Chapter 1512: Over 4 Million for the Year

With the shouting of the children behind them, even the elderly around them thought Ye Yaodong had bought all those motorcycles.

That misunderstanding was huge.

Several childhood friends felt even more depressed; the imagined glory had all fallen on Dongzi. Damn it, they should have let Dongzi walk!

Anyone could figure it out with their butt: how could one person buy so many motorcycles? Yet these old folks really believed it.

Just then, a peddler pushing a cart came selling goods ahead, so they stopped their vehicles; the village roads were broken and narrow, so they had to wait.

Ye Yaodong took the chance to explain quickly, "No, I didn't buy these; they each bought one. Am I crazy? Buying so many vehicles, could I even drive them all?"

"Ah, so they bought them? They are all fine young men."

"Very good, each has made something of themselves..."

"But we heard you bought several big boats too?"

Ye Yaodong nodded, "That is true."

"Impressive, the entire village combined doesn't have as many boats as you alone."

Ah Guang said, "More than that; one of his boats is worth the entire village's boats."

"That's too exaggerated."

"It is," Xiao Xiao said firmly, "Not counting your own boats, just everyone's boats in the village, isn't it true that even all added together aren't as expensive as your single big boat?"

"Why would I go calculate how much everyone's boats are worth?"

Ah Zheng said resentfully, "Anyway, you earned it all; otherwise, how could everyone think these vehicles were bought by you? Isn't it because you earn so much!"

Ye Yaodong looked innocent, "I never said these vehicles were bought by me; don't you have mouths?"

"Damn it, a bunch of kids were shouting there; could I argue with a bunch of kids that these vehicles are mine?"

"Heh heh..."

Ye Chenghu ran over from a distance at that moment, shouting as he ran, with a group of children following behind, "Dad, Dad, everyone says you bought a lot of motorcycles again..."

"Eh, that's not right, aren't these your friends'?"

"Finally, someone spoke the truth."

Ye Yaodong said in a bad mood, "Didn't I tell everyone already? They aren't mine."

"You spoke too late; that bunch of brats had already started shouting."

"That's also because you didn't stop the vehicles; of course I had no chance to speak."

"Stop talking nonsense here; the passing vehicles have been pushed away, hurry up and drive over so we can go home and settle accounts," Ah Guang urged the few people who were just trading barbs.

"You few kids get out of the way quickly."

At that time, other children gathered to join the fun and surrounded them.

Fatty's son's eyes were bright as a thief's, shouting extra loudly, extra proudly, "Ah! This was bought by my dad, this is my dad's vehicle!"

"That one is my dad's! My dad bought a motorcycle too!"

"My dad has one too! I want to ride too, Dad, I want to ride..."

During the few moments they stopped, basically half the village's children were attracted over, and idle adults also came over curiously to join the fun.

Each child claimed their own dad/uncle, faces filled with infinite pride, heads held high, running straight to their own biological dads under the gaze of other children.

Fatty turned to look behind, "Dongzi, you should be a bit more self-aware!"

"Damn it..."

"We've already reached the village; you're such a grown-up, walking a few steps won't hurt; make room for my son first."

Ah Guang also chimed in with a wicked smile, "Yeah, hurry up and make room for the kids; let their sons, daughters, and nephews ride the motorcycles and get their fill."

"Anyway, we don't go the same way."

Ye Yaodong glared at them, got off the vehicle very self-consciously, then climbed onto Ah Guang's vehicle, looking at him with a threatening gaze.

"We always go the same way, right?"

"Same way, same way!"

"Just right, your son and daughter aren't here; hurry up and go; seeing these little bastards' faces makes me feel uncomfortable; I want to punch them."

Under their biological dads' approval, the other children excitedly climbed up using hands and feet, then waved brightly at their little friends.

It was so face-saving; their dads really saved face for them in front of their friends this time.

After returning home, Ye Yaodong went to the workshop to find Old You first; although they had returned and the workers were on holiday, Old You the accountant certainly had no holiday.

After asking that the accounts were already calculated and could be reconciled in the afternoon, he felt relieved.

