Chapter 1172

By the time Ye Yaodong came out of the village committee, it was already lunchtime. Under the scorching sun, he headed home again.

But when passing by the small path near Lin Ji's house, he turned into his house again.

His wife was taking care of their two sons eating. After asking two questions, it turned out that he hadn't returned in these two months, not even during the Mid-Autumn Festival; he had only called home.

When asked when he would return, she said she didn't know.

Ye Yaodong had no choice but to give up and go home first.

The path through Lin Ji seemed to be a dead end. He looked busier than the President; even his wife said she hadn't seen him a few times this year, and his son almost didn't recognize what his own father looked like.

After returning home, he told Lin Xiuqing about this matter.

"Are you sure the machine you want will work? Is it useful?"

"If it's like that ice water from the summer, then it's useful. I'll call and ask in detail tomorrow. The bag is also key. I'll see if I can get him to handle it for me together, get a 500ml bag specification, and let him get it all set up for me."

"Then you decide for yourself. If you're sure it'll work, then buy it. Spend a bit more money, then spend a bit more. The key is that it must be useful."

"It's definitely useful. When new things come out, they will always be updated and replaced. Things are created to make life more convenient. You just have to imagine, all our fish sauce will be in one-jin bags. How convenient will it be for people to sell? They won't need to bring bottles to fill them, and it'll be much more convenient for transportation. There's no need to move them jar by jar, and it can also reduce the probability of damage. If that jar breaks, that's over a hundred jin gone."

"If the machine is bought and it's useless, then several thousand or ten thousand yuan will be gone."

"Don't worry about that. We'll definitely have to try it out on-site after we buy it. We'll only pay and accept the goods if it's feasible."

"Mm."

"Then I'll call to reply tomorrow. It'll arrive just before the New Year. The large batch of fish sauce fermented in the first half of the year can be filtered and bagged during the New Year period, and the quantity produced in the second half of the year is also large."

"The ones sold in the first half of the year have just broken even. Now we have to invest a large sum again, and I don't know when we'll break even."

"We will break even. This can also be considered a technological innovation for us, and the investment is very necessary."

"Mm."

Lin Xiuqing didn't say anything else, only telling him to let her know when he needed to take the money.

There was nothing to do in the afternoon; many things were just waiting for a result.

After his nap, he simply went to call Ye Yaohai to finalize it directly. Anyway, a day earlier or later made no difference. However, he gave many instructions regarding the details, especially the one-jin plastic bags. He tried his best to get him to find a way to get the matching set, saving him from looking everywhere.

After finishing the call, he chatted with the two workers raising kelp to ask about the current progress.

However, the few suggestions he made were immediately rejected. They only said they hadn't done it before, and that's how they were doing it now. He didn't say anything more; anyway, he had to wait until next year to successfully cultivate it before saying anything.

Currently, they were still in the exploration stage and hadn't successfully grown it yet. It wasn't that easy to make changes, so it was better to follow their old methods and successfully grow it first.

After returning home, he ran into a relative who came to rent a boat. He took the opportunity to rent out the new boat. He ran to the pier again, pointed it out, and gave instructions to his younger brother to collect the cargo for one more boat.

A busy day passed just like that.

He hadn't been idle these past two days, always busy with these trivial matters at home. It wasn't until the third day that he truly relaxed and could catch his breath, without having to run back and forth under the scorching sun.

After breakfast, Ye's father also asked him, "When do you plan to go out to sea? You've been resting at home for two days."

Ye Yaodong glanced at him irritably, "You've been resting at home for two days, but I've been busy running around everywhere for two days, rushing about for two days. I'm tired to death and haven't even caught my breath."

Ye's father was silent for a moment before saying, "Then rest for a day today, and go out to sea tomorrow night?"

"If there are no accidents, that's possible. It's just that I feel the sky outside has become a bit overcast, like it's going to rain? When I got up this morning, the sky was still very bright, and it felt like the sun was about to come out. Now it feels overcast. Did the Fengshou say when they would be back?"

