Chapter 1481: The Magic City

Ye Yaodong couldn't help sighing — in just a few years, every one of the younger ones could earn money, and they even knew to find Little Uncle to take a look.

That fatso is quite the earner too.

This stuff is a goldmine right now — sell it with your eyes closed and you'll still make money.

No wonder we never see him all day. I thought he was busy with the restaurant renovation outside — turns out he's running a side hustle.

He didn't bother with his old man's grumbling. Once he confirmed the two had only grabbed the magazine and run inside, he let it go.

They're grown up anyway — in a couple of years they'll be taking wives. He was just putting on a show earlier, telling them to take it easy.

Their own father pretended he didn't see and walked right off — what could he possibly say?

He was just curious, and had been thinking of confiscating it to take a look, but those two were quick — they camped right at the doorway and snatched it straight back, not even showing him a bit of filial piety.

Use your brain — as an elder, could he really huddle up with those two to look at Little Uncle? Would he still have any dignity as a senior?

Wouldn't he have to take it back and sneak a peek on his own?

Ye Yaodong figured he had nothing else to do for the rest of the day. In this sweltering heat he didn't want to go anywhere, so he might as well stay home, play some cards, and enjoy the cool.

And along the way, complain to the others about the fatso's antics.

The moment the other childhood friends heard the fatso was selling Little Uncle, their eyes went wide and they got excited too — cards forgotten.

"Shouldn't we go raid his place and grab a few copies to take a look?"

"Good thing I went to literacy class for a few days — otherwise I wouldn't even recognize all the characters, and I'd still be reading Little Uncle?"

"Good thing I made it to fourth grade!"

"The fatso's impressive. I was wondering why we never see him all day — turns out he's been secretly doing this on the side, and he even hid it from us."

"That b*stard is really shady."

"Dongzi, is it good-looking? What does Little Uncle look like? Are there pictures? Is it steamy?"

"How would I know? I only saw a revealing babe on the cover — two mountains all puffed up, thigh-high slit skirt — I didn't even get to flip inside before those two little brats snatched it back."

"Those two little brats are so unfilial — go call them over."

"Have some shame, will you? You're still an elder."

"They should be out driving the tractor right now."

"Then we'll ambush the fatso at night — he's bound to have plenty."

Everyone's interest was piqued. Normally they'd walk past a newsstand without even a glance, but the moment Little Uncle came up, every one of them was wide awake.

They figured they'd catch the fatso around mealtime, but not a soul was to be seen.

Instead, they spotted two boys with straw paper stuffed up their nostrils.

A Guang laughed and pointed at them. "Been reading good stuff all afternoon? Got too fired up?"

"Little Uncle-in-law, keep your voice down."

"We didn't read all afternoon…"

Both of them looked a little embarrassed and indignant.

"Then you started reading the moment you got back!"

"Shhh…"

Ye Fu walked over curiously. "What have you two been up to? Nosebleed? You were both fine when you came back earlier, weren't you?"

Ye Ye Chengjiang quickly explained: "It's hot weather — got too fired up."

"After dinner, go buy two cups of herbal tea."

"Okay."

Ye Yaodong slung his arms around their shoulders and sat them down. "Was it good?"

Both nodded in unison.

"What time does the fatso get off work?"

"Uncle Fatty said he has to stay until past ten at night — that's when the crowd's biggest and business is best."

"Damn — past ten at night? He's not afraid of getting beaten up out there."

Xiao Xiao said, "After dinner, shall we all go take a look together?"

Everyone agreed unanimously.

"You two lead us there."

"Sure."

At dinner, anyone who saw the two brothers with straw paper stuffed in their nostrils had to ask a few questions. Ye Ye Yaopeng and Ye Ye Yaohua found it embarrassing and held their rice bowls a little farther away from them.

The two, after telling so many lies, had actually convinced themselves too — they now believed it was the truth, and answered cheerfully about being overheated, not embarrassed in the slightest.

After the meal, the group headed out. Besides curiosity, they were also worried the fatso would be unsafe out so late — and they had nothing better to do anyway.

