Chapter 1642: Settled

After two days of busy work, the day of Ye Chenghe's wedding arrived.

The two newlyweds hadn't seen each other for these two days; they had the matchmaker running back and forth to discuss the details.

Ye Chenghe was also in high spirits early in the morning, wearing his wool overcoat. Just like Ye Chenghai a few days ago, he had a red flower pinned to his chest.

His wedding was also modeled after Ye Chenghai's; the two brothers' ceremonies were much the same.

Ye Chenghai had also returned to help out on the third day after his own return-to-the-bride's-home visit.

Ye Dasao was busy running around and had no time to manage the new bride, so she just had her two sisters-in-law take her along to help.

The process for the two brothers to pick up their brides was also the same; after all, they were following local customs, and they both used cars to pick up their brides.

When the cars drove into the bride's village, it caused a sensation. Everyone was saying that Chen Xiuni had married well and had fallen into a nest of fortune, as even the wedding was so grand, with cars coming to pick her up—this was the first time such a thing had happened in the whole village.

The Chen family was also incredibly enthusiastic, and they felt they had gained face.

Ye Chenghe had originally been worried that something might go wrong today, but he didn't expect everything to go so smoothly from the moment he entered the door.

He took his brothers to pick up the bride, while the Chen family brothers moved the dowry onto the tractor, including that large color TV.

People in the surrounding villages were discussing it, thinking the family had just been talking big, but they didn't expect them to actually provide a large color TV as a dowry.

At this time, no one said anything bad; everyone was saying pleasant things or talking about the history of Ye Chenghe's family's rise to wealth over the past few years, how rich they were, and so on.

The topics all revolved around the two families.

It was the same old talk—praising Chen Xiuni for marrying well.

When Ye Chenghe entered the door and saw the color TV still in its packaging, he finally felt relieved. His family hadn't been shameless enough to try and claim the TV too; otherwise, the wedding really wouldn't have been able to go ahead.

He himself had been certain that they wouldn't dare, as the neighbors on both sides had seen it when it was delivered and knew it was part of the dowry.

Chen Xiuni had also been given a stern talking-to the past two days; she knew that if the wedding didn't happen, she would be finished.

Actually, her parents hadn't done anything too excessive. At most, they kept one-third of the bride price, and the rest was used for their wedding expenses and the dowry. This wasn't really taking too much.

A daughter is raised for so long; it's only right to keep a little of the bride price to show filial piety to one's parents. Since most of it was taken away, it was acceptable.

Many ordinary families in the area were like this—keeping a portion and taking a portion away, unless they were extremely poor or didn't care about appearances.

When it came down to it, this whole series of events was actually because Chen Xiuni was comparing herself to Ahai's wife. She was afraid that if the gap between her and Ahai's wife was too large, she would be outdone and lose face.

So she thought about comparing everything to Bai Xiaojin, wanting to be just like her to avoid being told she couldn't measure up, which was why she demanded this and that.

Chen Xiuni's family didn't have great conditions to begin with; they were a very ordinary family with a bunch of brothers and sisters at home. How could they empty their family coffers just because of her?

It was impossible to spend that much money on her wedding, which was why she kept hoping Ye Chenghe would do something to save face for her.

Ye Chenghe had clearly stated two days ago that if she made any more trouble, there would be no need to get married. Naturally, she was afraid.

So today's wedding went smoothly, right up until they entered the door to bow to the ancestors.

The villagers watching the ceremony all praised Chen Xiuni's family for being generous, actually providing a color TV as a dowry.

They kept praising Ye Dasao for marrying off her two sons so well—one bride brought a washing machine, the other brought a large color TV.

Ye Dasao knew how the color TV had come about, so she wasn't very happy in her heart, but on the surface, she responded happily.

It wasn't until before the bowing ceremony, when the bride's brothers placed the bride price on the table—1,200 yuan, 12 bundles of large denomination notes—that the smile on her face became forced, and she looked at Ye Chenghe.

Ye Chenghe was also puzzled when he received his mother's inexplicable glare, and then he was surprised when he saw the bride price on the table.

Wasn't it said that they were only bringing back 600 yuan in cash?

