Chapter 1127: Discussion

Their group returned like heroes, surrounded by more than half the villagers. Beside them were their respective friends and family. Most people had assumed everyone had returned together, as they had called the day before to notify them, but that turned out not to be the case.

"Before you left, you were saying this trip wouldn't be so smooth. Now that you've actually encountered danger, is that why those people didn't come back together?"

"Is someone hurt? If you don't give us a straight answer, how can we be at ease?"

"Don't keep us in suspense, it's really uncomfortable. Something major must have happened, otherwise why would only you all be back?"

"Sigh, I already said the others are fine. They just couldn't bear to return, so they stayed there to continue salvaging. But after we left, they were the only ones remaining, so it's hard to say if there will be more conflicts."

Some people were pestered so relentlessly by those around them that they had no choice but to say a few words.

"More conflicts? You had conflicts before? Was it with the locals?"

"Yeah, yeah, let's talk about it when we get back. How can we explain it in detail out here?"

Those who had just returned were so annoyed by the people around them that they could only quicken their pace.

The large group was stretched out, and after reaching a fork in the road, they dispersed.

Ye Yaodong took Ye Xiaoxi from Lin Xiuqing's arms. The child kept lunging at him and calling out, acting quite restless. He used the short, stubble beard on his face to tickle her tender, fair little face, and hearing her crisp, giggling laughter, a smile spread across his own face.

"Did you miss Daddy?"

"Missed~"

"You've gotten heavier, you need to eat less."

Ye Xiaoxi grinned, laughing as she used her two chubby little hands to pinch the flesh on both his cheeks.

The atmosphere around them instantly became warm and cozy.

Their group was the first to break away from the main crowd and head toward their own doorstep. As usual, they were surrounded by a large circle of relatives and neighbors. Some of them had family members who hadn't returned yet, and they all crowded around him, preparing to find out the reason. Even Ye Yaosheng's wife was there.

Just as they walked into the courtyard, before they could even take a sip of water or sit down, the courtyard was already filled with neighbors and relatives.

"You're finally home. Adong, tell everyone what exactly happened? Why is it that only your group came back?"

"You've worried us to death. You didn't come back and didn't tell us in advance. Only you few called yesterday to say you were coming back today, and everyone thought everyone was coming back."

"That's right, no one called to send word for ten days or half a month over there. We all thought you were making big money and didn't have time to call..."

"Let Dongzi rest first, he just got back, he must be starving..." The old lady's voice had just spoken when it was drowned out by everyone else.

"My heart has been pounding, all the men in the family went out, and I don't know how they are doing. They don't even know how to call back..."

With so many people crowding around waiting for news, Ye Yaodong couldn't rest. After putting the child down, he stood on the doorstep and shouted to everyone.

"Don't be anxious, everyone. I already said they are fine, so they are fine. If you want to hear about what happened over there, I'll tell you. What's the rush?"

There were also many people over at Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua's places next door, all standing at their doorways talking. It looked chaotic everywhere, and everyone was eager to know what had happened, which was why only a portion had returned.

Ye Yaodong explained to everyone one by one how the group from the town had clashed with the locals a while ago, leading to a shootout where they were all arrested, and half of their own people were caught because they didn't have time to run.

"So, those who stayed behind were either caught at the time and didn't make any money, or they were too greedy and couldn't bear to come back like this. That's why half the people stayed there. We thought it was too chaotic, so we came back first."

"Understand now? Don't keep pestering me with questions. That's the whole story. If you don't believe me, just wait a few days. If someone calls back, you can ask them carefully."

"This... how did they end up in jail..."

"This is too unlucky. Those people in the town are damned, they even implicated us..."

Ye Mu slapped her thigh, "What a disaster, to be caught and thrown in jail, and you had to spend so much money to bail them out. You hired so many people, that must have cost several thousand yuan, right? How are they so useless, they didn't even know how to run, and they actually got caught."

Ye Fu's face turned black, but he didn't dare say a word.

Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua next door were also saying loudly: "Thanks to Dongzi having connections and knowing leaders who could plead for us, the villagers were all released. We just had to spend money to bail them out."

"Otherwise, they would have had to stay in jail with those people from the town waiting for sentencing. I heard some might even be executed."

"That's too miserable. They clearly went over to make money, but ended up in jail, and even faced execution..."

"Then was my man caught before too?"

"Caught, and then bailed out..."

"Sigh... no wonder they didn't come back and didn't call to say they were safe. It turns out they were in jail and didn't make any money..."