The sight of textbooks made their heads spin, but standing at the alley entrance and watching one person after another walk out clutching Little Uncle, their eyes lit up.

"This is the place."

"Five yuan a copy, five yuan a copy, pick whatever you like, choose whatever you want, five yuan a copy…"

The fatso stood inside with his big belly, a stick in hand, hawking his wares and keeping an eye on the people in front of the stall so no one could slip through.

He wasn't alone either — his elder brother's eldest nephew was squatting there helping collect money.

"You — you — you… the one in the floral shirt, I saw you, you didn't pay — whoever catches him first gets a one-yuan reward…"

Ye Yaodong and the others simply spread their arms and blocked the alley entrance, catching the thief in one go.

The fatso's eyes lit up. "Huh? How come you're here?"

"What do we do with this thief?"

"Make him cough up five yuan. If he doesn't have five yuan, beat him up and chase him off."

"I have it, I have it…"

"If you'd just obediently paid up, wouldn't that have been fine? You just had to make me send out the thugs, get beaten up and chased off…"

"I did pay…"

"Paying doesn't cover up the fact that you stole something. You still get a beating, just not beaten to death or crippled."

Fatty took the thick stick and slung it straight over his shoulder, the flesh on his face jiggling, looking every bit like a fearsome fiend.

The people gathered around the stall all became much more obedient, handling the books and magazines a lot more carefully.

Getting this fat these days isn't easy — without some real strength, you'd only be a beanpole.

And Ye Yaodong's men only felt that Fatty's act of putting on airs was pretty successful.

After the few of them pocketed the 5 yuan the thief had taken, along with the books and magazines, they gave him a thorough beating and let him go.

"Heh, we've all become thugs now?"

"You're something else!"

Fatty chuckled. "Do me a favor, you guys came at just the right time. I can't keep an eye on everything by myself. Hurry up and help out. With you here, there'll be fewer riffraff around."

"You're pretty good at putting on an act."

"If I didn't act like this, the stall would've been robbed long ago. You have to look fierce, then these people will think twice."

"You've got the experience now — looks like you've made plenty."

"Hurry up and help first, I can't keep up at all. I haven't even had dinner, I'm starving. Watch the stall for me, I'm going to grab some food first."

Fatty handed the stick in his hand to Ye Yaodong to take over and went to buy food first.

The rest of them also quickly squeezed in to help.

Ye Yaodong slipped into the role fast, resting the stick on his shoulder and hollering at the top of his lungs.

"Beauty magazines, cheap sale! Five yuan each, five yuan each, sold out tomorrow, gone for good! Five yuan each, five yuan each…"

Nobody expected this kind of risqué newspaper and magazine to sell so well — everyone's hands kept busy with transactions nonstop.

People all have a herd mentality — wherever they see a crowd, they love to squeeze in. People kept leaving, and more kept joining, so the crowd never seemed to thin out, always staying this packed.

In just the short while Fatty was gone, they'd sold no less than 30 copies. He was curious — wouldn't this mean selling over a thousand in a single day?

Ye Yaodong knew cassette tapes and videotapes sold well, but he hadn't expected these to sell just as well.

Where there's demand, there's a market. There are too many outsiders, and the dock area is full of men — even those who can't read can look at the covers and the illustrations.

With so many of them helping, things instantly ran smoothly without any chaos.

It was only 9 o'clock, and the burlap sack behind them was already showing the bottom.

Fatty was overjoyed holding the empty burlap sack.

"Wrap it up, wrap it up. The few remaining copies aren't for sale."

"Giving them to us?"

"Yeah, yeah, they're all yours."

Everyone was drenched in sweat from being surrounded, their vests long since taken off and hung around their necks, each of them squatting on the ground bare-chested.

"So damn hot — all these people crowding around, not even a breeze can get through."

"Fatty, you've got to be selling over a thousand a day, right?"

"Not that many, but probably not far off. It's too hot during the day so there are fewer people — business only picks up after the sun goes down."

Ye Yaodong took the vest hanging around his neck and wiped the sweat off his face. "You really know how to make money. How'd you get so many newspapers and magazines?"

