Chapter 1: The Shameless Visit

Ye Yaodong stood in the corner of the room, his head throbbing. With no cigarettes to smoke, he could only chew on a straw, watching his eldest and second uncles arguing with his father and two older brothers until their faces were red and their necks thick, the table being slapped with loud *thwacks*!

He couldn't wrap his head around it. Wasn't he hired as a deckhand on a large fishing boat, and on a whim, went to the deck to take a leak, only to be swept into the sea by a wave and drown?

How did he wake up this morning and find himself back in '82?

It's truly... fucking miraculous!

He still hadn't fully processed it. Even the fact that his father had caught a net full of large yellow croakers couldn't excite him; the surprise of being reborn at 25 was simply too massive!

He had been 65, and now he had crossed 40 years to return to his youth at 25.

It's... it's... it's truly wonderful~

He actually got a second chance!

It's just a pity; after he died, the boat owner definitely would have had to pay out over a million, which would have been a windfall for his two boys at home.

He wondered if they would cry or laugh when they received the news...

"Third Brother, don't you forget that this boat was left by Father. It was only because Mother chose to live with you for her retirement that it was left for you to use. We brothers all had a share in it from the start. You have to take the money from selling the yellow croakers and let us brothers split it."

"That's right, Third Brother. You've caught a net of large yellow croakers, so now you're acting tough, huh? The boat was left by Father; everyone has a share. You can't just ignore brotherly affection and swallow it all yourself."

Ye's eldest and second uncles shouted at the top of their lungs, one sentence after another, making Ye's father glare in fury.

"Bullshit! The boat was left by Father, that's true, but at that time, the boat was almost ready for the scrap heap, and the engine was broken. You were the ones who didn't want it, wanting cash instead, so you dumped the broken boat on me! You said even a broken boat has three thousand nails and could be sold for a good price. Mother lived with me, so you let me take that advantage."

"I'm the youngest; I couldn't win the argument, so I swallowed the bitter pill. What's wrong? Seeing me spend the last two years fixing the boat bit by bit, you're greedy again? Not a chance! I've spent my entire family fortune on this boat. We finally had a good start, and you all come running to the door asking for a cut. Where's your shame?"

The second uncle frowned and said, "Third Brother, when we divided Father's inheritance, you did indeed get the better end of the deal. This boat is, after all, Father's legacy. We left it to you because we thought Mother would be living with you, and it would give her something to remember him by. Otherwise, wouldn't it have been better for us to sell the boat and split the money?"

"You say it nicely, 'something to remember him by.' How much did you think it was worth as scrap? The wood on top isn't worth anything, and the iron is only a few cents per jin? You dumped it on me so you could have one less thing to divide in the inheritance!"

"Eldest Uncle, Ye Erbo, when Grandfather passed away, everyone was there. It was already agreed upon: you took the cash, and my father took the broken boat. You all discussed and decided that. My father saw my grandmother crying and couldn't bear to sell the boat, so he didn't suggest selling it to split the cash. He accepted that bitter pill."

The one speaking was Ye Yaodong's eldest brother, Ye Yaopeng. But as soon as he spoke, he was scolded by his eldest uncle.

"We adults are talking; what are you, a junior, interrupting for!"

"It's my family's money; why can't I speak? We already divided the family property. Eldest Uncle, Ye Erbo, you can come to our door demanding a cut of the money from our fish sales, but you won't let me speak?"

"This is an elder's business; it's not your place to speak!"

Ye Yaodong, standing in the corner, felt his head ache. Frowning, he spat out the straw in his mouth and stepped forward, draping his elbow over his eldest uncle's shoulder. His uncle was short and stout, making it a perfect fit.

He said with a rogue's air, "Eldest Uncle, that's going too far. This is our home; why isn't there a place for my eldest brother to speak!"

"The yellow croakers were caught by my father. Did you or Ye Erbo go out to sea with him? Where do you get the nerve to come to our door and demand a cut? Is it because you're thick-skinned?"

