Chapter 1469: Settling It

Ye Mu looked at Ye Chenghe sternly, "Once it's truly settled, it can't be changed, can't be altered! A wife isn't like other things—she can't be swapped. Once it's settled, you two will be tied together for life. You'd better think it through."

Ye Ye Dasao added, "Anyway, there's no rush. You're only 16. Wait until you're 18 in a couple of years. If you still like her then, just settle it directly and bring her home to marry. What's the point of settling it so early now? What if you happen to see someone else you like up there by then?"

"I'm not the type to fall for every girl I see. I'm a devoted good man!"

Ye Ye Dasao's face was full of disdain; she turned her eyes away, not wanting to look at him anymore.

Ye Yaodong said, "Give your eldest brother a call first to let him know. This is a big matter—you can't just decide it among yourselves. Ask your eldest brother."

"That'll take forever. My dad's out at sea every day—he might not even manage one or two calls home in a whole month. Where would we even call to find him?"

"Call the merchant association and leave a message. Your grandpa goes there every day or two, so he'll get the word soon. Have him call back, explain things, and then pass it along to your dad."

A very simple matter, but because communications were underdeveloped, it had to be passed around through several people's mouths before reaching its destination, and it would take several days.

Ye Mu also agreed with what he said. "We do need to tell them."

Ye Chenghe was getting impatient. "How long will that take? Uncle San is heading back up again in a while, and I have to go with him."

"How eager are you? Your brother isn't in a hurry, so why are you in such a rush?"

Ye Ye Dasao was getting a bit fed up with him to death—why couldn't the one so eager to get married be Ye Ye Chenghai?

The ones who should wise up don't, and the ones who shouldn't are thinking about it every single day.

Ye Mu said, "Let Chenghe go give the girl a heads-up first, and let her family know too. Meanwhile, these next few days we'll also talk it over with your grandpa and your dad."

"Fine."

Ye Yaodong patted his shoulder. "You can't be like this—far too immature! You need to be a bit steady at least to give the girl a sense of reliability."

Ye Chenghe straightened his back, wiped the troubled look off his face, and put on a solemn expression.

"Understood, Uncle San."

However, he only kept that look for a few seconds before turning to Ye Mu again.

"Then how should I talk to her? What should I say?"

Ye Mu was also a bit frustrated with him. "You silly boy—just tell her that you're heading out to earn money now, that you want to settle things first, that your family has no objections, and ask her what she thinks. Is that okay? Also have her ask her parents and see if they have any opinions or any other requests."

"They definitely won't have any objections! Who am I? The moment they hear I'm Uncle San's nephew, they'll agree in a heartbeat!"

Ye Ye Dasao slapped him across the face.

Ye Chenghe rubbed his own shoulder, wincing in pain. Luckily he'd grown taller now—his mother couldn't reach the back of his head anymore.

"Is she marrying you, or is she marrying your Uncle San?"

"Not much difference! I'm Uncle San's nephew! Forget other villages—even in our own village you couldn't find a few good young men with better family conditions than ours, or more reliable than me."

"That's a big difference. I can't marry a wife on your behalf."

Lin Lin Xiuqing rolled her eyes at him.

Ye Yaodong said to Lin Lin Xiuqing with a grin, "We haven't even gotten our marriage certificate!"

"What—you want to take a younger one too?"

"No, no. I was thinking—when should we go get our marriage certificate too? Otherwise you're not exactly legal."

"You're crazy. I've been married to you for ten years—who doesn't know I'm your wife?"

Ye Mu ignored the couple's joking around and said to Ye Chenghe, "What you said isn't wrong, but we definitely need to let the girl's parents know in advance. If they have no objections and allow us to come, then we'll go propose in person. We should do all the proper etiquette thoroughly."

Ye Yaodong added, "If her family is willing, once the final exams are over, we can have your future wife come work at the workshop, help your Third Aunt with the work, and earn wages just like everyone else."

Lin Lin Xiuqing said with a smile, "That works, that's not bad. It'll also help Chenghe keep an eye on his wife, so she doesn't get snatched away."

Ye Chenghe was overjoyed. "Really? That's great then. Her family will definitely agree a hundred times over. Factories in the city even require an urban household registration, and not just anyone can get in."

