Chapter 1796: Phone Call

"Little uncle-in-law, don't tease me. It's my brother who's coming back soon."

"Lin Lin Guangyuan?" Ye Yaodong walked straight in, his face full of surprise, and asked, "Was that Lin Lin Guangyuan on the phone just now?"

Lin Lin Dongxue's face was full of joy. "My brother said if things go fast, he can be back by the end of next month."

"Really? That's amazing. When he comes back, he can get promoted."

"Well, who knows about that. Anyway, he said he might have about a month's leave when the time comes. After reporting back, he'll arrange the leave and come home for a visit."

"Then hurry up and call your uncle and aunt so they can be happy about it."

"He already called them, and he also called your office. He said you didn't pick up, so he called me instead."

"Oh, I just went out to watch them load the goods, and took a turn through the workshop, so I missed it. I only just got here and heard you on the phone. I didn't know who it was, otherwise I would have asked you to pick up for me."

"I was too busy being happy and didn't notice you at the door."

"Since he's coming back with about a month's leave, we should take the chance to hold the wedding."

Lin Lin Dongxue said helplessly, "Why do you all keep bringing up marriage?"

"He's already 25, and you're only a few months younger than him. You two need to get a move on. When I was his age, I already had three kids."

"Times are different now. Stop nagging. Hurry up and get back to work. I'm about to start my shift. Don't bother me."

Ye Yaodong glared at her. Really, working in finance makes a person tough.

He shook his head and went back to his own office.

After thinking it over, he dialed Lin Lin Xiuqing to give her the news.

The moment Lin Lin Xiuqing picked up, he told her Lin Lin Guangyuan was coming back next month. She was instantly overjoyed.

"Really? A-Yuan is coming back? Is his advanced training over? Finally. My parents, my older brother and sister-in-law mention him every day. Every time they call, they bring him up."

"No need to mention him anymore. He'll be back soon."

"How did you know? Did he call you? That brat—he actually called you instead of me."

"He can't call everyone one by one. He called Lin Lin Dongxue. I happened to wander over to the finance office and overheard."

"Good that he's coming back. He's been away for advanced training for three whole years. I don't even know what he's been studying."

"It must be something related to navigation or warships. After finishing this training, he'll definitely get promoted. His future can't be bad."

"Hopefully. I don't know exactly when next month he'll be back. If he arrives, give me a call and let me know."

"Got it."

"It's good that he's coming back. At least we'll have some news. This time when he comes back, he should really find someone to marry. Otherwise, he'll be getting on in years."

"I told Lin Dongxue the same thing earlier, and she straight up kicked me out, saying times are different now and telling me not to nag."

"That stubborn girl. A little education and she's getting more and more set in her ways. No one can do anything with her. Both of them are tough nuts, hard to deal with. They don't listen to anyone, and their ideas are getting firmer and firmer."

Ye Yaodong said indifferently, "It just means fate hasn't arrived yet. When Lin Lin Guangyuan comes back, let him introduce someone. We'll see if there's anyone suitable."

"He hasn't even settled down himself, and he's going to introduce someone to others?"

"The fact that he hasn't settled down only means there's no one suitable for him. It doesn't mean there aren't high-quality men around him. He's quite outstanding now, so the people around him should be decent too."

Lin Lin Xiuqing felt that made sense. "Who knows what that stubborn girl is thinking. Forget her. Let her parents worry about it themselves. I can't even handle my own three. Your eldest son is clearly in a puppy love relationship…"

"That's a good thing. Then you won't have to worry about him being old and still not finding a partner. Now all you need to think about is hoping he doesn't make you a grandmother too early."

"…"

Damn it, that actually makes some sense.

"Think about it from a different angle. Doesn't it feel pretty good that your son's in a puppy love? As long as it doesn't affect his studies, it's fine. The girl can even help him improve and give him motivation to get ahead. What's there to interfere with in this kind of positive cycle? Just turn a blind eye."

"Since you're not worried, then I won't worry either."

