Chapter 1123: Settling the Intermediary's Bill

"We've earned enough by now; if you want to earn more, go back first. We've redeemed our own people, and the locals need to be redeemed too."

"Besides, you bought a boat. Why haven't you left? You bought a local's boat. Their families are ruined, and they've lost their boats too. Once they find out we bought them, they'll be asking around everywhere. They'll find out which factory you're collecting goods for."

"During this time of salvaging at sea, all the locals know we haven't left. If we stay here, the risks outweigh the benefits."

Ye Yaodong said a few words of persuasion, and everyone immediately nodded eagerly.

"You're right. I didn't think it through, just couldn't bear to part with that little bit of money. Let's wait until the rain stops and the waves calm down, then head back together."

Ye Yaodong added, "I need to take the boat to the typhoon shelter first. Do you want to come?"

"Now? Why take it to the typhoon shelter?"

"Continuous heavy rain and strong winds. It feels like a typhoon is passing through. We don't know when it will stop or if there will be even stronger winds and rain. Let's dock in the typhoon shelter just in case."

Seeing the torrential rain still pouring outside, they could only agree.

"Then let's all dock in the typhoon shelter together. The few boats we bought yesterday are already there. Today, we can take the remaining boats in as well. When the rain stops and the sky clears, we'll all head out together."

"It's just a bit troublesome. We'll have to travel a long way back."

"It makes sense anyway. With wind and rain, there's nothing else to do. Let's go."

Some others nearby who had been discussing whether to return heard they were taking the boats to the typhoon shelter to avoid the typhoon, so they joined them.

Even those who hadn't planned to go, seeing so many people heading there, felt the herd mentality. Plus, those who hadn't gone to redeem people yesterday had to make the trip anyway.

So a crowd went back and forth through wind and rain, and more than half a day passed like that.

By the time they returned in the afternoon, the room was packed again; the number hadn't decreased at all. Ye Yaodong saw that they hadn't left all day.

He didn't want to kick them out, so he let them stay in the main hall. After returning, he took a quick shower, put on shorts, cooked something simple to eat, and lay down in a room. He was exhausted from traveling for more than half a day.

Those who had gone to the typhoon shelter and then to the Gongan Bureau to redeem people hadn't returned yet.

When he woke up after sleeping all afternoon, it was already dim outside. The rain still pattered and the wind howled, mixed with the noise in the main hall. He checked his watch; it was nearly 5 o'clock.

He walked out and saw, good heavens, there were even more people than during the day. Those who went to redeem people in the afternoon were there, and even those just redeemed had arrived. Did they really think this was their headquarters? Rushing here the moment they got back?

"What? Everyone here? Aren't you going to eat?"

"Heh, we just got back. Thinking everyone was here, we came over to chat first."

"What are you chatting about?"

"Well, some were caught, and since they weren't workers, no boat captain volunteered to redeem them. When we went, we had calculated the money exactly, so we couldn't redeem the ones still inside..."

Ye Yaodong asked curiously, "Who else hasn't been redeemed?"

As soon as he asked, a lightbulb went off in his head. He seemed to have seen the name Ye Yaoguo on the list yesterday. He scanned the room and indeed didn't see him.

At this point, everyone spoke up.

"Ah Guo, his two younger male cousins, and his wife's two younger brothers."

"When we left, we calculated the money carefully to redeem everyone, but we didn't expect them to still be inside, unredeemed. The others with family ties had their numbers calculated early and were redeemed first."

"Later, after we redeemed everyone, while we were handling the paperwork at Ye Ye Datang, the police said there were still a few inside and told us to take them with us. Those inside were also making a scene, asking everyone to help redeem them."

Ye Ye Yaosheng felt a bit awkward explaining this to everyone. Others' eyes turned toward him, after all, he was their biological brother.

He said awkwardly, "I sent my money back via remittance. Only the money from the last two days of sales is still on me. I used it to redeem people yesterday. I saw you buying boats yesterday and wanted to buy one too. I thought about asking Dongzi or Ah Guang to lend me some, but in the end, I didn't buy one, so I didn't ask to borrow money."

"Ah Guo shouted inside, telling you to redeem him first. If you have no money, he said to go ask Ah Peng and Ah Hua for a loan."

Everyone's gaze fell on Ye Ye Yaopeng and Ye Ye Yaohua again. Both men's faces darkened, and their brows furrowed.

Ye Ye Yaohua quickly said, "I just bought a boat yesterday and redeemed people. I have no money left."

"What boats did you buy? Why did Brother Brother Asheng say you bought boats there, and you said you bought boats there? What boats did you buy? Where did you buy them yesterday? What's going on?"

"Yeah, I don't understand. What boats? Where did you buy them?"

"You could buy boats in this weather yesterday?"

Someone interjected, "They bought fishing boats confiscated by the Gongan Bureau. I heard they bought several. The newer ones were 1800, the older ones 1500. They got a huge bargain."

"You left too fast this morning..."

