Chapter 1089: Two more boats secured

Ye Yaodong tugged at his pant leg one moment and pulled at his clothes the next, leaving him in a wretched state. Yet, because his buttocks and legs were in pain, he couldn't run fast. He could only be cornered in place, leaning against the wall, dodging left and right.

"Enough, enough, that's enough from you... You mark my words, don't you ever fall into my hands next time..."

"Aha? Still so stubborn, still talking tough? Look at these stripes on your body, they're almost as wide as a bench. It's clear you took a nasty fall. I'm just looking out for you, rubbing it for you. You have to rub it for it to get better..."

"Hiss, ahhh, don't hit, don't hit, don't press there, it hurts, it hurts... You're pressing exactly where it hurts... I was wrong, I was wrong... You're killing me..."

Just then, Ah Guang and Xiao Xiao arrived in the nick of time. Seeing the two of them making a scene from afar, they rushed over.

"Oh my, how did you fall like this? Look, look, we told you last night we'd send you home, why did you insist on going to the latrine to take a dump?"

Ah Guang, full of excitement, also helped grab his clothes, nearly stripping him right there.

Xiao Xiao also actively helped pull at his pant leg, rolling it up high, all the way to his thigh.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, this is as wide as a shoulder pole. Did you fall onto a shoulder pole last night?"

"Hahahaha, fell onto a shoulder pole? Looks to me like he fell onto a belt... Hahaha..."

"Where else? Is there any on your butt? Let's see?"

Ah Zheng couldn't stop them from above and couldn't struggle free from below. He was so angry his head felt like it was smoking. But the moment he heard they wanted to see his butt, he panicked again and hurriedly gripped his waistband, fearing that in broad daylight, he wouldn't even be able to keep his pants on.

"Enough, enough... You've seen enough... Don't waste time, we should go, we should go..."

The old lady was left at home to watch the house, and Lin Xiuqing had gone to the workshop to work. Hearing the chaotic commotion at the door, she wondered what was going on.

When she walked out, she discovered four people huddled against the wall, pulling and tugging at each other.

"You... what are you doing?"

"Nothing much, I'm checking his injuries. You come look too, he said he fell into a ditch last night..." Ye Yaodong beckoned to the old lady and lifted Ah Zheng's clothes to show her.

"Don't look, what's there to see..."

"Ah, how is this from a fall? It's so wide, it must be from a belt whipping, right? Is my eyesight failing me?"

"Hahaha, it's fine, it's fine, you guessed it perfectly. He fell onto a belt..."

The old lady realized belatedly, "Oh, so this was his old man at home hitting him? Oh my, why hit him so hard? And with a belt? You're at least nearly 30, you have children of your own, how can you be beaten like a child?"

"Come in quickly, I'll get you some tea oil to rub on it. Why hit a child so early in the morning? Come, come, come... come inside... it'll be better in a few days..."

Ah Zheng took the opportunity to pull back his clothes and pants, glared at his three treacherous friends, and then slowly limped inside with the old lady to apply the tea oil.

The three of them stood there with their arms crossed, watching the joke.

"Hurry up, I'm going to start the tractor. Once I drive it over, we're leaving."

"It's a good thing we're heading out early today, otherwise he'd probably be bedridden for two days."

"So we're his saviors then?"

"He should be thanking us."

"Hey, wait, let me give you the money first, Dongzi..."

Ye Yaodong was walking in front, and the two of them were behind. Hearing the call, he stopped.

Xiao Xiao chimed in, "2500 as a deposit for each of us. We'll give it to you first, just keep it with you. You fronted 4000, so you'll still have 1500 coming in. When you're out and about, there's no need to keep the money at home."

"Right, the amount we have here is enough to pay for the remaining orders. You can just put away your portion at home; no need to bring it out, lest you bring it out and can't bring it back."

"That works too."

Ye Yaodong took the money from Ah Guang, counted out 1500 to put in his pocket, and returned the rest to him.

"I've taken what I'm owed. You guys keep your own shares for now, we'll talk when we get there."

"Fine."

Lin Xiuqing happened to be busy in the workshop. When Ye Yaodong went to start the tractor, he told her he was leaving and handed her the 1500 they had just given him, telling her to take it home and put it away.

As for Ah Zheng, when they drove the tractor to the front door, he was still sitting inside, looking not the least bit anxious. It took Xiao Xiao and Ah Guang to go in, hoist him up, and drag him onto the tractor.

"Slow down... I can climb up myself, you... you don't need to lift my feet..."

"You're the injured one now, we're just helping you out as a favor."

The two of them pressed his upper body down onto the tractor, then each lifted one of his feet, sliding him inside.

