Chapter 1137

Lin Xiuqing stood by the stairs, panting.

"Nothing to do all day long but find things for me to do. Go bring the three of them down to take a bath, I'll stir-fry the remaining dishes and then we'll eat."

Ye Yaodong hurriedly agreed, went upstairs to bring the three of them down, and handed them over to the old lady.

As soon as the three little ones came down, they hurriedly hid in the old lady's room, waiting for the old lady to fetch water and organize a bath for them. Having just been beaten, they didn't dare to carry the washbasin to the stove to fetch water themselves.

He went straight out to Lin Ji's house to leave a message for his wife, and then went to his old home to call his dad and mom over for dinner.

It had been four days since the typhoon passed, the sea waves gradually calmed down, the tide returned to two high tides and two low tides every day, and the weather returned to bright sunshine.

By the fifth day, the fishing boats at the pier began to go out to sea to fish normally, and everything seemed to have returned to its original calm.

On this day, the news that others would be returning from Zhejiang Province tomorrow also spread throughout the village. Everyone was saying that a golden nest or a silver nest is not as good as one's own dog nest, and earning more or less is not as good as the safety of the whole family.

At this time, some people couldn't help but ask how that group of people in the town were doing.

Discussing everyone's return and asking about this topic was inevitable.

"I heard that family members can go visit, but they won't be transferred back. They said the prison is in another city, and after being sentenced, they all have to be transferred away. Even if they are brought back, they will still have to be transferred away."

"How miserable..."

"But I heard that those who were just working can get a lighter sentence, as they weren't the main culprits. They said a 10-year or 8-year sentence could be reduced by half."

"That's still quite miserable..."

"Then those who were originally hired to work and got implicated will probably have to make a scene at the boat owner's house again."

"Then there's no other way. Being a boat worker is high-risk anyway. I heard that after it was reported, the authorities were furious and wanted to punish them severely, and also strengthen the management of the coastal sea areas. I heard that even our side is going to come out with some policies for fishing boat management."

"It's better to come back early. It's so worrying to be outside."

"Better not go next year. Just stay at home and earn enough to make a living steadily."

All day long, the village returned from the typhoon topic to this topic.

When those fishing boats returned and docked, more than half of the villagers ran to the outside of the pier to watch the excitement.

It was just evening, and since they were idle, the fishing boats that went out to sea had all returned, and the villagers were all there.

Ye Yaodong didn't go anywhere. He could see the pier bustling with people just by sitting at his door. This wasn't the first time he had seen such a scene, and there was nothing to see. Anyway, his family members weren't among them.

Before long, a large group of people moved toward the village in a bustling crowd. Their neighbors, the Zhou Da brothers, were also among those returning this time.

Curious, he also walked to the door to greet them, and they stopped when they saw him.

"A-Dong, it's still more comfortable for you to come back early."

"We stayed for so many more days and didn't earn much more. We were panicked every day, and we were even trapped for 10 days during the typhoon."

"Yeah, if we had known, we would have come back early too..."

Ye Yaodong also said with a smile: "How can there be so many 'if we had known'? Who knew that typhoons would come one after another, with only a few days of sunshine in between? Going out was originally for a gamble. If it could be predicted, it wouldn't be called a gamble."

"It's fortunate that we came back without any danger."

"Let's go home and settle down first, we'll chat after dinner."

He nodded, and it was time for dinner at home too.

Ye Fu was on the side and only spoke after the people left. "They stayed for half a month longer than us, and they had to pay half a month's extra wages, and it was all during the typhoon days. It really wasn't worth it."

"Calculating it, they should have earned money. Working for four or five days brings in a thousand yuan, how much are the workers paid a day?"

"That's true. Compared to what they earned, the wages really don't count for much."

One person gets 4.5 yuan, fifteen days is only 67.5 yuan, and three people is only about 200 yuan. Either way, they earned money.

"Eat, let's chat with them at the door after dinner."

