Chapter 1509

Lin Lin Xiuqing looked at the pile of high-end new clothes, beaming with joy.

The children were overjoyed too, experiencing a different kind of department store and buying toys everyone loved.

Ye Yaodong didn't just buy for them—he also got a wool coat and a down jacket for his adoptive parents, completing the list.

Perfect—they'd have to go to the city to deliver New Year gifts anyway, so bringing back wool coats and down jackets from Shanghai was the most respectable gift possible.

Every year's New Year gifts were the same; this year they could try something different and elegant.

After leaving the First Department Store, they went to the First Food Store, just ten minutes' walk east on Nanjing Road.

They swept through everything, buying all the necessary items—and also things they'd never seen before and shouldn't have bought—making the children ecstatic.

Now his friends' presence paid off: the couple couldn't carry everything, so they called everyone over to help.

By the time his wife arrived, they'd already done heavy shopping; now they were perfect pack mules.

He'd been thinking his wife and kids hadn't arrived yet, so he'd mainly been touring with everyone, acting as his mother's ATM.

He wouldn't decide for his wife and kids what they liked—he waited for them to arrive and choose for themselves; they'd be happier that way.

This led to the end result: the whole family of five plus Pei Yu skipped ahead, light and carefree, while the others trudged behind like bodyguards, arms full of bags.

"Hey, have you finished shopping yet?"

"Yeah, got enough? It's almost dark."

"I feel like we're their bodyguards and servants, trailing after them."

"We just offered to help because they couldn't carry it all, and now they're taking advantage."

Lin Lin Xiuqing turned and saw their arms and arms full, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I asked you to help carry—why did you give it all to them?"

"If I didn't give it to them, why did I bring them along? Wouldn't they just be in the way?"

"Are you serious?"

"It's fine—they're free anyway."

If they hadn't brought them along, the couple would've been overwhelmed just watching the three kids—how could they shop in peace?

"We've got enough. Let's go back."

"Alright, tomorrow I'll take you somewhere else to shop."

The children all agreed—today had opened their eyes to new wonders, and they'd gotten everything they wanted; they were already perfectly satisfied, let alone the prospect of going out again tomorrow.

Not just tomorrow—for the next few days, Ye Yaodong took them everywhere, everywhere they could play, even to the amusement park, making them so happy they forgot they had a home.

When it came time to return to Zhou City, none of them wanted to go, wishing they could move there permanently.

As they left, they all turned back, reluctant, gazing at the Western-style house.

"Dad, can't we really live here?" Ye Chenghu still clung to the iron gate of the house, peering through the gaps.

"Who'd watch over you if you lived here? Who'd cook and wash your clothes? You wouldn't even have playmates."

Ye Ye Chengyang said: "Then can we build a house like this at home?"

"You hit the nail on the head! Smart kid—I'll arrange it later."

Ye Ye Chengyang's eyes lit up with hope. "Really?"

He'd just said it offhand—could it actually happen?

Ye Yaodong patted his head. "Really. When your dad earns more money, I'll build you an exact copy at home, with a garden around it."

"That's amazing!"

Lin Lin Xiuqing smiled. "This house is so big and bright, with such good light and clean lines—anyone who lived here wouldn't want to leave."

Ye Yaodong locked the gate. "Building one at home isn't hard."

Lin Lin Xiuqing smiled and shook her head. "We'll see."

With a new goal to look forward to, the children climbed onto the motorcycle, cheerful and content, then boarded the boat back to Zhou City.

Ye Yaodong timed their return perfectly: today was the fifteenth; after spending one night in Zhou City, it would be the sixteenth, and the fishing boats could rest soon.

Let the workers relax for a day or two; during these days, he'd also handle all the small tasks and make sure everyone was informed so he could return in peace.

When they reached Zhou City, Ye Yaodong had others help carry the shopping back, while he led his wife and children to the guesthouse.

He'd be busy for the next few days, and the fishing boats would gradually stop working; by then, the camp would be mostly men coming and going, and it wouldn't be convenient for Lin Lin Xiuqing to stay there—he arranged for them to stay at the guesthouse instead.

Worried Lin Lin Xiuqing couldn't manage three children alone, Ye Ye Xiaoxi continued living with him at the main camp, keeping Pei Yu company.

Without incident, they'd surely arrive home before Little New Year; if things went smoothly and the weather and wind cooperated, they could depart on the eighteenth.

After spending the whole year away, they'd try to return home early for the New Year if possible.

After settling his wife and three children, Ye Yaodong immediately went home to discuss things with his father and hand over recent tasks.

He also consulted others about the return date.

