Chapter 1374: How Much Is Appropriate

There wasn't much going on at the workshop. After Ye Yaodong finished talking with them and looking over the ledger, he went to find his father-in-law.

The ledger had the specific profits listed, and now there was someone dedicated to keeping the accounts, so he didn't need to go over them with his father-in-law. He just glanced at the profits, went over to collect the accounts, and then he could head home.

Before leaving, he also made a quick phone call home, saying he'd drive the tractor back now.

He got up and had a casual meal, and after dawdling a bit it was already past one in the afternoon. By the time he got home, it was dinner time.

Wang Wang Guangliang was officially quitting starting today, so he went back with Ye Yaodong as well.

Ye Yaodong figured that since Wang Wang Guangliang was leaving, he'd need to promote another foreman to manage things here.

He'd pick someone more steady from the remaining workers when the time came.

The workshop had enough hands for now. They didn't need to buy sundries anymore—just receive the goods when the fresh-fish boats came in. The dockworkers actually handled the hauling, and when they really had work to do, it was just lending a hand moving things around in the factory.

By the time he reached the village, dusk had nearly fallen, but the tractor was loud. The moment the vehicle drove into the village, excited children started hopping and shouting at the top of their lungs.

"Chenghu, Yangyang, your daddy's home…"

"Your family's tractor is back again…"

"Your daddy's finally home, there'll be presents…"

"Daddy… Daddy…"

A swarm of kids ran behind the tractor, and the crowd kept growing.

Once the weather warmed up, even after dark the kids ran wild outside with no one watching them.

Ye Yaodong didn't stop at all, paid them no mind, and drove straight to the workshop, only finding a good spot to park once he was inside.

The old lady had been sitting at the workshop entrance waiting, and finally her wait was rewarded. She walked up to him with a beaming smile, leaning on her cane.

"You're finally home. I thought you'd be back early today."

"Overslept. Didn't wake up until noon."

"Traveling wears you out. A little extra sleep is good. No rush, just don't wear yourself out…"

"Mm."

"Are you hungry? I kept dinner for you at home. Go eat first…"

A group of kids chased all the way to the workshop entrance, but they couldn't get in. Only the two Ye Chenghu brothers came panting inside.

"Daddy, why didn't you stop? I kept calling you."

"What do you want?" Ye Yaodong climbed down from the vehicle carrying a combination-locked case.

"Calling you… calling you…"

Ye Chenghu circled around his hand and only saw the one combination-locked case—no other luggage. Immediately he eagerly said, "Daddy, let me carry it for you…"

"Here you go."

Ye Yaodong tossed the combination-locked case in his hand to him. Ye Chenghu hugged it excitedly. "I'll take it home for you right now."

"Brother, let me help…"

"No need, I can carry it…"

Ye Chenghu excitedly grabbed the case and ran outside, with Ye Ye Chengyang right on his heels.

Ye Yaodong watched the two brothers with a smile. In a bit, when they opened it, there'd be nothing inside—wouldn't that just kill them.

He wasn't in a rush to head home either. He first took a stroll around the workshop. It was no different from before he left, and the dryer was still running.

The old lady trailed behind him the whole time, following wherever he went, chattering on and on about what she'd been up to lately.

Ye Yaodong just responded with vague "mm"s and "ah"s, showing he was listening.

"Daddy… Daddy…"

Before he could even head back, the two boys had already rushed over in a frenzy.

"Daddy, where are the things you bought? Are they still on the truck?" Ye Chenghu said, patting his pockets as he spoke.

Ye Yaodong grabbed him by the clothes and pulled the two apart. "Go play on the side. One more time being cheeky and I'll hang you up and beat you."

Ye Ye Chengyang shrank his neck and stood to the side, not daring to make a sound.

Ye Chenghu, thick-skinned, kept pressing: "Did you really not buy anything?"

"What else?"

Not buying them practice notebooks was already his mercy.

Ye Chenghu's shoulders immediately slumped. "Fine."

Ye Ye Chengyang, hearing the confirmed answer, immediately took off running.

No presents anyway—who'd stick around here just to get scolded.

Ye Yaodong released his grip on Ye Chenghu and headed straight home, too lazy to bother with the brat.

Truth was, he just hadn't had the time. He'd been running back and forth up there, swamped with errands. Where was the time to go shopping, or to care about their petty little matters?

He wasn't the turtle in a wishing well, able to grant whatever they wanted just because they wanted it.