"No need to fret. Children and grandchildren have their own blessings."

"Easy to say, 'children and grandchildren have their own blessings.' In the end, aren't you still hoping he gets into college, still thinking about hiring him a tutor?"

"That's because he wants to get into college. He has that goal, so of course I support him fully. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother. Look at his grades before high school—did I ever criticize him? At most I occasionally prodded him along, dangling rewards to keep him going."

"Whatever you say is right."

"It has to be."

"I hope when your daughter has a puppy love someday, you can be just as open-minded about it."

Ye Yaodong: "!!!"

"When the time comes, if your daughter also finds someone with good grades, someone who can improve together, someone who can help her with homework…"

"Help with homework, my ass! Can't I find her a tutor? Are there no teachers left in this world?"

Lin Lin Xiuqing laughed continuously. She knew she hadn't poked his sore spot, or he wouldn't have gotten worked up.

"Don't think I'm being a hypocrite. Can a son and a daughter be the same? A son won't be at a disadvantage—he's dating someone else's daughter. We're gaining a person into the family, what's there to fear? Just be nice to the other family. A daughter is different—she can easily be deceived and taken advantage of."

"Heh…"

"Hanging up. I'm done talking to you. You just know how to make people angry."

"Angry about what? It was all you talking. I didn't say anything."

"You didn't say anything? Everything you said was unpleasant. Hanging up."

When Ye Yaodong hung up the phone, Lin Lin Xiuqing was still laughing nonstop.

After hanging up, he still felt a bit sulky. He pulled open the drawer to look for tea leaves and made himself a pot of tea to cool down.

After drinking tea for a while, he was in the mood to think about other things again.

Lin Lin Guangyuan coming back and definitely getting promoted—that's certainly great news. He's still so young. As long as nothing goes wrong in the future, his prospects are bound to be bright.

The kids in the family are all doing well now. As for Ah Qing's side of the family, there's no need to mention—they're officials and military officers, and college students. A few of them are also learning to open shops and go into business with her two older brothers.

Looking at them, they're all doing better than his nephews on this side.

Ye Ye Chenghai is now starting his own business. Although it's still in the early stages, it looks quite successful.

Ye Ye Chengjiang and Ye Chenghe together now have six vehicles, and they've hired people to take on jobs. If things go well, they'll set up a whole fleet in the future.

Ye Ye Xiuxiu and Ye Ye Jingjing, the two girls, are also studying for their accounting certificates. For girls, accounting is quite a promising field — with a certificate in hand, they'll be set for the future. A girl with a skill and a stable job with stable income will be looked up to by her in-laws.

There's also the youngest, Ye Ye Tingting, who's still in junior high. She's in a good position too. In the future, whether she goes to her brother's place or comes to his, she'll be able to have a stable job.

In this life, the younger generation is doing far better than in the previous life. He didn't just change his own fate — he influenced the people around him.

At the same time, he changed the fate of everyone around him. The people close to him are all heading in a good direction.

Even the fellow villagers from the same village are doing better than in the previous life. They developed a fighting spirit early on — daring to struggle, daring to venture out — and are far ahead.

Thinking this way, he felt quite content. Unknowingly, he had truly led the whole village to achieve common progress and common prosperity.

After thinking it over, he gave his father another call to ask about the family's fishing boats and the village's recent situation, and to check in on the old lady properly.

As soon as Ye's mother heard he was calling back, she jogged all the way home from the workshop, rushing to answer the phone.

Fortunately, he was still coaxing the old lady and hadn't hung up so quickly, which let his mother catch him just in time.

Ye's mother, panting heavily, answered the phone excitedly. "Dongzi... huff～huff～"

"Take your time, no rush. Why are you panting so hard, running so fast?"

"Wasn't I worried you'd hang up? The past few days I called your office several times on and off, but no one picked up. You seemed so busy."

The old lady protested from the side, "Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey — do you even know how to talk? What do you mean 'hung up'? If you can't talk properly, then don't. No one will think you're a mute. How inauspicious."

