Chapter 1691: Ye Chenghe

Ye's father imagined that soon he'd be able to buy back a small car, sit inside it and drive home to the village, where everyone would gather around the car in wonder—what a glorious sight~

His saliva nearly dripped, so he quickly scooped up a few more bites of rice.

He thought he might as well head up early—this house had been seen, everything was handed over to the master, he couldn't help much anyway, just stood around watching.

Just watching wouldn't make it finish any faster or let him move in; whether he was here or not made no difference—he might as well go to Magu City early to start learning, so he could get his license sooner.

"Why wait until tomorrow to call and ask? Call right after dinner—we're all going up anyway. Why must you delay until tomorrow? Can't you just arrange it sooner?"

"Didn't I already say? Let's see if we can leave tomorrow night."

"Then why call tomorrow?"

"My bad—I'll call right now, okay?"

Ye Ye Xiaoxi chimed in: "When you get your license and bring back the small car, you've got to take me for a ride."

Ye's father smiled and promised, "Of course—I'll pick you up and drop you off at school in the small car, how about that?"

"Yes yes yes! Only the small car for picking me up and dropping me off! Hahaha~ Then the whole school will gather around, envy me, and won't let me leave~"

"Sis, then you'll be the school's big star!"

"You too—we'll ride the small car to and from school together."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi happily wiggled on her stool, but got so carried away she lost her balance and let out a cry.

"Ah!"

"Clang!" The stool toppled over right after.

"Ow! So painful! So painful! Oh my god, it hurts! My butt… my poor lower back…"

Everyone jumped up in alarm, but hearing her still yelling, they relaxed and sat back down.

Lin Lin Xiuqing scolded her: "Can't even sit properly, wiggling around—you deserve it!"

The old lady walked over and asked: "Did you hurt yourself? Shall I get some tea oil to rub on your butt?"

"No."

Pei Yu, still a good sister, helped the old lady lift her up, one on each side: "Sis, are you okay?"

"I'm hurt! My butt hurts so much!"

"Sit down and eat, then do your homework."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi, one hand clutching her butt, sat down sullenly and kept eating.

The old lady added: "I'll still go get the tea oil."

"No need, it doesn't hurt anymore."

"Kids' bones are soft—falling once doesn't matter. If she's fine, leave her be."

Since Lin Lin Xiuqing said so, the old lady sat back down.

After dinner, Ye's father called the fishing boat and also contacted Ye Yaodong to tell him he'd be leaving for Magu City that night.

Ye Yaodong was surprised—his father had finally come up on his own without being pushed—but he said nothing, just replied and hung up.

Ye Chenghu had rushed over by boat the moment school let out, joining Ye Ye Chengjiang and Ye Chenghe again, and the dorm erupted once more with loud shouting.

"... You're about to be a dad—you're not one of us anymore, scram scram…"

"Chenghu's here, now we've got four—married guy about to be a dad, go sit over there."

Ye Chenghe was deeply offended: "You bastards! When I lived outside, you all begged me to come over early, yelled at me if I was late, and when I moved in, you were all thrilled—now you think I'm extra?"

"You got married, got a wife, now got a kid—you're just the backup."

"My turn—Chenghe, let me go first, you go sit over there!"

"Damn it, you're just a kid still in school—what are you even doing here? This is an adult gathering!"

Ye Chenghu rolled his eyes: "I'm not some kid still in school—we're all teenagers! Don't think getting married makes you an adult—you're still a teenager too!"

"I'm married, so I'm an adult—you're all kids!"

Ye Ye Chengjiang grinned: "Then if you're an adult, let the kids have it—what adult fights kids for stuff?"

"Yeah yeah, you're an adult—why bother with us kids? Go away, go away…"

"You're bored anyway—buy me a pack of cigarettes?"

"I want Chen Chen Qishui…"

"I want…"

"Want what? Dream on."

Ye Yaodong had just reached the stair landing when he heard their noise—he walked over and saw the door wide open, knocked once, and inside, silence fell for a few seconds.

"Third Uncle…"

"Father-in-law…"

"Dad? What are you doing here?"

"Keep it down—you're making enough noise to wake the dead. I heard you from the stair landing. Workers are on break—quiet down, shut the door."

"Oh oh oh, we'll be quieter."

Ye Chenghe, the married adult, had to yield to them—he followed Ye Yaodong out, walking beside him: "Third Uncle, what do you think of me switching to a big Liberation next year?"

