Chapter 1002: Going Home

After Ye Yaodong finished, he hurriedly pedaled his bicycle back to the shipyard to return it.

Rushing back and forth, he had no time to exchange pleasantries with anyone, nor did he have time to stay at the factory to see how his own boat was being built.

Taking advantage of the waiting time, Ye's father also dozed off for a while, until the roar of the machines sounded, only then did he realize the boat had moved, and he quickly got up and went to the cockpit.

"Just back? Did you explain everything clearly?"

"Everything is explained, the items have been handed over, and what happens next has nothing to do with us."

"That's good! Then hurry back, it's already two in the afternoon, and your delay was another two hours."

"Handling matters always takes time; I didn't fly back and forth on a rocket. Go sleep, I'm perfectly energetic."

"So what did Director Chen say?"

"What else could he say? He just said he reported the matter first; how else could he explain it to you? How could he explain everything to you in detail?"

"Oh, so nothing else was said?"

Ye Yaodong glanced at him, then suddenly realized his father meant whether any reward had been given.

"You mean to ask if there's a reward? Do you dare to ask? Aren't you afraid people will find out we made the report and retaliate?"

"Uh... not really, I just wanted to know what benefits this matter could bring to Director Chen."

"The matter hasn't even progressed yet; who knows what benefits it can bring him? You ask him, and he doesn't know either. Anyway, we remembered him when we had something, so he must appreciate it."

"Then isn't this equivalent to giving him a box of goods for free? Aren't those canned goods very valuable? Didn't you say the caviar costs several thousand yuan per jin? There should be about one jin of caviar in that box when you add it up, that's a lot of money..."

"You just realized that? That means we gave him a box of goods for free, whether he uses it to report and see if he can get some credit, or keeps it for himself to eat."

Ye's father frowned tightly, "So in the end, we still lost out. We worked all night, hid two boxes of goods, and had to give one away, getting nothing else in return."

"Didn't we keep one box too? If it's really worth that much money, do you dare to cash it in? We can only keep it for ourselves to eat, and they are quite considerate of us, aren't they?"

"Giving him one box to see if it's useful to him; it definitely benefits him. For us, it just goes into our stomachs; isn't doing a favor better? We haven't properly thanked them for the motorcycle we got for free before; there should be give and take."

His father probably thought that if giving away a box of goods benefited them, and they got promoted and became rich, maybe a little bit would leak through their fingers, letting us share in the glory, or giving us some subsidy, so it wouldn't be in vain that we handed it over.

But the key is they simply didn't dare to accept the reward for the report, so why worry about it? As long as Director Chen appreciates their gesture, that's enough.

Some favors cannot be easily bought with money; they are more important than these benefits.

"Alright, whatever you say. Since it's already given, let's just consider it returning the favor for the motorcycle."

"Don't think about it. They will surely rise in rank and get rich in the future. If we maintain the relationship well, it's a path. They are quite conscientious and easy to talk to; they didn't look down on us as country people, and were very enthusiastic when we went to their home."

"Wasn't that enthusiastic? Every time we went to their house, did we ever go empty-handed? We always sent over sack after sack of things."

"Dad, we can't be too shortsighted; many people want to build connections but have no way..."

"No need to lecture me on big principles; I've eaten a lot of rice, I understand more than you. I just feel uncomfortable about doing free labor last night. Officials are hard to mess with; they can do whatever they want to us common people, arrest us whenever they want, detain us whenever they want. Who knows, when we get released, we might truly have nothing left."

"That is indeed very possible. Who else but them beat the police officers? People ran far in the middle of the night to rescue them, but got no benefit and were beaten instead. If they had sat down and negotiated compensation back then, both sides might have saved something; now everything has been detained, and they probably won't be polite to you."

Now the laws are imperfect, it's a one-man show, and these years emphasize heavy punishment. With a handle in hand, they can legally lock you up for days whenever they want, or bankrupt you whenever they want.

"Just see if we can bring some benefit to Director Chen, so that our wasted night, actually a whole day, wasn't in vain. By the time we sail home now, it will be evening."

"We can make it for dinner. Fortunately, the luck exploded the day before we went out; we earned enough in one day to be stable. Even if the catch for the next few days is half, at least we earned five thousand yuan."

"I haven't asked you yet, how much did you sell for this morning?"

"About ten thousand jin of frogfish were kept back to dry and not sold; the remaining few thousand jin of goods sold for about three hundred yuan. This trip didn't require restocking supplies, so the sales were real, with no expenses."