Ye's mother argued back, "I meant afraid he'd hang up the phone. Where did your mind go?"

"Don't say inauspicious words. They're all out there making big money..."

"Alright, alright, stop nagging." Ye's mother, after nagging the old lady, put on a face full of smiles and said into the phone, "Dongzi, that big bundle of clothes your father brought back last time — I sold them all. Do you know how much I made?"

"How much did you make?"

His mother's fighting power hadn't diminished one bit. He knew that big bundle of clothes brought back from Guangzhou — the ones Lin Lin Xiuqing didn't want, the leftovers picked through and brought back for his mother — his mother would surely give him a surprise.

After all, the clothes brought back were quite fashionable for this era. Yangcheng was at the forefront of fashion, and the quality wasn't bad either.

Everyone had only just risen above mere subsistence a few years ago. Although they had some taste, the clothes he brought back were more than enough to satisfy their pickiness.

At the time, every piece — big and small, every season — was picked out by Lin Lin Xiuqing. Her eye was always better than his, wasn't it?

When coming back from the Magic Capital, she packed up the big bundle of leftovers that she and Ye Ye Huimei had picked through and gave it to him to bring back.

To let his sister-in-law and Lin Lin Dongxue, as well as Chen Xiuni, pick through them first. Whatever was left over, when the nearshore fishing boats were heading home, he'd bring them back for his mother to handle.

His mother truly didn't disappoint him — she'd actually sold them all.

Ye's mother slapped the table happily. "Sold for over 800 yuan! Your father told me to do whatever I wanted with them, or give them away if I didn't want them. Clothes that nice — how could I give them away?"

"They're way prettier and more fashionable than what everyone buys in town. People want to buy them but can't get anything this nice."

"As soon as they heard they were goods brought back from Yangcheng, everyone scrambled for them. Even after they sold out, people kept asking if I had more, when I'd have more, telling you and Aq-ing to send some back."

"Good thing I saved two pieces for myself ahead of time. Your sister-in-law and the girls at home also got to pick two or three pieces each to keep. It wasn't nearly enough — everyone was fighting to get them."

"How much did you pay for that big bundle of clothes back then? Were they expensive? Did you break even? Was my selling them for over 800 worth it?"

"Your father told me at the time to give them away if I didn't want them. I figured selling a little was better than nothing, so I sold them pretty cheap. I don't know if I lost money or not."

She'd made money and was overjoyed, rattling on and on, wishing she could get Ye Yaodong to send her another bag to sell.

Ye Yaodong laughed at his mother's excited voice. "Pretty impressive, Ma. It's a waste you didn't go into sales. Such a big bundle of clothes — dozens of pieces — and you sold them all."

"Not enough, just not enough. If you brought twice as much, I could sell it all for you. I dragged that whole bag straight to the workshop, and everyone snatched them up in an instant. Those who didn't get a suitable one even asked if I had more."

His mother was a natural at pyramid schemes, and a natural at sales too!

If only she could speak Mandarin, he'd have dragged her to his factory to do sales for him — she'd absolutely be the top seller!

"Next time you go to Yangcheng, bring me another bundle back. I guarantee I'll sell every last piece... wait, no... I sold them for over 800. Did you lose money? If you lost money, then don't bring any more."

"Didn't lose money. How could I? Only two-thirds of what I gave you was for you to sell. Aq-ing, Ye Huimei, Chenghe's wife, and Lin Dongxue — each of them kept plenty of pieces."

Lin Lin Xiuqing kept the most — anything she liked, she kept. After all, the clothes were all picked according to her taste. She didn't know they were going to be brought back to sell; she hadn't originally planned to flip them.

However, even if she liked something, she could only keep one size. Over there, clothes are taken in full-size sets — meaning one style requires S, M, L, XL, and four pieces make one set.

So after they picked through them, there were still plenty left. They weren't all single one-off pieces.

Ye's mother was happy — as long as she hadn't lost money, that was fine. "We kept over ten pieces too. How much did you pay for that bundle of goods?"

