Chapter 472: Ye Yaodong Collects Goods and Resells (Two Chapters Merged into One)

With the old lady's assist, the three daughters-in-law learned that Ye Fu was going to sponsor them a little, and they were all overjoyed.

Originally, Ye Ye Dasao had been quite resistant in her heart, wondering why just because someone else bought a shop, their family had to follow suit and buy one too.

They hadn't saved much money to begin with, so why chase the trend?

If they bought, it would drain the family savings in one go, and they'd even end up in debt. She felt very uneasy about it—why copy others? Who knew what that shop was really like?

None of their own people had even gone to see it; they only heard it from others. If they lost money, who would they blame? Hadn't they already suffered that kind of loss once before? They had only listened to Ye Ye Yaohong talk, got lured in by his big pie, and forked over 1,000 yuan chasing the high interest.

The key was that the shop hadn't even been built yet, and they were already being asked to shell out a pile of money. Earlier on the beach, she had refused without a second thought—no such idea.

She had also given Ye Ye Yaopeng a good scolding, cursing him for believing every wind that blows—whatever others do, he has to do it too? He's lost his mind.

Now that she'd finished beating the child and come out, knowing the old lady had Ye Fu put up some money to help them a little, she had eased up in her tone and wasn't holding on so stubbornly.

Still, she didn't quite have the courage to drain the family savings and take on debt to buy. She and Ye Ye Yaopeng were still hesitating over it.

At this point, thinking about it, it's still better to be a straightforward, single-minded person—once they've made up their minds, they can be a bit more decisive.

Everyone stood in the courtyard, and no one tried to persuade the couple—they had to figure it out for themselves.

No one paid any attention to that rare red-tailed bird fish right now. What fish could be more important than the matter of the shop?

Ye Ye Dasao asked hesitantly, "Are you really set on buying it? You're not planning to stop him either? We haven't even gone to take a look…"

Ye Ye Ersao spoke honestly, "I didn't have any idea at first either, and I thought he was crazy. But later, what he said did make sense. We're all country folk, no education, no experience, we don't understand all those twists and turns—but as long as we know how to follow smart people, that's enough."

"Last time with that mouse association thing, wasn't it because we didn't listen to A-Dong? Look, their family didn't believe it and didn't lose money. We were just too greedy, lost our minds."

Ye Ye Ersao was also a straight shooter—she said whatever was on her mind. Being scammed out of money was a fact, and she didn't try to cover it up or avoid the topic.

She went on, "And it's not just A-Dong who bought one. Didn't those few guys at the dock who collect goods also get all worked up and rush to buy one in the city? I think this time it should be fine. Just let A-Hua go along with them. This time we'll go see it ourselves in person—surely we won't get scammed."

"Listening to them talk about how it'll be this way and that, it sounds pretty good too. Might as well believe it once. What if we really miss this village and never get this shop again?"

Actually, Ye Ye Ersao was moved by Ye Ye Yaohua's last sentence. He said: ever since Dongzi went out to sea, his luck has been especially good, his momentum especially strong, good things come to him easily. If we follow his lead, we'll catch some of that luck too.

People by the sea believe in this kind of feng shui and luck stuff.

Ye Ye Yaopeng and his wife still couldn't make a decision. The old lady couldn't stand watching anymore and suggested, "Why doesn't A-Peng go along with them to take a look. You have to see it with your own eyes to know what's what. You haven't even seen it—however you look at it, you can't feel at ease. 3,000 yuan is no small sum. Look first, then decide."

She looked at A-Hua again, "Same for you. You all go take a look in person, and go to the wholesale market to see how bustling it really is, whether there are lots of people. Look first, then buy—it's not too late. You can't be too rash."

Ye Ye Yaopeng and his wife felt their hearts relax at once. Right—they still had to see it with their own eyes. No matter how flowery others made it sound, it wasn't as good as seeing it themselves. Look first, then decide—it wasn't too late.

Ye Fu chimed in, "Right, you all go take a look first, then decide."

Now Ye Ye Yaopeng stopped hesitating and said with a smile, "Alright, then I'll go with Li Li Laoer to take a look first."

He looked at Ye Ye Yaohua again, "When are you planning to go? Have you talked it over with A-Cai and the others? Set a time?"