Fatty grinned. "A few evenings ago I was wandering around the dock and saw a cargo ship unloading. There was a batch of these risqué papers that had gotten a little soaked by seawater, so I bought them cheap."

"Something that good just fell into your lap?"

"Don't think every good thing has to land on your head. Leave some way for others to make a living, will you?"

"Fine, of course. You've made that much, hurry up and treat us to a late-night snack."

Fatty happily patted his bulging waist pouch. "Let's go, Laozi's treating."

"All the newspapers and magazines sold out?"

"Sold for three or four days, already cleared out."

"Dammit, you had good stuff and didn't think of us!"

"It's because you guys got up too late. Laozi was out carrying the goods at first light, drying them in the sun while selling. In a few days when I head out again, I'll go pick up another batch."

The few of them chatted back and forth, making quite a lively scene.

A'Guang laughed and hooked his arm around Fatty's neck. "Looks like Dongzi egging you on to run that breakfast shop wasn't for nothing — now you can get up earlier than a rooster every day without anyone calling you."

"Dammit, decades of sleeping in, changed in just two or three years. Now I can't even sleep in if I want to — I wake up right on time."

"You two take it easy, still looking? Forget the nosebleeds from earlier?" Ye Yaodong suddenly barked at them.

Ye Ye Chengjiang and Ye Chenghe snapped to attention and quickly closed the magazines.

Turns out the two of them had been holding the few magazines Fatty had just given them while helping out, and getting restless, they'd started flipping through them as they walked, falling behind the group.

"Nosebleeds? Hahaha…" Fatty laughed uproariously. "How can you be so useless? My big nephew is way better than you — he didn't get a nosebleed."

"How do you know he didn't? He helped you sell during the day, so he must've sneaked off to his room at night to look, secretly getting nosebleeds. How would you know?"

"Fair point. A'Li, did you get a nosebleed?"

The young man called A'Li shook his head sheepishly. "I didn't. They're the useless ones."

"How are we useless? We're actually too capable — young and full of vigor, that's why we get nosebleeds. You not getting a nosebleed is what's useless."

"I'm way more capable than you."

"I'm more capable than you…"

Ye Yaodong mocked, "That's hilarious — two little virgins arguing over who's more capable."

The two of them, hearing that, grew bashful and didn't dare argue anymore.

Everyone happily went out for a late-night snack, then slowly made their way home.

It was the height of summer, and it was only just past ten o'clock, so plenty of people were still awake, sitting in the open ground to cool off and chat.

After exchanging greetings with everyone, they each went back to their rooms. They strolled back slowly, enjoying the evening breeze, the sweltering heat on their bodies long since swept away—perfect for a quick rinse before bed.

Ye Fu was also downstairs cooling off. Seeing Ye Yaodong and the others return, he followed at their heels upstairs.

"Where did you go tonight?"

"Nowhere."

Ye Fu crinkled his nose and sniffed all over him. "No smell at all…"

Ye Yaodong shot his father a look of distaste, quickened his pace up the stairs, and put some distance between them.

"Are you part dog or something?"

"I thought you were so unreliable that you even took Ajiang and Ye Chenghe along to get a massage."

"So what if I did?"

"They're still children, their bones haven't even finished growing—what's there to massage? Don't go messing around."

"Where are they still children? In another year or two they'll be old enough to marry and have kids."

"Then where did you all go? Such a big group, even bringing the little ones along, what a parade."

Ye Yaodong shoved the magazine in his hand straight into his father's chest and told him to look at it himself.

"What is this thing?"

Ye Fu pressed the magazine against his chest, pulled it out to look, and saw the cover—a scantily clad woman kissing a man. He immediately treated it like a hot potato, couldn't hold it steady, and dropped it on the ground.

"Ahhh… what is this thing…"

"Pick it up! Why'd you throw it? This is the only copy left, they're all sold out."

"What kind of thing did you bring back, what did you bring it for?" Ye Fu had figured out what it was, but still mumbled a question.

"Bring it for what? To look at, of course. Don't say I wasn't filial—letting you see it first. I'm going to rinse off."

Ye Yaodong went straight inside to get his washbasin.

