Chapter 1602: Arranging for the Sons

Ye Yaodong reported to Lin Lin Xiuqing what time they had arrived yesterday and his schedule for the coming days, then hung up.

The three siblings had already gone out; even after he hung up the phone, he could still hear them complaining to each other at the door.

"Stay honestly in the factory, go nowhere, do not run around. I have matters to attend to outside. If you have any issues, find Little Aunt or any of the other lords here, understand?"

The three obediently replied, "Understood."

Ye Yaodong counted the workers, took his father, and led away one large truck plus four tractors.

Knowing they had to unload and transport kelp this morning, Ye Ye Chengjiang and Ye Chenghe did not go out to work and did not need to rise early; they just slept in and waited for the notice.

Normally, they delivered goods for Ye Yaodong until dawn every night and only went out to work at eight or nine in the morning.

But earning money outside, where is there work as easy and safe as Third Uncle's?

Now that each of them drives a tractor, they naturally must pay attention to safety and stick closely to Third Uncle; delivering goods for Third Uncle alone is enough for them to earn, so it is reasonable for them to go to work only after waking naturally.

Unloading fifty tons of kelp did not go quickly, but with plenty of hands, they finished it in one morning, even helping the commoners unload it into the warehouse and stacking it neatly, requiring not a scrap of their manpower.

"It seems your hands are getting more numerous; truly impressive. Every time we haven't seen each other for a while, I feel you've gotten richer again."

"It's all hard-earned money; so many brothers below need to eat. How can it be like you, so carefree, lying down and collecting money?"

"How can what I do be as simple as what you do? Mine is very complex; I have a headache. Making quick money isn't that easy. Everyone there listens to you; you are the boss; earning money is so satisfying."

"That is true."

"Let's go; I'll treat you to a meal."

"No, with so many brothers, how can I leave them to eat? Besides, my mother and three children came yesterday. I've been busy all morning; I must go back and see if they've caused trouble."

"Is that so? Then forget it. How about tonight?"

"Tonight I also need to arrange deliveries, and tomorrow morning I must go to Magic Capital to handle matters for a few days. Next time; when I return, I'll treat you."

"Then you get busy; we'll talk next time."

Ye Yaodong nodded, then shouted for the group of workers to get on the vehicles and return.

Thirty or forty people responded in unison and climbed onto the vehicles swiftly; it was indeed quite imposing.

He thought that upon returning, he could have someone arrange uniform factory clothes embroidered with the factory name; workers on the fishing boats could also be arranged with uniform clothing. Walking out like that would be very imposing, looking more formal and organized.

Thinking thus, upon returning he mentioned it to Manager Qi, letting him take charge of the arrangements; he would wait for the drawings to come out before making the final decision.

Ye Ye Xiaoxi ran over panting, "Father, Little Aunt says it's time to eat."

"Good, let's go eat."

"Father, Little Aunt says she wants to take sister and the cousins with us tomorrow."

"Huh? What trouble is she adding? I can't even handle the three of you; I don't have time myself and have to call others to watch you."

"I don't know."

Ye Yaodong still disagreed; those three were only a pittance in size; leading them around wouldn't be convenient, and he wasn't afraid of losing them.

When they went to eat, he brought it up.

"Little Ninth said you also want to take your three with you to Magic Capital tomorrow?"

Ye Ye Huimei frantically signaled him with her eyes.

Ye Yaodong instantly understood and dropped the subject.

Pei Yu said happily, "I'm going to Magic Capital and will sleep with older sister."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi smiled with her eyes squinted and nodded straight.

After the meal, Ye Ye Huimei explained she didn't want to take the three; she only wanted her mother to help take one, Pei Yu. Pei Yu was big now and not easily tricked; she could coax the two younger ones, but convincing the older one was hard to say.

Ye Yaodong thought having just one was fine and agreed.

His three were still relatively big now and relatively worry-free when out.

