Chapter 1218: Connections

After a couple of playful remarks, they quickly shut their mouths upon reaching the door.

Ye Yaodong knocked on the door before entering.

"Godfather."

Director Chen stood up with a smile, "You're here, come in and sit, make yourself comfortable. Your father didn't come?"

"We just finished selling the goods. He took the boatmen back to the boats to rest first; everyone stayed up all night, so there was no need for them all to come over."

"Stayed up all night, then you must hurry back to rest," he opened a drawer and pulled out three envelopes for them. "All three boats are here, three envelopes, one each. The rewards are inside."

The four immediately stood up and took the envelopes.

Ah Guang secretly nudged Ye Yaodong twice with his elbow and winked at him.

Ye Yaodong turned his head and glared at him.

The two were making faces, unaware that their little tricks had all fallen into Director Chen's eyes.

He smiled at the two, "Do you two have something to ask?"

Ye Yaodong turned his head, immediately put on a smiling face, chuckled and said, "It's like this: my brother-in-law said there could be a reward, which is worth him bragging about for half a lifetime. He worries about spending the reward money, so he wants to ask you to sign and put your Shou Yin on this money so he can keep it as a memento and for identification."

"With your signature, the value of this money doubles; when we get old and take it out to brag to our descendants, it will serve as proof."

"I think the same way; this money has special meaning, and I also want your signature to make it even more perfect."

Ah Guang quickly chimed in, "Yes, Dongzi spoke my mind. This is a symbol of our glory. Being a fisherman and still receiving national recognition and a national reward is an honor; who has such luck? If there's a leader's signature, that would be even better."

Ye Ye Yaopeng and Ye Ye Yaohua were tongue-tied and dared not speak, only smiling along and nodding repeatedly in agreement: Yes, yes, yes...

Director Chen smiled at them and shook his head, "That won't do. You probably don't know that scribbling on Renminbi is illegal. Making a small mark for daily use is fine, but leaving a name or stamping your personal seal would cause chaos."

"What if banknotes bearing your name circulate and are confiscated at some illegal or criminal scene?"

"Renminbi is only allowed to be stamped during issuance or when being written off, and even then, only official seals may be used. Do you understand?"

Everyone was somewhat disappointed.

Ah Guang asked again, "We would only keep it as a memento and absolutely not circulate it; is that still not allowed?"

"No, ordinary people can't do it, let alone me as a cadre; it's even more impossible."

In such matters, if the circumstances are not serious, the nature is not malicious, and the social impact is not significant, it is not enough to pursue criminal responsibility. Even if ordinary people discover it, they won't mind a name added to the banknote, but those of us in office must be careful.

Ye Yaodong immediately said, "Then forget it; we cannot do something that violates regulations. We originally just wanted to keep it as a memento for identification; if it's not possible, that's fine. We can't put you in a difficult position."

"You can't write on the banknotes, but writing on the envelopes is fine."

The situation took a turn for the better, and joy immediately returned to everyone's faces.

"Great, great; writing on the envelopes is the same."

"The envelopes are fine too!"

"The meaning is the same this way; after all, the reward is inside the envelope anyway. Thank you, leader."

"Thank you, leader; sorry to trouble you."

Everyone happily handed their envelopes back to Director Chen one by one.

Director Chen also picked up a fountain pen and wrote several large characters: "This is the encouragement and reward given by the Haiyang Bureau for the whale captured by Dongsheng Hao..."

At the very end of the envelope, he also wrote the name and date.

He also took out his personal seal and stamped it there.

Although a personal seal is not needed after a signature, the meaning is always different; anyway, it was a small effort, and it wasn't stamped on a blank space, so there was no fear of it being used for other purposes.

"Leader, mine is called Fengshou Hao..."

"Mine is called Shunfeng Hao..."

"Good, all good names. No wonder your luck is so good one by one; Goddess Mazu blesses you to be smooth and safe, and to earn big money."

