Chapter 1200: A Fight

Ye Yaodong dangled a big carrot in front of Wang Jianxin and gave him some solid encouragement before letting him head back, telling him to come to the shop for work tomorrow.

Regardless of whether he had to run around for the things he was tasked with, he definitely had to check in at the shop first before he could go find a place to place orders.

This shop was now his place of work.

After the others left, Ye Yaodong chatted with Lin Fu for a good while.

Lin Fu had been curious about what rewards were given ever since he walked through the door.

Ye Yaodong had salvaged an unmanned underwater vehicle; Lin Fu had known about that for a long time, and they were still talking about it yesterday.

The father-in-law and son-in-law chatted until it was pitch black, and only then did Lin Fu send him off with a face full of smiles.

The cold wind was whistling on the pier, but there were still quite a few people coming and going.

When Ye Yaodong arrived at the pier, he saw a group of people there weighing goods and moving things back and forth.

"Still haven't finished receiving goods? What time is it?"

"Brother Dong, we haven't been slacking off. We've actually received enough goods, and the money is all spent, but everyone saw you hadn't come yet, so we thought we'd keep receiving and wait for you by the way. Sister-in-law also said it doesn't matter if we receive a bit more."

"Oh, how much money did you cover?"

"Wait a moment, it hasn't been weighed here yet. I have to calculate it. It's a good thing the people who came back earlier had money in their pockets and could cover it."

"Move all the goods onto the boat. Once this batch is weighed, we'll head back directly."

At this moment, the captain of the boat selling the goods said, "Boss, can you set up a fixed receiving point on the pier? You stop working when it gets dark, but most of us only dock after dark. Sometimes the goods we bring back don't make it in time."

Ye Yaodong thought for a moment and said, "We've only just started receiving goods. A fixed receiving point will have to wait a while. Let's talk about it after the New Year."

"Have to wait until after the New Year... That's fine too."

"Is it worth it for you to specifically bring back so many small miscellaneous fish?"

"It's alright, it subsidizes a little. With tens of tons of goods on a boat, a few more tons don't make a difference, and it's a waste to dump them into the sea."

"I think so too. I have my own boat, so I can calculate that."

"What are you planning to do with these small miscellaneous fish?"

"I have a use for them."

He didn't say anything more, turned his head, and told his own people, "I'm going to the boat first. You guys come up once you're done receiving."

"Alright."

He didn't have much money on him, so Ye Yaodong didn't bother locking it under his bed board; he just hid it on his person.

Once they had moved the goods and items onto the boat, he counted the number of people—not a single one missing—and then ordered the boat to head back.

It was indeed very late by now, much later than usual; it was already 8 o'clock, and everyone was eager to get home.

However, this didn't stop them from excitedly chatting with each other on the deck. Naturally, they were all discussing the commendation assembly and how much money they were rewarded, etc.

When they were receiving goods at the pier earlier, they only had time to discuss a few sentences and glance at the certificates; there was no time to talk in detail.

Now they were impatient, and the boatmen couldn't wait to show off.

Below was a lively scene, while Ye Yaodong in the cockpit was also pondering what the captain said just now.

If he wanted more volume, he still had to set up a point and have people receiving goods here 24 hours a day.

After all, wholesale markets trade at night, and larger fishing boats also choose to dock at night. If you want more volume, you have to receive at night.

What they were receiving on the shore during the day now was just scattered goods from fishing boats that returned the same day.

However, there was no rush now. It had only been a few days since they started receiving, and the containers added at home were limited. He had to wait for Wang Jianxin to order more containers to put in the factory building in the city first.

Once a fixed receiving network was truly established at the pier, then they could really achieve continuous mass production.

Ye Yaodong pondered his commercial empire all the way, and only after arriving home did he divert his attention to unload the goods first.

"Move those beds and quilts in the cabin down together too. Take them apart and wash them; they stink to death."

"Alright."

