Chapter 1740: Stirring with Restless Intent

After hanging up the phone, Ye Yaodong, while still having a bit of free time, asked about matters at the factory; he had originally planned to call the children after school, but unexpectedly, his uncle-in-law happened to arrive.

He could only invite the man into the office to sit and have a cup of tea first, then send someone to fetch his father.

Uncle-in-law He Dawei, with a dark face wrinkled by smiles, looked around all the way, exclaiming in wonder; the first thing that caught his eye upon entering the office was a pile of brocade banners and honor plaques hanging on the wall.

"Wow, you're truly amazing, a Civilized Unit, what's this? Certificate of Honor... and so many brocade banners?"

"Hehe, some I brought from home, others are replicas of one from home." Ye Yaodong said, handing him a cup of tea.

Uncle-in-law took the tea and sipped a mouthful; only after admiring the honors on the wall enough did he walk to the desk and sit down, put down the teacup, and then notice the printed characters on the cup.

"Whoa, what's this? 1988 May Fourth Youth Award, what else is there?"

Uncle-in-law saw a row of over ten enamel cups placed against the wall on the desk, with the five-star red flag and red printed characters all facing his side; he read them one by one...

"Advanced Youth? This Labor Model? Advanced Producer? Advanced Collective? Contribution Award? Patriotic Glory? Defending Territory? This whole string, how do you have so many enamel cups?"

Ye Yaodong smiled at the corners of his eyes and brows; since last year when he brought these from home and placed them on the desk, every person who came to his office for tea noticed them, including visiting guests.

Then everyone was surprised at how he had so many cups, each with different characters, the dates of the signatures and seals were all different, and even the red seals were from different units.

He told the story of the origin of these enamel mugs to everyone who was surprised, indirectly praising himself, which also increased guests' trust in his unit and brought him quite a few orders.

These were all credibility; people nowadays know the gold content of this stuff, it's a bonus item, representing that he was recognized by so many units; right now everyone is very simple and still trusts these things.

He told the story of the origin of every enamel mug and how he was rewarded again.

Uncle-in-law raised his thumb, "Amazing, I can barely get one, yet you managed to get so many."

"Just luck; sit for a while, and when my father arrives, we'll go eat together; tomorrow I have to go out to sea again."

Uncle-in-law rummaged in the bag he carried on his shoulder, took out a raw red coral branch the size of a washbasin, and said with a smile, "Here, let a carpenter carve a base for it at random, apply some lacquer, and just place this raw branch inside."

This raw coral branch looked a bit like a huge, lush deer antler; the whole body was a deep ox-blood red, the base was dark red, the branch colors were much lighter, and the tips were a bit pale pink.

This was a raw branch that had not undergone any polishing or trimming, so the color ranged from dark to light, with many terminal branches, some as thin as a fingertip, and some still broken during fishing.

The surface was not smooth either, but covered with natural patterns and holes similar to tree rings.

Ye Yaodong took it with shining eyes, "Such a big one? How much is it? I'll pay you."

"No need, why pay? It's not that valuable stuff; I was coming anyway, didn't spend money."

Uncle-in-law took another one out of the bag, "There's another one a bit smaller, but the whole body is ox-blood red; this one is more precious, also a raw branch, can be placed together."

This one was a circle smaller, but not much smaller, and the color was better looking; the whole body was ox-blood red, clearly better than the previous one.

"Damn, this isn't cheap, is the whole thing Akako?"

"You know? You really know your stuff; this one was given to you by the boss, the previous one I asked him for. I said you wanted one, so he told me to pick any one. Letting me pick made it a bit difficult for me; I had to have some restraint, dared not pick something too good, could only appropriately pick one that wasn't too precious; after he saw it, he additionally took out this one and said it was for you. This one is expensive; don't look at it being a circle smaller, but the whole body is ox-blood red; however, he has money, can afford to give it; those two net catches have already been sold..."

Uncle-in-law did not speak the number, but held up two fingers.

"If it hadn't been discovered, catching one more net would have earned even more."

"Whoa, making money like this?"

"Who says otherwise? If it didn't make money, would we dare take such risks? Only because there are many familiar fishing boats, a few going together, we dare."

"You've struck it rich."

"Only because your reputation is great, you have this face; without even showing up, hearing you wanted one, they directly picked a good one for you!"

