Chapter 1167: Matters Before Leaving

When Lin Xiuqing was organizing his luggage, she had already flipped through the cloth bag. Knowing it contained money, she didn't open it to look in front of everyone.

It is better not to expose wealth, especially in front of outsiders.

Although this bag didn't look like it had much money, there aren't many households that can casually pull out a few thousand yuan these days.

She counted out 300 yuan for Ye Mu and asked Ye Yaodong, "Why is it so little? It seems like there's only one or two thousand yuan left in here."

"I paid out two or three thousand in wages, and I brought back a batch of lighters, so it's less. Once I find time tomorrow to transport this batch of lighters to the city to sell, I'll be able to turn them into cash again."

"Are they easy to sell? How much did those lighters cost to buy? Looking at the quantity, it doesn't seem like a small amount."

"Mm, you put away the remaining money first."

Seeing that he didn't intend to explain, Lin Xiuqing didn't ask further, planning to talk about it properly once they were back in their room.

Ye Mu had also finished counting the 300 yuan in her hand.

"Even though the daily wage is 4.5 yuan, it doesn't take 300 yuan for a month and a half. You gave too much. I'll return 100 yuan to you; let Aqing put it away."

"No need. Dad isn't anyone else; I originally intended to give a bit more."

"No need, it's unnecessary. My spouse and I are currently eating and living at your place, and we have no other expenses. I have a salary, and he has a salary too; we simply can't spend all our money. There's no need to give us extra. Just calculate it the same as everyone else's."

Ye Mu pulled out ten 10-yuan notes and stuffed them directly into Lin Xiuqing's hand.

Lin Xiuqing pushed them back, "Take it, Mother. It all relies on Dad's help; otherwise, how could Adong handle it all alone? Outsiders are nowhere near as reliable as one's own father. Giving Dad a little more is only right."

"No need. Whatever extra you give us, we'll just take it out and divide it among everyone when we're old. We're already taking so much of yours, so keep it. No matter how much you give, we have nowhere to spend it. The money we have on hand now is enough for our retirement."

Although Ye Mu liked to show off and cared about face, talked a lot, and didn't have a very good temper, she was clear-headed inside and not a fool.

The old lady was also full of smiles; Ye Mu had spoken to her heart.

"That's right. They are eating and drinking your things now. Giving them so much money, they have nowhere to spend it; it's better for you two to keep it. Dongzi's business is getting bigger and bigger, and there are still many places to spend money. What money could two old people spend?"

Lin Xiuqing glanced at the silent Ye Yaodong and smiled as she put the money away.

"Alright, then I'll put it away first. Anyway, Dad and Mother are eating and drinking with us now, and we will definitely support you in your old age later."

"It won't be a problem for the two of us to support ourselves later."

Ye Fu interjected, "Alright, the wages are taken, and the luggage is taken, so let's go back. Go back and rest for a while; I'm exhausted. I didn't sleep much on the boat either."

"Remember to come over for dinner later. It's late today, so there's only enough time to stew a chicken. Let's do duck stewed with herbs tomorrow night. It'll also be good for you two to nourish yourselves. Look at how thin Dongzi has become; he's also tanned, and there are dark circles under his eyes. Hurry back to the room and lie down for a sleep..."

Ye Fu glanced at the old lady, who hadn't even looked up at him. Although she said to come over for dinner and kill a chicken for nourishment, she kept smiling and looking at Ye Yaodong, and even went over to push him toward the room.

He shook his head and went back first with Ye Mu.

Ye Yaodong stood still, only saying he wanted to take a bath first.

Seeing that everyone had left, leaving only their couple, the old lady, and Ye Xiaoxi, Lin Xiuqing finally asked him.

"You said before that because you were caught again on this trip, you rushed back immediately after being released..."

"What? What... what caught?" The old lady looked at Lin Xiuqing in astonishment.

Lin Xiuqing glanced at the old lady, didn't answer, and continued to ask, "What was the reason? There were many people just now, and Dad kept hiding it. Now there are no outsiders."

"Fang Jingfu's workshop exceeded the worker limit. I don't know if they were restricted to 5 or 8, but his workshop had thirty or forty people. It was a serious violation. Someone who had been watching reported him for engaging in capitalism. It just so happened that the weather was bad that day, and everyone hadn't gone out to sea, so they were all helping to assemble things in the workshop to earn wages, and then they were all rounded up."

The old lady hurriedly touched his arms, feeling him up and down, "Caught again? Oh my, what's going on this year? Why do you two always encounter this? Are you alright? Did you suffer inside? This is too unlucky. I said earlier that we should have prepared a fire basin at home for you to step over when you entered the door..."

