Chapter 1592: Home

The old lady had been circling him the whole time, her back hunched, her voice so low it had just been drowned out by the crying.

Only when Ye Ye Xiaoxi stopped did everyone hear her voice again.

"It's already dark. Are you hungry, Dongzi? Go quickly, I'll cook you a bowl of noodles..."

"Next time you come back, go home first. Whatever the matter is, it can wait until you've rested after getting home..."

"You've only been out for a few months and you're already so dark. Before, you were so fair and clean. It must have been too hard, it must have been too hard..."

"Money can never be fully earned; you must pay more attention to your body. Don't make yourself too tired. You've already hired so many people; don't overwork yourself..."

The little old lady stood before him, her hunched back not even reaching his chest, circling him from the front to the side, then to his back.

Ye Yaodong supported her. "Enough, stop circling me. Go sit at the door to cool off. Let Aqing just make me something to eat."

While they were talking, the neighbors had already gathered around.

Now that the weather is hot, everyone basically sits at their doors to cool off after meals; if there's any commotion at a nearby house, the surrounding families all know about it.

"Adong is back again?"

"When did Adong arrive home? Who else has come back?"

"Is my man up there doing well? Is the daily catch going well?"

"You know to come back occasionally to check, but they go out for a whole year without knowing to come back and check on the family; they only return at the end of the year."

"Let Dongzi rest first..." The old lady's voice, not loud, was about to be drowned out again.

"The tractor just brought the people back; everyone up there is doing fine and making big money. Can't you just call? If you call, you can know everything; just ask directly."

Ye Yaodong replied with a sentence, then first supported the old lady to sit at the door.

Lin Lin Xiuqing smiled and said to the neighbors, "I'll cook something for Adong first; he's exhausted. He just finished unloading the cargo and only got home now. Others were home before dark, but he was busy with the aftermath, so he only returned now."

"Ah, you go about your business; we'll just talk to him and ask a few questions."

The neighboring women were exceptionally warm, all gathering around him to talk and asking about the situation up there.

Who can call every three days or two?

Even when they do call, it's basically once a month, and only when they return and aren't at sea do they have time to call back.

Besides, phone calls are expensive; who can bear to talk for so long? Just a simple report of safety and a brief update on recent conditions is enough.

Everyone was curious and concerned about their family members, so they all came to join the excitement.

Ye Yaodong didn't mind; he treated it as chatting with everyone while waiting for his meal.

This also shows he has good relationships and that everyone is warm towards him.

If, upon returning home, the neighbors on both sides were cold and distant, keeping their distance, casting only a glance, and then whispering, that would truly be unbearable to see.

Surrounded by everyone, Ye Yaodong returned home, where a group of women chattered around him, exceptionally warm, while the old lady sat with him, smiling broadly.

Listening to everyone talk, Lin Lin Xiuqing smiled and went to cook something for him. The small flame in the stove had never gone out; she had kept it specifically thinking he should be returning soon, so that starting the fire would be faster and she wouldn't have to light a cold pot and cold stove slowly.

Ye Ye Xiaoxi, with red eyes and nose, holding money in her hand, grinned and followed into the room. Immediately, she went to the couple's room and put the money into her savings jar.

Ye Chenghu and Ye Ye Chengyang hadn't left for a single step; they were still at home, listening to the adults talk. Besides missing their father whom they hadn't seen for too long, another purpose was waiting for Lin Lin Xiuqing to pack their luggage, hoping to see if there were other gifts.

They were restless and really wanted to ask, but with a crowd of adults talking, they didn't dare. When they were in town, their father was always very busy; although they longed for it, they held it back.

Since their father hadn't mentioned it even once for so long, they no longer held out hope; if there were any, he would have said it long ago.

Only after Ye Yaodong started eating did the women stop asking this and that; instead, they chatted among themselves, then pulled Lin Lin Xiuqing into conversation, praising her good fate and also praising the old lady's good fortune.

"Your family is really rising; the children in the house are all grown up and can be taken out."

"Yes, the children of relatives and friends are all taken out and earning money; this is much better than farming at home."