Lin Lin Xiuqing had just finished dealing with the dirty clothes in his suitcase—not a single clean one among them, and seven or eight pairs of socks all reeked.

The moment he walked in the door, she said, "Did you not wash any clothes the whole time you were out? Just changed into them?"

Ye Yaodong said innocently, "They weren't dirty. I didn't go into the fields, didn't go out to sea, didn't sweat. I can wear them a few more days. When they're dirty, I take them off."

Truth was, he thought he'd be heading back soon, so there was no need to wash them—just save them up and bring them home.

Plus, toward the end he was so busy that by the time he got back to the rental place it was basically dark, and he didn't feel like doing chores.

Lin Lin Xiuqing shook her head helplessly and put the suitcase away.

"Your son just carried the suitcase back in a rush, urgently asking me to open it so he could look for presents. The result almost knocked him out from the smell. He was digging through your dirty clothes, and when he got to the stinky socks, he said his hand was going to rot off."

Ye Yaodong laughed and cursed, "That little punk, daring to look down on me now."

Lin Lin Xiuqing thought of Ye Chenghu digging through the clothes, shaking his hands a couple of times, wiping them on his shirt, complaining about everything, and she found it very funny too.

"So this time you really didn't buy anything?"

"No time for that. Who even bothers with them? Once the time's up, you're forced to rush back."

"Mm, don't spoil them. They think every time you go out you'll bring them gifts."

"Exactly. Every day they can't wait for me to leave, don't stay home. This house has no place for me anymore."

"That's not true."

"That's how it is in their hearts. As long as Mom's home, that's enough. Dad being there or not doesn't matter. Best if he goes far away every day."

"I'll go heat up the food for you. I thought you'd be back for dinner."

"Mm, did you put away the money in the safe?"

"Put it away. Is it the money you brought up that wasn't spent, or the money from the shop you brought back?"

"It's the shop money. I flipped through the ledger, saw there was profit, so I brought it back."

"It's actually pretty convenient now, having someone specifically in charge of bookkeeping. My dad just collects the money, reports how much was entered that day, and when it's time to settle, just check the total ledger."

"Mm."

Ye Yaodong also took the chance to tell her that Wang Wang Guangliang had quit.

Then he also told her about the big and small things that had happened up there.

Actually, there wasn't anything special, just going through procedures and arrangements.

"Didn't you get in touch with A-Yuan?"

"No, I didn't have time to worry about him. Besides, he doesn't have a phone to leave behind, and I've moved to a new place to stay. Wait a few months until the house is built, then I'll have a fixed place to stay. I'll go to the army base to see him, visit. I'll also leave him a fixed address. If anything comes up later, he can just leave a message at the new house, or send a letter, and we won't miss each other."

"That's true. Once you have a fixed address, it'll be easier to keep in touch, and you won't miss any information."

"We'll talk about it when I go up in the second half of the year."

"Then you probably won't go up in the next few months, right?"

"Depends on the situation. Nothing's that absolute. We'll see. Anyway, I just got back. How long has my dad been out?"

"About half a month. He went out to sea just four or five days after you…"

Ye Yaodong ate while listening to Lin Lin Xiuqing tell him about things at home. Everything was going smoothly. He called often, so he basically knew everything about home.

It's just that hearing things over the phone is one thing, hearing them face-to-face is another. Lin Lin Xiuqing told him again, just to sort it out.

"I paid another 30,000 to the fish cannery. They said everything's pretty much ready, just waiting for the equipment to come into the factory. I don't know if we'll need to spend more money later."

"Definitely will. It hasn't even opened yet. Once it starts operating, you'll need labor costs, advance payments for goods. From production to shipping, it won't get cash back that fast. You'll definitely need to put out a big chunk of starting capital, probably have to front it for two or three months."

Lin Lin Xiuqing's brow furrowed. "That much? And fronting it for so long?"

"It's fine. We'll recoup and make money eventually."

"You say it with such certainty, like you've already done it once."

Ye Yaodong: I've actually seen when the fish cannery was thriving.

In his past life, there really were two fish canneries in town that were especially famous. In the 90s they already had several thousand workers. Heard they were raking it in.

But heard they were run by Hong Kong and Taiwan businessmen.

"Wait and see."

"You came back tonight, Chen Shuji definitely knows. He'll probably show up first thing tomorrow morning."

"Let him come. If we should donate, we donate. What do you think is a good amount?"

"A few thousand at most, right? That's already a lot. Probably the whole village combined would only come to that."

"A few thousand?"

That's way too little.

"Two thousand? What do you think?"

