Chapter 1288: Delivering the Money

Not using the VHF radio, saying it face to face—Old Man Pei figured it would be easier to talk that way, after all he was an elder, and also the in-laws.

Never expected he'd picked up a rock only to drop it on his own foot.

Ye Yaodong didn't utter a single curse, but every word gave no face, and afterward he gave no chance to save the situation, just walked straight away, leaving him suddenly unable to come down from the stage.

The two boats, which had been snugly pulled together, gradually widened their distance again.

"Boss, Old Pei is going a bit overboard, isn't this just jacking up the price on the spot?"

"Right, he didn't say anything earlier, waited until our boats had all pulled over, about to weigh the goods, then suddenly pulled this stunt at the last minute."

"Let them dock and sell a load themselves, then they'll know how tough it is. Where is money so easy to earn? Plenty of people sell till dawn and still can't finish, can only haul it back, and still have to sit through a whole night of cold wind."

"Exactly, just let our fishing boats take the goods straight back, he doesn't need to worry about a thing, and the money he gets is even more."

Ye Yaodong didn't say anything, "Stop talking behind people's backs too, let him do whatever he wants. If you feel like you're getting the short end, then go back and sell a load yourself."

"He's just never sold goods himself, doesn't know when he's well off. From the very start when he came over, our boats have been collecting his goods, he doesn't have to worry about a thing, just takes the money."

"Hurry back and go hold your son and grandson, let Guang-ge take over."

"I think he's just been getting a big head lately because he had a son."

"I think he's just jealous of A-dong earning more, probably been unbalanced for a long time now, scheming every day…"

"I think so too…"

Ye Yaodong headed straight for the wheelhouse, letting them talk it over—perfect, he could head back a bit earlier. There weren't that many goods today, no need to sit in the cold wind.

If he could run into one of their own fishing boats, he could collect some goods along the way to make up the numbers. Today there were a few more Wenzhou merchants splitting the haul, so if he hauled it back, it might still fall short.

But no need to worry, the dock is full of those fish, shrimp, and crabs.

But once he got back he'd have to have a word with A-guang about his old man jacking up the price.

He and A-guang were childhood friends, A-guang was the brother-in-law, his old man didn't even count for much.

Had to make it clear to A-guang—his old man should be retiring, worrying less would help him live longer.

Swap Old Man Pei out for retirement, put A-guang in, then he'd feel comfortable. Otherwise there was no way to work together, sooner or later they'd split, and it would even affect the brothers' feelings.

His old man was almost a stirrer-of-shit stick at this rate.

Ye Yaodong drove the boat and just slapped his butt and left. The goods on the other three boats he'd already collected in advance, so he didn't need to go find the next boat now.

He also didn't specifically bring this up with his old man or his older brother and Ye Ye Erge—to reach his old man on the line he'd have to first shout on the public channel.

That would make it look like he was tattling.

He just headed straight back. He didn't know whether Old Man Pei had returned, or whether he'd found another fresh-collecting boat, and his old man hadn't come to talk to him either—probably because the Shunfeng hadn't moved yet and hadn't noticed anything off.

Let him be, anyway he was heading back.

Old Man Pei could figure it out himself.

Ye Yaodong got back to the dock smoothly. He first took out his notebook and weighed out each merchant's requested goods.

When it fell short later, he let the others go around the dock to see if any of their own people's stalls were set up, weigh some over to make up the numbers.

It wasn't much that was missing.

Split it up casually, tonight was easy and relaxed, no need to sit in the cold wind.

He just needed to hire a tractor, deliver each merchant's goods one after another, then make one last trip to the processing plant and it was done.

"Hehe, feels like with one boat's worth of goods missing, we're way more relaxed…"

"A-dong is earning less, isn't that dumb, but he needs to be taught a lesson, otherwise he'd think earning money is that simple."

"Right, exactly, only after taking a beating does he know to behave."

Everyone finished today's task easily and relaxed, and had time again to chat.

