Chapter 1558: Preparing to Leave

She dug one finger after another.

Ye Chengyang couldn't help but dig one finger too.

The brother and sister sucked their fingers with relish.

Ye Chenghu was furious, he lowered his head to find a knife, and the cake was already disfigured in several places.

He roared: "What are you doing! Don't eat, it hasn't been cut yet!"

Lin Xiuqing also slapped the hands of the two. "Is it dirty to put it directly into your mouth? Go wash your hands first."

"Mother, look at them, the cake was dug broken by them."

Ye Chenghu was anxious and annoyed, he couldn't bear to let the cake be disfigured.

On the way back, he carried it carefully, for fear of shaking the cake out of place if he ran too fast.

Ye Chengyang said with a grin: "Anyway, it's going to be cut and eaten, let's taste a bite first."

Ye Xiaoxi also didn't move. "Not dirty, wash later, Big Brother cut first..."

At the critical moment, she couldn't bear to take her eyes off the cake.

"Both of you go wash your hands first, no one is allowed to eat if you don't wash your hands, Chenghu also go wash your hands, I'll cut it for you."

Ye Chenghu glared at the two who stole the food. "I want a big piece..."

"I want a big piece too..."

"I want it too..."

The three brothers and sisters shouted one louder than the other, and rushed to wash their hands like a gust of wind, and rushed to the table to wait for the cake to be divided after washing.

Each held a super large triangular piece, and only then were they satisfied, taking spoons to dig and eat.

Lin Xiuqing was also exhausted after sitting on the ship for a day, sitting on the long bench leaning against the wall, not wanting to move anymore.

"Mother, you eat too." Ye Xiaoxi dug a spoonful of her favorite cream to Lin Xiuqing's mouth.

"I won't eat, I'll eat dinner in a while."

"The rice hasn't been cooked yet, eat first." Ye Chengyang also said.

Ye Chenghu had already put down the cake in his hand, preparing to cut a piece for his mother.

"I'll cut it for you."

Lin Xiuqing's mouth was already smeared with cream everywhere, and she couldn't care about talking, first cleaning and licking the cream off the corners of her mouth.

"Cut a piece for Great-Grandma and Father first, and when Grandfather and Grandmother come later, cut one for them too."

"Okay, I'll cut it!" Ye Chenghu was excited, already unable to eat, just wanting to cut the cake.

Ye's mother also received the news of their return and came over, originally planning to come over to cook.

Seeing Ye Yaodong fiddling with the old lady's ears at the door, she asked curiously: "What are you doing? Fiddling with what?"

"Matched a hearing aid at the provincial hospital on the way, put it on her to try."

"What is a hearing aid? Helping her hearing?"

"Right."

It's just that the hearing aids in this era are relatively simple, and he also chose a simple model that could be used universally without the person being present.

Anyway, it's fine to use, just make do with it first.

Ye's mother also asked curiously, asking the old lady if she could hear clearly, and the old lady responded with a smile, and said she heard everything.

"If you can hear, then it's not in vain. When your father gets old in the future, match him a pair too."

"Ah? Why not match it for you?"

"Your father is already deaf in advance, he acts like he didn't hear when he speaks, shouldn't he be matched?"

Ye Yaodong looked at his mother with a complicated expression.

His mother had already ignored him, went in to cook first, and also heard her surprised voice.

"Yo, eating cake, this way you don't have to eat dinner tonight."

"Right."

"Cake is our dinner."

"We want to eat cake tomorrow morning too."

The three were full of cream in their mouths, extremely satisfied.

Lin Xiuqing pushed a piece of cake in front of Ye's mother. "This piece is for you, Chenghu specifically cut it for you."

"I won't eat, save it for them to eat tomorrow morning, it won't spoil in this weather. This way, one by one, cake goes in, and there's no need to eat dinner."

"Cook a little less."

"Are the ships checked? Any problems? He's full and has nothing to do, the ships are fine and there's no problem, yet he sailed such a long way to inspect, can't he wait until tomorrow when he sets off to go up there to check?"

