Back to the small fishing village in 1982

Chapter 1391 Going to the County

The next morning, Ye Yaodong woke up as soon as he heard a little noise, without anyone calling him.

Lin Xiuqing got up early in the morning at dawn to make breakfast, and today's breakfast was particularly rich.

Usually there are pickled mustard or various pickled vegetables and salted duck eggs, but today, in addition to these, there are also fried eggs with dried shrimp, canned fish, preserved egg and tofu, salted hairtail, as well as soy milk, fried dough sticks and meat buns bought from outside.

Even Ye Chenghu and Ye Chengyang couldn't stop wowin' after seeing the breakfast dishes.

Ye Chenghu secretly ate fried dough sticks while asking: "Mom, is our family no longer able to make ends meet?"

"Mom, the food here is better than during Chinese New Year. Has Dad made a fortune again?"

After saying this, Ye Chengyang also went over to him to break the fried dough sticks.

Ye Chenghu dodged and protested, "Don't take my food. If you want to eat, go to the table and get it yourself."

"Cheapskate."

Lin Xiuqing said, "Keep your voice down. Everyone is still asleep. How can the food be better than during the Chinese New Year? During the Chinese New Year, we had lots of fish and meat."

"That was the New Year's Eve dinner. After the New Year, we ate leftovers every morning for a week. They were not as good as the food today."

Ye Chenghu also agreed, "Yes, there is no such dish on New Year's morning. It's just leftovers with pickled mustard and pickles."

Lin Xiuqing smiled and knocked on everyone, "You are the only one who would say that, there is so much money, and you still complain about it?"

"Mom, is it because Daddy is back and trying to cheer you up that this morning is so rich?"

Ye Chenghu laughed and retreated towards the door as he spoke, worried that his mother would slap him and he would not be able to run away in time.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"I heard everything last night. Dad made you very happy."

Ye Chengyang also nodded, "Yes, every time Dad comes back, Mom is very happy."

"Don't talk nonsense. We have guests at home. Your grandparents are here, and your dad brought his godfather and godmother back yesterday. They slept upstairs with you last night."

"My father's godfather?" Ye Chenghu was puzzled for a moment, then his eyes lit up, "The godfather who gave the red envelope, the one who is a high-ranking official."

"That's right, go to the store and buy four new toothbrushes."

"Okay, right away."

"I said that what I ate this morning was better than what I ate during the Chinese New Year..."

"By the way, go to your hometown and invite your grandfather and grandmother to come over for dinner..."

"understood."

The two brothers took the money, ran out excitedly, chasing each other and fighting as they went to the store.

Ye Yaodong got up and washed up. Looking at the table full of breakfast, he was very satisfied and broke off a small piece of fried dough stick.

The father and his three sons are all the same.

The freshly fried dough sticks are still warm and taste crispy and soft.

"It's delicious. This is what we should eat. We eat pickled vegetables and mustard tubers every day."

"The best dishes to eat with rice are pickles and mustard tubers."

Ye Yaodong did not refute.

"Not up yet?"

"It's only 5:. I just heard some footsteps upstairs. They should be awake too."

"Those two boys are really active. They can't get up when they want to study, but they get up earlier than chickens when they don't study."

"Isn't it proactive to take them to the county to watch the fun? I was afraid of missing out and being left behind, so I got up early in the morning and sat at the door waiting."

While Lin Xiuqing was speaking, she had already prepared bowls of porridge and placed them on the table. They needed to cool down a little so that they could be eaten later.

After a while, Lin's father and mother and Director Chen and his wife also came down one after another. Ye Chenghu was particularly attentive and handed the new toothbrushes to them one by one.

"Grandpa and grandma, godfather and grandma, I just bought it. It's new. I give it to you."

"Haha, so good."

"Thank you. This must be the eldest brother. He looks a lot taller and smarter."

Ye Chenghu was a little shy after being praised, "You're welcome, hurry up and wash the dishes. Then we can have dinner. My mother has prepared a lot of dishes. They are better than what we had during the Chinese New Year."