"Whoever slept in them takes them home to wash. Don't expect my wife to wash them for you."

"Alright."

"Don't even know how to keep your personal affairs tidy. You have to wait for others to say something every single day."

"Yours doesn't seem to smell that fragrant either, does it?"

"If I didn't say anything, you wouldn't necessarily wash them even by the New Year."

"Hehe, everyone is the same."

"It's exactly one month until the New Year. Otherwise, why not just leave them and wash them for the New Year? If you wash them now, you'll have to wash them again for the New Year?"

"A pity to wash them one extra time?" Ye Yaodong said irritably, "Anyway, I don't need you to wash them. Take them home and your wives will wash them."

"Then it's a hassle to carry them back and forth."

"Suit yourselves. Anyway, whoever slept in the quilt takes it home to wash."

They were all lazybones; if they could make do, they would absolutely not move more.

It was already the middle of the night, and truly, except for Ye Yaodong, no one took their quilts down. He didn't care about them; as long as the goods were moved to the receiving boat, it was fine.

At this time, there was no one else in the workshop except for the people on duty; everyone had finished work.

Everyone sent the goods to the workshop, piled them in the corner, and left them to be processed tomorrow before going home.

Naturally, someone helped Ye Yaodong carry his quilt to his doorstep. He skillfully ran to knock on the window. This time, Lin Xiuqing didn't need to open the window and directly told him to go to the front door.

As soon as he stepped through the door, he nagged, "Why don't you open the window to see who it is before opening the door? Or ask a question? You said to go to the front door without even asking. What if some wild man came from somewhere? Wouldn't that be dangerous?"

"Which wild man would dare run to our place and knock on the window?"

"That's hard to say."

"The yard is full of dogs. They would have barked long ago if they smelled a stranger."

"What if the perpetrator is an acquaintance? Those stupid dogs..."

"They will still bark if there's the slightest movement at night, unless they get close and smell the scent, then they won't bark. Didn't the dogs at home bark twice before stopping when you came over earlier?"

"That wasn't barking at me; it was barking at the person carrying the quilt."

"Stop nagging. Hurry in. It's the middle of the night every day, and I tell you to bring a key but you don't. You have the nerve to be nagging here."

"Then you still have to ask next time you hear the sound of knocking on the window."

"If I ask, you'll be my paramour, my adulterer, or my old man again."

Ye Yaodong said in a low voice, "Then should I call you sister-in-law next time?"

Lin Xiuqing stopped in her tracks, turned her head, and gave him a fierce glare. "What kind of things are stored in your brain every single day?"

He said honestly, "Yellow waste."

Lin Xiuqing was annoyed. "You're quite self-aware."

"Just joking."

Helplessly, she threw the quilt she was holding onto the washing machine first and made a fire for him to cook a late-night snack first.

The old lady heard the movement and came out as usual to show concern, but was shooed back by him after one encounter.

It's the middle of the night; she has to get up to look at every little movement. Really.

Lin Xiuqing asked while burning the fire, "What things were rewarded for going to receive the award today? Didn't you bring back any enamel mugs, washbasins, thermos bottles, or anything? There were always rewards in the past, right? What about fountain pens?"

She didn't think about it when he first walked in, but now that she saw him sitting down, the table was empty and there was nothing there. She was a bit puzzled; why was there nothing brought back?

"Who told you these were rewarded?"

"No, if there were rewards in the past, weren't they basically these things?"

Ye Yaodong took out the commendation book from his big pocket with a grin. "They didn't reward those this time. There are enough at home; there are already three or four thermos bottles, and enough washbasins for everyone to have one. Why do we need so many?"

Lin Xiuqing got up and walked over, taking a look at the book he took out. "This is your commendation certificate? Just this one?"

He continued to dig into his pockets and took out a few large denomination bills and put them on the table.

"50 yuan?"

"I haven't finished digging yet."

He took off his clothes while speaking and took out a red envelope from the interlayer of his cotton-padded jacket.