"Some were dirt cheap. Have you ever heard of clothes sold by weight? It was my first time seeing it too. Like last summer's clothes were sold by weight. Spring season leftovers were cheap too. Last year's out-of-season winter styles were a bit pricier, since they're thicker, but still dirt cheap. Anyway, that whole big bundle only cost two or three hundred."

As for shipping, he carried them back himself. At the time there were plenty of people, and since they weren't shipped together with his exhibition materials, he didn't count the shipping fee.

Ye's mother exclaimed, "Sold by weight? Clothes can be sold by the jin? These aren't rags — such nice clothes, and they're sold by weight?"

"Out-of-season stuff is like that. After all, back then it was May — summer styles were already out, and there were piles of autumn styles too. Last year's leftovers piled up in stock, so they were sold cheap. Fashion moves fast over there — what's popular in the first half of the year isn't popular in the second half, let alone a whole new trend every year. Out-of-season stuff is dirt cheap."

"Then I've made your cost back for you, and even the travel expenses, right? And that's with half of them kept for ourselves. If I'd sold them all, the profit would be incredible, no?"

"Exactly. When we went, the people coming out of those alleyways looked like ants moving house — every one of them carrying a big bundle of goods. And once you went inside, those people were fighting over the goods so hard they nearly came to blows..."

Ye Yaodong had finally found someone to tell it all to, and he chattered away to his mother about the scenes he'd witnessed.

Ye's mother kept exclaiming in disbelief.

"No wonder people fight over the goods — even last season's leftovers are that fashionable and pretty, let alone the hot items."

"It might be that the towns and villages around here are pretty backward, so even last year's styles are trendy novelties we don't have here. That's why everyone scrambled for them."

"That's right. After seeing the prosperity of the Magic Capital, our place here is just a godforsaken seaside ditch. How could it compare with the big cities outside? Whatever you bring back from there is way more fashionable than what we have here."

"Mm."

"What a shame I'm stuck in the village. Otherwise I'd open a shop in town, and you could go to Yangcheng to stock up for me to sell. I'd make a killing."

Ye Yaodong: "..."

Dream on.

A big boss like him, and she wants him to go to Yangcheng to stock up so she can make a thousand-odd yuan?

"Hey, Dongzi, your father mentioned the other day that there's another Canton Fair in the second half of the year. How about I go with you in the second half of the year? Hehe, I'll definitely be able to grab the hot goods. When I carry them back to sell, I can earn some pocket money! Would that work?"

"You... you really do have quite the imagination. Is it worth it? You're not lacking food or drink. Just to earn this bit of money, you'd come with me all the way to Yangcheng? If you really want them, I'll have Aq-ing pick out more later and ship them back to you by boat."

"If you don't want me tagging along, then just stock up more goods and send them back. I just want to go take a look too, broaden my horizons, see how fashionable the people there really are."

Ye Mu touched her freshly permed curls, feeling she was now a fashionable person too, the most fashionable in the whole village!

"If you want to follow along that's fine too. When the time comes, have Ye Ye Ersao help keep an eye on the workshop, let her keep the accounts. We'll figure it out when the time comes anyway."

"Oh, then we'll talk about it later. The over 800 yuan I helped you sell, I've recorded it all on your account. Bring it at the end of the month to pay everyone's wages."

"No need, just keep it yourself. You don't have to give it to me. That pack of clothes was originally brought back for you to handle as you saw fit—give them away, do whatever. Since you sold them for money, just keep it. Why give it to me? Do I need your 800-plus yuan?"

"But after all, you two specifically spent money to buy them..."

"We just thought they were cheap, and felt like we'd be losing out if we didn't bring some back. Keep it and spend it yourself."

"Then I'll keep it? I'll save it up to use for Ye Chenghu's bride when the time comes."

"Spending it on yourself is more like it. Where would he need your money to get a bride? Take it and buy yourself some gold jewelry, take turns wearing them."