Actually, no one objected—they'd follow his lead entirely. When he decided to return, everyone else would return with him.

Ye's father asked: "What about your boat? You just got back—do you even know if all your boats are ready for delivery?"

"On the way back, I thought about it—sending all those new boats back together seems like a waste of fuel…"

"Waste what? Of course you take them back! It's the New Year—you get new boats, you must sail them home, light firecrackers, pay respects to Goddess Mazu, welcome Goddess Mazu, and show your fellow villagers who bought new boats and won't even sail them home? Especially during the New Year."

"You're right. Then let's do it. It's already late today—I'll head to the shipyard first thing tomorrow to settle everything and complete the paperwork."

"Good. You've been gone so long without supervision—you don't know if the boats are even finished. You must go see first, confirm they can sail back, then arrange help—no point making a wasted trip."

"If the fresh catch boats go out tomorrow, you should also tell everyone to prepare to return the next day—take a rest, celebrate the New Year. If nothing goes wrong, we'll depart on the eighteenth."

That's not early: tomorrow is the sixteenth, the next day the seventeenth, the eighteenth is a day off for buying local specialties, and we leave at dawn on the nineteenth.

We'll arrive home on the twenty-first of the lunar calendar—just three days before Little New Year.

As for accounts, there's no rush to settle them now—your fleet has grown, and the boat captains' shares are different now; the whole year's books are complicated.

We can settle them at home—it saves time. If we do it here, just accounting for the fresh catch boats alone would take a full day.

Then there are your partnership fishing boats, your rented boats, and the workers' wages you owe—just these accounts are a mountain of work. Old You is alone, with no computer or machine—calculating them is complex and tedious; give him a few days to verify everything.

Early verification won't work either; the fishing boats haven't returned, and there's still cargo being sold there, so accounts can't be settled. At most, we can calculate the workers' wages in advance. This is the simplest account among them.

Ye Yaodong also mentioned the accounting matter to his father, suggesting they settle it back home to avoid wasting time here.

As for the workers' wages, Old You can calculate them over the next two days and distribute them first. This will make everyone happy, giving them some money on hand to buy New Year's goods and gifts for their families.

Ye's father nodded while listening. "Alright, reconciling the accounts isn't urgent. It doesn't have to be done immediately. It's still timely to reconcile them back home. Just ensure all accounts are settled before the New Year."

"That's what I thought too. The current accounts are very complex. So many boats have been handed over, and each boat captain received a different amount."

"By next year, you'll have five more boats, and the accounts inside will be even more formidable."

"So by then, we'll need to hire another person to help Old You share the load. One person can specialize in calculating wages and the share for small boats, while another person is solely responsible for the accounts of the several large boats."

Daily work will certainly be leisurely, but there will be plenty to do when the month-end summary arrives. Hiring one more person to handle different tasks separately will prevent the accounts from becoming chaotic later.

"You decide for yourself. Anyway, the number of people you hire keeps increasing, and your employees are growing too. I don't understand how to manage this; you figure it out. It's best to hire someone to manage everything."

"I'll think about it when the time comes."

"I'll go find everyone for drinks and chat, and also discuss the return trip."

Ye's father waved him off to get busy.

With the return journey approaching, Ye Yaodong was extremely busy. Besides arranging the delivery of the fishing boats' catch, he also had to arrange the cargo for these few days.

During the day, he also had to buy some cigarettes and alcohol as New Year gifts to give to the heads of various factories and the boss of the Wenzhou Chamber of Commerce, thanking everyone for their support and care throughout the year.

Ye Yaodong was busy every day, with his feet barely touching the ground. At most, he would visit his wife and children at the guesthouse during meal times, then return to the guesthouse to sleep after finishing work every night.

Fortunately, there were only a few days left. After rushing through these three days, around 2 AM on the 19th, their group of dozens of boats, plus the five new boats he had just acquired, were all arranged to return.

No one wanted to leave their boats thousands of miles away. These were their tools for making a living, and most of their wealth was tied up in the boats. Therefore, every single one of their boats was sailed back without exception.

He also arranged for the personnel staying behind, calculating their wages at triple the rate, over ten yuan a day. There were plenty of people short of money eager to stay behind.

On the way back, he did not stop in Wenzhou. He planned to sort out family matters back home first, then come back later to reconcile accounts and deliver New Year gifts, solving everything in one go.

In the past, they always stopped here for the round trip because people on small boats found it difficult to sleep directly on the open deck during the cold winter months. Night temperatures were naturally lower, which is why they stopped in Wenzhou to sleep on land.

This time, the convoy included five of his new boats. Except for those taking turns steering, there were no extra people. Some wanted to board his new boats directly to have a cabin for shelter from wind and rain. After thinking briefly, he agreed.