The wedding expenses and gold jewelry had cost over 500, and his parents had kept over 600 yuan. Why was there 1,200 now?

The people around didn't know that the mother and son were one angry and one confused; they just kept praising them.

"Chenghe's wife's color TV is a bit more expensive, Ahai's wife brought more cash. These two daughters-in-law are worth it..."

"That's right, I didn't expect Chenghe's wife to bring so much dowry. Her parents are good people..."

"Oh my, your family really knows how to pick daughters-in-law. You picked two that are equally good. No wonder they got married so early."

"That's right. I wanted to introduce some to you, but there was no way. It turns out you already found good wives."

"Haha, isn't there still Ajiang? Is he 19 or 20 this year? He can get married too."

"My sister's daughter is also 18..."

Setting aside the confusion of the mother and son, the time for the bowing ceremony arrived, so they went through the motions and then went to take their seats.

It wasn't until the lunch break that Ye Chenghe caught a chance to ask Chen Xiuni.

"Didn't you say that after the bride price was spent, there was only 1,200 yuan left, and your parents intended to keep half, only bringing 600 yuan over? What happened? Did they decide not to keep a cent and brought it all over?"

"No, the extra 600 yuan is what I saved up from working at Third Aunt's for two years. I added it in so it would look better."

Ye Chenghe knew that half of the money she earned from working had to be handed over to her family, so he didn't expect her to have saved so much in two years.

"I thought your parents added it, or were pretending to add it and would take it back after the wedding. If you had the money, why did you have to come to me crying and making a scene a few days ago, saying the bride price was too low and didn't look good?"

Chen Xiuni saw that he was a bit angry and hurriedly explained, "I felt that even with my private savings, it was still too little. I wanted you to make up the difference so it would look better, but you didn't agree, right? So I let it go, thinking 1,200 was enough."

Ye Chenghe reluctantly accepted her explanation. "Fine, it's not a small amount. Everyone is praising it."

"Mm-hmm."

After Ye Chenghe went out, he explained it to his mother.

Earlier, his mother had come over to question him, asking if he had added the money. He swore it wasn't him, and only then was his mother half-convinced.

Now there was an explanation.

After hearing this, Ye Dasao wasn't angry anymore. "It's good that she had her own money to make up for it."

It was just that Ye Chenghe didn't tell her that Chen Xiuni had come to him two days ago asking him to make up the difference; otherwise, the conversation probably wouldn't be like this right now.

Instead, she would have said: If she had money, why did she ask you to make it up? Was she treating you like a sucker?

After Ye Chenghe finished explaining to his mother, he was about to leave, but Ye Dasao pulled him back.

"Remember, just after getting married, don't hand over all your money to her. Keep your own money. You earn quite a lot; don't let her squander it."

"I know."

"Just let her keep the money she brought as a dowry. Back when your father and I got married, there was no bride price. I just made a set of clothes and a set of quilt covers and married over. Your father didn't have a cent on him, and I only had a few yuan I'd saved up as a girl."

After Ye Dasao finished speaking, she started reminiscing about the past. "In those years, your father and I wanted to earn money but had nowhere to earn it. We just relied on work points to get a little at the end of the year, but that didn't go into my pocket either; the whole family had so many mouths to feed."

"The money in our family was all saved up bit by bit from me making fishing nets, or from trading things I got with other people."

"This family was built from scratch by your father and me, bit by bit. Your wife isn't as lucky as you; she's just married over to enjoy life, and you can still earn big money."

"She hasn't suffered the hardships you have. She just married over to enjoy life. Since she hasn't suffered the hardships you have, she doesn't know how hard it is to earn money, so she's prone to spending it recklessly. You have to keep a tight grip on it."

Ye Chenghe responded perfunctorily and then hurried away.

His mother had been telling him this for the past few days, terrified that he would hand over all his money to his wife once he got married. His ears were about to grow calluses.

She didn't say this to his eldest brother, only to him. It was truly suffocating, and she kept saying he wasn't smart. It was really too much.

No one knew about the ins and outs of their family; only a few people in their family knew. When they ate the banquet in the evening, it was still lively as usual.