"They're all back, when do you plan to go over?"

Then he moved the things from the sidecar of the motorcycle down, leaving them at the shop for safekeeping. He took two soup basins from his brother-in-law to pack a little jellyfish head and jellyfish skin for them, and grabbed a large handful of jellyfish blood.

Next, he packed a separate portion into the sidecar and rode slowly to the village to find the village chief. This separate portion was a gift for the village chief; it never hurts to be polite, and he wanted him to help settle Aqing and the children's household registration.

After finishing the registration, he returned to the shop to put the remaining items into the sidecar and headed straight to Director Chen's house.

When he arrived, the bucket was still full; even after scooping out two large bowls, it still looked 60% full, which was still presentable. The most expensive part was the jellyfish blood anyway.

It was almost noon when he arrived. Director Chen had just finished work and was at home. He was pleasantly surprised to see him.

"Didn't you say you were going to Zhejiang Province to salvage jellyfish and that it would take two months? How come you're back so soon? It's only been a month, right?"

"Hehe, some situations came up, so I came back early."

He went into the house, put the things down, and told Director Chen about what had happened on this trip. Director Chen felt it was dangerous just listening to it.

"Going into someone else's territory is like that. Most places are quite xenophobic; to the locals, you are invaders. If emotions are stirred up even slightly, conflicts are inevitable. It's fortunate you came back early; that was a wise decision."

Ye Yaodong nodded, followed the conversation with a few words, and also talked about what happened after he returned.

"You did the right thing. You can't just take on such matters casually. It's your good fortune to meet a noble person; other people's affairs should have been handled by the local Public Security Bureau. Those people were just grabbing at straws in their desperation, believing whatever they heard."

"I'll just listen for news now."

"That's right. However, if the local area sets up any jellyfish association or fishing association, if they can give you a position, just take it. There are always some benefits. After all, you are the leader of a group. If you go next year, having a position will allow you to get first-hand information, provide some convenience, and build some connections."

"Alright, I'll see when I go again."

Ye Yaodong changed the subject to something more relaxed and explained how to cook the jellyfish skin, jellyfish heads, and jellyfish blood.

In this day and age, transportation is inconvenient. Apart from small appliances and some popular items, the circulation of other local specialties is relatively slow, and they have to be bought locally. That's how the profession of "resellers" came about, so he had to explain the cooking methods, especially for jellyfish blood, which most people didn't know how to eat.

Along the way, he boasted about how nourishing the jellyfish blood was, saying it was a great ingredient for replenishing Qi and blood. He claimed that local women in confinement ate this in addition to fish maw, and it was very popular among the locals.

By the time he left Director Chen's house, it was already past 1 o'clock. He had tagged along for a meal there at noon and chatted for a while longer, only leaving with Director Chen when it was time for him to go back to work.

Watching him ride his bicycle away, he faced the scorching sun and walked toward his motorcycle. "It's hot as hell. Damn it, it's like a furnace. I'm almost roasted just coming out."

"Popsicles for sale~ Popsicles for sale~"

"Buying popsicles..."

Hearing the sound of someone selling popsicles, he shouted at the person riding the bicycle in that direction. The vendor heard him and immediately pedaled his bicycle over.

Seeing him get off the motorcycle, the vendor's eyes lit up. He asked fawningly, "Boss, what kind of popsicles do you want? We have red bean, mung bean, sugar water, milk, watermelon..."

Ye Yaodong craned his neck to take a look. He originally intended to just grab one, but when he looked, he saw there were actually bagged ones.

"What is this?"

"This is ice water. We have peach flavor, orange flavor, pear flavor..."

Each bag had a different color, corresponding to the color of the flavor. He picked up a bag at random to look at it; the ingredients were just water, saccharin, and fruit powder.

"This small bag is one dime, the big one is two dimes. It just came out of the factory; we didn't have it before..."

"Is the manufacturer's address on it correct?"