"Holy crap, you guys are going too far... Who treats an injured person like this?"

"Who told you to be so dawdling, still sitting inside? Don't you know to come out and wait?"

"I was the last one anyway, and you still had to come to my house to invite me, and after inviting me, you had to go invite the other one..."

"My clothes and pants are all dirty..."

"It's not like you're going on a blind date, what does it matter? They're dirty every day anyway."

After pushing him onto the tractor, Ah Guang and Xiao Xiao jumped on too. Seeing they were all seated, Ye Yaodong ran to the front to drive.

Along the way, the three in the back kept bickering and messing around, their noise almost drowning out the sound of the diesel engine.

This trip to the city was to order fishing boats, and also to let them visit the shipyard to see where their money was going. Even though they were good friends, they still needed to see it with their own eyes and understand the situation.

As for Chen Juzhang, he didn't plan on visiting today. For one, the gifts hadn't been prepared yet; Lin Xiuqing had been busy with workshop work these past two days, and he'd have to wait until she was done to arrange it. Furthermore, Chen Juzhang had told him to come back in half a month to see if there were any rewards to collect, and also to visit his new home.

So there was no rush; rushing over in a panic would just make him look overly anxious.

They had dawdled in the morning, and it was nearly 7 o'clock when they left. Fortunately, he was quite familiar with the road, so they didn't arrive in the city too late. They found a random eatery by the roadside to fill their stomachs before heading to the shipyard.

They didn't know how long they'd be there, so they definitely had to fill their bellies first.

"How come I feel like it's only been a year, but there are more people in the city, it's livelier, and there seem to be more shops?"

"More than that, there are way more peddlers. The whole street is full of stalls, selling everything."

"I just saw a truck selling a whole load of cloth, and over there, a truck full of bowls..."

Ye Yaodong urged them to get in the car and said, "It's normal. They don't stop people from doing business anymore. Bold people are doing business and selling things openly. Everyone sees that no one is getting arrested, so they follow suit. Once someone makes money, a whole bunch of people follow."

"True..."

"Let's go, let's go, hurry up. Once we get things done, we still have to get home before dark."

"So anxious? I wanted to stroll around the city and buy some things to take back..."

"Dawdling and still want to stroll? We agreed to leave at 6, but it got delayed until 7."

"It's not my fault, I really left for your place as soon as it hit 6."

"Me too, blame him!"

Ah Zheng sat in the corner, looking here and there, looking aggrieved, "It's not my fault either..."

"Yeah, it's not your fault. If you hadn't taken a fall last night, you could have gotten up early today."

Ye Yaodong said irritably, then ignored them and went to drive.

The city was full of people. Except for the main road, the other roads weren't that wide, so they could only inch forward behind the pedestrians. After driving for a distance, they finally turned onto a less populated road.

He didn't want to squeeze into crowded places either, but those eateries were all located in crowded areas.

The city shipyard was quite remote, located on the edge of the city, and of course, by the sea, to make it convenient for the fishing boats to launch.

When they came last time, they had already discussed the requirements and details of the fishing boats before placing the order. It hadn't taken much time back then, as the Dongsheng was already a ready-made model. They just had to state the configuration details of the Dongsheng and copy it, which was exceptionally easy. At most, they just had to negotiate the price and try to haggle a bit.

Today was also about copying, which was even easier. They didn't even need to negotiate; they just copied the previous contract and paid the deposit again.

Since there were two people who hadn't been there before and were unclear about the details, they had the person in charge of the factory explain it in detail once more, and also took them on another tour to introduce the entire factory.

They came full of enthusiasm, and when they left, everyone was satisfied.

Just as they stepped out of the shipyard gate, they were already imagining how glorious it would be when the fishing boats were delivered, how they would dominate the sea, make a huge catch, earn a fortune, and be the envy of the whole village and the surrounding ten miles.

"This shipyard is really big, twice as big as the one in the county. No wonder the delivery period is fast."

"How can you make money if the delivery isn't fast? I heard that orders for shipbuilding have been like snowflakes these past two years, but the number of large ships is still a minority. Most are orders for ten-meter-plus power boats."

"So awesome, we're young and already going to be operating 20-30 meter large ships."

"Hahaha, dreaming so beautifully. The boat isn't even in your hands yet and you're already thinking about it. Twenty-something meters, and you're talking about operating 30 meters!"

"Among us, Dongzi is the fastest to operate a 30-meter one. He's already ordered it, just waiting for delivery next year."

Both of them were shocked by Ah Guang's words. They didn't know Dongzi had ordered a 30-meter-plus one, and were so surprised their jaws almost hit the ground.

