Chapter 1609

Ye Yaodong calculated in his mind—it was probably January 1983 when he was taken away?

No, it was late 1982.

I remember that summer, his Ye Dasao, Ye Ersao, and other villagers and relatives rushed to give money to Ye Ye Yaohong's family, all for the high interest.

Later, when the county rated ten-thousand-yuan households, that Ye Datang's wife stepped forward—and then Ye Ye Yaohong came back and beat her.

Then at year's end, the scheme collapsed; on Little New Year's Eve, Ye Ye Yaohong planned to flee overnight and not spend the New Year at home, but he was caught on the spot.

Now, counting from start to finish, it's nearly eight years.

I heard the longer the sentence, the more chances there are for parole.

If it's only one or two years, three years at most, there's basically no chance for parole—you just have to sit it out.

With his ten-year sentence, if he behaved well inside, getting out two years early should be normal, right?

Lin Lin Xiuqing gave a cautious reminder: "If they come to us, we'll refuse outright—but I'm afraid they'll go to your father, and he'll remember brotherly ties, remember he's his first nephew, the one he watched grow up since childhood…"

Ye's mother raised an eyebrow and scolded first: "Your father's ears are too soft—he hears a few pleas and he'll agree to anything, thinks others have it hard, never considers how hard he has it himself."

"We're not a garbage dump where anyone can come dump their problems on us and ask us to arrange jobs—family ties mean nothing if there's no actual kinship."

"He even swindled his own family's money—where's the family loyalty there? If someone were honest and hardworking, I'd go find them myself without waiting to be asked."

"How many relatives have worked on our boats? Most of them were family—some even bought their own boats after working a while. If we can help, who wouldn't?"

"Giving a job to someone else is the same as giving it to family—if they're honest and hardworking, we'll treat them like Afan and give them a chance."

"Ye Yaohong has no conscience—he gave jobs to everyone but him. Even now, Ye Dasao and Ye Ersao still curse him when they think of it."

"Anyway, his kids are grown—he's already got his daughter working in the workshop. That's enough."

Lin Lin Xiuqing nodded along: "A parent's sins aren't the child's fault. Besides, he spent most of those years outside anyway—he'll have no trouble finding food after he's out."

"Exactly—he's been out in the world that long, knows how to get by. Why would he care about a measly wage? Once he's out, he's probably got big deals waiting."

"Your Ye Dabo's old enough to stop meddling—nobody's even out yet, and she's already made plans. Who knows what he's got in mind? He won't care about our little jobs."

"That's right—he's got big ambitions."

Ye's mother and Lin Lin Xiuqing played off each other perfectly, showing utter contempt and rejection toward Ye Ye Yaohong.

Ye's mother resented him because of bad relations with her sisters-in-law, because her two sons got swindled, and because she'd nearly handed over her own money.

Even though their situation has improved now, it wasn't a small sum—ten years ago, it nearly emptied the household.

Lin Lin Xiuqing didn't trust him because she barely knew him, and his reputation was terrible—what if debt collectors came knocking at their door?

Isn't that just inviting trouble? They weren't trash collectors who took everything dirty and stinking.

The old lady sat with her head bowed, silent, her mood low.

She usually enjoyed meals, sometimes even reminisced about hard times—how she'd never eaten enough, how rarely she got a bowl of white rice, always mixed with coarse grains, even congee half sweet potato.

Today, hearing this news, she didn't know whether to be happy or sad, had no desire to speak, shoulders slumped.

Ye Yaodong listened to their chatter without saying a word, letting them talk.

He definitely wouldn't let Ye Ye Yaohong board the boat—he was used to being high-minded but low-ability, used to quick money, how could he settle for steady wages?

He'd long grown accustomed to taking risky paths, handling large sums.

"Understood."

"You understanding doesn't matter—you have to tell your father ahead of time, so he's prepared. Otherwise, if they beg him directly, he'll agree on the spot just to save face."

Ye Yaodong grew impatient watching them chatter.

Women were petty and troublesome—it wasn't even a big deal, yet they kept muttering like the man was already standing at their doorstep.

"My father isn't stupid—he might feel brotherly ties, might think of his first nephew, might find it hard to refuse—but he can always push it onto me."

"Say he can't decide, needs to ask me if I need workers—that's all it takes. He won't offend anyone."

