Chapter 416: Donation

Lin Xiuqing looked at the things piled at the door and asked his friends.

Listening to everyone saying one thing after another, she only then learned about what happened at the village committee entrance just now. Because she had to look after the children and prepare meals and tea for the workers, she couldn't leave, so she didn't go over.

"Those leaders really know how to calculate, calculating everything for him clearly."

"Isn't that so? Otherwise, how could they be leaders and we be country bumpkins."

The old lady said with a smile on the side: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. Money can be earned slowly, merit is important. Mazu is watching, and she will definitely protect our Dongzi so he can have smooth sailing, stay safe, and earn big money."

Lin Xiuqing also smiled, "Grandma is right. These things can also be a comfort. When the time comes, we'll also invite a small Mazu statue to put on the boat."

"Right, right, right, this is definitely necessary. First, take this flag inside and hang it up; it's a glorious thing anyway."

With the interlude of Ye Chengyang's assistance, Ye Yaodong's remaining punishment was also muddled through by him.

The group sat at the door playing cards to pass the time, and the old lady also sat on the side listening to the radio.

She even specially took a stool and placed it in the corner facing where the workers were working, turning the volume up high so everyone could listen while working.

The workers were also very happy that they could listen to the radio while working. There was nothing better than this. Everyone praised Ye Yaodong for being filial, saying all kinds of nice things, which made the old lady feel extremely comfortable inside.

By the time it was almost mealtime, Ye's father, Ye's mother, and Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua's two couples finally returned late.

As soon as Ye's mother came over, she walked straight to the bucket of tea at the door, picked up a plastic water cup, and poured a large cup of tea before catching her breath.

"It's hot as hell, in the middle of the day."

Ye Yaodong, holding poker cards in his hand, asked curiously: "Why are you only coming back now?"

"Your father and the others were watching the fun, but I was working there. I was exhausted; the fellow villagers were too enthusiastic. They wanted to donate on the spot, and there was no procedure in the rush, making it a mess."

"Then what to do?"

"We discussed it with the elders in the village earlier. We said we'd set up a sunshade at the entrance of the Mazu Temple in the afternoon and start registering donations there tomorrow. It just so happens that the Mazu Temple is not far from the pier. Setting up a shed there allows those leaders who didn't go out to sea to sit there and rest, and they can also see the movement outside the pier."

"Also, if people from other villages come to donate, they can see that it is indeed initiated with the support of the county leaders, which can better mobilize everyone's enthusiasm, lest they think we are cheating them out of money."

Ye Yaodong nodded, also feeling it made sense. Setting up a shed at the Mazu Temple entrance to donate was better than donating at the village committee.

"Mom, I didn't expect that after not seeing you for a few days, you look completely different. You're glowing, full of energy, and look younger. Your way of speaking is also different."

Xiao Xiao also chimed in, "Right, it's been a while since I saw Auntie, and she's completely different from before."

A-Zheng also praised with a smile, "You look fashionable too."

"You guys are only noticing it now? I noticed it a long time ago. Ever since my mother-in-law joined the Women's Federation, her whole spirit has been invigorated, and her temperament has even improved."

After A-Guang finished speaking, he smiled and gave her an idea, "Mom, that curly hair is very popular now. You can go to town and get a perm. I guarantee you'll outshine all the women in the village."

Ye's mother was originally talking to them seriously, but hearing them praise her like this, her mouth couldn't close from smiling, and she even touched her hair.

"I'm at this age, what perm should I get? I don't want people to laugh at me for being an old monster."

"Who would dare? You are now a cadre of the Women's Federation, you can decide someone's life or death with one word."

"That won't do, can't say that, we're all fellow villagers." Ye's mother quickly told them to stop.

"Has your wife cooked the meal? I'll go help."

Ye's mother went into the house to get busy with a smile.

Ye Yaodong asked the three of them curiously again, "How much are you planning to donate?"

A-Guang thought for a while, "Let's see. Let's see how much it costs to invite a small Mazu statue to put on the boat? We'll donate that much when the time comes."

The other two also chimed in, "Hmm, we're the same. Invite a Mazu statue to put on the boat for safety."

Ye Yaodong touched his chin, "If this exceeds 50 yuan, then I, the number one brother on the leaderboard, am a bit unworthy of the position."

"What do you mean?"

The three of them were a bit confused. What is a number one brother on the leaderboard? The first place on the merit list?

"In case it takes one or two hundred yuan to invite a small Mazu statue, but I only donated 50, and then a whole string of people below are donating one or two hundred, that feels a bit unsightly!"

"Seems like it."

"Then you can see when the time comes. If it's not much difference, just make up the difference. It probably won't be much different, and you probably don't lack that bit of money. If it's a big difference, then forget it. Anyway, everyone knows the contribution you made."

"Hmm, right. The villagers all know that the Mazu Temple being built is all your credit. I heard from my mother-in-law that the idea of letting the county leaders initiate donations in the newspaper was all yours."

After the three of them finished saying one thing after another, hearing A-Guang say this, Xiao Xiao and A-Zheng were surprised again.

"Really? Since when did Dongzi's brain become so useful?"

"My brain has always been more useful than yours."

"Pfft~"

"Give money, give money~ Fifty K!"

"My last three cards are also fifty K, yeah~ give money!" After finishing, Ye Yaodong even high-fived A-Guang.

