Chapter 1467: Amitabha

"Damn it, if I'd known earlier you could ask the people on the boat to help unload, why were we working ourselves to death in such a rush?"

"Oh my god, two days without eating, my arms and legs are weak and I still have to help you unload cargo. Damn it, I'm exhausted."

Seeing someone helping carry the load, they stopped to catch their breath, each tossing out a curse or two.

For them, cursing "damn it" was probably just like an old lady habitually murmuring "Amitabha."

No difference.

Fatty, meanwhile, plopped down on the ground, shirtless, his rolls of fat dripping with sweat, flushed from face to neck, even his back beet red, shoulders especially so.

"Dammit, carrying a few loads for you and I'll lose ten jin. I'm beat to death, my shoulders are killing me. Get over here and massage my back."

Ye Yaodong walked over and handed him two cigarettes. "Perfect way to help you lose weight. Get up and carry some more—good for your health."

After saying that, he handed cigarettes to the others too.

"You dumb fatty, are you stupid? Asking Dongzi, a grown man, to press all over your body? Disgusting or what? You should've told him to arrange two young ladies to give you a massage after he gets to the boat market."

Fatty's eyes lit up. "Makes sense!"

"Didn't Dongzi's friend say he's building a fancier OK hall? It's been almost half a year, hasn't it? Is it done yet?"

Just as Aguang finished asking, Lin Ji also got curious and chimed in, "The one called Suren?"

"Yeah."

"Doesn't he drive a truck?"

"Driving a truck doesn't mean he can't do a few other things on the side. He can keep investing elsewhere. Seems like he's partnering with a few of his own cousins. It's not finished yet—he said with more people putting in money, they could build it bigger."

"That money's easy to make."

Ye Yaodong agreed wholeheartedly. "If it's done right, it's like a money-printing machine—ka-ching, ka-ching, the cash just rolls in."

Fatty perked up. "For real?"

"Of course it's real, but the money isn't that easy to make."

Lin Ji said, "You have to grease palms everywhere."

Ye Yaodong nodded. "There are a lot of ins and outs in this business. You just stick to being a cook—your restaurant alone will make you plenty."

Aguang chimed in, "That's already enough for ordinary folks like us to make."

Lin Ji said, "There are plenty of ways to make money, but you can't just make it willy-nilly."

"Anyway, once he really gets it built and open, everyone can go have some fun."

"Dongzi, we'll wait for your treat!" Azheng said happily.

"No problem, easy. Have you rested enough? If you're rested, get moving—help carry the stuff. The sooner we finish unloading, the sooner we can go home and sleep."

"Still unloading?"

"Aren't there already over a dozen people carrying?"

"Don't waste money. You've already paid people to do it, let them do it."

Everyone wore a pained expression.

"Your tractor isn't even here yet, what's the rush? It's just one vehicle, it can't haul everything in one trip."

"If we finish unloading now, the people you hired will have nothing to do."

Ye Yaodong shook his head. "Fine, fine, rest up... sorry to trouble you bosses."

"As long as you know. If no one's doing it, we'll get to it." Hearing Xiao Xiao also laughed.

"Bosses by day, sitting on the floor by night—that's you lot."

"Hahaha..."

"That's a perfect description. Aren't we literally sitting on the floor at night?"

Everyone looked around and felt his description was spot-on.

"If your family finds out you went for a massage, you'll be sleeping on the floor."

"Pfft~"

The few of them chatting and laughing made quite a lively scene.

The tractor arranged by the family arrived after a little over half an hour.

It took two round trips to haul most of the cargo back, and only on the third trip were the remaining goods and all the people brought back together.

By the time they got home, it was already 1 o'clock.

All the time had been eaten up by loading and unloading, with few people on night duty.

It was also because they were all lazy, wanting to hitch a ride on Ye Yaodong's tractor instead of walking back—otherwise they'd have been home long ago and wouldn't have wasted several hours.

Lin Lin Xiuqing and the old lady had been sitting at the door waiting until 1 o'clock, gazing at the stars and the moon before they finally saw the people.

"We waited for one trip, and you weren't on it. Then the next trip, still no you. The chicken soup in the pot was heated and cooled, cooled and heated..."

"What's the rush? It's not too late to prepare it once we're back."

"Wasn't it because I was afraid you'd be hungry?"

"I'm not a kid, I'm not that delicate."

Ye Yaodong spoke as he threw one arm over each of their shoulders—one on the left, one on the right—and led them inside, telling them about the journey along the way.

After a while, Lin Lin Xiuqing remembered to ask, "Did you get the letter? If you didn't, wasn't it mailed for nothing? The person's already back."

"Damn it, I got it in the last half hour—Fatty brought it on board for me..."

He went on about the letter for a while.

Lin Lin Xiuqing said softly, "If you hadn't gotten it, it actually would've been fine. We could've called and asked Dad to open and read it first. You're back anyway, so you can still see it."

"That's not the same—at least I got to read the three kids' letters early. And they really sleep well. I came back making such a big ruckus and not a single one woke up to take a look."

"Kids sleep a lot and deep—thunder couldn't wake them, let alone the little noise of you coming back."

The old lady brought over the reheated chicken soup noodles, smiling and telling him to eat quickly. "Keep your voice down, don't wake the little ones, or you won't get any sleep."

"That's true, let's give them a surprise first thing tomorrow morning."

Isn't that just a surprise?

The next day, Ye Ye Xiaoxi kept her eyes closed, stretched her feet out blindly, and felt them bump into several feet.

She hadn't even opened her eyes yet, but curiously reached out to feel around — one foot after another, then another one, and she was so curious that she kept on touching them.

Ye Yaodong, still half-asleep, felt his foot itch, pulled it back, turned over, draped it over Lin Lin Xiuqing's waist, and his hand reached its rightful territory.

Lin Lin Xiuqing was also woken up by the father-daughter pair's tickling.

Unable to feel any more feet, Ye Ye Xiaoxi opened her eyes and curiously looked up at the mosquito net overhead, then pulled back the quilt.

"Ah! Three feet!"

"No wait, four feet!"

Ye Ye Xiaoxi shrieked in surprise!

"Mama, ah no, Papa's back! Papa, you're home!"

This time Ye Yaodong woke up too.

"What is it, making such a fuss first thing in the morning."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi excitedly crawled over to him and squeezed herself in between the two of them.

Ye Yaodong had no choice but to pull his arms and legs back, and instead draped them over the little chubby girl.

She also excitedly rubbed his face. "Oh my, how come you've gotten thinner again? And darker?"

Ye Yaodong: "..."

"You came back just in time, there's chicken stew at home, to help you recover."

These two lines sound a bit familiar?

He opened one eye and kept the other shut, then realized — weren't these exactly what the old lady had said last night?

"Amitabha, finally home."

This time Lin Lin Xiuqing couldn't hold it in either and burst out laughing.

Ye Yaodong was speechless. "Where did you learn that? How do you know how to say everything?"

"Where else could I have learned it?"

"Papa, when did you get back? How come I didn't know! Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Papa, why do you always come back in the middle of the night?"

?? Sat on a plane for 5 hours, then drove for another two hours, just got home.

? This chapter was written on the plane. I checked it over briefly when I got back, so bear with it. So tired tonight, my back hurts, going to rest early.

? At midnight I'll release a 100-chapter bundle

? (End of this chapter)