Chapter 1383: Setting the Date

It really is a bit big, and the roads aren't great right now, so it's not as safe as a bicycle.

Ye Yaodong thought about it for a moment and didn't try to persuade her further—riding a bicycle was fine, after all.

"How about I buy you a smaller ladies' bicycle? This Ye Ye Erba big-frame is too tall, and there's a crossbar in front. If you have to stop on the road halfway and your feet haven't reached the ground yet, your little shin will knock against it and hurt like crazy."

Lin Lin Xiuqing pinched him hard. "What kind of thing is that to say?"

"It's the truth. We're the only two lying in bed—what's there that can't be said? No one overheard anyway. Let's go buy a ladies' bicycle tomorrow, one without a crossbar on top."

She answered softly in agreement.

Anyway, a bicycle didn't cost much, and that Ye Ye Erba big-frame really was too tall for her. If you asked her to ride that thing, she'd rather walk—she really had banged herself on it before.

When the couple rode back on a ladies' bicycle the next day, the kids at home were thrilled again, but seeing Ye Yaodong there, they didn't dare act up.

They stole glances at him, then scampered over to Lin Lin Xiuqing's side.

"Ma, you bought a new bike?"

Lin Lin Xiuqing said with a smile, "Mm, push it inside first."

"Ma, let me help you…"

"No need, I'll do it myself."

It was a brand-new bike she had just bought—she hadn't even gotten her fill of treasuring it herself yet.

"Ma, can we use your new bicycle to learn how to ride? Pa's one is too big, we can only squeeze under that crossbar to ride, and it's all wobbly and hard to ride."

"No."

Lin Lin Xiuqing refused outright. Her precious bicycle had only just fallen into her hands—how could she let them wreck it?

Whenever these few were learning, either the person fell or the bicycle fell; she couldn't bear to part with it.

The two boys didn't dare pester. After being turned down, they obediently followed her inside, then lovingly touched it here and there, played with it for a while, and then ran off again.

Having finished their homework, they were now strutting again—they had the qualification to look down on others once more.

After Lin Lin Xiuqing bought the bicycle, Ye Yaodong didn't ride the motorcycle to take her to the factory either. Instead, the husband and wife each rode a bicycle, pedaling side by side to the factory.

The gate guard saw them and was envious.

"Boss Ye, why are you and the boss's wife riding bicycles today? Got tired of driving the motorcycle?"

"It's so close, no need to drive the motorcycle every day. A bicycle is convenient too."

"That's true. That motorcycle—where does it burn oil? It clearly burns money. But of course, you wouldn't be short on that little bit."

Ye Yaodong chuckled, parked the bicycle properly, and went in together with Lin Lin Xiuqing.

On the way, whenever they ran into people hauling goods to the warehouse, or others coming and going on business, everyone would stop and call out a greeting—Boss Ye, Boss's wife.

The couple both nodded; they were used to it.

Over the past month or two, they'd been coming every two or three days, and the workers had long grown familiar with them. Whenever they met, they'd greet them.

They too had gone from secretly making faces at each other when they first heard it, to now being completely used to it, nodding without changing expression.

"You're already familiar with the factory now, and the people in the factory all know you. Even if I'm not here, everyone will still greet you respectfully."

"You just need to be careful on the road back and forth. It's good that Ajiang works at the factory—when the time comes, you can commute together with him, and it'll be safer."

"Or should we just have the workshop workers drive you to and from work every day?"

Lin Lin Xiuqing quickly stopped him. "How could that work? How could I specially have a tractor pick me up and drop me off every day? People would say I'm putting on too many airs, and I'd be embarrassed too."

"I'll just ride the bicycle to and from work with Ajiang. There will be workers on the road during commute hours, and plenty of people coming and going on the main road in broad daylight. It's not like nighttime—it won't be unsafe."

Ye Yaodong nodded. "Alright then. Anyway, when the time comes, you won't need to come every day. Like now, come by every two or three days to take a look, do an inspection, and check in on the shipments while you're at it."

"Mm. I don't think we'll recoup the costs this year. Although goods have been shipping out continuously, with so many workers, the upfront wages and materials are a big sum."

"No rush. We only opened after the year's halfway point. Let's take it slow. We're definitely not counting on getting rich overnight."

"It's already the end of July now—when are you planning to head up to Zhoushi?"

"The house up there is still being built. Although they call back every three to five days to report progress, I'm still not that at ease. I want to go up as early as possible—after all, I can still go out fishing up there just the same."

"So we're not waiting until September?"

"Around mid-August, I guess. In another half month or so, I'll head up early."

He figured that by then, even if it wasn't completely finished, it shouldn't be far off.

Now in the height of summer, with blazing sun every day, the progress should be fast. Once he got up there, he could just throw down a straw mat and sleep in the newly built room.

There haven't been any typhoons this month, but starting in August, typhoons will come one after another, and they'll keep coming intermittently through September and October. Even if there's no direct hit, the ocean will still be affected, and at that point the Far Ocean No. 1 definitely won't be able to stay out at sea for long.

If it can't stay out at sea for long, going back and forth frequently won't even cover the fuel costs.

