Chapter 1433: In the city

Regarding the land, he only mentioned it in passing to let them know he had purchased it legally and in compliance with regulations, and had followed the normal procedures for registration.

This didn't require troubling anyone; at most, it was a public heads-up. If any issues regarding the land were to arise in the future, those present would know who it belonged to, avoiding unnecessary trouble in advance.

In any case, he was a genuine fisherman, his way of making money was upright and legitimate, in line with policy, and he was actively moving closer to the organization.

After lunch, the people from the various units in the large compound generally had a good impression of him. Before, they knew of him, but only interacted and discussed him occasionally; they had only heard of him and had never properly sat down at a table to eat together.

After the meal, Ye Yaodong brought up the quota for being sent to study shipbuilding engineering and navigation technology.

Without a doubt, Ye Chenghai wasn't qualified enough.

Moreover, there wasn't just one quota; to be precise, there were five, three recommended from within the military and two recommended by the unit, which had long since been decided.

Even if they hadn't been decided, it wouldn't have been his turn anyway. Fortunately, he hadn't held out much hope to begin with; he was just asking.

However, although he couldn't go to the engineering university, he could be arranged to study at a large factory. The large factory had external study quotas, and all it took was a letter of recommendation.

Compared to studying at an engineering university, this was relatively much simpler and more suitable for Ye Chenghai.

When Ye Yaodong left, he took the letter of recommendation with him.

He also invited the couple to come to their town to join the fun on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, saying he would come to pick them up then.

Both of them agreed.

Ye Yaodong didn't return immediately; he had to stay here for a few more days, as he had to go to the factory in the city to audit the accounts in the afternoon.

He also wanted to get the land settled, as he only had a month at home.

Just as he arrived at the factory, before he could even sit down, Acai ran up, full of smiles.

"Oh my, Boss Ye is back. I've been waiting for you, this great Buddha, to return."

"What's with the enthusiasm? Someone who didn't know better would think I was the God of Wealth."

"Aren't you my God of Wealth?"

"How has business been over the last half year?"

"Good, incredibly good. Ever since you left and gave me the delivery work for several familiar factories, I've felt ten years younger all of a sudden."

Ye Yaodong chuckled, "I can't tell if you're ten years younger, but your belly has grown a circle; you look so fat you're leaking oil."

"Thanks to your blessing, haha."

"It's almost New Year, when are you going back?"

"I'll go back whenever the factory stops work. You're not going back tonight, right? Stay, I'll set up a table for you at Fatty's place."

"I need to stay here for a few more days."

"That's good..."

The two reminisced for a good while before Acai went back to his work.

Ye Yaodong also began to look at the accounts; their bookkeeping now was very simple, and one could understand it just by looking at the income and expenses.

"What's your name? Huang Mei, right? There's a night school in the city. If you have free time, I suggest you sign up for an accounting class; it will be good for you. You can be more professional in the future, and the factory will pay for your tuition."

Huang Mei's eyes lit up, "Really? The factory is sending me to study?"

Ye Yaodong nodded, "Yes, but you have to sign a contract. You can't just run off after you finish studying; you have to work for me for at least ten years. Of course, the compensation definitely won't be low. After you finish studying, your compensation will also be raised; it won't be lower than other factories."

She nodded desperately, "I'm willing, I'm willing. I can work for the boss for a lifetime. Thank you, Boss."

"Alright, go inquire about signing up for the class yourself, and I'll have a contract drawn up for you to sign later."

"Okay."

"When are you and Aliang getting married?"

Her face turned red in a flash, "He's busy right now, and I'm only 18, so I'm thinking of waiting until next year."

"Only 18, that's indeed a bit early. Keep working hard."

"Mm."

Ye Yaodong continued to look at the accounts.

His business was spreading wider and wider, and he needed some professional people.

The wave of layoffs hadn't arrived yet, so it was definitely hard to hire professional people; he could only send people for training if he could cultivate them himself.

In a few years, when the layoff wave hit, he could take the opportunity to recruit some professional talent, and by then, he believed his business would only get better.

As for the candidates for truck driver training, he planned to pick two or three more; it would just cost a bit more money. He wasn't in a hurry to pick people; he would go back to pick them after he finished with the matters in the city.

With two or three more truck drivers, it would be more convenient for him later on. He also needed to pick two or three more accountants for training; in case one ran off, he would have someone who could step in.

After finishing the accounts, the next day Ye Yaodong started riding his bicycle all over the city. After three days of work, he bought three pieces of land he wanted, all around 7 to 15 mu.

He didn't dare buy too much; these three pieces of land were already the limit.

At the very least, he couldn't buy any more in this city. If he wanted to buy more, he would have to go to the provincial capital or other places.

And if he went to the provincial capital, he would have to wait until after the New Year. By then, he would also have to take his vehicle purchase qualification to the provincial capital to reserve a large truck, and take a look at some land while he was at it.

He didn't need to ask Lin Xiuqing for all the money for these three pieces of land; he took what was settled from Lin Fu first, and if it wasn't enough, he would have Lin Xiuqing bring the rest the next day.

