Chapter 1239: Drying Kelp in Full Swing

Ye Yaodong checked the recent daily bottling volume of fish sauce; the production output was quite consistent every day.

It wasn't that the workers weren't diligent, but the amount filtered was limited, so the output of bagged sauce couldn't increase either. It was no different from before; everyone worked for about half a day and rested for half a day.

It was only when the machines first arrived that they worked non-stop for the first few days. Once they got the hang of it, the volume couldn't keep up again, and some had to be left to be stored in large vats, as some grocery stores also had a need for vat-stored sauce.

After finishing his inspection, he gave the workers a little push and dangled some carrots before heading next door to check on the weighing of goods, taking the opportunity to chat with Lin Xiuqing about the orders.

The suitcase he had just taken off the car had already been brought home by their eldest son. He told Lin Xiuqing to check the orders later, prepare the goods in advance, and remind him ahead of time when the date approached.

He would then arrange for a boat to deliver the goods according to the schedule on the orders, and he would tag along to complete the delivery and collect the payment.

Now that the personnel arrangements for the two workshops at home were well-settled, as long as a boat returned, Lin Xiuqing didn't need to arrange much; everyone knew what to do when they came over, and she only needed to supervise.

After touring the workshops, Ye Yaodong walked home with Lin Xiuqing, but they didn't go straight inside. Instead, they went to the surrounding wasteland and dirt slopes to watch them work, such as weeding, inserting bamboo poles, and stringing ropes.

With the old lady having returned home early, she would naturally be preparing food for him, so Lin Xiuqing wasn't in a rush to go back and walked by his side, explaining things to him.

The land around here used to be unwanted because it was too close to the sea. Everyone worried that waves would surge up, and being too close to the beach, the wasteland was often washed and soaked by sea waves, so nothing could be planted.

It was only when their family was building the house that they dug a lot of yellow mud from the mountains, and with ready-made workers to tidy up the land and the courtyard fenced off, they were finally able to grow some vegetables.

Drying kelp, however, didn't matter; it was fine even if the terrain was uneven.

"The village committee circled around the village before arranging it here, having people tidy up the land, cutting down the trees that needed to be cut on the dirt slopes, and clearing away the trash."

"Originally, the old village primary school was borrowed by Wang Laowu's family to dry fish, but now that the village committee needs to dry kelp, they had to move away. I heard they've moved to the village of the eldest daughter-in-law's maiden family to dry them now."

Ye Yaodong responded casually, and seeing Chen Shuji there, he walked over.

As soon as Chen Shuji saw him, it was like seeing a god of wealth; his face piled up with smiles, and he was exceptionally enthusiastic.

"You're back! Oh my, you've gotten much darker. You've worked hard, haha. It's just right that you're back; the weather has been good these past two days, and we should be able to harvest some kelp in a day or two."

"It must be dried completely; not even a little bit of moisture is allowed. Anyway, I'm back and will be resting at home for two days, so you don't need to worry; it won't run away."

"It will definitely be completely dry, rest assured. Everyone is counting on this kelp now, so we will definitely do a good job."

Ye Yaodong also smiled and said, "Good."

"Because of the matter of the children from A Guo's two families being sent abroad, the village has been buzzing with discussion these past two days, even overshadowing the kelp harvest."

"You should talk to your father later and have him go over to say something. After all, this is illegal, and it's not that glorious; how can they make such a big fuss about it?"

"When they were borrowing money everywhere a few days ago, I already went over to remind them. Who would have thought they'd still be so high-profile, wishing the whole world knew?"

Ye Yaodong had also felt it was inappropriate when he heard everyone discussing it in the workshop earlier. Being so high-profile, if someone were to investigate, it would be troublesome if Lao Hai and the others were exposed, and they would easily bring disaster upon themselves; snakeheads were ruthless characters too.

"I'll talk to my father later and have him go remind them."

"Hmm, none of them seem to have a clear head."

"Just harvest the kelp these two days; as long as they stop discussing it, it will probably blow over. Everyone's focus will be on the kelp."