Ye Ye Dasao was also very pleased and said politely, "Then we'll have to trouble your Uncle San again. Every single one of you relies on your Uncle San's support. From now on, you must treat him well."

"Absolutely! Uncle San ranks first in my heart!"

"That's not necessary. Just kowtow to me properly at the wedding."

"Hehe, definitely! Definitely!"

Ye Mu was also very happy. Before the girl had even entered the household, they'd already arranged a job for her—who would refuse?

If Ye Chenghe got married, wouldn't she be one step closer to holding her great-grandchild?

Just thinking about being able to hold her great-grandchild before she turned 60, Ye Mu's mouth was about to curve into a grin.

"You're going to go find her later, right?"

"Yeah, I already bought her a gift."

Ye Ye Dasao grabbed his ear. "Look at you—get a wife and forget your mother. The moment you go out, all you think about is bringing a gift for your sweetheart. Your old mother doesn't even get one."

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch… easy, Ma! Didn't you just sweep away my 300 yuan this morning? I don't even have money left. I just borrowed 10 yuan from Uncle San. How dare you say I didn't buy you a gift—you took all the money."

At that, Ye Ye Dasao did remember the nearly 300 yuan she'd just gotten, still warm in her hands, and immediately let go.

Ye Mu, however, widened her eyes. "You earned 300 yuan just from going up there?"

"Yeah, and that's after Ajiang and I split it half and half. If it were one person, it'd be even more."

"Then your grandpa must have earned at least 600 yuan during this time?"

"Yeah, my grandpa drives Uncle San's tractor all by himself, so of course he earns more than us. We just follow behind him to earn—he earns double what we do."

Ye Yaodong silently mourned for his old man—his entire fortune had been spilled by Ye Chenghe.

Ye Mu was overjoyed. "That's quite a lot of earnings."

"Right? By New Year, my grandpa will definitely earn enough to come back as a ten-thousand-yuan household."

Ye Mu was coaxed into a grin so wide her mouth couldn't close.

"Good, good, good. If you settle this, I'll pay half for both the engagement and the wedding. Same for all the other grandchildren. Whether boy or girl, I'll pay half for all of them, and I'll also pay half for the dowry. In our family, boys and girls are treated the same."

Ye Ye Dasao was instantly delighted too.

She'd originally felt a bit awkward about Ye Chenghe getting engaged so early—with Ye Ye Chenghai still ahead of him—but now all that was left was happiness.

"Then when you go find the girl later, just ask her casually, and have her mention it at home too."

"Sure thing!" Ye Chenghe rubbed his hands together. "Well then, Ma, I'm seeing someone now. I can't go home these few days with empty pockets, can I, having to borrow money from Third Uncle? Granny, you tell her…"

Ye's mother chimed in, "Right, he's already this big, he's seeing someone, about to get engaged. You can't take all his money either, you have to let him have some pocket money. Once he's married, you definitely can't take his money anymore either, the two of them have to live their lives too."

"Of course I know that," Ye Ye Dasao glared at him. "Give your Third Uncle's money back to him, I'll get you some money in a bit."

"Sure thing."

Ye Chenghe happily fished out the freshly borrowed Great Unity note from his pocket and returned it to Ye Yaodong.

After going around in a full circle and returning to his hand, Ye Yaodong also chuckled.

"Then Dongzi, help me make a phone call to your dad and let him know. We don't even know which number to call to leave a message."

"Got it."

Once that was settled, Ye Yaodong went back to make the call. He called the trade association's voicemail, so when his dad went over this afternoon or tomorrow noon, the message would probably get through.

It wouldn't take two days to get a reply. After all, the fresh-fish boats also had to go out to sea to collect goods, so just having someone pass along the message would do.

Word of mouth — in a couple of days he'd be able to receive his dad's reply.

Just in time, Chenghe's side would also be getting a reply around then.

Lin Lin Xiuqing suddenly felt a bit wistful, "I always felt Chenghe was still so small, fighting with his brother every couple of days, or getting beaten by Ye Dasao. How did he suddenly grow up and get married? A-Yuan is already 20 and still has nothing settled."

"Not getting married yet, definitely has to wait another two years. It's just this kid's impatient, booking it ahead of time."

