenery in the village, they had to wait until he finished his work.

Even if you are unhappy, you have to hold it in and wait patiently.

Ye Yaodong had already made arrangements with Lao Hai, so when he arrived at the dock, Lao Hai was already there, but his shop at the dock was still closed.

After a few simple greetings, they got back on the tractor, and Ye Yaohai took him to a factory he knew that produced the plastic bag that covered the ice packs.

He introduced it to me on the way.

"I heard that this plastic bag factory was also invested by overseas Chinese, but I don't know where the overseas Chinese are from. You have to ask them yourself."

"Okay, those overseas Chinese are really rich."

"That's right. Now there are some open policies that are beneficial to these overseas Chinese, so they have all returned to China to invest in recent years. They have seen so many good things abroad and know that our country lacks this and that. Many things that are very common abroad are very expensive here, so it feels like the city has developed very fast in recent years, changing with each passing day."

Ye Yaodong thought to himself that those plastic bags should be very cheap, after all, the technology abroad is mature.

Moreover, it can be used to hold ice water in the summer. A bag costs only ten cents. The water in it also needs to be added with flavoring. The cost of plastic bags must be low, otherwise we can't even make ice water.

However, he just went there to get familiar with the place and get the directions, and then looked for the person in charge to get more details, to see if what he asked could be done, and to inquire about the price, and then went back without rushing to place an order.

After all, he hasn't found the machine yet, and it will take some time for it to be shipped back. By then, the cost may be lower. It won't be too late to negotiate the price and place an order when he needs it.

At this time, a bunch of people were waiting for him at the dock, all complaining.

After Ye Yaodong followed Lao Hai back to the dock, he took out two packs of imported cigarettes bought from the Friendship Store and handed them to him, thanking him for helping to lead the way.

After getting on the boat, everyone else couldn't help complaining.

"What took you so long?"

"If you had something to do, you should have done it in the morning. Instead, you had to wait until everyone was on board before you had to go do something last-minute. There were so many people waiting for you."

"That's right. So many people are waiting here. If you have anything to do, you can come back next time. Isn't it the same? Anyway, didn't your father say that you often come to the provincial capital?"

"We've been waiting for so long, and now the sun has set. It will be dark by the time we get home."

"If there was anything you should have done earlier, you should have gone and done it earlier. It took you so long. I thought you would just be gone for a while and come back..."

Ye Yaodong said unhappily: "If you are in a hurry, just go and take a bus back. I didn't ask you to wait for me."

"This is my boat. I can go back whenever I want. I haven't finished my work yet. If you want to take my boat back, then of course you have to listen to me and follow my schedule."

"My time is also precious. Who has the time to travel back and forth to the provincial capital all day long? Doesn't it cost gas? A round trip to the provincial capital on my boat costs at least a hundred yuan. Can you help me out a little?"

Everyone was speechless...

I just waited too long, and when I saw him I complained a few words. After being scolded back, I felt that what he said made sense...

Father Ye also looked at everyone and said, "Dongzi hasn't finished his work yet, so of course we have to wait until he finishes his work before we can leave. It's not easy to come to the provincial capital, and it's okay to wait a little longer. I didn't ask you to pay for the round trip, so don't say anything."

Ye Erbo's expression changed immediately, and he said with an awkward smile: "Everyone just waited too long, so I asked a few questions. Well, it's good that you're here. Let's go quickly, it's too late now."

"It's too late. How about you stay in the city for a night? And go back tomorrow? Then you can brag about it again. After all, you spent the night in the provincial capital and stayed in a guesthouse there."

Uncle Ye couldn't even smile awkwardly now, his face was shaking constantly.

Father Ye was afraid that he would say something unpleasant again, so he pushed him twice and said, "Let's go, let's go and drive the boat back. You go and drive it."

Ye Yaodong followed suit and walked forward, not wanting to argue with them, otherwise he would get angry to death.

After all, I was able to act decently in front of my tribesmen a few days ago and didn't do anything stupid in front of others. But I'll just act stupid in front of him.

It's okay as long as it's not lost outside.

After he went up to the helm, Father Ye said a few words with a smile, tried to smooth things over, and asked everyone to help untie the ropes and raise the anchor.

Everyone smiled in tacit understanding, changed the subject and moved on.

They all knew that they had failed to see the reality clearly and had been waiting for too long, which had caused them to become impatient.

People have to bow their heads under the roof.

Ye Yaodong drove the boat slowly away from the shore. After a while, the lights on the boat came on and night gradually fell.

It took a long time for Ye's father to bring him the meal.

"You eat first, let me eat first?"

“Who cooked it?”

“I cooked it.”

"Damn, you spoil them, take care of their food and drink, and you still have to cook and serve them?"

"No, no, Ah Sheng and Ah Fan also helped."

"They just bullied the honest people, really."

"It's nothing, just help with something that's easy to do. I'm not tired today anyway, so it doesn't matter if I do more or less. Don't hurt the relationship. Look at how united the clans are over there, we can't make things too awkward."

Ye Yaodong frowned and sighed, "People are united because they give and take, they are polite and humane, and helping each other can earn people's sincere gratitude. How can you be united if you only think about taking advantage without thinking about giving?"

Father Ye was silent for a moment.

"We are a family after all. Forget it. They are just small matters. Don't worry too much about it."

Ye Yaodong stopped talking. His father was sometimes a bit of a good guy and didn't like to care about things.

It's good quality, anyway.

After he had a simple meal, he let his father take him away and let him run the restaurant as usual at night.

When they left, the sun had already set, and by the time they got home, it was already one or two o'clock in the morning.

They happened to meet other fishing boats going out to sea, and there were flashlights waving on the dock. As soon as they entered the village dock, they were discovered by the villagers.

After reaching the shore, they were surrounded by the villagers and talked, but everyone was in a hurry to go out to sea, and they were also in a hurry to go home.

Ye Yaodong just smiled and said hello, without even stopping, he went straight home.

The house was pitch black, so he went around to the back door and knocked on the window of his room.

Lin Xiuqing was startled at night, but she also felt that the knock on the door sounded familiar.

She put on her coat and went to the window and whispered, "Are you back? I'll go open the door."

"You know this is me?"

"If it's not you, who else could it be? Who would stay up late at night and knock on someone else's wife's window?"

"Hey, doesn't this mean you're used to it?"

"I'm used to your boss. You say this kind of thing. You're asking for trouble right after you come back. Go to the front." Lin Xiuqing scolded him and ran to the front door quietly to open it for him.

As soon as she let him in, she hit him.

"If you don't know, you would think I'm used to stealing people."

Ye Yaodong laughed, "Don't be afraid, my wife. I am your adulterer."

Lin Xiuqing almost couldn't hold it in, "You are an adulterer, then what am I?"

He slapped himself and said, "I was wrong. Don't be afraid, my wife. I am your mistress."

Lin Xiuqing rolled her eyes at him. "What nonsense are you talking about? Why did you get home in the middle of the night?"

"Something delayed me."

(End of this chapter)