Chapter 1523: Planning

"You know too much."

Ye Fu rolled his eyes at him, annoyed. "If you know how to do everything, you have to do everything. Take a look—it's been over a month since we came up here. Have I done more work, or have you? I haven't even had time to drive the tractor. I've had to let those two boys each drive one; otherwise, leaving them idle there feels like someone is digging into my heart."

"Let them drive. The money doesn't end up in your pocket anyway."

"At least they aren't sitting there empty. They're out there earning money. Such a good money-making tractor, just sitting idle—doesn't that bother you?"

"It doesn't bother me. Watching others use my vehicle to earn money bothers me even more."

Ye Fu was choked up by his retort and had nothing more to say.

"It's a good thing the one using my vehicle to earn money is you; otherwise, I'd rather just leave the tractor sitting there."

"Stingy."

"If you're so generous, why don't you buy a tractor and lend it to the other workers to drive?"

Ye Fu looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Do I look like a fool to you?"

"Heh, there you go then."

"So, when are you going back, and for how many days? While you're at it, go back and explain things to your mother for me. She called a couple of days ago asking how much money I'd earned this month. I told her I hadn't earned a cent, but she didn't believe me and even scolded me for being dishonest the moment I went out."

"Did you really not earn a cent?"

Ye Fu paused, feeling guilty. "That's because you weren't here, isn't it? I had to be busy with everything inside and out—working during the day and delivering goods at night. I haven't had a moment of rest. How could I have earned much?"

"Then squeeze out a little bit. It'll be easier for me to explain when I get back. If I say you didn't earn a single cent, my mother definitely won't believe it."

"Then just say I only worked for two or three days and earned a few dozen yuan—not much."

"Fine, as long as our stories match."

"So when are you going back, and when are you coming back? How much time will this round trip waste?"

"How would I know? I haven't even asked yet. I have to try to get in touch with my friend first to see if I can reach him, and then I have to go ask about the scheduled ship back. It's easy for you to just say it, but a round trip isn't that simple for me."

"Fine, you arrange it then."

Ye Yaodong had to go back to his room to find his phone book before he could come over to call Lin Ji to ask about the scheduled ship back. Then he still had to go to the friend's house to leave a message for his wife, so that when the friend called home, she could pass it on to him.

It's such a hassle without a mobile phone.

However, when he opened for business before, they had already agreed that he would have the friend call his home in advance when he was on his return trip, to see if it would happen to coincide and if they could hitch a ride back up with him.

The fear now is not being able to make contact in time, or that he'll be on his way home, and once contact is made, they'll just drive off following the friend, leaving him to make a wasted trip back. This needs to be coordinated well.

Anyway, for now, he's just waiting for news. Lin Xiuqing didn't mention the friend contacting her when she called earlier, so he definitely hasn't returned yet.

If he sets the ship schedule here and can go back early to wait, it's better than going back late and missing the opportunity.

He also doesn't feel at ease just letting the two young boys drive the large truck to follow the friend. At the very least, they need more manpower on the road. If he brings a few more people back with him, they can look out for each other on the way back, making it safer.

It's also a good thing he's finished with all the business in the magic city; otherwise, if everything piled up together, he really wouldn't be able to be in two places at once.

Once he goes to the friend's house and finishes explaining things to his wife, all that's left for him is to wait for the ship back. He can't just sit around waiting, though; the work that needs to be done must still be done as usual.

For this trip back, he plans to take five people, including the three who stayed behind during the New Year and haven't gone back yet.

Naturally, he had already asked them about their willingness; he only arranged it for those who were willing.

It's been over a month since they came out after the New Year, and once they got busy, he really didn't feel the passage of time. Moreover, he still feels like there's a lot of work left to do.

The scheduled ship is on April 1st. After he set the earliest ship, he used the calendar to count the time.

The ship has to rely on several ports to load and unload cargo on the way, so he won't make it back in time for the Qingming tomb sweeping, but he will be just in time for the kelp harvest.

He figures the friend must be thinking the same thing—when the time comes, he'll go over there just in time to harvest a batch of this year's newly grown kelp and then return with a full truck.