"They didn't make money and were too ashamed to come back, so they stayed there..."

Ye Yaosheng's wife, who was heavily pregnant, also pulled Ye Yaodong aside to ask: "Asheng called a while ago and even sent money back. He made money, so why didn't he come back?"

Ye Yaodong frowned and told the truth: "His brother Agu and Agu's brothers-in-law were all caught. They asked him to help bail them out, so he put all his money into it and even owes A-Guang 1,000 yuan. I don't know if he paid it back in the last two days. Anyway, he said he wanted to stay there and earn a bit more, and that he would be careful. He asked me to come back and help report that he was safe."

Asheng's wife glared at Ye Yaoguo's wife on the side as if she wanted to eat her alive.

"Don't you go spouting nonsense..." Ye Yaoguo's wife said while retreating, and ran straight out.

Ye Yaodong didn't bother with their drama and went inside to drink some water.

The courtyard was still noisy. After learning the ins and outs of the matter, the people didn't leave and continued to discuss it among themselves. If they didn't understand something, they continued to ask.

Ye Fu also helped out: "It's already good enough that we managed to save our lives on this trip. How much we earn is all fate. Look at that group from the town, a hundred went, and only 15 came back. That's what you call miserable; we're already lucky."

"But they didn't even know how to call back to say something..."

"Whether they made money or not, coming back safe is the most important thing..."

"You all came back, but leaving them there, I don't know how they are doing. Adong is so capable, without him there, I don't know if it's safe..."

The whole courtyard was whispering. Their family was the first to go inside. Anyway, the situation had been made clear to the villagers; let them guess the rest themselves.

Lin Xiuqing served him tea and water and arranged the meal, "I knew you were coming back today, so dinner was prepared in advance. Eat first, we can talk about anything after we finish eating."

The old lady nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes, since it's already clear, don't worry about them. You fill your stomach first."

Ye Mu also sat at the table, supporting her chin, "I didn't expect you to guess right. It's a good thing everyone in our village is fine, otherwise, I don't know how much trouble there would be. Now that you came back a step early, whatever happens to the rest of them is none of our business."

"That's the logic. If it were people from our village who got into trouble, I reckon today they wouldn't just be asking, they would be banging on our door," the old lady said with lingering fear, "It's good to be back. No matter how much money you earn, it's not as important as your life."

"Now that they've all taken a turn in jail, and were bailed out by you using your connections, they'll all have to thank us later."

Ye Fu argued a bit, "It doesn't count as a turn in jail, they were just detained for a few days. They were at the Public Security Bureau, not jail."

"What's the difference? Didn't they still get caught and locked up for a few days? It doesn't sound good when you tell people."

Ye Mu ignored Ye Fu's darkened face and continued, "It's a good thing none of our family got caught and locked up, otherwise, where would we put our faces when we tell people."

Ye Yaodong glanced at his father and helped him out, "It's not that bad. So many people were caught, it's not just those one or two. They won't be singled out; everyone is the same."

"It still doesn't look good."

"Say one less word, no one will think you're a mute."

"What's wrong? Can't I talk about others? You weren't caught anyway."

Ye Fu didn't dare to make a sound.

Ye Yaodong said: "There are plenty of relatives and friends who were caught, don't go shouting nonsense and stabbing people in the heart. Some of them haven't even come back yet."

Lin Xiuqing asked with some worry: "Those people from the town only had a few come back, they wouldn't come looking for us, would they?"

Ye Mu slapped the table, "Why would they come looking for us? They were the ones courting death and implicating us. If they dare to come to our door, we'll blast them out."

The old lady said: "They are also truly pitiful. They didn't make money, and they lost their people. I reckon their boats are gone too. The whole family was counting on the men in the house, and now the backbone is gone. I don't know how they will manage the rest of their lives."

"That certainly doesn't mean they can come looking for us. It wasn't us who harmed them, it was them causing trouble themselves. We were even kind enough to bring the remaining people back."

Lin Xiuqing agreed: "Mother is right. It wasn't us who harmed them, why should they come looking for us? Those people we helped bring back will definitely explain the situation clearly. It was never our business to begin with."

Ye Fu looked at Ye Yaodong, "Perhaps it's possible they will come to you to plead, asking you to help get people out."

Ye Yaodong paused; that was indeed possible.

Losing both people and money, with the people gone and the boats gone, they wouldn't be so willing to let it go. Their side had everyone safe and sound, and the boats had all returned, only costing a bit of money.

Comparing the two, it's possible they might come to their door asking for compensation, but it's even more likely they'll ask him to help bail people out.

