Chapter 1057

The three women on the ground still lay there moaning, no longer daring to make a sound—if they did, they'd get beaten again.

Chen Shuji was shut down by Ye's mother and had nothing to say; he could only pat his forehead. "Then let's just wait here for now."

"Drag them to my front door. Leave them with the other two."

"Everyone, help drag them over—take these three to that side…"

The crowd once again gathered at Guang's door, pointing at the two lying figures on the ground, whispering among themselves.

Some had only heard villagers shouting, "Outsiders have come to attack!" so they grabbed their tools and ran out—after all, in the first few days of the Fishing season, fights on the sea were common, sometimes spilling onto shore.

In truth, most who grabbed tools and ran out had no idea what had actually happened.

Now that things had calmed down, everyone was discussing it; those who knew explained the whole story to those who didn't, then watched the half-dead father and son on the ground and added a few curses.

Ye Yaodong patted his pocket, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and handed one to everyone waiting; after distributing them, he tossed the empty pack aside—those who didn't get one were out of luck.

"Why not sit on the steps? We'll probably have another big group coming soon to demand the people back."

"Standing is fine."

"It's still early morning—everyone's at home working, so probably no one will come in large numbers…"

"Who knows?"

"Hey, Adong, why didn't you go out to sea this morning? Everyone else went out either last night or early this morning—why are you and your dad still here?"

Guang listened to the questions and glanced over, but had no heart to speak—instead, he strained his ears to listen.

"We were already at the dock, about to board the boat, when we heard someone just returning say Guang's place was in an uproar, so we came over first—after all, an extra hour or two doesn't matter; the squid only come in large numbers at noon, but now it's nearly the end of the season."

"That's perfect then—the Goddess's temple will start opera performances in two days, right? Three days straight?"

"Yes yes yes, just two more days, and everyone can watch the big opera."

"That's right, we'll get to see the opera again soon—last year was the last time."

"Didn't expect we'd get opera this year—we thought last year was a special case and this year it'd be canceled. This year, for some reason, the traveling movie troupe didn't even come to our village—no one knows where they went."

"That family spent two yuan well—everyone in the whole household can watch the opera for three days."

"It's thanks to Adong donating five hundred yuan—otherwise, how could you even dream of watching the opera? The Goddess Mazu procession needs three full days to organize—everything costs money."

"I heard Adong recently added two more boats—now he's really made a fortune…"

The crowd chattered among themselves, their topics shifting constantly.

From the cause of the fight, to Goddess Mazu's birthday, now they'd turned to Ye Yaodong.

Before long, a much larger group appeared far down the road, still carrying various tools—everyone instantly fell silent and turned to stare.

"More people are coming—should we go call even more?"

"Just in case, go call even more…"

Ma's aunt's youngest son immediately dashed back into the village again.

Soon after, a furious crowd arrived before them.

"It's them who beat the people—we went to demand them back, and they beat us too…"

"Hand over our villagers!"

"Hand over our family member…"

"You were the ones who came to cause trouble first…"

The village chief and secretary immediately blocked the villagers who wanted to rush forward and argue, spreading their arms to hold everyone behind them, preventing another outburst before words could even begin—then stepped forward.

"We can return the people to you, but this matter needs to be properly discussed."

"You haven't given us an explanation yet."

The other side's village cadres also blocked their own people pointing weapons around. "You need to give us an explanation first—why did you beat them?"

These were neighboring villages, closely connected by kinship; usually, things didn't get too ugly. Disputes were mostly between individuals, rarely escalating to village versus village—after all, marine resources were abundant, and each production team managed its several subordinate villages.

The village chief and secretary instructed everyone to first drag the five men and women at the door closer, and while they did so, he explained the sequence of events to the other side.

"That's how it went—this father and son were shameless, and they came to threaten the family for three days straight. Getting beaten by the older brother was deserved—who wants their daughter's reputation ruined, who wants her to be unmarriageable? Especially since their family is now one of the most respected in our village—how could they allow such threats? It's a miracle they weren't killed."