"That works too. This trip earned about five thousand yuan, so we didn't lose. Delaying a day, then delaying a day. Those people were all taken away; who knows, when they come out, they might have lost everything."

Ye's father was still somewhat resentful as usual, but thinking that they would probably have to come out of the bureau with nothing made him feel much more balanced.

"In the city, at my father-in-law's place, there's still over a thousand yuan accounted for."

"That's quite good. We only go to the city after the New Year, just a week, and there's another thousand-plus yuan coming in..."

"That's not pure profit; how much capital did I invest in dried fish and fish sauce?"

Ye's father nodded, "Earning one-third or one-fourth is still considerable. In just these few days, the shop doesn't need rent. In the future, just keep the goods from our own boat back to dry; if it's not enough, add a little from outside. This way, less capital is spent, and we can earn more. This morning, you also let the Fengshou Hao keep the cheap frogfish and such back for you to dry, right? I didn't see them carrying much cargo when they unloaded it on shore."

"Yes, it was agreed that we would weigh it at the dock upon return and calculate it at the market wholesale price for us. This saves us from going out to collect, and from paying the intermediary a cut."

"Hmm, your big net boat still has the most cargo, and the money comes fast. The Fengshou Hao's earnings still have your thirty percent."

Thinking of this, Ye Yaodong smiled happily; indeed, those who have money will get richer.

Earning money and reinvesting it to earn more is like rolling a snowball.

Working people can only save money through hard work; they cannot earn money as simply as the rich do.

"Mainly it was good luck; we caught up with it."

In this life, not only is he a variable, but Ah Guang is also a variable.

A few years ago, he changed his name early, stayed in the village, and didn't leave. Uncle Pei's connections are all around; they utilize each other and develop together.

"I'll go back and sleep; you watch this place. The county town area isn't far from our village; you should be familiar with the roads along the way."

"I know; go sleep, rest assured."

"Mm."

When Ye Yaodong was driving the boat alone, he was also calculating the income and catch from this trip, thinking that when they docked at dusk, he would give each crew member a two-yuan opening red envelope.

Promises made must be kept.

Two yuan is almost equivalent to a day's wages; getting a red envelope just as the work starts is not little.

There's no need to divide the canned goods; keep a few on the boat to serve as a side dish for the next voyage; everyone can taste them together. As for family and friends, we can distribute some upon return depending on the situation.

From the darkness of last night until now, no nets were cast to catch anything. Just yesterday daytime, plus yesterday afternoon when we started keeping miscellaneous goods, the quantity wasn't small; adding it up, it's nearly ten thousand jin.

In the past, the Fengshou Hao would only pick up a little miscellaneous cargo on the last day of return, bringing back just a few thousand jin. Keeping it early made them worry about burning oil, and they weren't sure which day they would return; generally, it depended on the wind direction and the catch situation.

If there's a lot of cargo at sea and they catch a lot, of course, they stay a day or two longer. If the cargo is small and there's no profit, they stay fewer days and go home to rest early.

It wasn't mainly for their own needs; it was cargo kept on the side. It doesn't sell for much money; bringing a little bit is just a gesture, making use of waste.

Ye Yaodong kept it early yesterday because he needed it himself, and he also instructed Uncle Pei to keep the cargo a day in advance.

Now having nearly ten thousand jin to bring back is already more than any previous trip, double the amount.

Plus the cargo from the Fengshou Hao, once we dock, both workshops will have their hands full.

Over twenty thousand jin of frogfish, over twenty thousand jin of miscellaneous goods; we'll have to hire quite a few women temporarily, greatly increasing the village's employment rate.

Fortunately, it's cold now; we can't finish slaughtering all this cargo in one day even if we haul it back. We can keep it and slaughter for two more days without spoilage since there's still ice on top, and the temperature won't warm up quickly after the New Year.

When it gets hot, we'll have to hire even more temporary workers.

The village women have no other skills, but they're experts at killing fish and mending nets.

He drove quietly, thinking to himself. The wind outside grew stronger and stronger. It had been overcast all day, with heavy clouds, bone-chilling cold wind, and damp, biting cold.

Fortunately, we'll be home soon. Thinking of the warmth and bustle at home, he couldn't help but increase the throttle, his heart racing to return.

The closer they got to the town's harbor, the more returning fishing boats appeared; all were small trawlers and small wooden boats making round trips that same day.

By the time he reached the outside of the village dock, it wasn't dark yet.

Upon receiving the message, the underlings waiting ashore immediately started a boat over to receive the cargo.

"Brother Dong, you're finally back! We've been waiting all afternoon. The Fengshou Hao arrived early this afternoon, saying you had matters to attend to in town and wouldn't be delayed long, so we thought you'd be back soon. Who knew it took several hours before we saw you!"