After Director Chen finished speaking, he wrote this sentence on each of their envelopes one by one, also adding the signature, date, and personal seal.

Everyone took back their own envelopes, all completely satisfied.

"Any problems?"

Ye Yaodong happily shook his head, "No, no; your handwriting is excellent. Every stroke of this fountain pen script is very neat."

"Whether you have business or not, you should practice your handwriting more; they say the handwriting reflects the person."

"Definitely; I have a pile of copybooks at home. Even if I can't write well, I will definitely force my son to practice."

"Hahaha."

"Then I won't disturb your work anymore? When I'm not going out to sea, I'll come to your home to talk."

"Go ahead; you all stayed up all night, so go back and rest first. Originally, I planned to mail it directly, but thinking that 50 yuan is not a small amount, direct mailing isn't safe. I thought that by the time you receive the appointment letter sent before the New Year, it won't take long, and you will call over."

"Ah, good. Then where is the address of the Fishery Association? When should I go to report and fill out the forms to confirm?"

"The address and contact information are all written on the appointment letter; when the time comes, just bring the appointment letter and go register."

"Oh, then I can only wait until I go home in a few days and come over then."

"You've already sold the goods; aren't you going home?"

"No, we've only been at sea for three days. I just thought the wind and waves at sea are quite strong, and today is the Lantern Festival, so it's good to dock and rest for a day to celebrate. Selling goods ashore can also fetch a higher price. Although it delays a whole day of fishing time, once or twice occasionally is nothing; festivals that should be celebrated should be celebrated if possible, unless there's no way."

"That's right; coinciding with a festival to come back and sell goods, eat a good meal, and celebrate is normal. Then since you're not going home to celebrate the festival, come to my house to celebrate tonight?"

Ye Yaodong hesitated a bit; in theory, for the first festival after being adopted as a godson, having been invited to celebrate together, he should happily accept.

"I want to, but there are people from several boats..."

"What's the problem? Several boats of people, there are other partners too; your brothers and brother-in-law are all there. Dozens of people; they can take care of themselves."

"Then that works; let my father keep an eye on things too."

"Good, then it's settled. When I get off work and go home, I'll tell your godmother to buy a few more dishes and cook something abundant tonight."

"No need to prepare much; simple home-style dishes are fine. There are only three people, so don't make it so troublesome. I'll come over early tonight and bring a few bowls of seafood; no need to buy anything."

"Hmm, we'll see."

"Then we'll go first."

"Good."

Ye Yaodong thought about returning to the boat to sleep first, waking up fully rested, then buying some cigarettes, alcohol, and gifts; after all, it was a holiday visit to someone's home.

At this hour, he really needed to go sleep first.

"Dongzi, this godfather of yours is quite something? Inviting you to visit for the holiday, a real relative."

"Isn't that stating the obvious?"

"When one person attains the Dao, their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven; don't forget us later."

"Chickens and dogs won't do, but oxen and horses will."

Ah Guang was momentarily confused, not understanding the meaning; after digesting it, he finally figured out what oxen and horses meant.

"Great, so you want me to first act as an ox and a horse."

"Seems you aren't stupid after all."

"Hey, tell me how you latched onto a big thigh; how did you meet Director Chen back then?"

"It's been many years... why tell you? Go find a vehicle quickly; I'm about to fall asleep standing up."

"I haven't slept either; where's your exaggeration?"

Ye Yaodong kicked him, "There are four of us here; who do you think should go find a vehicle?"

Ah Guang looked at his eldest brother-in-law, second brother-in-law, and third brother-in-law...

"Seems like it should be me."

"Glad you know!"

He resignedly ran to the roadside, searching while jogging, but after a long while, he saw nothing.

Not only tractors, but not even a rickshaw was in sight; the four could only walk with one in front and three behind, looking as they went, and only after walking about one kilometer from the dock did they see more vehicles coming and going.