"Ah? Because of the gunfight, both sides were detained, and the boats were confiscated? So now they can be sold?"

"Oh my, we left too fast last night and didn't stay longer. This morning, as soon as we arrived, we only discussed whether to return. Then hearing you say you were taking the boats to the typhoon shelter, we followed along. Damn..."

"So we missed out? We could buy a boat that cheaply..."

"Don't get your hopes up. We can't buy them all; some must be left for the locals. Also, almost everyone from our town is wiped out. Except for the dozen or so who followed us, do you dare buy boats from our town? You'll have people coming to your door to argue when you get back..."

Without Ye Yaodong needing to speak, everyone talked over each other, spilling everything.

Yesterday, so many people bought boats. Shortly after returning, their families basically knew. Those who didn't know found out during the entire day here.

The topic changed. No one cared anymore if Ah Guo and the others were redeemed. Since there was the biological brother Ye Ye Yaosheng, everyone only cared if they could buy a boat too. They all regretted not going to redeem people with them yesterday.

Ye Yaodong, seeing everyone discussing, casually pulled two people aside. "Is dinner ready? It's getting dark. You've been sitting here chatting all day."

"Dinner is ready, and someone is cooking vegetables. But our rice is almost gone. Today we mixed in a bit more beans."

"Good."

Since the rain started, they hadn't eaten seafood, only vegetables and dried fish. The vegetables growing in the courtyard these past two days had been picked clean. Once the rice runs out, if the rain hasn't stopped, they'll probably have to eat pumpkins and potatoes to survive. Fortunately, with the rain, they don't need to work.

Everyone was discussing enthusiastically, thinking about buying boats cheaply first, then salvaging more here over the next few days. One more boat means earning more money. After returning, they could sell them immediately and make another profit from the middle...

Ye Yaodong didn't care about their daydreams. Let them discuss however they wanted; he had already taken enough advantage.

He propped his chin, pondering when the rain would stop so he could quickly take the boat over and move the supplies from the Gongan Bureau.

He was the only one who had boldly asked about this yesterday afternoon; no one else heard. He decided not to bring it up. Anyway, whoever followed him to drive the boat to the town would benefit.

"Ah Dong, do you really plan to leave as soon as the rain stops?"

"Yes. If you want to stay here and salvage, go to the Haiyang Bureau as soon as the rain stops and file an application for a fishing report."

"Sigh, if you leave, we know nothing. We're completely in the dark. We don't even know which way the door to the Haiyang Bureau faces."

"Yes, why don't you stay a few more days? With you here, if anything happens, everyone won't feel lost. This time, we relied entirely on you. Otherwise, everyone would be panicking, not knowing what to do, and might still be stuck inside."

He said calmly, "No. I have too many people here; I need to send them back first. It doesn't matter if you don't know where the Haiyang Bureau is; you just need a mouth."

"Then when you go back, will you still come over?"

"Can't you also get in the water and gather sea urchins? You can stay until the fishing season ends…"

"I told you, there are too many people here, and some of them are in a rush to get back," Ye Yaodong frowned. "Is the food ready? Let's eat, it's already dark. The rain outside has let up a little, but the wind seems to have picked up. You all should head back early too—it's not great to be out on a typhoon day like this."

Seeing that he was about to serve the meal, the sensible ones among them headed back first.

Ye Ye Yaosheng stood in a corner, hesitating the whole time. Watching everyone run out into the rain, with nearly everyone gone, he finally made up his mind and walked over to Ye Yaodong's side, saying: "Dongzi, can you lend me 1,000 yuan to bail someone out? I really don't have enough cash on hand."

"Did you send all the money from selling jellyfish back home?"

"Yeah, I sent it all back. Otherwise I wouldn't be in a position where I have to borrow from you now."

"I can lend it to you. When we get back we'll settle accounts anyway, and you can just have it deducted from your share of the profits then. But have you thought about this—if you just bail them out like that, what if those few don't acknowledge it, or just stall and not pay you back? Wouldn't this whole trip be a waste of effort for you? Your wife's also due to give birth in two or three months, right?"

Ye Ye Yaosheng's face was full of conflict, a perfect picture of misery. "Nothing I can do about it. They're my own brothers—I have to go bail them out. And they don't have money either; they got caught right after arriving, hadn't even earned a cent."

"Their brothers-in-law also need me to help bail them out here. I have no choice. When my brothers get out, they'll have to take care of their own brothers-in-law too. Sigh, why did they even come along? Insisted on coming, didn't earn a cent, and now they're in debt up to their ears."

Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes. This was a classic case of inviting trouble for nothing. Originally they should've been clinging to his eldest brother and Ye Ye Erge—poor Ye Ye Yaosheng drew the short straw.

"So I want you to keep an eye out. Get someone who can write to draft an IOU for you in advance. When you pay the money to bail them out, have them sign the IOU. Inside the Gongan Bureau, they won't dare dispute the amount—they'll definitely obediently press their Shou Yin. When you get back, if they don't pay up, just send your wife to collect."