As Uncle-in-law spoke, he kept digging in the cloth bag; all were broken small corals, piled into a small heap.

"These aren't worth money, no one wants them; I just grabbed a handful; if you want them, keep them; if not, throwing them directly in the trash is fine too."

"Want them, why not? Let someone polish them, make them into ring faces or earrings, or string them into beads."

"Still bother with all that? These aren't worth money, no one wants them; you'd have to pay for the material and labor; even the skilled craftsmen for carving these can't handle the big ones, who has time to deal with these tiny little things."

"There will be in the future."

Ye Yaodong held the large raw coral branch in his left hand and the whole-body ox-blood red one in his right, admiring them back and forth; each had its own beauty.

The previous one, although not whole-body blood red, the gradient was also very beautiful, a primitive artwork; the latter one, needless to say, looked valuable.

"Is your boss free tonight? Let's eat together; since he gave such a big gift, I have nothing to return, might as well have a meal and get to know each other."

"He has plans tonight; these past two days he's been eating with different bosses every day, selling his coral."

"That's a pity; I have to go to sea tomorrow, can only do it next time; next time I come ashore here, remember to call me."

"Okay."

Ye Yaodong swept the small coral branches into the drawer; the other two drawers couldn't fit them, so he just placed them on the desk.

Whenever he had free time, he would hire a carpenter to carve a base for him to install them then.

Just then, Ye's father came over slowly, carrying a bag of oranges in his hand; no one knew when he had run out to buy them.

"Eh?" He widened his eyes, "Where did such a big coral come from?"

"Given; both were obtained just by my face, by flashing my face."

"Given? Your uncle-in-law gave them? This one is so big, must cost quite a bit?"

"Hehe, one I asked the boss for, the other, this whole-body ox-blood red one, the boss heard Dongzi wanted it and actively gave it to him."

Ye's father picked up the two corals, admired them back and forth, then held them up by the window where the light was good to look closely.

"Your face works well now, huh? Mention your name, and they actively give it to you? This favor must be returned later."

"I told you, it seems like they're asking me to do something; clearly, they just want to make friends, make friends with someone with strength! More friends, more paths; if something really happens, everything is easy to discuss."

"Right, right, right, right, right; making friends with someone with strength like you, who knows, the paths might get wider later."

"Exactly." Ye Yaodong was proud and self-satisfied.

He indeed knew quite a few big shots now; there were plenty of rich bosses he knew in business; he himself was now a rich boss too!

"Get ready, shall we go eat now? It's almost 5 o'clock; going to a restaurant is about right."

"I'll call my local friends who eat and drink to gather at Fatty's; more people means more liveliness; eating with few people is too desolate."

With few people, the atmosphere can't be built up; what's the point of eating in a desolate way, making it look like doing a mission; that wouldn't be called treating someone to a meal.

"Then we'll go ahead first; you call and invite them; let them go there themselves later."

"Sure, go drive your little car."

Ye's father's face lit up. "Drive a little car? Then how will we drive back after getting drunk later?"

"What's there to fear? If we get drunk, just leave it there and go fetch it tomorrow. Just tell Fatty to have some people keep an eye on it."

"Alright then, we'll go drive the little car."

Ye's father turned back with a beaming smile and repeated to He Dawei that he had gotten his driver's license last year, and that Dongzi had bought him a little car for the New Year.

Finally, he had met someone who could listen to his bragging, and who was such a close relation. Turning back, He Dawei went onto the boat and bragged to his boatmates again; his reputation spread even wider.

They chatted as they walked out, heading toward the little car parked at the factory. Standing around the little car, Ye's father introduced it for quite a while before they got in.

After He Dawei got into the car, he touched left and right, extremely envious. "You have endured bitterness to find sweetness and enjoy blessings; who knows what greater blessings await you in the rest of your life."

"Hehehe, I am content with things as they are now. Whether there are greater blessings depends on whether my three sons have greater abilities."

"If I had half the blessings you have in the rest of my life, I would wake up laughing from my dreams."

Ye Yaodong said with a smile, "If you want great blessings in the rest of your life, you must first have a good body. We who work the sea stay on the ocean all year round; it is hard to have a good body."