"There's also this. This is much more valuable than those washbasins and water bottles of yours."

Lin Xiuqing was instantly pleasantly surprised and pinched the red envelope. "Is this the one? It's so thick? There's more than 5 bills here, right? So many..."

"More than that. There's 1000 yuan in here."

"1000 yuan!!!"

She had already seen the thick pack from the opening, but she was still surprised when she heard 1000 yuan.

"Right, the boatmen get 500 each, and I get 1000."

"The boatmen get 500 each? Giving so much? Are they so generous this time? You have 6 people in total, so that would be 3500 yuan? Is the sun going to rise from the west?"

Ye Yaodong explained to her the special nature of that unmanned underwater vehicle; rewarding this much money wasn't considered much, it was considered relatively normal.

The country should have a standard for rewarding these things.

And he was going to be in the newspaper now, establishing him as a model fisherman who is dedicated, patriotic, and loves the Party, to mobilize the enthusiasm of the fishermen.

Fishermen belong to the working people at the bottom, and they also need to eat. Without a little more reward, how would they dare to chase after foreign boats to fish? Patriotism is patriotism, but they also need to eat.

The country also needs to affirm and encourage their actions; they can't let people work for free. His case was purely an accidental salvage.

After being fed the explanation, Lin Xiuqing nodded happily, feeling it made a lot of sense.

"For us, getting a 1000 yuan reward isn't much more, after all, it delayed a day of fishing, and the fuel cost for the round trip is all borne by ourselves. The boatmen really made a big profit."

"Yeah, they made a profit. 500 yuan each, that's half a year's salary. They made a big profit. It's a pity my father didn't follow the boat at that time. Otherwise, he could have had an extra 500 yuan for his old age."

"It's indeed a pity. If he hears about it tomorrow, he'll probably be sulking again."

Lin Xiuqing put down the money in her hand first and went to cook noodles for him first; she could talk while working.

"Then why did you only come back now after receiving the award?"

Ye Yaodong told her about his arrangements for Wang Jianxin and some plans he thought of while driving the boat.

"The land at home is definitely not big enough. We must slowly grow bigger, sell to the entire coastal market, and then sell overseas."

"That piece of land in the city must be utilized. Fortunately, it's finished being built, but this fish sauce has this one bad point: the fermentation time is too long, and it must be planned in advance to achieve mass production..."

Ye Yaodong talked eloquently and said a lot. Lin Xiuqing nodded in agreement while listening, feeling that what he said also made a lot of sense.

"Then just do whatever you want to do. Follow your own thoughts. The land has been bought and built, so it can't just be left there to waste."

"Rare, finally a time when you don't oppose me."

"What did I oppose?"

"You opposed everything I did for the past two years, not just you, the whole family opposed it!"

"That's because you weren't reliable before! Eating, drinking, and being lazy every day, idling around. If I didn't oppose it, could I let you squander the family home? Who knew if your diligence was just a three-minute heat? It wasn't just me who thought you were unreliable; the whole family thought you were unreliable."

Ye Yaodong had nothing to say.

"Then I bought a TV, you opposed it, and you also opposed buying a washing machine. This was clearly bought for the whole family to benefit."

"I felt it wasn't necessary at the time, and there wasn't much money. Who knew if there would be any changes? It's definitely better to save as much money as possible."

"What changes?"

"That's hard to say. There are many natural and man-made disasters. Of course, we must save money first. With money in hand, the heart is not panicked. And there are so many gamblers now, who knows if you will pick up bad habits? You didn't have any good habits to begin with."

"Damn it, saying that about me. I may be a waste, but I haven't picked up any bad habits."

"Not picking them up before doesn't mean you won't in the future. Men change when they have money."

"Didn't I give all the money to you?"

Lin Xiuqing held the spatula, stirred the noodle soup in the pot, turned her head, and looked at him with a chuckle. "So, aren't I supporting you quite a bit now?"