The other crowd stirred, exchanging glances and beginning to murmur.

"That's not what we heard."

"Weren't they just coming to rent a boat, and then got beaten half to death and held captive out of spite?"

"Who's telling the truth?"

"Hey, what happened between your brother and your father…"

The brother, perhaps not entirely devoid of conscience, stammered and couldn't speak clearly, but still tried to defend himself: "Don't listen to them—they're just making things up…"

Guang spat. "Pfft. Last year, we were about to arrange the marriage—we were practically family. My father rented them a boat and even took them to Zhejiang to harvest jellyfish—they made a huge profit. Then, in the next breath, they refused to pay half the rent, and tried to seize our boat. It's been less than a year—have you already forgotten?"

"Exactly! Last year's scandal was all over the village—don't tell me you didn't hear? The engagement was broken off in disgrace, and yet they still dared show up demanding to renew it—what nerve? And the girl's already been matched with someone else—how could a toad even think of approaching?"

"Couldn't get the marriage renewed, so now they're shamelessly begging to rent a boat—because they can't find any other boats? Regretting last year's fallout? Envious of everyone making big money catching squid this season, and hearing Guang's family got another boat, so they came back shamelessly to threaten again."

"What nerve? If it happened to any of you, wouldn't you just beat them out? For the past two days, we only drove them off—today they came to threaten the girl's reputation, to destroy her future—shouldn't they have been beaten to death?"

"Exactly! How dare they come here to cause trouble? That old woman even dared to spew filth—this whole family's no good. Beaten to death? Deserved…" Ye's mother joined in loudly cursing; Ye's father tugged at her, but she glared back and yanked her sleeve away.

After hearing everyone's back-and-forth accounts, the other side's aggression faded—they whispered among themselves about last year's events, suddenly feeling guilty, losing their footing; those who had argued loudly now stayed silent.

Even their own family members shrank back, unwilling to speak up—other villagers had nothing to say, and even their village cadres turned to look at their own people, unsure what to say.

Chen Shuji said: "You heard that? These people were beaten because they brought it on themselves. You came over and didn't even ask a few questions before that woman started spouting lies, slandering the girl's reputation—she deserved it. We originally planned to talk things out calmly; we never wanted a fight—it was her lies that triggered it."

The other side fell silent, thinking it over—it was true. They'd come only to demand an explanation, intending to hear both sides first; the sudden violence had caught everyone off guard.

Add to that the longstanding grudge from last year, when the whole village knew about it and the families were already enemies—and now, for three days straight, they'd come knocking uninvited? Anyone could see they had ulterior motives. Getting beaten was deserved.

Guang spoke up: "We'll hand them back to you—just don't come back to disgust me again. And don't spread rumors about me—otherwise, it won't be settled so easily."

As he spoke, he kicked hard at the old man and boy on the ground; both curled up, letting out faint cries of pain. The other side rushed over and helped them up.

The other side's village cadres looked grim, nodding reluctantly. "This was wrong of the father and son—we'll reprimand them and make sure they don't cause trouble again. They'll live quietly from now on."

"Right, they were living perfectly fine, but they had to come provoke us, threatening people. Next time it definitely won't be settled so easily, and by then the rift between the two villages will widen—bad for everyone. You all need to keep a tighter rein on that family too," the village chief said.

The other side nodded, then waved a hand, and half of their people, supporting and carrying the injured ones, left again.

Ye Mu had been held back by Ye Fu the whole time, and only let go after the people had left.

"What are you doing? Holding me back the whole time."

"I was telling you to talk less, cause less trouble. Didn't you see how that woman just got hit for running her mouth? I was afraid you'd get hit too."

"Who dares? Who dares hit me?"

Ye Mu swatted Ye Fu once, glared at him, then turned to A-Guang and said: "Just letting him go like that? Too easy. They should be made to compensate, come to our door to apologize."