If there's a need, the large truck at home can also be lent to the friend to load cargo. Anyway, he doesn't have much cargo to load, and it would be a waste to leave it empty.

An empty truck is one trip, and a full truck is also one trip; it's just that a full truck consumes a lot of fuel.

However, he's also thinking that it's safer to travel along with someone else, and he still has to rely on them, so spending a bit on fuel isn't a problem for him.

Who knows, they might have to pay road tolls a few times on the road. Naturally, he'll let the friend pay for those himself; usually, people are sensible enough, and he's already paying for the fuel.

Ye Fu also stretched his neck to watch him write and draw on the calendar, and even marked a triangle on the May 1st calendar page.

"What's wrong? You have to wait until May 1st to come back up? Won't that take a month?"

"More or less. I might not even get here until after May 1st."

Ye Yaodong calculated the time wasted on the road for his father. Returning by land would also take a few days. Since they are traveling with others, they naturally have to listen to the other party's arrangements.

"This timing for going home is just right. I can also handle the kelp in the village. We did a lot this year, so the yield will definitely be incredible when the time comes. Who knows, the county might send people over to film a documentary again."

He heard that people from the county came when they were collecting seedlings, so there's no reason they wouldn't come when it's time to harvest.

He's been so busy lately that he forgot about this. Fortunately, A-Qing called to say the truck could be driven up, and when he calculated the days, he realized it was almost time to harvest the kelp.

As long as the weather is good, they have to hurry and harvest; otherwise, if they run into rainy days, they won't be able to dry it, and then it'll be a disaster.

For farmed goods, the harvest season is only this one month. Too early won't work, and too late won't work either. This month, whenever the weather is good, they have to harvest quickly.

His timing for going back is just right.

Don't look at it as only having been a month since they came up after the 15th of the first lunar month. In reality, after the 15th of the first lunar month, the new calendar was already in late February. By the time the ship arrived here, it was almost the end of the month. February only had 28 days to begin with.

Now that a month has passed, isn't it the end of March? It's only a few days away from the Qingming Festival. With the ship stopping at ports a few more times on the way and being delayed, there's no way to get home before the Qingming Festival.

When Ye Fu heard that the county was coming to film, he instantly couldn't sit still, feeling as if a cat were scratching at his heart.

Last year, Dongzi was on TV and even in the newspapers. Their house and the kelp at their doorstep all appeared on TV, but he wasn't home.

Ye Fu doesn't even want to count how many times he's missed the chance to become famous and be in the newspapers.

Now that he hears the county is coming again, it makes him feel terrible.

He frowned, struggling and struggling, wanting to say he'd go back in Dongzi's place, but he knew he couldn't handle the kelp business. Moreover, Dongzi's friend still needed to load the kelp, so Dongzi definitely had to be there to greet him himself.

"Is the county really coming to film? Is it the same as last year?"

"I don't know. They haven't come yet, so how would I know? But they probably will, right? Didn't they say several groups came in the second half of last year? Now that it's time to harvest, there's no reason they wouldn't come to record it, and they can also see the grand harvest and yield with their own eyes."

"Sigh."

"What are you sighing for? It'll definitely be a bumper harvest this year. Our village is going to be famous again, and next year, many people in nearby villages will definitely follow suit."

"That's true, but this isn't something you can just farm on any piece of sea. Otherwise, if everyone farmed it, wouldn't the price drop? If it becomes a glut and no one wants it, and we can only feed it to pigs, that would be miserable."

"Stop being a crow's mouth. How could no one want it? How huge is our country's population base? This stuff is only available by the sea; the inland areas don't have it yet and have to rely on long-distance transportation to get it to our inland comrades."

Besides, the newspapers have started publishing that kelp can prevent goiter. As long as this stuff is shipped to inland areas, it'll sell like hotcakes.

How much does it cost to see a doctor and take medicine? Getting sick is so miserable, and eating this is both delicious and cheap.

Otherwise, would the friend be able to come and haul it truckload after truckload during the harvest?

A few days ago, when the "Heaven on Earth" opened, the friend even mentioned that he might bring his cousins along this year to haul a few truckloads and asked if the quantity was enough.