"I also feel it's so fast…"

"It really is fast. In another 10 years, you can be a grandma too."

Lin Lin Xiuqing: "!!!"

"I'm not mentally prepared for that yet, don't talk nonsense."

"Pretty good, being a grandma at 40."

"Cut it out, these three aren't even done fussing over yet. Go on and get busy with your stuff, don't loiter around here."

"Fine then, I'll head to the factory in town."

"Come back early, don't go off drinking again until the middle of the night."

"Well, I really can't guarantee that. Just got back, they're definitely going to drag me out drinking."

Lin Lin Xiuqing couldn't be bothered to nag him anymore. "Up to you, as long as you come back."

"Definitely, I'd crawl back if I had to. I'm a principled, family-minded good man."

Lin Lin Xiuqing was plenty busy herself, no time to manage him anyway, and even if she did she couldn't control him — this all had to rely on self-discipline.

And Ye's father, after receiving the message the next afternoon, was utterly stunned.

Ye Chenghe had only gone home for one trip — how was he suddenly getting engaged?

He hurriedly and anxiously called back right away to ask what was going on.

Lin Lin Xiuqing didn't know how to explain, so she directly called Ye Chenghe over to take the call, while she went to call Ye's mother.

Let the parties involved explain it themselves.

And after Ye's father got their full explanation, he had no objections either, and gave his approval.

However, when Ye's mother asked him how much he'd earned recently, his answer wasn't honest.

Ye Yaodong, squatting at the door, could hear his mother's scolding.

"…Don't even think about lying to me. Chenghe already said you earned more last month alone than the two of them put together. And before they went up, you made another big haul."

"At your age, going out and learning to be bad, still so dishonest — what are you trying to do?"

Ye Chenghe, listening on the side, felt his heart skip a beat, then quickly backed out.

"Third Uncle…"

Ye Yaodong bared his teeth in a grin, turned his head and glanced at him.

"Third Uncle, did I say something wrong?"

"Nothing wrong. Go up there and take a beating, that'll fix it."

Ye Chenghe quickly squatted down beside him. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have said anything. Even my own money got taken away. My ma only left me 50 yuan, saying it was for expenses at home and expenses to bring up there."

"That's plenty. Not bad at all if she didn't just leave you 10."

"I think so too, it's really quite a lot. But I've learned my lesson. Next time I'll definitely keep my mouth shut, not tell anyone how much I earned! Damn it, money I just earned through hard work, hadn't even warmed it in my hands and it was gone."

"Serves you right."

"She's still lecturing in there… I think once I go up there, I'm done for…"

"Good that you know. What did your girlfriend's family say?"

"Don't know. I told her yesterday, haven't gotten a reply yet."

"Then what did she say?"

Ye Chenghe grinned foolishly. "She got shy, didn't say anything, just lowered her head. Later I kept pressing her, and only then did she say she had to go back and ask her family."

"You've already won big."

"Really?"

"Of course. Your brother hasn't earned as much as you, and his wife isn't found as fast as yours. Isn't that winning big?"

Ye Chenghe grew even happier. "Third Uncle, when I get married, I'll kowtow two extra times to you then."

"Then I definitely won't give you two extra red envelopes!"

"Hehe…"

Ye Yaodong got curious, leaned in and asked quietly: "Have you kissed yet?"

Ye Chenghe's face instantly flushed bright red. "Of course not, isn't that being a hooligan?"

"Pfft, you coward."

"Third Uncle, you didn't kiss Third Aunt before you got married, did you?"

Ye Yaodong slapped him across the face. "Is that something you're allowed to ask?"

"You were the one who asked first!"

"I'm just curious how middle schoolers date."

"I just walked her home every day."

"You absolute noob."

"You can't take advantage of her!"

"Dating without the goal of marriage is what's called taking advantage. You're already about to get engaged—how could that possibly count as taking advantage?"

Ye Chenghe scratched his head. "Fair point."

He shuffled two small steps closer to Ye Yaodong and said even more quietly, "Then Third Uncle, can I kiss her now?"

"Get lost. You come to me with this kind of thing? You need me to teach you? It's not like I'm the one chasing girls!"

Ye Yaodong stood up in one swift motion.

But he didn't expect to get a slap across the face too.

"Chasing what girls?"