"They've already been beaten to a pulp…"

"Whose side are you on? Still speaking up for them." Ye Mu, annoyed, swatted Ye Fu hard several more times.

"You think I care? I'm not short of their measly bits and pieces. Just looking at that family makes me sick. My brain would have to be caught in a door for me to let them come to my door and disgust me again. If they come, I'll just throw them out."

"That's true too. If they come to the door, we'll just have to get angry all over again."

Ye Fu also hurriedly glared back, "Exactly, what business is it of yours? Worrying over nothing. Who's short of their measly bits and pieces? If they come again, we'll just get angrier, and have to look at that ugly face again. The whole family's already been beaten to a pulp—at least ten days to half a month before they can get out of bed. Those two men's arms and legs are all broken, they'll need casts for months."

Ye Yaodong also smiled and said: "Leave the money for them to buy their own medicine."

A-Guang nodded, tossed the stick in his hand into the corner by the door, then said to everyone: "Thank you all for your help today."

"It's only right. We're all neighbors from the same village—of course we can't let outsiders bully us."

"We were free anyway, might as well watch a bit of a show."

"That family is really rotten, to still have the nerve to come to our door. Next time don't let them come to our village again—chase them out the moment you see them."

"In a few days there's the big opera performance. Let's surround the village and not let anyone from their village in."

"Then in a few days let's not go to their village for the Goddess Mazu procession either!"

"That won't do. What does that have to do with the rest of the people in their village? Goddess Mazu blesses all the fishermen on the sea. We can't do that."

"Alright, alright, it's over. Everyone go home, do what you need to do. Don't delay your own business. There's only a few days left anyway, and we've just finished this busy stretch. In a few days we can listen to the opera."

The village chief and the party secretary spoke up repeatedly, and everyone stopped talking, drifting away in twos and threes. As they left, they were still discussing among themselves the big opera performance coming in a few days.

"Is it still last year's opera troupe? They sing so well…"

"Yes, yes, so nice to listen to. It's been so long since things were this lively…"

"Soon we'll be able to listen to the opera again…"

"I wonder how much it costs to hire an opera troupe to perform for a day…"

"Who'd come for just one day? At least three days minimum. They've got a pile of props and a pile of costumes to haul back and forth—it's exhausting enough. Who's going to perform for just one day…"

The sound of discussion gradually faded. The villagers who needed to leave had left. After most of the people had gone, the party secretary and the village chief simply said a few more words and then left too.

In the end, only Ye Fu, Ye Mu, Ye Yaodong, and the neighbors around remained.

"Dongzi, you and your parents go on and get busy too. There's nothing more for me here. Everyone go on about your own business. I need to get ready to head out to sea too—this wasted half morning has already been lost."

"Alright, alright. We're heading out to sea together anyway, let's just go together."

"Alright then, wait for me a moment while I sort out my things."

Ma Shen's eldest son had come to Dongzi's house to deliver fish last year, grateful for his sponsorship of his younger brother's schooling. Now he also rolled up his sleeves and helped A-Guang load the baskets and buckets onto the cart.

Before leaving, A-Guang also told his eldest sister to watch the house, and if anything happened, to run next door to find Ma Shen, or go to the village committee to find his mother-in-law.

After giving instructions, he pushed the cart and followed them toward the dock.

Ye Mu and Ma Shen also soothed his eldest sister for a bit, then went their separate ways to get busy.

Ye Yaodong walked alongside A-Guang and couldn't help suggesting, "How's the match your eldest sister is seeing now? If there's nothing wrong with his character, why not just get married directly? Saves any gossip, and it won't look good if it affects things later."

"Mm, wait till my dad comes back in a few days and I'll talk to him about it. This fishing season will be busy for just a few more days, then we'll see whether his matter gets handled first or my sister's."

"It must be your dad's matter first, right? His is so simple—just the whole family having a meal together. Once your eldest sister is married, there'll be an elder around to help arrange things."

"We'll see. Wait till he gets back first."

