Chapter 1559

After Ye Yaodong finished, he got up feeling refreshed, picked up the bag of clothes that had been prepared for him, and carried it on his shoulder.

"I'm leaving. You don't need to get up to see me off, it's freezing. Just stay in the quilt, no need to go back and forth."

"I still have to get up to call Dongxue and the others, and then bring Xiao Yu down. You go check if Huimei and her husband are up yet."

"Okay."

"I just heard the old lady get up, she's probably cooking something for you. Eat before you go."

"Mm."

Ye Yaodong took his luggage and went out first.

The old lady had gotten up to light the fire while they were busy.

"So early? You go wash up first, I'll cook you a few eggs, and then heat up a basket of fish balls for you to take on the road. These fish balls were made yesterday, they won't spoil in this weather and can last a few days."

"You keep nagging that you cook eggs every time you go out, and you're sick of eating them, and they choke you. This time, I had your mother make a basket of fish balls for you in advance, just right to take on the road. It's fine to eat them cold, just have some hot water."

"I've already filled two thermoses with boiling water for you, just carry them onto the boat later. You need to wear thicker clothes, hat, scarf, gloves..."

The old lady muttered in a low voice, and Ye Yaodong just nodded randomly while walking outside.

"I know, I'll take my luggage out first. You do your cooking, I'll go check if A-Guang and the others are up yet?"

"Eh? Do you want me to cook a few more bowls for them?"

"Wait a bit, I'll go see if they're up and if they've eaten."

The dogs in the courtyard gathered at his feet as soon as they heard the sound of the door opening, then followed him out.

A-Guang's house was already brightly lit, with shadows moving on the windows. He went over and knocked on the door.

"Are you packed?"

"Everything is done. Huimei just needs to dress the two children. I'll go to your place first to bring Xiao Yu over."

"What are you cooking in the pot?"

"Rice cakes, they're already cooked. Eat and then go. You can eat a bowl here later too."

"The old lady has already stewed eggs for me, so I won't eat here. Go over and hold the child first, A-Qing has already gone upstairs to bring the child down."

"Mm."

After A-Guang gave instructions inside the house, he followed him out first.

Lin Dongxue and her two younger siblings had already finished washing and were at the table eating breakfast. A-Qing had also dressed Pei Yu.

Pei Yu sat there rubbing her eyes, sleepy and looking dazed, until she saw A-Guang come in.

"Dad, why do we have to get up so early?"

"Because I'm taking our whole family to depart together."

"Ah? Then what about Big Sister? I told Big Sister I wasn't leaving..."

"Then do you want to come with us? Dad, Mom, and your younger brothers are all leaving. Do you want to stay here alone?"

Pei Yu looked conflicted, unable to choose.

"Be good, go eat breakfast first. When we arrive, you can call Big Sister again. When you start first grade in the second half of the year, you can write letters to Big Sister and mail packages to her."

Her eyes lit up instantly, "Ah, can I write letters to Big Sister even if I don't know how to read? How do I mail packages?"

"You'll know when you go to school. The teacher will teach you how to write letters, or let your mom teach you."

"Okay."

With her attention diverted, the child was no longer conflicted. She happily finished breakfast and was awake enough to walk to the wharf by herself.

Ye Yaodong asked Lin Dongxue and her siblings to help A-Guang carry the luggage; it wasn't convenient for the couple to carry things while holding a child each.

They only met Pei's father and Ye's father on the way. Everyone went to the wharf together. There were many people on the road, with flashlights shining everywhere and the sound of hushed conversations.

They had many people, so the initial headcount was quite troublesome, and there were always one or two who were slower.

However, before returning yesterday, they had already added fuel in advance when passing through the town. Now they could depart as soon as everyone was present, without having to stop and start to prepare.

They waited at the wharf for another half hour before Ye Yaodong's group was all present, and after counting heads, he arranged for people to board the boat.

It was already an hour later when they departed.

The lights were still on at home. Picking up his binoculars, he could still see shadows at the entrance.