"That's what I thought too. We're all in the same village; we can't just watch them bring disaster upon themselves."

"Alright, I'm heading back first. I just got back, and I'm covered in dirt."

"You go ahead. This is just land-clearing work, nothing much to see. I'm heading back too."

Lin Xiuqing said as they walked, "Chen Shuji is quite a clear-headed person; he considers everything."

"For sure, otherwise how could he be a village cadre? You go help call Father over for dinner; I'll mention it to him while I'm at it."

"Alright."

Ye Fu had been busy in the workshop for a while and knew all about the village affairs these past few days. As soon as Ye Yaodong mentioned it, he immediately agreed and hurried back as soon as he finished eating.

They had returned late, but it wasn't quite mealtime yet; having eaten early, they didn't need to have dinner.

Ye Yaodong went to check the workshop again after the meal before going home to sleep.

When he woke up in the middle of the night, he couldn't fall back asleep. Looking up at the pitch-black ceiling, he began to ponder and plan the arrangements for the future.

It was already mid-to-late April, and next month would be the squid fishing season. He planned to have his father take the Dongsheng out to sea on the next trip, as his father still had to look after the other boats.

As for himself, he planned to take the 007 boat he had kept on hand and take someone along to catch squid.

One cannot look down on the fishing season just because one has money now; working for a good half-month can also earn quite a bit, and he still has to collect and dry squid.

He didn't know when the fishing season would arrive this year, so he left the arrangements to Lin Xiuqing. He was afraid she wouldn't be able to handle it alone as a woman, and if he were at home, he could manage things better.

He acted as soon as he thought of it; the next morning, while eating, he mentioned it to his father.

Ye Fu thought about it and felt it made sense. "That works too. You can also arrange the squid collection while you're at home. The price of this stuff drops day by day, so you have to be the one to judge when to collect it. It sold fast last year, but if you want to store more stock this year, you'll have to see to it and have Ye Da save some for you."

"That's what I was thinking, too."

"Then you might as well put the longline fishing gear or the trawling nets at home to use; don't just let them sit idle these next few days."

"I know. The old fishing nets were paired with the fishing boat, and they were all rented out together. That new boat doesn't have a large trawl net, and weaving one on the fly is a hassle, so I'll just put the longline gear to use. We still have materials left over at home; I'll ask someone to organize them and just supplement a bit more."

"You handle it as you see fit."

Lin Xiuqing and the old lady were also happy that he would be able to stay at home for a while, right under their noses, instead of going out to sea.

The old lady was especially gratified. "It's good to be home. I've said it before, don't work so hard. If there's work that should be done by others, let them do it. You already have so many workers; you don't need to do so much of the labor yourself. Just let others do more of it."

Ye Fu said irritably, "So I'm 'others,' am I? That 'other' who does the work."

"What are you saying? You don't have to be so petty about sharing the load. While you're still young, help out a bit more."

"Fine, I'll help out more, and he can rest more."

"Why do you always talk like that? Did I wrong you, or did someone else wrong you? Do I owe you something?"

"You really are getting senile. Even if I'm not sick, you'll make me sick with anger."

Ye Yaodong hurriedly changed the subject. "Dad, did you talk to Ye Erbo yesterday?"

"I did. He said that as soon as he got back, he told his family not to go around talking nonsense, so as not to invite trouble for themselves. They knew all along that smuggling isn't a good thing and can't be brought out into the open."

"But because they were borrowing money a while ago, the news leaked out through relatives and spread everywhere. Also, because they were running a rotating savings club, too many people knew, so it couldn't be stopped for a while. He said the rumors have been so fierce these past two days not because they went out and said anything, but because everyone saw him return and started spreading it again."

Ye Mu said disdainfully, "Hard to say. I think Ye Ersao is quite smug. She even told us that working abroad for a month can earn 10 years' worth of money back home. Otherwise, why would everyone suddenly think of going abroad? Clearly, before this, everyone was saying they were just messing around blindly, wondering why they couldn't find a better use for 6,000 yuan than just going abroad."

