Chapter 1314: Go Drive the Boat

Ye Yaodong only thought now, he had been busy all morning and hadn't seen his father.

He patted Ye Xiaoxi's butt, sent her to play first, and then stood up straight, digging his ears.

"This child, my ears are about to be unable to take it, and she specifically stuck to my ears and shook them with all her might."

"Is it good to listen?"

Ye Yaodong glared at her gloatingly, took her hand and walked home, "I'll call her back, let her shake it beside your ears for you to listen to how noisy it is."

"I don't want to, who let you buy it, just let you listen well to how noisy it is."

Lin Xiuqing felt a bit embarrassed and pulled her hand out, "We are an old married couple, still holding hands, what is it like?"

"You make it sound like we are old, seventy or eighty walking hand in hand is normal."

"You call your father and mother to walk hand in hand and see?"

Ye Yaodong imagined that scene and shuddered.

"Am I too full?"

Leaving this sentence, he walked into the house with big strides, and turned his head to urge after walking two steps.

"Hurry up, I'm starving to death."

"It's all kept warm in the pot, just serve it yourself."

After walking into the courtyard, he also saw the fireworks piled up in the courtyard that his eldest brother said.

It really was...

Too many, a bit surprised him, those who didn't know would think he was wholesaling fireworks.

Lin Xiuqing chased after him, seeing him counting the fireworks in the courtyard, said: "These were all sent by everyone this morning, basically sent by those who went out with you, and also relatives."

"Too many, when will these be put?"

"Wait until the boat is driven back to put two, put two during New Year, the rest either sell to the grocery store? Otherwise, piling in the courtyard like this is not appropriate, what if it rains and they all go bad."

"Sell what? People sent them over, and you want to take them to sell? Wait until the old house is transported, cover them with nylon bags, take them out to put during New Year, and wait until March 23rd Mazu's birthday, can also take a few out to put."

Also 1987 October 31st (Lunar September 9th) Mazu's feathering ascension 1000th anniversary, all can be useful.

"Mm, that's fine, I'm just worried that putting them in the courtyard will go bad, the quantity is too many, what if there is a little spark, that would be terrible."

"Mm."

Ye Yaodong nodded and went into the house again.

After sitting down at home, he asked again: "After Dad took the gold this morning, didn't he come over again?"

"Went to the outside of the wharf, said you already went to sea to the boat to unload cargo, so he didn't drive the boat out again, came back first. Mom saw he was free, so she sent him to send specialties to relatives and friends, didn't come over for lunch at noon, Mom also said Dad went to Aunt's to send specialties, estimated he ate at Aunt's, didn't come back."

"Oh, I thought he got the gold and just threw his hands off and didn't do it."

Lin Xiuqing smiled and served him the meal, "What are you saying, hurry to eat, winter food cools fast, I put them in the stove to keep warm, the green vegetable leaves are all yellow."

Ye Yaodong pulled two chopsticks from the chopstick cage on the table, and then saw a thick stack of calendars placed against the wall.

"What is this, calendar? Tore it off and didn't throw it away, why put it here?"

"This is saved by your family's ancestor, since you left, she saved every page she tore off, to facilitate counting the days. She said she is old, old and confused, afraid of not remembering, this isn't it, half a year, saved such a thick stack, has to count it every few days."

"Then I'm back, why keep it?"

"Didn't plan to keep it, she put it in the room and forgot to burn it, take it out after eating, said remember to take it to burn for fire at night."

"Just idle, if there is something to do, she won't keep thinking about it, buy some wool tomorrow for her to knit a sweater."

"How can she not think about it, I'm busy with feet not touching the ground every day, eating and sleeping will still think about how you are over there, you won't leave after New Year, right?"

Ye Yaodong said while eating: "Won't, rest assured, at most if I meet someone coming to the city, go up with him, then come down together."

"Still want to go up for what?"

"Didn't I buy a piece of land? Thinking about before going up in the second half of the year, if I have time to go over, just call someone to organize the land."

"So anxious? Just put it there? Only earned for a year this year, don't know how it will be next year, who knows if it will be like you guys in Wenzhou doing jellyfish, can't stay for long."

"Also right."

Not up there, organizing the land and having to leave people there to build is also troublesome.

Now being used as a garbage pile is also quite good, it's not too late to deal with it in two years.

"Then we'll see, see after New Year."

Taking advantage of the meal, Lin Xiuqing also told him that she had counted the money and put it away this morning.

Let him go to the bank to exchange the small change when he is busy in this period, just in time for New Year, exchange a batch of new money to save.