"Damn, A-Guang has it better, taking his wife and children on this trip."

Ye Yaodong muttered a few words before putting away the binoculars and returning to the wheelhouse.

Once they reached the town, he let the other boats go first. He went to arrange for people to bring out the large boats docked in the shelter, and then had the personnel of each boat take their places according to last year's arrangements.

Once everything was arranged, he officially set sail and then went to catch up with the main force that had left first. His boats sailed fast, and it didn't take long to catch up.

The journey was very safe because of their large fleet. However, when they reached the vicinity of Wenzhou waters, they encountered an anti-smuggling boat.

Ye Yaodong's boat was leading the way. He heard the captain knocking on his cabin and immediately took his binoculars to look.

That anti-smuggling boat was staying on the sea, watching them closely. There were also people on the boat looking at them with binoculars.

Since they didn't tell them to stop, he naturally wouldn't stop. He just kept going as he should, ignoring them and following the route, zipping past.

Such a large fleet of boats was indeed eye-catching. Although he was following the rules, others didn't know that. They were definitely wary of his large fleet and the number of people, knowing that confronting them wouldn't end well.

The anti-smuggling boat definitely had a target. As long as they weren't the target, it was better to avoid trouble.

Ye Yaodong stood at the front with his binoculars, gradually moving to the back. The anti-smuggling boat remained motionless, and the people on the boat kept staring at them with binoculars, watching them leave.

Only when they were far away did he put away the binoculars and return to the wheelhouse.

"Is everything okay? I was worried something might happen, so I woke you up."

"It's fine, we just happened to run into them. Our fleet is eye-catching, but if they don't tell us to stop, we ignore them. If they tell us to stop, we're not afraid either."

"Oh, good. I was just worried about accidents, that's why I woke you up. You go rest."

"Mm, call me if anything happens."

Ye Yaodong returned to the rest cabin behind the wheelhouse to continue lying down. He had been driving all night and was sleepy, so he let someone take over and rested himself.

Smuggling was still rampant in the Southeast coastal area, and it was by relying on smuggling that the Southeast coast became rich first. Many big shots started their businesses this way and then successfully washed their hands of it.

The rest of the journey was calm. The fishing boats they encountered were just ordinary ones, and all who ran into them avoided them from afar to avoid trouble.

They arrived in Zhoushan at noon two days later.

After getting off the boat, he learned that Lin Dongxue, Pei Yu, and the twins had all been vomiting throughout the journey.

By the time they went ashore, their faces were pale. The twins were buried in their parents' arms, looking weak.

Pei Yu was also held in her father's arms, looking like she had suffered a great deal.

He walked over and touched them comfortingly, "Alright, you're on land now, not drifting on the sea anymore, you won't feel uncomfortable. Go back, sleep, rest for the night, and you'll be full of life tomorrow."

Pei Yu said weakly, "I'm fine, Uncle, I just vomited. I'll be better in a while, it was the same last time."

"Mm."

The twins were already sobbing in their parents' arms, asking to go home, rubbing their noses and tears on their parents' clothes.

Ye Yaodong felt tired just watching them coax the children.

And this was with the whole family together. If he had brought Ye Xiaoxi, she would probably be making a scene right now, crying to go home.

That would be the real nightmare.

"Everyone still has luggage, so wait here first. I'll have A-Jiang and Chenghe run back to drive the tractor. We'll take the tractor back later. Just sit on the ground and relax for a bit."

"Mm."

Their boats were of different sizes, and the docking points were far apart, so he had to find people first.

Fortunately, although there were many things moved onto the boats, most of them just needed to be locked in the cabins to be used when going out to sea. Everyone just needed to take their luggage and get on the tractor.

Two trips were enough to haul all his workers. As for the other fishing boats, he didn't care; they weren't docked together anyway, so they could solve their own problems.

Only when he lay on the dormitory bed did he let out a long, comfortable sigh. He could finally rest.

And the base camp became lively again because of their return.