This way, they could at least hurry along the journey a bit. There was no need to worry too much about the small boats. Since he was returning in one trip anyway, having a few extra people on board didn't matter; it was just a side benefit.

The return journey was smooth, with no stops wasting time. However, the speed couldn't be increased; they still had to accommodate the sailing speed of the small boats, and the wind direction also prevented them from going faster.

Only when they reached the sea area near the town did the large boats speed up, leaving the small boats behind and moving ahead first. After all, they had already reached the town, so it was safe.

When they entered the village dock, the sky was just getting dark. They almost had to travel in brocade clothes at night. This was also the reason they sped up when they reached the town area.

At least arriving in the village before it got completely dark would allow everyone to see them.

The villagers had already received phone calls before they set out, and for the past two days, people had been eagerly waiting and looking forward to their return.

So as soon as their fishing boats approached the village port, someone with sharp eyes spotted them and began shouting everywhere to gather people.

The large boats returned first. They couldn't dock, so they had to stop in the middle of the sea depending on the tide depth. The workers stood on the decks, waving to people on the shore.

Only when small boats came to ferry them over did people gradually board the small boats to go ashore.

As soon as Ye Yaodong docked the fishing boat, he went to the exclusive cabin at the back for boat captains and brought out the mother and her three children.

Lin Lin Xiuqing rubbed her temples. "Finally arrived."

"This trip was very fast. You had a place to lie down and didn't have to squeeze with others. Isn't that comfortable?"

"Just look at those three. They've been arguing for ages. How could I not have a headache? I can't even scold them all."

All three were looking at them with smiles. Even Ye Ye Xiaoxi showed no signs of fatigue on her face. It was clear they had been very happy and relaxed throughout the journey.

"Get off the boat. Once we're back, we won't have to worry about them. Let them run wild as they please."

"Let them run wild? They'll tear the roof off the house. This time we bought so many toys again. Now they won't be home at all; they're busier than the president."

"That's good. Then they won't be in your way. Out of sight, out of mind."

"Out of sight, out of mind!" Ye Chenghu repeated along with her.

Lin Lin Xiuqing glared at Ye Chenghu, frightening him into immediate silence; he dared not act rashly.

Then, with a bad temper, she said to Ye Yaodong, "Hurry up, grab the things, and get off the boat."

After receiving the order, Ye Yaodong turned and shouted to the little ones, "Did you hear that? Hurry up and grab your junk, and get off the boat immediately."

Ye Ye Chengyang hugged his Transformer, muttering, "It's not junk; it's a treasure."

The workers on the boat were still unloading the cargo stored in the cabin. This included dried fish and other goods accumulated over the past six months, brought back for the New Year to fill the warehouse.

The people on their boat were the last to disembark. Even the small boats behind them had docked, yet they were still loading and unloading cargo.

Ye Yaodong first arranged for Ah Qing to take the children and their personal luggage ashore first. He and his father would bring up the rear. Only after the cargo was unloaded and the boat inspected would the two of them go ashore.

By this time, more than half of the dock was empty. Those who had gone ashore earlier had already been surrounded by their families and gone home.

The old lady's eyes were red with tears. "Why did you only come ashore now? Everyone else has already left, and you're just arriving. You were clearly the first to return, yet you're the last to set foot on land."

"I had to arrange things. Why cry? You should be smiling," Ye Yaodong said, turning her shoulders toward the sea and pointing out. "Do you see that? That whole row out there consists of my boats. You should be smiling just like my mother, with your mouth stretched back to your ears. At the very least, you shouldn't be crying."

The old lady was instantly amused by his words. "You child, you just love to tease people."

"Let's go. Let's go home happily."

Ye's mother was truly happy. "Dongzi, all your boats have sailed back, haven't they? That was really fast. So how many boats do you have now? Doesn't that make thirty?"

"About that. Including the ones not yet officially handed over, there are over thirty."

Ye's mother slapped her thigh hard. "Oh, I said too little! That old thing of your father's doesn't even know how many boats there are. He was telling me on the phone the day before yesterday that there were only twenty-seven or twenty-eight."

Ye's father protested, "Where did I say too little? Right now, the total number of boats, big and small combined, is twenty-eight. Dongzi included the ones not yet officially handed over in his count."

"Dongzi should count them that way. The money has already been spent; they are all reserved. How can they not be counted? They should all be counted. Is there any difference between twenty-something and thirty-something?"

"You vain old woman. You even want to brag about this to others just so they will praise you."

"My son is so successful. Should I hold back?"