Ye Yaodong rubbed the back of his head.

It felt way too familiar—hadn't been slapped in decades, had he?

"Ma, only you dare hit me…"

"So what if I hit you? I gave birth to you, and I can't even hit you? You better not mess up…"

"What mistake did I make? It was clearly this silly kid asking me how to chase girls, and I said does he really need to ask me about this? It's not like I'm the one chasing girls? Seriously, I'm more wronged than Dou E."

Ye Yaodong kicked Ye Chenghe mid-sentence, sending him tumbling flat on his back, then turned and ran off with a sneaky grin.

Ye Mu glared at him. "Never teach them anything good, only the bad stuff."

"Of course not—I'm an elder, how could I teach them anything bad?"

"You haven't taught them bad things? Brother Brother Ahai picked up smoking from you."

"I'm f***ing more wronged than Dou E here—it's clearly him mooching my cigarettes since he was little…"

Ye Mu tried to hit him again, but he quickly stepped back and dodged it.

"Ma, even if you're in a bad mood, you can't take it out on me."

"Who's the one running their mouth with filthy language all day? All the little ones learned their filthy words from you."

"As if you women don't swear—you all curse more than me when you argue, you're better at it than me, and you talk more trash than me."

Ye Yaodong finished speaking and quickly headed outside.

Ye Mu stood behind him with her hands on her hips, cursing from the oldest down to the youngest!

Lin Lin Xiuqing had originally planned to head home, and happened to run into Ye Yaodong coming out.

"What's up with Ma? She just got off the phone and got angry—did Pa upset her?"

"Isn't that right? At his age, he still doesn't behave."

"What did she say?"

"No idea."

"So you've already informed Pa, and now we're just waiting for Ye Chenghe's girlfriend's family to reply?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Anyway, Ye Ye Dasao has no objections—if she agrees, your big brother definitely won't either. As long as she's been informed, that's enough."

"Then it shouldn't be long now."

"I'm off, it's two o'clock. I'm going to check on the factory this afternoon, and tomorrow morning I'll head to the city for a few days."

"Then come back early tonight, and don't drink too much."

"Got it. I'll ride the motorcycle, and I promise I won't drink."

Ye Yaodong saw his mother had already come out of his house, so he took a slight detour to the side, looping around in a half-circle.

Ye Mu just stared at him, watching him edge closer to the front door with an apologetic grin, muttering under her breath.

"A thirty-year-old man, still pulling this stunt, still trying to sneak around me…"

Before she could finish complaining, she heard the roar of a motorcycle zooming past her at high speed, giving her a fright.

"That little coffin…"

No need to say it—it was definitely on purpose!

Ye Yaodong rode his motorcycle, humming a tune, and rode out of the village under the admiring gazes of the villagers.

He couldn't help thinking, no wonder young people love riding those tricked-out scooters—the built-in music, and being the center of everyone's attention, it really does hit the spot!

If it were him, he'd love it too.

Don't drink and drive, don't drive and drink—tonight he really didn't drink, and he came back early to "deliver the harvest."

The next day, he drove a tractor full of goods to the city again.

It wasn't often he came back, so he had to stay in the city for a few days.

Besides visiting his godfather, he also had to check the accounts and hold down the fish sauce factory here, sorting out the miscellaneous matters.

He also took the chance to inspect the four plots of land, big and small, that he'd bought. It was fine not to build on them now, but in a few years he'd have to put up buildings, otherwise the government had the right to reclaim undeveloped land.

Two of the four plots were quite close by. He figured he'd build a row of houses to rent out in a couple of years—there was a market here, whether it was building houses or warehouses to rent, it was a good deal.

A lot of the surrounding farmland had already been sold off. Some, like him, had put up walls and built factories; others had built warehouses. The area wasn't desolate anymore.

The changes year by year were huge.

Ye Yaodong stayed in the city for five or six days, finished all his business, settled all the accounts, and only then drove the tractor back home again.

The matter of Ye Chenghe getting a wife was also settled—the girl's family had given their response, saying they had no objections and could come over to sit down and talk.

While he was away, his mother, along with Ye Ye Dasao, Ye Ye Ersao, and Lin Lin Xiuqing, had brought gifts and taken Ye Chenghe over to visit.