This is definitely enough. The village did a lot more this year, two or three times more than last year, so this year's yield will definitely be several times last year's.

The more trucks, the better. He can just haul it all away, saving him the trouble of storing it and selling it slowly. The funds can also be returned immediately to pay the fellow villagers, and he can still make a profit.

"You also need to train more people. You can't rely on me for everything. What will happen when I'm old and can't work anymore? Can I still sit in a wheelchair and harvest for you?"

"That won't happen. It'll be fine in a few years."

Once there are computers and internet in a few years, he won't have to make his father so tired.

By then, he'll set up a company. Once they have a corporate account, he can directly have the factory remit payments through the corporate account. He'll just have to arrange for people to deliver goods and collect orders.

By then, he'll hire people to manage it, and naturally, there will be a series of regulated processes, so they won't have to do everything themselves.

There's no other way for now; it's all cash transactions. The amount of money he handles delivering goods back and forth is too much. Every other day, the money he handles is at least 20,000 yuan.

This money is enough to buy several lives. Who can he entrust to collect the money?

Besides him, he can only have his father take a group of people to collect the money.

Actually, this has both pros and cons. Cash transactions are naturally the most satisfying; you don't have to owe people money, and you don't have to chase debts. You hand over the goods and take the money at the same time.

If it were a bank transfer, although it would be convenient and they wouldn't have to go out in person, the money wouldn't be so easy to collect.

But there's no way around it; this is the general trend.

"You decide for yourself. As long as I can work, I'll definitely keep working for you. If I can't work anymore, then there's nothing I can do."

"Don't worry. At most, in less than 10 years, I'll let you retire and brag at home while wearing gold and silver."

Ye Fu had a smile on his face again, and at the same time, he silently calculated in his heart. He's 59 now, so in 10 years, wouldn't he be almost 70?

Instantly, he wasn't happy anymore.

"So I have to work until I'm 70?"

"Seems like it? How old are you now? Not even 60 yet, right? Didn't see Huimei send you a 60th birthday gift? Isn't 70 still very young?"

"Young your head, young," Ye Fu scolded him, annoyed. "Why don't you say that 80 is still a dragon?"

"That's possible! Work for me for a few more years, and you'll be just in time to retire and go home to fulfill your filial piety and serve your mother."

Ye Fu: "..."

Ye Fu's face turned sour.

So after he finishes serving the young ones, he has to serve the old one?

"Shut your mouth and talk less."

"Why should I talk less? Everything I said is a fact. Don't you want to serve your long-lived mother? If you dare not serve her, people will poke your spine until it breaks."

Ye Fu's chest heaved, and he was just missing a stick by his side.

"As a child, you must fulfill your filial piety. When she lives to be a hundred, she'll be a centenarian worthy of government commendation wherever she is. They'll have to award her a banner and send people to visit her."

Ye Fu eased his mood; this sounded a bit more comfortable.

"Do I need you to tell me that?"

"In three years, the old lady will be 90. When she turns 88 this year, I'll give her a 90th birthday celebration in advance. Then, in 10 years, when she's 98, it'll also be the millennium. I'll throw her a grand 100th birthday celebration then! I'll set up 100 tables and invite the whole village to eat a running banquet."

"It sounds good now, but let's see if she can live until then."

"You're not being very supportive saying that."

"Fine, fine, you're the only one who can say nice things. You talk so beautifully now, but when I'm old, you'd better know to serve me."

"Definitely. I'm just afraid you'll look down on me. But it's okay, I can arrange a few young and pretty nurses to serve you and help you with your bathroom needs."

Ye Fu tried hard to keep a straight face. "When I need people to help me with my bathroom needs, I might as well be dead."

"Better to live a miserable life than a good death."

"Hurry up and pack your things. You have to leave in a couple of days. When you take the money back, hide it well on the road."

"Where would I have money to take back? Didn't I spend it all a few days ago? The money earned recently still needs to be accounted for tomorrow at the end of the month, and it still needs to be distributed to them. What I earned before was all used by me to pay in advance; it hasn't been settled yet."