"Where would I know? The ship is at sea; whether it comes back depends on the weather and the harvest."

"Mm, then let's tentatively set it for tomorrow night. We'll see the specifics tomorrow."

He didn't know if he was a jinx. Just after chatting with his father in the morning, the sky became overcast in the afternoon and it started to rain. When he was taking his nap, he heard the pitter-patter of rain outside, and even the air smelled damp.

He got up and pushed open the window. Sure enough, it had started to rain lightly, so he had no choice but to treat it as a vacation and take a few more days to catch his breath.

Autumn had just begun, and each autumn rain brought more coolness.

He rubbed his arms. He had been sleeping shirtless recently, and it really did feel a bit cold just after getting up, so he dug out long sleeves to put on.

Originally, only the children wore long sleeves and long pants, while the adults usually still wore short sleeves. After this rain in the afternoon, it was obvious that it had gotten a bit colder.

When he walked out, Ah Qing was also telling the old lady that the temperature had dropped, and that autumn and winter clothes needed to be taken out, and summer clothes needed to be put away...

"Sweater! My sweater! My rainbow sweater!"

Ye Xiaoxi was squatting and playing with her doll. Hearing this, she immediately shouted with a start. She suddenly remembered the rainbow sweater she had wanted two days ago.

She had originally forgotten about it, but now that she heard the temperature had dropped and it was cold, she remembered her rainbow sweater that she had been thinking about.

"I think you look like a sweater!"

"Dad said..."

"Then let him knit it for you."

Ye Xiaoxi turned her head and looked everywhere. She happened to see Ye Yaodong getting up and standing at the door, so she immediately ran over, habitually hugging his feet and sitting on his insteps.

"Dad, Mom said I look like a sweater."

"Looking for a spanking?"

"No, Mom told you to knit me a sweater. You said it, you said it, you said it..." Ye Xiaoxi held onto his leg relentlessly, shaking her head and acting spoiled.

"Alright, alright, alright, I'll buy it, I'll buy it, I'll buy it."

He responded casually. Anyway, she would definitely forget about it when she turned around in a moment.

He changed the subject and asked Lin Xiuqing, "It's raining. Have the dried fish in the workshop been put away?"

"Put away. The Fengshou didn't have much cargo when it didn't dock. The ones brought back by the boats at home were all miscellaneous goods. There weren't many large ones to dry, and the small ones were all taken for fermentation. They were all put away in no time."

"This rain should only last for two or three days at most."

"Who knows? Listen to the weather forecast tonight and see."

"It's been two days, and your father hasn't called either. I don't know how that batch of lighters is selling?" Ye Yaodong sat at the table and asked, propping up his chin.

"If you're worried, why don't you call and ask?"

"It's raining. Let's wait until the rain stops. If they haven't called back after the rain stops, I'll go make a call and ask."

This matter was also very important to him. He was worried about having nowhere to spend the money on hand. With over two hundred thousand, he could only hold it in his hands, which made him a bit anxious, fearing it would devalue.

If it sold well, he would make another trip to Zhejiang Province, pull back more goods, and take the opportunity to find Fang Jingfu to invest in shares, and take two people over there to keep an eye on things.

On a rainy day, the whole family was bored, and they didn't dare turn on the TV, so they could only listen to the radio to pass the time.

However, at dinner time, Ye's mother came over to eat and brought some gossip.

It turned out that Ye Yaosheng's wife had given birth in the afternoon, and it was a daughter. Ye's second aunt was so angry she was jumping up and down. As soon as the baby was born and held in her hands, her face turned black.

"Let me tell you, I heard that if it weren't for Brother Brother Asheng's mother-in-law being there at the time, his mother could have drowned that girl in the urine bucket. I don't know if it's true or false, but that's how it's being spread outside. As soon as the child was born, your second aunt was cursing inside the room."

Ye Yaodong felt a fire rise in his heart when he heard this, "Damn it, is this human behavior? They're all her own flesh and blood. They're already raising two that aren't their own at home; there's no reason to drown their own."