Ye Yaodong looked at the half-grown boy beside him, silently pushing the cart, then tilted his chin toward him and asked softly: "Is this kid hardworking?"

"Not bad, pretty hardworking, can take hardship. Out at sea he does whatever he's told."

He walked around A-Guang, draped his arm over the boy's shoulder, and asked with a smile: "Hey, kid, if your mom ends up with Uncle Pei next door, would you guys mind?"

The boy's face instantly turned awkward. He stuttered for a while before finding his voice again: "It's up to her. I'm not going over. I want to live in my own house. I don't want to change my name or my surname."

"You don't have to change. At most your mom moves over. You're living right next door anyway, two families becoming one. You can each live your own life, and it's convenient to come and go."

"Mm."

Ye Yaodong turned to look at A-Guang and raised an eyebrow. "Done. Got two little brothers now."

"Cut the crap. Nothing's happened yet. Don't let anyone overhear, or there'll be gossip again."

"Isn't there no one around?"

Because they were pushing the cart slowly, the boatmen had already walked far ahead.

"Are we not people?" Ye Fu piped up.

"Dad, I finally understand why Mom dislikes you more and more. If you don't talk, no one will think you're mute."

"You little brat."

Ye Fu had no handy tool in his hand, and out of habit went to take off his shoe again, but when he lifted his foot he realized he was wearing rain boots, so he reluctantly put his foot back down.

The moment Ye Fu lifted his foot, Ye Yaodong had already run off first.

Then when he reached the shore, he took his boatmen and headed out to sea first.

"Getting more and more out of line. A man about to turn 30, still acting like he's 13. All he knows is talking back and running off after he speaks."

Ye Fu cursed and grumbled behind him, then also took a boatman and headed out to sea.

The fishing season continued on, and before it ended, the time came for the village's big opera performance.

On the evening of the 8th, a big Liberation truck drove into the village, then followed the shore and pulled up in front of the Tianhou Temple.

Behind the big truck followed a large crowd of excited old and young, men and women, all unusually eager, cheering and shouting that they were going to watch the big show tomorrow.

During the day, every household had already brought their chairs and benches in advance to set them up under the high platform of the Tianhou Temple. At this time the entrance of the Tianhou Temple was also surrounded, not letting anyone in, for fear of affecting the props being set up.

Some children were extremely naughty; everyone was afraid that something would get damaged if they took their eyes off it for a moment.

Only after the stage was set up would people be allowed to enter, and the children could run up onto the stage and play with the curtain for a while.

Although they weren't allowed in, the villagers' enthusiasm remained high. Not being allowed in, they still craned their necks at the entrance, watching them carry all kinds of equipment and gear.

Only after everything had been moved and the big truck had driven away did the gates of the Tianhou Temple close, and everyone reluctantly returned to the village.

The excited, thrilled mood kept fermenting until the big show opened the next day, everyone's face still beaming brightly.

Entertainment in this era was too scarce. When the mobile film projection team came to the countryside, the villagers were extremely thrilled, let alone a theater troupe invited by their own village — their sense of pride simply overflowed.

When the big show opened at 1:30 the next afternoon, the Tianhou Temple was absolutely packed. The villagers of this village were bursting with pride, and people from nearby villages within ten or eight li all squeezed toward their place.

The entrance of the Tianhou Temple was also lined with all kinds of snacks and toys, like a little market. Needless to say the children, even the adults lingered on and on.

Most villagers couldn't bear to give up the ongoing Fishing season and kept going out to sea to fish. Earning money was of course the top priority. Anyway, there would be another big show at night, so they could go out to sea during the day and go watch the show at night.

The village militia couldn't even be organized — every one of them was thinking of earning more money during the Fishing season. The village head simply let each household keep someone behind to watch their own home, to avoid petty thieves taking advantage of the situation.

But when it came to the Goddess Mazu's Birthday procession, regardless of whether the Fishing season was still going on, everyone would definitely put down what they were doing first to join the deity procession.

