Back to the small fishing village in 1982

Chapter 1301: Go on a Boat
Ye Yaodong only then realized that he had been busy the whole morning and had not seen his father.

He patted Ye Xiaoxi's butt and sent her to play, then he stood up and cleaned his ears.

"This kid, my ears can't bear it, he even shook it hard against my ears."

"Does it sound good?"

Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes at her who was gloating over her misfortune, and took her hand and walked towards home, "I'll call her back and ask her to put it next to your ear and shake it for you to listen."

"I don't want it. Who asked you to buy it? It just gives you a good idea of ​​how noisy it is."

Lin Xiuqing pulled her hand away a little embarrassedly, "We are already an old couple, and we are still holding hands. What's that like?"

"I told you that we seem to be old enough to be led by someone in his seventies or eighties."

"Why don't you ask your father and mother to walk hand in hand?"

Ye Yaodong imagined the scene and shuddered.

"Am I too full?"

After saying this, he strode into the house, and after two steps he turned around and urged.

"Hurry up, I'm starving."

"They're all hot in the pot, just serve them yourself."

When he walked into the yard, he also saw the fireworks all over the yard as his elder brother had mentioned.

It’s really...

There were so many that he was a little surprised. If you didn’t know him, you would think he was a fireworks wholesaler.

Lin Xiuqing caught up with him and saw him counting the fireworks in the yard. She said, "These were all sent by everyone this morning. Most of them were sent by people who went out with you, and some were relatives."

"Too many. When will this be put away?"

"We'll put two of them in when the boat comes back, and two more in during the New Year. The rest can either be sold to a grocery store or it won't be appropriate to just pile them in the yard. If it rains, they'll all go bad."

"What are you selling? They've already been delivered to me, so why sell them? I'll have them transported to my old house later, cover them with nylon bags, and put them out during the Chinese New Year. I can also put a few out on March 23, Mazu's birthday."

It will also come in handy on October 1987, 10 (the ninth day of the ninth month in the lunar calendar), the 31th anniversary of Mazu's ascension to heaven.

"That's fine. I'm just worried that they might go bad if left out in the yard. There are too many of them. If one sparks, it would be a disaster."

"Ah."

Ye Yaodong nodded and went back into the house.

After returning home and sitting down, he asked again: "After my father took the gold and left in the morning, he never came back?"

"He went outside the dock and said that you had already gone out to sea to unload the cargo on the ship. He did not sail out again and came back first. Mother saw that he was idle, so she sent him to deliver local specialties to relatives and friends. He did not come to eat at noon. Mother also said that father went to my eldest aunt's house to deliver local specialties. I guess he ate at my eldest aunt's house and did not come back."

"Oh, I thought he got the gold and just quit."

Lin Xiuqing smiled and brought him the meal. "What are you talking about? Come and eat. Food gets cold quickly in winter. I kept it warm on the stove. The leaves of the vegetables have turned yellow."

Ye Yaodong took two chopsticks from the chopstick holder on the table, then he saw a thick stack of calendars against the wall.

"What is this, a calendar? Why are you putting it here instead of throwing it away after tearing it up?"

"This is what your ancestor saved. After you left, she kept every page she tore off so that she could count the days. She said she was old and confused and was afraid she couldn't remember. So, in more than half a year, she has saved up such a thick stack and has to count it every now and then. Even your daughter can follow her and count from 1 to 10."

"Well, now that I'm back, why am I still staying?"

"She didn't plan to keep it. She put it in her room and forgot to burn it. After dinner, she took it out and said she would remember to use it to start a fire at night."

"I'm just bored. If I have something to do, I won't be thinking about it so much. I'll buy some wool and knit her a sweater tomorrow."

"I miss you all the time. I'm so busy every day that even when I'm eating or sleeping, I still think about how you're doing over there. You won't leave after the New Year, will you?"

Ye Yaodong said as he ate, "No, don't worry. If we run into a layman coming to the city, at most I'll go up with him and then follow him down."

"Why do we need to go up there?"

"Didn't I buy a piece of land? I thought that if I have time to go there before the second half of the year, I would just ask someone to tidy up the land."

"Are you in such a hurry? Why not put it aside for now? We only made money this year, and we don't know what will happen next year. Who knows if it will be like you guys doing jellyfish business in Vancouver, and you won't be able to stay for long."

"Right."

If people are not there, it will be troublesome to clear the land, and people will have to be left there to carry out construction.

It’s fine to be used as a garbage dump now. It’s not too late to deal with it two years later.

"Let's talk about it later. We'll see after the New Year."

