Back to the small fishing village in 1982

Chapter 1837 Preparation
When Ye Yaodong took some time to go to Shanghai to urge the fishing boats to hurry up, he ran into Ye Chenghu when he went home at the end of the month to get money, and mentioned the Canton Fair to him.

For Ye Yaodong, bringing one more person was no big deal; it would be fine if he had an extra handyman who could help out even if he couldn't.

He only needs to give the order, and the team can buy tickets to bring one more person.

"Dad, there's still summer vacation. I'd like to arrange for Xiaoya to do an internship with you for two months. Is that okay?"

Ye Yaodong lifted his eyelids and glanced at him. "How come I didn't realize you had such potential as a simp?"

"What is a simp? When we're dating, I'm trying to think about her as much as possible. Anyway, she's on summer vacation, so she should either find an internship, tutoring, or part-time work."

Ye Yaodong remained silent, acquiescing to the situation.

“This is your future daughter-in-law. Bringing her to work in our house will help our relationship develop, so we won’t have to worry about losing her.”

"You're not afraid of not finding a girlfriend? What are you afraid of losing a sure thing? There are plenty of girls in school who would throw themselves at you and bring you breakfast every day. Even if one leaves, there are plenty more waiting for you."

“They weren’t targeting me as a person, they were targeting my car.”

"Then how do you know Zheng Shuya isn't after your money?"

“I was the one who pursued her, not the other way around. My good qualities are an advantage you created for me, a bonus. We're talking about people first, about feelings first. Good qualities are icing on the cake, and my liking for her is enough.”

"You've made a very good point; I hope you won't be fooled."

"You can't scam me out of much money anyway. I don't have much money. You always say that I'm a guy and I won't suffer losses."

"You're quite the smooth talker. I hope you can win her over and marry her after graduation."

Ye Chenghu said smugly, "Don't worry, she can't escape. I'm handsome and rich, she should be the one feeling threatened."

Ye Yaodong glanced at him but didn't say anything more.

"So, Dad, you're tacitly agreeing, huh?"

"If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes!"

"Then I'll take her to Zhoushan during the summer vacation and have HR arrange a job for her there."

Ye Chenghu smugly talked to himself.

Lin Xiuqing added from the side, "Don't let your younger siblings know you're going to Guangzhou, or they'll get angry and make a huge fuss."

“Okay, if we don’t let them know, I won’t have to buy gifts. When I come back, I’ll go straight to school and won’t go home.”

“If it weren’t for having Xiaoya come to our house for tutoring every weekend, you wouldn’t come back. You live so close by, but you only come back once a month. When you do come back, you just take the money, and then you disappear the next day.”

Ye Chenghu chuckled, "Then I'll have nothing to do when I come back every day."

"Luckily, I'm too old to rely on you anymore."

"I'm counting on you!"

"You coffin-headed coffin."

Lin Xiuqing glared at him, then turned to Ye Yaodong, "The ship will be delivered in mid-May, which is perfect timing since you'll be back from Guangzhou and can watch it sail back."

"Well, we'll pick an auspicious day then."

"So, once you get the boat, you'll go out to sea?"

"Let's find an auspicious day to go. The first trip won't last long, and there are many typhoons in August, September, and October. Let's test the waters first and go for two or three months."

"That's good. They'll be back in two or three months, so they don't need to go too far."

"I know, I know more than you do."

Ye Chenghu asked curiously, "Dad, are you going out to sea again? You're a big boss now, why are you still going out to sea?"

"Aren't you getting old and still relying on me? Shouldn't I work my butt off to take care of you?"

"Hehehe... No need for that. I'll go out and work after graduation to support you all, and I'll definitely take care of you in your old age." He laughed awkwardly, looking like he wanted to slip away.

Lin Xiuqing continued, "Then let me know before you go out to sea."

"okay."

"Have all the personnel been arranged?"

"Everyone has been trained and each worker has the corresponding certificate. They can start working immediately as soon as the ship is in hand."

Starting two years ago, he had his workers take the certification exams, and gradually, now almost everyone has a certificate.

That's one of the advantages of recruiting veterans: they're all literate and have a basic understanding of the language, so they learn quickly.

Some of the older students took longer to pass the exam, but they all passed it within two or three years.

"Should we call Dad up?"

"Yes, I plan to go home in a couple of days, stay for two or three days, then come up with my dad, and then go to Guangzhou."

"You need to go home again?"

"Go home and pay respects to Mazu in advance."

"Oh, that's true. We should definitely pay our respects. Everyone here believes in Guanyin, but back home, the incense at Mazu's place is much more popular. Do you want me to go back with you?"

"No need, Mother is at home, she'll take care of everything."

While they were chatting, Ye Chenghu sneaked out to drive to find Zheng Shuya. He was too bored at home alone, and everyone else was still in school.

Friday afternoons are for elective classes and club activities, which they can attend or not, so they come straight home.

Ye Yaodong had decided to return in the next few days, so he called home in advance to tell them. Once he returned to Zhoushan, he inquired about the cargo ship and set a return date.

He didn't break his promise to the old lady, and returned home again after only two months.