"That's good too. If you don't have money on you, you can be a bit more relaxed on the road. You won't be afraid of being stolen from, and you won't have to sleep with one eye open."

"Go have Old You sort out the accounts. We need to settle them tomorrow. It's better to settle the accounts before I go back. I'll pack my things first."

Ye Yaodong dug out a gunny sack from under the bed, shook it, and started to pack his luggage.

For this trip back, none of his friends followed him back. After all, they had only been up here for a little over a month.

Going back takes a few days by ship, and coming back takes a few days by car. This is too much of a hassle; no one would want to torture themselves like this.

Not to mention whether the ship ride back is comfortable, just the car ride up would make their butts feel like they're splitting into eight pieces.

Therefore, Ye Yaodong even specially stuffed a pillow into his luggage. When he goes back, he'll have a pillow to lie on the ship, and when he comes back up, he can use the pillow to cushion his butt, which can at least alleviate the bumping.

This is all experience accumulated over the past two years.

After settling the accounts the next day, he also made a phone call back to inform his family that he would be leaving early on the 1st, and took the opportunity to ask if they had the friend's phone number.

Undoubtedly, they didn't. However, after the Qingming Festival, when they start harvesting kelp, he should take the initiative to call their home phone. He figures that by the time he gets home, he might even be able to answer the phone himself.

The ones happiest about him leaving and coming back so soon are the elderly at home.

The children, on the other hand, are heartless and wish their father wasn't home.

When he came back, the three of them weren't very happy. Except for calling "Dad" a few times, they were long used to him not being home.

When they found out he didn't bring any gifts, they didn't even look at him and, as usual, ran off to play on their own.

He really hadn't been away for long this time.

The old lady still touched him with a face full of smiles as usual. He hadn't been home much in the past two years, and it was obvious that the old lady had aged a lot.

Her eyes used to look quite clear, and she was sharp of hearing and sight, but now they look much cloudier.

Even her ears suddenly became a bit hard of hearing. He had to raise his volume slightly when speaking, otherwise, she would only ask "ah, ah, ah" what he was saying.

Ye Yaodong was a bit puzzled. He felt her state was quite good during the New Year, so why had she become a bit hard of hearing now?

He asked Lin Xiuqing, "During the New Year, weren't her ears quite sharp?"

"A few days ago, when she found out you were coming back, she insisted on going to worship Mazu, praying for Mazu to bless you with a safe return. It's like this every time; as long as she knows you're coming back, she has to go and pray for Mazu's blessing."

"Because it was close to Qingming, it was raining those two days. She got a little wet and caught a cold when she came back. She lay in bed for many days and only got out of bed this morning, muttering about why you hadn't arrived home after so many days."

"If I hadn't stopped her, she would have planned to go to the Mazu Temple to worship again this morning after getting out of bed. Then, after being scolded by Mom, she finally stopped."

"It was also today that I discovered she seemed to have become a bit hard of hearing. The day before yesterday, when I brought the meal to the bed for her to eat, we didn't say much, and I didn't feel she was hard of hearing."

Ye Yaodong frowned as he listened. "Why didn't you say anything when you called?"

"You had already set off at that time and were at sea. How could I contact you? I called and told Dad, and I also found a doctor to come to the house to see her. They said it was just a common cold and prescribed medicine for her to take."

"It's just that at an old person's age, it's not that easy to recover from a cold. She can only lie down and rest well. Living one more day is one more day. What else can we do?"

"If we took her to the hospital, she wouldn't be able to handle the bumping on the way. We could only invite someone to see her at home. It was just a common cold to begin with."

The old lady said with a smile, "It's okay, I'm better. I lay down for a few days, and my bones were getting rusty. I got out of bed and walked a bit today, and I feel much better. I don't even need to take medicine."

"How can that be? You have to keep taking it. Stop only when you've fully recovered."

After Ye Yaodong finished speaking, he first helped her to sit down. She definitely couldn't lie down anymore. A healthy person could get sick from lying down for too long, let alone someone of her age; she couldn't lie down for too long either.