Better to wait until next month, pick a stretch of good weather, and head up early. Although if a typhoon hits up there, they still can't go out to sea, at least he can supervise the completion, and those boatmen can pitch in too, finishing faster.

Saves the worry that if a string of typhoons hits and there's not a single day fit for going far out to sea, leaving early means fewer concerns.

That's what he thought, and that's how he explained it to Aqing.

Lin Lin Xiuqing understood too—typhoons really were frequent at this time of year.

"Then call Aguang in the next couple of days to give him a heads-up, so they can prepare in advance and have an idea of what to expect."

"I know. Right now I'm just talking it through with you as it comes up. When he calls back later and we chat, I'll mention it to him then."

The couple strolled through the workshop chatting about what came next, smiling and nodding whenever workers greeted them.

Less than two days later, Aguang called to check in, and Ye Yaodong told him to prepare in advance.

Now that his home had a phone, Aguang always called his home line and asked Ye Ye Huimei to pick up. After all, the two families lived close by, which was much more convenient than going to the village committee to take a call.

Moreover, Aguang and Ye Yaodong always had plenty to talk about—they'd discuss the jellyfish harvest, with no one else to share it with. Only with Dongzi did they truly speak the same language.

Once the departure date was set, Ye Yaodong waited for his brother's and friends' boats to return, and gave them a heads-up in advance too.

Their few boats now went out for at least a week, or around ten days, so they had to be told in advance so they could time things right.

Things at home got busier too. Lin Lin Xiuqing prepared all the thick quilts and thick clothes he'd need ahead of time.

Who knew which day in the middle of the month it would be—it also depended on when the other boats came back. It might even be earlier than expected.

The old lady went even further, starting to go worship Goddess Mazu every day, going to the Tianhou Temple to burn incense morning and evening.

Ye Yaodong even teased her with a line, "cramming at the last minute."

The old lady laughed and smacked him twice with her cattail fan.

"Where am I cramming at the last minute? My faith has always been in my heart. I'm just reminding Goddess Mazu now. You have to remember to go burn incense morning and evening too."

"Got it."

"That thing the village has always talked about, the Double Ninth Festival, Goddess Mazu's Thousand-Year Sacrifice—you'll come back, right?"

"Absolutely."

"Good, good, good. As long as you come back, that's all that matters."

The old lady was happy now. This trip wouldn't take long before he could come back; she wouldn't have to wait eagerly until New Year's.

"I'll just take time to come back and rest for a few days, build up my body."

"Mm, we'll talk about it when the time comes. You haven't even left yet, and you're already counting on me coming back."

"Sigh, when you're old, you just want your grandson by your side, able to see him every day."

Mother Ye said in her loud voice, "Dongzi is a man who does big things. How can he sit at home every day like a Buddha for you to look at?"

"No matter how big the things are, he still has to come home."

"Then he has to get things done properly first. At your age, don't hold him back. Just help watch the kids at home and cook a meal."

"How is anywhere out there better than home? Dongzi has already made so much money, yet he keeps being out there every day…"

"If he doesn't go out, how does he make money? Sit at home and wait for money to fall from the sky?"

……

Ye Yaodong paid no attention to his mother and the old lady bickering back and forth, and headed toward the Tianhou Temple on his own.

The old lady was right too—even cramming at the last minute still counts as cramming. Before setting out, he had to go worship Goddess Mazu morning and evening.

While waiting to burn incense, he also took the chance to chat with Goddess Mazu about his donation.

He said he sincerely wanted to recast Goddess Mazu's golden body, but now the Thousand-Year Sacrifice was being held by the county, so the money he donated all went to the county government. It wasn't up to their village to decide; how it was arranged had to be decided by the county.

It might not necessarily really go to Goddess Mazu. The more you donate, the less likely it is to land where it should; it might not even be used to gild the golden body.

So he was thinking of donating part of it to the county, as doing his part, and part of it to the Tianhou Temple for maintenance and repairs.

Once he had accumulated enough wealth over the years, he would pick an auspicious day and donate directly to the village's Tianhou Temple, specifying it was solely for recasting the golden body.

He didn't know if this time it would be gilded. Even if it was gilded now, when the time came he could always gild it a bit thicker.

This could be considered a fairly good plan.

Ye Yaodong sincerely prepared the Offerings and burned incense for several days in a row.

The old lady watched and felt completely at ease.

She even handed him the Buddhist prayer beads she had always been chanting with.

"I've chanted so many sutras into this string of beads. It will definitely keep you safe. You wear it on your hand."

Ye Yaodong didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You've chanted decades of sutras into this string of beads, and now you're giving it to me? You won't be able to chant any more into it."

"When you come back, give it to me, and I'll keep chanting into it."

"Then how will you chant sutras without the beads?"

"I have them. I still have a long string of 108 beads that hangs around my neck. I've been chanting into those too."

He thought for a moment, and it seemed she did.

Usually she only hung it around her neck to chant when worshipping Bodhisattvas; in daily life she just wore a hand string and chanted sutras sitting at the door.

"Fine then, I'll take it with me."

He slipped it straight onto his hand.