However, where would he have that kind of ability...

Being able to get the villagers out was already giving them huge face, and it had already used up the favor of saving their lives.

This kind of thing is entirely based on conscience. If people don't acknowledge that life-saving favor, you have no choice. How could he dare to repeatedly leverage favors to make demands?

Ye Mu looked at Ye Yaodong suspiciously, "When did you become so capable?"

"Capable my ass. They were about to be executed, and I could snatch people back from the hands of the King of Hell? Is the Public Security Bureau mine, or is the court mine, or is the jail my family's? Do you think I'm the Emperor? One word and everyone is acquitted?"

"It's just that our villagers didn't participate in their big battle and were just innocently implicated. When we left, we were attacked by the locals, otherwise, everyone would have been fine. That's why the leaders were so easy to talk to, and we could get them out by spending a little money."

"Otherwise, if so many people were really sentenced, and the matter was made so big, it might be that the official himself wouldn't be able to keep his position."

This was also what he thought later. They must have thought that the fewer people reported, the better. The more people involved, the bigger the case, so the heavy were punished heavily, and the light were punished lightly.

Lin Xiuqing frowned and said: "Then what should we do? We don't have that much ability."

"Nothing to do, just tell the truth. They didn't go with me in the first place, and that group from the town has nothing to do with us. We don't even know them, so no matter how they try to drag us in, it won't stick."

"That's right, whoever led them there should be the one they go to for trouble," Ye Mu said curiously again, "Did that intermediary from the town come back? I reckon he can't even protect himself, right? So many people were led over by him, but he didn't bring them back. He must be torn to pieces by these people."

"He didn't come back, and he wasn't on the list of those caught. I reckon he ran away and hid in advance."

"Then his family, brothers and sisters are miserable. Since they can't find the main culprit, they can only cause trouble for his family."

The old lady kept saying Amitabha there, "They are all pitiful people, all for the sake of earning a little more money. Now, before long, the white-haired will be sending off the black-haired, and they are locked up in a different place, not even able to see them..."

"Sigh... if we can help, we'll help a little. If we can't, then there's nothing we can do... this is all fate..."

No one paid any attention to the old lady's muttering.

Ye Mu asked again, "How many people from our village were taken in this time? Who are they? How much money did you spend to bail them out?"

"Four or five thousand. Some were renting our boats. I hired the people, so I helped them pay, and the others will be deducted directly when we settle the accounts."

"So much!"

Ye Fu rolled his eyes at her, "They earned a lot too, why don't you mention that?"

"They were caught, what earnings are there to talk about?"

"Then you hired people, don't you have to be responsible for their safety? You definitely have to spend money to bail them out."

"Who are they? Who among you was so unlucky to be caught?"

Ye Fu immediately shut his mouth again and quickly shoveled a few more mouthfuls of rice.

Ye Yaodong smiled and said: "You've been asking non-stop since I got back. First, let's tidy up our things, take what needs washing to be washed, and distribute the things we bought back. Those few are already impatient to open the boxes."

The three children had long been rummaging around that pile of luggage, but they didn't dare to mess it up for fear of being scolded. They had long been impatient, and hearing this, they immediately said.

"Daddy, what did you bring..."

"Can we rummage through it now?"

"What else did you buy?" Ye Mu's attention was diverted, and she also went to rummage through the pile of things.

Lin Xiuqing also went to organize their luggage, digging out the small toys belonging to the children for them to distribute among themselves, and neatly putting away the remaining food, drinks, and gifts.

"Why does your daddy only have this one set of clothes? Where are the others?"

"Aren't I still wearing them?"

"What about the rest?"

"They were ruined, so I threw them away."

"You spendthrift, if they were ruined, you could have brought them back for me to wash and sew. Wouldn't they still be wearable? Anyway, they are clothes for working, what does it matter?"

Ye Mu scolded while organizing Ye Fu's things, "Clothes and pants are gone, and the boxer shorts are gone too..."

The children's side was all smiles as they divided the toys, each protecting their own share in their arms. The atmosphere in the house instantly became relaxed again, if not for Ye Fu's nervous face.

At this moment, Ye Mu stopped while holding Ye Fu's clothes, "That's not right, this pair of boxer shorts of yours has several holes in the back, yet they are still here. How come the others are gone?"

"I already told you, I accidentally ruined the whole pair."

"Can't they also be brought back and sewn up?"

She stood up suspiciously and looked Ye Fu up and down, "Could it be..."