Besides, he thought of taking his two sons along; wherever they went on this trip, he would take them, to broaden their horizons, cultivate their vision from a young age, and expose them to more early on; there was no harm, saving them from just longing to buy toys.

Then he would let his mother take the two little girls, arranging two bodyguards to accompany them as they wandered around; the problem wasn't big.

"Ah Guang hasn't called back either; I don't know when he'll come up. This trip back took long enough; I thought he could come up with Father."

"Wait for the next trip. Father said he's handling the paperwork. Father originally wanted to wait another day or two to see, but I'm in a hurry, so he came up first."

"That's good."

Ye Yaodong was very busy; he just chatted a few sentences, then went with his father to hand over matters.

Ye Chenghu and Ye Ye Chengyang were already immersed in the joy of going to Magic Capital to play the next day and did not know their father's plans.

When they arrived in Magic Capital, seeing Ye Mu lead Ye Ye Xiaoxi and Pei Yu out happily with two bodyguards, they were still somewhat puzzled.

"Father, why aren't we going with them? Why do we still have to wait?"

"Because we aren't going the same way as them. These few days, your father will personally take you."

The two brothers' eyes lit up.

"Really?"

"Aren't you busy, Father?"

"Are we going to play something different from them?"

"That's true. They are girls; we are boys. We definitely can't play with them. The things they buy aren't what we like; they are all dolls, not fun. We like cars."

Ye Yaodong happily patted their two shoulders. "Right, I'm taking you to see different things. Lock the door, let's go."

"Hey, right away."

After the two brothers locked the door, they followed him left and right to take the bus.

After switching several buses, enduring the sun, and walking back and forth over a thousand meters, their anticipation wore off before they stopped at a factory gate. Looking at the workers coming and going in dark blue labor protection clothes, both furrowed their brows so tightly they could crush a fly.

Ye Chenghu wiped a sweat, "Father, you wouldn't want to sell us two to a black factory to work, would you?"

"What nonsense are you talking?"

Ye Yaodong glanced at the curious workers around; fortunately, they didn't understand what they were saying, otherwise he would have beaten them.

Ye Ye Chengyang's face was also flushed red as he asked, "But why did we come here? Didn't you say you were taking us to play?"

"We've walked so far already, we're so tired and hot. What are we doing here?"

"Go inside, you'll see once you look."

Since they had already come, the two could only gloomily follow him inside.

Then a worker there asked them what they were doing, and subsequently led them to an office for tea.

Only then did the two brothers understand why their father had brought them here.

"Dad, why did you bring us when buying machinery? It has nothing to do with us."

"Who said it has nothing to do with you? My factory will be handed over to you in the future..."

Huh?!!!

Both brothers' eyes widened, feeling as if a pie had been thrown at them.

"... How can you know nothing? Since you're here, I brought you along to see more and gain experience. You can't be a frog at the bottom of a well; if you know nothing, you'll easily be fooled later, understand?"

Ye Chenghu sat up straight, then put on a sycophantic face. "Dad, the factory will be ours in the future?"

"What else? When I'm old, I'll retire. If not you, then who?"

"Then... then will you give half to me and half to Yangyang?"

Ye Ye Chengyang placed his hands on the table, shifted his body, leaned closer to Ye Yaodong, and wore a similarly sycophantic expression.

"Is that what you should be worrying about now? What you should worry about is studying hard and performing well, so you can help me more in the future."

"Huh? Isn't it you helping us?"

"What the heck?"

Seeing Ye Chenghu's expression suddenly turn wrong, he glanced at Ye Ye Chengyang, then thoughtfully and cautiously said, "Dad, I think you can work until at least sixty. My grandpa is sixty and still working; he can at least work until seventy. I heard my great-grandfather was still working at eighty."

"What do you mean?"

Ye Chenghu looked cautiously at the expression on his face and said, "I mean, you don't need to rush to hand the factory over to me and Yangyang. We're still young. You work slowly, keep going! Make an effort! We've eaten less rice than you've eaten salt; this family still depends on you."