The three days passed extremely quickly. Every day the inside and outside of the Tianhou Temple were packed with people, just like going to a market. Of course, the crowds were all concentrated at the Tianhou Temple, and the village was empty. It was a bit better during the day — the people watching the houses sat at the door chatting and could also keep an eye on the neighbors on either side — but at night petty theft was still unavoidable.

They caught several cases in a row, but it couldn't be completely eliminated. They could only beat the person up, then tie them up and hand them over to the village committee, who would lock them up for one night, starve them for a day, and only then hand them over to their respective villages.

Fortunately, after the three days of the big show were over and the Goddess Mazu procession began, the village didn't look so chaotic anymore.

Everyone was quite reluctant to see the theater troupe leave. After listening for three days, when the troupe departed, everyone saw them off all the way to the village entrance, muttering among themselves that they didn't know where the troupe was going next and that they wished they could keep following along to watch.

And when the big show ended and the deity procession began, the Fishing season was also about to wind down. During the procession, it wasn't necessary for every male member of the household to go out — only one person needed to go, and the rest of the family could still go out to sea as usual.

This year's procession route followed last year's entirely, following last year's route. The last half-day was the procession through the home village, and then they would eat the peace banquet.

Ye Yaodong let his father go out to sea as usual, while he himself participated in the deity procession outside from morning to night. Only on the last day, when the procession went through the home village, did he let his father take a day off work too, so they could eat together at noon.

Of course, the first incense of the day of Goddess Mazu's Birthday was also offered by him when he got up in the middle of the night, and the first incense stick when she was carried out for the procession was also lit by him.

On the day of the birthday, the village was likewise packed. These two days, Goddess Mazu was out on procession visiting the surrounding villages, as well as the town.

Only on the last day did the procession go through the home village. At the same time, because it was the last day and it was also close by, people from all the nearby villages also ran to the home village to follow behind the ceremonial guard and watch the fun, following wherever they went, until the procession finished at the beach. Only after the half-morning ceremony was completely over was Goddess Mazu carried back up to the main hall.

The ceremonial guard also returned all the flags and props, locking them away in the main hall's storeroom.

This year's event wasn't as grand as last year's, and no leaders were invited — it was just the home village organizing the deity procession. But there were still sixty or seventy tables of banquet as usual. Apart from the home villagers, people from other villages who knew about Goddess Mazu's Birthday mostly also ran over to pay and eat the peace banquet.

After everyone finished the procession they each went home to rest first. The Tianhou Temple also needed to be tidied up — the tables, chairs, bowls and chopsticks all set out — waiting for everyone to come back later to eat.

Ye Yaodong also twisted his neck and shoulders and walked along with a few friends. They discussed going to his house to play cards for a while first, then coming over to eat. Anyway, there was nothing to do at home either — just sitting around.

And Dongzi's house was right by the beach, the closest to the Tianhou Temple.

Fatty also had a rare day off today and ran back to watch the fun.

The five of them, rarely gathered together to play cards, but normally playing cards only needs four people — someone always had to stand up. So they discussed playing Crab Fishing, which could be played by any number of people, not necessarily four.

They took out the wooden stools from home and pushed them together. They didn't even need to sit — standing, their shouts would carry more force!

And because they were shouting loudly while crab-fishing, even the Ye family's father and sons, as well as the surrounding neighbors, were all drawn over to watch them crab-fish, and couldn't bear to leave.

Ye Mu stood at the side shouting at them to go to the Tianhou Temple to eat, but no one moved, only saying "one last round."

She had no choice but to go pull at Ye Fu, but Ye Fu also found her annoying.

"If you're in a hurry then go by yourself. We've said it — one last round, one last round. Let's finish watching and then go."

Ye Mu looked at the children again. "Are you coming or not?"

"No, we're going to follow dad."

Every one of these little brats stretched their necks out like giraffes, and none of them could bear to leave.

