Chapter 1008: Waving the Banner of Kinship

The next day, Ye Yaodong slept in as usual until he woke naturally.

When he woke, he saw Ye Ye Xiaoxi and Pei Yu sitting at the doorway eating maltose syrup, each holding a chopstick, stirring and pulling up long sticky threads as they ate, looking very happy.

"Aren't they well-behaved? The two of them sitting in a row."

The old lady listened to the radio nearby and said softly: "Didn't let her know A-Guang left. Early this morning he bought maltose and then put her down, and it just so happened that Xiao-Jiu had also woken up. The two of them sat obediently eating, and didn't look for anyone. Then he ran over to the workshop and followed the tractor delivering fish sauce, heading into the city together."

"Well, it's fine as long as she didn't see him. She has things to play with and eat here anyway."

"Mm, go eat quickly."

"The wind seems quite strong this morning?"

"It is a bit, but the sun is strong, so the wind doesn't feel cold when it blows."

He stood at the doorway gazing at the beach not far away, in its low-tide state; at this distance he couldn't tell whether the waves would be big.

He turned to look at the workshop side again—inside the walls, a huge stretch was covered with drying fishing nets, or fish being hung up to dry, row upon row, looking quite a spectacular sight.

After a day and night of drying, at this distance he could smell the salty fragrance drifting over from nearby even standing at his own front door; originally only the sea breeze would carry a bit of the briny sea smell.

"Authentic, this smell."

"What?" The old lady didn't know what he was sighing about.

"Nothing, I'm going to eat."

What he meant was the fragrance of properly sun-dried fish, not machine-roasted—the people who lived by the sea were used to the briny, fishy smell.

Switch to an inland area, and the moment they reached a seaside fishing village they'd probably be frowning.

A day without work meant idling, wandering around aimlessly. The village's fine young men and strapping adults, on such a fine day, none of them were lazily loitering at home—apart from good-for-nothing layabouts, probably only him.

But the villagers all knew his family was big and prosperous now, and no one would gossip behind his back; when they saw him, they greeted him warmly instead.

Ye Yaodong deliberately chose paths where the sun shone, sunning himself as he strolled; some women were also mending and weaving nets under the sunlight, chatting about gossip.

In the two days since coming ashore, at home he could clearly feel the wind carrying a bit of warmth, with a hint of spring blossoms in the air—and it was already March.

Unlike at sea, where the wind that blew over was biting and stabbed like a knife, with no hint of spring at all, and one had to wear a hat and wrap a scarf, bundled up tightly.

Before he had finished his stroll, he was surprised to see Lin Ji appear on the small path, travel-worn and carrying a sack on his shoulder.

He had only just finished asking A-Qing about him yesterday, and today the man had shown up.

"A-Dong!"

How was he supposed to address him? A-Shang?

Did the two of them feel close? Not really.

Not close? But they were quite familiar with each other—except they never called each other by name face to face, just "you" this and "you" that, speaking directly without any address.

Now if he had to call him A-Shang, he felt goosebumps all over, however he thought about it it felt strange. Although the villagers all called him that, he still found it odd.

The thought flashed through his mind, and he dismissed calling him A-Shang, getting straight to business.

"Coming back from somewhere during the New Year? You look travel-worn."

Looking at his stubble, his face haggard and bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept well in a long time, like he might collapse and scam him the next moment.

"Just got back from out of town."

"You didn't stay home for New Year, did you?"

Lin Ji nodded, and seeing that there were some women weaving nets on the open ground around them, curiously turning their heads to look at them, he raised his voice slightly.

"I went out for a trip and found some business leads. Set aside five thousand catties of your dried fish for me the day after tomorrow. I've arranged a big truck to come over—if it doesn't fit, just stack them higher, it's fine, just tie them down with rope and secure them."

"Huh?" Ye Yaodong was surprised for a moment, then quickly nodded in agreement, and pretending to be very happy said: "That's great, shipping out five thousand catties at once—the leads you found are impressive. Looks like you're going to make a fortune this year."