Ye Fu frowned tightly. "Exactly. What couldn't you do with 6,000 yuan? You could even buy two boats. And yet, just to send one child abroad, they're acting blindly. Two children means over 10,000; a 'ten-thousand-yuan household' is gone just like that. How can they be so stubborn?"

Ye Mu looked at Ye Yaodong. "Can you really earn 10 years' worth of home wages in a month abroad? How much money would that be in a month? Is it true or false? Isn't that just like picking up money? Around here, 40 or 50 yuan a month is pretty good. Even with the high risks of going out to sea, the pay is only about 70 or 80."

Lin Xiuqing also asked curiously, "If you can earn 10 years' worth of our money in a month abroad, wouldn't everyone go crazy trying to go abroad? What's a 6,000 yuan smuggling fee? You'd earn it back in a month, wouldn't you?"

Ye Yaodong had asked Ye Yaohai about the wage situation in Japan over the last few years while he was in the provincial capital.

It is indeed a period of rapid development and prosperity for Japan right now, and the economic bubble hasn't burst yet.

Earning ten years' worth of money in a month sounds very exaggerated, but for a more formal job, it's really not an exaggeration.

In China, jobs paying 30 to 50 yuan a month are everywhere; a year is only 500 or 600, and ten years is only 5,000 or 6,000.

How can you compare them...

It's just that for manual labor and fast-food restaurant jobs, the labor is a bit cheaper, which is also why Japan likes to use these foreign populations.

"Actually, it's not an exaggeration. 6,000 yuan is a lot, a whole lot, for us here. You might not even save that much money in ten years. You all think the 6,000 yuan smuggling fee is an astronomical price, and that you could do anything with it, but abroad, that 6,000 yuan might really just be a month's salary for an office worker."

The whole family's mouths hung open. They had always thought Ye Erbo's family was just bragging there, and no one had taken it seriously.

Could it really be true?

"However, since they smuggled themselves over, they can't possibly have such high wages, but washing dishes in a restaurant, earning one or two thousand a month shouldn't be a problem."

"One or two thousand!! A month!" Ye Mu was shocked.

Lin Xiuqing was also surprised. "You can get one or two thousand a month just for washing dishes?"

Ye Fu was already speechless.

The old lady muttered, "Washing dishes, I can do that too..."

"Hahahahaha..."

Ye Yaodong laughed out loud. "You can't. Even if you offered to do it for free, no one would dare take you."

"Dad, I can, I can! I'll go wash dishes, and I'll give you half of what I earn! I'll go! With that much money, why would I even bother studying?" Ye Chenghu's eyes glowed like a wolf's; he was incredibly excited.

Ye Mu was also excited. "Then did their family actually make the right choice? Sending the child abroad, wouldn't they earn the cost back in just a few months of work, and still have extra money to send home? Wouldn't that be one or two thousand a year? They've struck it rich."

"Although you can earn one or two thousand a month, the expenses are also very high. Don't underestimate them; you need money for food, drink, housing, and everything else."

Lin Xiuqing said, "That's still better than being at home. If you can save even a little bit of that one or two thousand, saving one or two hundred is already much better."

Ye Fu looked at Ye Yaodong with hope. "Then can our family send two people out too?"

"Send me, send me..."

Ye Yaodong glared at Ye Chenghu, who was blindly joining in the commotion. "What does this have to do with you? Isn't your father working himself to the bone right now for your future? Do you really need to go wash dishes at only eight or nine years old? You wouldn't even know how you died. Shut up. Is it your place to interrupt when adults are talking? If you keep nagging, go stand in the corner."

Ye Chenghu immediately shut his mouth and lowered his head to eat.

Ye Fu explained, "I meant we could send the children of your eldest brother and second brother. You already have a big family and a big business, so you don't need to send your children out to earn money."

"It's not that simple. It's chaotic abroad, too. Who knows how much suffering they have to endure behind the scenes of earning that much money? They're a different race, and it's a foreign land; how could it be that easy? I heard that those who smuggle themselves over are all working illegally, getting bullied by the locals, and having to hide everywhere to avoid being caught and deported directly back to the country."