"That's because what I said makes sense, the plan is well-made, not just randomly babbling."

"Hmm, yes, yes, yes, you are mature and steady now, you know how to think about life properly, and you know how to plan. You won't make people feel unreliable anymore."

Ye Yaodong was satisfied.

"That's more like it."

"Eat quickly, go to sleep after eating, it's very late."

"Hmm."

Lin Xiuqing brought the noodles to him, handed him the chopsticks, and then picked up the red envelope on the table to count.

"Are these few 10-yuan bills on the table also included?"

"The ones on the table are not. This is what I brought when I went out today. I didn't spend much on lunch. It's just that when they were receiving goods today, they specifically waited for me, so they received them a bit late. It seems they covered quite a bit. You should weigh the goods brought back yesterday tomorrow morning and reimburse them. I was going to reimburse them, but they hadn't finished working, so I went to the boat first. By the way, give them a bit more starting tomorrow, so they don't always have to cover it."

"Got it."

"Keep my commendation certificate well."

"Got it, I'll keep it well for you, and by the way, I'll keep this money for you too, untouched, okay?"

"Hmm, not bad, that's how a wife should be."

Lin Xiuqing smiled, tapped his shoulder with the certificate, and then took it into the room to put it away.

When she came out, she wasn't idle either and went to take apart the quilts. "Are there other quilts? In the workshop?"

"On the boat, let those lazybones be..."

Ye Yaodong scolded while saying they were all lazy ghosts, and how dirty they were.

"Anyway, there's a washing machine at home, it's nothing to bring them all back for me to wash. Those are our own family's quilts anyway..."

The couple chattered away, one eating noodles, one working. After Ye Yaodong finished eating, she also put down her work and went back to the room to sleep together.

Early the next morning, before he was even up, the situation of their award reception yesterday had already spread throughout the village.

Because they returned in the middle of the night yesterday, they couldn't show off, and they were almost stifled.

So many people got up early to set off firecrackers. After attracting a large wave of people, they hurriedly told their neighbors about their glorious deeds.

Money or not, although everyone was envious, how could it compare to being in the newspaper and becoming famous? Hearing that they would be in the newspaper later made them excited.

This was no less than being on TV in later generations; this was something the whole country could see.

Ye Yaodong was also woken up by the sound of firecrackers at his own door.

He climbed up inexplicably, only to find a crowd of people at the door talking to his father and mother. There was red firecracker paper all over the ground, and a bunch of children were squatting all over the floor looking for small firecrackers that hadn't gone off.

"Why is it so lively?"

"Mom said we have to set off firecrackers. You participated in the commendation assembly, got the commendation certificate, and are going to be in the newspaper. She said this is worth celebrating with firecrackers. Others also set off firecrackers early this morning, so we definitely have to set off more."

"Alright."

He looked at his father talking to the neighbors with a face full of smiles. He probably knew that being complimented felt quite good, and he wasn't depressed because of the 500 yuan.

As soon as Ye Yaopeng saw him, he asked impatiently, "Dongzi is up? Are we going out to sea tonight?"

"It was windy the night before last and last night. When I came back last night, the waves near the shore were quite big. Shall we take a look in the evening?"

"That's fine too."

"Isn't this too much of a pity for Ye Laosan? Others have commendation certificates and can be in the newspaper. You probably only get this once in a lifetime. It's such a rare opportunity, you lost 500 yuan, and you also lost the chance to be in the newspaper."

The old woman who was originally talking to Ye Mu turned her head and said to Ye Fu. She didn't have any malice in saying this, just smiling and teasing Ye Fu.

Ye Fu sighed, "There's no way around that. Who knew if we would encounter good or bad things? I wish I could predict the future."

He pondered in his heart that he still had to follow Dongzi to gain more experience and encounter good things.

However, there probably wouldn't be such an opportunity in the future, and Ye Fu felt regretful in his heart.