He had always heard of some families drowning children in urine buckets because they had too many daughters, but when it appeared among his own people, it couldn't be treated as a casual rumor. It was too cruel.

Ye's mother sighed, "You don't understand. They are a reconstituted family. There are already two daughters in the family, and Brother Brother Asheng hasn't had his own children yet, so he can still have more. But he can only have one more, regardless of whether it's a boy or a girl."

"Now that it's born and it's a girl, your second aunt's face doesn't look good. If they want to have another child, they either have to hide the pregnancy, and if they get caught, it has to be aborted, the house will be smashed, and if it's born, they'll be fined."

"However, I think it's just a rumor outside. Your second aunt will at most say it verbally; it's impossible for her to take the child and drown her. Brother Brother Asheng doesn't have his own children yet. Although it's a girl, it's the only one he's had himself. At most, he's unhappy and speaks harshly."

"It's probably just that she spoke harshly in the delivery room, which is why the rumor about drowning the child spread."

Everyone didn't know what to say now, and only the old lady recited "Amitabha."

Lin Xiuqing also frowned, "It's already born, and that's Brother Brother Asheng's first biological child. He hasn't had his own children at his age, and now that he has one, a daughter is also a treasure to him."

"Exactly. They said that when he heard the child was born, he couldn't have been happier. It was only later, when he heard the cursing in the room, that he walked in angrily, pulled his mother out, kicked her out of the house, and told her not to come to his house again."

"That's overstepping. Whether there's a son to support him in his old age is Brother Brother Asheng's business. Why is she worrying about that?"

The old lady said, "Raising a child for a hundred years, the worry lasts for ninety-nine. Your second aunt is also worried that Brother Brother Asheng won't have a son in the future, no one to support him in his old age, and no one to hold the basin when he dies."

"When it really comes to that time, you'll be dead. Why worry about what happens after death? Anyway, you'll be dead. What happens to your funeral affairs isn't something you can worry about; that's something for the descendants to worry about."

"Your second aunt will also go first in the future. Can she still manage how Brother Brother Asheng's later years will be? Whether there's someone to hold the basin? It's all because they have nothing better to do."

"Raising a son doesn't necessarily mean he can support you in your old age. There are quite a few unfilial sons. Why can't you support yourself in your old age by working more while you're young and saving more money?"

"Besides, who says raising a daughter can't honor her parents? At most, the children won't have your surname, which is nothing. If you really want a grandson, then wait until the child your daughter gives birth to can have one given to you to have your surname, and you raise him. Doesn't he also have half your bloodline? Isn't it the same?"

Ye Yaodong's words were too avant-garde. Everyone present had never heard of dividing grandsons, and they were stunned by what he said.

"Who... who would be willing to divide a grandson? No matter how many you have, they're still your own family's. And now every family can only have one or two. Who would be willing to divide one for you? You're thinking too much."

Ye's mother only felt he was too naive.

Ye Yaodong didn't argue, because it would be like that in the future. Because of this policy, many families of the 80s and 90s only had two sisters or were only children, and they did divide grandsons.

Ye's father tapped the table, "This is his own flesh and blood anyway. They've raised other people's children, so there's no reason to kill their own. It's all just rumors."

"That's what I said too."

"Anyway, having one more child in the family is a happy event. At least Brother Brother Asheng is truly a father now, and has his own child. Wait two years and secretly have another one. If the unit comes to the door, you have to provide cover. You can't just be taken away to be sterilized like that."

"I understand. As long as the people from the unit step into the village, the whole village can know. Except for the pregnant ones who can't run, they can only hide. How many people are in each family and how many children they have isn't that up to us in the village to say? Hide the other children, and don't register the newborn for now. Insist that there's only one, and they'll just go to the next house. If no one specifically makes trouble, you won't be caught and sterilized just like that."

"Sinful... Amitabha..."