"Got enough money saved?"

"Close enough—I can't get it right away anyway, have to wait, so I'll reserve it early. By the time I can bring it back, I'll have the full amount."

"Fine, good idea—swap when it's time."

"Great. If you say so, I'll call my brother and ask him to order one for me—I'll wire him the money."

"You don't have to order it in your home province's capital—go to Magu City. It's closer. You can even go see it yourself. Big cities might have one ready or shorten the wait."

Ye Chenghe scratched his head and grinned foolishly: "Huh… you're right—I never thought of that. I just assumed I'd have my brother order it."

"Heh…"

His mind had never been particularly sharp.

"Then if I go alone, I won't understand it either. Third Uncle, if you have time, will you go with me?"

Ye Yaodong thought for a moment. "I'll see how it goes. I might also need to go to Magic City; the timing isn't certain yet."

"That's fine, no problem. I'm not in a hurry. Whenever you have time to go, I'll go with you then."

"Let's wait a few days. Your grandpa will come up in a few days too. By then, we'll also need to go to Magic City and send Ye Chenghu there along the way. If I do go, I'll notify you in advance."

"Great."

"Why suddenly think of switching to a big Da Jiefang truck?"

"Big trucks make money. A tractor can't carry as much cargo as a big Da Jiefang; the freight rates differ by three or four times. Besides, I see your cargo is increasing and your customers are growing too. Sometimes a tractor has to make several trips, so it's better to switch to a big one. These past two years, I've been driving big trucks alongside Lin Lin Guangwen and Lin Guangwen, so I basically know how to drive, though maybe not how to repair. If needed, they can help then."

"Hmm, Ting You Xiang Fa indeed. You even know to switch to a big truck."

"Heh... it just came to mind suddenly. Xiuni kept asking how much money I could earn a month. I can't keep saying less forever. My mother also said since we just got married, I should hide it a bit. So I thought, why not use the money to buy another big truck and say I borrowed some from you? Women are troublesome; it's better to be alone."

"Alright, that's a good plan too, so let's switch to a big truck. If you plan to switch to a big truck here, Ajiang will definitely switch with you, right? Have you discussed it with him?"

"Ah? Not yet. I just moved over these past two days and haven't had time to chat privately with him. I just ran into you, had a sudden flash of inspiration, thought of it, and then told you."

He overestimated him. He thought it was a long-held plan, but it turned out to be a sudden flash of inspiration.

"Then you should find time to tell Ajiang, otherwise later he'll say you switched to a big truck without telling him."

"I know. Once they finish playing cards, I'll tell him. He's better off; one person eats full, the whole family isn't hungry. No need to overthink, earn your own money and spend it yourself, no need to worry about others. So cool."

Ye Chenghe now regretted every single day, wishing he hadn't been so stubborn and gotten married in the first place.

"Everyone has their own pros. Right now, everyone around you is unmarried except you. It feels different after getting married compared to being single; some things feel awkward, so you regret it. Wait until they all get older, and then they'll envy you for marrying early."

"Is that so?"

"Anyway, your wife has been sent back. Right now, you're no different from a bachelor."

He nodded. "That's true. Third Uncle, you're the same too. Third Aunt isn't around, so you're having a blast, drinking every night with little sisters... and no one knows..."

Ye Yaodong slapped him. "What nonsense are you spouting? That was just socializing. Don't talk nonsense about me. There are no little sisters; it's just drinking."

Ye Chenghe rubbed the back of his head. "I only say such things when it's just the two of us. It hurts! I even suspect I didn't grow tall because you guys beat me. I'm about to become a father, and you still hit me."

Ye Yaodong awkwardly withdrew his hand behind his back. He had hit so smoothly he almost forgot he was about to become a father and wasn't a child anymore.

Who else but him had never really grown tall, being so short? Wasn't it easy to hit?

"Where did all your food go? These past few years, we've had chicken, duck, fish, and meat. The family's food conditions have improved, yet you haven't grown taller. Do you even have 1.7 meters?"

"Yes, with shoes on, I do."

Ye Yaodong almost couldn't hold back. "Alright, 170 with shoes on, so that means 170."

"I think I can still grow taller. Don't they say boys grow later? I'm only eighteen years old; I should be able to grow a bit more."

"Should be possible. How about growing to 1.7 meters barefoot?"

