Chapter 1411

The next morning, Ye Yaodong woke up as soon as he heard a little movement, without needing anyone to call him.

Lin Xiuqing had gotten up at the crack of dawn to make breakfast, and today's breakfast was exceptionally rich.

Usually, it was just pickled vegetables or various preserved vegetables and salted duck eggs, but today, besides those, there were also shrimp-skin scrambled eggs, canned fish, century eggs with tofu, salted hairtail, and soy milk, fried dough sticks, and meat buns bought from outside.

Even Ye Chenghu and Ye Chengyang couldn't stop exclaiming when they saw the breakfast dishes.

Ye Chenghu asked while sneaking a fried dough stick, "Mom, are we not living frugally anymore?"

"Mom, this is eating better than during the New Year. Did Dad get rich again?"

After Ye Chengyang finished speaking, he also leaned over to break off a piece of the fried dough stick.

Ye Chenghu dodged in protest, "Don't grab mine. If you want to eat, go get some from the table yourself."

"Stingy."

Lin Xiuqing said, "Keep your voices down, everyone is still sleeping. How is this eating better than during the New Year? During the New Year, there is plenty of fish and meat."

"That's the New Year's Eve dinner. After the New Year, we eat leftovers every morning, and we have to eat them for a week. How can it be as good as today's dishes?"

Ye Chenghu also chimed in, "Yeah, during the New Year mornings, there are no dishes like this; it's all leftovers paired with pickled vegetables."

Lin Xiuqing smiled and tapped each of them, "Only you two know how to talk. With so much oil and fat, you're still complaining?"

"Mom, is it because Dad came back and coaxed you into being happy, so this morning is so rich?"

Ye Chenghu said with a giggle while retreating toward the door, worried that his mother would slap him and he wouldn't be able to run in time.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"I heard it all last night; Dad coaxed you into being very happy."

Ye Chengyang also nodded, "Yeah, every time Dad comes back, Mom is very happy."

"Stop talking nonsense. It's because we have guests; your maternal grandfather and grandmother have come, and your father also brought his godfather and godmother back yesterday. They slept upstairs in your room last night."

"My dad's godfather?" Ye Chenghu was puzzled for a moment, then his eyes lit up, "The godfather who gives red envelopes, the one who is a high official."

"That's right. You two go to the store and buy 4 new toothbrushes."

"Alright, right away."

"I was just saying that this morning's meal is better than during the New Year..."

"By the way, go to the old house and call your grandfather and grandmother over to eat..."

"Got it."

The two brothers took the money and ran out excitedly, chasing and fighting as they headed to the small store.

Ye Yaodong got up to wash, and seeing the table full of breakfast, he was also very satisfied and casually broke off a small piece of a fried dough stick.

The father and two sons were all the same.

The freshly fried dough sticks were still warm and tasted crispy and soft.

"Delicious. We should eat these; eating pickled vegetables every day is..."

"The best things to eat with rice are actually pickled vegetables."

Ye Yaodong didn't refute.

"Are they not up yet?"

"It's only 5:30. I just heard movement upstairs; they should be awake too."

"Those two boys are proactive; they can't get up for school, but they get up earlier than chickens when they aren't studying."

"They are taking them to the county to see the excitement, so of course they are proactive. They were afraid of being left behind, so they got up early and sat at the door waiting."

While Lin Xiuqing was speaking, she had already filled bowls of porridge and placed them on the table to let them cool down a bit so they would be easy to eat later.

Before long, Lin's father and mother, along with Chen Juzhang and his wife, all came down one after another. Ye Chenghu was exceptionally diligent in distributing the new toothbrushes to them one by one.

"Grandpa, Grandma, Godfather, Godmother, I just bought these, they are new, for you."

"Hehe, so well-behaved."

"Thank you. This is the eldest, right? He looks like he's grown quite a bit, and he's smart too."

Ye Chenghu was a bit shy after being praised, "You're welcome, hurry up and brush your teeth, then eat. My mom prepared so many dishes, better than what we eat during the New Year."

Lin Xiuqing glared at him, "What silly things are you saying? Who eats these during the New Year?"