The bride went to serve tea, recognize the elders, and receive red envelopes. Ye Chenghe, like Ye Chenghai, also went to kneel and bow to the elders to receive red envelopes.

When it was Ye Yaodong's turn, he even kowtowed, which surprised everyone and made them laugh. When others did it, they just knelt and got up immediately.

He himself laughed and said, "Third Uncle always said that when I get married, I have to kowtow to him a few more times. Should I kowtow two more for you?"

Ye Yaodong laughed and hurriedly helped him up. "That's enough, that's enough. I was just joking; you actually remembered."

"Of course. I've already kowtowed; shouldn't the red envelope be bigger?"

"Hahaha, of course. I have a surprise for you." Ye Yaodong handed him the red envelope he had prepared long ago. "You'll know when you go back to your room tonight and open it. And once you open it, you'll know which red envelope is mine."

"Really? Then thank you, Third Uncle. You've got me looking forward to it."

"Hahaha, go on."

They recorded the names on these gift envelopes, after all, they had to be returned. Red envelopes for serving tea and kowtowing like this didn't have names written on them; it was entirely up to the individual how much to give.

If some gave too little, wouldn't writing their name expose them?

There were some disgusting people who might put a dime inside; it wasn't impossible.

When Ye Chenghe opened the red envelopes at night, he found one with a dime in it and was so angry he cursed out loud.

By rights, the minimum should be one yuan now. A dime was a bit insulting. It was just that there was no name, so he didn't know who gave it.

However, when he opened Ye Yaodong's red envelope, he was extremely happy again.

"Third Uncle is still the most generous. Just one kowtow and I get 200 yuan. What's this slip of paper?"

He had long forgotten the IOU he had written to Ye Yaodong back then.

"Holy crap, Third Uncle still kept it?"

Chen Xiuni also curiously poked her head over. "Hmm, what is this? Why did Third Uncle put it inside the red envelope?"

"An IOU I wrote to Third Uncle. I forgot what I wrote it for, but I remember this happening."

"... After I marry Chen Xiuni, Third Uncle doesn't need to give a red envelope..." Chen Xiuni was torn between laughter and tears. "No, why did you write an IOU like this? What year was it written?"

Ye Chenghe chuckled foolishly. "I forgot. The writing below is a bit blurry too. Seems like 1985? Anyway, it was before I was dating you, back when I was chasing after you."

She smiled sweetly. "You used our wedding red envelope in advance before we were even married."

"Hehe, it didn't decrease, did it? It's 200 yuan! The two 200-yuan ones you just opened must also be from Third Uncle and Third Aunt. Besides them, no one else would give so much. Even my dad and mom only gave 100."

"I guess so too. Third Uncle and Third Aunt are the richest; it's normal for them to be generous. How many boats does Third Uncle actually have? I always hear people say he has dozens of boats. He's the Boat King around here."

Ye Chenghe continued opening the next red envelope and said, "He has plenty. He probably had thirty or forty before, but he processed a batch of worthless small boats for those relatives before the New Year."

"Now he probably has ten or twenty? But they are all valuable large boats. I heard that the large factories in Modu are still producing his large boats."

"I heard there are still many boats that haven't been produced yet. My Third Uncle is amazing. His boats are getting bigger and more advanced."

"The new boat he brought back before the New Year is the largest and most famous in the entire fishing port. The boat even has its own processing assembly line. It's really awesome."

Chen Xiuni's mouth was wide open as she listened; she even forgot to open the red envelopes.

"Third Uncle is that amazing?"

"Of course. In reality, he's much more amazing than what's rumored outside. Not to mention anything else, just the workers he has on hand are four or five hundred, and basically everyone in the village listens to him."

"If anything happens, with one word from him, thousands of people can be mobilized. At the pier up there, my Third Uncle is very famous; he's already a legend."

"What he says in the village now is more effective than the village secretary. If anything happens in the village now, they have to come to Third Uncle's door to give him a heads-up."

Ye Chenghe believed he wasn't exaggerating; he was telling the truth, it was just that it was hard for people to believe.

"Third Uncle is really that amazing? He looks so young."

"Yeah, otherwise could he have taken us out to play every day when we were kids? When I was a kid, I used to think every day, why isn't Third Uncle my dad? Haha, luckily I only said it to Third Uncle in a low voice and my dad didn't hear it, otherwise I would have been beaten to death by my dad."