Ye Yaodong's expression softened a bit; otherwise, he might have lost control and whipped out his belt to give the boy a good thrashing.

He thought the kid was about to say, "The factory is given to us, so that means you help us work, at least helping us work until sixty!"

You little rascal.

Feeling the crisis averted, Ye Chenghu also heaved a huge sigh of relief.

"Hmm, you are still young. Your primary task is to study hard so you can do great things in the future. For now, just look more and learn more. Bringing you out today is to broaden your horizons. Don't just think about playing with toys all day or running wild up mountains and down seas; this summer vacation is also an opportunity for exercise."

The two brothers nodded vigorously upon hearing this.

They had only been drinking tea for a short while when a person in charge arrived.

Ye Yaodong spoke a few words with the person in charge, then walked around to visit and see better, newer, improved machines.

The two brothers followed quietly behind him, listening and watching.

No wonder it's said that men are naturally fond of machines and sensitive to them; after turning around for a while, the two were full of enthusiasm, watching with great interest and listening very attentively, showing not the slightest reluctance.

Hobbies really don't distinguish by age; some preferences in men are innate.

After the orders were placed and the business concluded, the two boys still felt somewhat reluctant to leave.

Ye Chenghu asked with expectation, "Dad, you bought such huge machines? That's a lot of money."

"These production tools cannot be spared. We'll have to rely on them to earn money in the future. You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child."

Ye Ye Chengyang asked, "Dad, will we bring the money over after lunch this afternoon?"

"Mm."

"Then will we come with you again?"

"Of course. Where else could the two of you go? Moreover, after paying the money this afternoon, if there's time, we'll have to go see other places."

Ye Chenghu hurriedly asked, "Where are we going to see?"

"The shipyard."

The two instantly became excited again.

"Ah, going to the shipyard? Going to the shipyard this afternoon? Then I want to go see,"

"I haven't been to a shipyard either, and I don't know what it looks like. Brother Brother Ahai works at a shipyard."

Ye Yaodong explained, "Brother Brother Ahai is in the provincial capital, not in the city. He applied for that spot under the name of a study exchange."

There was just one exception: Brother Brother Ahai's spot wasn't given by the county factory; Ye Yaodong arranged it. So after finishing his studies, he could choose not to return to the county factory to shine and contribute, as long as the provincial factory was still willing to keep Brother Brother Ahai, he could stay there.

Otherwise, under normal circumstances, one must return to serve the original factory after completing studies.

"Brother Brother Ahai is too amazing."

"Amazing my foot. He's still just doing odd jobs for others. They say he's learning technology, but he's still a greenhorn; it will take at least ten years before anyone calls him a master."

"But that's a shipyard..." Ye Ye Chengyang didn't quite understand.

"What's a shipyard? The tobacco company is the real powerhouse."

"Ah?"

"You should think this way: make others work for you, not you working for others. That's the right way."

"Oh, just like Dad, with a bunch of workers helping you do the work."

"Exactly."

Ye Chenghu chuckled, "Then Dad, when we grow up and you split the factory between us, won't everyone be working for us then?"

"That's also correct, but you have to be reliable. If you aren't reliable, I won't give you a single thing; you'll just have to work for me obediently."

"Oh."

"Let's go, I'll take you to eat."

Ye Yaodong waited until the afternoon, paid the deposit, and then took them to visit the shipyard. All day long, they were exceptionally excited, having come into contact with things they had never encountered before and seen things that only existed in hearsay, as if a door to a new world had opened; they didn't even think about buying toys.

The next day, when they went to the Jiangnan Shipyard, they saw super-sized cargo ships capable of transporting cars, their mouths hanging open wide enough to stuff an egg, eyes never enough to take it all in, spending the entire day unwilling to leave, still thinking of coming back tomorrow as they walked away.

But he wouldn't come again tomorrow—he'd already taken care of today's business, and tomorrow he'd go check on the land he planned to buy.