Ye Yaodong didn't bother with their talk. Once he got home, he'd just let everyone do their own thing and mingle on their own.

He tallied up today's money—sure enough it had shrunk a bit, but only by about a thousand yuan, which was still acceptable.

He finished the accounts and went out. The people staying behind had all learned about today's matter, and each and every one was righteously furious, cursing Old Man Pei as a scoundrel, telling him to try selling to someone else.

Ye Yaodong just hummed and hawed in response, listened to everyone curse for a while, and at the end only instructed them not to gossip outside, otherwise if it got out that everyone was cursing Old Man Pei behind his back, it wouldn't sound good and would affect unity.

For their group here, the most important thing was unity.

Anyway, in the end they'd still have to come begging him, though most likely they'd have to send A-guang to do the talking.

After dinner, he saw it was still early, not yet time for bed, just past 8, so he went to find A-guang first and told him about his old man's plan today.

"How can my old man be like this? Where does he get all these petty schemes? The dock is full of goods, and full of goods that can't be sold—we ourselves have sun-dried a big batch from the small boats that can't be sold, and in the end we'll all need you to help take them off our hands. How does he think he has any right to haggle?"

"Oh lord, I'm going to be pissed to death by him, he just has to stir up trouble for no reason. Fine, now he has to sell the goods himself, he'll probably come back tomorrow."

"He doesn't even look at how the other fresh-collecting boats have been squeezing prices because of that pirate thing before, what state they've been pushed to. And now the peak fishing season has arrived too, there's even more goods."

"You didn't even squeeze the price, you even raised it a bit before, and he's still not satisfied, damn it…"

A-guang was also given a splitting headache by his old man's shenanigans, and cursed up a storm.

"Your old man probably saw that my fresh-collecting boat earns a lot. Four boats working their tails off, after expenses, only match what my one fresh-collecting boat earns taking ready-made goods. Looking at that must not sit well with him."

"Honestly, I've told him many times—you have connections, so the unsold goods are few, other fresh-collecting boats giving the shore 50% off is already considered good. Really going to piss me to death, he used to be able to listen."

"Probably never saw me earn this much before either."

The fresh-collecting boat only came into its own after coming out here. When it was in Wenzhou, it didn't earn this much either—coming here it's really been a killing machine.

Their several big boats went wild catching at sea, and the fresh-collecting boat's earnings multiplied along with it.

And what they earned only went up by a few hundred, but the fresh-collecting boat went up several times.

One trip splitting four-five, five-six thousand, while their fishing boats, after subtracting the big chunk of fuel costs, only netted about two thousand, and they didn't even have to stay at sea the whole time—at most they came out to collect one load.

It took two fishing boats to match the earnings of one fresh-collecting boat, and it looked easy too—really too eye-catching.

A-guang let out a heavy sigh, "Perfect time to learn a lesson, only after taking a loss and a beating does one know what's good."

"My old man, ever since coming here, has just been going out to sea the whole time, hasn't really been on shore much, doesn't clearly know how ruthless the other fresh-collecting boats are. Here it's the goods looking for boats, not boats looking for goods. He only sees you earning money too easily."

"Not to mention anything else, with your own people you don't have to worry about safety—find some other fresh-collecting boat and you don't know if they're human or ghost."

Ye Yaodong said, "I just came over to give you a heads-up, so that when you see your dad come back tomorrow and the other fishing boats don't, you won't be too shocked. After all, your dad is your dad, and you are you."

"But I think your dad should just stay on shore. At his age, it's time to let go. I mainly have a lot of things to handle, and I need to be on shore to oversee things and liaise with merchants from all sides who collect goods. The newly expanded merchants—my dad still can't handle that."

Aguang gave him a thumbs-up. "So, to earn your money, you still need channels. What is my dad thinking?"

Ye Yaodong didn't want to speak ill of his father in front of him; that kind of thing could only be grumbled and cursed about by Aguang himself.

He had simply come over to state the facts plainly, and whether they were good or bad, Aguang could figure it out on his own.