"Huh?" The vendor was dumbfounded. Do you have to check the factory just to buy ice water?

"Boss... what are you... what are you doing?"

"I'll take one bag. Is the address where you get the goods the same as the manufacturer's address on here? Is it in the city?"

"Ah, yes..."

Ye Yaodong fished out two dimes and gave them to him, then walked to a shady spot to squat down and study it, ignoring the vendor's bewildered expression.

The manufacturer's address was in a village in a town within the city, but he didn't know where that was. He looked up at the vendor who was about to leave and called him back.

Ordinary people are exceptionally patient with wealthy people. Hearing his call, the vendor immediately smiled and hurriedly pushed his bicycle over.

"Do you need anything else, Boss?"

Ye Yaodong pointed to the manufacturer's address on it and asked, "Is this address close to here?"

"Huh? Do you want to sell popsicles too?"

"Do I look like someone who sells popsicles?"

The other children ran in to take a look, felt envious, and then pushed and shoved each other as they ran out to play.

In the scorching summer, with the sun blazing at noon, when he was out and about, he couldn't be like he was at sea, wrapping his head and only showing his eyes. Recently, he had just been wearing a straw hat.

Although his attire didn't look like a boss but rather a migrant worker, who told him to have a motorcycle? That made him a big boss.

Ye Yaodong looked at him with appreciation. "You're smart. I have other business and want to go to this factory to take a look. Can you give me directions? Is this factory far from here? How long does it take you to ride your bicycle?"

"It's not far, but it's not close either. It takes about an hour by bicycle. I usually pick up the popsicles and sell them along the way as I ride back."

He thought about it; an hour by bicycle meant he could get there even faster by motorcycle, so that was fine.

"I'll buy all the remaining popsicles you have. Can you take me there?"

The vendor nodded busily, overjoyed. "Alright, then I can go pick up some more stock while I'm at it."

"Sit on my motorcycle; it'll be faster."

He stood up and bit a hole in the bag of ice water in his hand to drink it. It was quite tasty, sweet and refreshing.

The weather was too hot, and in the short time he had been holding it, it wasn't as rock-hard as before; some of it had already turned into water. He took a sip, sucking up the part that had turned into water, and his whole body instantly felt cool from the inside out. It was refreshing.

"Then what about my bicycle? My home isn't around here, I... I'd better ride my bike and lead the way."

Although he wanted to ride the motorcycle, he was even more reluctant to leave his bicycle on the side of the road for fear it would be stolen, so he could only ride his bicycle to lead the way.

Ye Yaodong could only follow slowly on his motorcycle behind him.

He held the bag of ice water in his mouth, taking a sip from time to time. In a few moments, he had sucked it dry, and the feeling of heat had also lessened significantly.

The two vehicles rode side by side, from the city area to the outskirts, and then onto the main road. The vendor wanted to chat with him, but the motorcycle's engine was too loud, and Ye Yaodong didn't hear him clearly and had no patience to chat with a stranger.

After riding for nearly an hour, the vendor pedaled his bicycle even harder and shouted that they were almost there.

Ten minutes later, the bicycle slowed down and stopped in front of a low, flat house. The motorcycle also stopped behind it. There were a few other bicycles at the entrance.

"This is it."

Ye Yaodong looked at the courtyard entrance, which was just like his own house. Someone inside was carrying a wooden box out and securing it to the back seat of a bicycle.

"A small workshop?"

It looked even worse than his own house—no, it was much worse. This house looked like a private residence, only about a hundred square meters, with a small courtyard at the entrance.

"Yeah, it was originally a small workshop. Boss, look, I've brought you to the place..."

"Alright, count up the popsicles and ice water you have left, how much it costs, and get your things ready. Come out and give it to me in a moment."

"Alright, alright."

The vendor was beaming with joy and immediately went to count. Ye Yaodong had cleared out his stock in one go, which took only an hour—much faster than wandering around the city selling them. Plus, he could pick up some more stock while he was at it. It was only past two o'clock now, and there were still four hours until sunset; he could still sell them at night.