After the New Year, he arranged for Chen Baoguo to handle another plot of wasteland with a village on it, build houses on it, and the past two months had seen completion, with rentals gradually beginning.

He wanted to consult Chen Baoguo about the rental situation, collect the rent, and also take a look at Pudong's changes over the past year.

Since the policy was announced at the start of the year, over half a year had passed, and many areas were now fenced off with sheet metal for development; on the two days he'd walked, construction vehicles of all kinds were visible everywhere, and the two kids were utterly spellbound.

He even went to see the farmland he'd bought himself—farmland could still be farmed, so he had no intention of turning it into foundations, leaving it as it was.

The two brothers had no interest in farmland and began to lag behind; Ye Yaodong didn't push them—they'd already behaved well these past two days—so he left them at Chen Baoguo's small courtyard while he went to inspect the land, and only brought them back to the villa after finishing his inspection.

Meanwhile, Ye's mother took the two maids out sightseeing for three days; the two little maids were overjoyed, but she was utterly miserable, spending the whole day chasing after them, terrified they'd get lost—even though she had two bodyguards, she couldn't rely on others entirely; she had to watch them herself to feel at ease.

The scorching heat nearly killed her—more exhausting than slaughtering fish all day; on the third day, she flat-out refused to go out, but then remembered she'd returned empty-handed these past two days, so she dragged them out again for half a day, and after lunch, she flat-out refused to leave the house again.

When she saw Ye Yaodong return in the evening, she immediately asked him when they'd be going home.

"So eager? You've only been here three days."

"Today's the fourth day, the fourth night—let's go back right away, I can't take it anymore, it's sweltering and I've been running around with two of them nonstop—take them back and lock them in the factory, then they won't run off."

Ye Yaodong glanced at the two sisters playing enthusiastically on the sofa nearby, occasionally bursting into loud laughter, the whole house filled with their chattering and giggling.

As soon as he returned, Ye Chenghu and Ye Ye Chengyang hurried over to join them, examining today's spoils, making the scene even livelier.

Ye's mother pressed again: "How's your business going? You've been here so many days—finished yet?"

"I've finished it…"

"Then let's go back tomorrow—leaving factory affairs to your father isn't reassuring; let's head home early."

"Fine then—if you're so eager, we'll leave tomorrow."

He didn't mind either way; he could always come back next time something came up.

Ye's mother was delighted. "Good, I'll pack up then—we leave first thing tomorrow morning."

The two sisters, having had such a good time these past two days, had no objection to leaving tomorrow.

The two brothers felt like thunder had struck.

"What?! We're leaving tomorrow?!"

"We just got here!"

"Why leave tomorrow? Can't we stay a few more days?"

"Yeah! We haven't even been anywhere—we've just been following Dad, bought nothing, haven't even gone to the department store."

Ye's mother scowled. "Buy what? You're grown now—always thinking about toys. There's already a pile of cars and junk toys at home—still buying? You should learn to help your father, share the burden, don't just think about playing all day."

Ye Chenghu pointed at the two sisters. "But they go out shopping every day and bought a whole bunch already."

"They're little—what about you? Are you going to compare yourself to them?"

Ye Chenghu, hurt, fell silent, glancing at Ye Ye Chengyang as if to say: Say something, won't you?

Ye Ye Chengyang was equally aggrieved—they'd spent every day running around with Dad, drenched in sweat, yet bought nothing, while the two sisters happily had everything.

They'd originally planned to go shopping after helping Dad finish his business.

Who knew they'd get this result—business done, and they were sent packing, no regard for their feelings.

"Go back early—there's still plenty to do at home. Next month, when I come back on business, I'll bring you along—but I won't bring the sisters."

The two lowered their heads, sullen and silent.

"Go back quietly with me, help out at the factory—I'll pay you wages."

Wages!

The two brothers finally looked up at him.

"Work in the workshop—workers earn 100, 120, 150, or 180 a month; shipyard workers make 200. I'll pay you the same—hard work brings wealth. Then you can buy whatever you like with your own money—no one can stop you."