If he could be in the newspaper, this life would be worth it. It's a pity, now he can only watch other boatmen showing off all over the village.

Thinking about the 500 yuan, plus being able to be in the newspaper, he missed it all, and his heart was bleeding.

Ye Yaodong didn't continue listening to them and went back to the room to eat first.

After eating, the people at the door also dispersed, and many gathered at the entrance of the workshop. He also went to the workshop to inspect and help.

The two workshops here have 30 people working every day. Moving, lifting, and sorting all need people, and killing fish, cleaning, and drying need even more.

Except for the fifteen or sixteen workers he hired permanently, the remaining 20 or so women are temporary helpers, but now they work every day, and what they earn is no less than others.

At this time, everyone inside was discussing their commendation. It would probably be discussed in the village for many days. After all, many people were involved, and their own families felt it was supreme glory, so they definitely had to bring it up and talk about it.

Ye Yaodong walked to the fish drying area and flipped through the dried fish. Some fish are cut horizontally from the abdomen and dried in two or three days, such as toadfish and lizardfish; some fish need to be boiled and then dried, such as round scad, which needs to be dried for a longer time to be preserved; others need to be sliced and dried, such as grass carp.

At this time, Ye Fu walked over and sighed, "It's really a pity this time. After I bring your eldest brother and second brother to be skilled, I will still follow you and work for you."

He chuckled, "I thought you wanted to say that after bringing the eldest brother and second brother to be skilled, you wouldn't work anymore, just stay at home and bask in the sun, retire."

"How could that be? I'm only 53, how can I do nothing?"

"Hmm, up to you."

"Actually, your eldest brother and second brother don't need much training. Anyway, as long as they know how to drive, several boats stay together, so they won't get lost..."

Ye Fu was indeed heartbroken. The money and glory that were in his hands were gone just like that.

"That still needs training. Otherwise, they will feel you are biased and unfair, only helping me and not them. After all, they are also novices, and they will panic in their hearts when steering such a big boat."

"It's still promising to follow you, you can gain experience and always encounter good things..."

When Ye Yaodong heard this, his father's depressed expression when he was in jail flashed through his mind, as well as the excitement when he was just released.

"Ahem... Why don't you take them for a month or two before the New Year, and after the New Year, you can return to my boat?"

"That's fine, it's only a month until the New Year."

With something to look forward to, Ye Fu didn't dwell on it. Anyway, missing it was missing it, and there was no need to struggle. No matter what, it was his son's credit, and he also had glory on his face.

In the afternoon, Lin Fu suddenly called, saying that he had already picked a good day. Lin Xiang Hui's house is planned to move on the 7th day of the 12th lunar month. It just so happens that the children in the family are all on winter vacation, so they will all be brought over to be lively.

Ye Yaodong flipped through the calendar, planned it in his heart, calculated there was still a week, and then told Lin Xiuqing there was no problem.

Unsurprisingly, they were going to go out to sea tonight, looking at the waves, they weren't very big.

Everyone also discussed it in the evening, and then notified the boatmen to prepare to go out to sea at night.

Because he had a plan for this trip, he docked early on the night of the 5th to sell goods and returned on the 6th.

The children at home had long known that their eldest uncle was moving on the 7th, and their whole family was going to the city to attend the wedding banquet. They had been crazy with joy and had been looking forward to it for days.

As soon as he arrived home, the three of them all surrounded him and talked. This was the first time in history that he was so welcomed by the three of them after returning from sea.

In the past, he had to go on a long journey and bring back gifts before they could surround him so happily.

"Dad, you're finally back. I've been waiting for you for several days."

"Me too, Mom said we must wait for you to come back before we can go to the city together."

"Went to the city, Dad came back and went to the city~"

Ye Yaodong looked down at the three who were circling him or hugging his thighs. "I was wondering why you are so enthusiastic about me today."

"Dad, hurry up and take a bath. We'll go immediately after the bath."