With only a few days left before the New Year, he planned to reconcile the accounts first, then collect rent, and finally pay wages; just in time for the New Year, the wages would be calculated up to the 31st of the Little New Year.

In these days, there was no such thing as withholding half a month or a month; you got paid for however much you did, nothing withheld; wages were paid punctually on the last day of the month.

Occasionally, in case of emergencies, paying a day or two early or late was also very normal.

Just as the workshop planned to work only until the Little New Year, then take a big holiday, not killing fish or drying fish; workers in the city were all arranged to be picked up by boat or car, leaving only guards.

And after he finished calculating the accounts these two days, he also had to go to the city to give New Year gifts to his godfather, reconcile accounts, and then pick people up; indeed, the schedule was completely full.

After Old You finished calculating the accounts, he also had to take back the account books and let Ah Qing calculate the year's earnings himself.

It could be said that since returning, the couple had been so busy their feet never touched the ground.

Every day, they were either calculating accounts or on the road delivering gifts.

After all, with the year-end approaching, gifts had to be delivered to familiar people everywhere.

Originally, when they were in Shanghai, they had brought a large amount of Shanghai specialties as New Year gifts, just to deliver to all parties for the New Year.

This was also full sincerity and dignity, unique and face-saving.

Lin Lin Xiuqing even thought that next year they could do like this year, go over around the same time, play for a few days, then buy a batch of New Year gifts to return; the class would be different.

And with the couple busy every day and unseen, the children had no one to manage them; they could only let Mother Ye cook for them; the couple only came back to sleep, and when busy in the city, they didn't even return.

After Ye Yaodong finished the accounts at home and in the city, he let all employees take a big holiday, only then having time to take another batch of New Year gifts to Wenzhou to deliver gifts and reconcile accounts.

He didn't return until the night of the twenty-seventh of the lunar month, and only then could he finally rest completely.

This New Year has no thirtieth, only the twenty-ninth; he felt utterly wretched.

Everyone else had long since taken their New Year break, but because his enterprises involved so many things, he had been rushing about everywhere.

Many people came to his home to deliver New Year gifts, yet they never caught a single glimpse of him.

Ye Yaodong didn't get into bed to rest until the middle of the night, complaining bitterly from exhaustion.

"Although money was earned, the person is exhausted to the point of stupidity. New Year is more tiring than getting married; I really don't want to celebrate New Year."

"Even without celebrating New Year, you still have to settle accounts at the end of the year, calculate the total. The meaning of the year's end is always different; after working hard all year, a summary is certainly needed."

"Indeed, the more ventures one spreads, the more money one earns, and the greater the responsibility becomes. One is forced and pushed, having no choice but to move forward."

He was truly filled with emotion.

He now belonged to the type that had no choice but to work, pushed forward, pushed to grow bigger and bigger.

Initially, he only wanted a small enterprise, enough to be somewhat wealthy, to have some assets, and to live a comfortable and happy life of modest prosperity.

After all, he knew exactly what his own capabilities were.

But what could he do? He had returned from rebirth with immense luck; everything he did went smoothly. Although he didn't know much, he did understand major trends, which allowed him to take many shortcuts and seize many opportunities.

Then things just kept getting better and better, becoming like they are now: worrying about currency devaluation, earning more and spending more, resulting in his assets unknowingly growing larger and larger, and himself becoming busier and busier.

Even celebrating New Year wasn't peaceful; he still had to work until now.

He might not even be finished yet; recently he had been leaving early and returning late, or simply working outside all the time, hardly ever at home.

Now that the outside work is done and he is back home, he will certainly have to start going to town for social engagements again.

Thinking of this, Ye Yaodong felt a bit of a headache.

Lin Lin Xiuqing also felt some emotion. "There's no way around it. We've done the work; several workshops and enterprises are thriving. We can't just ignore them. We definitely hope they grow better and better; otherwise, all our efforts would be in vain."

"Yes, it's with this mindset that we work so desperately, until the middle of the night, before Laozi returns."