"I'm fine. I didn't go in. Everyone else was caught, but I didn't..."

"Is it because of your status as Chairman Ye?"

Ye Yaodong said smugly, "That's about half the reason. Plus, I really didn't participate. The workshop was rented to him; it's not my workshop."

Hearing that he was fine and hadn't been caught, the old lady breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, she poked her cane heavily on the ground and said angrily.

"I said that when I asked a question at the door, your father retorted with so many words. So it turns out he had a guilty conscience, which is why he didn't dare let me ask, and even kept talking back."

"He's grown bold. I really thought it was because I talked too much, and I was afraid he was too tired from coming back, so I didn't dare ask more or nag in front of you."

"The old man is afraid of losing face. He didn't mention a word when he came back, and he even got angry and raised his voice at me when others mentioned it."

He coughed dryly, "Dad cares about face. It's the second time already, so of course he doesn't want to talk about it. At his age, it's not something glorious. Anyway, this matter doesn't count for much; he was just implicated and didn't even spend the night inside. They were caught in the morning and released by evening, so let's not mention it and just let it pass."

"So many people were caught. How could he not say a word to the family when he came back? The whole village will know tomorrow anyway."

"At least he can pretend not to know about the gossip behind his back. Anyway, when he walks out, he's still Chairman Ye's father; he doesn't need to have his fig leaf torn off by you like this."

The old lady shook her head, "It's all thanks to you giving him face; otherwise, where would he have any face now? When the couple walks out, they walk with a spring in their step. I reckon they won't even make it home in half a day; they'll have to turn back halfway to eat dinner."

Lin Xiuqing couldn't help but laugh, "Although most of the face was earned for Dad and Mother by Adong, Dad also suffered because of Adong. Otherwise, he would have lived honestly until this age; how could he have entered the Public Security Bureau?"

"It's a good thing Dongzi earned another official title to give him face this time; otherwise, it would be a loss of face to walk out."

"What's there to lose face about? It's just being called in for questioning; it's very normal. It's the second time already; once is strange, twice is familiar. It's nothing."

Once you go enough times, won't it be just like your own vegetable garden?

When you come back, you can even brag about how many times you've been in and out of the Public Security Bureau...

He didn't dare say these two sentences. If he did, no matter how much the old lady doted on him, she would have to give him a whack with her cane.

However, as long as you haven't broken the law, what does it matter if you're caught? At most, it's just questioning. If you have connections, you can be bailed out easily.

"What 'once strange, twice familiar'? Can this phrase be used here? Nonsense." The old lady glared at him reproachfully, then smiled and said, "You two talk first. I'm going into the room to burn some incense. Three sticks of incense morning and evening; I haven't burned the evening incense yet. It's just right to tell the Bodhisattva. After talking to the Bodhisattva, I still have to go to the Mazu Temple; I have to tell Mazu too."

"You really believe in a wide range."

"It doesn't conflict. Believe in a few more, and you can have a few more gods and Buddhas protecting you. I have to kill a chicken later, so I'll burn incense first; otherwise, it won't be good to burn incense after getting blood on my hands." The old lady went into the room while talking.

Ye Yaodong also went to fetch water to take a bath first. He would talk slowly after he finished bathing; he hadn't yet understood the affairs at home.

Ye Xiaoxi also ran into the room holding her toys, planning to hide them.

Lin Xiuqing first threw his dirty clothes into the basin and put away the suitcase before coming out to clean up the bowls and chopsticks and continue preparing dinner.

The liveliness of the whole family just now dissipated all at once. However, it was only quiet for a few minutes; once the two children, Ye Chenghu and Ye Chengyang, ran back, the house became lively again.

As soon as the two children entered the village, they knew their father had returned and were immediately excited. It was just that Ye Chengyang still had to herd the sheep and couldn't run, so he could only watch helplessly as Ye Chenghu ran out of sight.

Before Ye Chenghu even reached home, he was already shouting while running at the door, "Dad, Dad..."

As soon as he ran into the house, the military green hat on his head fell to the ground.

"Dad, you're finally back!"

"Where did the hat come from? It fell on the ground; pick it up quickly."

"Dad, when did you come back?" As he spoke, his eyes were already darting around, searching the whole house.

"Just got back."

"Dad, did you buy me a gift?"

Ye Xiaoxi immediately poked her head out from the room and shouted loudly, "No!"

"How could there be none? Did you take them all?" Before Ye Chenghu could even put down the satchel on his body, he immediately ran toward the master bedroom?

"Little sister, what did Dad buy? Tell me, let's not tell Yangyang..."