Everyone was still full of energy after sitting on the boat for two days. As expected of fishermen, they didn't need to rest upon arrival. They all sat in the open space, basking in the sun, chatting, and waiting for food. Some ran out directly, not knowing if they were in a hurry to find their sweethearts or to find food.

Hundreds of people returned all at once, and it was impossible to cook for so many people on short notice. Moreover, ingredients were lacking, so everything had to be purchased in advance.

He was too tired to move and didn't want to eat. He made do with making his bed and went to sleep first.

Ye's father didn't want to climb the stairs, so he took his luggage directly to the warehouse, intending to sleep in the warehouse as usual, which was easier without climbing stairs.

It wasn't until dusk that he climbed out of bed comfortably and went downstairs to find food.

"Early, have you eaten?"

"Early? It's dark, and you call it early? I haven't seen you all afternoon, where did you go?" Ye's father asked, joining the conversation in the crowd.

"Sleeping in the room, where else? I'm exhausted. Have you all eaten?"

"We all went out to eat. There's nothing in the cafeteria, we have to wait until tomorrow for ingredients to be purchased."

"Then I'll go out to eat too. Are the three children okay?"

"Cried all afternoon, fell asleep, and haven't woken up yet."

"Have you called home yet?"

"No, there were so many people waiting to use the phone all afternoon, so I just went to sleep and didn't bother."

Ye Yaodong yawned and went to take a look, finding that people were still using the phone, and he didn't want to wait.

"I'm going out to eat, and I'll stop by the processing plant to make a call."

"Then go ahead."

"Did Dongxue and the others go over?"

"The three siblings drove the tractor over this afternoon. They didn't come here, they should be staying at the processing plant."

"Mm."

He walked toward A-Guang's room again.

When he returned here in the afternoon, he asked Huimei if she wanted to go to the processing plant with Lin Dongxue to settle down.

At that time, the twins were making a huge scene. Since they had already arrived, they planned to soothe them first and coax them to sleep, to avoid the bumpy ride after just getting off the boat. Not to mention the children couldn't take it, the adults would also be driven crazy by the noise.

Therefore, Lin Guangming and Lin Guangwen drove the tractor to send Lin Dongxue to the processing plant first. As for Huimei's family, they stayed here temporarily to coax the children.

When he went over, he heard voices in the room, so he knocked on the door.

"Open the door, it's me. Are you all awake?"

The door was opened immediately.

"Just woke up, just brewed some malted milk to fill their stomachs. We're going to take them out to eat later. Have you eaten?"

"Not yet, I just woke up too. I asked Dad and came over to see. Since you're all up, let's go out together later. After eating, we'll settle Huimei and the three children at the processing plant. Let them sleep there tonight."

Ye Huimei was tying Pei Yu's hair, "Okay, we were just talking about this, let's go together."

Ye Yaodong looked at Pei Yu, "We'll call home later, do you want to talk to Big Sister?"

"Okay, I want to call Big Sister."

"I don't know if she made a scene when she woke up and found Xiao Yu missing. There were too many people and I was tired in the afternoon, so I didn't have time to call. We'll call home to report that we're safe from the processing plant later, and ask about it while we're at it."

Ye Huimei said with a smile, "It's a good thing she didn't come up, otherwise I don't know what kind of scene she would have made on the way, it's exhausting. Never mind the boat ride, having to look after three little ones is a nightmare. I couldn't coax them, my head was about to explode on the way."

"It was hard enough to persist until we reached the shore, and then I had to keep coaxing them. My heart is tired. I could only catch my breath after they fell asleep. They'll be the death of me sooner or later."

Ye Yaodong felt his scalp tingle just watching them coax the children one by one in the afternoon.

"So when your Third Sister-in-law asked if I should just bring Xiao Jiu up too, I refused directly. Bringing her up is fine, but I'm afraid she won't be able to stay for two days before wanting her mother, and then I'll have a headache."