Lin Xiuqing glared at him and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Who would eat this on New Year's Day?"

"I mean it's better than what we had the morning after New Year's Eve..."

Director Chen smiled and said, "I see. I understand what you mean. Breakfast is not this rich on normal days, and breakfast during the Chinese New Year is not this rich either, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes, we eat leftovers during the Chinese New Year..."

"I told you not to talk too much, go wash your hands and eat."

It was time for dinner when Mr. and Mrs. Ye came over.

Everyone was talking and laughing, and both hosts and guests enjoyed the breakfast very much.

Ye Yaodong had also made arrangements with his parents and would let his father drive the tractor to take his family and his father-in-law and his wife, while he would drive the motorcycle to take Director Chen and his wife.

They have invitations, and it seems that they will have to collect clothes and wear the same attire for the worship, which is not the same thing.

After everyone finished their meal, a large group of people headed towards the Tianhou Temple.

It was just past 6 o'clock in the morning, but the whole village had already woken up and was extremely lively, with people coming and going around the beach.

Even the children got up early in the morning and are now running towards the Tianhou Temple, extremely excited.

Before they reached the Tianhou Temple, they heard the sounds of various gongs, drums and suonas.

"It's started, run..."

"Wow, hurry up, hurry up..."

"Dad, let's run away first..."

Everyone on the road quickened their pace.

Even their own children were so excited that they ran after them.

Ye Yaodong looked at the people behind him who kept passing by them, checked his wrist, and said, "Take your time, there's no rush. It's only 6:20. We set out at 7 o'clock. The suona is just to adjust the atmosphere in advance."

"Don't worry, it's just a few steps. Just after dinner, take it as a walk and walk slowly."

"Let the kids slow down. Running right after a meal can easily give them stomachaches..."

"It's too late for you to say this. He has already run away."

Everyone continued walking forward, chatting and laughing.

The entrance to Tianhou Temple had been decorated with lights and red silk cloths a few days earlier. At this moment, a suona band was sitting on the threshold playing the instruments, surrounded by a group of children and adults who were watching.

Ye Xiaoxi excitedly squeezed into the crowd, and squeezed out again after a while.

"Mom, I also want to play this erhu. They call it erhu. I want to play erhu. Dad, I want to play erhu..."

Ye Yaodong was very upset. "Why are you a little girl playing the erhu? Those who play the erhu are all old men."

"I want it, I want it, mmm mmm mmm, it sounds so good..."

She hummed and shook her head, imitating the rhythm of someone playing the erhu, swaying from side to side, and it seemed that she had quite a sense of rhythm.

"You might as well learn the harmonica."

"No, it's all my brother's saliva."

Lin Xiuqing smiled and said, "She doesn't have her own harmonica, and her brother's harmonica is made of mud or saliva."

"I'll buy you a new one tomorrow."

“Then I also want the erhu.”

"Learn the harmonica first, from easy to difficult, okay?"

"Ok."

Director Chen smiled and said, "If the child wants to learn, you can let her learn. It doesn't matter. Who says that only old men play the erhu? They learn from a young age. I will buy her one tomorrow when I go back."

Ye Xiaoxi jumped up excitedly, then hurried over to hug his thighs, "Thank you, Grandpa Gan, you are so nice, you are better than my dad, my dad is a stingy person."

Ye Yaodong raised his hand high, "Say it again, I'll slap you on the ass! Who bought all those toys for you? And you still say I'm stingy, you little heartless person."

“But you didn’t buy me an erhu.”

"Can you? You are not as tall as the erhu."

"Nonsense, I am taller than the erhu."

Ye Yaodong ignored her and looked at Director Chen, "I'll buy it the day after tomorrow. I can't bear to let you spend money."

Lin Xiuqing also nodded, "Yes, we can just buy one ourselves."

"There's no point in taking back what you've said, especially when you're talking to a child. Don't think she's too young, she'll remember it all."

"Yes, I remember, I must keep my word!"

Ye Yaodong scolded with a smile: "Little girl, you are not polite at all."

"I can give my piggy bank to Grandpa Gan."