"Said it's afraid of queuing, delaying going to sea. There is A-Hai in the provincial capital, can make a phone call to notify, insert a queue in advance, arrange."

"Then it's not broken, it's fine not to check."

"I don't understand very well, anyway, the factory said quite a few parts are old or worn, replacing parts can make the service life longer, and can also avoid the ship breaking down at sea and not being able to return. Said that if it can be prevented, prevent it early, it's also quite good, the fishery company's ships are also regularly inspected."

"Alright."

"Now spend a little money, can save big money later, anyway, it's fine to be idle these few days, inspected in advance, and can go to sea to earn money immediately when going up."

"Setting off tomorrow, have you packed his things?"

"Packed most of it after the birthday banquet, the bed was moved to the ship and made a few days ago before going to the provincial capital, wait until after dinner to organize other things, and then move the things to the ship."

"Wait for your father to come over to help, don't know where he died, haven't seen him until now," Ye's mother grumbled while starting the fire, "Drinking alcohol every day, saying everything is useless..."

Ye Yaodong took a piece of cake out to her after fixing the hearing aid for the old lady.

He also discovered that the old lady loves sweets, and there is never a shortage of sugar in her pocket, originally thought it was to coax children, but actually it was also convenient for herself to eat, and now she doesn't have to save that few dollars for him.

Anyway, eating sugar doesn't need teeth, and a piece in the mouth can be sweet for a long time.

Bitter for a lifetime, it's good to eat more sweets when old, and can't eat for many years.

"I won't eat, you eat, about to eat dinner, I'll save my stomach to eat, save this cake for the children to eat, they love to eat." 【1558-63

"I bought a really big one; it's enough for them to eat as a meal, lasting until tomorrow. They are still growing teeth, so they shouldn't eat too many sweets."

"Then you eat..."

"I'm sick of it after eating it in the Magic City and the provincial capital. You eat it."

"Sick of it? Then give it to Lin Xiuqing to eat, or give it to your mother."

"There's plenty for everyone, there's more inside."

Ye Yaodong stuffed it into her hand, and only then did she stop talking.

Having sat on a boat all day, he was exhausted too. Taking advantage of the fact that dinner wasn't ready yet, he went into the room to lie down for a while.

However, when he was half-asleep, he heard his mother scolding someone outside and woke up.

The clear sound of scolding reached his ears, and he couldn't go back to sleep.

"... Drinking in broad daylight, why don't you just drink until night?"

"... The cake I bought for the children to eat, and you're so greedy for it too..."

"We're leaving tomorrow, and a pile of things hasn't been moved onto the boat yet. Now that you've got alcohol in your system, how are you going to work later?"

"Still eating? I think you don't need to eat dinner either, just go to work... It'll be just right to sober you up... I don't even know what you do at home all day..."

"... Hurry up and go, so I don't have to look at you and get annoyed at home. There isn't a single day you don't drink..."

He didn't hear his father retort at all; he was probably in the wrong, and presumably, after being lectured by his mother, he had already gone out to organize things.

When it was time for dinner, sure enough, he didn't see his father.

"If I don't call my father over to eat, will I have to cook a late-night snack for him later?" Ye Yaodong said, then turned his head to look at Ye Xiaoxi, "You go call him."

"Why me?"

"Because you're the youngest. When you all weren't sensible yet, it was always your eldest brother running errands. Once Yangyang grows up a bit, it'll be Yangyang's turn to run errands. Now it's your turn."

"Oh, alright." Ye Xiaoxi trotted off happily.

Ye Chenghu said happily, "This is fair, taking turns. Call her from now on."

Lin Xiuqing said with a smile, "That's only because she's still willing to move now. In a few years, they'll all be lazier than the last, and you won't be able to call them."

"Children need to be diligent, especially you two. Your grades need to be better, otherwise, you're coming out to sea with me."

"Dad, don't worry, I will definitely get into high school."

"Don't brag now, talk about it after you pass the exam."

Ye Chengyang suddenly spoke up, "Dad, tonight is the Lantern Festival..."

"I just got back and I'm exhausted. I'm not going. I have things to be busy with later, I'll take you next year."