"Only Adong's place has so much work and needs so many hands. Look, where else would need to recruit so many workers? I heard people from other villages have even been introduced to work in Guangdong Province."

"Right, right, right. I heard it too. In my maiden family's village this year, many young girls of sixteen or seventeen were introduced to work in Guangdong Province. We don't know what work they do, but I heard the wages are very high; over ten people from one village went."

"It's good if they can earn money; I'm just afraid they go out and still can't earn money. After going out, everything in the city costs money; eating, drinking, and even renting a house..."

"Who says otherwise..."

The women chattered nonstop until Ye Yaodong finished his noodles and Lin Lin Xiuqing brought him a basin of bathwater; only then did everyone tactfully leave.

Lin Lin Xiuqing finally had time to ask, "Was the harvest very good on this trip to the deep sea?"

"How can you say it was just good? A full hold returning can sell for over a hundred thousand. With this one trip, the capital for a thousand-ton fishing boat is almost recovered."

Her eyes widened. "Is the harvest that big? That's extraordinary."

"Yes, mainly because there are few big ships now, and the fishing grounds over there are rich in resources. Just fishing in the fishing grounds every day earns a lot. Only the big ships of the fishing companies are arranged to go to the deep sea. With fewer fishing vessels, aren't the deep-sea resources overflowing? When we were working at sea, a bunch of fish schools chased after the stern of the ship, and quite a few sharks and dolphins also chased the stern; big fish eating small fish."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, that really is a huge profit."

"On rainy days it's even more exaggerated. When heavy rain falls, the waves get bigger, and the cargo from the seabed gets rolled up with the waves; looking at the water surface on the deck, it's all fish."

"Then you can just scoop them up randomly; with your eyes closed, it's all fish?"

"More or less, but you still have to detect; you definitely have to watch the fish schools carefully before making a move."

The old lady was worried. "No wonder you've lost so much weight and gotten so dark. Going to the deep sea is dangerous. It's fine to earn a little less money; people must be safe and sound."

"I know; I have a clear idea in my heart."

"Then will you stay for a few more days after this return?" Lin Lin Xiuqing asked while starting to pack the luggage.

The three children stood on the side, looking eagerly as the luggage finally moved.

"I can't stay long; once the business is done, I have to hurry back. There are many things up there; Father cries out to heaven and earth every day, calling me back."

At this moment, Ye's mother also arrived late.

Before she even entered the room, her voice had already come from the doorway.

"... My Dongzi is back; I must go take a look first; we'll talk later."

"We've been waiting here at the front for a long time and haven't seen you return. We thought we'd have to wait until midnight for you to finish with the fish canning factory over there and come back."

"I just went home to take a bath, then heard people say you had already arrived home."

"Did it go smoothly? When we called a while ago, your father was completely irritable. He said you went to the deep sea, and seeing the cargo piled as high as a mountain made him so annoyed."

Ye Yaodong's mother had just entered the room, her bottom not yet settled, when her loud voice already spilled out a string of words.

"Smoothly."

Ye Yaodong simply told his mother a few words, mostly just repeating what he had just said.

Meanwhile, Lin Lin Xiuqing was packing luggage, and three of the 123 gradually squatted over beside her.

She wasn't listening to Ye Yaodong speak; instead, she said to the three little ones, "Why are you still here? Go out and play, don't get in my way here, I'm busy."

Ye Chenghu eagerly hugged the dirty clothes she had picked out. "Mom, I'll help you put them in the washing machine to wash."

Ye Ye Chengyang also held shoes. "I'll help soak the shoes."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi looked left and right, but for a moment couldn't find any work to do.

"Usually I don't see you being this diligent? Did you take the wrong medicine?"

Ye Yaodong smiled and chimed in, "I just got back, they're being very affectionate, they don't want to go out and play."

"Wait until tomorrow when you see they won't even pay attention." Ye's mother glanced at the two diligent small figures and chuckled mockingly.

"This afternoon, following me at the dock, we ate our fill, ice pops, malt candy, fried cakes... oyster omelets, soda, our mouths didn't stop, and we even got a one-yuan bill, of course we have to perform well."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi: "!!!"