"I meant better than what we eat on the morning after the New Year..."

Chen Juzhang smiled and said, "I understand, I heard what you meant. Breakfast isn't usually this rich, and breakfast during the New Year isn't this plentiful, right?"

"Right, right, right. During the New Year mornings, we eat leftovers..."

"Stop talking so much, hurry up and wash your hands to eat."

Ye's father and mother arrived just as the meal was starting.

Everyone talked and laughed, and the breakfast was enjoyed by both host and guests.

Ye Yaodong had also arranged it with his father and mother: later, his father would drive the tractor, take the family and his father-in-law and mother-in-law, and go by himself, while he would ride the motorcycle and take Chen Juzhang and his wife.

They had invitations, and it seemed they had to receive clothes and wear a uniform for the worship, so they weren't going the same way.

After everyone finished eating, a large group of people headed toward the Tianhou Temple.

It was only a little past 6:00 in the morning, but the whole village had already woken up and was incomparably lively; there were people coming and going all around the beach.

Even the children had climbed up early in the morning and were now running wildly toward the Tianhou Temple, exceptionally excited.

And before they even reached the Tianhou Temple, they heard the sounds of various gongs, drums, and suonas ringing out.

"It's starting, run fast..."

"Wow, hurry, hurry, hurry..."

"Dad, we're running ahead..."

Everyone on the road quickened their pace.

Even their own children were so excited that they ran along with them.

Ye Yaodong watched the people behind them constantly passing by their side, checked his wrist, and said, "Take it slow, no rush. It's only 6:20, it doesn't start until 7:00. The suona is just adjusting the atmosphere in advance."

"No rush, it's just a few steps. Just treat it as a walk after eating, walk slowly."

"Tell the children to slow down a bit. Running right after eating makes it easy to get a stomachache..."

"You're too late saying that; they've already run out of sight."

Everyone continued walking forward while chatting and laughing.

The entrance to the Tianhou Temple had been decorated with lanterns and colored streamers for several days. At this time, the suona team was sitting on the threshold playing, surrounded by a crowd of children and adults watching.

Ye Xiaoxi excitedly squeezed into the crowd, and after a while, she squeezed back out.

"Mom, I also want to play this erhu. They said it's called an erhu. I want to play the erhu, Dad, I want to play the erhu..."

Ye Yaodong was speechless, "You're a little girl, why play the erhu? Those who play the erhu are all old men."

"I want to, I want to, hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm, it sounds so good..."

She hummed while shaking her head, imitating the rhythm of the person playing the erhu, swaying left and right, looking quite rhythmic.

"You'd be better off learning the harmonica."

"No, it's all the brother's saliva."

Lin Xiuqing smiled and said, "She doesn't have her own harmonica; the brother's harmonica is either covered in mud or saliva."

"I'll buy you a new one tomorrow."

"Then I still want an erhu."

"Learn the harmonica first, from simple to difficult, you know?"

"Alright."

Chen Juzhang smiled and said, "If the child wants to learn, let her learn; it doesn't matter. Who says those who play the erhu are all old men? You can learn from youth to old age. I'll buy her one; I'll buy it when I go back tomorrow."

Ye Xiaoxi jumped up excitedly, then hurriedly went over to hug his thigh, "Thank you, Godfather. Godfather, you're really good; you're better than my dad. My dad is a stingy ghost."

Ye Yaodong raised his hand high, "Say that again, and I'll spank your butt! Who bought all those toys of yours? And you say I'm stingy, you little ungrateful thing."

"But you won't buy me an erhu."

"Can you play it? You aren't even as tall as the erhu."

"Nonsense, I am taller than the erhu."

Ye Yaodong ignored her and looked at Chen Juzhang, "I'll just go buy it the day after tomorrow; how could I let you spend your money?"

Lin Xiuqing also nodded, "Yes, we'll just buy one ourselves."

"How can words spoken be taken back? Besides, it was said to the child. Don't think she's small; she remembers it."

"Right, I remember; you have to keep your word!"

Ye Yaodong scolded with a smile, "Little girl, you aren't polite at all."

"I can give my piggy bank to Godfather."

"Hahaha, then I've made a profit?"