"Look at it positively; how many people rely on us for their meals?"

"More than half the village, right? I heard our village is quite famous now; it's spread all over the town that the villagers have good conditions and a high standard of living, and even televisions are widely available in the village."

"More than that? Our village is famous throughout the entire county. Even the county seat knows about our village. Since November and December, people from the county have been coming constantly, saying they are here to inspect and learn about kelp farming."

"People fear fame, and pigs fear getting fat. With the county constantly sending people, the village committee's burden must be increasing. They have to take good care of the people from the county; how much work is that?"

"Yes, but I heard it's quite beneficial. The village can even apply for breeding funds and such from the county, so Chen Shuji greets those people with a smile every day."

After Lin Lin Xiuqing finished speaking, she suddenly realized, "Oh, right. A few days ago, Chen Shuji came to notify you about a meeting in the county and such. I told him you weren't here, that you were reconciling accounts outside and didn't know when you'd return."

"When was the meeting?"

"A few days ago, it passed long ago. Chen Shuji said it was fine; if you weren't there, then you weren't there."

"Then let's just ignore it."

He was so busy his feet barely touched the ground; how could he have time to attend this meeting or that one? They were all political matters he didn't understand at all. Inviting him to eat and drink would be fine, though.

"Go to sleep early; whatever it is, we'll talk about it tomorrow."

"Working outside is exhausting to the point of death, but once back, although the body is tired, the spirit is very excited."

"Then let me tell you; we earned over 4 million this year..."

"What!"

Ye Yaodong was so shocked he sat up instantly, his eyes wide as bronze bells. He turned to look at her with disbelief, his voice rising.

Ye Ye Xiaoxi was also woken by him; she rubbed her eyes and sat up.

"Dad? You're back."

"Mm, it's nothing. Go back to sleep." Ye Yaodong suppressed his excited heart and coaxed her first.

Lin Lin Xiuqing also held the child and coaxed her to sleep first.

He sat and rested for a while, then mentally calculated again, suddenly feeling that earning over 4 million this year wasn't actually that much.

Just the monthly fish sales alone could reach around 400,000; this was fluctuating. Sometimes it could be as high as 500,000, and sometimes as low as over 300,000.

But after deducting the shares for other boats and the major fuel expenses, he should still have 300,000 a month.

After all, he had many boats, and he held shares in other people's boats too; passing money from left hand to right hand, most of it ended up back in his hands.

Now, fishing boats were his main tool for making money and the primary source of his income.

Moreover, those few workshops couldn't compare to the boats at all, but they had the advantage of stability; they could support a group of workers while also providing stable income.

The dividends from the several shops, workshops, and the factory added up to four or five hundred thousand.

After Lin Lin Xiuqing had coaxed the child back to sleep, she continued speaking quietly to him: "Why so excited? Don't you know in your heart how much money you've earned?"

"I have some idea; I know I earned a lot, but not this much. I'm busy every day, my feet barely touching the ground. Ever since buying the western-style house and land in Shanghai, I haven't had a moment's rest. Many tasks were handed to my father, and Old You kept the accounts; I at most glanced at them occasionally."

"Plus, recently I've been running outside constantly. This whole month has been desperately busy; where would my brain have any spare time to think about these things? I wish I could split myself into eight, so I'd have a few more clones to help me handle things."

Lin Lin Xiuqing chuckled upon hearing this. "Although we earned so much this year, what actually reached your hands isn't that much. Just the money and deposits for buying boats alone took nearly 1 million."

"Then the bank made you deposit 500,000. You bought the western-style house. You bought several plots of land this year. You spent over 100,000 renovating your headquarters. You bought a large Da Jiefang truck, the Zhoushan shop, and the Shanghai shop."

"You added so many miscellaneous things; spending one or two million is possible. So, in total, you only have over 3 million on hand now."

"Just!" Ye Yaodong emphasized this word for her.

"Hehe, isn't this a comparison with what we earned? The amount remaining on hand is actually half of that."

"What I bought isn't called spending; it's called investment. These are fixed assets. The money spent is all in these enterprises; it's all there."