Ye Mu beamed so widely her mouth couldn't close. "When my grandson gets a bride, of course I have to give a big red envelope. When Brother Brother Ahai and Ye Chenghe got married, I gave each of them one. If Ye Chenghu gets married, I'll have to give him a big red envelope too. These past few years it's been you spending on me and your father. I've seen it all, I know it in my heart. I'll handle it myself."

"Up to you."

"Oh, right. Starting from the end of last month, the kelp harvest has been bountiful. The village has been collecting and drying kelp this whole time. How many jin get sun-dried and stored in the warehouse each day, I've recorded it all. Anyway, when any of you come back to check the account books, you'll have the numbers."

"No worries, the city office has finance keeping records. Now when people call asking about kelp, I just give them the city office's phone number and address, let them drive straight to my father-in-law to weigh the goods. You just handle collecting and shipping it over there."

"Oh, that's good then. I was just afraid I couldn't sell it. So many people came to the village asking. I tried calling you several times, but no one picked up. Later I called your father-in-law's side. Anyway, I just handle receiving the goods, weighing them, and sending them back to the warehouse."

"Right, that's right. Just like last year—how much goods collected that day, issue a slip to everyone. Let my father make a trip to the city when he's home, take the slips and get the money from finance, then come back and let everyone collect payment based on the goods slips. Our family still has credibility in the village, no need to worry about it disappearing."

"Nobody has any worries about that. Last year was the same—issue slips first, settle accounts later."

"Mm."

"The two girls at home can help me weigh goods, keep accounts, and issue slips when they get off work now."

Ye Yaodong said jokingly, "Then the clothes weren't taken for nothing. Bring more back in the second half of the year, you all pick out more."

"Just lending a hand, what's the big deal. Also, leave me Ah Qing's office phone number too, so I don't have to look for you and not find her either."

"Let me read you her office number, and the Pudong home number while I'm at it."

Ye Yaodong flipped through the phone book. He himself had several phone numbers and had to write them down—how else could he remember so many numbers?

Ye Mu noted them down while muttering, "So many phone numbers, a whole page in the notebook is just numbers for you two's several homes. To reach you I have to make several calls, and I have to get the numbers right. Good thing my memory is good."

Ye Yaodong was genuinely impressed with his mother—a whole string of numbers written in the notebook, but not a single name, only digits.

How could she tell which number belonged to whom? Which number was which home?

"Once I've written them down I'll hang up."

"Hang up, hang up."

Ye Mu hung up the phone. Recalling what had just been said, she planned to listen to her son—find time to go buy some gold jewelry, take turns wearing them. Wearing the same thing every day gets boring.

Anyway, the old couple had nowhere to spend money now, only money coming in.

Now every woman in the village had some gold on her hands or neck—times had gotten better.

The old lady, hearing they were about to hang up, quickly stopped them. "Wait, wait, you're hanging up already? Why hang up? It's rare to get a phone call back, and you haven't said a few words before wanting to hang up."

"Then here you go." Ye Mu handed the phone straight to the old lady and walked outside. She'd just gotten back and still had things to do.

By now everyone at the beach was collecting kelp. They'd be bringing it over soon, and they had to get busy weighing goods.

Ye Yaodong, who had been about to hang up, had no choice but to chat with the old lady a bit more. He talked for another two minutes before hanging up.

When people get old, they repeat the same things over and over—saying the same things back and forth.

After hanging up, he picked up the calendar notebook, planning to see what important arrangements were coming up.

Nothing urgent pressing on him. Tomorrow he was going out to collect debts, and also had to treat people to meals to maintain relationships.

This round he'd been busy on and off for several months, with no time to attend to other matters.

With the next few projects unfolding, there'd be plenty to be busy with when the time came.

For example, the freight yard in the Demon Capital, the fish meal processing plant site selection here, factory expansion adding assembly lines—these things.

He'd been as busy as a spinning top lately, with a pile of things coming up. Luckily there was no deep-sea fishing ban this year, otherwise he'd have had to lead a team to the open sea, even busier.

Now that the policy hadn't changed, at least he could catch a breather.