Lin Xiuqing also smiled and poked her forehead with her index finger, "With those one or two cents you have in there, you have the nerve to say that."

"I have many coins, they are very heavy."

Speaking of this, it's funny. Lin Xiuqing vividly told them about how Ye Xiaoxi didn't recognize the "jiao" and "yuan" coins and only recognized the "fen" coins.

She wouldn't take the large denominations and would return them, only wanting the one or two-cent coins.

So now, what's stored in the piggy bank are all one or two-cent coins; she really doesn't have any larger amounts.

Yet she still thinks her coins are many and heavy, so she has a lot of money.

Ye Xiaoxi saw the adults looking at her and laughing, not understanding why, so she turned her head and squeezed into the crowd again, then rested her chin on her hands, squatted in front of the person playing the erhu, and stared straight at them playing.

The old man with two mustaches looked at her squatting so close and also laughed along.

Just as they were making fun of Ye Xiaoxi, Chen Shuji walked over. Seeing Chen Juzhang, he was taken aback and hurriedly stepped forward to shake hands.

"What wind blew the leader here?" He tapped his forehead, "Oh my, look at my memory. Adong has paid respects to a godfather, so it's normal for you to come."

"Yes, yesterday I specifically went to the city to pick them up, and they stayed at his house for one night last night, otherwise how could we be here so early."

"Good, good. Then you must come to our village more often to see. Our village has made great progress in the past few years; it's very different."

"I've heard, and I've seen it. Look at that row of big boats in the middle of the sea, majestic and imposing. When I saw them last year, there weren't this many; this year there are twice as many..."

"That's nothing. This trip, they didn't even steer the boats; they all sat on these big boats to come back. Our village still has forty or fifty boats out there..."

Chen Shuji spoke with great enthusiasm, pointing at the sea to tell Chen Juzhang about the current situation of the village, and also talked about how the village was vigorously developing the aquaculture industry.

Now, whenever he talks about the village's situation, he is exceptionally proud. The village is getting better and better, which is also under the leadership of them, the village cadres.

And when he spoke, he didn't forget to climb the social ladder, saying that everyone is surnamed Chen and they are all from the same ancestor...

Then he kept praising Ye Yaodong, saying that the villagers were all influenced by him and were all following him, which was why they could slowly accumulate capital, and that was why there were constant fishing boats in the village, with new boats coming back one after another.

Now it has also surpassed some villages in the surrounding area and is already a well-known wealthy village; even marriage in the village has become much easier.

Ye Yaodong humbly said that it was because of the protection of the village cadres that he could do better and better, and it was also because of the cooperation of the village cadres that the village was becoming more and more prosperous.

A village that wants to get better and better cannot do without a good leader.

Chen Juzhang also cooperated by flattering him.

During this time, his friends saw him and also came over to say hello, but seeing that there were leaders present and village cadres surrounding them to keep them company, they were all very sensible and didn't hold him back to keep talking. After saying hello, they took their families to watch the excitement.

The suona and gong and drum team didn't play continuously; they played for about 10 minutes, then rested for about 10 minutes before continuing.

The few of them flattered each other for a while, and when the time was almost up, Chen Shuji went to arrange the flag-carrying team.

Ye Yaodong didn't need to carry the sedan chair or the flag; he just had to stand in the crowd and watch the excitement, which was quite relaxing.

But that silly girl Ye Xiaoxi followed behind the old man playing the erhu. When they went to stand in line, she also followed along happily.

The suona and gong and drum team saw that there was an extra chubby girl among them, and a group of middle-aged and elderly people laughed and teased her, asking who she was.

"My name is Ye Xiaojiu, no, my name is Ye Xiaoxi, my dad is Salted Fish Adong."

"Hahaha, your dad is Salted Fish Dong? No wonder he can raise you to be so chubby."

She put her hands on her hips, unhappy. "Great-grandmother said this is a blessing, not fat!"

"Right, right, right, it's a blessing..."

"Hahaha..."

"Grandpa, can you teach me to play the erhu?"

"Then you have to kowtow to me to be my apprentice."

