Chapter 1378: Arranging the Nephew

His father's status in the household was probably just a tiny bit higher than the dog and a tiny bit lower than the poultry.

After all, a dog couldn't sit at the table, but his father could sit at the table, and so could the poultry, which the whole family loved.

Ye Yaodong had originally planned to spare his father some face and not press the matter, but he hadn't expected his father to sit on the back of the bicycle on his own and mutter to himself.

"Good thing the gold ingot is still here, and the ring I picked up is safe too."

"It's fine, Dad, I understand you. You just did it for the peace of the household. Harmony at home brings prosperity in everything. It's nothing for us big men to give in to the women a little."

"Right, exactly. I'm just indulging your mother, not stooping to her level."

"Our family is harmonious, that's why we keep growing more prosperous. Look at other families—yelling and fighting every day, how could they possibly prosper?"

Ye's father nodded deeply in agreement. "It's just letting her have her way. Otherwise it'd be a small fight every three days and a big one every five, and we'd even get into fistfights. Wouldn't that be a joke for people to see? Our family is, after all, someone with face and standing in the village now."

"Right, right, right. You're now a respectable person with face and standing in the whole village too."

Ye's father beamed. "Hey, Dongzi, when will the photos taken yesterday be developed?"

"I'll ask in a bit."

"Develop a few extra copies and save one for me."

"Got it, I'll mention it in a bit."

Ye's father was over the moon.

"When are you going to Wenzhou with A-Guang and the others?"

"Tomorrow, probably. It was originally set for the end of the month, but I couldn't get away yesterday since it was the second day's opening, so I pushed it back two days."

"Then after you leave with A-Guang, I'll take the boat out again."

"Up to you."

Still, he figured his father couldn't handle it. Once he left, the family would surely nag, and then Ye's father would just be drinking at home every day, loafing around.

The two chatted casually as they rode about his trip to Wenzhou.

Ye's father was also not very optimistic about his lighter factory in Wenzhou, feeling the money wouldn't last long in his hands.

It only started operating the year before last. The investment was too big and there was no profit to share, so the other party probably didn't have big ideas yet. Last year they started sharing profits and even got a share, so they probably have ideas now.

If they get another big share this year, by next year they might just kick him out.

Ye Yaodong also shared his earlier thoughts with his father. His father felt that was fine too—don't be too greedy. As long as you don't lose, any profit is a pleasant surprise. Just take good care of things at home.

Besides, at least it leaves some face and room for both sides. Part on good terms, and you can still keep in touch later. The other party would still owe them a big favor.

After getting his motorcycle back, Ye Yaodong chatted with Hong Hong Wenle for a while longer, then rode home.

Meanwhile, his father pedaled his bicycle alone at the very back, cursing and grumbling that he didn't even ride slower and wait for him.

The next morning, he set off for Wenzhou with A-Guang and over thirty boats from the village. His boat led the way, and A-Guang's brought up the rear.

Counting it up, aside from those small trawlers, only A-Guang's Harvest had gone over. His eldest brother's, second brother's, his friends', and next-door Zhou Da's boats hadn't gone—they'd all gone out to sea for trawling the night before.

This time all the pressure was on A-Guang.

He was only going to stay three or four days. As planned, he'd help everyone submit their fishing application qualifications and pay visits to various places. Once the things that needed handling were done, he'd leave.

At this point it really showed the benefit of having many brothers and friends. A-Guang had no brothers to help him, and none of his familiar friends had gone out to sea this time either. But fortunately, his father had come along to help.

After all, his father also had to collect rent and worried that no one helping him would cause chaos.

When Ye Yaodong set off and saw Father Pei there, he was quite curious whether Father Pei had deposited the money at the bank, which was why he felt at ease going out.

Still, he didn't have the nerve to ask A-Guang about it. Curious was curious, but a grown man shouldn't be too gossipy.

Before leaving, he also made sure to watch A-Guang receive goods normally before going.

That way, when he got back, he'd have something to tell Ye Ye Huimei and could give her an account.

However, he hadn't taken the initiative to gossip with A-Guang about Father Pei, but Ye Ye Huimei had gossiped about it with his mother.

When he got home, his mother was at the dinner table, talking excitedly with animated gestures.

"I heard from Ye Ye Huimei that as soon as Old Pei left, the old widow turned the whole house upside down. She searched for three or four days straight and didn't find anything."

Lin Lin Xiuqing asked curiously, "Ye Ye Huimei went over there too?"

"Not really. She said it was Dongqing who told her. Even Dongqing's room was searched by her. I heard the two of them had a big fight."

"I was just saying, no wonder Dongqing is staying at Ye Ye Huimei's place. I figured since Old Pei wasn't home, she didn't want to be under the same roof as the widow, so she moved to Ye Ye Huimei's."

"I heard the money Dongqing earned from her own job was locked in a drawer, and the widow pried the lock open and took it all, which is why they had a big fight and almost came to blows. Luckily the widow's unmarried daughter stepped in. I heard she sided with Dongqing and told the widow to give the money back. Dongqing also threatened that if the money wasn't returned, she'd call her dad and brother, tell them, and have her kicked out."

Ye Yaodong had been pricking up his ears the whole time. Only now did he exclaim, "What a freak show."