"That's true. We never get enough sleep every day. Every day, I feel chest tightness and shortness of breath, dizziness and brain fog, and lack of energy. We just force ourselves through it, not knowing how many years we have left to live."

"When we dock in Magic City in a couple of days, I'll have Aqing take you to the hospital for a checkup. My father will go along too. Hey, don't rush to refuse. Whether you can enjoy blessings depends first on living long enough and having a good body. Anyway, we are docking and will stay for a few days."

His uncle-in-law shook his head. "That would be such a hassle. No need to trouble yourself. Even if we get checked, it's useless. We stay on the sea every day; does getting checked mean we won't have to go to sea anymore?"

"That's different. If the checkup finds where the problem is, we can treat it accordingly. You can pay more attention to controlling yourself, rest when you should rest, and retire when you should retire. It's better than having your body ruin itself in a muddled way without even knowing."

Ye's father was also very resistant. "What nonsense is this? Who goes to the hospital for no reason? Even without sickness, they can find sickness and scare themselves. I'm not going. I'm fine. I can eat two big bowls of rice every meal; I'm destined to live to a hundred."

"Exactly. As long as you can eat, your body can't be that bad."

"In the past, there was nothing to eat, so your foundation must have been poor, and you've been working hard until now. Listen to my advice: getting a checkup won't cost you anything. At most, you'll spend a day or half a day; it's just a bit of time. Especially since you clearly feel unwell, you should check it out even more. For the sake of living to a hundred, it's worth it."

Ye Yaodong said to his father again, "You are already enjoying blessings now, but greater blessings are yet to come. Do you want to live to the age of an old woman, live to a hundred, and enjoy great blessings?"

"How do you know I can't live to that age?"

"I can divine it with my fingers and tell you how many years you will live."

"Then tell me, how many years will I live?"

"That won't do. You are driving. If I tell you, you might get too excited later, and three lives are in your hands."

Ye's father turned and glared at him. "A dog's mouth can't spit out ivory."

"Then it's settled. When your uncle-in-law sets off for Magic City, you go too. Call Aqing then; she will make an appointment in advance and take you for the checkup."

"We'll see..."

He had already softened, so there was no need to say more. When the time came, they would just get them to go together.

Ye Yaodong and his group drove the car to the entrance of Fatty's shop, which once again drew a crowd to watch. Fatty looked on with great interest.

"Wait until I earn another year; next year, I'll buy one too!"

"Then lose some weight, or your belly is so big it will hit the steering wheel."

"Damn..."

"Hurry up and arrange a table for me. Tonight, I'm treating my uncle-in-law to a meal, and some local friends are coming over."

Ye Yaodong rested for a day. Early the next morning, enduring the headache of a hangover, he hurriedly set out to sea.

Being able to rest for one day yesterday was already squeezed out; they had to set off at dawn.

When they reached the sea, they didn't know how the news had spread, but they actually knew about the illegal coral poaching. After being able to contact him, they even asked him about it.

"How did you know? Before I left, you shouldn't have known anything, right?"

"Ah Guang said it. Ah Guang said your uncle-in-law went with a boat to poach coral before, and there was a huge pile of small coral at home. After you drove the boat back, he started chatting with us casually."

Ah Guang chuckled. "We just chatted a few sentences. Seeing your uncle-in-law's fishing boat rush back in such a hurry, I guessed it must have been illegal coral poaching."

"Hey, Dongzi, is poaching coral really that profitable?" Hearing Xiao Xiao said.

"Does your uncle-in-law's boss make millions just by going once?"

"That's too easy to make money. Can we go do it too?"

"Dongzi, why don't you ask your uncle-in-law when they will go again? Can we go with them?"

"Yes, if we go and catch two nets, we won't have to worry for the rest of our lives when we come back."

Ye Yaodong knew they would be tempted after hearing about it; the moment he just came out, they were already eager and asking.

If he were them, he would definitely be tempted. Take a gamble: turn a bicycle into a motorcycle, a motorcycle into a Suzuki, a Suzuki into an Audi. Getting rich is right in front of you.

He himself would have been tempted two or three years ago.

"They were discovered while poaching, so they hurriedly fled back, heading straight for the port. They definitely won't go for the next few months."

"Then if they go in a few months, can you have them notify us? Can we go with them?" Ah Zheng was eager to try.