"A bunch of gambling ghosts — even watching, you can't bear to leave. I don't care about you anymore."

Ye Mu was extremely helpless, but no one paid her any attention.

Ye Yaodong held two cards in his hand, his thumb pressing down on a small corner of the upper left, then peeled at it for ages, shouting as he peeled, getting louder and louder: "No edge… no edge… no edge…"

"What cards? Let me see? What are you covering…" Ye Fu stretched his neck out very long, even stood on tiptoe, but still couldn't make out what cards he was covering in his hand.

The people at the side shouted even louder than him. After seeing the cards in his hand, their faces flushed red with excitement: "Eat it all…"

"I'll connect through…"

"I'll connect again…"

"Damn, how can your cards be this good?"

Ye Yaodong hadn't yet peeled the card in his hand. He had just seen there was no edge, excited for a moment, so he paused first, watching the others' reactions, only to find them even more excited than him. He was somewhat suspicious and uncertain — normally shouldn't someone give up?

Did everyone draw good cards?

Each and every one of them was very confident in the cards in their hand, covering them tightly, looking smug.

The cards in their hands had already been gripped and bent into who knows what shape. Clearly they were new, but compared to those still on the stool, they had already become arches.

"Hurry up, we're waiting for you. Are you taking it or not? If not, then let's reveal the cards. Today I'll sweep them all."

"Bah, I'm the one sweeping you all. Let me show you my good cards."

He kept tugging at the upper left corner of the card in his hand, then slowly peeling it downward bit by bit, muttering to himself, and after a while excitedly shouted a line.

"All connected through!!!!"

After shouting, he threw the cards in his hand onto the stool, and they even fell onto the ground, and everyone could clearly see the cards in his hand.

"Damn, you even drew the Emperor!!!"

"Holy crap, my Heavenly Nine Dragons…"

"Damn, mine's a 9-point…"

"I still have a pair, oh my god… they actually collided…"

The children gathered around were also excitedly shouting, "Third Uncle is amazing, he got the Supreme Treasure, sweep them all!"

"Of course, who am I? Do I even need to say how lucky I am? One hand wins it all back, just in time to eat," Ye Yaodong said, beaming from ear to ear. "Pay up, pay up, how many times over, count it yourselves, how many times over, how many times it multiplied."

"Holy shit… so much……"

"Pay up, pay up……"

He happily held out his palm, demanding money from them. "Got lunch money now, earned back what the whole family lost!"

One by one, they could only pull out the money with sullen faces.

Now that everyone could earn money and conditions had improved, the stakes in their crab-fishing game had grown too. With just one hand he'd won over twenty yuan, winning back everything he'd lost in the previous rounds.

Ye Yaodong pocketed the money, and in his good mood, he gave every child gathered around a dime each—including the kids from other families who'd come over calling him "Daddy" to invite him to eat. He gave them all a dime each too.

"Go buy yourselves some candy."

"Thank you, Third Uncle~"

"Thank you, Uncle Dong~"

"Let's go, time to eat~"

The whole family was waiting there, just waiting for him to finish this hand before going to eat.

Lin Lin Xiuqing was also holding the child, waiting there. Ye Yaodong took Ye Ye Xiaoxi—the child was too heavy, she definitely couldn't hold him. He told her to accompany the old lady walking behind, while he went ahead with the others.

"Fatty, did you buy the land like we talked about before?"

"We never said buy land, we said rent a bigger shop."

"Damn it, that day I pointed out to you exactly where was good, told you to buy, and you're still renting, renting, renting—what the hell are you renting? If you can buy, just buy it."

"Don't even mention buying, my wife didn't agree to renting either. That day I went back and got a real scolding. She asked what I'd been out doing, buying mushrooms for several hours. Lucky for me I said I ran into you, otherwise no matter what I said no one would've believed me."

"So you just gave up?"

"She said wait till this year's work is done, and lose about 20 jin first. The house we rented last year hasn't expired yet, she can't bear to give it up. Plus business is pretty good now—selling buns in the morning, braised food at noon."