"What time did the Fengshou Hao arrive this afternoon?"

"Around two o'clock. They brought back over ten thousand jin of frogfish and even borrowed Acai's scales at the dock to weigh the goods. Now the workshop is bustling with fish-slaughtering. There are also other miscellaneous goods, several thousand to ten thousand jin. The newly leveled ground next door just arrived these past two days and is already being put to use. The fish sauce workshop is also piled high with goods; everyone is busy there."

"That's good, as long as everything is arranged properly. Come on, there's over twenty thousand jin of cargo on this boat combined; help us receive it there."

"Yes, yes. Uncle Pei also said your boat has a similar amount of cargo, so we arranged manpower in advance to prepare for receiving it. We've been coming out constantly to check, too afraid to leave for dinner, and only now have we waited for you."

"Mm, I was delayed a bit longer due to matters in the county. How has everything been at home lately? Any major events or anything special happening in the village?"

"No major events, but there were plenty of small things to watch, like a grand opera."

"Is that so? Then I'll listen after we dock. For now, let's move the cargo."

Ye Yaodong directed the boatmen to unload the cargo on the side, while his father climbed onto the adjacent boat to help receive the goods. After nearly emptying all the frogfish and piling them onto the deck, they first transported one boatload back to unload, then came out again to continue receiving the miscellaneous goods.

By the time the second boatload was moved, it had grown somewhat dim. It was still cold, so darkness fell quickly.

Of that crate of canned fish, he kept five on the boat; the rest were all covered with straw and moved to the shuttle boat. He also took the money from the iron box under the bed with him personally.

"Nothing left behind, right?" his father asked.

"Nothing left behind. Clothes and luggage have all been moved over."

"Alright then, let's dock."

Like the Fengshou Hao, the Dongsheng Hao had a deeper draft; the dock's water level wasn't enough to support it docking, so it could only drift in the middle of the sea, requiring shuttle boats to receive cargo.

Because of the cold weather, fishing boats basically all docked before dark. When they docked, the dock's receiving points were already closed, but there were many people coming and going, all there to help move and transport the cargo.

The two wooden carts at home were being pushed back and forth.

Seeing that the light was no longer so bright, Ye Yaodong turned on the flashlight and stood guard outside the dock, watching everyone unload, while his father followed the wooden carts to the workshop, directing the unloading there.

A pack of dogs had already run out alertly, circling around his feet and barking wildly, "Wang, wang, wang!"

He smiled, reached out, and patted the chin of the little black one, who was jumping the highest and most happily. "Your fur is oily and shiny; looks like your diet has been very good lately. You're ready for the pot."

"Wang, wang, wang, wang, wang~"

A little spotted dog and a little yellow dog hugged him, standing on one leg; he was completely surrounded by dogs.

Before long, the lights in the workshop also turned on; from outside the dock, he could see people coming and going over there.

After all the cargo was moved, he led the pack of "Wang Wang Team" dogs to the workshop with the last cart.

The fish sauce workshop built at the back had its ground already leveled and dried. The corners were piled high with miscellaneous goods just unloaded from the boat.

The row of warehouses along the inner wall were all completed; doors and windows were installed, and tiles were laid.

In just a few days, it was quite fast. Before the New Year, only the doors, windows, tiles, and leveling the ground remained.

"Looks quite spacious and bright."

"It is quite spacious and bright. This entire large open space belongs to your family now." His father's face was full of pride.

Ye Yaodong wasn't in a hurry to return; he planned to walk around the workshop first. Seeing the lights on in the warehouses inside the fish sauce workshop and shadows of people moving, he walked in while asking.

"Have those wooden barrels on the empty lot next door, whether empty or not, all been moved into the warehouse? Are the aunts inside fermenting fish sauce over there now?"

Wang Wang Guangliang, walking beside him with a beaming smile, said, "Yes. Before the New Year, we filtered a batch of empty fish sauce barrels. They hadn't started fermenting after the New Year. Just as the ground dried these past two days, they were all moved inside."

"Auntie said that from now on, the wooden barrels can be placed inside to ferment, saving them from sun and rain which easily cause damage."

"After the miscellaneous fish brought back by the Fengshou Hao this afternoon were moved in, the aunts have been busy non-stop. Auntie also said that after you return, we need to order more wide-mouthed large jars for outdoor use; otherwise, fermenting the wooden barrels indoors is slow, and if Hui keeps bringing such large quantities, the current ones won't be enough."