Ye Ye Yaohua gave an awkward laugh, "Not yet. After I finished talking to Dongzi, I came back to convince my wife. I hadn't had time to go to A-Cai's place when Dad came over. I don't know if they've left."

Now it was Ye Ye Yaopeng's turn to panic, "Huh? You haven't even told them? It's been so long since morning—they've probably left, right? Oh no, we won't make it now."

Ye Ye Dasao couldn't help saying, "Doesn't A-Dong know the way? He's already bought a shop, he knows the ropes and has experience. Let A-Dong go with you all to take a look."

Ye Yaodong saw everyone looking at him, and said casually, "Sure. You all go check first whether A-Cai and the others have left. If they have, I'll go with you."

"But we'll have to wait until tomorrow morning. It's already afternoon now. After a three-hour bus ride to the city, the market will be closed. It only opens in the early hours, and those supervisors only show up in the morning."

"Oh alright, we'll go ask first."

"Mm. When you all go tomorrow, just bring the deposit along. If you look and feel there's no problem, just settle it on the spot. Going back and forth to the city is a hassle."

Ye Yaodong gave them a reminder—this was basically deciding it for them on the spot, so they wouldn't come back without money, find the trip to the city inconvenient, and then spend half a day agonizing over it.

Look on the spot, pay on the spot and settle it—save the trouble. Hesitating too long might just make the opportunity disappear.

"Oh alright."

The old lady also said to Ye Fu, "Go back tonight and discuss it with your wife. See how much each person can help with, and bring it for them tomorrow. They can put out a little less, and have some time to breathe."

"Got it." Ye Fu replied helplessly.

With this major dilemma resolved, it was a win-win for everyone. Ye Ye Yaopeng and his wife were now in the mood to look at the fish they'd just caught.

The old lady also went inside to check on the three children who had just been beaten. The other children followed the old lady inside to see what was going on.

In an instant, one after another they all sucked in a cold breath, hissing—～

The adults outside didn't sympathize with them, and no one paid them any mind—they were all looking delightedly at that red-tailed bird fish.

Ye Ye Dasao was in a great mood after putting the matter aside, and said cheerfully, "This fish is quite pretty. It must be twenty or thirty jin, right? What a find."

"What kind of fish is this? It's from deep sea, right? Seems like only deep-sea fish are red. Around our coastal waters, apart from Shi Zilu, there are rarely any red fish." Ye Ye Ersao didn't know what kind of fish it was and asked curiously.

"It's a red-tailed bird fish. I've seen them at the town dock. This one's quite valuable. If we send it to the dock, it should sell for six or seven mao a jin. This one should be worth about ten-something yuan."

Ye Ye Ersao shot Ye Ye Yaohua a look, "Are you stupid? You're going to the wholesale market tomorrow anyway. Why not bring it along? You might even sell it for a bit more."

Ye Ye Dasao immediately slapped her thigh, "Right! We should send this to the city to sell. A few mao or a yuan more per jin, and we can earn back the travel fare. I'll carry it inside first. You go get some ice later."

Ye Yaodong also picked up his own bucket, planning to head back to the beach to see if he could pick up a big fish too.

Ye Ye Ersao also hurried anxiously inside to grab a bucket, afraid of being a step late.

The tide had only just receded a little, and the beach was already full of people. They were still sparse, only a handful. If it weren't for the lack of sun today, they'd have been roasted alive in the middle of the afternoon.

Just as he reached the beach, he heard many people talking about how he'd bought a shop in the city—without exception, they were all talking it down and remained skeptical.

It was all jealousy at work!

He didn't take it to heart. Mouths were on other people's faces—he couldn't poison them all mute.

Still, you mere mortals will be drooling with envy later.

Just as he deliberately walked toward the men and women talking it down the loudest, they saw him and gave awkward smiles. Luckily, exclamations from not far away, along with various "wow" and "whoa" sounds, drew everyone's attention and saved the situation. The people around all curiously gathered over.

He also walked over curiously—someone must have caught something good again.

Just as he stepped forward, he heard everyone discussing the red-tailed bird fish, saying it was much bigger than the two tigerhead fish someone had caught earlier.

Ye Yaodong understood—the waves had washed another red-tailed bird fish ashore. He stood on tiptoe and looked—sure enough, and it wasn't small either, about the same size as the one Ye Chenghe had just caught.

After a glance, he backed out again and wandered around on his own. Satisfying his curiosity was enough. Rather than stand around envying here, he might as well roam around and pick up more goods.