Ye Ye Yaosheng nodded gratefully. "Alright, I'll have someone write a few IOUs for me later, and have each of them press their Shou Yin when the time comes."

Father Ye said: "Dongzi has paper and a pen here. Just have him write you a few right now. When you go to bail them out tomorrow, have them press their Shou Yin at the same time."

Ye Yaodong: "……"

He could read, but that didn't mean he could write every character perfectly, without missing a stroke here or there.

"Go find Aguang—he's bound to have account books and paper and pen too. I only attended a few months of literacy classes, so I can recognize most characters, but writing them, heh heh…"

"Then my IOUs…"

"Forget about your IOUs. I trust you anyway. We can just deduct it directly from the profit share from the fishing boat."

"That works too."

"I'll go get the money for you."

He didn't have much cash left either. After buying boats and bailing people out, there wasn't much money left afterward—even the wages would have to depend on getting a sum from Aguang's side in a couple of days.

At first he hadn't expected to buy so many boats. The 10,000-plus yuan he had left was originally meant to be kept for paying wages when they got back.

Today is already the 30th, tomorrow the 31st. After the rain stops, they'll still have to wait for the wind and waves to settle—won't be until the start of the month. Counting it up, it's been just about a full month since they came out.

Four yuan and five jiao per person per day, 31 days in a month comes to 140. He had 29 people from his own village on hand—that alone was 4,060 yuan in wages.

The 15 city folks picked up halfway were only there from the middle of the month, so counting half a month, it was only just over 1,000.

This trip had gunfights and jail time, and he'd been worried sick. In the past two years he'd given 20 yuan in red envelopes; this year 20 just wouldn't cut it—he'd have to give 50.

Damn it, when you add it all up it's all money.

Also, during those three days of diving for sea urchins, the 10 people on the boat each got an extra 2 yuan subsidy per day—that's another 60 yuan.

His father's side would also need to be given a bit more—wage expenses had gone up.

Now that they'd already agreed to head back, it was perfect to use these two days to wrap up all the loose ends. The people had all been bailed out too; just waiting for clear weather to go back. He could also settle accounts with Aguang.

Up to now this month he'd earned roughly… that morning of the rain he'd sold over 700 yuan worth. The jellyfish blood dried the day before, plus half a day's worth from that day, had been left drying these past few days, still half-dry.

He was hoping for clear weather soon, to sell off the last batch of jellyfish blood—another thousand or so yuan.

Adding it up, this month's catch minus labor costs and fuel costs, he could still earn over 40,000 yuan—agency fees and profit shares not counted.

After the meal, he took out the account book from the safe box and calculated again, getting a clear picture in his head of how much he'd have to pay out after the rain stopped.

On the sixth day of rain, the downpour finally eased a bit, and the early morning sky was Liangtang, as if days of gloom had all been rained out.

Early in the morning, a large group of people all came running to his side again. They'd only just finished their second round of pumpkin porridge—with so many people, even eating had to be done in several shifts.

"Looks like the typhoon's gone, moved somewhere else. The rain's let up."

"After all these days it's finally going to clear up. If it doesn't clear, my clothes won't have molded, but I will have."

"I wonder what the tide's like outside the dock…"

"We've checked. The water level's risen really high, and the waves are pretty big too. A few small boats got washed away. Quite a few fishermen from over there ran out to look."

Ye Yaodong asked again, "So you've decided not to head back first, right?"

The newcomers exchanged glances.

Someone hesitated and said: "We still want to stay here a few more days, earn a bit more money. Otherwise we really won't have the face to go back."

"Alright then, it's up to you. The rain looks like it's about to stop. Once the rain stops and the waves die down, we'll head back."

No one tried to persuade him to stay anymore. Everyone knew Ye Yaodong had made the most on this trip—after all, he had so many boats, and everyone had seen his daily catch with their own eyes.

Although no one knew how much he sold it for, it was definitely several times more than their fishing boats.

The rain stopped as quickly as it had come. In the morning it had only eased a little, but by evening it had stopped completely, and the sky was awash in glowing clouds, dyeing the entire sky red. The afterglow of the setting sun made the sky even brighter than it had been during the day.

On the second day after the rain stopped, Aguang also came over with his account book in hand.

Ye Yaodong had originally planned to wait for the waves to die down and settle accounts the night before heading back, paying wages at the same time. He hadn't expected Aguang to move so fast.

"I figured since we're heading back this trip anyway, and I'm not going to be collecting goods here anymore, let them sell to whoever they want. We've pretty much earned our middleman's fee. Perfect time to settle accounts before heading back."

"Great minds think alike. I was thinking the same, except I was planning to settle accounts and pay wages when we were about to set off back."

He'd originally planned to go to the Gongan Bureau today to move the supplies once the rain stopped, hiring a tractor to haul them straight back. The town dock really couldn't be docked at anymore. Now that the rain had stopped, the town would probably start bailing people out too.

"Then perfect, we've got time now. Let's settle it now."