"Smells amazing, I'm telling you, in the whole town now there's no one who doesn't know my family's place. Some people might not have eaten our buns, but absolutely everyone has eaten our braised food."

"My father-in-law's pig offal and bone scraps aren't even enough for me to sell. Every day I still have to rush to the market early to buy a big pile, and even that doesn't last—it's sold out by the afternoon, you have no idea how well it sells." Fatty chatted away proudly, spraying saliva as he talked.

Looking at his confident and happy appearance, he was probably quite satisfied with what he was earning now, so you couldn't really blame his wife for being reluctant to give it up. He probably couldn't bear to give it up either in his heart. It was just too exhausting, so he kept thinking of doing something else so he wouldn't have to get up so early.

Sure enough.

"So she can't bear to give it up either. Sigh, it's just too tiring, up earlier than a rooster, asleep later than a dog every day."

"Then it's fine if you keep going till the end of the year, right? You can buy the land first, buy it and leave it there, build up whenever you want. Or just buy an old house on the main street, that would be useful for you pretty quickly too, right?"

The reason he hadn't bought a house or land now was that he had nowhere to put it to use. Buying it would just leave it sitting there, waiting to appreciate in value or to rent out. Mainly, renting wasn't easy right now either, so he hadn't bothered. Buying would just lock up his money.

Also, buying in another place—as an outsider, if he wasn't watching over it, he was afraid some rogue or thug would take it over. Going to court and such could get it back, but it would be a real hassle.

So he planned to wait a few more years for the laws to be more complete before deciding; it wouldn't be too late. A shop in the city is a now-or-never deal—stock up early, and with his substantial capital, he has nothing to fear.

Fatty was buying in his own town, a local, what was there to fear? Plus he could put it to use right away, use it directly, buy it and use it—of course it was a bargain.

"My wife said wait first, so let's wait. A few months won't make a difference, we'll think about it after this year's rent expires."

"Fine, then it's up to you. And the rest of you, I'm telling you, if you have money, buying houses and land is a blood profit. Forget about our little place here, buy in the big places—like the city, the provincial capital, the Magic Capital, Jingcheng is even better!"

"You can, we're dreaming. The Magic Capital, Jingcheng? If we can just get out of this village in this lifetime, we're already burning high incense."

"Why look down on yourselves? Save up for a few years, when things outside aren't so chaotic anymore, go buy land, buy houses, buy shops, got it? First choice for getting rich—if you can't do anything else, just buy houses, land, and shops, that's right."

"We'll talk about it later. When we've saved up a thick family fortune like you, we'll listen to you."

"If you listen to me, after you buy houses, land, and shops in a few years, you won't have to work for the rest of your lives—you can lie at home collecting rent."

"Really? In a few years we'll only just be in our 30s, not even 40, and we can lie at home? My dad would break my legs."

"No worries, by then your dad will be old too, how could he still beat you? By then he'll have to live by your looks, one glance from you and he definitely won't dare say anything."

A'Zheng laughed heartily, as if he could already picture that scene. "Really? Then I can wait. He glares at me with his eyes every day, when the time comes I'll glare back at him."

"Run, run……"

"Huh?"

"Your dad's here, run, run……"

"Huh? How is he here?" He turned his head and saw his dad taking off his shoes, so he quickly ran a few steps out.

Rare indeed; today is Goddess Mazu's birthday, which comes only once a year. The Harvest vessel also returned last night.

When they passed by the workshop, a wave of salty fragrance hit them in the face.

Heaven smiled on them. The weather had been sunny throughout this period—squid dried for ten consecutive days now covered most of every open space. The fish caught by the Harvest vessel yesterday were all hung out to dry today as well.

Just one boat's catch, and all of it picked out from the mixed goods—the amount that could be dried wasn't even half, but every time you passed by here it was a special scenic line.

