Chapter 1844: Subsequent

Ye Yaodong's aunt arrived three days later, weary from travel, and called him right after getting off the train near the station.

He wasn't in Magu; after signing the house purchase contract, he had already returned to Zhou City, and he called Lin Lin Xiuqing to ask her to drive and pick them up.

Only after picking them up did Lin Lin Xiuqing find time to call him back.

"My aunt and my cousin each carried a sack of luggage, standing helplessly at the train station entrance, looking at me like I was their savior."

"I answered their questions nonstop the whole way—my mouth went dry—from my car to Magu, then to my uncle's illness, then kept telling them how well-off we'd become and thanking you, grateful you brought Uncle here for the checkup; otherwise, if something had happened out at sea, I can't even imagine. Only after getting them to the hospital bed did I finally get free."

"Thank goodness Dad was there—after that, he handled everything; we don't have to go every day anymore, since Dad's there."

Ye Yaodong agreed, "Good, now we don't have to worry—let the family handle it; Dad's managing everything else. We don't need to get involved. After the surgery, we can just bring some gifts to visit."

"Yeah, by the way, Uncle asked me to ask you—did the boat captain grant him leave? What did he say?"

"What could he say? The truth—he might need to remove a kidney or part of one, and there's also a risk of stroke. He's hospitalized now for surgery. The captain heard and told him to rest, not to worry about the sea—he's got enough hands. After surgery, they won't dare take him back anyway; who'd want him at his age? Any problem and they'd have to pay."

"Exactly, at his age, having to remove a kidney, plus stroke risk—who'd dare hire him? After surgery and discharge, just send him back home to retire."

"You should tell him soon—the boat captain told him to focus on treatment first, follow the doctor's advice, nothing matters more than life."

"Okay."

Ye Yaodong asked again: "Where are they staying after arriving?"

"We arranged the house in JA District—it's closer to the hospital, easier to deliver meals, and we gave them a bicycle. The rest they'll handle with Dad. Our Pudong house is too far, inconvenient."

"Far is sweet, near is sour—let them live in that house freely. You've got kids everywhere; having them move in would be inconvenient."

Good thing he had foresight—when he built this house, he knew relatives might come, and keeping them separate saves a lot of trouble.

"Schedule the surgery for tomorrow—you don't need to come, I and Ye Huimei will go watch over it."

"Mm."

"Ye Huimei's house purchase contract is signed too. By the way, when you called home, did you mention buying the apartment?"

"No, we were talking about Uncle's illness then—I forgot to bring it up. Besides, whenever I said one thing, Mom would launch into a whole torrent, and I just listened until she hung up."

"I didn't mention it either—I even forgot to tell Dad. He's been at the hospital lately, and I didn't want to talk about it there while others are still getting treated."

Ye Yaodong suddenly remembered—his dad didn't know either.

"It's fine—Uncle knows, he'll tell them. Look, it's not that I'm deliberately hiding things from home—it's just that sometimes I don't think of it, or I don't have time to say it. Now you're the same—you forgot too."

He thought resentfully about how everyone used to accuse him of acting first and reporting later when he bought things years ago!

"Yeah yeah, right right."

"No need to mention it—everyone's still sick and having surgery; it wouldn't be right to celebrate buying a house there. We know our own business—we're not three-year-olds who have to report everything to Mom and Dad."

"Okay."

Ye Yaodong watched Lin Lin Dongxue walk in, sat waiting a moment, then hung up since there was nothing urgent.

"What's up?"

"Hehe, I'm taking a week off to go home."

Ye Yaodong looked at the leave form she handed him—returning home for family visit?

"Wei Songyuan's parents have arranged their leave—they're coming to your hometown to propose?"

She nodded. "They said around April 10. I got my leave approved early, arranged my work—mid-month finance isn't busy, so I can get back before the end of the month."

"Fine. Be back before month-end—Finance is busy then." Ye Yaodong signed the form without hesitation and approved her leave.

"So when you come back, we can eat wedding candy?"

"Probably. Going to my place to propose shouldn't be a problem—my parents respect Magu's marriage customs. After both sides have dinner together and settle the engagement and wedding plans, Mom even said she'll go back home to pick a good date, then come here again for my wedding."

"Then if things go fast, you could marry next month. When you go to Magu in a few days, I'll get you a Xiaoli."

"Hahaha, thank you, Uncle!"

