Back to the small fishing village in 1982

Chapter 1838 Sacrifice (Next chapter updated at 2 PM)

The sky was still a pale gray when Ye Yaodong and his father went out.

The morning mist by the sea carried a salty, fishy smell and clung to their skin. The sea breeze howled, and both father and son hunched their shoulders.

It's much colder by the sea than in the village. Even though it's April, it's still chilly.

Ye Yaodong was carrying a bamboo basket covered with a red cloth, through which the outline of a chicken, several kinds of fruit, dried fruit, and meat and vegetable dishes could be seen.

Father Ye walked ahead, his back slightly hunched, carrying a sack of gold ingots on his back. His canvas shoes made little noise as they stepped on the wet cement road.

"Why did you buy so much? And you even bought a whole sack to carry around to burn. Usually, you only use two bundles to burn."

"Burn more, after all, there are too many people who need our blessings."

Ye's father thought about it and agreed.

Ye Yaodong looked at the narrow cement road under his feet, which could only accommodate two flatbed carts side by side. Although it was quite flat, it was also very dirty, with mud from the surrounding slopes falling down.

At least it's a smooth road now, much easier to travel than the bumpy, potholed road before.

The dogs trotting ahead kept looking back as they ran.

He first saw the cherry trees that the children had planted when they were young, which should now be called a small cherry grove. The trees were lush and green, with dew still clinging to them, looking very vibrant.

It's not cherry season yet, still a month away, but small, unripe cherries have already formed. A tall bamboo fence has been erected around them, and fishing nets have been put up around them.

"The timing of our return was a bit off; otherwise, we could have picked a basket of cherries to take with us."

"If you want to eat them, why worry about not having them? Just pick a couple of baskets when they're ripe and send them on the boat."

"They don't taste as good as freshly picked ones."

Next to the cherry grove is the Tianhou Temple, located on the hillside by the pier, backed by the mountain, its stone steps darkened by the morning dew.

The temple gates were already open, but it was pitch black inside. As you walked in, the main hall was illuminated only by the dim light of the ever-burning lamps and the candles burning on the side, which cast a kind but slightly blurry light on the face of Mazu.

The incense smell is very strong, a kind of aged, somber aroma.

Ye's father stopped in front of the offering table and took the basket from Ye Yaodong's hands very slowly.

Uncover the red cloth, bring out the chicken with its golden-brown skin, and place it upright. A piece of red paper is pasted on it. The other offerings, fruits, and dried fruits are the same, each with a small piece of red paper cut out on it.

They also took out all the gold ingots from the sack they were carrying and arranged them neatly on the offering table.

"I mentioned yesterday that the first incense of the day hasn't been offered yet, but I'll offer it to you later."

Ye Yaodong nodded and lit incense.

He gave three sticks to his father and kept three sticks for himself.

The incense sticks glowed red, and wisps of smoke rose up and dispersed in front of the statue of Mazu.

Ye Yaodong bowed deeply, pausing for a moment as he silently recited what he wanted to say.

Ye's father followed suit and bowed down to his left, his forehead touching the cool prayer cushion. He closed his eyes and murmured a prayer.

After getting up, they each lit a stick of incense and candles, and incense was also placed in other incense burners.

The offerings needed to be offered for a while, so the father and son took brooms and rags and spontaneously cleaned and tidied up the Tianhou Temple.

Villagers from this village or nearby areas come here to burn incense from time to time.

After they had roughly finished cleaning, they took the gold ingots that were enshrined on the altar to the iron stove next to it and burned them.

The flames licked the edge of the paper, quickly curling up, turning black, and turning to ash. Some fragments floated up, and the chill of the morning was instantly replaced by warmth.

The father and son watched the firelight flicker silently.

Ye Yaodong looked at his father's dark, deeply lined face and said, "I'm leaving the day after tomorrow. You'll come up with me."

Mr. Ye nodded, "I know, I've packed all my luggage. Your mother and second sister-in-law will take care of the elderly at home. Anyway, you'll be back in about two months."

"Ah."

“I called my father-in-law yesterday and I plan to pay for him to tear down and rebuild his old house in his hometown. The old house is quite old and there’s no need to repair it. I’ll build a bigger one for them to live out their retirement. They’re getting old and can’t work anymore. I’ll build it this year and then let them go back to their hometown to retire next year.”

Mr. Ye was surprised for a moment, then nodded, "It's only right. You've helped me for so many years, and you're even a few years older than me. It's time for you to retire."

“I didn’t think much about it before. I thought that my two brothers-in-law lived in the city and their families lived there. Some time ago, I thought that the older ones would probably want to go back to their hometown.”

"Of course. People return to their roots when they die. They should retire in their hometown. There's no place like home. If you hadn't called me up, I wouldn't have wanted to go. It's so much better at home. I have a bunch of old friends to chat with, play cards, and drink with."

"Then hang in there for another two or three years, and then I won't call you anymore. I'll let you retire comfortably at home. That car upstairs, I'll bring it back for you to drive around at home, so it'll be convenient for you to get around then."

Mr. Ye's eyes lit up. If he had to say what he was most reluctant to part with, it would definitely be the car. It was his first car, and there were only a handful of them in the entire county.