"I know, I'm just saying it this way. It's just that after deducting these solid expenditures, we only count the money remaining in hand."

"A lot."

Just hearing these numbers made his heart tremble. Over 3 million! In his previous life, he wouldn't have dared to dream of this. Did he achieve financial freedom in this life, in 1989?

Originally, knowing nothing, as long as one knew a major trend, one could earn a fortune.

"It is indeed a lot, so I didn't even dare to go out. When Mother went up to Zhoushan, how could I dare to follow? I could only wait for her to return and have her stay home to watch over things."

"After the New Year, I'll go to the banks in the city and ask around. I'll check a few places, pick two, and deposit 500,000 in each, just to live off the interest."

Lin Lin Xiuqing hesitated. "Do we really need to deposit that much again? Can we trust it? Isn't that too much? Having the money out of our own hands makes me feel uneasy and worried. Forget it, let's not deposit it... just keep it in hand; holding it myself makes me feel secure."

"It's fine. A cunning rabbit has three burrows. We'll deposit one sum in the bank above and another here. Our main assets are still in those fixed assets."

"Fixed assets... some of those are just sitting idle and won't earn money... we might not even be able to sell them..."

"Who said we're going to sell? We aren't short of money; we bought them to hold and appreciate. Converting cash into these fields and shops is better than having all the money in hand, isn't it? We have so much cash every day."

"It's just depositing so much in the bank..."

"It's fine. We've been depositing for two years, and I feel it's safe. Besides, I'm not asking you to deposit everything."

Lin Lin Xiuqing said softly, "How about buying a boat? A bigger boat."

Ye Yaodong laughed. "So you're the one begging me to buy it."

He hadn't even opened his mouth to discuss it, and she brought it up.

Lin Lin Xiuqing smiled and said, "Looking at it, only big boats make money the fastest, and they are fixed assets too."

"There is still a certain amount of risk; the danger coefficient at sea is high."

"Mm, I know that. That's why I was thinking of asking you to buy a bigger boat; at least when danger strikes, we can resist for a bit longer..."

"Facing major natural disasters, the risk is the same. However, at least when there are no natural or man-made disasters, a bigger boat can earn more money. There's no such thing as a guaranteed profit without loss."

"Mm, you decide."

"What do I decide? Of course, I'll listen to you. When we go up after the New Year and start making money, I'll use the profits to order a big boat then."

"Good."

"We actually made over 4 million this year. Next year, I think 6 million is the baseline."

"With that much cargo, you have to be able to sell it."

"Of course I can. My networking isn't for nothing. 'Courtesy costs nothing.' After getting familiar with the heads of various factories, they will naturally introduce me to others. Besides, business grows bigger and bigger, and the factories are expanding in scale too."

Moreover, after the New Year, he also planned to set up a small factory himself to test the waters.

Originally, he had thought about supplying the town's cannery with his fishing boat, but plans often fail to keep up with changes.

Often, things are planned perfectly, but sudden emergencies or other events always arise to alter the course, steering the whole direction toward something else.

Now that his supply volume is growing larger and larger, he naturally has to learn to handle it himself to avoid having his lifeline strangled; that would be disastrous.

"After the New Year, you should also transform and utilize the other empty plot in Zhoushan, right?"

"We're on the same wavelength; I just happened to think of that too."

"Then let's do it that way. We must ensure we can handle a part of it ourselves; we can't rely entirely on others."

"Let's talk after the New Year. A bunch of things just got finished, and I don't want to rack my brains right now."

"Then let's sleep early."

"I can't sleep. Over 4 million... it stimulated me." Ye Yaodong leaned his head over and reached out his hand.

Lin Lin Xiuqing grabbed his hand. "Didn't you just say your body was tired? It's not convenient for me."

"Did you put on a diaper?"

"Uh, what kind of talk is that?"

"It's over; no New Year's Eve fireworks for me this year."

"Go to sleep. You were calling it 'tired' just a moment ago."

Ye Yaodong looked regretful. "Well, tired as I am, I can still manage."