"There's nothing else. I'll head back first. Anyway, you just need to know the cause and the story, so there won't be any misunderstanding later, thinking I gave your dad the cold shoulder and refused his goods."

Aguang patted Ye Yaodong's shoulder. "I got it. What kind of person are you—don't I know? I know my dad too. Anyway, once we sort out this loan thing, I'll swap with him. I'll go out to sea, and let him stay on shore."

"I had already talked it over with him a few days ago—I'd go out to sea, and he'd stay on shore. Isn't it just that these past few days I wanted to get a loan to get one more boat?"

"Didn't expect him to stir up this mess. We were cooperating just fine… Now I still have to clean up his mess."

"When he comes back tomorrow, I'll do some ideological work on him, talk some sense into him. When the time comes, I'll still have to count on you not to hold it against him."

Ye Yaodong smiled. "You do the ideological work on him first, so others won't think we're on bad terms."

"Alright, let's wait until he's back."

"Then I'll head back to sleep first."

He just didn't know—when the time came and he still had to beg him to take the goods, whether Old Man Pei would feel awkward facing him, whether he could still manage a smile.

Anyway, he himself wouldn't feel awkward.

Or, could Old Man Pei still tough it out?

"Hold on, you don't have anything to do tomorrow either, right? Let's go to the government again to ask about the land? As for the house, the landlord hasn't gotten back to us yet."

"Sure."

After the two made their plans, Ye Yaodong headed home at an easy pace.

Aguang was still sober, and his words were pleasant to hear. As for Old Man Pei's matter, he definitely couldn't take it out on Aguang.

Everyone has their own Ren De Xiang Fa. Father and son holding different views, thinking differently is perfectly normal. He couldn't, because of someone else's dad, take it out on his childhood friend.

The next evening at dinner, sure enough, Ye Yaodong heard the deckhands at the table discussing that Old Man Pei had come back.

They said he came back in the afternoon, and at this moment was still selling goods at the dock. Aguang had brought people over to help, and even delivered his meals.

Everyone at their table was discussing it animatedly. Some were even gloating, still betting on whether he could sell out, or whether he'd have to sell until dawn.

Nobody was optimistic about them; the side they took was very clear.

Ye Yaodong just pricked up his ears and listened, without voicing any opinion. As for the opinions that needed voicing, hadn't these people already voiced them for him? They were all his mouthpieces.

After a whole night passed, he heard again that they hadn't come back by dawn.

By seven or eight o'clock, he saw Aguang come over with huge dark circles under his eyes, looking haggard, with stubble all over his face.

"My dad is about to do me in. Help me out, quick."

Ye Yaodong looked at him in surprise. "You didn't sleep all night, and stayed up until now?"

"You bet? Now he knows how tough it is. Without you, a lot of the goods couldn't be sold, and we had to stay up until now. The other fish and shrimp were okay, all sellable. It's just that there were too many hairtail. The dock has been full of hairtail lately too, and the ones that couldn't be sold were also hairtail. The other goods sold pretty well."

"So, here I am, thick-skinned, coming to ask you. The other goods only have a little bit left, doesn't matter, just have someone take them to be split and dried. These hairtail are still fresh, and there's a lot of them. I still have to trouble you."

"I was also thinking the factory needs hairtail, and there's a lot left over. I didn't dare trouble you with the other fish goods. This whole mess, and I have to come back to you again."

"Otherwise those goods would go to waste, that would be too bad. Do you think you can still take them? It's fine to count a little less, just don't let them go to waste. After all, they were hauled out of the sea."

Aguang was full of grievances. Having stayed up all night with him, he was also full of anger, but it was his own father, so he could only help clean up the mess, thick-skinned as he came.

Ye Yaodong saw him looking so haggard and didn't say anything to refuse. His dad is his dad, and he is he.

"How much is left?"

"Three tons? Should be five or six thousand jin. Sold part of it, still this much left."

"That's quite a lot."