Ye's mother glared at the old lady, "Don't say 'sinful' and 'Amitabha.' They haven't done anything, but the way you say it, it's like you're hoping they'll have bad luck."

"I'm just saying two Buddhist chants..."

"Doesn't 'Amitabha' mean 'serves them right'?"

"Nonsense."

"Alright, let's eat. Just listen to other people's business. Why are you arguing among yourselves?"

Ye's mother looked at Ye's father like he was a fool, "Aren't we just chatting? Which eye do you see us arguing with? You're crazy."

Lin Xiuqing said with a smile, "It's a good thing that the child is born. Let's find a day in two days to send a red envelope."

"We have to. Brother Brother Asheng is at this age and only has his first child. In a few days, he'll definitely have to send egg wine over too."

Ye Yaodong changed the subject and asked his father, "Have you been to the eldest uncle's side? We have to go to the ancestral home in the provincial capital for ancestral worship around the third day of the tenth lunar month. They all have to go, and the cousins also have to send two as representatives to go together."

"After you came back and said it yesterday noon, I went to tell them yesterday afternoon. They all said they knew. Wait until the invitation arrives, and then they'll discuss who will go."

"When the time comes, we'll sail the ship and dock at the pier in the provincial capital. After we get off the pier, we'll hire a tractor."

"Your eldest uncle and second uncle said yesterday that it would be better to just take your tractor, which is more convenient and doesn't require changing vehicles back and forth."

He mocked, "It's convenient. If they take my car, I definitely can't charge them money. If we go out together and take a car on the road, they'll definitely worry about having to split the cost, or pay for themselves, and they'll be embarrassed to ask me, a junior, to pay. They're thinking quite well."

"That... that having a car at home is indeed convenient." Ye's father didn't feel there was anything wrong with this. If their family had money, it wouldn't be a big deal to pay for a bit of travel expenses.

"I didn't think about letting them pay. As long as people can go together, recognize the ancestral home, and find the ancestral hall, that's fine. Sitting on a tractor all the time, the butt can't take it, and the person can't take it either. Taking a boat is better. After docking, I'll spend money to hire a tractor to send us to the village. There's nothing inconvenient about it."

"That's fine too. Since you've decided, then just do it that way. Anyway, if they don't pay, just have people go along. You decide how to arrange it."

"Mm."

When the time comes to go to the provincial capital, he can also communicate with Ye Yaohai about the filling machine in person. Talking in person is more detailed and convenient than talking on the phone, and he also has to inquire about that plastic bag.

When the time comes, he will definitely need a steady stream of plastic bags for fish sauce, so he should find out in advance where he can get them.

"Oh right, Ah Hai has to be brought along when the time comes. He's the eldest grandson."

Ye's father nodded.

"Have those two workers been dismissed?"

"Dismissed. I replaced them with Xiao Wu and Ah Qiang as you said. Those two were miserable and insisted I give them a reason, so I told them directly that you don't like people with ulterior motives, and then the two of them had nothing to say. However, they still had their eyes on your ship and asked me if they could rent that new ship. I just said you had already rented it out, so they had nothing to say."

"Mm, since they've been dismissed, how could I rent a ship to them? It's good that it's been made clear, and let them know where they went wrong, otherwise they'd think we weren't righteous, agreeing to hire them fixedly and then dismissing the two of them separately."

"When we go out to sea in two days, mention a few words and warn the others as well. They must not have any ulterior motives."

"Mm."

This rain drizzled for two days before it cleared up again.

Ye Yaodong also took advantage of these two rainy days to have a good rest at home for two days.

Now that the rain had stopped, he had also discussed it with his father, and they would go out to sea with the Fengshou the next day.

The Fengshou also returned yesterday, just in time to rest for two days, and they could go out together tomorrow night.

However, he looked at the Fengshou's harvest yesterday and it didn't look good. It was said that more than half of what was salvaged were crabs. For those like them who went further away, the crabs couldn't be stored for long before they died, so they could only be thrown back into the sea.