He said with a smile: "Not at all, just so-so, can't compare with you. At most I'm just getting by, as long as it's better than shining shoes."

"What are you saying? I'm just a fisherman, how could I compare with you? I'll spend my whole life muddling along in this fishing village. You're different—you've already gone out. Whenever you make a name for yourself out there, I'll still have to count on you to give me a lift."

"Stop flattering me, you're making me embarrassed. Who in these ten miles and eight villages doesn't know you? What am I? I'm the one who should be counting on you."

"No, no, you're being modest. I saw long ago that you're no ordinary person—you dare to go out and try your luck. Ordinary people wouldn't dare run around everywhere. See? Now you can even find leads to sell dried fish. You'll definitely be even more impressive in the future. Today you can sell dried fish, tomorrow you can sell general goods, next year you'll live in a building and drive a car."

"You first, you first, I don't have that kind of ability yet…"

"You do. Isn't driving a car just a matter of time for you? Come on, let's walk and talk. Is five thousand catties of dried fish enough? If not, I still have plenty in stock—I stockpiled a lot before the New Year, and now after the New Year we've started up again…"

"Let me go home and take a bath first, rest a bit. I'll come weigh the goods at your place tomorrow. I went out for a trip and couldn't sleep well for several days. It was too chaotic out there—lots of robberies and muggings. I was afraid that one careless moment and I wouldn't even make it back alive. I had to sleep with one eye open. Earning money in the village is really more comfortable and safe…"

"I can't get out, so I can only muddle along in the village…"

"Not at all. You have a shop in the city. You just have good vision—you feel things are chaotic out there now, so you're holding onto your own little plot of land first…"

Ye Yaodong hadn't expected to be flattered like this—this kid was something, no wonder in his past life he kept a low profile at the back, steadily prospering, becoming a man above men.

The two walked off into the distance, blowing hot air, deliberately choosing the main road in the village with more households, taking a long detour on purpose, sending up signal flares the whole way.

The women nearby who overheard their conversation also whispered among themselves, gossiping about the two.

"Lin Ji's gone into business too?"

"From their chat, it sounds like he's found some business leads?"

"I hear doing business out there is really risky now—you might go and never come back."

"How do you know?"

"Isn't that what people say? Just now when they walked past they were saying it's chaotic out there—robberies, muggings, you could even lose your life out there…"

"Better to earn a little money safely in the village. A-Shang must have shined shoes out there until he met rich people. I heard he didn't even come home for New Year this year. His wife said he wanted to take advantage of the crowds during New Year to work more and earn more money. Now he suddenly comes back saying he has leads, mm, can sell a lot of goods—doesn't that mean he met rich people?"

"Didn't expect shining shoes could lead to a future…"

"You really can't say—anyone who can wear leather shoes must be rich, and willing to spend money to have their shoes shined. If it were me, I'd just polish them at home."

"You're overthinking it. We might not even wear them two days in a whole year—during New Year and festivals, wear them once and then polish them up shiny and put them away."

"That's true too…"

Ye Yaodong accompanied Lin Ji blowing hot air for a while, fired off some shots, and at the fork in the road they said goodbye, each heading home.

The moment he got home, he called for A-Qing.

"Aqing... Aqing..."

"She's at the workshop."

The old lady was sunning herself at the gate. Seeing that he hadn't even stepped into the yard before he started calling, she quickly spoke up.

Ye Yaodong immediately turned around and headed for the workshop.

"Aqing... Aqing..."

"Next door, she ran over to that empty lot to sun dried fish..."

He went looking again, this time at the newly built workshop beside them.

"Day after day, I have to look all over for you, busywork for nothing. Hired so many people, yet you're still there working yourself to the bone..."

Lin Lin Xiuqing turned her head to look. "What do you mean looking all over for me? I'm right here. Where could I possibly run off to?"

"Lin Ji wants five thousand jin of dried fish. It's been agreed—he'll come by tomorrow morning or tomorrow evening to weigh it. If I go out to sea at night and I'm not home, and he comes by tomorrow to weigh it, you handle it for me. See what kind of dried fish he wants and put together five thousand jin for him."