Ye Yaodong quickly hailed a rickshaw, "I feel just like a donkey with a carrot dangling in front of it, yet I actually managed to walk this far."

"Dongzi, we're almost at the dock; do we still need to take a vehicle..."

Ye Ye Yaopeng looked at the bustling dock in the distance, feeling hesitant, sensing it was a waste of money.

"I can't go on; I can't walk anymore. Anyway, someone's paying, so why shouldn't I ride? I'll take a vehicle even for 200 meters."

Ah Guang had already climbed up, hesitating whether to get down; Ye Yaodong tugged him, and he could only sit down.

"You two hail one too; anyway, Ah Guang is paying."

Ah Guang wordlessly glanced at him, turned his head, and refused to speak to him.

Actually, he was tired from walking too; he didn't want to walk 200 meters either, let alone another kilometer.

The rickshaw started moving.

The two brothers behind looked at each other, then at each other again, and finally lifted their feet and walked slowly.

Everyone had followed Ye Yaodong; how could they be so shameless as to hail a vehicle and specifically wait for him to pay? If they could hitch a ride together, that would go without saying.

As soon as the rickshaw stopped, Ye Yaodong said goodbye to Ah Guang and boarded the boat first.

He first locked the money and envelope he had been carefully hiding in his chest into the iron box under the bedboard, then took off his jacket and went to bed to sleep peacefully.

The cabin was filled with rising and falling snores; the commotion of his return went unheard by anyone, as everyone was sleeping soundly.

Before long, he too fell asleep quickly; even the noise outside the dock couldn't disturb him.

He didn't wake up again until 3 PM in the afternoon; checking the time and feeling it was still early, he continued to catch up on sleep, only getting up at 4 PM in a half-asleep, half-awake state.

His father and some others on the other boat had already woken up, fiddling with and organizing things on the deck.

He greeted his father, said he was going to Director Chen's house for dinner that night, asked his father to take the boatmen from his own boat to eat together, left his father 20 yuan, and agreed to return by around 7 PM at the latest.

After going ashore, he happened to meet his second brother-in-law; fearing there would be no vehicle when he returned and he'd have to rely on his two legs again, he instructed his second brother-in-law to pick him up at Director Chen's house between 8 and 8:30 PM.

He estimated that having a meal with some small wine would take about two hours, since the host had to go to work the next day anyway.

At this time, going to the department store, he didn't specifically ask his second brother-in-law to send him; just waving down a rickshaw would suffice.

After all, if he asked, his brother-in-law certainly wouldn't take money, causing him to run back and forth for nothing; staying here, he could at least have a chance to catch a fare.

When he arrived at the door with his things, it was almost exactly the rush hour for getting off work; standing at Director Chen's doorstep, he even met several nearby cadres, some of whom actively greeted him.

"Are you the adopted son Old Chen just recognized? I heard he's quite a handsome young man."

"Hehe, that's me; happy holidays, leader!"

"Happy holidays to you too! Visiting for the Lantern Festival?"

"Yes, I happened to be in the city today, so I came over to spend the holiday with the two elders and have a meal."

"Very thoughtful."

"Hehe..."

"I'll go first; they should be back about the same time."

"Okay, thank you."

Ye Yaodong wore a smile; he dared not say much more, after all, no one knew him, and saying too much led to mistakes.

He only waited a few minutes before encountering several groups of people looking at him curiously.

Seeing a woman trying to carry rice from the back of a bicycle, he quickly put down the things he was carrying and actively went up to help.

"Big sister, I'll carry it for you; which floor do you live on?"

"Thank you; you should call me Auntie; I'm nearly fifty years old; how can you call me Big Sister?"

"Fifty? No way? You look at most forty; I'm already thirty; calling you Big Sister is normal."

"You really know how to talk; why haven't I seen you before, young man?"

"Hehe, I'm visiting relatives today; it's normal you haven't seen me."

"Whose relatives?"