"The ones brought back this afternoon were just poured in and finished fermenting. Just now, when your boat returned, some people hadn't left yet, so they continued directly. That's why the lights are still on inside."

Ye Yaodong nodded and stood at the door watching the people inside work. "You haven't finished work and rested yet, Auntie?"

The twins were moving cargo there; his eldest aunt was directing them to pour goods into large barrels. Then she stood on a stool to sprinkle salt into the barrels, then leaned down to spread the salt evenly with her hands.

"Not yet. We were supposed to be done."

"It's dark already. Let's finish work first. Everyone go home for dinner and come back tomorrow morning. The newly brought back goods are also over ten thousand jin; with just a few of you, it won't be finished in a few hours."

"It's dark? That fast?" The eldest aunt glanced out the window; outside, it was already pitch black. "It was still very bright just a moment ago; how did it get dark so quickly? Alright, alright, no more work. Let's go home for dinner and come back tomorrow morning. Anyway, leaving it overnight won't spoil it."

"Mm, you boys should go home for dinner too. Whoever is on night shift stays behind. The next few days will be busy."

"Okay."

The eldest aunt wiped her hands and walked over to him with a beaming smile. "You made quite a bit of money on this trip, right? Oh my, now the whole village can't find anyone more successful than you. Your two cousins are benefiting from your success; they rented your boat, and their catch these past few days at sea has been quite good."

"Really? As long as the catch is good, that's what matters. Good for you, good for me, good for everyone. Let's all make money and get rich together."

While speaking, Ye Yaodong turned off the lights inside the house, then called the dogs out and locked the door.

"Yes, yes, yes. Get rich together. Your two cousins also said they'd wait for you to return to have a drink and chat..."

"Dad~"

"Third Uncle~"

"Dad~ You're back~"

"Third Uncle~ Third Uncle~"

"Daddy~ Daddy~ Wait for me~"

He had only just turned around when a pile of children at the workshop door came running and calling out, exceptionally excited, as if they hadn't seen him in ten years.

"Third Uncle, you're finally back!"

"Daddy, you're back~"

Ye Yaodong looked at them with a face full of smiles, "Nothing else to say, is there? All of you are just saying I've come back. I'm standing right here, of course I've come back. It's all nonsense."

Just now he'd been surrounded by a pack of dogs, and now he was surrounded by a pack of children. He figured once he got home, he'd be surrounded by a pack of women.

He really was too popular — from old to young, from people to dogs, not a single one disliked him.

Loved by all, blooming wherever he went.

He was narcissistically lost in self-admiration, when an untimely voice rang out.

"Hehe~ Third Uncle, your face is peeling."

His face fell instantly. He touched it and said irritably, "The sea wind did it."

"You should say, Third Uncle, you've gotten thinner~"

"Hahaha~ You should save that line for Great-Grandfather to say later~"

"Great-Grandfather will also say he'll kill a chicken to nourish Third Uncle~"

"Yesterday Great-Grandfather already told Third Aunt to save up more eggs, saying Third Uncle likes eating chicken, not duck. This year when the hens go broody, hatch a few more chicks, and tell Third Aunt to just keep boiling duck eggs from now on, not chicken eggs."

Ye Yaodong, his face full of smiles again at these rowdy ones, knocked on the heads of the few in front of him, "Go on home. Each and every one of you has snot almost hanging to your mouth — why did you run out here?"

"Our grandpa is back, so we knew you were back too, so we ran over to take a look."

"I don't have any gifts for you. These past few days I went out to sea, to make money."

"Hehe, we don't want gifts…"

"Daddy, we missed you…"

Ye Ye Xiaoxi's little short legs brought up the rear. She hadn't run a few steps before she tripped, so she simply lay flat on the ground and shouted toward the front: "Daddy carry me~ Carry me~"

Ye Yaodong saw a small shadow on the ground ahead, immediately stepped forward and picked her up, patted her knees, dusted the ash off her chest, and only then gave her bottom two light smacks.

"So dramatic — you fall down and don't get up yourself, just lie there yelling."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi wrapped her arms around his neck, bouncing excitedly in place, "Want a carry, want you to carry me."

"Stop squirming. I can barely hold you anymore. You'll fall on the ground in a bit."

As if she'd discovered a new world, she reached out and felt the stubble on his chin, prickly, and her little hand kept touching around his mouth.

"Take it away, take it away. Stop touching it, it'll prick."

"Fun."

"Why are your hands so smelly? Did you wash your hands after pooping?"

"Haha, she just touched a chicken's butt!"