"That... that does seem like it wouldn't be that easy."

Ye Fu immediately dismissed the idea; his heart wasn't that hard.

"If they can really earn that much, won't their tails be sticking up in the air?" Ye Mu pursed her lips.

"They were only just sent away a few days ago; we don't even know how they're doing yet. Why talk about it now?"

The old lady hurriedly said, "Then we must pray that they arrive safely, earn big money, and send it back. That would be the best of both worlds."

Ye Fu also nodded in agreement. "Yes, if it's that easy to earn, they'll be able to pay back all the money they borrowed in a few months."

His 500 yuan.

"Then you should just eat more vegetarian food and pray to Buddha; recite 'Amitabha' a few more times."

Lin Xiuqing said with emotion, "I didn't expect the wages abroad to be so high. No wonder they dared to open their mouths and ask for a 6,000 yuan smuggling fee. If you can earn one or two thousand a month, asking for 10,000 wouldn't even be excessive."

"I heard they asked for 7,000, but thinking they were family, and with Ye Erbo and the others constantly putting in a good word, they gave them a discount."

"If they really get abroad and send money back, everyone in the village will go crazy and want to run abroad too. With one or two thousand a month, how many people will go mad following them?"

"Don't think about it too simply. Is sending money across borders that easy? Let them work abroad for three years first and get a 'black card' first."

"Oh, I was just thinking that if everyone wants to go abroad to work and earn money, no one will be left to raise kelp."

"That won't happen. The benefits of kelp are right in front of our eyes. Going abroad to work is all hearsay, something we've just heard about. With so many people in the village, there are plenty of people scrambling to get into aquaculture."

Ye Yaodong wasn't worried about that; there are more people who are down-to-earth. Besides, it's not that easy to see results from those two children sent abroad.

"Sure enough, those with active minds who love to stir up trouble and scheme are the ones who find it easy to earn money," Ye Fu muttered.

Ye Mu didn't believe it was that easy to earn. "Just wait and see. Until the money is in your hands, everything said is just empty talk. They're so happy talking about it now, but we don't know what it'll be like when the time comes."

"What are you saying? Can't you say something nice?" Ye Fu was unhappy.

"Can't even tell the truth anymore? It's just that I can't stand how high-profile they are. It's clearly an illegal act, yet they're making it look so glorious, as if they've already got piles of money in their pockets. They look at everyone as if they're already a cut above the rest. I'm not even as arrogant as she is."

Ye Yaodong lowered his head to eat, not caring about his mother's petty thoughts.

It was just that they had been sisters-in-law for decades and had been comparing themselves to each other for just as long. Even though she had a decent job and a successful son, she now felt like she was being overshadowed. She felt uncomfortable and had to say a few words to feel better.

Didn't he know his mother?

Ye Fu also started scolding Ye Mu. The couple spent the whole meal bickering, neither willing to let the other get the upper hand.

The whole family was used to it; they weren't arguing over right or wrong, just for the sake of winning.

After finishing the meal, clearing the bowls and chopsticks, and leaving the table, they naturally quieted down, then went out with smiles on their faces, greeting everyone they met.

After the meal, Ye Yaodong also walked toward the nearby open space.

Standing at the door this morning, he had already seen several flatbed carts going back and forth, hauling kelp over to dry.

That rich, briny scent had been hitting his nose the whole time he was eating. It was only because their family was having such a lively discussion about the smuggling that no one had walked out with their rice bowls to stand by and watch.

At this moment, as he walked out, he saw a bunch of neighbors nearby, all holding their rice bowls, eating while watching people work and chatting on the side.

In the open space not far away, on the dirt slope, were rows of neat bamboo poles, all of which had been stuck into the ground while clearing the space yesterday.

Some bamboo poles had large ropes strung across them, with pieces of brown kelp over a meter long hanging from them. Some of the leaves were a bit smaller, and the rich scent of kelp hit his nose—it was a scent he was familiar with.