The fifty K they were playing was a pair-up game.

"Sai Lin Mu, you two are shameless and cheating, leaving three cards without reporting the number!" A-Zheng widened his eyes, threw the cards on the table, and accused Ye Yaodong and A-Guang.

"Weren't we chatting happily just now? Forgot, hurry up and give the money."

"You deliberately changed the subject just now to trick our attention."

A-Guang patted the table twice with a smile and urged: "A bet is a bet, hurry up and give the money. I still have to rush home to eat. Without me, my wife's meal won't be fragrant."

"Go to your mother, making it sound like no one else has a wife," A-Zheng cursed while counting money outside, "I called the 'losing everything' bet well, why change the name... so annoying..."

"Hmph hmph~"

A-Guang raised his chin and hummed, but heard them teasing him there.

"Straight!"

"Press it!"

"Straight!"

"Press it!"

"Get lost, you can't even afford a pair of threes, and you're pressing it? Press your ghost, go home and eat."

The three of them felt hot while playing cards, so they took off their clothes and played shirtless. At this moment, they got up, each grabbed a piece of clothing, threw it over their shoulders, and left.

Ye Yaodong collected the poker cards and rolled them up with a rubber band, keeping them for next time.

Seeing that the waves weren't that big at night, they went out to sea as usual. God also arranged this weather perfectly. It just happened that the matter had come to an end, and he immediately let them go out to sea.

When they returned the next evening, they saw a shed set up in front of the Mazu Temple, with several tables placed in front of it, looking quite decent.

Several cadres from the village committee were sitting there, and a few leaders from the county were also sitting there.

Each had an enamel mug in front of them, occasionally picking it up to drink tea, looking very leisurely. The sun couldn't reach them, and they were blowing the sea breeze, which was much more comfortable than sitting in the village committee.

Several villagers were also gathered in front of the tables, all of whom had just returned from sea and were curious to come and take a look.

"Let me see, who donated?"

"You don't know many big characters, can you understand?"

"I can't understand the names, but I can look at the numbers to see how much everyone donated."

"After donating money, can we come back to donate again?"

Chen Shuji nodded: "Of course you can. It's impossible to return it to you. If you want to donate more, you definitely can."

Ye Yaodong and the others pushed their handcart over after selling the goods, "Make way, let us see..."

"Chen Shuji, how much money do I need to donate to invite a small Mazu statue?" Xiao Xiao asked curiously.

"We discussed it and plan to allow everyone to invite a small Mazu statue once the donation reaches 100 yuan. It's mainly to protect everyone's safety at sea. 100 yuan is equivalent to two months' wages for an ordinary worker, and the fellow villagers can afford it."

"Of course, in order to accumulate more merit, if you want to donate more, you can. The more you donate, the more merit you get."

The fishermen who returned from the boats nearby whispered a few words and nodded, also feeling that 100 yuan was not much.

Although fishing is a high-risk profession, the income is much higher than that of ordinary workers, mainly because they can go out to sea a few more times if the weather is good.

If there is no good weather to go out to sea, they are also in vain; it all depends on luck.

However, Ye Yaodong just took a look at the merit book. No one had donated 100 yuan on it yet. Only his name was ranked first with 50 yuan. Behind it was a long string of only a few yuan, and the largest amount was only ten yuan, with only a few people.

He also saw a familiar name. The old lady's name was also on it. Among the limited few ten-yuan donations, she was one of them.

He pointed to the merit book, "Are these all donations from the elderly in the village?"

The names all looked a bit familiar, occasionally heard people calling them in the village.

"Right, you young and strong people all go out to sea at night, or go to work early in the morning. Today, some elderly people in the village took the lead in taking out money to donate. Although they are old and don't go out to sea, they have worshipped Mazu all their lives and also want to contribute their part and accumulate some merit."

"Oh."

Chen Shuji looked at the others, "It's not off-duty time yet. Those who need to donate should go back and get money to donate, so you don't miss it when you go out to sea at night."

"We villagers must be more active and donate more, so the amount on the list is more listed. When people from other villages come to look at the donation book, it will look better."

Everyone nodded along.

Ye Yaodong asked again: "Did the county go to publish it in the newspaper? Also, has the start date been calculated?"

"Yes, yes, it was calculated early in the morning. Once the date was calculated, we went to the county to publish it in the newspaper. Leaders came forward to say that we can jump the queue and arrange it to the latest issue, in the most eye-catching position."

Other village cadres added: "The start date is in half a month, June 9th, July 18th in the Gregorian calendar. It just so happens that there is half a month to raise money. At that time, we can come up with a corresponding design drawing to start construction based on the funds raised. Later, we can also raise money while starting construction. If there is any surplus, it can also be used for later maintenance."

"That's quite good."

"So, fellow villagers, you should donate what you should donate in these two days, right? Make the merit book look better. When people from surrounding villages come to donate, they can also see how active our village is."

The village cadre on the side also chimed in, "Today, many people from neighboring villages heard about it and came to watch. Everyone must set an example for our village."

"Building this Mazu Temple was originally the request of our villagers. Donating early or late is the same. Fellow villagers, be more enthusiastic. Contributing more effort means more merit."

"Good, good, good."

Those who had just returned from sea all nodded.

"We'll go back and discuss how much to donate..."

"If it's too late, let the women in the family come to donate tomorrow..." ===== CHAPTER 417 =====