Taking advantage of the break during lunch, Lin Xiuqing told him that she had already counted and put away the money in the morning.

Let him wait until he finishes his busy schedule and then go to the bank to change the change together. It will be a good time to exchange a new batch of money and save it during the New Year.

By the way, he also briefly talked about what had happened in the village in the past six months, as well as the production of fish sauce.

Ye Yaodong was eating and just listening. Many things sounded familiar to him as they had been discussed on the phone.

After he finished his meal, he took the opportunity to tell her what happened upstairs, picking out the important parts.

"Shen Ming'e? Is she the beautiful woman that's rumored in the village who visits you every day and sends you money on behalf of the bank?"

His eyebrows raised at the same time, "It spread so quickly? Fortunately I told the truth. Otherwise, would you come to settle the score with me?"

Lin Xiuqing glanced at him and asked, "Am I so unreasonable?"

"No, it's mainly because I'm innocent and behave properly."

"Yes, that's why I volunteered to tell you. It's not like the boat or the loan."

"Mention it again? I have to talk about it sometime. I just finished my work and sat down to tell you what happened up there."

"You continue with your story, and let's move on."

"That's pretty much it..."

After Ye Yaodong finished speaking, he took out the photos he had developed some time ago and described to her where each photo was taken and in what circumstances.

"Where's the old lady? Why didn't you see it? I should have told you all about it."

"Seeing me counting money at home, she went to sit in the workshop, listening to the women praising you, and showing them her gold earrings. She said she was old and didn't want to wear other things to attract people's envy. A pair of gold earrings was enough to make people envious, and she kept the rest to herself and look at them slowly."

He chuckled.

"I went to the Mazu temple to worship early in the morning with the offerings I had prepared. After that, I went to the temple with a cane and a basket to worship Guanyin. Then I went to worship the Goddess of Land and the Goddess of Earth. I said I would wait until the evening to worship the Goddess of Kitchen God and the Goddess of Earth."

"Then she said that she would let Dad go to the mountain to worship the ancestors and the mountain god tomorrow. I saw that she was busy like a top all morning. No wonder she forgot to burn the calendar."

Ye Yaodong was amused. "Her arrangement is quite thorough, isn't it? There is no conflict between the various gods."

Lin Xiuqing also laughed non-stop, "Yes, I got up early in the morning and went to buy everything myself, both meat and vegetables. I also caught and killed the chicken myself, saying that I would save it for stewing in the evening. Nourishing things should be eaten at night."

"Still able to walk."

"That's right. Before you came back, she would sit at the door and sigh every day, taking out your photo and looking at it from time to time. Now that you're back, she's full of energy and can walk two miles just by looking at it."

"My picture? Black and white?"

"correct."

"I took some color photos and I'll give them to her later. It's unlucky to sigh at black and white photos all day long."

After hearing his implied words, Lin Xiuqing couldn't hold back her laughter and fell backwards with laughter.

She had never thought about it in this way. Fortunately, his mind was so quick. It was so funny.

"Is it funny?"

"very funny!"

"What's so funny?"

At this time, the old lady came in from the door with a cane and looked at them with a smile.

"Are you done with your work? I saw you were still busy just now, but then I heard no sound from next door, and I realized you were back."

"Well, the goods have been weighed, come back and eat first."

Ye Yaodong was looking at the photos at the time and waved at her.

The old lady was walking with a cane, saying, "I'm so busy as soon as I get home that I don't even have time to eat. What should I do if I get hungry? If I'm like this at home, I don't know how hungry I'll be outside."

After walking in, she reached out and touched his stomach, muttering that it was too flat and he must not be full.

"I'm full. I'm not old enough to get fat yet. Wait until I'm 40 or 50 years old. By then, I'll have a big belly and be bald."

"Let me show you the photos I took on it. There are black and white ones and color ones. The color ones are clearer."

Ye Yaodong placed the photos on the table one by one for her to see, and also explained to her the background of the photos that he had just mentioned to Lin Xiuqing.

"Okay, okay, the colorful ones are still better, the colorful ones are clearer..."

"It's snowing up there, it looks cold. Are you frozen? You can't eat or sleep well and you have to endure the cold. Don't go next time, just stay home."

"Give me a colored one. It looks really lively... I have to show it to others. The black and white one is unlucky. I can only look at it myself and not show it to others."

Lin Xiuqing laughed when she heard this, "Ah Dong also said that black and white are unlucky just now."

"Isn't it? Last time I took the photo to worship Mazu, asking her to take a look at Dongzi and to bless the right person and not to recognize the wrong person. A woman from another village saw me wiping tears and asked me to mourn. I was almost mad to death. I wanted to beat her to death with my walking stick. What was she saying?"