"Exactly. He's been cursing me all night. He's probably both angry and anxious, worked himself up. His mouth is even blistered. He blew the cold wind all night, and just now when he went back he collapsed. I still have to have someone take him to see a doctor and get medicine. The way he's worn me out, the anger alone could kill me…"

"Alright, no need to be angry. Hurry and take him to see a doctor first. He's getting on in years, getting sick isn't that easy to recover from. He doesn't have the resistance young people have. Let him rest well at home for a few days."

Ye Yaodong didn't kick a man when he was down. He said a few comforting words, then added, "As for those goods, I can't make any promises."

He glanced at the watch on his wrist. "You should have come over earlier. I'll go take a look with you first, then call a vehicle to haul it to the factory to see? Best if they take it. If not, then we can only haul it back, buy a few hundred jin of salt, and pickle it at home."

Pickling is the least troublesome, less trouble than splitting and drying.

"Can only do it this way. Let's try first. Really being done in by him."

"Do you want to go with your dad to see the doctor and get medicine first?"

"No need. I've already had someone take him to the clinic first. I'll go to the factory with you. Can't dump everything on you."

"Okay."

He didn't have anything to bring, so he just went straight with Aguang.

Fortunately, after the factory asked three times and confirmed it was Ye Yaodong's goods, they didn't say they didn't want them, just complained that they were delivered later than usual.

But the implication was also that recently the goods delivered every day had increased greatly, and they'd hired quite a few more people. If it weren't that his goods here were specifically required, they definitely wouldn't take them at this time, afraid they couldn't finish the work that day.

Recently, the hairtail peak season had arrived, and the factory's demand had grown even greater.

The local hairtail itself was of good quality, and now the price was even lower—it was the perfect time to stock up.

Zhoushi belongs to the Shengsi Islands sea area, with four distinct seasons, and sits at the estuary of the Yangtze River, Qiantang River, and Yong River, with abundant bait fish.

Add to that the low salt content of the sea water in this area, and that's what gives Zhoushi hairtail its delicate flesh and excellent texture—top-grade quality.

Dried shrimp skin is also low in salt content; what comes out after drying is lightly dried shrimp skin, which tastes good and isn't salty.

The hairtail commonly seen on the market mainly come in two types: "East Sea hairtail" and "open-ocean hairtail." Hairtail from the Indian Ocean and other open-ocean waters are large in size, have big eyes, have rows of bony bumps along the back, thick skin, scales that don't fall off easily, and look good.

However, the flesh is generally much rougher, and the nutrition isn't as good as hairtail produced in the East Sea area.

That's why the hairtail here has become more and more famous year by year.

By 2024, during New Year, a jin of hairtail could sell for one or two hundred, and that's still in a coastal area where seafood is abundant.

While Ye Yaodong was weighing the goods, he even saw several carts of their cargo being hauled away, and shrimp skins and fish scraps scattered all over the ground, which were merely swept up casually with a broom.

After selling an entire cart of goods, Ah Guang finally breathed a sigh of relief, and casually counted out half the money from the sale to hand to Ye Yaodong.

"Are you sure you're giving this to me?"

"Absolutely. Without you, all this would have to be hauled back again. I'd still have to waste time arranging for people to pickle it, and I'd still have a headache figuring out where to store it. By the time we get back, I'd probably have to beg you to buy it again. Take it."

Ye Yaodong accepted it without any false modesty. If he had bought the goods earlier, why would there be so much trouble? He still had to let the other guy earn this money anyway.

"Go back, eat something quickly, and lie down to sleep."

"I still need to check first if my father and the others have returned, and I have to worry about his condition."

"Normally I should go visit, but I'm worried that if he sees me, he'll get so angry he'll make himself even sicker, so I won't go for now."

One could imagine he was surely cursing loudly, blaming Ye Yaodong for refusing to buy the goods and turning to leave immediately without saying a few more words to give him a chance to save face, and just opening his mouth to tell him to sell it himself.

He probably had a rough night of it.

"It's fine, let him cool off. In a few days when he's better, his own brain will figure it out."

"Mm."