"Go, go, go! Let's go outside and talk. Let's call out everyone in the village and bring the village chief to judge this. Let's see if we really have to split the money with you!"

"If everyone in the village says we have to split it and can't keep it for ourselves, my father is a reasonable man; he definitely won't have a second word!"

Ye Yaodong hooked his eldest uncle's neck and walked toward the door. It was only because his father cared about his reputation and brotherly ties that he didn't want to tear off the mask and could argue with them for so long.

If it were him, he would have kicked them out long ago. What kind of people were they? Shameless!

But, they were his eldest and second uncles after all. No matter how much of a rogue he was, he couldn't beat them. He could only use his tongue and drag them out to reason with them.

The eldest uncle was short, barely over 160cm, while Ye Yaodong was 180cm. With his neck caught under Ye Yaodong's armpit, the uncle couldn't break free even if he tried, and could only stumble along as they went outside.

"Let go! Is this how you treat your eldest uncle, locking me by the neck? I'm your uncle!"

"What uncle? Anyone trying to extort money from my family is my enemy. Let's go outside and talk!"

He remembered deeply that when he was young, he was a local hoodlum, idling his days away, hanging out with friends, doing nothing serious, and fighting was a daily occurrence. It was only after he got married that he toned it down.

Dragging an elder like this and speaking disrespectfully didn't seem out of place to anyone; instead, they thought it was quite normal.

However, they were his uncles after all. With decades of extra experience, he wasn't as much of a scoundrel anymore, and this action really didn't look good.

Ye Yaodong let go and switched to pulling, dragging his eldest uncle to the front gate.

Ye Yaopeng breathed a sigh of relief. Third Brother finally took action. He didn't know what was wrong; Third Brother had been staring blankly all morning, not saying a word, silent until now. In the past, his temper would have flared up long ago; how could he have let the uncles talk for so long?

"Villagers, villagers, come quickly... Mmph, mmph..."

The second uncle hurriedly covered Ye Yaodong's mouth, smiling awkwardly, "Yaodong, Eldest Uncle and I came over just thinking of discussing things with your father. After all, everyone's life is very difficult; it's normal for brothers to help each other out..."

"That's right, we just came to discuss it with your father. How can we talk about our own family business outside? Let go of me, let's go inside and talk."

The eldest uncle also felt he was in the wrong. If this were said in front of the villagers, they wouldn't have the face for it, after all, the family had been divided for two years.

Ye Yaodong pulled away his second uncle's hand from his mouth. "Go inside and talk about what? All morning I've only heard you slapping the table and arguing. My head is aching. Let's talk outside and let everyone hear if you have any reason. Villagers... Mmph, mmph..."

"Third Brother, aren't you going to control your son?" The second uncle glared at Ye's father.

"Hmph... Now you know that family shame shouldn't be aired in public? Come out and talk. It's good to let the villagers judge. Otherwise, people who don't know the situation might think I took a huge advantage?"

At this time, the neighbors also heard the noise and gathered around, curiously looking at the Ye brothers.

"What's wrong? Didn't you sell over two hundred jin of large yellow croakers yesterday? Aren't you happy about that?"

"What's wrong with you all? Did Yaodong get into a fight again?"

"What did Yaodong do this time?"

"He's already married and has children; why is he still so unreasonable..."

Ye Yaodong was also speechless. It seemed his image as a hoodlum was deeply ingrained in people's hearts. Whenever something happened, the finger was pointed at him!

He raised an eyebrow and said in a rogue-like manner, "I didn't cause trouble this time. Don't blame me. It's someone else who is shameless..."

"Ah... nothing, nothing. Catching large yellow croakers is a good thing. We were just curious how you caught them, so we came over to ask and chat. Yaodong insisted it was too hot inside and told us to come out to talk where it would be cooler..." The eldest uncle interrupted him, smiling and dealing with the neighbors.

The second uncle also smiled awkwardly, "Hehe, we've finished talking. Mother went to the fields and isn't home. Eldest Brother, let's go back first."

"Mm, let's go back, let's go back."