Chapter 347: Celebration Banquet

The fish farm's success is inseparable from the correct leadership of our township leaders, especially Deputy Township Head Li, who has given us great support. Next, we invite Deputy Township Head Li to speak—please applaud.

As soon as his words fell, thunderous applause erupted throughout the hall.

Deputy Township Head Li stood up happily; he had only learned about the fish farm yesterday, and Ye Cheng, being eloquent, took all the credit for himself—what a good comrade.

"Villagers, I am Li Mingyuan, Deputy Township Head of Shilin Township. Today I am fortunate to witness the abundant harvest of Baiyun Village's clam farm, and on behalf of the township I extend my congratulations."

"Applause!" Sycophant Ye Cheng chimed in at just the right moment, and instantly another round of applause broke out.

"You've all worked a day and must be hungry, so I'll keep it short: I hope everyone can be like Ye Cheng—daring to venture and work hard—to bring out Baiyun Village's advantages, boost the economy, and our township will surely give strong support."

Another round of applause sounded, and the evening banquet officially began.

With the leaders present, it's only natural to let them drink happily.

Ye Cheng found a few people who usually drink, plus several female representatives, who took turns toasting Deputy Township Head Li with kind words, making the scene incredibly lively.

While Ye Cheng was eating and drinking, the poor Chen family over there wasn't doing so well.

Chen Jinhai and over fifty others were taken to the police station, where they were lectured for a full two hours before being released.

When they returned, they heard laughter and merriment from here, and Chen Jinhai's face turned black.

Those Chen family members had been swaggering that morning, but now each of them lacked energy and spirit.

"It would be better to get on good terms with Ye Cheng—then we could get money and eat well." A few younger members of the Chen family muttered behind them.

Chen Jinhai was about to scold them, but seeing the hostile looks from the crowd, he could only sigh:

"People's hearts are scattered; it's hard to lead a team."

"What's the use of watching others eat well? Hurry home and have your meal."

"Once we raise our crayfish, we'll also eat well."

A group of people watched the brightly lit scene with envy, then each went home.

Ye Cheng's side ate and drank until past ten, then the gathering dispersed; Deputy Township Head Li was plied with drink until drunk and was helped onto a car.

Ye Cheng wasn't much better off—he returned and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

In the middle of the night, Ye Cheng felt thirsty; upon getting up, he saw a cup of water with honey placed by his bedside, not knowing who had prepared it.

Not worrying about it so late, Ye Cheng picked up the honey water and took a sip—it was truly soothing, and his stomach instantly felt much better.

He slept until eight before waking up, his head a little sore; after yesterday's baijiu, he'd had some cheap liquor, then downed two bottles of beer—mixing drinks gave him a headache.

"Hmm." Ye Cheng tapped his head and sat up.

Just as he sat up, someone walked in and exclaimed delightedly, "A Cheng, you're awake!"

Ye Cheng looked up and saw it was Widow Zhang.

"Aunt Zhang? Why are you here? It's quite late."

"Not late, it's only eight. Did the honey water last night make you feel better?"

"Did you make the honey water?" Ye Cheng looked at Widow Zhang in surprise.

That gaze made Widow Zhang's face slightly flush,

"Yes, your older brother also drank too much last night; your sister‑in‑law went to look after him, so I came to wash your face and prepare honey water for you."

The atmosphere grew a bit ambiguous, so Ye Cheng hurriedly got out of bed—otherwise, sitting there bare‑backed while Widow Zhang stood beside the bed would have been awkward to explain.

Widow Zhang seemed to sense that Ye Cheng didn't want to appear too close to her, she gave an embarrassed laugh and then said,

"Well, A Cheng, I've cooked porridge and prepared two steamed buns with pickles, placed on the table—remember to eat them later."

Having said that, she was about to leave.

Seeing Widow Zhang's forlorn expression, Ye Cheng's heart softened a bit.

He also understood Widow Zhang's feelings; it wasn't necessarily about him, but she had long felt lacking a male supporter.

Suddenly, Ye Cheng—who had always helped her—appeared, and her emotions found an outlet.

Putting it that way, she is still a pitiful woman.

"Aunt, have you eaten? If not, let's eat together," Ye Cheng said.

Widow Zhang's back‑turned body trembled slightly as she struggled to suppress her joy and turned around,

"I haven't eaten; let me get you a bowl," she said.

Two sets of bowls and chopsticks, a pot of thin porridge, several steamed buns, and a plate of pickles.

It was as simple as a meal could be, yet Widow Zhang ate happily.

People don't care how good the food is; the point is who you share it with.

"A Cheng, let me report yesterday's expenses," Widow Zhang said mid‑meal.

"Hmm, tell me how much was spent yesterday," Ye Cheng replied, also wanting to calculate how much profit this fish farm could bring.

Widow Zhang still produced her little notebook, in which everything was recorded in detail,

"Yesterday we hired a total of 56 people, costing 5,600 yuan. Then we bought vegetables, going over budget by some amount, spending 2,500 yuan."

Having said that, Widow Zhang glanced at Ye Cheng, fearing he might blame her.

"No problem—over budget is fine as long as everyone's happy," Ye Cheng said; this amount of money meant nothing to him, and it could also bring him closer to the others, making the expense worthwhile.

Hearing Ye Cheng say it was fine, Widow Zhang continued,

"Then yesterday we spent a lot on tobacco and alcohol—baijiu, cigarettes, loose liquor, and some beer and drinks—totaling 4,600 yuan."

Hearing that figure, Ye Cheng was a bit surprised—2,500 yuan for food and 4,600 for tobacco and alcohol—no wonder later generations dare not serve overly lavish tobacco and alcohol at banquets.

"Hmm, is that all?"

"Pretty much that's it; added together it comes to ___ yuan, which is a bit too much."

Over ten thousand yuan—indeed a lot spent; from now on we'll need to control the tobacco and alcohol expenses.

Actually, the overspend on tobacco and alcohol this time was mainly because we invited Li Mingyuan; Chinese liquor and premium cigarettes don't come cheap.

Next time we'll switch to watered‑down liquor and ordinary cigarettes—we still need to save where we can.

This time selling clams brought in a total of 308,000 yuan; the early clam seedlings cost 20,000 yuan, and this time we calculate based on 10,000 yuan of clam seedlings.

Then there were some protective facilities that Ye Guowei invested in the farm early on, amounting to at most 10,000 yuan.

The feed is naturally grown, so there is no cost.

Then there is the cost of contracting the tidal flat, which is only 4,500 yuan per year; we'll calculate it on a yearly basis.

So calculated, the total cost is about, plus the harvesting cost, adding up to yuan, roughly calculated as 50,000 yuan.

So the profit is 258,000 yuan; according to the earlier agreement with the older brother—30% for me, 70% for him—I can get over 70,000 yuan.

Being able to earn this much profit in just a few months is not bad.

Zhang Guafu saw Ye Cheng calculating there, obediently went to wash the bowl, then also fetched Ye Cheng's change of clothes from yesterday, and then happily went home.

Today my head hurts a lot, Ye Cheng also doesn't want to go out to sea; he plans to go to his older brother's place later to give him the money.