Some villagers were working together to lift the large ropes full of kelp and prop them up on the bamboo poles, some were separating the kelp that had stuck together so it could dry more evenly, and others were working together to carry the kelp to be hung up.

This kelp was harvested by cutting the ropes directly on the seabed, then dragging the kelp from the sea onto the boat, and then working together to drag the entire rope of kelp ashore and onto the flatbed carts.

A single rope, heavy with water, weighed one or two hundred jin—it was definitely hard physical labor.

According to Lin Xiuqing, most of the people working here were helping voluntarily and hadn't asked for wages.

Because everyone wanted to see the yield and work together with the village committee in the second half of the year.

Anyway, everyone's labor was very cheap, and helping out a bit didn't matter; they all felt it was just a matter of lending a hand.

Helping out in advance allowed them to get familiar with it, and they would have more say when they participated later.

Ye Yaodong watched everyone working with great enthusiasm and smiled as he walked toward a flatbed cart. The kelp piled on it was higher than a person. He touched it casually; it was slippery, and the leaves were thick, but the texture was a bit hard, with a plastic-like feel.

"This kelp has grown well; it's like a little quilt."

The village chief said happily, "It's all thanks to your guidance, and it also depends on the two workers taking good care of it. They raised it for a few more days, and they said it grew a bit larger."

"That's good. However, I have to remind you all: if the fresh kelp collected isn't dried in time, it's very easy to spoil. Also, once we enter May, the temperature will rise, and the kelp will easily rot in the sea. Everyone will have to work hard to collect the harvest quickly these next two days."

The village chief and Chen Shuji both became anxious at once.

"Ah, then we must collect it quickly. It's the end of the month, and we have to collect it no matter how late it is these next two days. There's still a large quantity in the sea; it's just that the two boats rowing back and forth are too slow, and we have to rush out when the tide comes in and return before the tide goes out."

Ye Yaodong thought for a moment and said, "My trawler hasn't been used these past two days, so I'll lend it to you. You can take my boat to pull the kelp; you can pull a bit more in one trip, and it'll be faster going back and forth, so you can collect and dry it sooner."

Only when the tide is high can fishing boats go out to sea.

At the same time, they have to return before the tide goes out, otherwise the boat won't be able to dock, so they also have to race against the tide.

Under normal circumstances, fishing boats going out to sea will calculate the time of the tide in advance to avoid wasting time when the tide hasn't arrived and the boat can't get in or out.

"Good, good, good. At critical moments, we still have to rely on you."

"Everything is for the collective, right? Both boats have been donated, so lending one out isn't a big deal. However, I'll be taking that boat out to sea in two days, so if I have a need for it, I won't be able to lend it out. So you all should hurry up these next two days, and take advantage of the good weather to get it dried quickly."

Chen Shuji echoed, "Fine, we'll have them work overtime today. No matter how late we stay up, we have to collect more."

The village chief also said, "It's a good thing we cleared this piece of land in time yesterday. All the trees that needed to be cut down were cut down, so now we have a place to dry it."

"If we raise even more next year, we'll have to worry about the drying space..." Chen Shuji said again.

"Worry about what? There's such a large open space here by the beach; what's there to worry about?"

Ye Yaodong pointed to the large beach in front of him. Isn't this all open space?

It was just that he had returned late yesterday, and they were already clearing the land here, so he hadn't said much.

"Dry it on the beach? How can that work?"

"Why wouldn't it work? You're hanging the kelp on bamboo poles to dry anyway, so why not hang it a bit higher? Anyway, there are two high tides and two low tides a day; wouldn't it be fine as long as the tide doesn't touch the kelp when it comes in?"

The two of them thought about it, then looked at the kelp hanging on the bamboo poles in front of them, and felt that it seemed feasible?

"Then we'll talk about it next year. A little later, the old primary school side should be able to be harvested, and the space can be cleared to continue drying."

"I'll go take a look later."

"It's very busy here now, and we don't have time to accompany you. You can either go over yourself, or wait until it's almost mealtime and go together."