"That's too little. Just let me grow to 1.73 meters, same height as Ajiang."

So easily satisfied.

"Third Uncle, how did you grow so tall?"

"How would I know? Maybe a genetic mutation. Maybe I drank too much milk when I was little..."

"Oh my, then I must have drunk too little when I was little. My mother said she had no milk when giving birth to me; all the milk went to my older brother. No wonder my brother is taller than me! Is it too late for me to drink now?"

"It's not too late. Your wife will give birth next year; she'll have milk. You can drink with your son!"

Ye Chenghe's face instantly turned red. "Ah? Drink... drink my wife's milk? How can that be? That should be for my son. How could I drink it?"

"Then drink your mother's milk."

"Whoa, Third Uncle, are you joking with me? I thought you were serious."

Ye Yaodong looked at him as if he were an idiot. "I drank goat milk when I was little, you idiot. Since childhood, the old lady kept chanting how she used to secretly squeeze goat milk to bring back for me to drink and build up my health."

"Oh right, I heard about it when I was little. Ye Chenghu also drank goat milk for a while. No wonder he's now as tall as me."

"Go back and play with them. I'm going to take a nap."

Ye Chenghe looked up at the room number and found himself at his Third Uncle's doorway. "Alright, then you sleep. I'll go back and find them."

Ye Yaodong closed the door and lay on the bed, recalling his childhood.

When I was little, I really ran wild all over the mountains and fields, going everywhere from the mountains to the sea.

Every season had corresponding fruits ripening. Back then, we really stole and picked them all over the mountains, chased by people while scrambling wildly through the woods.

Or when the tide receded, we'd run to the beach with a group of kids to pick up fish and catch crabs.

Before, when the tide receded by the seaside, there was truly a lot of stuff. Just picking casually could fill a whole bucket to take home; we couldn't even finish eating it all.

In recent years, after the tide recedes, there's much less seafood to pick. Ultimately, it's due to overfishing. Not to mention how much cargo the receding tide leaves on the beach, even the catchable goods in the near seas have decreased significantly.

But recalling the joy of running wild in the mountains and seas during childhood, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up. Now, although he had lots and lots of money, he didn't have the carefree happiness of before.

The cost of happiness had risen.

After Ye Chenghe reminded Ye Yaodong, he immediately told Ye Ye Chengjiang upon returning to the dormitory that he planned to go to Magic City in a few days to buy a big truck.

Ye Ye Chengjiang was so surprised he played the wrong card. "What? You're switching to a big Da Jiefang? Why suddenly switch?"

"I just went out and chatted with Third Uncle. Third Uncle is quite supportive too, so I thought I'd switch one. It's better since I have too much money on hand right now, and my wife keeps asking."

"I told you marrying a wife is bad. Look, you just got married and she wants all your money turned over! You still keep urging me to get married. I don't want to get married!"

"Third Uncle said when you get older, you'll regret marrying late."

"Don't worry, I definitely won't!"

"Let's talk about real matters. Do you want to switch to a big truck? If you switch, let's switch together. I've already agreed with Third Uncle. If he goes to Magic City these days, call me, and I'll go with him. Do you want to come along?"

Ye Chenghu interjected, "Then you two come with me in a couple of days. After my holiday ends, I also need to return to Magic City for school. Let's go together; more people means more fun, and we'll have company."

"Don't interrupt. Who's going with you? You're going to school; we're going to buy a truck. We have to go with your father, not with you."

"My father will definitely send me to school first, then go to Magic City on business along the way."

"You're too old to be receiving gifts; don't interrupt," Ye Chenghe looked at Ye Ye Chengjiang, "What do you say?"

"Change it. You're changing to a bigger vehicle, so of course I'll change with you. Do you think I'd just watch you improve while I stand still? I'm not stupid. If the money isn't enough, just ask my father!"

"Fine."

Lin Guang looked on with envy. "It's good to be rich; you can buy your own vehicles."

"Your wages aren't low either, and you have no burdens. You just collect your wages with no expenses."

"It is good, but without Uncle-in-law, how could we earn so much? We just don't know when we'll be able to buy our own vehicles."

"Then just work a few more years, then help Third Uncle train someone to drive. When the time comes, you can go independent if you want."

"We'll see."

PS: Added 200 words for free. I fell asleep earlier, woke up startled after an hour, and hurriedly continued writing.