She widened her eyes, looked at her father, then at her two older brothers, and then protested, "I didn't get any, I only have one yuan, I didn't get anything else!"

Ye Chenghu added water to the washing machine, then turned his head and chuckled, "Who told you not to go, who told you to come home late and miss it."

Wanted to cry.

Ye Ye Xiaoxi's aggrieved tears started to fall again. "I didn't get any, I want to eat too..."

"Don't cry, I'll take you to eat it back tomorrow, without those two."

She pouted, still aggrieved. "I want to eat now."

"Can't eat now, need to lose weight, eating too much late at night will make you fat, if you keep getting fatter, aren't you afraid?" Ye Yaodong patted his pocket and pulled out another one-yuan bill. "Here, compensation for you, is this okay?"

The two brothers, seeing money, immediately dashed forward, each saying a word, "Dad..."

"Go, go, go, none for you, you've already eaten and taken, I've already earned it for you, your sister didn't even get to eat, go play by yourselves."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi saw her brothers got nothing, only she did, and immediately stopped crying and smiled, taking the money and happily holding his arm, rocking back and forth to act spoiled.

"This is fair!"

"Shameful? How old are you, still crying and laughing?"

"I'm still a child!"

Ye Chenghu made a "yue" sound, saw her glare at him, and immediately turned his head and went out.

His mother had already packed the luggage, there was nothing to play with, he had already put the dirty clothes in the washing machine, there was nothing for him to do, if he didn't leave now, when would he?

One ran, and the other followed and ran too.

Only Ye Ye Xiaoxi happily took the one-yuan bill back into the room and put it in the piggy bank to save.

Coming out, she continued to squat beside Ye Yaodong's washbasin, propping her chin with both hands and looking up at him.

Ye Yaodong was just about to wash his bottom; being stared at like this, how could he wash?

"What are you doing? The money is given, why not go out and play? What are you still doing here?"

"Watching you, Dad, when are we buying a refrigerator? The one in the school's small shop is huge, it can hold so, so many ice pops."

"Wait until I'm done the day after tomorrow, I'll take you to the city the day after tomorrow?"

"Yay," she happily jumped straight up. "Great, then you must take me to the city the day after tomorrow!"

"I know, nagging, go out and play quickly, don't get in my way here."

"And also, and also, Dad, can you take me to find my little sister? I'm about to have my holidays!"

"About to have holidays means you haven't had them yet."

"But it's very soon, Children's Day has already passed, my brother said after Children's Day, holidays will be very soon."

"Then we'll talk about it when you have your holidays."

"Then when I have my holidays, you must take me to find my little sister."

"We'll talk about it."

"No, if you say 'we'll talk about it', then it will vanish. Mom is always like this, I ask her, she also says wait until I have my holidays to talk about it, you two are exactly the same, you speak exactly the same."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi got angry towards the end, pouting her lips and stomping her feet in protest.

"This shows I and your mother didn't become husband and wife for nothing, go play first, your dad here can't run away."

"Liar, you leave every day while I'm sleeping, I still remember when you left after the New Year, you took my little sister away, I was still sleeping."

"Remembering that so firmly."

"I will remember it forever!"

Ye Yaodong had nothing to say, glaring at her.

She didn't back down either, pouting her lips and glaring back.

Ye's mother said, "Then if you want to go up and wait for the holidays, take her up then, keep her company with Ye Huimei and the other children, it's just right to watch her. Your factory is fenced in, there's also a gatekeeper, children can't run out."

"Besides, I have to be home for me to take her up, otherwise, will you send her up?"

"If I send her, then I send her, just right to go to that Magic City for a stroll, stay in your Western-style house for a few days."

"Fine, then you send her." Ye Yaodong looked at Ye Ye Xiaoxi. "Are you satisfied now? If anyone lies to you then, go find them, don't find me."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi looked at Ye's mother, feeling Grandma was more reliable than her dad and mom; her dad and mom always coaxed and lied to her, Grandma never lied to her, and even gave her candy, bought her snacks.