"I don't plan to go. It's too risky. With so many boats of mine, steady and solid work has earned plenty. For me now, seeking stability is better. If you want to go, I'll have my uncle-in-law and Ah Guang make the connection first; then you can decide for yourselves."

"You're not going?"

"Yeah, it's not necessary for me to take such a desperate risk."

Everyone's enthusiasm instantly dropped by half.

Dongzi was their leader now. If he wasn't going, they felt something was missing if they went. Instantly, they lost confidence and felt less certain.

Ah Guang also wanted to take a gamble and hesitantly said, "How about you arrange just one boat to go? The other boats can continue fishing as usual?"

Others quickly chimed in, "Yeah, that works too. We're not asking you to drive all your boats over."

"Just drive one boat to try. It shouldn't cause you any loss, but if you earn, you'll earn big."

"If it's just one boat, it doesn't mean much to me. I'm not lacking that one or two million. If I put in a bit more effort and secure this year's trade fair, I can earn much more than that in the coming years, and it will be sustainable."

"You really aren't going?"

"If you want to take a gamble, let Ah Guang contact my uncle-in-law. I guess they just finished, so they probably won't go for the next few months or even this year. But if you have the idea, you can contact them in advance."

Their village is now famous outside, and since they have a connection with him, people will likely give face and follow along.

Ah Guang said helplessly, "Alright then, let's consider contacting them later."

"What the f***, why isn't there any in our nearby waters?" Ah Zheng cursed.

"There probably is, but it can't form on a large scale, making it impossible for people to concentrate their fishing there; that might be due to the terrain and warm currents."

Ah Zheng spoke with righteous indignation, "Dongzi, I think we should just go over there and poach their coral. They can travel all the way to our place to steal fish, so what's wrong with us going to their territory to poach coral?"

Xiao Xiao chimed in, "Right, exactly. They steal our fish, so we steal their coral!"

"Fine, then you guys go, just be careful with your safety. I mainly feel that with my current assets, there's no need to take so many people on such a risky venture. With so many boats, steady fishing earns plenty anyway. Doing something this risky, if we get caught, it'll be a total wipeout; that would be a devastating blow, leaving us with nowhere to cry."

Ah Guang was helpless, "Alright, alright, we'll talk about it then; it's too early to discuss this now."

Ah Zheng said, "Anyway, I'll go along to give it a shot when the time comes!"

"Then we'll talk about it then."

Since this was something that hadn't even materialized yet, he didn't want to say too much; what if things changed by then? Ye Yaodong didn't want to lock himself into such definitive words.

"Let's stop chatting, I'm going to catch up on some sleep. I'm exhausted, my head is dizzy and groggy; I've only been at sea for a few days and already feel severely sleep-deprived."

"I feel dizzy too; if we drift continuously for half a year, I feel like I'll die young."

"Money is hard to earn, and shit is hard to swallow. Staying at sea for a month is quite a torment; it's only March now, and there are five months until August. Just thinking about it makes the sky look pitch black."

"We just finished hauling the nets. If you arrive, give us a heads-up in advance, and we'll queue up to transport the cargo based on the situation."

Ye Yaodong acknowledged with a sound, picked up his thermos, and took a sip of tea to perk up.

It seemed they would inevitably have to make a trip to poach coral, otherwise they wouldn't be satisfied.

He would see how things went when the time came.

He didn't know if the waters his uncle-in-law poached in were the same ones he knew of; the sea was so vast, and he only knew of two locations.

But his uncle-in-law was a senior figure, and now they were engaging in this high-risk activity with boats. In his past life, even in the 2000s, around a certain year, they had all followed the old paths of the seniors.

Ye Yaodong indulged in some wild speculation for a while, then temporarily put it aside.

Anyway, he would definitely treat his uncle-in-law, the boss, to a meal. Whenever he had time and ran into them, he would treat them to a meal to get to know them; even if he didn't go himself, he could let them get to know each other better.

It was the middle of the night; with about three more hours of sailing, they would reach the target waters and start collecting the cargo.

He perked himself up, paid closer attention to the various screens, and listened to the broadcast.

PS: I messed up the writing in this chapter earlier; I had to modify it right before the deadline because I couldn't publish it, so the update was late. Anyway, it still counts as before midnight.

Tomorrow I will strive to add an extra chapter for every monthly vote.