Ye Xiaoxi hurriedly knelt down, almost scaring the old man playing the erhu, who hurriedly went to help her up.

"Oh my, this won't do, I was just joking..."

But Ye Xiaoxi insisted on kowtowing.

A group of middle-aged and elderly people around were laughing at him; now he had to accept the apprentice, as the little girl had already kowtowed.

Ye Yaodong and his wife were looking for the child. The whole village was concentrated at the entrance of the Tianhou Temple watching the excitement, and the honor guard was occupying positions with flags, so there were people everywhere. Both brothers knew to look for their adults, but Ye Xiaoxi was nowhere to be found.

By the time they found her, Ye Xiaoxi was still kneeling on the ground, being helped up by the old man playing the erhu.

"You dead girl, running around with so many people, aren't you afraid of being stepped on flat by someone..." Lin Xiuqing scolded while grabbing her clothes.

"Mom, I kowtowed to Grandpa to be his apprentice."

"What?"

Ye Yaodong also looked at the old man holding the erhu, who also looked at him and explained a little.

"It was originally a joke, but I didn't expect this child to be so earnest; she knelt down and kowtowed directly. This has made me have to teach her, hehe."

Ye Yaodong also smiled and said, "She's really something, finding herself a master directly without us having to worry."

"She's a smart one."

"This girl probably only has three minutes of enthusiasm; she'll probably bother you for a few days."

"It doesn't matter, I said it, so if the child is interested, it's nothing to teach her a little."

"Then I'll trouble you, Uncle."

Ye Yaodong asked which village nearby he was from, noted down the address, and then took Ye Xiaoxi away.

After Lin Xiuqing took her away, she criticized her, "People were joking, why did you take it seriously and kowtow to be an apprentice?"

Ye Xiaoxi looked at her innocently, "But Grandpa said if I kowtow to be an apprentice, he would teach me."

Ye Yaodong stopped Lin Xiuqing from lecturing further, "Since he agreed, let her learn for a few days. I reckon it's just three minutes of enthusiasm; she won't be able to learn for long, just let her play for a bit."

"But we can't cause trouble for others; we'll have to send some gifts later."

"Then you decide."

Lin Xiuqing poked her forehead hard, "You really know how to find things for me to do. Now I have to buy you an erhu."

"I don't need you to buy it!"

"You just know how to take advantage."

Ye Yaodong held Ye Xiaoxi's hand and said, "There are many people now, don't run around, hold your mother's hand tightly."

After saying that, he looked at Lin Xiuqing, "You watch her at home."

"Hmm, I'll watch her. The team is lined up, it seems they are about to leave."

"No rush, the team walks slowly."

Today's departure ceremony was similar to a Mazu parade. The team was lined up neatly, the gong and drum team started singing continuously, and the fisherwomen also carried Mazu out of the Tianhou Temple and placed her into the shrine.

After the most critical step was completed, firecrackers went off, the opening gong sounded, and the team began to move.

"Moving, moving..."

"Moving, moving..."

"Everyone follow, follow behind, let's go to the county together..."

Ye Yaodong and his group stood by the side of the road. After the team moved, the villagers spontaneously followed behind, and the team slowly lengthened.

Many people with bicycles also went home to push them out and waited on the side of the road to join.

Ye's father urged anxiously, "Dongzi, let's go."

"Alright, take it slow, no rush. This team is very long. We'll follow behind for a while, and when they rest halfway, we'll go to the county one step ahead."

"I know, we'll follow for a short distance, and it's nothing to go to the county in advance. Going early will also allow us to see the excitement in the county."

"Then you decide."

Ye's father led a large group of people toward the workshop, and Ye Yaodong also took Chen Juzhang and his wife to follow the team.

It wasn't until the team entered the village that he went home to get the motorcycle.

The old lady handed him a cloth bag of eggs again, and he touched them and knew they were eggs because they were warm.

This could be considered their family's custom; as long as they went out, there would be a bag of warm hard-boiled eggs.

"Are you worried I won't have anywhere to eat? Cooking such a big bag."

"This is for you to eat on the road. You are young and have a big appetite, eat more, and let the guests eat more too."

"Alright, I know."