She nodded satisfied. "Okay, then don't lie to me."

After saying that, she happily went out to play.

Ye's mother asked again, "Is your dad good up there? Is he honest?"

"Honest, how could he not be honest? If he's not honest up there, he has to go down below."

"Stop with the cheeky talk. I'm asking you seriously; don't go off on tangents."

"Didn't I say he's honest? He's busy every day, feet never touching the ground. I went to the deep sea and came back; he treats me like I'm his own mother..."

Ye's mother glanced at the old lady. How close could a mother be?

Ye Yaodong understood the hint and glanced at the old lady too. Instantly, he felt his metaphor was a bit inappropriate; it was more like the old lady seeing him.

"My father is busy. A pile of work was dumped on him; he almost didn't even have time to take a shit."

"That's perfect. All day at home, it's nothing but shitting and bragging. He can brag to the neighbors for half an hour while squatting on the toilet; he won't stand up until his legs go numb."

The old lady immediately added, "Being a little busy is good."

"I heard from your father that from now on, you'll have to transport a ship's cargo back every so often?"

"We don't know yet. We have the plan, but first let's see how well they handle this batch of cargo. If it earns well and the profit is high, naturally we'll assign a dedicated ship then, transporting a batch every few days."

By then, the workers could also go home every now and then to stay for a couple of days.

Originally, everyone just docked at whichever port offered higher prices to sell their goods; he had just sailed a bit farther. But earning high profits was acceptable.

"That's good too; saves us from being away for a whole year without returning."

Ye's mother stayed there until he went inside and didn't come out, only then did she go to the doorway to talk with those women.

Lin Lin Xiuqing, after finishing her chores, followed him inside to count the money.

"Is all the money from the returned cargo here?" She opened her backpack to take a look.

Now that they were earning so much money, seeing this much cash, she remained calm and composed; her tone was very steady.

"No. Ah Cai gave me half there; the other half will be transferred to my account after he sells the goods, probably in about a week."

Lin Lin Dongxue had opened not just a corporate account for the processing factory, but also a dedicated account for fish cargo payments for him. Later, the fishing boat's accounts would belong to the fishing boat, and the processing factory's accounts to the factory; the two funds would be kept separate, not mixed together.

And this batch of accounts he brought back, once they returned, would also have to be deposited into a fixed account, so the books wouldn't get messy.

"Take out the cargo payment slips, count the money. I'll need to take the cash up to deposit it later. The rest is the turnover from that factory in the city."

"Lin Dongxue has already set up several bank accounts?"

"Yes. I saw her ledgers are quite clear; every deposit and withdrawal is perfectly transparent. I was thinking of opening a corporate account for that factory in the city too. Then, monthly profits could be deposited directly into the account? You just need to check the balance every so often to see if it matches the account records?"

"That works too. That saves me the trouble of carrying the money back and forth. I'll ask the finance department later how to set it up."

"Go to the city the day after tomorrow to buy a refrigerator. Then instruct the finance department."

"Everything is fine; why suddenly think of buying an electric refrigerator? We don't run a small shop; buying one seems useless."

"It's useful. You can eat something cold in summer, store some perishable items. When the weather gets hot, some vegetables spoil easily; putting them in the fridge keeps them fresh."

"Then you decide. If you want one, buy one and put it at home."

"Rest at home tomorrow. Go to the city the day after tomorrow to look around, and visit godfather on the way."

"It's been about half a year since we last returned. Since we're back, we should at least bring two bottles of wine and some tobacco to visit him."

"Mm. Previously, some factory connections in the city were introduced by his neighbor. I haven't been there in a long time either; I should go see."

"Do you need to renew the connection again?"

"No. I've handed everything over to Ah Cai. I just deliver the goods directly to Ah Cai for handling; it saves trouble."

"Mm. Then I'll separate the two sums first."

Lin Lin Xiuqing quietly counted the banknotes.

Ye Yaodong lay on the bed with both hands behind his head, legs crossed, blowing in the fan while watching her profile as she counted the money.