Ye Fu looked at the magazine by his feet and picked it up again, but just glanced at it before crumpling it into a ball, not daring to look more.

At his age, if people saw him looking at this kind of thing, they'd say he was a lecherous old man.

As Ye Yaodong passed his father with the washbasin, he couldn't help reminding him, "You can recognize quite a few characters now, right? If there's something you don't know, wait till I come back and I'll teach you."

"You're crazy—who uses a book like this to learn characters?"

"Hahaha…"

But in the time it took him to go upstairs, the few magazines they'd brought back had already been passed around downstairs, and some people were even reading them aloud for those who couldn't read.

"No wonder at dinner I saw Ajiang and Ye Chenghe with nosebleeds…"

"Haha, so that was it…"

"They're growing up."

Some people were still complaining that Fatty had such good stuff and hadn't brought it out sooner.

Fatty only asked—did he have no shame?

On the road earlier they had asked him too. The truth was Fatty figured everyone definitely wouldn't buy many copies. The boatmen's wages were all advance payments, they didn't have much cash on hand, and one copy wasn't cheap either. The older generation mostly couldn't read.

Besides, everyone knew each other well. Buying one copy was enough for a whole crowd to huddle together and look, and then it could be passed around among hundreds of people.

He felt the market wasn't that big either. Setting up a stall outside would be even easier to sell, and if he couldn't sell them all, there'd still be time to bring them back.

Many boats had to head out to sea that night, and only now discovering this good stuff, one by one they couldn't bear to go back to sleep.

Their copies for the next day were basically all given away too, swapped around to read.

And for a long time afterward, this kind of risqué newspaper and magazine became a craze throughout their entire camp—not just their place, but all over the boat city.

There was no crime of spreading indecent material these days, so Fatty sold them with complete peace of mind and boldness.

The days waiting to set off weren't boring anymore either, with these little "uncles" to pass the time. Everyone had something fresh, and they didn't even play cards anymore.

But by the next day their place was basically empty too. Those who should go out to sea had gone out to sea, leaving only the people staying behind, and the few of them who planned to go to Modu.

Even when departing for Modu, they still brought two copies to read on the way.

"Fatty, next time you stock up, give us a shout. We'll grab a few copies to look at, and when we're done we can return them to you, and you can sell them again—no waste at all."

"Sure."

"Fatty, why don't you just rent a spot and set up a newsstand? You could sell newspapers and other magazines too…"

"Are you out of your mind? This was just a lucky find. At most I'll sell for a month or so and then stop. By now they're probably flooding the market—should be people setting up stalls selling this stuff everywhere."

Ye Yaodong patted his shoulder and said with a grin, "You could get some cassette tapes."

Videotapes were out of the question—they needed a VCR to play, and ordinary people didn't have that kind of setup. Cassette tapes were still doable though.

"No no, too much trouble. My restaurant is about to open. I'll sell those little 'uncles' for a while and then stop—as long as I've made some money, that's enough. Or maybe next time I go home, I'll bring another batch to sell in the city."

"That works too. You're pretty easygoing about it."

"Of course. I can't grab every bit of money for myself. I just need to run the restaurant well—that's the long-term thing. Making a quick buck from that other stuff is enough."

"Made a few thousand?"

"Of course. Just a few thousand though. Shouting out in the street in the middle of summer—if they don't let me earn a bit more, would that be fair to the sweat I've shed?"

"You made a killing. In just three or four days you made several thousand—way more than the rest of us."

"Ah, this kind of thing isn't stable. How could I keep earning every day, keep earning forever? How long does this boat take to get to Modu? Did you ask, Dongzi?"

"I asked. The boat we're taking doesn't have much cargo, it's mainly carrying passengers—should get there in three or four hours. The cargo ship right behind us will probably take seven or eight hours."

"So our boat, being faster, will arrive first."

"Mm."

"That's pretty close then. I heard Modu is really prosperous…"

On the boat, some chatted idly, some read their little "uncles," passing the few hours.

Even the passengers on nearby boats crowded over to watch them flipping through the little yellow book, and everyone got along unusually harmoniously.

When the cargo ship arrived, it docked at Zhanghuabang Wharf in the Huangpu River port district.