Ye Chenghu hesitated, still a bit sulky. "How much do workers make a month?"

"100, 120, 150, 180—shipyard workers get 200 a month."

"Really?" Their eyes lit up like wolves.

"True—but you're minors, so you won't match adult output—you'll get the lowest tier, then 80% of that."

Ye Chenghu beamed. "That's fine—I'll go! I'll start working tomorrow!"

Ye Ye Chengyang smiled too. "I'll go too—what work? Teach me."

"No problem. Go upstairs and pack your things—we leave tomorrow morning. Since you're going to work, you won't have time to play with toys—keep them until you earn your own money to buy them."

"Can we buy whatever we want?" Ye Ye Chengyang asked.

"Yes."

Ye Chenghu asked: "Do we need to ask for your permission?"

"... No."

"Let's go, let's go…" They beamed, shoving each other as they ran upstairs.

Sometimes, just coddling or suppressing children doesn't work—you must redirect their attention, offer something they crave more, so they willingly accept.

Now, letting them earn money through their own labor is good.

Once they earn it themselves, they become reluctant to spend it.

When they spend your money, they have no concept of value—just whine and throw tantrums.

Ye's father had originally planned for them to stay ten days or even half a month; he never expected them back on the fifth day—it thrilled him, as if the sun had risen in the west.

He greeted them happily, taking Ye's mother's bags. "What did you buy? All these packages—had fun?"

"Fun? I'm dead tired—chasing after two little devils who ran straight into crowds. I was terrified I'd lose them—I'd be a traitor to history, forced to die to atone—how could I dare stay longer? I came back right away."

Ye Yaodong chuckled. "Mom, you know quite a bit now—'traitor to history,' 'die to atone'?"

"Aren't they always saying that on TV? On days like this, why be outside when home's so comfortable? Watch TV, eat watermelon—now that's the good life."

"I'm truly full and bored, yet I still came up here; just a few little ones have me running around dizzy, with a sore back and aching waist. Working a whole day at home isn't this tiring."

After Ye's mother finished speaking, she squatted down again, putting on a smiling face as she looked at Ye Ye Xiaoxi. "Hey, I say, little one, how about we go home to find your mother in a few days?"

Ye Ye Xiaoxi shook her head like a rattle drum and loudly refused, "No! Mother said we can stay for two months. It's still early before school starts; I don't want to go back."

Ye Yaodong patted her head. "Then we'll go back when school starts; I'll send you back in advance then."

"Mother, if you want to go back, just go back with the boat in a few days."

Ye's mother hesitated for a moment. "Forget it. Since we've come all this way, how can we go back after just a few days? Especially since it's just me; that would be so embarrassing."

"Then it's up to you. Now that we're back at the factory, there's no need to watch them much; let them play by themselves, and you can relax too. There's a TV in my room; you can watch movies in there during the day."

"Can I go work in your workshop too and earn two months' wages?"

Ye Yaodong: "..."

Ye's mother was getting old and no longer held an official post at the village committee; she just habitually went there every day to chat. Whenever there was gossip about someone's family affairs, she would still go to the door to watch the commotion and say a few words.

Anyway, rural places aren't particular, nor are they that formal.

"Do I lack food or drink for you? You still want to go work in my workshop to earn wages? You don't know how to enjoy the blessings of being the boss's wife; you insist on seeking hardship where there is none."

Ye's mother thought about it and realized she was right; she was the boss's mother, the boss's wife!

Working in the workshop alongside the workers—what would that look like? How much of a loss of face would that be?

Since arriving here a few days ago, every worker in the factory had greeted her with a smile, calling her the boss's wife.

"Then forget it."

"You just take care of the children; I'll still calculate a month's wages for you."

Ye's mother waved her hand. "No need for that. Taking care of one's own grandchildren and charging wages? People would laugh at me; it would look like I'm obsessed with money. Alright, go on with your work; I'll take them to clean up."

"Okay."

(End of this chapter)