Everything at home is great, except for the lack of a car. Since coming back, he's been thinking about a car every day.

Although it's not very useful in the village, having a bicycle to ride in and out is convenient enough. On the other hand, if you bring a car back, it can only be parked at home and left idle for people to visit, which is not worth the effort.

Mr. Ye said politely, though his words were not entirely sincere, "No need, you can keep it at the factory. The finance department needs the car for coming and going or entertaining clients. If you bring it back, the factory will be without a car, which is inconvenient."

"Just buy another one. Bring back the one you're used to driving. A bicycle is convenient for daily use, but if something happens, having a car at home can be a lifesaver."

"Oh, okay, then bring it back for me in a couple of years," Mr. Ye thought to himself with delight. "I'll go up there intermittently for a while each of those two years, and see the sights."

"I'm going to Guangzhou in a few days. Do you want to come along and see the sights?"

"This is good, this is great. Your mother always brags about how much she helped you at the Canton Fair and how she could talk to foreigners. I'll go check it out!"

Ye Yaodong chuckled.

It took them an hour or so to burn all the gold ingots in the sack.

Finally, Ye's father picked up a small pinch of incense ash from the incense burner, took out a piece of red paper from his pocket, carefully wrapped it up, and stuffed it into Ye Yaodong's leather jacket pocket.

"It's for your safety; you should keep it close to your body."

He followed suit, making one for himself as well, then stuffed it into the inner pocket of his Zhongshan suit and patted it.

"Let's go."

The two walked out of the temple gate one after the other. The sky was brighter than when they arrived, and they could see the sea surface shimmering with a cold, bluish-white hue. It was only a little past 5 a.m.

No one spoke again, and they continued down the stone steps they had come from.

The sound of waves crashing against the rocks on the shore came from Ye Yaodong, who knew at a glance that the tide was receding.

"The seaweed harvest is almost here, right? Has the village committee considered raising sandworms on this beach?"

“If we raise them, we have to fence them off. The women in the village can still go dig for clams every now and then during the high tide. If we fence them off, we can’t let anyone in, and everyone will protest. We can’t do it.”

"Oh, okay, then growing seaweed is fine too."

"One piece of seaweed is enough to keep the whole village busy."

In the distance, a cluster of bamboo poles were stuck into the sea, forming a dark patch, while dark seaweed floated with the waves.

"The seaweed harvest is almost here."

"It's almost time to harvest. We need to find a good day so that the whole village can pitch in. In recent years, wherever there is a seaside area around our county, people who can grow seaweed have started growing it. Some people have even started seaweed factories, and others have tried growing other things. The county has become much wealthier."

"Good thing."

At this time, there were many villagers walking around on the road to the dock, greeting each other as they went.

Everyone was preparing to go out to sea to work and manage the seaweed. With the harvest time fast approaching, the villagers were already looking forward to it, and every morning they would get up early to check on the vegetables.

The fruits of a year's hard work will be harvested in these last two weeks.

The village was already bustling with vendors' cries early in the morning, and there were pedestrians on the streets.

They walked along, smiling and greeting everyone, and by the time they got home, they could finally eat porridge.

"Take the chicken to stew, stir-fry the other vegetables, and we'll have lunch sorted."

Mother Ye took the basket that Father Ye handed her, "Is Dongzi planning to leave tomorrow or the day after?"

"I plan to go a little earlier the day after tomorrow."

"Then I'll prepare some things for you and bring them up with you."

"It's up to you."

Breakfast was quiet and deserted, just the father and son; Ye's mother and the old lady had already eaten.

The father and son picked up their porridge in unison, shoveled the dishes from the table into their bowls, and then went to sit down and eat by the door.

Sister-in-law Ye arrived late, and looked at them with a smile, saying, "Ah Dong, you're here so early today?"

"Just came back from the Tianhou Temple."

She asked him the same question again: whether he was leaving tomorrow or the day after.

In the few days since he came back, everyone who has met him has either greeted him and asked when he was coming back, or asked when he was leaving, and this happens every single day!
On his way back, he had already answered the same question from no fewer than 10 people.

"I don't know if Xiuxiu will have time to come back. I have several potential partners to introduce to her. Could you give her a few days off?"

"One or two days is fine, but too many days won't work. How about we wait until the end of the year to come back? There will be plenty of time then, and we can watch a few every day."

"It's all Ah Jiang's fault for being so slow and procrastinating. He didn't look for a partner until after the New Year, when everyone had left. He delayed all the younger girls, making it inconvenient for them to go on blind dates."

"No need to rush, she's not that old. Didn't she say that she'll go for any introductions you make? She'll listen to you all; she'll only marry if you're satisfied; she won't marry if you don't like her; and she'll only look for someone nearby, not someone far away! She's so obedient and well-behaved, no one has to worry about her."

If only Ye Xiaoxi would be this obedient then!
Ye Yaodong is starting to worry now. His daughter is all grown up, already a teenager, and time flies by.

"The two younger ones are well-behaved. They've been obedient since they were little. Apart from not being good at studying, they don't need anyone to worry about them."

"That's it."

(End of this chapter)