Chen Juzhang said politely, "The old lady is quite healthy, her voice is full of energy."

"She's also quite fierce when scolding or hitting people."

"Hehe."

The old lady smiled and poked her cane, "I didn't hit or scold you."

After Ye Yaodong pushed the motorcycle out, he divided the two helmets he bought between them, "Safety first."

"Right, safety first. The mountain road is not easy to walk, must be very careful."

"Yes, are you driving or am I?"

"You drive, we'll sit in the back."

"Alright."

At this time, he could still hear the gongs and drums in the village, but he wasn't in a hurry, driving the car slowly behind them.

Worried that Ye Xiaoxi would see him and want to follow, he specifically took a small road and drove directly to the entrance of the village to wait for the team.

After the two brothers were taken away, he wasn't afraid of her asking, just telling her they went to school was enough.

Being young is so easy to deceive.

She is still too young, and her memory is short; even if she sees it, she won't remember it for long. The more crowded the place, the more chaotic it is; it's better to wait until she's a little older to see it.

More than 70% of the men and women in the village followed behind the team, making the team look especially long. Ye Yaodong's motorcycle followed beside the team, driving slowly.

The main road wasn't particularly wide, only about three or four meters, not like the widened main roads of the future.

Once the team got on the main road, it occupied most of the road. When a tractor passed by, the team had to avoid it to the side so the tractor could pass.

It was quite inconvenient for him to ride a motorcycle on the side, so he drove ahead to clear the way, driving slowly.

It wasn't until he passed the nearby villages and had to walk on the mountain road that he stopped driving and stopping.

The mountain road was not easy to walk, and driving and stopping was inconvenient, so he drove directly to the city without stopping again.

He was walking in front, while his father went to drive the tractor after the team started, so he could only trail at the very back of the team and couldn't keep up with his pace.

The motorcycle had strong mobility; even though the speed on the mountain road was slow, he only rode for more than half an hour before entering the city.

The main streets in the city were indeed hung with colored flags and small lanterns, looking festive and more so than during the New Year.

After Ye Yaodong arrived at the county town, he stopped first, looked at the address on the invitation, and then walked in that direction, but the closer he got to the address of the Tianhou Temple in the city, the more crowded the pedestrians on the road became.

The county town also had a Tianhou Temple, but it was newly built in the past six months, and he didn't know what it looked like yet.

When he came back two days ago and went to the village committee, Chen Shuji also told him that the plan had changed.

Originally, it was said that the Mazu of their village would be the main one, and then a grand sacrifice would be carried out. After all, their village's Tianhou Temple was the earliest built, and the birthday activities were also the biggest, and it was even promoted in the newspaper. The surrounding area was also full of believers of their Tianhou Temple.

Later it changed, it wasn't like that anymore.

Instead, all Mazu temples in all places could participate, not just the county town; some surrounding counties could also carry small statues of Mazu and come over.

The county used donations from various villages and towns to build the Tianhou Temple in the town and held the Millennium Festival at the Tianhou Temple in the county. Then, villages and towns in the surrounding area could invite the small statues of Mazu from their respective villages to sit in town together and enjoy incense worship together when the Millennium Festival was held.

After all, Mazu in the world is one family, and it is inappropriate to have any village as the main one; all Mazu incarnations should share incense sacrifices.

The leaders in the county discussed and discussed, and only then did they finalize it. Such an arrangement is considered the most reasonable.

He also felt that such an arrangement was quite good; every Tianhou Temple and Mazu incarnation in the county could be taken care of.

After Ye Yaodong heard it later, he couldn't help but feel fortunate that their village's Mazu was not different and had no gold foil, otherwise it would look different from other villages' Mazu at a glance.

His wings were not yet full, and a golden body was definitely needed, but it was not suitable for now; he would donate a little more later.

"There are too many people in front, we can't walk. Taking advantage of the fact that we haven't reached the crowd yet and can still turn around, let's park the car inside the county government."

"Alright, then park it at the county government, and then we'll walk over slowly."

"It's good that we set off early."

The county town is quite small, with only those two streets, but the Tianhou Temple is built in a relatively remote place, so it takes time to walk there.