Chapter 398: Fundraising to Buy a Boat

In the afternoon, Baiyun Village appeared as tranquil as usual on the surface, but the Chen family members had already gathered together and begun to plot.

At Chen Jinhai's home, the Chen family's able-bodied members—Chen Jinfa, Chen Jinli, and Chen Jinren—had all come over, and the few of them gathered together to start discussing.

"Jinli, you said Ye Cheng spent 300,000 to buy a boat and made over ten thousand in one night—is that true?" Chen Jinhai stammered on his cigarette, then asked.

"How could it be fake? People at the dock saw it with their own eyes—the boat bought last night, the seller said 300,000, and this morning they came back having sold it for 120,000." Chen Jinli's eyes were full of envy.

"Exactly, they each gave Duan Chunsheng and Zhang Guafu ten thousand, and when they came back they showed off a thick stack of money." Chen Jinfa then said.

"That kid Ye Cheng really knows how to make money." Chen Jinhai muttered.

"Jinhai, why don't we also buy one? Making over ten thousand in one night, we'd break even in three nights." Chen Jinfa was already impatient inside, as if the ten thousand were right in front of him.

Chen Jinhai said disdainfully,

"Buying a boat, you say it lightly—300,000, you come up with it."

"I certainly don't have that much money, but we can raise funds—we Chen family will raise funds." Chen Jinfa was also penniless; let alone 300,000, even 10,000 would be a stretch.

After he said that, several people fell silent.

Fundraising isn't impossible.

Over the years, we've actually done quite a bit of fundraising.

Speaking of 300,000, for the Chen family as a whole it's not exactly easy, but we should be able to scrape it together.

Seeing that everyone was a bit tempted, Chen Jinfa went on urging them further,

"Think about it—now is the season for swimming crabs; once the season passes, they'll be gone, and then we'd lose out—we have to seize the chance to make money."

Actually, he can't come up with the money himself; what he wants to earn is the money from operating a boat at sea.

As long as he can get on board, the wages paid later will be whatever he says.

Isn't it that Duan Chunsheng can take ten thousand? Taking five thousand myself wouldn't be excessive; after a few days, he'd have money.

What is this called?

This is called 'borrowing a hen to lay eggs'.

His wishful thinking clicked like abacus beads, and the other Chen family members were much the same.

This matter was stirred up by them; when the time comes, whoever boards the ship will surely be decided by them, and those wages are guaranteed profit.

As for the other contributors, they'll just get a share outside of the wages.

As for losing money?

How could that be possible!

Ye Cheng can make over ten thousand per boat; they'd surely have fifty thousand, which means they'd break even in a week.

This kind of money isn't something just anyone can earn; you need financial strength.

The few old foxes glanced at each other; there was already consensus in their eyes.

Chen Jinli coughed twice, then spoke,

"It's not impossible; it's indeed a profitable venture."

Seeing Chen Jinli speak, Chen Jinfa looked at Chen Jinren.

Chen Jinren usually has no opinion; seeing Chen Jinli agree, he just nodded.

"Jinhai, how about it? This money‑making opportunity is rare."

Chen Jinhai furrowed his brows,

"I always feel it's not that easy to make money; why don't we all just buy big ships?"

"No, Jinhai, don't keep being so conservative; now it's a new society—we need to learn entrepreneurship. You think others don't want to buy big ships? It's just that they lack money. But we're different: our Chen family has your leadership, we'll unite and surely raise the funds, and we'll make money." Chen Jinfa began to pour grandiose nonsense into Chen Jinhai's ears.

Hearing Chen Jinfa place that tall hat on him, Chen Jinhai couldn't even keep the corner of his mouth from twitching.

"What Jinfa said is true enough, but it's not my merit—it's that our Chen family people are united enough, right?" Chen Jinhai feigned modesty.

"Then it's settled: today we'll raise funds, tell everyone it's first come, first served; whoever doesn't want to chip in shouldn't blame us when the dividends are paid out. Also, the dividends will be distributed according to each person's contribution ratio."

Chen Jinhai slammed the table, and several people began to go their separate ways to act.

Besides, most of the Chen family had heard of Ye Cheng's glorious feat of earning over ten thousand yesterday, and each eagerly contributed money, fearing they'd give too little.

In just one evening they raised 320,000; Chen Jinfa volunteered to go buy the boat, and no one objected.

For a moment, undercurrents surged in Baiyun Village—would it rise to the peak or sink into the abyss? Hehe.

Ye Cheng was sleeping soundly when he suddenly felt someone strike him twice, and then a voice sounded in his ear,

"A Cheng, A Cheng, wake up."

Ye Cheng blearily opened his eyes to see Jiang Yunxiang standing at the bedside.

"Sister‑in‑law, why did you come?" Ye Cheng sat up from the bed, still not fully rested and a bit dazed.

"It's already 7 o'clock; are you still going out to sea tonight?"

"Ah, it's 7 o'clock." Ye Cheng scratched his head—indeed a bit late—"Then I'll get up."

"Mm, I brought you food; eat dinner before you go out."

Ye Cheng got out of bed, first called Xiao Hu and the others to tell them to get ready, then sat at the table to begin eating.

"Sister‑in‑law, how did you know I still need to go out to sea tonight?" Ye Cheng said while shoveling rice.

"The whole village knows—how else would I know? You've made money and yet you go around blabbing about it." Jiang Yunxiang said reproachfully.

The whole village knows—that's good; the Chen family should know too.

"It's all spreading from the dock; there's no hiding it." Ye Cheng gave a casual, evasive reply.

"Alright, making money is a good thing. Also, sister‑in‑law has a question for you." Jiang Yunxiang softened her tone.

"Mm, go ahead." Ye Cheng picked up a piece of lean meat; he hadn't slept well and didn't want greasy food.

"Are you still short of hands for tonight's sea outing?"

"Huh?" Ye Cheng looked up at Jiang Yunxiang. "Sister‑in‑law, do you want to go?"

It's not me—I want Qian Shen and Han Xiaotao to go. Anyway, whoever you call is still a call, right?

"Han Xiaotao? Who's that?" Ye Cheng felt a bit muddle-headed; he couldn't recall anyone surnamed Han, let alone a "little sister."

It's Xiaotao, Chen Lao Ping's wife. Chen Lao Ping is dead, isn't he? She's having a hard time bringing up the child alone—she said they haven't given the child meat in two weeks. If you need people on the boat, bring her along; that would be helping her out.

The Chen Family's?

What's wrong with the Chen Family? She's an orphan and widow, and the Chen Family isn't helping her—if we can, we should lend a hand.

Ye Cheng nodded; more people would be better, and as for who it is, he doesn't care.

However, he still had an impression of this Han Xiaotao; when she married into the village back then, he had gone to crash the wedding feast.

The little widow looked delicate and pretty, unlike the plump maturity of Zhang Guafu; she was rather plain in appearance, but her figure was still decent.

To be honest, in the past few years Ye Cheng had indeed climbed over someone's wall before.

However, after being reborn, he's been busy with his career every day and forgot about it.

Now that he thinks about it, her skin seemed fairly white.