By the way, also roughly talked about the general things that happened in the village in the past half year, and the production situation of fish sauce.

Ye Yaodong was eating, just listening, many things were quite familiar, all talked about on the phone.

After he finished eating, he also took advantage of the free time to tell her about the things that happened up there, also picked and chose to tell about the roughly important ones.

"Shen Ming'e? Is that the beautiful woman in the village who went to find you every day, and sent money to you on behalf of the bank?"

His eyebrows on both sides raised at the same time, "Spread so fast? That's fortunate I confessed honestly? Otherwise, are you going to settle accounts with me?"

Lin Xiuqing glanced at him, "Am I that unreasonable?"

"That's not, mainly I'm also clean and white, walking straight and sitting straight."

"Right, that's why I took the initiative to confess, unlike the boat thing and the loan thing."

"Still mentioning? I have to have time to say, I just finished being busy and sat down to tell you what happened up there."

"You continue to tell yours, turned the page."

"That's about it..."

Ye Yaodong finished talking and went to get the photos he washed out some time ago, every photo was taken where, in what scene, all described to her.

"Grandma? Why didn't I see her? Should have told you guys together."

"Watching me count money at home, she went to the workshop to sit, listen to those women praising you, by the way, show people her gold earrings. Others, she said she is old, won't wear them out to attract people's jealousy, a pair of gold earrings is enough to make people envy, others she put away to look at slowly."

He chuckled.

"Early in the morning, she took the offerings she prepared to Mazu Temple to worship, after worshiping, she took the basket and went to the temple to worship Guanyin, later went to worship the Earth God and Earth Goddess, said the Kitchen God and Kitchen Goddess are waiting to worship at night."

"Then also said let Dad go up the mountain to worship ancestors tomorrow, worship the Mountain God, I see her like a spinning top early in the morning, busy and unable to stop, no wonder she said she forgot to burn the calendar."

Ye Yaodong was happy, "She arranged it quite comprehensively? All kinds of gods don't conflict."

Lin Xiuqing also laughed non-stop, "Yes, got up early and bought everything herself, both meat and vegetarian, chicken was also caught and slaughtered by herself, said keep it to stew at night, things to supplement have to be eaten at night."

"Still quite able to walk."

"Isn't it, before you came back, she sat at the door sighing every day, taking out your photo to look at every now and then. Now you are back, she is full of energy, looking like she can walk two miles."

"My photo? Black and white photo?"

"Right."

"I took a few color photos, I'll give her color ones in a while, looking at black and white photos sighing all day, how unlucky."

Lin Xiuqing listened to his inner words, instantly couldn't hold it, laughed until she leaned forward and backward.

She never thought in this direction, thanks to his brain turning so fast, funny to death.

"Is it funny?"

"Very funny!"

"What is so funny?"

At this time, the old lady walked in from the door with a cane, looking at them with a smile.

"Finished being busy? Just saw you were still busy, but suddenly heard no sound next door, only then knew you were back." 【1

"Yeah, the cargo is all weighed, come back and eat first."

Ye Yaodong happened to be looking at the photos, so he beckoned to her.

The old lady leaned on her cane, saying as she walked, "You're busy as soon as you get back, not even bothering to eat. What if you starve yourself? It's like this when you're home; who knows what you were starved into outside."

After walking over, she reached out to touch his stomach, muttering that it was flat and he definitely hadn't eaten his fill.

"I'm full. I'm not at the age to get fat yet. Wait until I'm forty or fifty; then my stomach will be big and my hair will be bald."

"Let me show you the photos I took up there. There are black and white ones, and color ones too. The color ones are clearer."

Ye Yaodong laid the photos on the table one by one for her to see, and he also told her about the backgrounds of the photos he had just mentioned to Lin Xiuqing.

"Good, good, good, the color ones are better; the color ones are clear..."

"It's even snowing up there; it looks cold. Did you freeze? Eating poorly and sleeping poorly while having to endure the cold—don't go next time, just stay at home."

"Give me one of these color ones; it looks really spirited... I have to show it to others. Those black and white ones are unlucky; I'll just look at them myself, I won't show them to others."

Lin Xiuqing laughed when she heard this, "Adong also said just now that the black and white ones are unlucky."

"Isn't that so? Last time I took a photo to worship Goddess Mazu, letting her see Dongzi, telling her she must protect the right person and not recognize the wrong one. A woman from another village saw me wiping away tears and even told me to grieve in moderation. It almost angered me to death; I raised my cane and wanted to beat her to death. What kind of talk was that?"

Ye Yaodong couldn't stop laughing.

"Don't laugh. People are cursing you, and you're still laughing."