"Have you told the groom's parents about your dowry yet?"

"No, we haven't sat down to talk yet. Dowry stuff—we'll discuss it when we sit down. Otherwise, if they're not happy about coming to my hometown to propose, what's the point?"

"Then make it a surprise at the wedding."

"Fine—then I'll really show off!"

"You can tell your fiancé to book train tickets now."

"Then I'll go back to work." Lin Lin Dongxue waved her leave form and returned to Finance.

Ye Yaodong checked the calendar—now it was almost the end of March, time was flying.

He thought about going to Magu again in early April to visit his uncle, by then the surgery would be done and recovery underway.

And reserve Lin Lin Dongxue's Xiaoli in advance.

This year, besides the international internet, there was also a special policy reform.

1994 was a pivotal turning point in China's private car history.

The state officially announced for the first time that it "encouraged individuals to purchase cars," and forbade any region or department from interference.

Before 1994, private car purchases were restricted; cars were primarily allocated as production assets according to state plans.

To buy one required "special approval" or "approval slips"—non-market methods, in a gray zone. Even "pulling strings" or "getting slips" made it hard to obtain one.

So special-channel imported vehicles were wildly popular—convenient and tax-free.

His own car came through a special channel.

He'd seen news predicting this year's auto reform, which is why he suggested buying her a car as dowry.

The Xiaoli was the only domestic car under 100,000 yuan—around 78,000 yuan, quite a bargain.

Houses cost far more than cars—now if he had to give a house, he wouldn't dare—he's not her lover, nor his daughter.

Ye Yaodong circled the date for his Magu trip, treating it as settled.

These days, the factory was busy preparing products for the Canton Fair and other materials—the exhibition schedule and documents were out, everything needed early preparation.

Yet, except for the gatekeeper, he was probably the idlest person in the entire factory.

Every day he just sat in the office going through the motions of signing papers; when no one was around, he'd prop up his feet, and when still no one came, he'd wander over to the fishmeal processing plant.

Basically, he'd put in half a day at this plant, then spend the other half at that one.

However, that fishmeal plant basically only handled production; all the selling was the job of the salesmen at the big plant here. Over there they didn't even have a salesman — anyway, they just handled production and stacked the stuff in the warehouse.

His fishmeal was always top quality, with an inspection report for every batch, which he'd bring to the Canton Fair as proof.

After Ye Yaodong got through the end-of-month signing rush, at the start of the next month he shouldered his bag and headed to the Magic Capital again — being a boss meant the end of the month was always busier.

Lin Lin Xiuqing had long been waiting for him to come.

As soon as he arrived, the couple went to the hospital together, picking up a few tonics and some fruit on the way.

"How many days has it been since the surgery?"

"About a week, I think. Seems like he might be discharged in the next day or two."

"Huh? He can be discharged after only one week?" Ye Yaodong was a little surprised.

He touched his own kidney — that was a kidney, after all — and yet a single cut and a few days later he could leave the hospital?

Is it really that convenient?

"Yesterday I heard Dad say that. He said they'd do a follow-up check in the next couple of days, and if there's no problem and the recovery's good, he can be discharged. Recover at home — no point staying in the hospital burning money."

"Oh, how long does he need to recover at home before he's back to normal?"

"They said if the recovery goes well, one or two months; if it's slow, two or three months. Depends on the person. We asked the day after the surgery."

"These doctors, the way they talk is always so vague."

"Let's ask when we get there — are they going straight home, or staying in the Magic Capital to recuperate for a while first?"

"Sitting in a car right after having a kidney cut out doesn't seem great, and the air inside the car isn't good either. Fishing boats are bumpy too — not suitable for recovery."

"So let's ask them."

"Try to talk them into staying when we get there. The house is sitting empty anyway — might as well let them stay so there's some life in it. The surgery's already done; they should recover properly before leaving."

Lin Lin Xiuqing nodded and didn't say anything more.

Ye Fu had been running to the hospital often during this period, yet he didn't look much haggard — his complexion was actually rosier. He found it rather strange.

"Dongzi and Aqin are here. Good timing — we're just handling the discharge paperwork. Your uncle's being discharged this afternoon."

"That fast?"

Auntie's face was full of pain as she said, "Not fast at all. Counting from start to finish, he's been here twenty-something days, already cost us several thousand yuan. How could we possibly stay any longer? This hospital is a place that burns money. What the whole family earns in a year isn't enough to hand over to the hospital."