Ye Yaodong didn't pay attention to the vendor counting. During the time they were talking, someone else came out carrying a wooden box, so he walked straight inside.

He hadn't expected there to be more to it inside. There was actually a large freezer in the main room, and two people were picking out popsicles and ice water from boxes. Furthermore, he could only hear the sound of many people talking in the back room, but nothing else. Standing in the main room, he couldn't tell what was going on.

"What are you looking at? Are you buying popsicles?" A middle-aged man looked at him suspiciously.

Ye Yaodong immediately came back to his senses, felt his pocket, smiled, and offered two cigarettes. He said in Mandarin, "It's like this, Uncle. I'm not here to buy popsicles. I'm more interested in that liquid packaging machine."

The middle-aged man looked blank for a moment. "What thing?"

"The filling and sealing machine for your ice water bags. I'm quite curious about this machine. Can I take a look?"

"That won't do. How can you just look at it? Who knows if you're a competitor here to cause trouble."

"I'm not a competitor, don't worry. I'm in another business, and I'm not a local either. You can tell by the way I speak. I just want to know where that machine was bought. I've been wanting to buy one to pack other liquids for a long time. I happened to come to the city today and saw you selling bagged ice water, so I came to ask."

The middle-aged man looked at him vigilantly. "That still won't do. Who knows if what you're saying is true or false."

After speaking, he shouted inside twice. Several men ran out, and they immediately drove him outside.

Ye Yaodong was pushed outside by them while cursing in his own dialect. Just as the vendor finished counting and was about to come in to ask him to settle the bill, he saw this scene and was so surprised he didn't know what to say.

"Boss..."

"Damn it, they won't even let me look. I just wanted to know where it was bought..."

"What's wrong? Why were you kicked out?"

"I just wanted to ask where they bought their machine! I want to buy a machine too. I'm not in the popsicle business. Do I look like someone who sells popsicles? Damn, I've never been kicked out like this before. Grass..."

"What machine?"

"The filling machine for those ice water bags. They wouldn't even let me look at it."

"You had me bring you here just to ask about that ice water bag filling machine?"

"Isn't that right? Otherwise, why would I run all the way here? Could it be for those few popsicles? I'm too full for that, in this hot weather."

The vendor hesitated and said, "How about I help you ask around?"

Ye Yaodong looked at him in surprise. "Oh? You have a way?"

"I live in a village nearby. I can ask my family to help ask their relatives. Everyone around here is related in some way, but I can't guarantee if I'll be able to find out..."

"Alright. If you can find out, I'll give you a red envelope," he said casually.

He could actually ask Lin Ji Shang if he knew about this kind of thing, or slowly ask around in the city. It was just that that person was often elusive, and he might not run into him for a month or two. He was a bit anxious to know now.

This way, he could bag his fish sauce once it finished fermenting, instead of having to send the whole vat to the city, which took up space and was fragile.

If he could bag it, he could distribute it nationwide even better, making his business bigger and stronger!

Thinking about it made him feel a bit excited, but he had just been kicked out, so he could only ask around elsewhere.

The vendor said happily, "Alright, then how can I contact you?"

Ye Yaodong gave him a number for the village committee. "When you call, just say you want to find Ye Yaodong. Did you remember it? Or should you go inside and borrow a pen?"

"Then I'll go borrow a pen."

Ye Yaodong waited a bit longer. After the person came out and noted down the number, he settled the bill for the popsicles. He also gave him an extra dime to buy the cotton quilt he was using to pad the wooden box, not caring if people laughed at him for being foolish and having too much money. He took the whole package and put it in the sidecar.

Anyway, he lived nearby and could go home and get some old clothes or an old quilt to use as padding.

"I'm leaving first. If there's news, call this number. If not, forget it; I'll think of another way."