"Huh? Isn't he not home?"

"Just got back. Ran into him on the road."

"Oh, that's fine then. Getting rid of five thousand jin in one go—we can clear out the mountain of stock piled up at our own place, or empty out half of the warehouse next door. It's already piled up more than half a room. Good thing work only just started after the new year, and no one's sleeping in that room these past two days. Clear out half the goods, and then we'll have somewhere to put the twenty-plus thousand jin we've been drying these past two days."

"So it's good timing that he's back. We're almost out of space here. Emptying out half is just right for fitting in the goods we've been drying these past two days."

"Did you tell him how much it costs?"

"No, and he didn't ask either. He just mentioned it in passing. I also took the chance to brag for him in front of the villagers we met on the road. Anyway, just play it by ear. See what goods he wants when he gets here, and quote him a wholesale price. He probably won't haggle—whatever price we name is fine. Five thousand jin of dried fish sounds like a lot, but for him it's nothing."

"That is true."

"It's almost noon. Aren't you going to cook?"

"I was just thinking of finishing drying this basket first? Fine, you dry it then. I'll go cook..."

"Catch me and you want to put me to work..." Ye Yaodong muttered under his breath, but obediently took a needle and poked a hole in each of the remaining half-basket of fish, then tied them with string and hung them up to dry.

Only he didn't expect Lin Ji wouldn't wait until the next day—he came over in the afternoon, just before the workshop knocked off, to weigh the goods.

Probably also wanting to do it in front of a crowd, to make it solid that he had now started doing business.

Seeing is believing, hearing is not.

He could, of course, have people spread word that he was out doing business and making money, but people everywhere have a first-impression bias. Wild rumors always get distorted in the telling. Besides, there had been rumors before that he was smuggling, so people would only think he'd made money smuggling, or at least not through proper channels.

But this dried fish was the real deal. With the whole village watching it leave the workshop, people would only believe it more.

After all, dried fish altogether is only worth a couple thousand yuan. Smuggling is all about huge profits—taking several thousand jin of dried fish, which takes up a lot of space, to smuggle? Just thinking about it doesn't seem very likely.

A single TV set could earn him two hundred yuan.

Riding on this favorable wind, he'd launder his reputation. Later, when he made big money, people would find it all the more believable.

Mainly, this was his hometown. No matter how things went out in the world, he had to come back. His past couldn't be dug up by people—not yet, at least. Later on, let them say whatever they want. The storm had already passed anyway.

Several thousand jin of dried fish were weighed out, bag by bag, in front of all the aunts and gossips in the village, then carted away on a flatbed to his own house.

Everyone crowded around to watch, buzzing with talk, saying Lin Ji was about to get rich too—five thousand jin in one go, just like that.

By the time all the weighing was done, dusk had fallen. Throughout the village, word was spreading that Lin Ji was going to follow him, follow him to make money.

Only what they didn't expect was that they were busy until dark before eating dinner. While eating, several relatives, including a few cousins from Ye Ye Dabo and Ye Ye Erbo's side, showed up at the door.

It was quite a surprise. The new year had just passed, and the day before yesterday, when he'd just gotten back, a whole bunch of people had already come by to chat. Why were more people coming today? But no matter what, they had to invite them in.

"Eating? Eating this late?"

"Just finished up, I take it? Heard Lin Ji caught your favorable wind and is about to get rich..."

"Adong, we're all relatives, we're all family. Now that your business has grown and you've gotten capable, you can't forget to lift up your own people. You can't just look after outsiders—we're the ones who are family."

"One brush can't write two Ye characters. In the whole village, only our big family is surnamed Ye. We've got to stick together. Whatever good things come up, you can't give them to outsiders—you've got to look after our own people first..."

"Right, everyone here watched you grow up, or grew up alongside you. Brothers and sisters of the same house—break the bones and the tendons still connect. Our own people are much closer than outsiders..."