Ye Yaodong also knew that crabs were fattest in autumn, and it was the season for eating crabs. There was nothing he could do if the quantity was large.

The quantity of miscellaneous goods brought back was quite large. It just so happened that it cleared up today, so the workshop started work, and today was the weekend. The children in the family were all full of energy, and they all ran to help with work to earn wages. The efficiency in the workshop increased a lot, and by mid-afternoon, everything was dried and they finished work.

After each child received the wages given by Lin Xiuqing, they all ran excitedly toward the small shop in the village.

Working part-time for a day didn't earn much, so it was just for the children to buy snacks. Ye's eldest and second sisters-in-law wouldn't take it away either, unless they worked for many days in a row and accumulated several yuan. Then the adults really wouldn't watch the children hold so much money in their hands.

These children had also learned to be smart now. They took the money after finishing work, didn't accumulate it, and went to buy things to eat immediately. What they ate into their own stomachs was their own.

Ye Yaodong also took advantage of the clear weather to call Lin's father in the city in the afternoon when the shop shouldn't be busy, to ask about the sales of the lighters.

Lin's father was smiling from ear to ear on the other end of the phone.

"I called you this morning, but I don't know if it was because of the heavy rain here, the signal wasn't good. The lighters you sent over are all sold out, and let me tell you, those lighters were all 10 yuan each, and the wholesale price was also 10 yuan. They were all bought by someone together."

He was surprised, "Didn't you tell people the wholesale price was 8 yuan?"

"At first, there were people who asked when they were put in the shop, but not many were willing to buy them. Although it was less than a tenth of the price compared to the Friendship Store, they only asked for single ones, so although many people asked in the first two days, no one was willing to wholesale so many, so only a few dozen were sold sporadically."

"But yesterday someone came to the door, saying he had bought our lighters outside and wanted to come and wholesale them. I kept an eye on it and asked him how much he bought them for. He told me not to worry about how much he bought them for, and only asked me how much the wholesale price was."

"I told him 10 yuan directly, wanting to wait for him to bargain, but he bargained twice and didn't say anything else, taking 1,000 of them. This morning he came over and took the rest as well."

"I was thinking that if he bargained again, I would lower it for him. Originally, bargaining is give and take, and people who came to ask for wholesale in the past two days, I only said 9 yuan for more than 20, and didn't say 8 yuan, leaving a bottom line."

"Yesterday, seeing that person, I also felt he was a stranger, not a merchant or peddler who often came to our shop for wholesale. Hearing him say he bought them from people outside, I thought he must have bought them for at least ten yuan, so I said 10 yuan and didn't rush to loosen my mouth."

"However, I saw he seemed very anxious. I didn't loosen my mouth, so he asked me to take him to verify the goods first. After verifying, he bargained with me again. Seeing his posture, he was in a hurry to leave, and someone was urging him, so I bit my lip and didn't loosen my mouth. He had no choice but to pay immediately."

"His large truck was outside, and he moved them away directly. It didn't even take half an hour."

"Then this morning he brought another large truck and moved the remaining 900 pieces we had left."

Ye Yaodong was overjoyed, "Dad, you really are material for doing business. I hired the right person. I'll give you a big red envelope tomorrow. You sold this batch of goods so quickly."

Lin's father was also smiling until his eyes couldn't be seen, "It's also luck, just happened to run into it, otherwise selling them one by one sporadically would have taken a month or two."

"It definitely wouldn't have taken that long. In the first two days, a few dozen could be sold. Once the reputation spreads, naturally there will be people willing to come for wholesale. Everything is difficult at the beginning."

"You're right. In the afternoon, two or three people came to wholesale 20 lighters, and I said they were already sold out, wait for the next batch. This money is really easy to earn, really easy to sell. You hurry up and get another batch over, don't miss it."

"Right? I said it. At first, people just looked at this thing, bought one out of curiosity, put it on a shoulder pole to sell, or put it in a shop to try. Seeing people ask and buy, naturally they will come to the door wanting wholesale."