"Great-Grandfather went to feel up the chicken's butt, saying it's cold and the chickens aren't laying eggs anymore, wanting to see if there's an egg in our chicken's butt — whether they can lay tomorrow. She followed along and touched the chicken's butt too."

"Hahaha~"

Ye Yaodong, his face a picture of helpless amusement, hurriedly pulled her hand away. "How do you know everything, learn everything? Whatever adults do, you have to do it too?"

She didn't say anything either. Seeing the group of children all laughing there, she laughed along too, giggling away.

"If you're bored, go dig some earthworms tomorrow to feed the chickens. Chickens love laying eggs then."

"Third Uncle, your open ground here is so big. Can we come play ball here tomorrow? In the afternoon Third Aunt chases us all out and won't let us play here."

"We'll see tomorrow. This patch that was just finished could work. The wooden tubs have all been moved into the warehouse to ferment, and there's nothing much on the worksite — no big water vats either. I'm not afraid you'll kick anything and break it."

Wang Wang Guangliang hurriedly said, "That won't do, Brother Dong. Sister-in-law said there are too many toad fish brought back this trip. The open ground over there won't be enough for drying, so they'll definitely have to dry them over here. The day before yesterday they just knocked over a big patch of dried fish and got beaten for it."

"Oh, then forget it. Go play ball at the open ground in front of the village committee. The ground there is flat too."

The open ground on his side had only been poured once with a mix of yellow mud from the mountain, pebbles, and sand stirred together. Compared to the dirt roads outside it was a bit flatter and a bit cleaner.

But it couldn't compare to a cement floor — it was still all lumpy and grainy, just that in the rain it wouldn't cake mud on your feet. Swept with a bamboo broom, it would still sweep clean very well.

What's rare is that this open ground is very large, very suitable for a group of children to run, jump, play ball, and kick a ball.

"Then before the drying starts tomorrow, can you let us come in and play for a while? If the dried fish are hung up we won't come in. Our bottoms beaten the day before yesterday still hurt."

"Seeing you laugh so happily, I don't feel like it hurts."

"It hurts when you're being beaten though." Ye Chenghe said honestly.

"Go on home, stop crowding around me. Everyone back to your own homes, find your own moms."

"No. Wandering around in front of her gets us hit and scolded. I want to go to your house to play…"

"I find you noisy. Don't come over."

"We promise not to be noisy."

"Then have you done your homework? Has school started? Ten? Can you register without finishing your homework?"

Ye Ye Xiuxiu beamed radiantly, "No. The three of them haven't finished their homework and didn't dare go register today. I've already registered."

"Mom took us to register first thing in the morning. They deliberately hid and couldn't be found. We all registered."

"We were supposed to be locked at home doing homework after dinner in the evening, but when we heard the sound of Grandpa coming back, they hurried out, and then ran off to find Third Uncle."

Ye Yaodong looked with a half-smile at the few in front of him, all hanging their heads, "So it wasn't that you missed me, it's that you didn't want to do homework, so you were that happy to see me."

"No, we're just happy Third Uncle is back."

"Then why aren't you going back to do your homework? Why are you following me to my doorstep? If your homework isn't done you can't register, and then you won't have school to attend."

"We'll do it when we get home…"

"That's great. I'll just be a shepherd at home…"

"Dongzi's back…" The old lady had been sitting at the door watching. Only when the noisy commotion reached the doorstep did she speak up with a smile.

"Mm, I'm back. I was just looking around inside the workshop for a while."

The old lady smiled, her face creasing with wrinkles. "Just been gone a few days and you've already gotten dark and thin. I'll stew some eggs for you in a bit, and tomorrow I'll kill a chicken to help you build yourself back up."

"Hehe, that's what I said…"

A group of children all snickered to themselves after correctly guessing what the old lady would say.

Ye Yaodong glared at the kids who were wise beyond their years. "Aren't you going home to do your homework? Are you waiting to eat the whip tomorrow?"

Ye Ye Yaopeng and Ye Ye Yaohua also came out from their homes, and the first thing they said was the same.

"Dongzi's back~"

"Mm, I'm back."

"Aren't you few going home to do your homework? What are you standing here watching? Your mothers will be back from the workshop soon." Ye Ye Yaopeng said, glaring.

"Third Aunt said she wants to buy a lamb in spring…" Ye Chenghe said in a small voice.

Ye Ye Yaopeng raised his palm, eyes wide, and gestured. "What? You really want to stay home and herd sheep?"

Ye Yaodong said with a smile, "That good luck won't fall to you. Forget it. Go back and do your homework."

Ye Ye Chenghai and Ye Chenghe pouted, and reluctantly had no choice but to run home.