Lin Lin Xiuqing ignored him, pulled the quilt up higher, and closed her eyes.

If he hadn't come back in the dead of night, she wouldn't be this awake now. With the New Year approaching, she had plenty to do; she'd have to get up early tomorrow to prepare for the New Year.

These past few days, besides reconciling accounts, she had been busy wrapping up things and buying New Year gifts for the workers.

She only remembered this today, but tomorrow she'd have to continue preparing for the New Year.

The New Year atmosphere is very strong now; all the rituals are in full swing, and everything must be done properly.

Hearing no movement beside him, Ye Yaodong fell asleep while thinking. He was wondering why the layoff wave hadn't arrived yet.

In this era, the general education level is low. Technical talents with even a little culture are assigned by the state. With such good jobs, no one would give up the public sector's rice bowl to work for individuals.

He found it hard to find talent to help him; for now, he could only assemble a makeshift team and work slowly.

The next day, even though he was woken up by noise, he felt unusually refreshed all over.

Because his mind could rest too, his whole body and spirit relaxed; it was just that the outside was too noisy, waking him up early in the morning.

With the New Year approaching, my lords who earned money had a higher standard of living. Every child had money in their pockets and could set off firecrackers. It was so noisy and rowdy that he couldn't even stay in bed.

Ye Yaodong thought that since it was a rare day off, he wouldn't stay in bed either. The sunlight outside was just right; it was a good time to go out and soak up the sun, to feel the New Year atmosphere in the village.

He had been running around outside blindly and hadn't shown his face in the village much.

When he got up and went to the main gate, he finally heard what the commotion outside was about.

"Is there a tug-of-war outside?"

Lin Lin Xiuqing was packing things needed for the New Year without looking up. "I don't know. I've been hearing them shout 'Go, go, go.' It must be."

"They're really full of beans. With so much energy to burn, they're actually playing tug-of-war..."

"Aren't they just bored? Adults are busy; what does it have to do with the children? With the New Year coming, they just need to be responsible for playing."

Ye Yaodong rubbed his frozen hands, blew on them, and walked out. Just getting up, he felt exceptionally cold, but seeing a large group of children gathered outside, shouting excitedly, he wasn't cold anymore.

"Hey? This isn't a game of tug-of-war."

He turned and asked an old woman sitting at the door, sunbathing and shelling peanuts, "What are they doing?"

The old woman smiled, revealing a mouth full of false teeth, pulled a handful of peanuts from her pocket for him, and said, "I don't know. They've been shouting over there. These kids can play anything."

"I won't eat them; you eat them."

Curious, he went out to take a look and only saw rabbits running and jumping on the ground. "What are you guys doing?"

"Dad, we're playing the Tortoise and the Hare race."

"?"

"Go, go, Little Ba, go..."

"Go, Bai Bai..."

"If the rabbit hops away, don't cry."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi said firmly, "It won't."

"Wow~ Bai Bai won."

A group instantly cheered, then rushed forward to grab the rabbit, but the rabbit darted everywhere.

"Ah, Bai Bai~ Bai Bai~"

"I told you, this is worse than just throwing it in the pot; at least then we could eat some meat."

"Bai Bai~ My Bai Bai~"

Dozens of children instantly surrounded the rabbit and chased it.

Ye Yaodong shouted, "Call the dogs, let the dogs catch it."

"Prosperity and wealth, Little Black, Little Yellow, Little Grey..."

Wang Wang Team, deploy...

No difficult jobs, only brave dogs...

Hearing several children shouting the dogs' names, Ye Yaodong instantly saw a pack of dogs barking Wang Wang Wang, running after them...

He was also staring with wide eyes.

"My goodness... there are more dog heads than in the Wang Wang Team..."

He intended to walk forward to take a look, but when he lowered his head, he found another turtle still crawling nearby.

"Still crawling? No one wants you anymore..."

He grabbed this Wang Ba, so it wouldn't get caught and stewed by someone else before he'd even had a chance to eat it himself.

(End of this chapter)