Poor Ye Chengyang was still herding the sheep flock halfway, his heart anxious to death.

After finally running back, he hadn't even wiped off his sweat before he started crying.

"Wuwuwu, I don't want to herd sheep, I don't want to herd sheep..."

Seeing him standing at the door wailing, Ye Yaodong, having not seen him for a long time, felt a rare overflow of fatherly love and went over to take his hand and walk into the house.

"What are you crying about?"

"I was herding the sheep to school to wait for my brother to finish school, but he heard you were back, wuwuwuwawa, and just left me and ran away. I don't want to herd sheep anymore."

He wiped his tears back and forth with the back of his hand while crying.

Crying so pitifully, Ye Yaodong felt a pang of heartache and pulled 5 cents out of his pocket to hand to him.

"Stop crying. Go buy some candy to eat later, and don't share it with your brother."

Ye Chengyang took the coin, and his tears stopped.

"Ye Chenghu, Ye Chenghu, come out, take out the toys and share them. You two don't hog them; the three of you have to share, otherwise I won't bring any for you next time."

Lin Xiuqing was having a headache on the side, "Every night it's either this one crying or that one crying; only during the day can it be quiet for a while."

Seeing no movement in the room, Ye Yaodong took Ye Chengyang back to the room and started presiding over the toy distribution for the three children, giving them ideological work and talking about which toys were fun.

He had to distribute them fairly; at least the two older ones had to be a bit fair, otherwise the two could be fighting in minutes. The youngest one didn't know much yet and could still be fooled.

Letting them take turns choosing and dividing as fairly as possible, the three were finally satisfied. However, in the end, Ye Xiaoxi was the one who suffered; who told her she was young and ignorant.

After handling the major event of the three children dividing the toys, he finally had time to go outside to talk to Lin Xiuqing. It just so happened that there was no one in the main hall, only their couple, so he told her everything that had happened outside during this period.

He even told her about Fang Jingfu wanting him to join in the lighter business, and by the way, also mentioned his own desire to join.

"I think it's doable. Anyway, our money is just sitting there; it's fine to take some out to invest. Just based on what happened before I came back, I think his character should be alright."

Actually, it was just that the time they had known each other was too short; otherwise, he definitely wouldn't be so hesitant.

After listening, Lin Xiuqing looked conflicted, "Can he be trusted? You've only known him for a few days, and you want to take tens of thousands to invest in him. Will it go down the drain? Otherwise, you should still go buy a boat."

Ye Yaodong was amused, "Before, when I told you I wanted to buy a boat, you said this and that; now you're begging me to buy one?"

"That's different. You want to take tens of thousands to invest in his workshop, and you're not even there. The key is that you haven't known him for long, and I always feel uneasy. If it's like this, then I'd rather you take the money to buy a boat, even a bunch of them is fine; at least you can see them."

"Unlike this, investing it out, you're not even there yourself, you haven't seen anything, and you don't know if you'll be cheated. Wasn't Brother Ahong's matter two years ago a lesson? Even your own relatives can't be trusted, let alone an outsider you've only known for a few days..."

Ye Yaodong raised an eyebrow, "That's where you're wrong. Brother Hong's matter was the one that couldn't be seen or touched, relying entirely on a mouth, specifically cheating relatives and friends; strangers can't be cheated. But this lighter workshop is in our home, something that can be seen. If we partner like this, we definitely have to hire someone specifically to keep the accounts, and we also have to send someone over to work along with them."

"Sometimes, partnerships without kinship are more lasting; what's feared is having relatives involved. Fang Jingfu is a chatterbox, which means he's good at socializing. The key is that he also has connections locally; making it big and strong is a certainty."

"Regardless of whether we'll be kicked out later, anyway, if we invest in the early stage, we definitely won't be afraid. By the way, we can also take goods to sell, and we can earn a little here too. Things produced in our own workshop aren't called speculation."

"Ah, right!"

Lin Xiuqing suddenly thought of something, held the spatula, and walked two steps quickly to him, "So many people were reported; can't it exceed a few? When our workshop is drying fish and fermenting fish sauce, sometimes we also need so many people. Will we also..."

"No, ours is in the village, with the Village Committee holding it up at the top. If they come to check, the Village Committee will also speak for us. And ours isn't long-term, right? They are all called to help temporarily; the fixed ones don't exceed the number. The boat is the boat, the workshop is the workshop; don't worry."

Hearing him say this, she was a bit more at ease.

Just now, hearing him say it was because the lighter workshop exceeded the number of people that they were caught, her heart had already skipped a beat, but it was just diverted by the old lady changing the topic.

"That's fine. If you say it's fine, then it should be fine."