This place is located on the lower reaches of the Huangpu River; it's an important comprehensive wharf for the Magic City port, handling general cargo, bulk cargo, and container business, and is suitable for fishing boats to dock and unload.

It's also suitable for seafood boats to dock so they can quickly get their catch to market.

Fishing boats from the boat market basically all dock at this wharf.

Large fishing boats might dock at the large berths in the Yangtze River Estuary port district.

They were currently looking for a place to dock; the surface of the Huangpu River was packed with countless fishing boats and cargo ships, big and small.

Most of the fishing boats were wooden or iron-hulled, their hulls mottled, paint peeling, revealing the marks of time. Tattered fishing nets hung from the masts, swaying gently in the wind.

A few cargo ships stood out conspicuously among these fishing boats, especially theirs — it looked brand new, with a big red flower tied to the bow, and the people around them were either laughing or watching their boat with curiosity.

But they didn't slack off on the work at hand, all busily sorting their fishing gear; some boats had piles of freshly caught fish and shrimp on the bow, giving off a faint fishy smell.

The wharf was piled high with all kinds of cargo; workers were busy hauling things, the sound of their shouts and the roar of machines weaving together.

"We're here already? It's pretty lively."

"Can't compare to the boat market port."

"Of course not — over there is the fishing grounds, but for liveliness and bustle it's definitely here. Once we get ashore let's have a good look around; we've got plenty of free time anyway."

"I figure it'll take a little over an hour just to dock."

"Just wait."

Fishing boats crisscrossed on the sea, and the docking process was unusually slow, just like a traffic jam — in their case, a boat jam.

After waiting a little over an hour they finally slowly docked. Ye Yaodong first went up to say hello to Lin Ji, arranged a time to come find him later, then went ashore first.

He still had a whole boatload of cargo to arrange; he definitely couldn't be like them, unburdened and free to wander around as soon as he stepped off the boat.

The wharf was piled high with all kinds of cargo — wooden crates, burlap sacks, and iron barrels — workers busily hauling them, the sound of their shouts and the roar of machines weaving together.

On an open patch of ground by the shore, vendors had set up stalls selling fresh fish, shrimp, and vegetables.

Water stains and fish scales could be seen everywhere on the ground; the air was thick with the smell of fish and machine oil.

The surrounding buildings were mostly low brick-and-tile houses and old-style warehouses, their walls covered in mottled marks and all sorts of slogans with the flavor of the era, with moss growing thick on the rooftops.

Just looking at these buildings you could tell they had some years on them, looking worn and weathered.

In the distance a few old-style office buildings could be seen, with huge billboards standing on the rooftops bearing the big characters "Magic City Port Authority."

Further off were some factory smokestacks, belching out thick smoke, the smell of industrial exhaust filling the air.

"Port Authority! Does that mean we can come here and ask if we need anything?"

"Even the office buildings by the wharf are four or five stories tall…"

"But they look pretty run-down too, don't look any better — at most the buildings are a bit taller, but these buildings are really old too."

"Let's go, stop talking, hurry up and eat, I'm starving — we left early this morning and it's almost 2 o'clock now."

Ye Yaodong was starving, yet they were still gawking around, pointing here and pointing there.

"There's a restaurant up ahead, what's the rush? Look, there's a whole bunch — restaurants, noodle shops, everything."

Pedestrians came and went around them, some riding bicycles, some pushing wooden carts. On either side of the street were low shops selling all sorts of daily necessities and snacks.

A few old people sat on benches in front of their houses, leisurely enjoying the cool and chatting about daily life. Children chased and played on the street, their laughter ringing in the air.

From the little restaurant on the corner wafted the smell of cooking; even though it wasn't mealtime, plenty of workers still came and went.

"Let's fill our bellies first, pick any one."

Ah Zheng looked around. "Ala so… what does that mean? Why do all the locals talk like 'ala so'?"

"And 'that little punk'…"

"Really interesting, every place has its own fun dialect…"

?? Arrived in Hangzhou today, my older sister moved into a new place, next chapter will update around 1:30

? (End of chapter)