"They say in battle, father and son fight side by side; in taking a tiger, blood brothers are the team. Outsiders can't be trusted like our own brothers. Don't get taken in—our own people won't cheat our own people..."

The group talked and nodded in agreement, nearly talking his whole family into a daze.

But fortunately, his family wasn't stupid either. After hearing them out, they figured it must be because Lin Ji had weighed several thousand jin of dried fish that afternoon, and the village was already spreading word that he was about to get rich.

Each of them probably thought it was because they'd hitched onto him, that he'd lifted them up, given Lin Ji a chance to get rich.

Damn—one morning and evening of weighing goods, and who knew what the village had turned it into. It had even made relatives who normally never came by unable to sit still.

His whole family sat there eating, exchanging glances as they watched these people spout their bizarre speeches, lecturing on all sorts of "we're the real family" rhetoric.

Ye's mother couldn't hold back and put down her chopsticks directly. "What's this about 'our own people won't cheat our own people'? My two sons were cheated out of two thousand yuan by our own people. Who am I supposed to reason with? It's not easy to collect a debt, and I can't push them either. Might as well have been cheated by outsiders—at least then we could go to their door, smash up their house, and haul off their appliances."

The few people present looked back and forth, all turning to look at Ye Ye Dabo, Ye Ye Dabo's wife, and Ye Ye Yaofan. They had also come over to join the fun, though just now only Ye Ye Dabo's wife had piped up; the others hadn't made a sound.

Quite a full house had shown up. Even with all the various connections, they didn't know how, but they'd gathered pretty fast.

Ye Ye Dabo said awkwardly, "That's all in the past, it was all old business, why bring it up again? One thing at a time. It's the new year, saying this to your own people—are you poking at our sore spot? I've already lost a son over this."

"Wasn't it you lot saying 'our own people won't cheat our own people'?" Ye's mother pouted, then picked up her chopsticks again and went on eating.

Ye's father, on the other hand, smiled and smoothed things over. "We're all not outsiders. In the whole village, only we're surnamed Ye. So whatever comes up, of course we'd think of our own people first. Haven't the recent workshop jobs all gone to our own people first? If someone's clumsy and not quick, that's not on us."

"Anyway, if there's work in the future, of course we'll call our own people first. That Ah Shang today—he came over to buy dried fish from Dongzi. Where was it Dongzi lifting him up, sharing money for him to earn? Clearly he was looking after Dongzi's business."

Ye Yaodong, speechless, turned his head and said, "If you lot had this kind of ability, I'd welcome it with open arms. There's nothing else at my place, but dried fish we've got plenty. If you want to come wholesale a few thousand or ten thousand jin, that's fine. If you really could wholesale tens of thousands of jin out for me, I'd laugh myself awake from the dream."

"Let's not even talk about tens of thousands of jin. If each of you helps me sell a few hundred jin, that's fine too. Price is easy to talk about—you're all relatives, I'd definitely give you a discount. Don't say I don't look after my own relatives. Selling to you is definitely cheaper than selling to others."

As he talked, a sudden inspiration struck him, and he immediately went on.

"If it's about lifting up relatives, I get it. Lin Ji today asked to buy five thousand jin from me. How many hundred jin are you lot planning to buy? We're all relatives, of course we look after each other. An outsider looked after me for five thousand jin—surely you lot will look after me a bit too, right?"

"What you said is right too. This money shouldn't be earned by outsiders—it should be earned by our own people. Don't say I don't look after everyone. You all made a special trip here in the evening, a whole group of you, to say we're all one family, that we should help each other out and lift each other up. I don't have much way to thank you—I can only give you a lower price on the quantities you'll be asking for later. Definitely can't charge you more than others."

"Aqing, take notes. After everyone heard the news this evening, they all came over so enthusiastically, saying we're all one family, that we should help each other out and lift each other up. We don't have much way to thank them—we can only give them a lower price on the quantities they'll be asking for later. Definitely can't charge more than others."

"We're all relatives, all one family—one brush can't write two Ye characters. You all helped me sell goods today, this kindness, I've taken it to heart, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart..."