“Hahaha, so I made some money?”

Lin Xiuqing also smiled and poked her forehead with her index finger, "You are so shameless to say that with just a few cents."

"I have lots of coins. Very heavy."

It's funny to talk about this. Lin Xiuqing told them vividly that Ye Xiaoxi didn't know "jiao" and "yuan", and only recognized "fen" coins.

I don’t want large amounts of money, I’ll just give it back and only give you one or two cent coins.

So now the piggy banks only have coins of a few cents, and there is really no larger amount.

But she still thinks that her coins are many and heavy, so she has a lot of money.

Ye Xiaoxi saw that the adults were all looking at her and laughing, not knowing why, so she turned around and squeezed into the crowd again. Then she supported her chin with both hands, squatted in front of the person playing the erhu, and stared at him.

The old man with a mustache looked at her squatting so far in front and laughed too.

Just as they were making fun of Ye Xiaoxi, Secretary Chen came over. He was surprised to see Director Chen and hurried forward to shake his hand.

"What brings the leader here?" He slapped his forehead. "Oh, look at my memory. Ah Dong has already paid his respects to his godparents, so it's normal for him to come."

"Yes, he went to the city to pick us up yesterday, and we stayed at his house last night. Otherwise, how could he be here so early?"

"Okay, then you should come to our village more often. Our village has made great progress in the past few years and is very different now."

"I've heard about it and I've seen it. Look at the row of big ships in the middle of the sea. They're so majestic. There weren't so many last year, but this year there are twice as many..."

"That's totally different. They didn't take any boats this time. They all came back on these big ships. There are still 40 or 50 boats in our village out there..."

Secretary Chen, spitting heavily, pointed at the sea and told Director Chen about the current situation of the village. He also said that the village is now vigorously developing the aquaculture industry.

He is now particularly proud when talking about the situation in the village. The village is getting better and better, also under the leadership of village cadres like them.

And when he said that, he didn't forget to try to establish a relationship, saying that everyone had the surname Chen and was from the same family with the same ancestor...

Then he kept praising Ye Yaodong, saying that the villagers were influenced by him and followed him, which enabled them to slowly accumulate capital. That is why there are always fishing boats in the village and new boats come back one after another.

Now it has surpassed some villages in the surrounding area and has become a well-known wealthy village. Even getting married in the village has become much easier.

Ye Yaodong modestly said that it was because of the protection of the village cadres that he could do better and better, and it was also because of the cooperation of the village cadres that the village became more prosperous.

If a village wants to get better and better, it needs a good leader.

Director Chen also cooperated and complimented.

During this time, his friends saw him and came over to say hello, but when they saw the leaders and village cadres were there, they tactfully did not keep him talking and after saying hello, they took their families to watch the fun.

The suona and gong-drum band doesn't play continuously. They play for about 10 minutes, then take a break for about 10 minutes before continuing.

A few people flattered each other for a while, and when the time was almost up, Secretary Chen went to arrange the flag-carrying team.

Ye Yaodong didn't need to carry a sedan chair or a flag. He just stood in the crowd and watched the fun. He felt very relaxed.

But the silly girl Ye Xiaoxi just followed the old man playing Lahu. When everyone else lined up, she followed happily.

The suona and gong-drum band noticed that there was a fat girl among them, and a group of middle-aged and elderly people all teased her and asked her who she was.

"My name is Ye Xiaojiu, no, my name is Ye Xiaoxi, and my father is Salted Fish Adong."

"Hahaha, your dad is a salted fish huh? No wonder he raised you to be so plump."

She put her hands on her hips and was unhappy. "Atai said I'm blessed, not fat!"

"Yes, yes, it's a blessing..."

"Hahaha……"

"Grandpa, can you teach me to play the erhu?"

"Then you have to kowtow to me and become my disciple."

Ye Xiaoxi knelt down quickly, almost scaring the old man Lahu, who hurried to help her.

"Oh my, that won't work. I was just joking..."

But Ye Xiaoxi insisted and kowtowed.