"If you were Third Uncle's son, that would be incredible."

"Being a nephew is also good. I'm relying on Third Uncle to earn money now. Third Uncle is smart, which is why he became successful in just a few short years. No one is as amazing as him. Our family also benefited from Third Uncle's light."

"Then we have to stick close to Third Uncle."

"We'll see. My dad also bought a large boat. It's possible he'll call me to go to sea at any time."

However, he felt his dad was still young, and working until 60 wouldn't be a problem. Even his grandfather was still helping Third Uncle work.

Then he still had at least 20 years before he had to take over the fishing boat?

By then, he might not even need to take it over; they would be old boats, and he could sell them directly for retirement. And he would definitely have earned enough following Third Uncle and wouldn't need to go to sea anymore.

Let his dad work hard for now.

His dad had two sons; it wouldn't be appropriate to give the boat to either one. When he gets old, he can just sell it for retirement.

Chen Xiuni hesitated and said, "Dad is still young; he probably doesn't need to call you to go to sea, right?"

"Who knows? Anyway, we'll see. If we can earn money following Third Uncle, we'll earn it first."

"How much can you earn a month now?"

"It varies. It depends on whether Third Uncle has a lot of goods or a little. I didn't earn a cent this month. Most of what I earned before was handed over to my mother. After all, my dad bought a large boat, the family spent a huge sum, and I spent quite a bit of money marrying you."

Ye Chenghe, having been warned by his mother, also grew a bit cautious. He didn't immediately disclose his family assets, also worried that his wife might be muddled, so he planned to wait and see.

It wouldn't be too late to give it to her to keep after he went up to Zhoushi and earned money. Anyway, it was just a matter of the end of the month or the end of next month. By then, he would give her all the money earned that month, and all the money earned in the future would be given to her.

And when his dad brought the boat back before the New Year, he did indeed take out some money to help his mother. Since he had money in his hands, of course he had to contribute when the family was doing big things.

Chen Xiuni heard him mention that marrying her cost a lot of money and didn't dare to make a sound, afraid that he would catch her and say she loved to compare, which was why it cost so much.

She changed the subject and asked, "We're married now, when are we leaving?"

"Ask Third Uncle tomorrow when we're leaving. Everyone listens to Third Uncle. Whenever he leaves, everyone else follows. The new large Jiefang truck already went up a step ahead a few days ago."

"Can I also find a job at Third Uncle's place when I go up? I heard he opened a factory up there. It's huge, with hundreds of workers."

"Ask when we get up there. It's fine if you don't find a job; just stay at home and wash clothes and cook for me. I never want to wash clothes again."

She smiled and gave him a coquettish look. "How much time does washing clothes and cooking take?"

Ye Chenghe looked up and saw her coquettish gaze. His heart instantly felt hot, and he didn't want to open the red envelopes anymore. He threw them aside and pounced on her.

"Not opening them anymore, it's a waste of time."

"Ah... the bed is still full of..."

"It's just right to sleep on top of the banknotes, even better..."

The young newlyweds were passionate, and without even turning off the lights, they began eagerly taking off their clothes.

"Where is it... I can't find it..."

"I can't squeeze in..."

Ye Chenghe was sweating profusely in the cold weather, anxious to death.

"Where exactly is it... It's not on top, and it's not below... Should I pry it open and take a look?"

"Don't..."

"It's a pity I can't find it..."

The two of them were anxious to death, but they heard the creaking sound from the next room, making them even more anxious.

Ye Chenghe even started cursing in a low voice.

Early the next morning, Ye Fu discussed the departure with the three Ye Yaodong brothers.

"Your mother checked the calendar; tomorrow the 18th is a good day for traveling. Should we leave a bit earlier tomorrow? By the time we get up there, it'll be the 20th?"

The other two brothers looked at Ye Yaodong.

"That's fine. We were already later than previous years. Now that Chenghe has finished his wedding, today is the return-to-the-bride's-home visit, and tomorrow is just right to leave."

"Hey, I'll deal with the wedding things from yesterday with your eldest brother today, return what needs to be returned, and you do the preparations for the departure."