Where Ye's mother couldn't see, Ye's father wore an expression of disdain and shook his head.

"Besides, Dongzi has one large boat that can equal several Dongsheng Hao boats, let alone those small boats. One boat can equal a whole fleet of small boats." The expression on Ye's mother's face was exceptionally proud.

Lin Lin Xiuqing smiled and agreed, "Mother is right too. We neither steal nor rob; the money we earn through our own true skills, what's there not to boast about?"

The old lady nodded vigorously in agreement, "Yes, yes. Dongzi is so successful; why shouldn't we talk about it? We should talk about it more so everyone outside knows."

Ye Yaodong ignored their conversation; he was already nearly submerged by dogs at his side, while a few smaller dogs were running over from a distance.

Ye's father was also somewhat dumbfounded. "Are all these dogs raised by your family?"

He found it hard to believe; he hadn't been back for just a year, so how had the family acquired so many more dogs? The number had doubled.

Ye Ye Xiaoxi shouted, "Dad, Little Flower had a litter, and Little White also had a litter; they had thirteen in total."

"!!!"

"Yes, yes, those slightly smaller ones were all born just a few months ago." Ye Ye Chengyang, excited, also picked one up that kept wagging its tail and licking his palm.

Ye's father, incredulous, asked, "Then... can you afford to raise them?"

Lin Lin Xiuqing chuckled, "Even if we can't afford it, we must raise them. So many dogs have been a huge help. A few months ago, some petty thieves tried to sneak into our area; they might not have reached our house, but as soon as they got close nearby, these dogs would spot them. Then one would bark, and the whole group would follow, waking up the surrounding people in the dead of night."

"The neighbors also said it's good we have so many dogs; they can alert everyone. As soon as a stranger approaches nearby at night, they can be spotted immediately."

"You have to know, right now the people around us are all the elderly, weak, women, and children; the men have all gone out to earn big money. If we hadn't raised so many dogs there, it wouldn't be safe."

"Moreover, we don't have to feed them all ourselves. The sisters and aunts around here automatically bring over bones and leftover food from their homes to feed these dogs."

Ye's father also breathed a sigh of relief. "If the neighbors help feed them together, that's fine; otherwise, with over twenty mouths to feed, that would be terrible."

Raising a pig could end with it being slaughtered for meat; raising so many dogs, their food consumption rivals several pigs, yet the key is you can't slaughter so many dogs to eat dog meat.

Ye Ye Xiaoxi suddenly said, "Dad, bad guys also came to our village to catch dogs."

"Yes, before, someone kept wandering around our village with a rope, trying to lasso the dogs. Fortunately, our village has so many dogs, and the elderly sit on stools at their doors every day, so no one succeeded." Ye Chenghu added.

Lin Lin Xiuqing explained, "Now everyone in the village knows these dogs are raised by our family. These dogs have even helped catch thieves and can deter petty thieves around; they count as defending the village. When people see someone suspicious, they all help drive the dogs back home."

Ye Yaodong nodded vigorously. "That's good. As long as our village is united, outsiders definitely can't take advantage."

Ye's father: "We don't care if others eat dog meat, but they can't eat our family's dogs."

"Of course. With you men not here, we rely on these dogs to guard the house and protect the yard. Many people in the village wanted to ask me for a puppy to raise at their own door. I didn't give any; I just said wait until next year when the puppies are born again, then I'll give them to everyone."

As they walked and talked to the workshop entrance, two imposing great wolf dogs, half a person's height, instantly rose from lying down to standing.

Ye's father was startled; they reached his waist, and standing on two legs, they were much taller than him, even more imposing and majestic. Adults in front of these two big dogs were nothing to look at.

"This... are those two great wolf dogs from home?"

"Yes, yes, they can even carry me." Ye Ye Xiaoxi excitedly rushed forward, hugging the dog's head, petting and rubbing against it.

The great wolf dogs circled her, their large tongues licking her face back and forth.

Ye Ye Xiaoxi happily took off the new schoolbag she had been carrying on her back; it wasn't empty inside, filled with the small snacks and toys she bought in Magic City, now her most beloved treasures, without exception.

"I'll lend you my new schoolbag to carry~ Share the blessings together~"

She placed the new schoolbag on the wolf dog's back, then clumsily lifted its front paws, letting both front paws pass through the bag's straps, securing the schoolbag firmly on its back.

Ye Yaodong also smiled and petted the great wolf dog; the dog sniffed him but didn't bark.

"You can do this. When you go to school in the second half of next year, take these two big bodyguards with you; let them carry the schoolbag, one to carry your bag, one for you to ride."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi's eyes lit up. "Yes, Dad, that's a great idea; why didn't I think of it? Awesome, I'm going to take two big dogs to school next year!"