"Hahaha, it really is easy to misunderstand. Why are you wiping away tears for no reason?"

"Sigh, isn't it because my heart aches? You've been suffering outside the whole time."

"Alright, alright, I'll give you a color one. I'll put the others in the photo album so they don't get lost."

"Put that album in my room; if you want to see it, go to my room to get it."

"Fine, it just so happens that I have too many things in my room."

The old lady beamed, "Then hurry and get it. I'll put these photos in, or they'll be gone."

Lin Xiuqing also turned and went into the room to get the album.

After the photos were all tucked in, the old lady hugged it like a treasure and then took it to the doorway to look at it.

"The light is good outside, I'll look at it one more time... my old eyes are dim, they're no longer useful..."

Lin Xiuqing watched the old lady mutter as she walked outside, then sat down to talk to Ye Yaodong.

"The cargo is all unloaded. Are you going to go drive the boat in a while?"

"Yes, my father's bicycle hasn't been ridden back yet. I'll go by motorcycle in a while; it'll be safe to park it at a friend's place then."

"Ask Big Brother and Ye Erge to accompany you to drive the boat; Father isn't here either, and you'll be in a rush if you go alone."

"Hmm, it just so happens I see they don't have anything to do. When Father comes back, tell him to take some fireworks to the pier and wait. There's no time like the present; let's set off the fireworks today. Anyway, we picked a date when we brought it out of the shipyard, so we don't have to be so particular now that we're back."

"I know."

"Prepare a few more dishes tonight; I'm calling friends and a few cousins to eat. Prepare a few more tables of dishes tomorrow, maybe twenty tables. It just so happens they sent fireworks today, so I'll give thanks, invite the group who sent the fireworks to a meal, and treat it as a year-end feast to invite the workers to eat."

"So many!"

Lin Xiuqing widened her eyes in surprise. What's the difference between this and hosting a banquet? Even weddings don't have this many tables.

"We bought a boat worth over a hundred thousand; everyone had the heart to send fireworks over, so inviting them to eat and liven things up is fine. It just so happens that we can invite all the workers at the same time; otherwise, we'd have to invite them twice, which is more troublesome."

"We have fifteen or sixteen boats rented out; the boat captains alone will take up nearly two tables, plus the workers on the Dongsheng and the fresh-fish collection boats, and the workers in the workshop—that'll be several tables right there."

"Tomorrow I'm going to the city, and I'll bring the city workers back while I'm at it. I'll also bring your father, mother, brother, and sister-in-law back to liven things up, along with the village cadres, Acai, and whoever else should be invited. After all, the New Year is approaching."

"I earned a lot of money this year, and the whole village knows I bought a boat worth over a hundred thousand. I'll just take advantage of this momentum to let everyone liven things up, build better relationships, and strengthen our collective cohesion and sense of honor."

Lin Xiuqing felt what he said made a lot of sense...

Having earned so much money and bought such a big boat, it is time to host a banquet to thank everyone and win people over...

It's just, how did he calculate it? There are so many people; it seems like half the village has to be invited?

"In that case, the scale is a bit large..."

"It doesn't matter, it just needs to be lively. In a while, ask my mother to hire a chef and hire a few more women as helpers. You also tell my father to go rent tables, chairs, benches, bowls, and chopsticks."

"Alright then, we have to hurry and get it done in a while, let the chef open the menu, and tomorrow morning we have to let Father push the cart to buy groceries."

"No need, just let someone drive the tractor to take him to buy them. I'll drive the boat to the city tomorrow. Anyway, the cargo in the hold hasn't been unloaded, and I'm worried about rain or waves hitting it, so I'll just unload the deck cargo today."

"That works too. Then I'll have to count the heads in a while and calculate how many tables we'll need."

"Call my mother over to calculate with you; she knows better than you how many relatives we have. You can also ask her to call people then. You don't have to do everything yourself; she's very happy to do this kind of thing."

Lin Xiuqing smiled. Indeed, for such a face-saving matter, Mother Ye would certainly be happy. Sending her to run around and spread the word is exactly what she wants.

"Then you go out to sea first, hurry, the tide has risen. I'll go call Mother over to discuss it in a while."

"Hmm."

Ye Yaodong walked outside, pushed the motorcycle out to the gate to call his Big Brother and Ye Erge, who happened to be sunning themselves at the gate, chatting with the surrounding neighbors.

Upon hearing him say to accompany him to the town to drive the boat, both of them stood up immediately.

"The tide is rising now, just right..."

"The village can't dock it, what do you plan to do?"