"Okay, no problem."

"In a while, someone will definitely come to ask when we're leaving. We'll tell them the 18th too, let them prepare as well, and we'll all go together."

Ye Yaohua asked, "Is that tomorrow morning, noon, or evening?"

"Morning. Today is enough for others to prepare. It's just that Dongzi has a lot of workers here, so he'll be busier. In a while, have your mother help notify everyone properly, let them prepare early too."

"Okay."

After the father and two sons discussed it, they ate first.

The old lady was a bit reluctant, holding the calendar and flipping it open. "Just tomorrow? So urgent."

Ye Mu said, "You don't know how much money Dongzi can earn in a day now. If he goes to sea one day less, he doesn't know how many tens of thousands he's losing."

"Even if he earns that much, he can't spend it all."

"But he still has to earn it. So many people are working for him; if he doesn't earn money, how can others get paid? The factory has already started work. It's fortunate he sent the large Jiefang truck up early, bringing the people who needed to be brought up to arrange factory matters. Even with that, he still has constant phone calls every day."

"Sigh..."

Ye Yaodong said, "Do you want to go up with me?"

The old lady shook her head. "What would I go up there for? I'm an old bag of bones; how could I withstand the tossing and turning? I'll just honestly wait at home, maybe I can live a bit longer."

"I'll call you more often whenever I have time."

"Hey, you really should call back more often. Even if we can't see each other, it's good to talk."

"Mm."

Ye Yaodong had originally thought about taking Lin Xiuqing with him, but the handover of the workshop work, as well as matters in the city, couldn't be dropped just like that.

She thought about slowly handing over the workshop work to his mother, and she would let go and stop worrying about it, and then manage the matters in the city first.

Let's just do it like this for now. Anyway, there's a boat specifically for delivering goods to the town now, and when it's empty, it can also transport goods back, which is convenient.

As for Ah Qing and the three children going with him, that can be put aside for now. When Ye Chenghu graduates from junior high and Ye Chengyang graduates from elementary school, they can be sent to Modu, and then they can all be taken together.

Now Ye Chenghu hasn't even graduated from junior high; next semester is only the third year of junior high, so one year doesn't make much difference.

This was also what the couple had discussed over the past few days.

And their house won't be built for the time being; they just need to build the old house well. He was thinking that he might not necessarily live here next year or the year after.

Build the old house more beautifully, and they can all celebrate the New Year in the old house next year.

Recently, they were busy with Ye Chenghai and Ye Chenghe's weddings. The foundation of the old house had already been laid, and they were preparing to start building upwards.

And Ye Fu was also prepared to stay at home for a few more days, watching the house being built upwards, and then go up to help Dongzi at the end of the month.

Building a house is a major event in one's life. Ye Fu wouldn't be at ease if he didn't watch it himself; this would be the house where he would spend his retirement.

If it weren't for the fact that Ye Yaodong planned to go up to reorganize things and, after arranging affairs, take the boat to the deep sea, he wouldn't want to go up either; he might want to stay at home and see the house completed.

Now he can only watch for a period of time, and then let Ye Mu watch it. As for him, he can only communicate by phone, or wait until he comes back to deliver goods and stay for two days to take a look.

After confirming they would leave the next day, the whole family hurriedly got busy.

It wasn't just them; the whole village got moving. Apart from talking about the two brothers' weddings, the whole village was talking about the major event of leaving tomorrow.

This was a major matter for the whole village. The men were going on a long journey again, starting to earn big money for this year.

Ye Yaodong also went to town in advance to arrange for the fishing boats to refuel. After making preparations, he also took the opportunity to go to Hong Wenle's place to inform him of the departure time.

Actually, there was one more important thing he hadn't done, which was the handling of the lighter factory shares. However, Fang Jingfu hadn't called over, which meant it hadn't been fully audited yet, so he had to wait patiently.

Anyway, he was very busy during this time and had no time to manage this matter. Now he had to leave urgently. Whenever they called home, they would naturally notify him.

He would then see the situation and come back to handle this matter. If it was too late, he would wait until he came back from the deep sea. ===== CHAPTER 1643 =====