"You know, that family in the village that copied you drying fish to sell has also started drying squid. Seems like they spent money buying fish a while back, and the dried fish sold pretty well. This time they made money."

"Oh, then that beating at the bus station in the city wasn't for nothing—at least they figured out how to make money and can eat from this bowl too."

"I heard some people in the village are learning too. Everyone says the seaside doesn't lack these things, so go sell them where they're scarce."

"Let them be, it's not like only I can sell it. Whoever can make money, let them make it."

Relying on that one shop in the city, he'd earned quite a lot too, and had accumulated a batch of regular customers.

Like that Boss Zhou, although he didn't take a lot at once, he ordered a batch at regular intervals, and the quantity was trending upward.

The military was the same—now they'd already arranged to deliver 1,000 jin of different items every month. More wasn't possible, but it was fixed, a steady item.

Small-time peddlers who came specifically for wholesale, going door to door, were even more numerous.

The first batch of squid dried recently had been sent to the shop a few days ago, and the feedback came back—sold very well. After all, it was rare, and seasonal too—can't dry it out of season.

Plus, the cost was high. Most people couldn't bear to dry it, worried about getting stuck with unsold stock. He had a shop there and plenty of capital, so he had the confidence to sell slowly. The small amount dried last year had long been sold out.

Although it was a competitive relationship, they didn't interfere with each other. By now he could be considered a big household.

He changed the subject and asked A'Guang, "Your dad's back, is he leaving again tonight?"

"Probably needs to rest a day or two. He's been going out to sea this whole stretch, he can't take it anymore, needs to rest at home for a couple days first. I've been at home catching squid and haven't gone to the city. Ye Ye Huimei is alone in the city, I'm not at ease either. I plan to head to the city early in the next couple days as the fishing season winds down. Otherwise, I could still take his place going out to sea for a few days."

Ye Yaodong calculated—late June, early July is when she gives birth, so it's only a little over a month now. That really is unsettling, such a big belly, and it'll be especially noticeable when the weather gets hot.

"So once your dad's matter is settled, you'll go into the city?"

"Don't know what he said. He came back last night so tired he dropped off to sleep right away, and today he's been spacing out since he got up. I haven't had a chance to chat with him. Let's talk about it after we eat and head back."

Fatty asked curiously, "What? Your dad really planning to get you a stepmother? Not just talk? I don't hang around here every day, I thought the village gossip was just bullshit. So who's he marrying? The widow or Rat's ex-wife?"

A Guang shot him a cold, knife-like glare. "Which one do you think?"

"Heh heh, surely he's not going to find your friend's wife for you, right? That'd be kinda shocking."

"Get lost."

He kicked out at him, but Fatty was no longer that Fatty—he was a nimble Fatty now, and he leaped to the side.

"Hee-hee, missed."

"We're at Tianhou Temple, so many people around. Cut it out! And stop talking nonsense."

"Heh heh, didn't say anything. I saw Old Man Wang grabbing your dad to talk, looks like he's even gonna sit at the same table as your dad…"

"That sticky plaster is seriously gross, can't shake him off."

"Shows he's got good taste." Ye Yaodong also chimed in with a teasing remark.

A Guang shot him an annoyed glare. "How's your boat repair coming along?"

"No idea. Been so busy lately I haven't even called the shop to ask. Don't know how the repairs are going. I'll call after lunch this afternoon to check. If it's fixed, it'll line up perfectly to take me out to sea."

"Then give them a call. If it's fixed, I'll just take your boat into the city. Or if you're making a delivery run to the city soon, I'll ride your tractor."

"Then you should take the tractor—it's faster. Seems like he's been making deliveries to the county town these past two days. Once the county run's done, he'll probably haul a load of dried cuttlefish to the city too. I'll check on the delivery situation after lunch."

"Alright."

"Look look look… he really is sitting right next to your dad. So where are you planning to sit?"

"Mind your own business? Find yourself a seat and stop staring at my dad."

"Let's sit together. Dongzi's own family already fills up a whole table."