"Holy crap... when did you quietly get another 30-meter-plus one?"

"You're too awesome, aren't you? The length of your boat is greater than your age."

"Hahaha, such a good metaphor. I only ordered it two months ago. Since it hasn't arrived yet, I didn't go around talking about it. You guys shouldn't talk about it either. You have to wait until it's in your hands. Otherwise, people will think you're bragging. Good things are worth waiting for, seeing is believing. When the time comes, driving the boat back and shocking a whole bunch of people, that'll be the real thrill."

"True, quietly driving a 30-meter-plus large boat and parking it at the pier will definitely shock a whole bunch of people." Ah Guang agreed wholeheartedly and felt very envious.

"Let's go, let's go home. We didn't delay for too long, but it's already nearly 3 o'clock. It'll be dark by the time we get home."

"We visited for too long just now. What a pity, it's rare to come here and we didn't get to stroll around properly."

Ye Yaodong thought for a moment and decided to tell them about his plan to buy land and build a house, planting the seed of buying a house in their minds early, so that when they had money in the future, they would subconsciously think about buying houses and shops.

"No rush. Once I settle down in the city and build a big house, you guys will have a place to stay when you come over. You can stay as long as you want, and you'll have plenty of time to stroll around the city."

This statement shocked the three of them again.

"You want to settle down in the city? You want to move to the city? Not living in the village?"

"No way, then won't you become a city dweller in the future? Can you eat commercial grain?"

"When did you buy a house? How come I don't know? I'm here every day."

Ye Yaodong saw that the three of them were still standing at the gate, so he beckoned to them and walked to the side of the tractor to talk.

"Not yet, I have the idea and the plan. I've already bought a shop in the city, so it's normal to buy a piece of land and build a big house, right? Occasionally when I come over, I'll have a place to stay, saving the trouble of renting a house."

"The most important thing is that the rented houses aren't good, they're dilapidated and can't accommodate many people. Building a bright, big house yourself allows the whole family to occasionally come over and stay for a few days."

"I'm definitely not moving my household registration. In the future, rural registration will be better than urban registration. Commercial grain isn't that great either, and you still can't eat your fill. It's better to grow some vegetables in the countryside. We fishermen must rely on the sea to make a living, otherwise, how can we make money?"

"The village is my root, but this doesn't affect me settling down in other places. You tell me, money won't increase if you just leave it there, but if we invest it in production, it will definitely increase, right?"

"Like us buying boats, buying shops, it's all about investing in property, investing in production, money begetting money. Even buying a house in the future will be making money."

The three of them started to think, half-believing.

"Is that for real? I believe buying shops and boats can make money, but what money can buying a house make? Isn't it just for living in?"

"Who says? Look at all the peddlers in the city, and the hawkers calling out, they aren't necessarily city dwellers. And those working at the pier, most are rural people. People working in the city to make money like this, don't they need a place to stay? Sleeping on the street, sleeping on the ground, isn't that giving people a chance to rob you? They all need to rent houses."

"And so many people yearn for city life, thinking that as long as they go to the city, they can become superior people. Anyway, I've digressed. I have to buy a piece of land and build a house, a whole courtyard, for my father-in-law and the others to live in first. They can't keep renting other people's dilapidated houses."

Ah Guang nodded, "That's true. Those rented houses are tiny, only big enough for a bed, a table, and a clay stove. You can't even turn around inside. The key is that they're old and dilapidated. If you have the ability, build a house yourself. Anyway, there are shops in the market, and if you come and go and it's occasionally too late, you'll have a place to sleep."

Ah Zheng said happily, "Then Dongzi, build a building, a bigger one, with more rooms. Occasionally we can all come over and play for two days."

Xiao Xiao: "You really don't stand on ceremony!"

"What's there to stand on ceremony about? We all grew up wearing split-crotch pants together. If you build a good house, when I have money, I'll come over and build one too. It's the city after all, how glorious to say it out loud! I have a house in the city! And it's a building!"

Having this idea is good.

Ye Yaodong didn't mind at all and said happily, "Hahaha, you know how to think, but you need to earn more money. You guys were still hesitant and dawdling when ordering two boats."

"Isn't it because we felt we had too little money? We still need to earn more."

"Let's go first, the sun is about to set. Hurry up and go back before it gets dark."

"Go, go, go back first. You can continue dreaming in the car later."

"Pfft, just wait. When my boat arrives next year and I earn back the capital, I'll come to the city and be neighbors with Dongzi. You guys will be envious."

"I don't need to wait until next year. Whenever Dongzi buys it, I'll tell my dad to buy one too. If he builds, I'll build too." Ah Guang said decisively.