The two sighed and could only resign themselves to watching TV.

Ye Chenghu said dejectedly, "Eldest Cousin called at noon, saying that after she finishes dinner, she's going to town with a few cousins. They'll drop off their luggage at our house when they pass by later, then go to town, and come back to our house to sleep after they're done playing tonight."

Lin Xiuqing glared at him, "You stinky kid, why are you only saying this now? You didn't say anything when you came back earlier."

He scratched his head and gave an awkward laugh, "It's because too much time passed and I forgot. Plus, I was only thinking about the cake. It wasn't until Yangyang asked that I remembered."

"How much time? It was just this afternoon."

"I forgot anyway, it doesn't delay you with anything."

"I have to make the beds. Did they say how many people are coming?"

"I don't know."

"You didn't even think to ask."

"We'll know when they get here, and they don't need to eat dinner at home anyway."

Lin Xiuqing looked at Ye Yaodong, "Then after dinner, you go organize the things that need to be taken on the boat first. The baskets, fishing nets, and some tools—I've already sorted and organized them, and they're piled up in the corner of the workshop wall. If you ask Dad, you'll know which boat those belong to. I'll go make the beds first."

"Mm, okay."

Ye Chenghu asked hesitantly again, "Then Mom... can we go with our cousins?"

"It's crowded, what's there to go see? It's not like you haven't seen it before. And aren't you afraid of getting lost? They're all playful, how can they keep an eye on you? Just stay at home. You've seen plenty in the past few years, and you've even seen the circus in the city."

"Alright..."

With no hope left, the two gave up.

Ye Yaodong asked, "Have you finished your registration?"

"It's all done, classes start tomorrow."

"Then organize your schoolbags and books tonight, settle your minds, and start classes tomorrow."

"Got it," the two said in unison.

Ye Yaodong had originally thought about giving them instructions not to tell Ye Xiaoxi that he was leaving tomorrow.

However, he thought there was no need to instruct them. If she knows, she knows. Anyway, she sleeps with Pei Yu, and he already felt it was foolproof; he would just take her by surprise.

The departure time had been set long ago, and everyone knew it. They had also checked the wind and waves a few days ago, so there was no need to change the set time.

But he hadn't been home for the past few days, and many people were worried about changes. By dinner time, quite a few people had come to ask.

Once he said there was no change and they would depart as usual, the whole village basically started moving after dinner, transporting things to the wharf and the sea.

Everything had been prepared in advance, so they could depart at any time.

While Ye Xiaoxi was playing at the entrance, she saw a crowd of people moving like ants, pushing carts toward the wharf, and the line was quite long and intermittent, so she rushed over to the workshop to find him in a hurry.

And he was currently directing people to move things, deciding which batch of items belonged to which boat.

"Dad, Dad, Dad..."

The little meatball threw herself heavily in front of him and hugged his waist, "Dad..."

"What is it? You keep calling. I'm busy right now, if you have something, go find your mother."

"No, I want to find you. Dad, are you leaving?"

"That's right, leaving tomorrow morning. We're moving things onto the boat right now, don't get in the way here. Don't get bumped while things are being moved back and forth."

"Then if you leave, does Little Aunt's family leave too? Does Little Sister leave too?"

"I don't know about that. Go ask your Little Aunt. Don't you sleep with Pei Yu every day? Whether she's leaving or not, why don't you just ask her?"

It was a good thing he had greeted Ye Huimei in advance.

"Little Sister didn't say anything, then I'll go ask Little Sister..."

Like a gust of wind, she ran off again.

He couldn't be blamed for this; at least he didn't lie.

Everyone was moving things, and they didn't finish organizing everything until eight or nine o'clock.

And when he finished and returned home, the children were all sitting in a row watching TV.

As soon as Ye Xiaoxi saw him, she said, "Dad, Little Sister said she isn't leaving. Little Aunt didn't say she was taking her, she's going to be with me!"

"Fine, then be with her."

Ye Xiaoxi turned her head and said to Pei Yu, "Little Sister, you can't sneak away, okay? We're good sisters, we're as close as can be..."