"It's fine, you all get busy with your work; I'll just wander around."

After the two old men finished talking to him, they also rolled up their sleeves to help. They didn't have any airs of village cadres and participated very diligently.

This kelp was raised by the village committee, and when the time came, the proceeds, after paying for expenses, would also belong to the public.

Once a village becomes wealthy, there are many things it can do.

Ye Yaodong stood on the side watching, listening to the nearby villagers chatting. During this time, some people came over and joined in the help as they watched.

And after a flatbed cart of kelp was dried, the empty cart would be pushed back to the outside of the pier to wait.

He had said he would lend the boat to the village committee to collect kelp, and they had just arranged for people to go drive the boat immediately.

Ye Yaodong saw that they now had a posture of rushing to harvest during the autumn harvest, wishing they could collect everything in the sea immediately.

So, when collecting kelp, you also have to watch the weather and calculate the time; you can't just let it grow as long as you want.

"Adong, how much money do you think so much kelp can sell for?"

"You'll only know how much it sells for after weighing it. Anyway, it's more expensive this year than last year, 7 cents a jin. You can calculate it yourselves."

"They were saying yesterday that a rope collected with water weighs over 100 jin, and there are 400 ropes per mu of land. So how heavy is that? 20 tons?"

"You're stupid. You just said it was over 100 jin with water. By the time it's dragged here to dry, the water has all dripped off; how could it still be over 100 jin? Everyone says that after hanging it up, only 70 or 80 jin are left, and a lot of it has fallen into the sea."

The villagers all wanted to know how many jin of output there could be per mu of land, so they could calculate the benefits and see if it was worth following along with the aquaculture.

Some villagers who were hanging ropes to dry smiled and said, "Some are 70 or 80 jin, some are 60 or 70 jin; it's hard to say. Some of the kelp on the ropes is a bit small, and a lot has fallen into the sea."

"Recently, you can pick up quite a bit on the beach. Some children and old people are all picking it up by the beach."

"We picked it up and dried it. Are you still collecting it, Adong? Don't look down on our scattered bits, okay?"

Ye Yaodong smiled and said, "I'm collecting it. You just pick it up; as long as the quality after drying is okay, I'll take it all."

"Good, good, good. My family has also picked up several dozen jin recently, and it's all drying at our doorstep..."

"Me too..."

Ye Yaodong did the math. After this kelp is dried, the yellowed tails have to be torn off and repaired. According to the villagers' recent estimates, the yield per mu might really be 10 tons, which exceeded his expectations.

It really counts as a bumper harvest. It might be because there was little rain last winter and the sunlight was sufficient.

It can't compare to future yields, but this yield really isn't low—it's a great bumper harvest. Before last year, he thought having 5 to 8 tons would be pretty good.

"You can't calculate it now. You have to wait until this batch of kelp is dried, and the yellowed tails and the parts with holes are cut off, and then you can know the total weight after weighing. I'm also collecting dry goods; it's only after it's dried and weighed for me that there's a reference."

"Hehe, everyone is looking forward to it."

"It's a bumper harvest this year. If everyone follows along and works next year, and if the luck is as good as this year, every household will be able to buy a television and a washing machine next year."

"Hahaha... everyone is hoping for this day."

Ye Yaodong's words hit their hearts. Just thinking about it, they all felt wonderful. All the effort could be rewarded; there was no better thing than this.

He watched the field in a state of great enthusiasm, with everyone discussing it eagerly. His father and mother had come out a step ahead of him, and they were already surrounded by people.

After watching for a while, he also left and headed toward the old primary school.

Walking through the village along the way, his nose was no longer filled with the smell of salted fish and the briny scent of the sea, but with the rich scent of kelp.

It seems everyone had picked up quite a bit of kelp intermittently and was drying it at their doorsteps.

It shows that the technology is still not up to par, with so much kelp still falling into the sea.

When he went to the old primary school to take a look, it was densely packed with kelp hanging inside, the smell was even stronger, and some of it had even dried out a bit of white frost on the surface, looking like it was indeed almost ready to be collected.