Buying land now was much more expensive than a few years ago, at least triple the price. The total area of the three pieces of land exceeded 30 mu, costing him over 100,000.

Thinking back, the piece of land for the current fish sauce factory only cost 10,000-plus; that was a real bargain at the time.

Now that the standard of living had improved and the economy was developing rapidly, even 50-yuan denomination banknotes had appeared; it was normal for land to be expensive.

Not long after the New Year, it seemed that in May 1988, even 100-yuan denomination banknotes would appear.

With the sustained high-speed development of our country's economy, people's demand for currency was becoming greater and greater; the ten-yuan denomination was clearly no longer able to meet the needs of people's daily lives.

The 1980-edition 100-yuan note was the first hundred-yuan banknote issued by our country after the currency reform, issued on May 10, 1988.

The front pattern featured the portraits of the four great leaders.

The back featured a picture of the main peak of Jinggang Mountain; the entire back was blue-black, appearing solemn and respectful. The note size was 165 by 77 millimeters. There were 16 total letter prefixes issued.

He already had all versions of the currency at home, and they were all new; he even had the 50-yuan ones, just missing the hundred-yuan banknote.

While Ye Yaodong had Lin Xiuqing bring the money, he also had her bring their three children along.

A few months ago, before he left, he had promised Ye Xiaoxi that he would take her to see the circus. At the time, because she had a fever, it had been delayed for too long, and he had been in a hurry to leave, so he had broken his promise.

Now that it was almost New Year, and he had finished most of his business, and he was having Lin Xiuqing bring money anyway, he might as well have her bring the children, let them play in the city for two days, go to the market, and feel the atmosphere of the New Year in the city.

His three children and the children of his two brothers-in-law hadn't seen each other for a while; the children received a warm welcome as soon as they got off the car, and they chattered non-stop.

"Big cousin, is university fun?"

"I heard that you can even get a salary for going to university, is that true?"

"Cousin, how big is university? Is it bigger than primary school plus junior high school?"

Lin Dongxue answered Ye Chenghu and Ye Chengyang's questions one by one with a smile.

She had started university in September of this year; she hadn't been able to get into a technical secondary school after junior high, so she had gone to a junior college after the college entrance exam. Ye Yaodong hadn't been home at the time, only hearing about it from Lin Xiuqing over the phone, and had just told her to handle it and give a big red envelope.

In this day and age, a junior college degree could be equivalent to a 211 university later on; it was already quite impressive.

As the first university student in the whole village, the village and the ancestral hall had also given her quite a few rewards.

Relatives and friends had also scrambled to give red envelopes; Lin Dongxue had received so many red envelopes for getting into university that her hands were soft, and Lin Xiangyang had even specially set up a few tables in their hometown.

Ye Yaodong hadn't seen her in the few days he had been in the city; she said she had gone to set up a stall at the market entrance to sell tea eggs, which was quite diligent.

"University student, a very busy person. Your uncle has been in the city for a few days and hasn't even seen your shadow."

"Haha, little uncle, you're the busy one. I ran to find you every day, but you weren't there."

"You couldn't find me these past few days because I wasn't there, right?"

"Then you still have the nerve to blame me!"

"You're just collecting red envelopes without showing your face, selling tea eggs every day. How much money have you made? Have you made enough for a bicycle yet?"

Lin Dongxue held her head high, extremely proud, "Of course I've made enough, buying a television set wouldn't be a problem!"

Ye Yaodong gave her a thumbs up, "Not bad, impressive. Set up the stall for another half month, and I think you'll be able to earn a house."

"Hehe."

"Then you're treating us today."

"Ah?"

Lin Xiuqing smiled and patted him, "Stop teasing her. She only earned that little bit of hard-earned money, and you're already trying to squander it."

"She's the pride of your village now, and I don't know when our family will be able to produce one."

Lin Dongxue said with a smile: "Little uncle, aren't you the pride of your village? You're the hope of your village!"

"Hahahaha, you even know that."

"Of course, I even saw you in the newspaper."

"Cousin~ My daddy said I'm the hope of the whole family~"

Ye Xiaoxi shouted indistinctly, also wanting to interject loudly to earn a share of the glory for herself.

Everyone laughed out loud when they heard her words.

"Yes, yes, yes, you are the hope of your family," Lin Fu said with a smile, "When the time comes, you also get a university degree for your daddy."

Lin Mu also said: "It just depends on whether the two older brothers are more impressive, or if you are."

Ye Xiaoxi said loudly: "I'm impressive!"

Ye Chenghu said disdainfully: "Bragging!"

Ye Chengyang looked up at him, "Brother, are you going to take the university entrance exam too?"

Ye Chenghu suddenly didn't dare to answer.

Ye Xiaoxi also imitated Ye Chengyang's appearance, standing on the other side of Ye Chenghu, both of them looking up at him.

"Brother, are you going to take the university entrance exam too?"

"Go away, go away, you guys are annoying to death."