"There's no such thing, don't talk nonsense."

"I haven't even said anything yet, why are you so nervous? Were you also caught and thrown in?"

Ye Fu was annoyed and embarrassed, and he put down his chopsticks heavily, "Is there anyone like you? Asking seven questions and eight questions non-stop as soon as I get back. Am I a prisoner on trial?"

Ye Mu had a look of realization and rolled her eyes at him, "I was just wondering why you've been acting guilty the whole time. Every time I ask who was caught, one or two of you immediately change the subject. It turns out you were part of it too, and you were too ashamed to say so."

The expression on Ye Fu's face was more uncomfortable than if he had eaten a fly.

"You told me the clothes were ruined and you threw them away, it turns out that when you were released, you burned them directly."

The old lady was also surprised and grabbed Ye Fu directly, "You were also caught? Why were you so careless? You didn't even say anything when you came back..."

"What's there to say? Do you think it's something glorious? And you keep asking, asking, asking, aren't you annoyed? It's not like I was the only one caught, so many people were caught."

"Sigh, what a sin. We've been honest and upright our whole lives, and now in our old age, we still have to suffer this kind of trouble..."

Ye Fu was almost exploded with anger and glared at the old lady, "Shut up, no one will think you're a mute if you don't talk. I didn't do anything, I just went in for a stroll and saw what it was like."

"Fine, fine, I won't say anything. I'll go boil two poached eggs for you later to get rid of the bad luck," Ye Mu said unhappily.

Finished, she muttered again, "It's good that you weren't the only one caught, so it's not too embarrassing..."

"This shaved head wasn't for nothing... it actually came true..."

Ye Yaodong almost spat out a mouthful of soup.

Ye Fu felt like smoke was about to come out of the top of his head.

The old lady quickly patted Ye Mu, "Say one less word, it's not something glorious, don't go out and talk nonsense."

"If I don't say it, people won't know?" Ye Mu couldn't help but roll her eyes, "The father and son wanted to hide it from me, thinking I wouldn't know if they hid it."

Ye Fu dropped his chopsticks and went straight out. One sentence after another, he was already full of anger, how could he still eat?

Lin Xiuqing had been too embarrassed to speak, and only then asked Ye Yaodong, "Was Father really caught?"

"Yeah."

"No wonder just now when Mother asked, Father kept giving you eye signals."

"The old man is obsessed with face. Sooner or later, I'll have to let him know, what else is there to hide?"

Ye Mu packed up Ye Fu's clothes and the things he bought back, "I'm going back first. I can't keep face anymore. At his age, he still needs people to coax him. I'm going back to boil two poached eggs for him first."

The two went out one after the other. The courtyard was already empty. After discussing it, everyone went out to compare notes and chat with others.

The doorway was noisy, and the house was also noisy. The three children couldn't divide the toys evenly and were all lying on the ground, protecting their own shares tightly.

Ye Yaodong finished his meal, stood up, took off his rain boots, and stepped on each of their butts, "Is the ground dirty or not, lying down like this."

"Daddy, your feet are so smelly!" Ye Chenghu pinched his nose, couldn't stand it, and quickly stood up.

Ye Xiaoxi loudly retorted, "Not smelly!"

Ye Chengyang looked at Ye Xiaoxi with disgust, sniffed his nose, quickly climbed up from the ground, picked up the toys and put them in his clothes, pinched his nose, and ran upstairs.

Ye Chenghu also quickly got up, hugged his toys, and ran away.

Ye Yaodong laughed out loud, "Is it really not smelly?"

He mischievously stretched his foot to the tip of her nose. Ye Xiaoxi immediately lowered her head and buried her head in her arms.

Lin Xiuqing smiled and said, "Little grass bag! Stop teasing her, go take a shower, it's really smelly. Take off your rain boots quickly and let me wash them."

Ye Yaodong bent down and lifted up the lying Ye Xiaoxi, "Since it's not smelly, then help me wash my feet?"

She shook her head like a rattle, squatted down to pick up her own share of toys, and then quickly ran back to the room.

"Didn't you say it wasn't smelly? Why are you running?"

"Have you paid out all the wages? Do you need to send them to each family?"

"No need, I paid them before I came back."

Lin Xiuqing lifted the cloth bag in her hand, "Then I'll put this money away."

"Yeah."

"How much money did you earn on this trip? Did you record it?"