Just then, Jin Yuzhi returned pushing her bicycle, the basket in front stuffed full of vegetables, with another basket hanging from the handlebars.

"Adong?"

Ye Yaodong turned his head and replied, "Yes, wait a moment, Godmother, let me first return this bag of rice to this older sister."

"Ah, you are the adopted son that Director Chen's family just recognized?"

"Yes."

"Your newly recognized adopted son is quite good, very polite and diligent, and speaks well."

Jin Yuzhi said with a smile, "His character is good too; we have known each other for several years, know each other inside out, and he often comes to visit us. The dried fish, fish sauce, and jellyfish blood he sent you before were all delivered by him."

"I see, that is thoughtful, thank you, young man."

"No need to be polite..."

Jin Yuzhi introduced her, "She is Director Yu of the Administration for Industry and Commerce; her husband is a retired soldier and is now the Director of the City Public Security Bureau."

Ye Yaodong, his expression unchanged, greeted her again, "Hello, hello..."

Indeed, birds of a feather flock together, and people of the same kind gather in groups; randomly visiting a door and meeting only big shots.

"He is a young man with more strength than us old ones; let him carry it to your home for you."

"Alright, then I trouble you." Director Yu said with a smile.

"No trouble at all, it is what should be done, just a handy thing." Ye Yaodong, rarely polite, said two sentences.

Then he hurriedly followed behind them, delivering the rice to their home.

After returning to Jin Yuzhi's home, she said, "You have good luck; you just arrived and met Director Yu, and even helped her on the spot."

"When I saw she was moving rice, I just helped on the spot; it was a lucky accident."

"I heard Old Chen say you bought a large piece of empty land, organized it, and built walls to enclose it."

"Yes."

"Now we encourage urban unemployed youth to engage in individual industrial and commercial activities, but if the scale is too large, it is still not allowed; you need to pay attention to this."

"I understand; I just have a large venue, labor has not been arranged yet, I have only made a plan in my heart, and the equipment is not complete; when it really needs to be utilized, I may need to smooth things over a bit."

He had thought it through long ago; he also has a shop, and later he will recruit a few people to hang under the shop, seven up and eight down, with neither side exceeding seven people, so that adds up to about ten people available; at the beginning, he really did not need that many.

Of course, smoothing things over is also needed; otherwise, enclosing such a large piece of empty land with walls, just thinking about it is a glaring handle.

Now it has only been a short time since it was built, not even a month, and no one or goods have entered or exited, so no one has cared enough to report it.

Jin Yuzhi nodded, "Smoothing things over is certain; just today you happened to help her, and although it is trivial, it can leave a good impression. In the past, you sent many things, and I often shared them with neighbors, so everyone can owe a favor to some extent."

"Thank you, Godmother, for the advice."

Ye Yaodong was now truly and sincerely grateful; she had reminded him so blatantly.

"It is also because you happened to meet her today, so I said a few words; otherwise, if you need to ask someone for a favor in the future, you must seek them out. Sharpening the spear at the last moment is not as stable as cultivating a relationship early on."

"Mm, mm, I know, I understand."

The socializing of these wives is also very important.

Ye Yaodong thought for a moment and mentioned the old man who greeted him at the door; his features were easy to recognize: a balding old man with a Mediterranean-style bald spot, looking sixty or seventy years old, yet he had a dimple when he smiled, quite kind.

"That is Vice Dean Sun of the City Liberation Hospital; he did not live here originally, but because it is close to the hospital, and a son's housing was allocated here, he moved here last year for convenience; getting old, with a son and daughter-in-law by his side, it is convenient for care."

"Oh, he looks very kind and amiable."

"Yes, a very good old man; he smiles at everyone. I will go make food first; you sit and rest for a while."

"I will help..."

"No need; Old Chen should be back soon; you sit and keep him company for a while."

Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrives.

Jin Yuzhi had just finished speaking when they heard the sound of the front door key turning.