Anyway, his family also had a shop in the city, but the location wasn't very good. They had bought it for nearly a year and hadn't rented it out yet. But it didn't matter; he also felt that the market would slowly become lively, and it would be rented out sooner or later.

Just based on how well Dongzi could earn money now, they could definitely earn money too. Having a house in the city to occasionally come over and stay in was nothing.

Before their fishing boats went back, they would all pass through the city to sell a load of goods. If they weren't in a hurry to go back, they could stay in the city for a night before going back, which was also very convenient. Or if they didn't want to go back, they could just rest for a night and continue to go out to sea.

The few of them chatted and laughed as they got back on the tractor.

At the same time, they also remembered that Dongzi actually had another larger boat, and he also planned to set up a house in the city, instantly leaving them behind.

Everyone couldn't help but feel a sense of powerlessness at not being able to catch up, but they were no longer hesitant about the matter of the two boats taking a 30% stake.

Since he had the courage to order one boat after another, each one larger than the last, and they were still agonizing over the money for one or two shares, there was no need to think about it. If you don't risk the child, you won't catch the wolf.

The food was already fed to their mouths, and they were still hesitant about whether to eat it. They deserved to earn money slowly.

The tractor went out at dawn and didn't return until dark.

One by one, they arrived in the village and got off halfway to avoid walking further. Everyone was lazy, their feet were very precious, and they had been jolted all the way, their butts were about to bloom, and their stomachs had long been hungry.

When Ye Yaodong drove the tractor into the workshop, it was still brightly lit inside. However, they weren't killing fish there anymore. The women were finishing up, cleaning the ground and tools like baskets.

And Ah Qing was still in the corner, drying things with a flashlight. It looked like she hadn't finished long ago.

The tractor originally wanted to drive in, but he looked left and right, and the open space of the two workshops was hung full. Only the dried fish workshop still had open space, because everyone was slaughtering there. But now the ground was full of fish scales and fish viscera garbage, so he didn't drive in and temporarily parked at the door.

Not far away, there was still a group of children running and jumping, laughing and playing. They had long been accustomed to the tractor, and no one would surround him because he drove the tractor back.

Lin Xiuqing saw him return, so she told others to finish the work at hand first, and ran out to greet him.

"You went out so early, why did you come back until dark? I heated up food in the pot for you. You go back and eat first, I'll just tidy up here."

"You do your work, I'll go back myself."

Ye Yaodong handed the crank to the younger brother on duty today. Once the open space was cleared, he could drive it in. The ground was full of fish viscera and fish scales, which looked really dirty.

The most disgusting thing was the big-headed flies flying all over the sky, each one greenish, buzzing non-stop. Probably all the flies in the village latrines were here, so he actually didn't want to dry fish in the middle of summer at all.

He only stood for a while and didn't want to stay long. It was too disgusting.

The key was that it didn't just look dirty, the pungent smell was indescribable. After all, the sun had been scorching for a whole day, and those were all fish viscera.

He covered his nose and faced the sea. Fortunately, the southeast wind was blowing, and it smelled a bit more comfortable.

When he went out in the morning, there was only a strong fishy smell. After all, it had been cleaned during the shift change in the morning and evening, and there was every smell at night.

It was much better after walking to the door of his house.

"Chenghu, your dad is back!"

"Oh, back is back."

"Dad~ Dad~ Back~"

The son and daughter had completely different attitudes.

Ye Yaodong listened to his daughter's sweet laughter and felt his face bloom with joy. He squatted down and opened his arms, ready to catch Ye Xiaoxi who was running towards him.

And the old lady also stood up from the stool she was sitting on, waving her cattail fan, and walked towards him with her cane.

Ye Xiaoxi was as strong as a little calf. She ran over and rushed into his arms, almost knocking him down to the ground. Fortunately, he split one hand to support the ground, so they didn't both fall down.

"Dad~ Miss you~ Miss you~ Miss you~"

Ye Xiaoxi happily hugged Ye Yaodong's neck, then gave him a saliva face wash, kissing his cheeks several times.

The old father's old face bloomed with joy, and he hurriedly picked her up. Fortunately, he was clean today. In the past, he didn't dare to hug her when he came back from the sea because he was dirty.

"Did you eat?"

Ye Yaodong reached out and touched her stomach. The round belly almost made her clothes tight.

"Full~"

"Did you take a bath?"

"No."

"What did you do at home today?"

She tilted her head and thought, "Eat... sleep... watch TV?"

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"Hehe, want to go down... find Dede..."

Before he hugged her for a few steps, she struggled to go down and find her brother to play again.

Ye Yaodong followed her, put her down, and let her join the group of children again.