"It shouldn't be put that way either. We all look after each other. You sell more, you earn more. When the time comes, you don't have to thank me too much. There's nothing else I can really help with—I can only give you a stable supply of goods on the supply side."

"Wait until the next time I come back from sea, I'll try to dry a bit more cargo. When the time comes, I'll have to trouble all of you with the goods from my workshop over there. You'll have to put in some extra effort, sell a bit more, come by and wholesale a bit more…"

The whole table of people was left dumbfounded by what he said. They had clearly come over, showing up at his door wanting a piece of the action, to grab some advantage, waving the big banner that they all shared the surname Ye and were one family, asking him to look after his relatives more, to let his relatives earn the money.

But the way he understood it, the whole thing had been turned completely on its head.

The group standing in the room nearby were all baffled by his words. Who was coming to his door to buy his dried fish?

And entrusting them with the dried fish from an entire workshop?

Lin Lin Xiuqing listened and almost couldn't help laughing out loud, but she still held it in and responded with a smile, going along with his words.

"Alright, I'll go get paper and a pen. With this many people, if we don't write it down it'll easily get muddled. After we finish eating in a bit, let's go weigh out the goods. We're all one family—if you want to earn this money and can't bear to let others earn it, then even if it gets dark, we still have to weigh out the goods for you so as not to delay things until tomorrow. If we wait until tomorrow morning to weigh the goods, it might delay you from making money."

Ye Yaodong gave her an approving glance. "What Ah Qing says is right too. We're all one family. You've already come to my door saying you want to earn this money, you don't want outsiders earning it. Then I don't even need to eat, I can weigh it out for you first."

As he spoke, he put down his chopsticks and stood up right then and there.

This time everyone panicked and immediately pushed him back into his seat, afraid he would really go weigh out dried fish to sell to them.

"No, we didn't come here to weigh out goods?"

"That's right, who wants to buy your dried fish? If we wanted some ourselves, would we be afraid we couldn't get any?"

Ye Yaodong pretended to be puzzled as he looked at everyone. "Didn't you all say we're all one family, that any good thing can't go to outsiders, we have to think of our own people first?"

"I thought it over and over, and figured it must be either the matter of hiring workers for the workshop—my dad already promised that—or else it was the profit from selling goods."

"Lin Ji just weighed and took away five thousand jin, and then you all showed up. I figured you must also want to earn this money. I'll get everything properly prepared over here, dried nice and good. You can just take it over and sell it, start earning right away—no need to hoard goods for half a year or a year. You can pick up a load and go hawking through the streets right away. That's pretty good too."

"A few thousand jin of goods can earn a few hundred, even a thousand yuan or so. Do you all want to each buy a few thousand jin to take back too?"

Everyone's expression instantly soured.

Ye Ye Dabo couldn't help but say: "Didn't you give Ah Shang a way to earn money, letting him weigh the goods and take them to sell?"

"What nonsense is that? Do I have a way to earn money for him? I've been calling him 'Lin Ji-shang, Lin Ji-shang' this whole time, and you're over there calling him 'Ah Shang, Ah Shang.' Just listen and you'll know who's closer to whom. I'm not even that familiar with him. You're really overthinking this."

"I still have two brothers of my own and a brother-in-law. Would I give the chance to earn money to him? If I'm going to help someone up, it's my own family. He has his own connections."

One cousin spoke up: "He himself was just saying over there that from now on he has to rely entirely on you to help him up, to bring him along to earn money…"

"That's right. He gets goods from me—doesn't he have to rely on my supply to support him? In these ten miles and eight townships around, who has more dried fish than me? Doesn't he have to rely on me as his backing to supply these goods, so he can earn a bit more money?"

One sister-in-law said with a smile: "We just heard people say you were going to bring him along to get rich, so we thought we'd come over and have you look after us, your own people, too."

"That's fine too. I've got so much dried fish sitting right there. If you can sell it, feel free to come wholesale. Even a few jin is fine. Let's all earn money together."