"What's the rush? Go aside."

Ye Chengyang jumped up and down behind him, following him wherever he went, and kept urging him, which made Ye Yaodong's head big.

"Why didn't I know you were so nagging before?"

"Hurry up, I've never been to the city."

"Your brother had to score 100 points to go to the city before, you don't even have to take a test to go, if you urge again, I won't take you..."

"Ah, right! Why!"

Ye Chenghu had only been happy since he knew he was going to the city, and didn't think much about it. In his heart, he only remembered that he was going to the city to attend the wedding banquet.

Hearing this, he remembered that he had to score 100 points to go last year!

Why!

He glared at Ye Chengyang angrily. "I still have to score 100 points to go, why don't you have to score 100 points to go? No! You can't go!"

Ye Chengyang also raised his chin and shouted at him: "Mom said the whole family is going, the whole family includes me."

"You were picked up."

"You were also picked up."

"But I scored 100 points, you didn't."

"Then you only got 80 points on the test paper you brought back yesterday..."

They glared at each other like fighting cocks, opening their eyes wide, as if this could give them an advantage.

However, while scolding, they reached out and pushed each other. I don't know who pushed first, and then they twisted together.

Ye Yaodong ignored them. He was exhausted, so he went to take a bath first, let them fight to the death.

Ye Xiaoxi squatted on the side curiously, watching them fight, and even clapped and shouted for encouragement.

"Brother, come on..."

"Eldest brother, come on..."

"Second brother, come on..."

Ye Chenghu was furious and shouted at her, "Whose side are you on?"

Ye Chengyang was pressed to the bottom, but didn't forget to talk back, "Shout second brother come on, eldest brother won't let you go!"

"Second brother, come on..."

"I'm so angry, you can't go..."

Lin Xiuqing originally went into the room to put away the money and get clothes for Ye Yaodong to change and wash. Hearing the noise outside, she thought it was just bickering.

Unexpectedly, when she came out, she saw the two already rolled into a ball, twisting on the ground. She was furious, picked up a whip, and struck at the two.

However, after hitting twice, she felt it wasn't smooth. The whip was only suitable for hitting when they weren't wearing pants. She immediately changed to a broomstick and closed the door by the way.

Ye Chenghu wasn't afraid even when she picked up the broom and still stood there arguing, "Why hit me? I wasn't wrong..."

Ye Chengyang had already climbed the stairs one step ahead and hurriedly ran back to the room to lock the door.

Ye Chenghu heard the sound of running and jumping on the floor upstairs and realized that Ye Chengyang had already run one step ahead.

"Ye Chengyang, don't run, I'm so angry."

He hurriedly turned his head to go upstairs, but it was too late. Lin Xiuqing grabbed the clothes on the back of his neck and hit his butt hard.

"Why hit me..."

"Why hit you? Because you run slowly."

Ye Yaodong stood at the door, shirtless, rubbing his chest with a towel, and said lightly.

Lin Xiuqing glared at him and continued to hit her son without mercy, scolding: "Making trouble again for no reason, what are you unbalanced about? You went a year earlier than them, what are you still unhappy about? You still dare to fight and clamor there."

"Do you think I'm too idle every day? Just finished vacation and you're already getting hit. The older you get, the less obedient you are. No wonder I see the two mothers next door fighting their children every day. It's really impossible not to hit them, they are annoying."

Ye Chenghu was grabbed and couldn't escape, so he could only hide behind Lin Xiuqing. The mother and son instantly became like chasing and hitting in circles on the spot.

"Why only hit me."

"Because you started it, you are the most disobedient."

"Yangyang pushed me first, and then I pushed him. He hit me first."

"Eldest brother is bad!" Ye Xiaoxi said crisply from the side.

"I haven't settled the score with you yet, I'll beat you to death later."

"Who else do you want to beat? I'll beat you to death first." ===== CHAPTER 1201 =====