After Ye Yaodong returned home, a group of idle workers immediately swarmed around him, very gossipy, asking all at once.

He said directly, "I already helped him sell the remaining goods..."

"Why help him sell it? You should have let him haul it back; that would hurt more and teach him a lesson."

"That won't do. Old Pei may be untrustworthy, but Ah Guang is different after all. Besides, none of us are outsiders; we're all here, so we can't make things too awkward."

"I heard he's sick?"

"With all this fuss, he must be regretting it terribly..."

"Will they have to beg you to buy again?"

Ye Yaodong shook his head. "Not for now. They'll probably stay home to rest for a few days and won't go to sea. We'll see when they set sail again."

Not going to sea is a loss too; this time it really hurt enough.

He lost money and fell ill.

The others continued to discuss in a clamor, and even people staying on other fishing boats found out.

By evening, all the villagers here knew about it.

Everyone kept discussing it for several more days; whenever they met workers hired by Ah Guang, they had to ask about Old Pei's condition.

Even Ah Zheng and Xiao Xiao ran over to chat with him a few times, saying Old Pei's father was too good at playing small tricks, and they all thought he deserved it a bit, but they certainly wouldn't say that out loud.

And Ye Yaodong also met Li Shouquan, who had come specifically to find him, that same evening.

"Why are there so many people here! Don't you need to go to sea?"

When he arrived and saw the men filling the doorway, that was the very first thing he said.

"Hehe, because some of my fishing boats are small trawlers that return the same day. In the evening, they sit together chatting, so it just looks like there are more people."

Isn't it all because of gossiping about Old Pei's father?

They didn't dare go gossip over at Ah Guang's place, so of course they all came here to gossip, right?

It was like holding a big meeting; besides those at sea and those who hadn't finished selling their goods and returned yet, over a hundred people had gathered here.

Entertainment activities were simply too scarce, and this was gossip about their own people, which was far more interesting than listening to the chaos at the dock.

"You really do have a lot of boats... Hurry and show me that Vice President certificate of the Fishery Association..."

"If it's real, then I'll believe you. I have several boats with shrimp skins to sell to you, but you also need to state a reasonable price."

"I sold goods once today. Don't ask how easy it was to sell. It's a good thing I wasn't cheated by that unscrupulous fresh-fish buying boat. 'Overstocked'? Overstocked my grandpa! They just took advantage of me being a stranger here with no one else to turn to."

"Next time I run into him, I'll punch him. He made Laozi waste time; now I have to wait until tomorrow to go to sea and make money."

Ye Yaodong smiled and led him inside to sit, then showed him the certificate again, and only then did he feel reassured.

"Ah, feels like I've found an organization. Since you have an officially recognized identity, I'll feel safe handing the goods over to you. Don't blame me for being petty; we've only met twice after all, and today is the third time. I have my concerns and must also be responsible to others."

"I understand. After all, you've stepped on a landmine before. Being careful when you're out is never wrong, and you can't just trust anyone blindly."

Ye Yaodong hadn't expected the identity of Vice President of the Fishery Association to be so useful; it could be put to use wherever he went.

When you're out in the world, you still need some status or background; only then will people believe what you say, and it's easier to get around.

"Right, that's exactly what I mean. Also, that Wenzhou Chamber of Commerce you mentioned, take me to see it tomorrow? Introduce me to some people too. If you introduce them, they must be fine."

"No, please don't blindly trust me. I just joined this chamber of commerce myself and have only just met a few people. I don't even know what kind of people they are yet, so I can't guarantee anything for you."

"At least they're from our region. Getting to know them can't hurt. As for their character, that depends on getting to know them slowly over time."

"Right, that's it. I'm just building a bridge, making a connection, to integrate Wenzhou merchants and boat captains together so we can stick together. As for the rest, it depends on personal interaction."

"That's not bad either."

"So will you come over tomorrow morning? I'll take you?"

"Okay. Then let's talk about buying shrimp skins again. What price do you plan? The price that fresh-fish buying boat gave was half of the dock price, but I saw it sold too easily. As soon as we docked and unloaded, people were asking; it was sold in just a few hours."