"I want to too, I want to too! I want them to go to school with me too; isn't that too awesome?"

"Brother, you're too big; you can't ride. I can..."

"Why can't I ride? Ye Xiaojiu is so fat, he can ride."

Ye Xiaojiu flew into a rage. "Where am I fat? I don't even eat snacks anymore!"

"Then what's in your schoolbag? Give it to me."

"It's mine."

While they were arguing, Ye Ye Chengyang had already taken off the new schoolbag from his back and put it on the other wolf dog's back as well.

The two wolf dogs, each carrying a schoolbag, one pink and one blue, walked side by side quite harmoniously.

The surrounding people watched with smiles, thinking they had lived long enough to see this; even wolf dogs were wearing schoolbags.

Hearing the surrounding people's discussion, Ye Chenghu finally realized he had been stolen from by Ye Ye Chengyang again!

Sneaky!

He had taken advantage of the time when Ye Chenghu was arguing with Ye Xiaojiu to strap his schoolbag onto the other wolf dog's back.

"Sneaky, taking advantage of me not paying attention to strap the schoolbag..."

"Who told you not to pay attention?" Ye Ye Chengyang, excited, walked along while stroking the wolf dog's black-gray fur.

"Too much..."

Lin Lin Xiuqing gave Ye Yaodong a reproachful glare. "What kind of rotten idea is that? The three of them will be unfair again."

"What can be done if the stupid ones can't grab it?"

Ye Chenghu was even angrier.

Lin Lin Xiuqing said, "Don't look at how gentle these two seem right now; they are very fierce towards outsiders. The sound of their barking makes my scalp tingle; if they weren't raised by our family, I wouldn't dare get close."

"This is what makes them able to guard the house and protect the yard."

Everyone in the workshop saw them enter and hurriedly greeted them.

"Adong is back?"

"Everyone is back?"

"It's good to be back; everyone earned big money."

"New Year is coming soon; finally, it's going to get lively..."

"Oh my, why do these two dogs have schoolbags on their backs? The dogs your family raises are different; can they go to school?"

"These schoolbags look expensive at a glance."

Ye's mother's old face bloomed with a smile. "Hahaha... each of these schoolbags costs over twenty yuan; the children are playing with the dogs, messing with these dogs every day like performing magic tricks."

"Yo, that expensive?"

"How much did Adong earn this year? I heard the boat fleet has grown by quite a few."

"Ah Qing went to Shanghai and came back looking so modern..."

"Yeah, look at that wool coat she's wearing. So classy."

"Going to Shanghai really makes a difference. Your mother looks modern, and you look modern too. Shanghai really knows how to cultivate people."

Lin Lin Xiuqing chuckled along. "It's not that we're modern; it's the clothes that are modern. The clothes look good."

"That wool coat on you must cost over a hundred yuan, right? Your mother said she bought one for 150 yuan, said she'd save it for the New Year, and wouldn't even let us see it."

Ye's mother patted her thigh and jumped in. "Oh, it's not just wool coats. In that big department store, there are down jackets made of duck feathers, and cold-weather gear too. All sorts of colors. They looked so modern, just expensive. Zzz... One of those jackets costs more than a month's wages. Only city folks can afford to buy them..."

Ye's mother talked on and on, chattering nonstop, spitting everywhere as she shared her experiences with the other women.

"... It's just that those sales clerks aren't good people. People spend their money, and the clerks still point at customers and scold them..."

"Even the loudspeakers and those with red armbands were shouting to ban beating customers. You can see how bad those people were..."

Seeing his mother speaking with such enthusiasm, Ye Yaodong patted Lin Lin Xiuqing's shoulder. "Let's go back and check if they've unloaded the luggage at home yet."

Lin Lin Xiuqing nodded and called out to the children playing around.

"I don't want to go home. Mother, you go home. I want to play here," Ye Chenghu said.

"Don't mind them. Let's go back and unpack the luggage first. It's already dark. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can rest."

"Alright."

Only after they left did Ye's father shout at Ye's mother: "That's enough. Stop talking here. You've been back for so many days and still haven't said enough? Hurry back and cook something for us to eat. We're starving to death, and you're just focused on talking."

With a beaming smile, Ye's mother told everyone she'd talk later, then turned her head, glared at Ye's father, and walked back.

"Talk, talk, talk... You never stop talking all day long. Even going out to buy groceries takes you a whole morning to get back."

"None of your damn business."

Added a bit more. Filling in a little gap first. Going to take a shower now. Will continue writing after the shower. Will add a bit more tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)