"Drive it in, then take the fireworks to the boat and the pier to set them off. Dock for a while, then drive it to the shelter to dock later. Anyway, we won't be going out to sea recently; we have to wait until after the New Year."

Ye Yaopeng nodded, "That's doable."

"Then let's go, go early and come back early. You sit on my motorcycle, so you don't have to ride bicycles, which are too slow."

"Good."

Ye Yaohua asked curiously, "Dongzi, the 200,000 you loaned, does the family know?"

"They know. Doesn't the whole village know? Aren't they all praising my ability? The bank even wants to send me money to spend!"

"Hahaha... it's just you, beyond my imagination. I thought the people in the village would point fingers, but I didn't expect them to actually admire you?"

Ye Yaopeng also said, "If anyone else went to the bank for a loan, they would have been drowned in spit."

Ye Yaodong said, "This is the difference between having strength and not having strength. The whole village knows I went out and earned a lot of money, and I have many boats in hand. The boat I just bought for over a hundred thousand is a living signboard."

"And more than half the people who went out with me earned money. Who would speak ill of me at this time? They'll only pick the good things to say and won't say unpleasant things to touch my bad luck."

"Right, right, it's just you. As long as there's no conflict at home, it's fine."

Ye Yaodong looked at them and smiled, "Do you want to go for a loan too? Maybe our county or town has them too."

Both of them shook their heads in unison.

"No, eat according to your ability. We are very content to be able to earn so much money now. Getting a loan, that pressure is too great."

"Right, as soon as I think about owing the bank 200,000, how could I still sleep? Do you think we are you, not worried at all about not being able to pay it back? We don't even dare to think about it."

"That's right, it's scary just thinking about it. My hair would turn white from worry, and I'd have to think about earning money all the time."

"Exactly. Getting a loan to build a boat, it takes a year or two to get the boat. During this period, there's no money to earn. Wouldn't your heart be in your throat? After you get it, earning money also takes a process, and natural disasters and man-made misfortunes are also risks."

"Don't do it, don't do it, we can't do it. You have big guts, you just do it."

The two of them said one sentence after another; listening to them, you could tell they had discussed it.

Ye Yaodong shrugged, stopped talking, started the motorcycle, and sat on it.

At this time, Ye Xiaoxi, who was playing on the side, also heard the sound of the motorcycle. She looked over and immediately flew over.

"Daddy... Daddy... car... car... doggy fast... sit in car..."

The dogs were faster than her; they had already taken a step ahead of her and blocked the motorcycle.

They rushed in front of the motorcycle, stood in a row, collectively barked at him, and the sound of the bells was also very neatly jingling.

Ye Yaodong stopped helplessly, "What are you doing? I'm going to do serious business. Aqing, Aqing..."

Lin Xiuqing responded while running out, "What?"

"Your daughter wants to follow, hurry and carry her away."

Ye Xiaoxi ran over, already a step ahead of Lin Xiuqing, got into the sidecar, and sat squeezed next to Ye Yaohua.

The dog next to her also wanted to squeeze up, but she pressed the dog's head and pushed it out, "Go away, go away..."

"Daddy, let's go, let's go..."

"Go your head, I'm going to drive the boat!"

She clapped her hands happily, "Great, after sitting in the car, sit in the boat."

"Do you want to sit in an airplane?"

"Want, want, want..."

"Do you want a whip?" Lin Xiuqing came over and wanted to carry her down.

"Don't want, don't want."

Several dogs at this time also bit her clothes, wanting to pull her down.

She was acting shamelessly, but she was still carried down by the adult.

The fast-reacting dog had already jumped into the sidecar.

Ye Yaodong took the opportunity to drive the motorcycle out.

The little yellow dog, the spotted dog, and the little white dog didn't jump in time, missed, and fell to the ground one after another.

Ye Xiaoxi was originally going to cry, but seeing the funny appearance of the dogs, she immediately broke into a smile, pointing at the dogs mockingly, "Stupid, stupid."

The dogs lay on the ground, drooping their heads, walking slowly, looking a bit dejected.

After Ye Yaodong drove into the village, he slowed down. He drove relatively slowly; the village was full of children running and jumping, and a bunch of people standing in the middle of the road chatting and sunning themselves.

After seeing him, many people greeted him enthusiastically.

"Where are you three brothers going?"

"Oh my, I haven't seen this motorcycle for a long time..."

"Are you three brothers going to buy something big?"

Ye Yaodong smiled and said, "Going to town to drive the boat, everyone make way..."

"Is the boat worth hundreds of thousands true? Are you going to drive it back now?"

"Oh my, then we have to go take a look. What kind of boat is so expensive that it could buy our whole village..."