"Mm. So I think investing in lighters is feasible. Let's take tens of thousands to try it out."

Lin Xiuqing was conflicted, "Is it really feasible? I don't understand this either; it's just that I'm not at ease not having someone there watching, not knowing anything, and the accounts are also done by others."

"Then if I invest, I definitely have to hire someone specifically to do the accounts. It's not that easy to fake the accounts; the incoming and outgoing goods have to match. By then, I'll take one of the boys from home to go over and work."

"Wait until you sell this batch of lighters on hand?"

"I think so too. Originally, it wasn't that urgent, and it just so happened that something happened, so I came back early to sell the goods first. Now I'm just informing you in advance; otherwise, you'd say I acted first and reported later."

"You can't act first and report later on this; the money is in my hands." Lin Xiuqing glanced at him, walked toward the stove, and continued to stir-fry.

"Yes, yes, yes, I have to apply to the head of the house; only after you approve can I do it."

"That lighter only costs a little over one yuan, and it can actually sell for 8 yuan? This is too profitable, right?"

"Friendship Stores have them for hundreds of yuan, but those are brands and are also more exquisite than this. What isn't easy to sell these days? What isn't profitable? It's all exorbitant profits."

"You'd better sell those 2,000 goods first; there are so many, I don't know how long it will take to sell."

"I'll pull them to the city tomorrow."

She nodded and didn't say anything. Anyway, they had already been bought back, so let's wait until they are sold. What's more, it's exorbitant profits; she was also looking forward to it, waiting to see how much money could be earned after they were sold.

Ye Yaodong took a pair of chopsticks, looked at the dish that had just been stir-fried, and also poured himself a glass of wine. Drinking while eating, it was almost dinner time. It was impossible to ask him to lie down and sleep; if he slept now, he wouldn't need to sleep at night, and he hadn't finished asking his questions yet.

"I haven't been home for a while. Has anything happened in the village? Before I left, wasn't that group of people from the town making trouble in the two nearby villages?"

Lin Xiuqing became excited again instantly, and she didn't even put the vegetables into the pot.

"You really shouldn't say that. After you left, this matter made a huge scene, and people died. Several died, and it hasn't completely calmed down yet."

The chopsticks Ye Yaodong had picked up paused, and he was extremely surprised.

"Among them, one was the brother-in-law of your friend Azheng, and another was a relative of Uncle Zheng. It was only the second day after you left that a large group of people from the town went to Dongqiao Village and Daqingshan Village in a grand manner. At that time, I even ran to the entrance of the village to watch. It was really a grand group of hundreds of people, even more than when they came to our village to ask for your help at that time."

"I even followed everyone to watch. That large group of people later split into two groups, one going to Dongqiao Village and one to Daqingshan Village, and both groups fought in the two villages."

"Fortunately, just after they started fighting, the border defense station in the town was dispatched. No one died, but several were seriously injured. I reckon that during that period, because of the people who died outside, a large group was sentenced, and those family members probably made a fuss for a long time. The border defense station was watching, so they could react so quickly."

"However, because it was a collective riot and there were too many people, they couldn't all be caught. No one died, so they could only let the respective village cadres negotiate and appease them, and the troops helped to deter them."

"Later, it made a fuss for two more days. Azheng's brother-in-law couldn't hold on and directly handed over the boat. After he handed over the boat, the group of people in the town rioted again. Everyone whose family had an accident said the boat was theirs, and no one would give way to anyone else. Then they had infighting, and they started fighting among themselves first."

"At that time, a large group of people was led to the seaside to identify the boats, and then because of the arguing and snatching, many people fell into the sea. This was considered good; it was just falling into the water. Some were pushed onto the reefs on the shore, and many had broken heads and bleeding. Two more people were knocked to death. Because it was right on the shore, they were fished up directly, it was just that it was too late to send them to the hospital."

"The reefs on our side are all kinds of shelled things, very sharp. Don't talk about falling on them; if your hand accidentally brushes past, it's a cut. If your head hits them, it's directly several cuts. At that time, the fighting was chaotic, and no one cared about those who fell down."

Just listening to her description, Ye Yaodong could imagine that kind of tragic scene, a large group of people fighting to the death.

It was indeed tragic.

People were gone, money was gone, and there was a hope of a boat in front of them; no matter what, they would think about fighting for it.

"Also, later, the troops held guns and fired a few shots into the sky at the pier, which made those people fighting to the death calm down. However, just this one fight took away another string of people, and they were all tied up."

He frowned, "You kept following behind to watch?"

"No, it was too chaotic. How could I dare to get close? Except for the first day when I followed to watch once, later I just listened to what people said and didn't dare to get close. The fight at the pier was watched by the men in the village, and they were the ones who came back and said it was too tragic."