Ye Yaodong smiled and said, "But you also have to bear the risks, right? The chaos at the dock; you sold goods once, you must have seen several incidents, right? Being beaten to death and dragged away is quite normal."

"And a round trip doesn't waste just a few hours, but half a day, maybe even a whole day. For example, selling goods that takes an hour, you still have to replenish supplies; entering and leaving the port requires verification, and most of the time you have to queue. That takes a lot of effort."

"Hehe..."

"So they offer fifty percent, and I also offer fifty percent. However, I can promise that I won't make money on the fuel, ice, and vegetables needed for replenishment. Whatever the price on shore is, the price when sold at sea to you will be the same."

Li Shouquan's eyes lit up. "Then that works."

"Right? So it's settled? How many boats do you have?"

"We have eight larger ones, all over twenty meters. The others are ten-plus meters trawlers. Resources here are abundant, so they don't need to go far; they all return the same day."

"Then it's about the same as us. The people here on our side are all small trawlers; returning the same day is more cost-effective."

"Right, okay, then it's settled. Take me to the chamber of commerce tomorrow, get things done early. I need to go to sea quickly too. Coming back once wastes too much time; I still need to sleep."

"Haha, you definitely need to sleep; otherwise, how could you stand it?"

"Then we'd have to work day and night on the sea, someone on the job twenty-four hours a day."

"That's for sure. Once we're out at sea, we'll definitely be working around the clock."

"Then I'll head off first, I'll come back tomorrow."

Ye Yaodong got up with a smile and saw the man off.

He was secretly delighted too — outsiders' money was easier to earn, and they were easier to satisfy.

A man's heart is never satisfied; a snake tries to swallow an elephant.

Earning money from your own people meant having to listen to endless grumbling — they grabbed the bargain and still weren't satisfied.

Outsiders only needed a little extra sweetness to be overjoyed.

"Dong-ge, who was that? What did he come for?"

Ye Yaodong, certificate in hand, patted the palm of his hand and answered the others' curiosity.

"Someone coming to deliver money. From now on we'll have work every day, you lot won't be sitting around growing moldy anymore."

"Huh? We're not growing moldy."

"Heh heh, Dong-ge, lately so many people have been looking for you — you're really something, you know. Both men and women, young and old — you can handle them all."

"Nonsense," he shook the little booklet in his hand, "it's all thanks to this little thing. I'd say I've barely managed to get a foothold, right?"

"Is it really that useful?"

"You bet. Probably starting the day after tomorrow, our fresh-goods boats can head out to sea every day to collect cargo and make money. Work hard — when we go back for New Year, I'll give every one of you a big red envelope."

"Haha, so that guy was a boat boss?"

Ye Yaodong laughed and told them: "Do more good deeds, help old grannies across the street more often — good people get good rewards."

"Oh come on…"

"This boat boss catches dried shrimp. From now on, every day, I'll make sure you have more fresh dried shrimp than you can eat."

"Awesome — dried shrimp sells really well these days."

"Mm, you could say I picked up a bargain. It's all thanks to this certificate in my hand."

The next morning, while he was eating breakfast, Li Shouquan arrived.

He hurriedly gulped down a few bites, then led him over to Jin Laixi's place.

Jin Laixi's place was impressively efficient too — in just a few days, a wooden plaque had already been hung above the door, reading "Wen City Chamber of Commerce."

It looked quite the part. His spot was already on the main street, so it stood out even more, looked more official, and inspired more trust.

With Ye Yaodong leading him in and introducing his identity, Li Shouquan also presented the personal reference letter issued by the village, and was accepted without a hitch.

Moreover, Jin Laixi said that in a few days he would be given a membership certificate, similar to the Vice Chairman certificate of the Fisheries Association that Ye Yaodong had in his hand.

He said if you're going to do it, do it properly.

Listening to all this, Ye Yaodong really felt it was looking quite the part…