Ye Yaodong laughed non-stop.

"Don't laugh. People are cursing you and you're still laughing."

"Hahaha, it's true that it's easy to be misunderstood. Why are you wiping away your tears?"

"Alas, don't I feel bad for you? You've been suffering outside all the time."

"Okay, okay, I'll give you a colored one, and I'll put the others in an album so they don't get lost."

"The photo album is in my room. You can go to my room to get it if you want."

"Okay, I just happen to have too many things in my room."

The old lady smiled and said, "Go get them quickly. I'll clip these photos together, otherwise they will be lost."

Lin Xiuqing also turned around and went into the house to get the photo album.

After clipping all the photos together, the old lady held them in her arms like treasures and took them to the door to look at them.

"The light outside is good, I'll take another look... My eyes are blurry and useless..."

Lin Xiuqing watched the old lady muttering as she walked outside, then sat down and talked to Ye Yaodong.

"The cargo has been unloaded. Are you going to sail the boat later?"

"Yes, my dad's bicycle hasn't come back yet, so I'll go there on my motorcycle later. I can park it at my friend's place and feel more at ease."

"Ask your elder and second brothers to go sailing with you. Dad is not here, and you will be in a mess if you go alone."

"Well, I think they have nothing to do. When Dad comes back, you can talk to him and ask him to go to the dock with some fireworks. It's better to set off the fireworks today. Anyway, we checked the date when we left the shipyard, so there's no need to be so particular now that we're back."

"know."

"Please prepare a few more dishes tonight. I will invite some friends and cousins ​​to dinner. Prepare a few more tables of dishes tomorrow, let's prepare 20 tables. It just so happens that they also sent fireworks today, so we can thank them and invite the group of people who sent the fireworks to dinner. It's also a New Year's Eve dinner, and we can also treat the workers to dinner."

"so much!"

Lin Xiuqing's eyes widened in surprise. How was this different from a wedding banquet? Even wedding banquets didn't have so many tables.

"We have already bought a boat worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Everyone has sent fireworks thoughtfully. It is also possible to invite a meal to liven things up. It is just right that we can also invite all the workers at the same time. Otherwise, we would have to invite them twice, which would be even more troublesome."

"We have fifteen or sixteen boats for rent. The captains have to have two tables. There are also workers on the Dongsheng and the fresh-harvesting boats, as well as workers in the workshops. We also need several tables here."

"I will go to the city tomorrow and bring back all the workers there. I will also bring back your parents, brother, and sister-in-law to make the party more lively. Also, please invite all the village cadres and Ah Cai. After all, the New Year is approaching."

"I made a lot of money this year, and the whole village knows that I bought a boat worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's a good opportunity for everyone to have some fun, get along better, and improve collective relationships. Then the cohesion and collective sense of honor will be stronger."

What Lin Xiuqing said to him seemed very reasonable...

Having made so much money and bought such a big ship, it's time to treat everyone to a meal, thank everyone, and win their hearts...

That is, how can we get someone to count them for him? There are so many of them, it seems like we have to invite most of the village?
"That would be a bit of a fuss..."

"It doesn't matter. We just need to make it more lively. Let my mother hire a chef and a few more women to help. Then you can ask my father to rent tables, chairs, benches, and bowls and chopsticks."

"Well, then we have to hurry up and ask the chef to prepare the menu. Tomorrow morning, I have to ask Dad to push the cart to buy vegetables."

"No need. Just have someone drive a tractor to take him to buy it. I'll drive the boat to the city tomorrow. Anyway, the cargo in the cabin has not been unloaded yet. I'm worried about the rain or the waves. I'll unload the cargo on the deck today."

"Alright, then I'll have to count the number of people and calculate how many tables we need."

"Call my mother over to count with you. She knows how many relatives there are in the family better than you do. Ask her to call for help when the time comes. You don't have to do everything by yourself. She is happy to do this kind of thing."

Lin Xiuqing smiled. Indeed, of course Ye's mother was happy about such an honorable event, and sending her to tell others was exactly what she wanted.

"Then you should go out to sea first, quickly, the tide is rising. I will call mother over to discuss it later."

"Ah."

Ye Yaodong walked out, pushed his motorcycle to the door and called his elder and second brothers. The two of them were also basking in the sun at the door and chatting with the neighbors around them.

When they heard him ask them to accompany him to the town to sail the boat, the two stood up immediately.

"It's high tide now, just in time..."

"You can't stop at the village, what are you going to do?"