"I told you, this person cannot stand being talked about; just said it, and the person returned."

"What are you talking about? Adong is here? Sit, sit, sit; I just got a new box of tea today; let's brew a pot and taste it..."

Director Chen closed the door, holding a small jar of tea in his hand, smilingly invited him to sit, and then started arranging the teapot and teacups on his coffee table.

The teapot inside looked pitch black with tea stains; no one knew how long it had not been washed.

"Let me tell you, this teapot cannot be washed; all of this on it is good stuff, not dirt; my teapot is an old piece..."

Director Chen chattered on, introducing his teapot and the new tea he had just acquired.

He had known long ago that Director Chen liked tea; he knew it from the first time he met him at Ah Qing's mother's house; when leaving then, he even gave him a pack of white tea he had stir-fried himself.

So every time he returned, besides dried fish, he did not leave out tea; today he also brought a box of Da Hong Pao tea.

In Director Chen's home, there were truly only the old couple; their children had long ago taken their children back to their respective units to work, not in the same place; the Lantern Festival was not a major holiday, so there were no holidays.

From entering the door to finishing the meal and leaving, there were only the three of them; from tea to the people met at the door, to the advice they gave, Ye Yaodong truly felt he gained a lot.

Connections are truly a good thing; you may not need to use them, but you cannot be without them.

If not for the appointment with his second brother-in-law to pick him up around 8:00 to 8:30, he would have wanted to stay the night right there.

However, the meal was eaten with warmth and liveliness; the two elders seemed quite happy, and they drank no small amount of wine.

Hearing the sound of a tractor downstairs, they walked out to the corridor, saw that it was indeed parked downstairs, then let him go, and asked him to come over for a meal again if he came to the city in a few days.

Ye Yaodong nodded and agreed.

However, the two still accompanied him downstairs, seeing him off to the ground floor.

After pulling and pushing and talking for quite a while, Ye Yaodong got into the car, and the two only then went upstairs together.

"Your two godparents are quite good and enthusiastic, aren't they?"

"Who says otherwise? Last time, at least Ah Qing and the three children were there; this time it was just me, and I almost couldn't handle it, hicc." Ye Yaodong let out a burp.

"Thank you, Ye Ye Erge, for coming to pick me up so late."

"Thank for what? It is just an extra trip; you were driving a tractor there all day anyway; you don't even need to rely on two legs; it is much easier than farming."

"It's freezing now, and the temperature drops even lower at night. Your tractor doesn't have a windshield, so the wind blowing right on you is still very cold."

"What's there to it? When it snows in the mountains, we still have to go out and work."

Ye Yaodong chuckled, changed the subject, and asked a couple of questions about how business was today and how things had been since the New Year.

Yang Yang Dajiu was tied up at the breakfast shop; recently he had actually been chatting a bit more with his second brother-in-law.

The second brother-in-law still had a fighting spirit in him. He wasn't as nimble as Yang Yang Dajiu, but when he worked, he would go all out.

After sending him to the dock, he fished into his pocket wanting to give him some fare, but got scolded and told he was being too polite, then was shooed onto the boat.

"Your dad and the others had just gotten back to the boat when I set out to pick you up."

"Alright, thanks then, sorry to trouble you with the trip."

"What's there to trouble about? Saying things like that again—I'm off to pick up work."

"Okay."

Ye Yaodong watched him park the tractor, then squeeze over to the dock to ask the just-docked fishing boats if they needed cargo hauled, and then boarded his own boat first.

Everyone on the boat was already back; they were just waiting for him.

"Been waiting for you forever, finally back." Lin Fu shouted across a boat at him.

"Mm, let's set off. I drank too much. Later I'll let Seventh Uncle drive the boat and have him follow behind you. I'm going to sleep for a bit—I didn't get enough sleep at noon either, I'm feeling woozy right now."

"Knowing you had to go out to sea at night, how could you still drink so much?"