"Did the doctor say how the recovery's going?"

"Said the recovery's pretty good, just recuperate at home. But from now on he can't do any heavy or tiring work — he has to take good care of himself."

"As long as the person's fine, that's all that matters."

"Yes, as long as the person's fine, that's all that matters. The doctor also said it was caught early — cut it out and it's fine. He also said the most dangerous thing now is his, what was it, cerebral infarction — could strike any time and just drop him. Catching it early means he can take medicine to keep it under control."

"Then just keep a close eye on it from now on."

Lin Lin Xiuqing said, "Then we came at just the right time — perfect for driving Uncle back."

Ye Yaodong added, "Just recuperate properly in the Magic Capital, stay a couple of months before talking about anything else. He just had surgery, it's not good to sit in a car and go back now…"

"How could we possibly stay here? Everything costs money — even buying a scallion costs money. How could we get used to living here? We'll buy train tickets in a couple of days and head back. We can buy a sleeper berth so he can lie down on the way back, that works too."

"But taking the train, you'll still have to transfer to a bus or a boat at the other end — same bumping around either way."

"He's not that delicate. The doctor said he can sit in a car appropriately, just no long periods of bumping around and he'll be fine. I was thinking we'd take a boat from the city when the time comes. He definitely won't be comfortable staying here either — recuperating at home is much more comfortable."

His aunt grabbed Lin Lin Xiuqing's and Ye Yaodong's hands one in each of hers, her face full of gratitude as she spoke again.

"We still have to thank you two, running around here and there, and providing a place to stay. Your uncle was still stubborn, wanting to go out to sea — he's already over 60, the boat captain stopped wanting him ages ago, yet he clung on for another two or three years."

"Now look — what he earned isn't even enough to cover the medical bills. If he hadn't kept staying out at sea, he might not even have this illness. He never listened to me. If he'd come home to retire earlier, he wouldn't be lying in a hospital suffering now."

"Your dad's worked hard these past many days too, coming over every day to keep us company and taking turns with us. Your kindness, your aunt remembers, and your cousins remember too."

"You two are doing well now too — it's a blessing. We've been here so many days, we can't stay on and be a bother any longer. We're not used to this big city either. We'll stay at your place for a couple of days first, and once the tickets are bought we'll head back. Don't try to talk us into staying."

After hearing all that, what could he say? Let them be.

"Alright then, have the hospital prescribe extra medicine to take back, in case you can't buy it at home."

"Your cousin went to the pharmacy to get the medicine. The doctor already prescribed it — we'll do as the doctor says."

"Well, if the luggage is all packed, let's load it in the car first."

Lin Lin Xiuqing picked up the tonics and fruit she'd just brought over again, ready to carry them to the car later and drop them off at home for them.

They moved things over on this side, and once the discharge paperwork was done and all the medicine collected, the whole group piled into the car in a grand procession.

Six people had to squeeze in together; Uncle was arranged to sit in the front.

After dropping them off at the house in JA District, the couple didn't leave either — they stayed to chat until dark, had dinner together, and only then headed back.

Ye Fu stayed behind as usual. He planned to see them off onto the train, then tidy up the house before moving over to Pudong to stay.

It was only a few days anyway.

The next day, Ye Yaodong went to the auto trading company. The way cars were sold in those days was different from later on.

He'd done his homework in advance, so he headed straight for the auto trading company.

He'd heard that once this year's car purchase policy came out, Xiali was very popular in the Magic Capital market — after all, compared to other cars, it was the only one with a high cost-performance ratio under 100,000 yuan.

The Magic Capital was a big city with plenty of wealthy bosses. Once the policy came out, they could buy openly without needing approval slips, so sales were naturally explosively hot.

He was very decisive too — went over, asked around casually, and immediately put down a deposit and signed the contract.

It was precisely because sales were so explosively hot that the waiting period might be a bit longer. But he threw money at it — after haggling the price down, he secretly slipped the salesman an extra 1,000 yuan, demanding delivery within half a month; otherwise he'd have to queue through the normal process and wait three months.

Right now, cars weren't assigned to anyone by name — delivery dates and orders were arranged manually, so it was entirely possible to manipulate which customer got their car early.

Ye Yaodong naturally used his money power. Giving it after the fact versus saving it as a dowry to hand over on the wedding day — the meaning was naturally completely different.