The old lady smiled and followed his hand to sit at the door, then patted him. "You're exhausted from just coming back. Hurry up and eat something to rest."

"Don't go to the Mazu Temple to worship next time. You don't need to worship; Mazu will bless me too. I've been making a fortune smoothly these past few years, isn't that Mazu's blessing? Why do you need to go worship?"

"Yes, yes, yes, hehehe..."

Lin Xiuqing had already gone into the house to arrange food for him.

Ye Yaodong looked at the old lady's silver hair and aged appearance, pondering that he would go to the imported goods store in town tomorrow to buy some supplements. He would consult them first to see what an old person of this age could eat.

As long as it's beneficial to her health, she should eat it. By the way, he also had to buy some for his parents.

An 87-year-old person who can still walk around with a cane is already considered to have a sturdy body, all thanks to constant labor. This can also be considered a kind of alternative exercise, as long as it's not excessive labor.

But now that she's suddenly hard of hearing, he felt a bit uncomfortable when he heard it just now. He felt the old lady was in her twilight years. Before the New Year, her speech and walking were still nimble, and she could even scold his father a few times.

It had only been a little over a month since they last met, and he felt the old lady seemed to have aged several years. It was obvious that her spirit was a bit different.

At this age, any cold could cost her half her life. Sigh.

He chatted with her for a while, and Lin Xiuqing also brought out the noodles for him.

Ye Yaodong took them and asked, "Is she still drinking goat milk?"

"Yes, it's boiled with tea leaves every morning. I have the three little ones at home drink it with her. It was only these few days when she had a cold that she said she couldn't drink it, so we stopped."

"Hmm, then keep boiling it at night. She has to drink a bowl morning and night to supplement some nutrition."

The old lady waved her hand quickly. "I'm not used to drinking that stuff. Don't give it to me anymore. That's for children to drink. Let the little ones at home drink more. I'm already at this age, what milk should I drink?"

"You have to drink it. Do you still want to celebrate your 100th birthday? Don't you want to see Chenghe get married? Don't you want to see my three get married?"

"Hehe, then how old do I have to live to wait for that?"

"Next year, I'll celebrate your 90th birthday first to make you happy. When it's the year 2000, I'll celebrate your 100th birthday for you."

The words he said to his father a few days ago were still ringing in his ears, and he repeated them to the old lady again.

The old lady's old face broke into a smile. "Am I turning 90 next year? Wasn't I just 87? Celebrating a 90th birthday so soon."

"You're not confused either. You remember it quite firmly and still know you're 87."

He felt relieved all of a sudden. She wasn't senile yet, and she hadn't forgotten her own age due to dementia. She only had the aftereffect of being hard of hearing, which wasn't unacceptable.

When people get old, they naturally go through this process. At least her age isn't small.

"Of course I remember. How could I forget my own age? I'm not stupid. I also know you're 32."

Ye Yaodong laughed. "As long as you can remember, it's fine. We'll celebrate it in advance because next year is 1990, which happens to be a round number. Celebrating it in advance, 88 is also very auspicious."

Old people of this age live one day at a time, earning one day at a time. Birthday celebrations are always held a year or two in advance, just out of worry that they won't live past that age.

Celebrating in advance can also make the elderly feel happy. When people get old, they like liveliness, and a good mood can also help them live longer.

"Good, good, good. Then next year we'll celebrate a 90th birthday, and in 10 years we'll celebrate a 100th birthday."

"Right, that's how it should be. You just try your best to live a few more years."

"Then I have to remember how old I am, so I don't forget while I'm living."

After Ye Yaodong finished eating, he said to A-Qing, "Ask the doctor to come over and take a look later to see if she's fully recovered."

"Okay."

"I'll go instead. While I'm at it, I'll ask if there's anything she should avoid eating, or if there are any nutritional supplements she can eat."

"No need, what nutritional supplements? Don't waste that money. That milk is enough for me to drink. I can also eat canned food, and that sweetness is very nourishing. That's enough."

"What does canned food nourish?"

"In the past, there was nothing to eat, so canned food was very nourishing."

Ye Yaodong shook his head, not wanting to talk to her about the past.

(End of chapter)