"Can it be seen? Can it drive into the village pier?"

"Will it run aground?"

Ye Yaodong didn't care about the discussion behind him. He slowly passed through the small village road with many people, and only after getting on the big road at the entrance of the village did his speed increase.

After arriving in town, he drove the motorcycle directly to the entrance of the Hongsheng Hotel. As soon as the car stopped, a younger brother came out to greet him.

"This boss..."

"Is Wang Maoquan here?"

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll go call him."

Ye Yaopeng asked curiously, "Dongzi, you parked the car here? Is it okay?"

"Hmm."

As soon as Wang Maoquan came out, he saw Ye Yaodong and said in surprise, "Oh my? It's you?"

"It's me. Long time no see. Manager Wang looks even more blessed; life is going very smoothly, right?" He said while throwing a pack of cigarettes over.

"Are you here to find our boss?"

"No, I want to park the car at your place. I have something to do, so I have to trouble you to let someone watch it. I'll come back to drink tea with your boss next time."

"Alright, sure."

"Then I'll trouble you."

Ye Yaodong parked the car to the side. After parking it again, he greeted Wang Maoquan again and took his Big Brother and Ye Erge to the pier.

At this time, a head poked out of the window upstairs and called his name, "Ye Yaodong!"

He stopped immediately and looked up.

Hong Wenle called out, "Looking for me?"

"No..."

"Wait for me a moment."

He could only stand in place and wait for a moment.

Ye Yaopeng was surprised, "Dongzi, you've become familiar with this boss too?"

"I suppose?"

"You can make friends wherever you go."

"Does that mean I have big guts? I can talk to anyone? My face is thick, and I'm well-connected."

"Hehehe..."

In a while, Hong Wenle ran out, "What's the matter? Haven't seen you for quite a while?"

"I'm not looking for you. I'm borrowing your precious land to park the car, hehe."

"Is that so? I thought you came to find me. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to the pier to drive the boat. It's not good to park the motorcycle directly on the pier, so I thought about parking it here and coming to drive it later?"

"Why are you parking the boat in town instead of driving it back to the village?"

"The boat I bought is new and quite large, with a deep draft, so it can only dock at the deep-water port. Even if I drive it to the village, it can only dock very far out and float. I thought I'd just park it here. After I drive it back and set off some fireworks, I'll drive it to the shelter."

"What kind of boat? How big? Did you get rich again?"

"It's alright, over 40 meters."

"Ah! Damn!" Hong Wenle widened his eyes. He had originally just asked casually to flatter him.

"Over 40 meters? You bought a boat over 40 meters? How much did you earn? Is it a partnership?"

"No, want me to take you to take a look?"

"I'll go take a look. Damn, you bought a boat over 40 meters. How much is this boat? Is it tens of thousands? Or over a hundred thousand? Even a partnership must cost a lot of money, right?"

"No partnership, it's just me! Over a hundred thousand."

Hong Wenle was shocked!

Wang Maoquan was even more shocked than him; his mouth was open wide enough to fit an egg, and his eyes were as big as copper bells.

When did the poor boy become a big tycoon?

Can a boat worth over a hundred thousand be bought just like that? Could he be bragging?

Hong Wenle asked in disbelief, "Just you? You spent over a hundred thousand? Damn it, is it real or fake?"

"Won't you know if you go take a look?"

"Go, go, go, I'll go take a look for you. Isn't it incredible? You've made such a big fortune? What have you been doing? Not fishing anymore?"

"Fishing, I earned it by fishing. Otherwise, what could I do?"

"Fishing can earn so much? Why do I find it a bit hard to believe? It's only been a year, right?"

"There's a bit of luck involved..."

Ye Yaodong chatted with him while walking.

Wang Maoquan stood at the entrance looking at his motorcycle, touching it here and there, muttering, "What kind of dog shit luck did he have to buy such a big boat? It's a good thing he didn't drive a car..."

Walking in town, he didn't feel how strong the wind was. As soon as he walked to the pier, Ye Yaodong felt like his skull was about to be blown away by the wind.

Under the sun, the wind was howling. He even wanted to walk backward.

At this time, there weren't many boats at the pier. He saw his boat at a glance. Not to mention the size, the big flower tied on it was particularly eye-catching among the crowd of boats.

"Look, that's the boat, did you see it?"

"My mom! You, this damn thing, is it really this big? Is it really yours?"

Ye Yaopeng smiled and said, "Your boat is still the most imposing; the surroundings are all broken boats..."

"There's a reason for it being expensive."

Ye Yaodong beckoned to him, "Let's go, I'll take you on board to take a look."