"Where would we get the ability to sell? Within ten miles and eight townships around here, what household would be short of dried fish? It's too far away, and we can't get out there either. There are plenty of bandits, thieves, and robbers on the road."

"Exactly. Anyway, same old saying—we're all one family. If there's anything good, you have to think of everyone a little."

"Of course. Nothing else to say, but if there's work to do, if there's money to be made, we definitely have to think of our own family first." Ye Father immediately chimed in with a smile, afraid he would keep going on about having people buy dried fish and offend everyone.

"Huh? Where is Ah Shang planning to sell his goods? I didn't see him during New Year either. I heard this morning that when people saw him, the whole person looked like he hadn't slept for days and nights. What did he go out to do?"

"Went out to earn money, what else? Maybe on the way back he was worried about being robbed and didn't dare close his eyes, or maybe he walked a really long stretch to get back, which is why he looked so exhausted."

Ye Yaodong also helped explain. "Didn't the villagers all say he shined shoes and got himself a boss, so he caught a tailwind right away, hurried back to the village, came to me to weigh out dried fish and sell goods."

"Really? The rumors in the village are actually true?"

"That can work? A boss would take a shine to a shoe-shiner?"

"Look at the way you're talking. What the boss values is that he has the connections to get goods. If I had connections to move goods in bulk, would I let him earn the money? I'd have sold them myself long ago."

"Well, that's true."

"Then is he really about to get rich this time?"

"Looks like he's about to get rich. Who would've thought going out he'd meet a noble benefactor, and along with it you here also get to earn money together."

Ye Yaodong hurriedly nodded. "Right, exactly, that's how it is. He earned money, so along with it I sold goods to him, and I earned money too. So you could say he's looking after me. At most, when he buys a lot, I give him a cheaper price."

"Let's all earn money together. If you all also want to sell dried fish and earn money, you're welcome to come over here and weigh out goods. I've heard Wang Chen Laoqi hoarded dried fish for a whole year, then after New Year went to the city to sell goods, and earned quite a lot. Just bad luck—when he came back, he didn't manage to keep it…"

"Don't bring it up. He had money to earn, but no money to bring back. He was just unlucky."

"Hoarding dried fish for a whole year isn't easy either. Wouldn't it be better to just buy a few hundred jin from you here to resell? That'd be faster."

He hurriedly nodded. "Right, exactly. Either you don't have a boat, or your boat isn't as many as mine, or your boat isn't as big as mine. Come buy dried fish from me, then take it to sell—wouldn't you earn money faster? Why bother hoarding for a whole year? I never said that just because I sell dried fish myself, I won't let others sell it. You're all welcome to come find me and buy dried fish."

One after another, they all waved their hands.

"Can't earn it, can't earn it…"

"Forget it. I don't have that kind of ability. Better to keep my life and just earn a little to get by."

"Buying it over still costs money. We can just put together a little on our own…"

"Then you all go ahead and eat. Anyway, everyone just came over to chat, to talk. Although we're all family, we still have to visit more to get closer…"

"Just don't forget everyone when there's something good. As one family, we have to stick together…"

Ye Father responded to each of them with a smile.

Ye Mother, however, didn't want to chime in. With her straightforward temper, she just ate her meal on her own.

After Ye Father exchanged a few more polite words with them, everyone finally left with smiles. Although they hadn't achieved their goal, they weren't unhappy either.

Ye Yaodong felt that actually his father's way was the best—not offending anyone inside or out. Although he could talk, could sweet-talk people, he had also inherited some of his mother's temper and had a bit of a rebellious streak.

These fair-weather relatives, knowing nothing and just showing up at his door, waving the banner of kinship and demanding he do this and that—his rebellious streak flared right up.

I can give it to you, but you can't actively ask for it.

What he should understand, he understood. What he should know, he of course also knew. But he also judged people.

So he still hadn't cultivated himself well enough. If it were outsiders, he would definitely say things as thoroughly as possible. With his own people, well, the rebellious streak came out.