A group of middle-aged and elderly people were laughing at him. He had no choice but to accept a disciple. The little girl had already kowtowed to him.

Ye Yaodong and his wife were looking for their child. All the people in the village gathered at the gate of Tianhou Temple to watch the fun. The guard of honor was carrying flags and taking up positions. There were people everywhere, but the two brothers all knew to look for their parents, so Ye Xiaoxi was nowhere to be seen.

When they found him, Ye Xiaoxi was still kneeling on the ground, and was helped up by the old man playing the erhu.

"You stupid girl, you're still running around with so many people around. Aren't you afraid of being stepped on..." Lin Xiuqing grabbed her clothes and scolded her.

"Mom, I kowtow to Grandpa and become his disciple."

"what?"

Ye Yaodong also looked at the old man holding the erhu, and the old man also looked at him and explained.

"I was just joking, but I didn't expect this kid to be so honest and kneel down to kowtow. This forced me to teach him a lesson, haha."

Ye Yaodong also smiled and said, "She's really good. She found a good master for herself. We don't have to worry about it anymore."

"A clever one."

"I think this girl will only be enthusiastic for three minutes. I will have to bother you for a few days."

"It doesn't matter. I said it myself. If the child is interested, it's okay to teach her."

"Then I'll trouble you, Uncle."

Ye Yaodong asked the person which nearby village he was from, wrote down the address and then took Ye Xiaoxi away.

After Lin Xiuqing took her away, she criticized her, "It was just a joke, why did you take it so seriously and even kneel down and kowtow to become my disciple?"

Ye Xiaoxi looked at her innocently, "But Grandpa said that he would teach me if I kowtowed to him and became his disciple."

Ye Yaodong stopped Lin Xiuqing from preaching, "Since she has agreed, let her go and learn for a few days. I guess she will only be enthusiastic for a few minutes and won't be able to learn for a few days. Just let her play for a while."

"But we can't cause trouble to them. We'll have to buy some gifts and send them to their door when the time comes."

"Then it's up to you."

Lin Xiuqing poked her forehead hard with her index finger and said, "You are really good at making trouble for me. I have to buy you an erhu now."

“I don’t want you to buy it!”

"You're the only one who can take advantage."

Ye Yaodong held Ye Xiaoxi's hand and said, "There are many people here now, don't run around, hold your mother's hand tightly."

After saying that, he looked at Lin Xiuqing and said, "You stay at home and look after her."

"Well, I see that the team is already lined up and it looks like they're ready to go."

"Don't worry, the team is moving slowly."

Today's departure ceremony was similar to the Mazu parade. The team was arranged in an orderly manner, the gong and drum team began to sing non-stop, and the fisherman's wife also carried Mazu out of the Tianhou Temple and placed her in the shrine.

After the most critical step was completed, firecrackers rang, the gong to open the way sounded, and the team started moving.

"Let's go, let's go..."

“It’s moving…”

"Everyone, follow behind and go to the county together..."

Ye Yaodong and his group of people stood on the side of the road, watching the team move. Then the villagers followed the team spontaneously, and the team gradually lengthened.

Many people who had bicycles also went home, pushed their bicycles out, and waited on the roadside to join in.

Father Ye hurriedly urged, "Dongzi, let's go."

"Okay, take your time. There's no rush. The team is very long. We'll follow behind for a while. When they take a break, we can get to the county first."

"I know. We're only a short distance away. It won't be a big deal if we go to the county earlier. We can see the excitement of the county if we go earlier."

"Then you can figure it out."

Ye's father led a large group of people to the workshop, and Ye Yaodong also followed the team with Director Chen and his wife.

He didn't go home to drive his motorcycle until the team entered the village.

The old lady then handed him a cloth bag of eggs. He touched it and felt the warmth and knew it was eggs.

This is a routine in their family. Whenever they go out, they will have a bag of hot boiled eggs.

"Are you still worried that I have no place to eat? Cooking such a big bag."

"This is for you to eat on the road. You are young and have a big appetite, so eat more. The guests can also eat more."

"Okay, got it."