"Alright."

Although he had made a wasted trip and spent several yuan, he felt it was worth it. At least he knew that such small-scale filling and plastic sealing machines already existed.

A small plastic bag for holding ice water like this was only 100-200 milliliters. If they could have this size, they could definitely have 500-milliliter ones too.

However, it probably wasn't widely used yet; everyone was still accustomed to using bottles to hold things.

After calming down, he suddenly wasn't that anxious anymore, because his fish sauce production this year really wasn't that high. It was only the catch from two boats, and they could only bring back ten or twenty thousand jin every few days, or twenty or thirty thousand jin. Sometimes it took half a month to get any, and this whole month there hadn't been any.

Twenty or thirty thousand jin could only produce a few thousand jin of fish sauce. If he got a filling machine now, he estimated that based on the fermentation speed at home, it wouldn't even be enough to fill, and it would often be left idle.

Moreover, if the quantity was small, he couldn't make it big and strong. Ultimately, he still needed large-scale fermentation, and this kind of thing took a particularly long time to ferment—half a year or a year.

So thinking about it, he really didn't need to be that anxious. He should raise the quantity first, then think about getting a machine.

To raise the quantity, he had to prepare the fermentation containers in advance. It was very simple to collect those miscellaneous goods; he didn't necessarily have to catch them himself, although catching them himself was the most convenient and cost-effective.

Ye Yaodong rode his motorcycle, thinking about things as he drove toward the market. However, the market was already closed at this time. Lin Fu and Lin Mu hadn't returned to the village but were at Lin Xiang Hui's shop, helping to cut vegetables and prepare fillings with a few children, doing some preparatory work in advance.

Hearing the sound of a motorcycle at the entrance, the children all turned their heads and then immediately rushed out excitedly.

"Little Uncle-in-law..."

"Little Uncle-in-law... you're back again..."

"Little Uncle-in-law, have you finished your business?"

Ye Yaodong looked at these half-grown children who were exceptionally excited to surround him, and smiled as he lifted the small, tattered cotton quilt from the sidecar. "Come in, I brought you popsicles and ice water."

"Wow..."

"That's great, I was just thirsty..."

"So many? Little Uncle-in-law, why did you buy so many?"

As soon as he put the tattered quilt on the table and opened it, the children became even more excited, each picking a flavor they wanted to eat. No child could resist the temptation of a popsicle.

"Father, Mother, Big Brother, Big Sister-in-law, you eat one too, otherwise they'll melt if left sitting there."

"Why did you buy so many? How can we finish eating these?" Lin Big Sister-in-law said with a smile. "Wrap them up quickly, they'll melt if left outside."

"I believe they can eat two or three each."

"That's right!" Lin Guangyuan happily grabbed another one, licking with both hands at the same time.

The other two also nodded hurriedly and followed suit, each taking another one.

Lin Mu hurriedly wrapped up the tattered cotton quilt. "Are you eating them as a meal? None of you think it's too much. Eating too much is bad for your stomach and will give you diarrhea. Wrap them up first; take them back for the children at home later. There look to be twenty or thirty here."

Ye Yaodong let them eat as they pleased and said to his father-in-law, "Let's settle the accounts; I have to hurry back. I've delayed for too long, it's already 3 o'clock."

"Alright, alright. I was thinking you would definitely come over once you finished your business. Let's go to the shop to settle them."

"Mm."

The father-in-law and son-in-law walked outside. There was constant laughter inside the house, but Lin Guangyuan followed them out.

Ye Yaodong looked at Lin Guangyuan, who had already reached his ears, and sighed that he was growing really fast. A few years ago, he only reached his chest. "What are you doing?"

"Hehe, Little Uncle-in-law, can I go home with you to play for two days?"

"Your shop is so busy, can you still go home with me to play?"

"My father said that after school starts in the second half of the year, he'll put us here to study and we won't have to go back to the village. I'm a bit reluctant. If I don't go back with you to play for a few days now, I might have to wait until the New Year. That's a long time."