"If I say something, he can still scold me—call me immature, say I've grown too independent and won't listen—but he's powerless against me. Isn't that the perfect excuse? Anyone who hears it won't pressure him further."

Ye's mother relaxed and said happily: "Yes, exactly—say you can't decide, you never could decide for him anyway."

"No need to worry—if you worry about this, you'll let others manipulate you."

"I'm worried your father will soften—he'll cry a few tears, get fooled, agree without thinking, and then when you oppose it, he'll be caught between both sides."

"I know, you're nagging."

"Eat fast, rest early—we leave before dawn."

"Mm."

Ye's father only mentioned it to Ye Yaodong after he arrived—he only then learned Ye Ye Yaohong was about to be released.

Time flew by so fast—already eight years had passed.

He felt a pang of reflection: "In these eight years, society has changed too fast—if he comes out now, will he even adapt?"

"Who cares if he adapts? Just take care of yourself."

It's only eight years—yes, things changed fast, but not drastically. If it were twenty or thirty years, that'd be worse—he'd be completely out of touch, wouldn't even know what a phone was.

"That's not entirely true—your Ye Dabo only has two sons, and these past years have been hard for him. Your Ye Erbo, though, has gotten richer and richer…"

Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes and started packing his own luggage.

He mentioned it offhand—his father really was soft-hearted; he'd already started feeling sorry, thinking about how the man only had two sons, even though he had several daughters, all swindled—but still, you can't abandon your own father.

And Ye Ye Yaohong's two daughters came to Lin Lin Xiuqing last year—she saw they were well-behaved and let them work in the workshop, earning wages so their family wouldn't starve.

Over the years, with the family man in prison, the village's fortunes improved, and no one pressured them to repay the debt anymore.

That Ye Datang's wife had even tried to get a job with Lin Lin Xiuqing—but Lin Lin Xiuqing refused.

The children were innocent and well-behaved—she pitied them. But the adults? No—half the village hated them both.

"Did they say when they're coming back? We're not home—tell your mother and Lin Lin Xiuqing to take a bag of eggs over."

"You don't have to tell me—though your mother dislikes them, she'll still do the basics."

"Mm. We'll wait until he returns—before he's even out, your mother's already scolding me."

"Then tell me, if my uncle comes to you crying, shedding tears, and Ah Hong rushes over to kneel and kowtow in apology, making all sorts of promises, will you give him a chance?"

Ye's father fell silent.

After all, this was his eldest nephew, the first child among the brothers, whom he had watched grow up; just as Ye Yaodong doted on Ye Ye Chenghai, how could his heart be so hard?

"So my mother just wanted you to push the blame onto me, but as you said, nothing has even started yet, so she is just worrying for no reason."

"You are narrow-minded; don't pay attention to your mother; your heart is as small as a needle's point."

"Has everything gone smoothly these past few days?"

"It has been smooth, but there is a pile of accounts waiting for you to collect."

"Hmm, with such a large volume, it is inevitable; after I hand over the payment for this trip's goods to the finance department, I'll take a nap, then go collect accounts in the afternoon; collecting accounts early in the morning is not appropriate."

"You rest first; it's fine to hand over the accounts after you wake up; it doesn't matter since it's our own factory; when you hand over the accounts then, you can also take over the work."

"That works too; mainly I want to see how those two boys are doing with their work; since I haven't been here these past few days, have they been working honestly? Have they been slacking off?"

"They are doing great; the work is so easy, they could even eat on the job; if they aren't honest now, then there's no need for them to work anymore; just send them back, and they won't be allowed to come again."

"That's good."

Giving instructions was useful; before work started, he had told the others that the two brothers would be treated the same as the workers, and late arrivals or early departures would still result in pay deductions.

Ye's father asked again, "When is the next shipment being delivered? Will these two go back with the next shipment?"

"Yes, it is already the 20th; sending them back in two days will still give them a few days of rest, and they can cram a bit for unfinished homework."

"Then tell them in advance later."

"I'll talk about it after I wake up."

Ye Yaodong waved a hand at his father, and Ye's father immediately went out.

The two brothers knew they had to return in two days; they were reluctant to leave such an easy money-making job, but they also knew school was starting, so they had to go back.