It was already busy enough when they first came up. Not only did he have to be busy with starting work, orders, and personnel, but there were also a bunch of things waiting to be arranged inside and out. Where would he have time to coax children?

When they are a bit older and sensible, and won't be unable to stay and look for their mother, it'll be fine to bring them up.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have to do anything; just watching a child every day would be enough to keep him busy.

"I was so tired on the way that I regretted it. I really wanted to turn around and go back. It's so comfortable at home, just letting them run around, which saves me trouble."

A-Guang said, "Saying that now? You're already here, and you're thinking about going back. Who's going to let you turn around?"

"Isn't it because you said we should come up? You said looking after children is the same everywhere, so we might as well come up with you and have a family reunion. I listened to your lies, and now I feel even more tired."

"That's not true! You have three meals a day at home, looking after three children, isn't it the same here?"

"Who says! If I were at home, your sister or my mother could occasionally help look after them. Besides, they run around freely at home, and as long as they know to come back for meals, I don't need to manage them much. If I'm here, how can I not keep a close eye on them? It's so chaotic here, if they run out, they'll definitely be gone."

A-Guang didn't dare to refute.

Ye Yaodong mediated, "You're already here, why say that? Just stay for now. If you can't adapt, I'll take you back when I go back."

A-Guang nodded, "That's right, just stay since you're here. If you can't stay, you can go back later. Anyway, none of the three have started first grade yet."

"Let's see for now," Ye Huimei shouted at the twins again, "Have you finished drinking? You've been holding the bowls for ages."

Although the twins were holding the bowls, their eyes were darting around, watching them and listening to the adults talk.

Hearing the urge, they hurriedly gulped down the milk, and after finishing, they licked the bowls, not leaving a single drop of milk residue.

Then they put down the bowls and said in their milky voices, "Finished."

"If you're finished, let's go. It's dark, let's go eat early so we can go back and rest early."

Ye Huimei held the twins by the hand, while A-Guang held Pei Yu and carried the luggage with one hand.

Ye Yaodong also helped them take the other luggage and put it all on the tractor.

"Sit tight, don't scream later. Don't vomit the milk you just drank because of the bumps on the road."

"Don't be a crow's mouth."

Ye Yaodong shrugged and went to drive. Fearing they would be bumped, he deliberately slowed down and tried to drive on flat roads.

The roads in the city were flat.

The twins saw such a lively place for the first time. They stood up and stared outside without blinking, shouting "car, car, car" in their mouths.

"Big car..."

"So many cars..."

"Car, car, another car..."

Ye Yaodong parked the car in front of a restaurant, and he could still hear the two jumping around in the car, excitedly shouting "car."

"Why do you like cars so much?"

"When they grow up, I'll send them to learn car repair so they can see enough of them," A-Guang said.

"..."

Can't you have some ambition and think of something better?

Ye Huimei also complained, "At home, they chase your tractor all day long. As soon as they see your tractor moving, they follow behind and run all the way to the entrance of the village."

Ye Yaodong laughed, "It looks like I really have to send them to learn car repair when they grow up."

"Forget it, maybe they'll be attracted by other things when they grow up."

"Let's go, let's go eat first."

Pei Yu looked around, "Uncle, when are we going to call Big Sister? I left, did Big Sister cry?"

"I don't know. I'll take you to make a call after we eat, and you can ask her if she cried."

"Okay."

While they were ordering and eating, the twins squatted at their feet, resting their chins on their hands, staring at the cars passing by on the road, looking a bit silly and cute.

Ye Yaodong teased them with a smile, "Are there more cars here than at home?"

Both nodded together.

"Then do you like it here?"

Both nodded together again.

"Then do you still want to go home?"

The two hesitated for a moment, then turned their heads to look at Ye Huimei.

"I want Mom..."

"I want Mom too."

"It seems Mom is still more important than cars."

The two nodded again this time.

"Then your mom is staying here, so you stay here too, don't go home, okay?"

They nodded without hesitation this time.

(End of this chapter)