A few small flying insects rested on the light bulb; the dim yellow light cast her shadow on the lime wall, sometimes large, sometimes small.

The stray hairs behind her ear were stuck to her neck by sweat. As she counted the money, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, yet the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up, her lips moving rapidly.

Usually, the laughter and play of children outside made one's head ache, but at this moment, hearing it in his ears, it felt exceptionally lively and full of life.

Home is just better.

The elders are loving, the parents nag, the wife is gentle, the children are innocent and mischievous; all of this is right under one's eyelids, visible with a single glance.

Outside, one can only miss them, imagining their voices and faces in the mind.

Thinking this, he muttered aloud, "Home is just so comfortable."

Lin Lin Xiuqing's counting motion stopped. Her eyebrows knitted tightly, then she glared at him.

"What's wrong? I only said one sentence; did it disturb you?"

"Don't make noise. Wait until I finish counting."

"You're really easily disturbed. I only said one sentence." While speaking, he stretched out his foot to rub against her thigh.

Lin Lin Xiuqing unceremoniously slapped his instep hard, then hugged the money, turned her back to him, and continued counting.

"I got bitten by a mosquito. Light a coil of mosquito incense quickly."

She counted a few more sheets, reached a round number, and only then paused.

"Go light one yourself. I don't have time right now."

"Just now, in front of outsiders, you were so gentle and considerate; you even drew the bathwater perfectly. Now that we're back in the room, you won't even light a coil of mosquito incense, and you hit me."

Lin Lin Xiuqing ignored him completely. She had finally counted a handful; if he messed it up again, she would be furious.

Ye Yaodong lay there for a while. Being unable to stand the buzzing of the mosquitoes flying back and forth, he had to sit up and find the mosquito incense himself.

As it turned out, the coil of mosquito incense hadn't been separated yet, so he had to break it apart by hand.

That coil of mosquito incense was stuck together tightly like a Tai Chi bagua. Holding the two coils, he turned them in his hands to look; the two black coils were pressed tightly together, their patterns interlaced, like a Tai Chi diagram drawn by an old Taoist priest. When his finger touched it, black incense ash covered his hand, and a smell of herbal medicine went straight up his nose.

He dared not pull hard, afraid of breaking it by accident. He had to use his thumbnail to scrape along the seam where the coils overlapped, scraping a little bit at a time. Once scraped open a bit, he would gently pry them apart.

The coils were stuck tight. As his nail scraped across, a faint "sha-sha" sound came, and crumbs fell rustling down.

"Damn, it broke."

Lin Lin Xiuqing turned her head to look, thinking he was saying something else. "It's fine. Light the broken piece first. Be careful; don't break it again."

"I haven't broken one in too long."

He snapped one off, scraping it against the tightest spot in the middle, then stopped, brought the coil to his lips, and blew a breath onto it.

Once the dampness softened the stuck parts, he used his fingernail tip to gently pry them apart. With a soft "snap," a gap finally opened between the two coils. Taking advantage of the moment, he pinched both sides and slowly twisted them outward. The spiral patterns of the coils gradually unwound until, with a final "crack," they completely separated into two coils.

Fragments scattered all over the table. He blew them away, then satisfiedly picked up one of the coils, carefully placed it on the tin mosquito-coil stand, and put the broken piece back into the mosquito-coil box.

"Are there any in the other rooms? Should I separate a few more coils?"

"Then, since you're idle, go separate a few more."

"Alright."

Only after he had separated all the mosquito coils in the box did he lie back down on the bed.

He had been watching her for a long time, and she was still counting there, so he deliberately touched her lower back with his toes again.

"Have you finished counting clearly?"

Lin Lin Xiuqing didn't even look up; she slapped his foot away with one hand. "Stop messing around! If you distract me and I forget again, we won't need to sleep tonight. Do you even want me to get into bed with you?"

Ye Yaodong instantly became well-behaved. "Ah, then I won't disturb you. Hurry up and count."

"Take the mosquito coils to the other rooms and light them first. Let them burn for a while, and soon there won't be any mosquitoes in the room."

"Alright."

(End of this chapter)