"Yes, the account book is also in the cloth bag, you can look through it yourself. Adding the beginning and the end, we earned a total of about 60,000 yuan. A-Guang's side also shared more than 3,200 yuan in intermediary fees. We spent 3,000 yuan to bail people out, and more than 1,000 yuan for others. Anyway, it will be recovered, so I won't count it. In addition, we paid more than 6,000 in wages, and also, I bought six boats..."

"Ah?" Lin Xiuqing raised her head in surprise, "You also bought six boats? What kind of boats?"

Ye Yaodong briefly told her about the boats he bought.

"Then we must have twenty or thirty boats on hand? Can we manage them?"

"Wait until tomorrow when we sell all those small wooden boats. They are so small, it's better to save the trouble. Once sold, it's fine. As for the remaining fishing boats, we will arrange to rent them all out. Anyway, there are those little brothers who go out to collect goods every day at the appointed time, you just need to take the receipt and collect the money."

"With so many boats, there aren't enough hands to keep busy..."

"Then hire two more people specifically to stay at the pier to collect goods, it's not a big problem."

"What about the boats? I didn't see them when you came back."

"I put them in the shipyard in the county, let them repaint them. New boats, new atmosphere. Anyway, they were bailed out, I don't know if they were stained with human life, they were a bit unlucky. It's better to repaint them in the factory."

"It's a good thing we didn't buy the boats of those people in the town, otherwise they would really come to our door to ask for the boats back. Their families were broken and people died, and those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who have something to lose."

He nodded and stripped off the clothes on his body, "I'll go take a shower first. Oh, by the way, I also bought a house over there..."

Lin Xiuqing was surprised, "I can understand you buying boats, why did you buy a house? Are you planning to settle down there and marry another wife?"

"Nonsense, I did it for the convenience of having a place to stay, plus there are leaders there who can support me, and the location of that house is also good. If you miss this village, you won't have this shop. Anyway, it only cost 2,000 yuan."

"2,000 yuan is also money, you won't necessarily stay there all the time, maybe you won't go there next year..."

"That doesn't matter, I have the house deed contract. That family also moved their whole family abroad and won't come back, so there won't be any disputes in the future. The neighbors on the left and right also know that I bought the house."

"Forget it, since you bought it, I hope it will be useful in the future."

Lin Xiuqing was depressed for a moment, but thinking that they earned so much money on this trip, she didn't struggle so much with the 2,000 yuan.

She tidied up all the things he brought back, and what needed washing had to be washed. He had just returned, and she still had a lot to be busy with.

Ye Yaodong didn't see her shadow after he finished showering. He originally wanted to ask her about the piece of land in the city.

He bought it at the beginning of last month and was in a hurry to go to Zhejiang Province, so he hadn't had time to arrange it. He didn't know if her brother had started leveling the ground to build a house.

The dozen or so acres of land he bought weren't just flat ground. Although they were wasteland, there were some dirt slopes and messy household garbage. Before enclosing and building, he had to hire people to level the ground first.

However, it wasn't that urgent for the time being. Seeing that the doorway was so lively and everyone was discussing their return, he also moved a stool to the outside of the doorway to listen to everyone chatting and talking.

At this time, basically the whole village knew what had happened.

As soon as everyone saw him come out, they immediately pulled him to ask questions.

"Adong, what you said before you left was spot on. Now you are all back, but they haven't returned. Do you think anything else will happen?"

"I don't know. There is already a new policy over there, saying that you need a fishing license to salvage, and they will also strengthen maritime patrols. It should be a little better."

"But no matter how I think about it, I have no bottom in my heart..."

"Are you still going? You aren't over there, what if something happens, there will be no one to help."

"I just got back, let's talk about it later. They will definitely call back to report they are safe. If everyone is anxious, they can only wait. I also spent a huge favor, and spent money and effort to bail everyone out. If it happens again, I don't have that much face."

"It's still thanks to you, otherwise, half of our village wouldn't have come back..."

"They didn't learn their lesson, still outside..."

"I'm just afraid that like before, something happens, and they don't dare to call back, and everyone won't get news for ten days or half a month."

"Who were the people caught when you were there?"

He smiled and said: "This isn't something glorious. There were quite a few people caught. You'll know when you ask their own families later, so don't bring it up."

For the sake of his father's face, it's better to talk about it in private.

"Didn't I already say? Those caught didn't make money and were too ashamed to come back, so they are still outside... you'll know who they are if you guess..."

"I don't know when they will come back... no matter how important money is, it's not as important as life. If we can't contact them, otherwise we would have called them back."

"If you ask me, that group from the town is the most miserable..." ===== CHAPTER 1128 =====