The old lady followed him and said, "It's so late to come back, you must be starving. Hurry up and go in to eat."

"Hmm."

He also thought he could come back earlier today. Who knew it was delayed until dark? In the final analysis, the road was too bad, and the time spent on the road was too long. He forgot which year the highway was opened, and he didn't remember when the national and county roads were repaired. He could only wait slowly for the country to repair the roads.

If you want to be rich, repair the road first. It still makes sense.

After Lin Xiuqing finished the work in the workshop, he also took a bath and sat at the door with the old lady to enjoy the cool.

The old lady would take the cattail fan and pat his legs from time to time to help him drive away mosquitoes.

He also chatted with her aimlessly.

"The order is on the table, pressed by a notebook. Remember to put it away."

"Okay, I'll put it away first. There are a bunch of orders at home now. Isn't it better to put them there?"

"They all said to put the order with me, so I brought it back."

"How is Huimei? Is her stomach very big?"

"Quite big, almost like a big watermelon. Maybe she will give birth in a few days."

"In this hot weather, sitting in confinement is also suffering. It just so happens that both of hers are born in hot weather."

"There is no way, how can you count the time for giving birth," Ye Yaodong also stood up and went into the house with her, "Is everything cleaned up over there?"

"Cleaned up, all the garbage on the ground was poured back into the sea. Fortunately, it was killed today. In this hot weather, the ones that were not killed were always tightly covered with straw. Ice cubes were added inside yesterday, otherwise it would stink."

"Hmm."

"You go out first, I want to take a bath. I'm covered in sweat and fishy smell, it stinks."

"I just came in, my butt isn't even hot yet, and you told me to go out."

"You go outside and call the children back to take a bath. They are always noisy, and I have no time to take care of them."

He had to stand up again and go out to call the children back.

"Seeing you guys playing so happily, is your homework done?"

Ye Chenghu said happily, "I'm already on summer vacation today."

"How many points did you get?"

"I don't know, I'm going to take a bath."

Slipped faster than anything.

Ye Yaodong turned his head and looked at his back, "Can the monk run away, can the temple run away?"

"Dad, hug~"

He immediately looked down at his feet, hugging his calves, the little fat guy sitting on his instep, picked her up, and said, "Everyone is at home, what else do you want to hug?"

"Just want you to hug!"

"You are still obedient."

"Hmm~ I'm obedient~"

"You look dirtier than your two brothers, and you are still obedient?"

"I'm obedient~ I'm obedient~ I'm obedient~"

She kept shaking her body in his arms, acting like a spoiled child and calling out.

"Okay, okay, you are obedient, don't move, if you move again, you will fall to the ground and no one will pick you up."

"Brother is picked up."

"Then where did you come from?"

She was instantly confused and shook her head.

"Bought, spent 500 yuan, do you know? When you grow up, you must be filial to me."

She blinked her eyes, "Am I bought with money?"

"Yes, very expensive."

The old lady stretched her head at the door and laughed, "It's not wrong to say that, it cost five hundred, it looks more precious than her brothers."

"Right, so you have to raise it well so you don't lose money."

"What lose money?" Lin Xiuqing just finished taking a bath and came out with water, and heard his last sentence.

"My daughter asked me, brother is picked up, where did she come from, I said bought for 500 yuan."

She laughed, "Fortunately, it's not twins, otherwise, can't you call 250 every day?"

"Talking nonsense."

"Don't always say dirty words, teach bad children, the children in the family are all grown up, you have to learn what you say."

"Then I don't say it, they will also learn from others. Is there anyone in the village who speaks so civilized? Learning bad is not necessarily from me."

"Then you say less, it is also a role model for children."

"The role model I set is already quite good. Hurry up, take it and give her a bath, it's dirty to death, look at the mud in her fingernails, those who don't know think she is working in the field every day."

The old lady patted him, "Children can't cut their nails in the middle of the night, wait until tomorrow morning to cut."

"There are so many requirements?"

"Of course, children have to pay attention to a little bit, this one cost a lot of money."

Ye Yaodong pinched Ye Xiaoxi's nose and smiled, "You bought it with money, it's different, a group of brothers and sisters, it's really you who spent money."

"Moo~ Moo~"

Ye Xiaoxi learned the old cow's call after being pinched, and her two little hands were gesturing like cow ears by her ears, looking extremely cute.

"So cute!"

"Don't always be cute, I'll take her to take a bath, you make her a cup of malted milk, and let her sleep after taking a bath. I didn't take care of her all day today, and I didn't coax her to sleep. She followed a group of children to play all day without sleeping, and her spirit is still so good." ===== CHAPTER 1090 =====