Being able to return more than a week later than Ye Ye Xiaoxi was already good, and it allowed them to earn much more money.

"Dad, then... when are you going to Shanghai?"

Ye Chenghu rubbed his hands; having earned so much money, he was just waiting to go there again; last time his father had tricked him, taking him everywhere to look around, but he bought nothing, and everything went to Ye Ye Xiaoxi.

"No time; I need to collect accounts next; I won't be leading the return trip in two days; your grandfather will captain the boat and take you back."

"Ah?"

Ye Ye Chengyang also opened his eyes excitedly, "Didn't you say you'd take us to Shanghai next time? You said since we earned money, we could buy whatever we wanted."

"That's true, but I also need to have time; and I said 'next time,' so you just wait for next time; save the money first, and next time you can buy whatever you want; that's not wrong."

"No, Dad, aren't you just teasing us? We worked so hard just to earn some money to buy things we want." Ye Chenghu tried to reason with him.

"Didn't you earn that money? Next time, buy whatever you want."

"But I just want to go look around again before we go back; last time I didn't buy anything."

"It's the same buying it here; I'll settle your wages up to today; tomorrow, you two brothers can go out shopping with Ajiang and the others, or with your two cousins."

Ye Ye Chengyang was also extremely depressed, "Then besides the wages we earned here these past two months, we got nothing."

This was money they earned through their own labor.

In the workshop, the hard-earned money they made sweating profusely every day was not Bai De.

Thinking of this made them even angrier; it all went to Ye Ye Xiaoxi!

They didn't have to do anything and happily received a bunch of things, while they worked themselves to death and had to create everything with their own hands.

Ye Yaodong slapped each of them on the head, "What do you mean 'got nothing'? Laozi took you everywhere to see things; is that 'got nothing'? That is the most precious wealth; what does the little bit of money your sister spent matter?"

"In the future, my businesses will rely on you to guard them; your sister will only be responsible for eating, drinking, and playing anyway."

Ye Chenghu put on a sycophantic face, "Can we also just be responsible for eating, drinking, and playing?"

"Sure, then I'll leave all my businesses to your sister."

"!!!"

Ye Ye Chengyang patted his chest, "Dad, leave it all to me; I'm not afraid of hardship or fatigue; I'll work hard to earn money; you can take me anywhere in the future; I'll support my sister."

"Damn! Shameless!"

Ye Yaodong slapped him again, "Learn from him; you can't compare to the top, you can't compare to the bottom, and you can't even compare to the middle."

"No way; he just loves to show off and knows how to say nice things; he's cunning; I'm just too honest."

"Take care of yourself; you're starting second year of middle school soon, and soon it will be third year; if you can't even pass the high school entrance exam, then you'll go to sea."

Ye Chenghu pouted.

Ye Ye Chengyang asked ingratiatingly, "Then Dad, after we get off work today, can we go find our cousin to settle this month's wages?"

"Yes; you don't need to come to work tomorrow; if you arrange to leave yourself, I'll notify you a day in advance."

"Okay."

After Ye Yaodong left, Ye Chenghu was still sighing.

"Dad dotes on my sister so much; she doesn't have to do anything and just eats and plays every day; I wish I were a girl."

"Don't think about it; you are the eldest son; the ships at sea are all waiting for you."

Ye Chenghu had been quite happy hearing 'eldest son,' feeling that he had a heavy responsibility in the future, but as soon as he heard the ships at sea belonged to him, his face dropped.

"Why don't you go to sea?"

"Dad never told me to go to sea; Dad has always been telling you to go to sea."

"That's because I am older than you..."

"Exactly, so in the future, you will go to sea; you are the eldest son; Dad's most important and profitable assets are these fishing boats; didn't Dad start with just a small boat?"

Ye Chenghu thought about it and felt it made sense; instantly his back straightened, feeling his mission was arduous.

"But didn't Dad say if I can't study, then I'll go to sea?"

"Then you study, and then go to sea; wouldn't Dad be even happier?"

"That's true."

Ye Chenghu thought about it and became happy, "Then I'll go manage the ships at sea, and you take care of the factory."

Ye Ye Chengyang nodded.

His elder brother goes fishing, and he gets to enjoy himself in the factory!

Ye Yaodong didn't know that after turning around and stepping out, his two sons had already clearly divided up his property.