Director Chen said politely: "The old lady is in good health and speaks with great vigor."

"Swearing and beating people is also very powerful."

"hehe."

The old lady smiled and poked the cane, "I didn't hit you or scold you."

After Ye Yaodong pushed the motorcycle out, he gave them two of the helmets he bought, "Safety first."

"Yes, safety comes first. The mountain road is not easy to walk on, so we have to be very careful."

"Yes, do you drive or do I drive?"

"Just drive, we'll sit in the back."

"it is good."

At this time, he could still hear the sound of gongs and drums in the village. He was not in a hurry and drove slowly behind.

Worried that Ye Xiaoxi might see him and follow him, he deliberately changed to a smaller road and drove directly to the village entrance to wait for the team.

The two brothers were taken away without fear of her asking about it, and he could just tell her that they went to school.

Young people are so gullible.

She is still too young and has a short memory. She won't be able to remember what she sees for a long time. The more crowded the place, the more chaotic it is. She should wait until she is older to watch it.

More than 70% of the men and women in the village followed behind the team, making the team look particularly long. Ye Yaodong's motorcycle followed the team, driving slowly.

The road was not particularly wide, only about three or four meters, unlike the widened roads of later times.

As soon as the team got onto the main road, they occupied most of the road. When a tractor passed by, the team had to move to the side so that the tractor could pass.

It would be inconvenient for him to ride on a motorcycle next to the car, so he just led the way and drove slowly.

He didn't stop driving until he passed the nearby villages and was about to take the mountain road.

The mountain road was difficult to drive on and it was inconvenient to drive and stop, so he drove straight to the city without stopping.

He was walking in front, while his father started driving the tractor after the team started moving, so he could only fall at the back of the team and could not keep up with him.

The motorcycle is highly maneuverable, and even though the speed is slow on the mountain roads, it only took him half an hour to get into the city.

The main streets of the city were indeed hung with colorful flags and small lanterns, and the atmosphere looked even more festive than during the Chinese New Year.

After arriving in the county town, Ye Yaodong stopped and looked at the address on the invitation before walking in that direction. However, the closer he got to the address of the Tianhou Temple in the city, the more pedestrians there were on the road and the more congested it became.

There is also a Tianhou Temple in the county town, but it was newly built in the past six months and he doesn’t know what it looks like yet.

When he came back two days ago and went to the village committee, Secretary Chen also told him about the change in plans.

Originally, it was planned to focus on their village's Mazu and hold a grand sacrifice. After all, their village's Tianhou Temple was the first to be built, and their birthday celebration was the largest of its kind. It was even publicized in newspapers, and the surrounding areas were all filled with believers of their Tianhou Temple.

It changed later and was no longer like that.

Instead, all Mazu temples in various places can participate, not just the county seat, but also some surrounding counties can bring small statues of Mazu.

The county used the donations from various villages and towns to build the Tianhou Temple in the town, and held the Millennium Festival at the temple. Then, during the Millennium Festival, the surrounding villages and towns could invite the small statues of Mazu from their villages to sit together and enjoy the incense and worship together.

After all, all Mazu in the world are one family. It would not be appropriate to prioritize any one village. All Mazu incarnations should share the same incense and worship.

The county leaders discussed it again and again before finally making the final decision, which was considered the most reasonable arrangement.

He also felt that this arrangement was good, as it would take care of the Mazu incarnations in every Tianhou Temple and Mazu Temple in the county.

After hearing this, Ye Yaodong couldn't help but feel fortunate. Fortunately, the Mazu in their village was no different and did not have gold foil on it, otherwise it would be obvious that it was different from the Mazu in other villages.

He is still fledgling, so he definitely needs a golden body, but it is not suitable for now. He can donate more later.

"There are too many people ahead of us. We can't move forward. Let's park the car inside the county government while we are still in the crowd and can turn around."

"Okay, then we'll stop at the county government office and then walk slowly over here."

"Fortunately, we left early."

The county town is quite small, with only two streets, but the Tianhou Temple is built in a relatively remote place, so it takes time to walk around.