"Then, Uncle Zheng's relative heard the movement at the pier over there and was also scared. The next day, he wanted to hand over the boat. As a result, early in the morning, an old lady ran directly to the door of Uncle Zheng's relative's house and drank pesticide, and died directly. Everyone was scared to death."

"That period was so tragic. Every day a large group of people came and went, and the gunshots of the troops rang out frequently every day. It was too chaotic."

Ye Yaodong was stunned, "Drank pesticide at the door of Uncle Zheng's relative's house?"

"Yes, I heard that her grandson died, and her son was sentenced. She wouldn't be able to see him even if she lived to be old, and yesterday another son died, so she didn't want to live anymore."

Lin Xiuqing sighed endlessly when talking about it. That period was really the most tragic time for several villages.

"Fortunately, the boat we bought at that time was local, and everyone knew it. At that time, these people came to the door and just begged you for help. Fortunately, you threw it to the border defense station."

Listening to it, Ye Yaodong also felt it was too tragic, "At that time, when they came to ask us for help in the morning, they still held hope, so their emotions were still okay. Later, the border defense station shattered their hope. When they heard about the boat, they took this as a life-saving straw again. At that time, their emotions could no longer be controlled."

"Who said it wasn't? Originally there was still hope, later it fell through, and the life-saving straw was gone. In an unstable emotional state, it's easier to be incited."

"And then?"

"Later, his relative lost money again. It was no way to die at the door of the house. Although it was unlucky, the person was already dead, and it was at his own door, so he was implicated no matter what. The village cadres of their village helped negotiate with the old lady's family and paid a sum of money. The next day, the family moved away."

"Moved away?"

"Yes, making such a scene, he was also afraid that someone would follow suit and another old person would come to his door to drink pesticide. After all, some old people really don't have many years to live, so they take the opportunity to die once and for all, and can also ask for a sum of compensation for the children in the family, so that the family can live on."

Ye Yaodong couldn't speak. This was really possible.

"Where did they move to? Their home is there."

"I heard they moved back to their old home in the mountains, first going to the mountains to avoid the limelight, but they haven't come back yet."

"What about the later matters? How was it solved? What about those two boats?"

"Those two boats were taken over and driven away by the border defense station. It was the day after the fight at the pier, and the old lady drank pesticide again. The border defense station immediately sent people to guard the entrances of the two villages with guns that day, and drove the two boats away, fearing that the same thing would happen again."

"What were they doing earlier? Only after fighting and people dying did they know to send people to guard the village..."

Lin Xiuqing said, "If they didn't fight to the death, how could they be taken seriously? From the beginning of the trouble to the loss of life, it was only three days. The first two days were still considered vigilant. A large group of people arrived at the village in the front, and public security came to mediate in the back. Only after the troops were sent the next day and they fought on the third day did they know the severity. On the fourth day, they immediately sent people to guard the village, but the old lady sat at the door of Uncle Zheng's relative's house before dawn."

"For a whole month later, there were soldiers with guns guarding those two villages, and they only withdrew before the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Ye Yaodong sighed, "Unlucky to the extreme. Fortunately, at that time I said that the boats of that group of people in the town couldn't be touched. There is no wall that doesn't leak wind. A large group of people were watching. As long as you bought it, everyone would know. Changing your appearance is useless."

"Yes, Second Brother was rejoicing for those few days, always saying fortunately you stopped him from buying it; otherwise, the unlucky one would be him."

"Did it calm down later?"

"Several people died, and later I heard a large batch was caught again, and they made a fuss to the door of the border defense station, and then the leaders were caught, and it was almost quiet again. I heard that several empty rooms in the border defense station were full of people. And those two boats were not mentioned by anyone. I heard that no one dares to want them now."

"When you called back, why didn't you mention a word? Such a big matter..."

"You didn't call back those few days. It was Dad who called back. Dad felt heartache for the phone bill, and he didn't even talk to Mother for a minute. He just reported that he was safe and hung up at 59 seconds. Mother kept scolding, saying she hadn't even had a chance to say two words before he hung up."

This was indeed something his father could do.

"Later, when you came to call, it was also in a hurry. You didn't ask, and this matter couldn't be finished in a few words, so I thought about waiting for you to come back during the festival to talk about it. Who knew you didn't come back during the festival either."

"Fortunately, it has nothing to do with us."

"Yes, fortunately it has nothing to do with us. Those few days the family was also scared. It was also from that day on that the whole family went to the Mazu Temple to burn incense morning and evening." ===== CHAPTER 1168 =====