"Drive in, take the fireworks to the boat and the dock and set them off, anchor for a while, and then drive to the sheltered harbor later. Anyway, we won't be going out to sea in the near future. We have to wait until after the New Year."

Ye Yaopeng nodded, "That's fine."

"Then let's go. Go early and come back early. You can take my motorcycle instead of riding a bicycle which is too slow."

"it is good."

Ye Yaohua asked curiously: "Dongzi, does your family know about the 20 yuan loan you took out?"

"I know. Doesn't the whole village know about this? Aren't they all praising me for my abilities? The bank is giving me money to spend!"

"Hehehe... it's you. You're beyond my imagination. I thought the villagers would point fingers at you, but I didn't expect that they would actually admire you."

Ye Yaopeng also said: "If other people go to the bank to apply for a loan, they will be drowned in spit."

Ye Yaodong said: "This is the difference between having strength and not having strength. The whole village knows that I went out and made a lot of money and came back with a lot of boats. The boats worth hundreds of thousands of dollars I just bought are my living signboards."

"Besides, most of the people who followed me out have made money. Who would say bad things about me at this time? They would only say good things and would not say bad things to embarrass me."

"Yes, that's you. I just hope there's no conflict at home."

Ye Yaodong looked at them with a smile, "Do you want to apply for a loan as well? Maybe there are some in our county or town."

The two shook their heads in unison.

"No, we should live within our means. We are very satisfied with the money we earn now. It would be too stressful to take out a loan."

"Yes, as long as I think about owing the bank 20 yuan, how can I sleep well? Do you think we are like you? We are not worried about not being able to pay it back. We dare not even think about it."

"Yes, it's scary just thinking about it. My hair will turn grey with worry because I have to think about making money all the time."

"That's right. If you take out a loan to build a ship, it will take one or two years to get the ship. During this period, you won't make any money. You must be very nervous. After getting the ship, it takes time to make money. There are also risks of natural disasters and man-made disasters."

"No, no, we can't do it. We can't do it. You are brave, so just do it."

The two of them spoke one sentence at a time, and it was obvious that they had discussed it beforehand.

Ye Yaodong shrugged, said nothing more, started the motorcycle and sat on it.

At this time, Ye Xiaoxi, who was playing nearby, also heard the sound of the motorcycle. He turned around and immediately ran over.

"Daddy... Daddy... Car... Car... Dog, hurry... Take the car..."

The dogs were faster than her and had already stopped the motorcycle.

They rushed in front of the motorcycle, stood in a row, and barked at him collectively, with their bells jingling in unison.

Ye Yaodong stopped there helplessly, "What are you doing? I have to go do some work, A-Qing, A-Qing..."

Lin Xiuqing responded and ran out, "What are you doing?"

"Your daughter wants to follow, take her away quickly."

Ye Xiaoxi ran over and got on the truck bed ahead of Lin Xiuqing, and sat down next to Ye Yaohua.

The dog next to her also wanted to squeeze in, but she pushed it out by its head and threw it away after she was done with it, "Go away, go away..."

"Dad, let's go, let's go..."

"Get lost, I'm going to drive the boat!"

She clapped her hands happily and said, "That's great. After taking the bus, we can take the boat."

"Do you want to take a plane?"

“Yes, yes, yes…”

"Do you want a whip?" Lin Xiuqing came over and wanted to carry her down.

"Don't don't."

Several dogs were now biting her clothes and trying to tear them off.

She was acting like a spoiled brat, but was still picked up by the adults.

The quick-reacting dog jumped into the truck bed.

Ye Yaodong took the opportunity to rush out on his motorcycle.

The little yellow dog, the spotted dog, and the little white dog failed to jump in time, and missed their target, and fell to the ground one after another.

Ye Xiaoxi was about to cry, but when she saw the funny looks of the dogs, she immediately burst into laughter and pointed at them mockingly, "Stupid, stupid."

The dogs lay on the ground with their heads hung, pacing slowly, looking a little dejected.

After Ye Yaodong and others drove into the village, they slowed down and drove quite slowly. The village was full of children running and jumping, and a group of people were standing in the middle of the road chatting and basking in the sun.

After seeing him, many people greeted him enthusiastically.

"Where are you three going?"

"Oh, I haven't seen this motorcycle for a long time..."

"Are you three brothers going to buy something big?"

Ye Yaodong smiled and said, "We are going to the town to sail, please make way..."

"Is the ship worth hundreds of thousands of dollars real? Is it going to be brought back now?"

"Oh, then we have to go and take a look. What kind of boat is so expensive that it can buy our entire village..."