There's no formal agreement yet, so there's no need for a matchmaker for now. The two families can chat first, and once it's settled and the betrothal gifts need to be exchanged on both sides, then we can just ask a relative to act as matchmaker.

A matchmaker is a must, even when it's a courtship the couple arranged themselves.

No clouds in the sky, no rain; no matchmaker on earth, no marriage.

The two families sat down and talked it over. They agreed they could first compare the couple's eight characters, do a verbal engagement, hold the engagement banquet after the New Year, and wait until the girl turns 18 to actually get married.

He only learned this after he got home, from Lin Lin Xiuqing.

Hearing this, he also felt it was quite a good arrangement.

"My dad and the eldest brothers aren't home. Ye Chenghe's engagement is a big event, so let's just wait until the end of the year when everyone's back to hold the banquet. It'll be more grand that way, and it shows we take it seriously."

"Right, that's exactly what was said. Everyone has to be back, and only then can we hold the banquet at home. Ye Ye Dasao always felt Ye Chenghe was still young, so pushing it to the end of the year works out perfectly. For now, let's just settle it verbally."

"Mm, getting the girl to come work at our place will put Ye Chenghe's mind at ease too."

Lin Lin Xiuqing said with a smile, "Yes, compare the eight characters, settle it verbally first, and then the girl can come work at our place. Of course their family agreed in a heartbeat. I saw the bride's mother smiling the whole time, overjoyed."

"Definitely. Who else lands a job and a salary right out of graduation? They're getting a bargain."

"The funny thing is, when we went, their relatives were there too, and they asked if Ye Chenghe had any siblings, whether they had a partner yet, and even offered to introduce people to them."

"Of course. The kids in our family are hot commodities now. Who doesn't know the three brothers of our family have great conditions? Any Miss who marries in will surely live a life of ease, and anyone who marries a girl from our family is getting a bargain too."

Lin Lin Xiuqing nodded. This was plain for all to see; it wasn't just their bragging.

"Even your son has people asking about him."

"They're getting a bargain. So when do we compare the eight characters? How much betrothal gift are we giving?"

"Mother said she'll have someone pick an auspicious day. She won't take on this job herself. As for the betrothal gift, the bride's family didn't make any demands and told us to do as we see fit."

"Good for them for knowing their place." Ye Yaodong was very pleased they hadn't opened their mouths like lions or raised the price on the spot.

"You mean Mother?"

"That too. She knows she's only half-skilled and doesn't dare take on this job. Usually we just let her mess around, but Ye Chenghe's matter is a big deal. The bride's family knows it too. They know our three brothers' families have face and standing, so we definitely won't shortchange them. Being able to betroth their child to Ye Chenghe is already a bargain for them. They haven't even gotten engaged yet and we've already arranged a job for the girl — how could they dare make demands?"

"That's what they said. Ye Ye Dasao is also very generous. She said once the eight characters are compared, she'll buy the girl a bicycle so it's convenient for her to get to work. For the engagement, she'll buy her a gold ring and a watch. For the wedding, she'll give 1,000 as bride price. Then all the other small appliances she should have, the house already has everything. None of the other customary gifts will be missing either."

"That's plenty."

"Mm, other families giving a bride price these days only give 800 yuan. That's only because our village's conditions have improved these past two years and the price went up. Other villages top out at 500. Ye Ye Dasao is being quite generous."

"Mother is putting up half of it too, and Ye Chenghe can earn enough for his bride himself. Ye Ye Dasao doesn't need to spend a cent."

Lin Lin Xiuqing nodded. "I heard they discussed it with Mother before deciding how much to give."

"The first child to get engaged — of course it has to be grand."

"Mm, Ye Chenghe has been grinning like a fool these past two days. Early in the morning you can see him squatting at the door, smiling like an idiot, then checking his digital watch nonstop."

Ye Yaodong laughed too. "Silly boy."

"When you get up tomorrow you'll see his goofy face. Lately he's been the laughingstock of his younger brothers and sisters every single day."

"He's definitely waiting for the time to come. He can't wait to go be some family's live-in son-in-law. We need to have a talk about this — he can't let people lead him by the nose."

"Hehe, we just settled it and he's still all fired up. Don't go saying things at random and make yourself annoying."

"I know."

(End of chapter)