"Yes, yes, see when the next batch of goods will be available, so I can give an answer to the customers who come to ask."

Ye Yaodong pondered for a moment, "Just say three or four days."

Originally, he wanted to go out to sea with the Fengshou tomorrow, but it seemed he could only slow down and wait for a few days. Tomorrow he had to make a trip to Zhejiang Province first and pull back several thousand more lighters.

A fool wouldn't earn money if it was there to be earned.

This trip would be an income of ten or twenty thousand, much faster and easier than fishing at sea.

No wonder so many people were smuggling and not fishing anymore...

He thought, he had to get more back this trip and put them aside to sell slowly, otherwise he wouldn't have the time to run back and forth every few days.

It's just that he didn't know how much Fang Jingfu could squeeze out for him first? Damn, this production quantity was also a problem, and it wasn't that he could have as much as he wanted.

"Can it be available in three or four days? Good, I know. If someone comes to the door, I'll tell them to come back in three or four days..."

"Hang up first, Dad. I have to call to order goods first, otherwise there might not be much stock in three or four days."

"Good, then you call first, I'll hang up here."

Ye Yaodong hung up the phone and immediately called Fang Jingfu for the first time.

He didn't know if he was just guarding the phone, but he answered it the first time he called, and he didn't need to pass the message; it was him directly.

"No need to look, I'm Fang Jingfu, who are you?"

"I'm Ye Yaodong."

"Ah, brother, what do you think? Do you want to partner up? God, damn it, borrowing money is too difficult."

"Uh... you wouldn't have been waiting for my call, would you?"

"Not really, but people will call me to place orders for lighters, so I've basically been in the research institute for the past two days, sitting in front of the phone waiting for calls. Otherwise, if others answer, they'll call me Fang Jingfu, Fang Jingfu. This phone has almost been contracted by me. It's my phone all day long, ringing non-stop..."

Ye Yaodong didn't care about his pile of nonsense, interrupted him, and asked, "Can't you get a bank loan? Aren't bank loans quite easy to approve?"

"Hey, isn't this for fear of risk? You don't know, just in the past few days, I've heard that some people are taking apart our lighters and comparing them with the goods in the Friendship Store, and they are also studying how to do it."

"I also want to find someone to share the risk. Who knows what will happen in the future? Now looking at the order volume, it's a lot, but there are also many who follow the trend. Originally, there was no technical content, it's very simple."

"If you find a bank, don't you have to pay back the loan yourself? If you find someone to share, reduce the risk, won't you bear less yourself?"

"And bank loans also require approval. The approval process isn't that fast, and they won't necessarily lend me that much."

"Hey, I'm telling you the truth, I'm just afraid of having too many loans on my back, and the pressure is too great. Originally, I only planned to do a small workshop and do it casually. Who knew it would be so uncontrollable, and the stall would be spread so big all of a sudden? It's worrying me to death..."

"Brother, you don't know how much pressure I've been under recently. My hair is falling out in large handfuls, and I've pulled out quite a bit myself. I haven't seen the money, but I've thrown in quite a lot. I don't dare tell my parents."

"If I go to get a loan, they will definitely know, and they will definitely scold me... It's fine if the family money is thrown in, but I still have to get a loan, owing the country money..."

Ye Yaodong hadn't said a few words, and he heard him chattering away like pouring beans. He understood, but he really felt he talked too much.

He quickly interrupted his words again, otherwise, if he let him talk, it would be endless and he wouldn't get to the point.

"How much do you need?"

"Oh, at least 50,000. I need to buy materials and advance funds. If you don't plan to invest, then I can only bite the bullet and apply for a loan, act first and report later. When the time comes, if my parents want to hit or scold me, let them. There's no other way. The orders have been accepted, the materials haven't been put down, and the previous orders haven't been completed..."

"You can call more workers, anyway, the materials are prepared..."

"No, the materials are in production, and the ready-made materials have already been pulled over. I've already hired more than 50 workers now."