"Can you see it, leaving the dock into the village?"

"Will it run aground?"

Ye Yaodong ignored the comments of the people behind him and walked slowly through the crowded village paths. He only sped up after he got onto the main road at the entrance of the village.

After arriving in the town, he drove his motorcycle directly to the entrance of Hongsheng Hotel. As soon as the car stopped, his younger brothers came out to greet him at the door.

"This boss..."

"Is Wang Maoquan here?"

"Yes, yes, I'll go call."

Ye Yaopeng asked curiously: "Dongzi, you park the car here? Is that okay?"

"Ah."

As soon as Wang Maoquan came out, he saw Ye Yaodong and said in surprise: "Oh? It's you?"

"It's me. Long time no see. Manager Wang looks like you're getting better off now. Are you living a good life?" As he spoke, he threw another pack of cigarettes over.

"Are you here to see our boss?"

"No, I want to park my car here. I need to do something. I need you to ask someone to look after it. I'll come and have tea with your boss next time."

"Okay, sure."

"Then please."

Ye Yaodong parked the car to the side, then said hello to Wang Maoquan and walked towards the dock with his elder and second brothers.

At this moment, a head popped out of the upstairs window and called out his name, "Ye Yaodong!"

He immediately stopped and looked up.

Hong Wenle called out, "Looking for me?"

"No……"

"wait for me."

He could only stand there and wait for a while.

Ye Yaopeng was surprised, "Dongzi, are you familiar with this boss?"

"That's right?"

“You make friends wherever you go.”

"Does that mean I'm brave? I can talk to anyone? I'm thick-skinned and I'm popular."

"Ha ha……"

After a while, Hong Wenle ran out and asked, "What do you want from me? I haven't seen you for a long time."

"I'm not looking for you. I'm just borrowing your precious place to park my car for a while, haha."

"I see. I thought you were here to see me. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to the dock to drive a boat, and it's not convenient to park my motorcycle directly on the dock, so I thought I'd park it here and drive it later?"

"Why did you leave the boat in town instead of going back to the village?"

"My boat is new, it's big, and has a deep draft, so it can only be parked in a deepwater port. If I drive it to the village, I can only park it far outside and let it drift. I thought I'd just park it here. I'll drive it back to set off some fireworks, and then I'll drive it to a safe harbor."

"What kind of ship is it? How big is it? Have you made a fortune again?"

"Not bad, more than 40 meters."

"Ah! Damn!" Hong Wenle opened his eyes wide. He was just asking casually and giving a compliment.

"Over 40 meters? You bought a boat over 40 meters long? How much did you earn? Are you in partnership?"

"No, shall I take you to have a look?"

"I'll go take a look. Damn, they've bought a boat that's over 40 meters long. How many tens of thousands does it cost? Or hundreds of thousands? It must be a lot of money for the partnership, right?"

"No partnership, I own it all by myself! About a hundred thousand."

Hong Wenle was shocked!

Wang Maoquan was even more shocked than him. His mouth was so wide open that an egg could fit in it, and his eyes were as big as copper bells.

When did the poor boy become a rich man?
You can buy a boat worth hundreds of thousands of dollars just like that? You're not exaggerating, are you?

Hong Wenle asked in disbelief: "Your alone? You spent hundreds of thousands? Damn, is this true?"

"You'll know if you go and see it?"

"Go, go, go, let me take a look for you. It's incredible. You've made so much money. What have you been doing? Don't you fish anymore?"

"Fishing, that's how I make my living, what else can I do?"

"You can earn so much from fishing? I can't believe it. It's only been a year since I last saw you."

"It's a bit of luck..."

Ye Yaodong chatted with him as they walked.

Wang Maoquan stood at the door, looking at his motorcycle, touching it and muttering, "What kind of shit luck do I have to buy such a big boat? Fortunately, I didn't drive a car..."

He didn't feel how strong the wind was when he was walking in the town, but as soon as he arrived at the dock, Ye Yaodong felt like the top of his head was about to be blown away by the wind.

Under the sun, the wind was howling so hard that he wanted to walk backwards.

At this time, there were not many boats at the dock. He saw his own boat at a glance. Not to mention its size, the big flowers tied on it made it particularly eye-catching among the other boats.

"Hey, that's the boat. Do you see it?"

"Oh my god! Is it really that big? Is it really yours?"

Ye Yaopeng smiled and said, "Your boat is still the most magnificent. There are so many shabby boats around..."

"There is a reason why it is expensive."

Ye Yaodong waved at him and said, "Come on, I'll take you aboard to have a look."