"I'm fine with it, but can your father and mother?"

"Hehe, if you tell them, they definitely will be."

"Then what about your younger brother and sister?"

"Don't worry about them."

Lin Fu glanced at him. "You have a new idea every minute. Other people have the eldest stay behind to work, but you're good—you leave your younger brother and sister behind to work while you go back to play."

"I'm going to follow Little Uncle-in-law to learn; how is that playing! Little Uncle-in-law is so capable, there's a future in following him. It's rare for him to come back; I haven't seen him for a long time."

Ye Yaodong happily put his arm around his shoulder. "Alright, I'll take you back with me in a moment. Let me tell you, Captain Chen, who gave you the sailor shirt before, is now building a lighthouse in our town. If you go back with me, you might even be able to see him."

Lin Guangyuan's eyes lit up. "Yes, yes, yes! Little Aunt, let me go back with you, I must go back with you."

"No problem, I'll go tell your father and mother."

Lin Guangyuan happily clenched his fists and waved them several times.

When they were settling the accounts, he immediately ran home to pack his clothes and then waited at the entrance, not thinking about going to the shop to tell his father and mother first.

Because he knew that if he went to tell them, they might not agree, but if Little Uncle-in-law went to tell them, there would definitely be no problem.

Ye Yaodong only glanced at the scribbled account book, pricked up his ears to listen to Lin Fu telling him how much had been entered on which day, read it once, and then took the money he gave him. In the end, he only remembered the total in his heart and went out.

Anyway, after he went back, Aqing would count it again. As long as the total was roughly correct, it would be fine.

"Let's go, go tell your father and mother and then I'll take you back."

"Alright."

Lin Xiang Hui and Lin Big Sister-in-law didn't say anything when they heard Ye Yaodong say he was taking Lin Guangyuan back, nodding in agreement. But the other two children below rebelled.

"We want to go too..."

"Why take Big Brother and not us..."

"Because I'm taking him to work for me, you are too young."

After Ye Yaodong finished speaking, he took the tattered cotton quilt and went out. Lin Guangyuan was already sitting in the sidecar excitedly waiting. The two children behind were being held by the adults, crying with long faces and still shouting there.

"We can help you work too, Little Uncle-in-law..."

"You don't do your own work, but you're so active about working for others... Don't make a fuss, I'll take you next time."

After Ye Yaodong finished speaking, he rode away, leaving only Lin Guangyuan's excited shouting in his ears.

"So cool, so cool... Wow... The motorcycle is much cooler than the tractor."

"Little Uncle-in-law, this motorcycle is really too cool. Can you teach me when we get back?"

"Alright."

"That's great, Little Uncle-in-law, oh my god, am I going to learn to ride a motorcycle? Hahahaha... cough cough..."

"Shut your mouth, or you'll eat a mouthful of dust."

The surroundings instantly became quiet.

"That's right. When A-Tai usually sows seeds, doesn't she water and fertilize them? Besides, it's summer now and autumn hasn't arrived yet. Autumn is the season for harvest."

"Oh." She understood half of it.

"Stop digging. If you don't fertilize and water, it won't grow successfully, and there won't be a pile of dolls. Go play, Dad will bring you a pile of dolls in two days."

"Okay."

She was happy again immediately, but turned around and continued to dig the pit.

"Sister, give it to me, I'll plant more dolls..."

Ye Yaodong stood up and shook his head, letting her continue planting.

"You lie to the child every day like this."

"No, I just said it casually. Who knew she had such a good memory, could remember it for so long, and could still think about digging it out."

The patch in front of them was planted with chives, which can be eaten and harvested all year round. After harvesting, they grow again, endlessly. So they wouldn't dig up this small piece of land at all, so what she buried was still there, and she really dug it out again.

"Listening for a long time, it turns out 'wa wa wa' means digging for dolls."