Ye's mother was getting worked up as she talked, getting more and more agitated. "Isn't that right? I heard for the first two days she was searching everywhere but didn't dare touch her room because it was locked. When she really couldn't find anything and got desperate, she pried the lock open and searched her room. And then she had the nerve to say that since Dongqing isn't married, the money she earned should be handed over to the family for household expenses... What a shameless old widow. The moment the man isn't around, she starts causing trouble."

Lin Lin Xiuqing said, "Good thing the house was finished a few months ago and Ye Ye Huimei's family has already split off. Otherwise it'd be so much more annoying."

"If she hadn't given birth to a son, she'd have been kicked out long ago."

Ye Yaodong said, "Even if she gave birth to a son, she could still be kicked out. At most, you'd pay child support every month."

Ye's mother shot him a look. "You make it sound simple. You'd rather tear down a temple than break up a marriage. Besides, they already have a child—how could you possibly kick her out? And the houses are right next to each other. What's the point of kicking her out?"

"That's true. They live right next door. What's the difference whether you kick her out or not? As long as the widow doesn't leave, no one will advise a split."

Everyone advises reconciliation. How could anyone advise splitting up? Even couples who beat each other half to death, everyone can advise them to make up. For the sake of the child, just endure and move on.

"Anyway, once she gets married off, she won't have to deal with the family's mess. Old Pei is a sharp one and can keep the widow in check. I heard from Ye Ye Huimei that before he left, he specifically deposited all the money in the bank, then temporarily kept the deposit slip at Ye Ye Huimei's. He took his personal seal—carved the same way as your father's—with him, and only left 100 yuan for the widow, telling her it had to last her until New Year's."

The corner of Ye Yaodong's mouth twitched.

Wasn't this a case of one thing subduing another?

Lin Lin Xiuqing also said with a smile, "He's quite cautious."

"Oh, I heard from Ye Ye Huimei that the widow can't expect to get anything good out of Old Pei now. Before, things were fine—Old Pei was generous, giving her money every few days, tens of yuan at a time. Now she can forget about it. She has to serve the old man well to get money. When the old man isn't home, she can only scrape by, at most not having to worry about food and drink."

The old lady, after listening for a while, finally said, "Serves her right."

Ye's mother looked at Ye Yaodong. "All those boats from the village have gone to Wenzhou. Are they not planning to come back after this? Waiting for you to pass through Wenzhou and then go to Zhoushan together?"

"That's what we discussed before, but who knows how things will actually work out? It's only the beginning of July, there are still two months. Maybe they'll earn about enough and come back to the village to rest first—it's possible. We'll just see when the time comes."

"But it's rare—this time you stayed home while they all ran off in a big group. So next year you won't need to lead them either; they can make the boat trip to the market on their own."

"Whatever, I don't care, but it'll be hard these next few years, because their boats are small, and without a few big ships escorting them, it's not that safe. Telling direction and confirming the sailing route is already a problem."

"Then we'll still have to count on your ship to lead the way."

Ye Yaodong shrugged and said nothing.

"How are you doing with earning that 200,000 you owe? Can you pay it back this year?"

"Haven't earned it yet, what do you want me to say? Wait till I've earned enough and paid it back, then I'll tell you."

"Wait till the second half of the year, go up there one more time, and when you come back for New Year, you should have earned enough."

"You sure have a lot of faith in me."

"Of course—last year you made a killing, this year you'll definitely earn too. Best to earn back all the money you borrowed."

"Mm."

Ye Yaodong: The goal's too small, Ma. Think bigger.

"Since you're back and have nothing to do, take Ah Qing to that factory in town more often. We spent so much effort and money on it, can't just leave it unattended."

"Take Ah Qing over there more now. In another two months when you're not home, Ah Qing can go over and keep an eye on things—she'll know the place well. She's the boss's wife too, and I can help watch things here at home."

Lin Lin Xiuqing chimed in, "Right, the money we spent has to be earned back. That factory in town is no ordinary place, we've got to keep a close eye on it."

"Mm, got it. I'll rest tonight, and tomorrow morning we'll head over. As long as I'm home, I'll take Ah Qing over to check on it every day."

Lin Lin Xiuqing added: "The day before yesterday, Ye Ye Ersao came by and said Ajiang's report card came out—he didn't get into high school. She wants you to arrange things, send him to work at the canned fish factory in town. I said wait till you got back to talk about it. You weren't back, I'm not familiar with that side, and I can't get involved in the inner workings."

Ye Yaodong nodded. "Then tomorrow I'll take him over with us."

His sister-in-law had been eyeing this for months already, counting on Ye Ye Chengjiang not getting into high school so she could arrange for him to go straight into the factory.

But at the time he wasn't sure when the factory would open, and he worried that if he agreed outright, the boy might deliberately tank his exams just to avoid high school.

Although the odds of that were slim to none—even without deliberately doing badly, he wouldn't have done that well anyway—he still couldn't give the kid the chance to fail on purpose.

He only said the factory hadn't opened yet, he couldn't guarantee when it would, and they'd talk about it once he really didn't get in.

During this summer break, the kids at home had been working diligently in the workshop for him, earning wages.

"Then I'll go over and talk to Ye Ye Ersao in a bit, tell her to get Ajiang ready, and tomorrow he'll come with us."

"Mm."