"Too little. It's the thousand-year festival of Goddess Mazu. Our village also has the biggest Tianhou Temple in the whole county. When the time comes, the Goddess Mazu for the procession will definitely be from our village. As the richest man in the whole village, donating only 2,000 isn't right."

"Then how much do you say."

"20,000."

"What?" Lin Lin Xiuqing's eyes went wide, and she stood up in shock.

"Our village's Goddess Mazu is going to be the representative for the whole-county procession. It definitely has to be spruced up. I want to recast Goddess Mazu's golden body. Gold is over 30,000 a jin…"

"Recasting the golden body is fine, but it doesn't have to come out of our pocket. 20,000—what do you mean 20,000! The village worked kelp all year and didn't even make 20,000…"

"Didn't I earn half of that?"

"Without you, could the village make money? Could you find a way for the whole village to make money? If you donate 20,000 to Goddess Mazu's event now, later if the village or county has some event asking for donations, how much would you have to give? You wouldn't have to do anything else, just keep donating there. Is what you earn enough to donate?"

"If the village asks me to donate, to build the village, donating a little is no problem. Building our own village is right. These past few years it's all thanks to the village that we've had such smooth sailing. If the county asks me to donate, it definitely has to go through the village first, and the village will definitely give me a heads-up, see if I'm willing. If I'm not willing, the village will definitely help me wrangle it. After all, I'm a villager here."

"Easy to say. What if the officials insist on us donating…"

"Well, I'm not easy to push around. I have a godfather, and my godfather is from this county too. They can't force me. The ones who can be pressured are rich outsiders, like Taiwan businessmen. Weren't the ones who got pressured a few years ago all Taiwan businessmen?"

"I still think 20,000 is too much. It's not just you donating. All the prominent people in the county will definitely have to chip in to sponsor the event."

"No need to compare with others. We're sincerely donating to Goddess Mazu, recasting Goddess Mazu's golden body, praying for smooth sailing from now on."

"Donate 10,000. Otherwise it's really too much. Workers' wages are only 50. Not eating or drinking, they only make 600 a year. 20,000 would take 33 years to earn. Starting to work at 16, you'd have to work until 50. And that's only if you don't eat or drink to save it up."

Ye Yaodong listened to her rapid-fire string of numbers, his head going dizzy.

"What 33 years, what 50 years…"

Lin Lin Xiuqing directly put a calculator in front of him and showed him the math.

Ye Yaodong looked at the calculator and more intuitively understood how staggering 20,000 really was.

But, do rich people make money at the same speed as poor people?

"Don't compare with ordinary people. The fact that we can make this much money means we have the ability. Think about it—last year in the second half of the year, I went to Zhoushi once and could directly make 400,000…"

"Guaranteed to make money? This isn't without risk. Risk-free profit…"

"Don't we still have our old nest egg to fall back on?"

"Twenty thousand, twenty thousand—how many times can you afford to donate like that? Not to mention you just calculated that the fish cannery might still need tens of thousands in expenses, and your fishing boat loan still has two hundred thousand hanging over it. Tell me about it…"

Ye Yaodong rubbed his temples. "Then let's discuss it again. Tomorrow I'll go to town to check on the fish cannery, and also chat with Hong Hong Wenle. The Millennial Festival needs to be held in a big way; the government and village committees everywhere must have all been notified."

"Fine, then when Chen Shuji comes by, turn him down—say you'll think it over first."

"Mm."

"You're not allowed to act first and report later."

"I know—aren't I discussing it with you right now?"

"Mm, this time it's actually reliable—you actually told me in advance, discussed it with me, didn't just blurt it out without thinking. Before, you always…"

"Alright, look at you—here you go again, digging up old grievances."

"If you feel you have a clear conscience, why be afraid of me talking?"

Ye Yaodong shot her a glance without a word, grabbed the calculator, turned the sound on, trying to drown out her muttering.

He was calculating—if there were no inflation, how many years would an ordinary person need to earn twenty thousand yuan.

And if you went by a family of four's labor, fifty yuan a month, four people would be two hundred, a year would be two thousand four hundred. Without eating or drinking, a family of four would still need 20.84 years to save it up.

But not eating, drinking, or spending is impossible—twenty thousand yuan really is an amount an ordinary family of four can never reach in a lifetime.

Now that he's been exposed to too much money, he doesn't know until he calculates, and once he does, he gets a fright.

At home now, money in and out is all in units of ten thousand, wage expenses are also several thousand to over ten thousand every month—twenty thousand is really not a small sum.