"If Little Aunt leaves, you'll live at my house. From now on, my mom is your mom, my dad is your dad, my brother is your brother. But your younger brother isn't my younger brother, my mom didn't give birth to a younger brother for me, I don't want your twin brothers..."

"The twins are so silly, they're so big and still wet their pants and bed, shame on them, and they follow us every day..."

Pei Yu also nodded in agreement with her, "They even peed into my cup, it's so disgusting..."

Ye Yaodong shook his head with a smile as he listened to them talk, then went to take a shower.

It wasn't convenient to take a shower during those few days in the provincial capital, and he hadn't brought a change of clothes. In the middle of winter, there was no need to wash so frequently. Come to think of it, he hadn't showered in five or six days.

It was just right, he had just finished working and was sweating, and his body was dirty, so he would wash up clean to depart tomorrow.

Lin Xiuqing followed him into the room, watched him shower, and said, "You're leaving before dawn, right? You should leave early, otherwise, it's the first day of school tomorrow, and they'll be up after six."

"Leaving at 4 AM, so I definitely have to get up at 3 AM to go to the wharf."

"Mm, the more money we earn, the longer the time we spend apart."

"Can't help it. Earn a bit more while we're young. When the two children grow up, we'll let them take over, and then we'll be free."

Just wait another five or six years, and he could slowly let go.

By then, he would have trained a batch of people in deep-sea fishing, and he could hand everything over and just sit in the back.

Lin Xiuqing didn't hold much hope, "It's easy to say, but when the time comes, it won't be as easy to step away as you think."

"It should be fine. Anyway, as long as there's someone to manage it, or we manage it less ourselves. You should arrange for more people here too, you can handle it, post some recruitment ads, post them in the city."

It was 1990, and the wave of layoffs was about to arrive, so they could recruit more people to work then.

"I'll handle it. However, I heard that the city is building a highway after the New Year, and they might build one leading to our county. It probably won't be long before the county has to build one to the town."

"That's a good thing. They've been shouting that slogan for years—if you want to be rich, build roads first. It's finally our turn."

The North is the political center. After policies are issued, they are generally implemented in the North first, then gradually move toward the South. Prosperous cities in the South are also pioneers, and coastal areas are also at the forefront.

It was their turn in '90, which was relatively fast. In his previous life, he hadn't paid much attention to it. Anyway, he only remembered that when he occasionally went to the county seat, the road was already concrete.

"If this road is built, vehicle traffic will indeed be much more convenient, and it won't be so bumpy, and travel will be much easier."

"When the time comes, I'll buy you a car to drive."

"Ah?" Lin Xiuqing was startled, "Buy me a car to drive? How would I know how? I can't even figure out a motorcycle. I've been learning for so long, and I still don't dare drive it on the road to the city."

"A car is simpler than a motorcycle and safer, at least there's a big box protecting you. After the road is built, it won't be so bumpy and it'll be wider, so the road conditions will naturally be better. It'll be convenient for you to drive back and forth to the city in the future."

She waved her hand, "How would I know how? Don't waste this money, don't buy it. We have trucks at home, tractors, motorcycles, and bicycles. We have several of some of them, why buy another car? It looks good but isn't practical, it can't seat many people, and it can't haul much stuff."

"But it can show off! It's a symbol of status! And it's convenient. Once the road conditions are good, driving it will be much faster than a tractor. Time is money, and it's safer than a tractor too."

"You buy one for yourself to drive, I don't want one."

"I'm in Zhoushan, that tiny little place. Never mind a motorcycle, you can ride a bicycle around the whole thing in less than an hour, why would I drive a car?"

After Ye Yaodong finished speaking, he comforted her, "Don't worry, we'll go sign up for a driver's license together when the time comes. We'll learn together and have company. I heard learning to drive a car is very simple, two or three months on and off will do."

"Once you learn, we'll buy one and keep it at home for you to drive. It'll be convenient for you to go anywhere, and you won't have to ask others to take you."

"In our rural area, having a car is too eye-catching. I'd be worried about not being able to come back if I drove it out. Let's talk about it later."

That was true too.