"It's not something I can control. Let's go, everyone's here, let's go."

"Okay."

Ye Yaodong gave Chen Chen Laoqi some instructions, told the others to keep watch on the usual rotation, then went back to the cabin to catch up on sleep.

He'd slept only three or four hours in the afternoon, and drank too much again in the evening. Once he lay down, he didn't come to until 8 the next morning.

By then they were already in the middle of the sea, and had already hauled in several nets.

He ate a simple bowl of porridge before his stomach felt comfortable, went to the cabin to check the night's haul—just so-so, passable—then went to the wheelhouse to relieve Chen Chen Laoqi.

The vast sea stretched endlessly; the four fishing boats could only make out each other's sesame-sized silhouettes.

The howling, whistling wind outside kept making him yawn.

Yesterday they'd basically stayed ashore resting the whole day—good food, good drink, good sleep. From now on, as long as the wind and waves weren't too rough to handle, they'd have to stay out at sea for several more days to make up for the day lost yesterday.

During operations he didn't really need to think much, just keep an eye on the silhouettes of the other boats, not steer too far out where he couldn't see the rest. As long as he could see them, no big problem—and even if he lost sight occasionally, it was fine.

While working, Ye Yaodong was also thinking about how to make use of that 13-mu plot's factory.

Before the New Year he'd already sent Wang Jianxin to order a batch of large wooden barrels and large water vats; when he came over on the sixth, he'd also checked on the progress.

Because the order quantity was fairly large, and on top of that the factory was closed for the New Year, it wasn't time for delivery yet, so yesterday he hadn't gone in to inspect either—just asked a couple of questions, took a quick look from afar; the place itself was empty anyway.

Probably another half month or more before the first batch of containers would be delivered in.

Once containers started being delivered, he could hire an auntie to come and hold down the fort to help with the fermentation.

And the goods Wang Wang Guangliang and the others collected at the dock also had to be sent to the factory here first, to slowly fill up the containers here and get the fermentation going—the fermentation itself takes a long time too.

Things at home were nearly saturated; he had to put this place to use, otherwise there'd be no way to mass-produce later.

There was plenty of open space here, so the focus would definitely have to shift here first.

Plus fish sauce fermentation takes a long time, and the containers themselves take up a lot of space—long-term at that. The large area here was just right for fermenting fish sauce.

When the time really came to get this place going, Wang Wang Guangliang and the others would all have to stay in the city—not only collecting goods but also watching over the workshop.

Anyway, the factory here had rooms to live in. Just throw down a ragged cotton quilt as a mat, and with one more blanket on top, you could sleep fine.

People transferred from his own home would also put his mind at ease.

Of course, the job of sourcing containers outside still had to be handed to Wang Jianxin—after all, he was a local and knew the ropes better; getting him to handle things would be a bit simpler than for outsiders like them.

He didn't need to be running around outside all the time either; he still had to help Lin Fu out at the shop.

When the time came, the factory would be full of people from their village, who could also keep an eye on things and keep Wang Jianxin in check.

Ye Yaodong thought about it for a while and felt a bit overwhelmed—making money really takes a toll on the brain.

Might as well do physical labor—no need to think.

At first he'd thought the large open space here would be convenient for drying fish, but now it seemed better suited for fermenting fish sauce and serving as a storage warehouse.

Over the past month at home, using that fish sauce filling machine, he'd already accumulated a large batch of bagged fish sauce that he hadn't fully put on the market yet.

After all, that quantity—well, it was a lot, but then again, probably not enough for someone to wholesale a whole truckload.

He planned to wait a few days until he got back, take stock of the numbers, then try putting it out there.

Based on the increased fermentation volume over the past two or three months, it would be at least three more months before he could achieve large-scale mass production, and only then could he manage at least four tons of output per day.

Putting it on the market now, with feedback coming in a month or two, should be about right.

The current inventory should be enough for small-batch shipments—passable, at that.