After the old lady learned that he was coming back, she sat at the door every day, craning her neck, asking Mr. Ye dozens of times a day, "Has Dongzi come back yet? Is Dongzi coming back today? When is Dongzi coming back? Didn't Dongzi say he was coming back?"
Mr. Ye was filled with regret. He wished he hadn't mentioned it beforehand, because now he was being asked about it from morning till night.

However, there is one advantage: he is no longer confused and his speech is no longer incoherent. He may still be thinking about Dongzi's return.

When Ye Yaodong returned and stood in front of her, she smiled and touched his arm.

"Where have you been gallivanting off to again? I never see you all day. It's a good thing your mother hasn't been scolding you lately; she must have taken the wrong medicine."

Ye Yaodong was momentarily stunned and confused.

He agreed, "Yeah, I went out for a walk. I'll stay home tomorrow."

The old lady looked around furtively, then reached into her pocket, took out an egg, secretly slipped it into his hand, and whispered something.

"You secretly hide it, find a place to start a fire and cook it, but don't let your mother see it, and don't let the younger ones see it, or they'll say I'm being biased."

Ye Yaodong touched the warm egg, feeling a bittersweet mix of emotions, as if his heart was completely filled.

"Is this raw?"

“You’re raw. Your mother gets up early every morning to cook porridge, but I don’t know where to start, so I haven’t cooked any for you. You can just eat it like this; it’s nutritious too.”

"Let's go inside first."

“You’d better hide them well. I have plenty more under my bed. I’ll give you one every day. I stole them all from the chicken coop.”

As Ye Yaodong listened to her rambling, he sighed inwardly. He wondered how many days she had been carrying that egg in her pocket.

"Where's my father?"

"I wonder where he's gone. Maybe he's out gambling? He doesn't do any work all day. He's either drinking or gambling. He's no use to us anymore."

He helped the old lady sit down on the sofa, but as soon as her bottom touched the sofa, she stood up again.

"By the way, I don't know who gave me 1000 yuan a couple of days ago. It was like finding money on the street. I've never received so much money in my life. I'll go get it for you. When you take it, just say you found it and go buy a bicycle to ride."

"I have a bicycle now, you can keep it for yourself, buy whatever you want to eat."

"You have a bicycle? When did you buy a bicycle? Why don't you ride it? Why did you walk back?"

Ye Yaodong patiently answered her questions, not finding her rambling or impatient at all.

He coaxed the old lady into keeping the money, promising to help her find a wife later, and only then did the old lady smile and not insist on giving it to him.

"Alright, I guess I have to find you a wife. I'll keep her for now, and I'll give her to you when you get married."

"it is good……"

"Oh right, while your mother's not around, I'd better hurry and slit the chicken's throat..."

"I'll go."

"If you go, she'll curse you to death and chase you all over the yard."

"It's okay, I'll go kill him and then say you did it."

"Yes, yes, yes, you have to say I did it, let her come and scold me, and I'll let your dad scold her then."

Ye's father was playing cards outside when he saw the boatmen returning, so he immediately ran back.

As soon as he returned, the old lady hit him with her cane.

"Where have you been? You do absolutely nothing all day. What good are you? You used to help carry manure, but now you're even lazier. You don't even carry manure anymore. You got that toilet installed, I wonder how much that cost..."

Ye's father didn't flinch as he was being beaten, and asked Ye Yaodong, "You're killing a chicken as soon as you get back? Why don't you wait until we choose a day to worship Mazu, and then kill it?"

"I fed all these chickens, can't I even kill them?"

"Hey, stop being unreasonable. You're senile and you're still hitting people."

"You're the one who's senile."

"You haven't even played the Great Compassion Mantra today. Where did you put the radio? Go find it quickly."

The old lady's attention immediately shifted; she looked around, muttering about the radio...

After finally getting rid of her, Mr. Ye breathed a sigh of relief. "It's exhausting talking to her every day. I feel tired just talking to her."

Is it more tiring than carrying manure?

"What were you saying?"

Ye Yaodong tossed the chicken with its throat slit aside, took the chicken blood and went inside to boil water. He also chatted with his father about worshipping Mazu, preparing sacrificial items, and about their upcoming sea voyage.

Mother Ye arrived late, saying, "You kill my chicken as soon as you get back! I've already chosen the dates for you: the day to worship Mazu, and the day the boat will return."

“Last month, four or five people in the village went to worship Mazu. They worshipped in the morning and went to take a boat in the evening. Now it costs 3 yuan per person!”

"Tsk tsk tsk, why can't you just keep that money in your pocket and live a good life? Why do you have to risk going abroad to work? You can find a job right here."

Ye's father retorted, "What do you know? If people go abroad, they can earn 10,000 to 20,000 yuan a month, and over 100,000 yuan a year. If you pay 30,000 yuan now, you can earn it back in two or three months when you get there."

"You think there's no risk? Going back only once every 10 years, is that easy? I'd rather not earn this money. What's so good about leaving your hometown?"

Ye Yaodong said, "Everyone has their own ambitions."

P.S.: I'll add more tomorrow during the day. Okay, the next picture will probably be taken right after we head out to sea, to the high seas.
(End of this chapter)