One really had to worry about whether they could come back if they drove it out.

In the city, there's no need to worry; the roads are wide and there are many people. In his rural area, there are plenty of remote places on the road.

"Your concerns are right, then let's talk about it in a few years. Once cars gradually appear on the road, we'll buy one too."

"Mm."

"Do you want to take a shower too?"

Lin Xiuqing understood his meaning instantly and gave him a reproachful look, "You go wash yours. I'll do it later. The three of them haven't been arranged yet, I've been busy the whole time and haven't had time to urge them to wash. I'll call the three of them to take turns showering first. Tomorrow is the first day of school, they need to go to school looking neat."

After saying that, she went out first.

When she was watching TV earlier, she had urged the three of them, but their eyes were glued to the TV, and they wouldn't move no matter how she called them. Every time she called, they just said they would wait until they finished watching.

It was almost 9 o'clock, and they hadn't even blinked, nor had they moved from their seats.

"Go take a shower..."

The three turned a deaf ear. Only Pei Yu turned her head to look at her, "Aunt, I already washed at noon."

"Mm, I'm calling them to shower."

Lin Xiuqing knocked on the table angrily, "Are you all deaf?"

"Mom, we'll wash after we finish watching, it'll be quick."

"You didn't know how to wash during the day, you had to wait for me to come back and urge you."

The three had intermittent deafness again.

Lin Xiuqing turned off the TV directly, which caused a chorus of wails.

"Ah~ Mom, we were just about to finish watching..."

"Exactly, King Kong's eyes are blind..."

"King Kong's eyes are blind, what does that have to do with you being deaf? You watch it every day, how many times have you watched it? Still watching! Go take a shower quickly. Whoever finishes showering first gets cake to eat, then go to sleep after eating."

"Can we finish watching?"

"No."

"Sigh... alright..."

The three could only resign themselves to showering and then fighting over the washbasin.

"Don't you dare just wipe yourselves twice. Wash yourselves clean. Tomorrow is the first day of school, scrub all the grime off. I'm not home, no one is calling you to shower, and you don't have to wash at all? Just stink to death."

Ye Chenghu muttered, "Hasn't it been less than a week?"

Ye Chengyang shouted, "I wash my feet every day, Brother never washes his feet, it stinks to death."

"Nagging."

Lin Xiuqing urged, "Hurry up and wash, I'll get your clothes."

From the oldest to the youngest, if she didn't speak up, no one would go shower. It was enough.

There were four of them, big and small. From clothes to underwear, and then to socks, she had to prepare everything well, otherwise, they would ask her every day what to wear and where it was put.

By the time she finished with the three of them and cleaned the washbasin, it was 10 o'clock. Only then was it her turn to tidy up.

She could only lie down peacefully after her niece and nephew from her maiden home came over.

And Ye Yaodong had long since fallen asleep.

When he came back in the evening, he was exhausted, but he only dozed off for a while before being woken up by his mother's loud voice, and he hadn't had a proper sleep.

Just finished showering, lying comfortably in the quilt, waiting for her until he fell asleep.

The movement of Lin Xiuqing returning to the room didn't wake him up.

She was exhausted too. From the time she returned in the evening until now, she hadn't stopped being busy. Only when she was eating did her butt touch the stool.

Her heart was even more tired because of the three children, and it was no easier than Ye Yaodong's back-and-forth arrangements.

However, he woke up before the alarm went off in the middle of the night. Remembering that he was about to leave, he had to do what he hadn't done in the evening, otherwise, he would be missing out for several months.

Lin Xiuqing sensed his movements in her daze and asked, "What time is it?"

"The alarm hasn't gone off, which means it's not time yet."

"Check your watch, don't miss the time."

"Don't worry, even if it rings, there's still time. Anyway, others are waiting for me, I don't have to wait for others."

"No, I'm worried that A-Guang and Huimei will come to knock on the door later to hold Xiao Yu."

"I'll make it quick..."

"Fine, it's not like a few minutes matter."

"Damn, what are you saying, I'll show you."

Lin Xiuqing chuckled.

(End of this chapter)