The bucket kept clinking and clanking—that was the sound of him tossing things into it. No big catches, but small ones kept coming.

One cat's eye snails after another were hidden in the sand; if your eyes weren't sharp enough, you simply couldn't see them. Fortunately, he had a pair of fiery, piercing eyes.

Today wasn't a big ebb tide; the water only receded thirty or forty meters before stopping. He wandered around the beach once, and though he didn't pick up much else, he gathered half a bucket of cat's eye snails alone.

He shook the bucket speechlessly, feeling like today he'd poked into the cat's eye snails' lair — picking these things alone had kept him bent over without ever straightening his back.

"Hehe, Third Uncle, I picked up a lot of mud snails, but these I have to take to my mom — I can't give them to you, I'm afraid of getting a beating." Ye Ye Chengjiang had popped up from who knows where, carrying a basket of mud snails and even holding it up to show him.

Ye Yaodong reached his hand into the basket and scooped around; his hand felt sticky and gritty, and the few he grabbed in his palm still had a sandy texture.

"These mud snails can't be eaten — they're full of sand inside."

"Huh!?"

Ye Ye Chengjiang was dumbfounded — he'd spent quite a while picking up those mud snails just now.

"Later fetch some seawater and bring them back to soak for a while — see if they can spit all the sand out."

"No way? Then I picked them for nothing."

"Pretty much. Did your parents bring you all out?"

"My dad and Dad went out, my mom brought us. Third Uncle, you have no idea — Brother Brother Ahai and Chenghe got beaten so badly, their butts and calves were striped with welts, it was terrifying, and they can only lie on their stomachs."

"That's why I keep telling you kids to behave and stay out of trouble."

"Got it," he said listlessly, dejectedly, "looks like we won't be able to watch the movie tomorrow."

"Tomorrow I might be going to the city with your dad and Ye Ye Dabo too, so I won't have time to take you either. You all behave. When I come back, if I'm in a good mood and have free time, maybe I can take you once."

Consider it comfort for their beaten bodies and wounded hearts.

Every one of them was so eager to see the movie. Ye Yaodong really wanted to satisfy these kids. Although once they grew up they could earn money and go themselves, and the theater environment would be better too, childhood memories are always different — later on, there won't be that same feeling of anticipation and longing.

Ye Ye Chengjiang's eyes instantly lit up. "Really! Thank you, Third Uncle, Third Uncle, you're the best."

"Go on, pick up a bit of whatever and then head back. The tide can only recede this much today."

Looking down, he spotted a mantis shrimp curled up and wriggling in the incoming seawater. He casually clamped it into the bucket with his fire tongs and wandered off to the side again.

He couldn't get over to the reef cluster — the tide had only receded a little, and the area around the rocks was still submerged. He could only hope tomorrow it would recede a bit more.

As he wandered, he overheard the people around him chattering away, saying no one was at the dock today, that Ah Cai and the others weren't home, and nobody knew when they'd be back.

"Did you all just go check the dock?"

"It's all closed up…"

"Oh dear, so no one's buying at the dock today — what do we do? I was counting on selling what I just picked to make a little money to help out at home."

"Yeah, what do we do? We've each only got a little bit of goods, and all mixed up too. We can't exactly get up early and go set up a stall at the town market ourselves, right? How would you even sell such a small, scattered amount?"

"Why are they all gone at this crucial moment? Where the hell did they go? All three closed up together?"

"Oh dear, then what about your red-tailed fish? Where are you going to sell that? And yours is pretty big too."

That man was worried too. "This fish isn't exactly rare, but it's not small either — could sell for ten or twenty yuan, that's not a small amount. Why are they gone at this exact moment?"

"The market's closed now. Why don't you take it to the town dock later and see if anyone wants it? Not sure if those few little shacks at the dock will be open tomorrow either."

……

Ye Yaodong listened for a while and figured Ah Cai had probably gone straight to the city with the other two after leaving his place that morning.

His older brother and Ye Ye Erge had made a wasted trip — tomorrow they'd have to ask him to take them.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He stepped forward, smiling, and said to the group gathered together: "No one's buying at the dock. How about you sell your goods to me? Whatever price the dock was paying, I'll pay the same. Saves you the trouble of having a little bit of goods that's hard to sell and having to run to town."

Anyway, he was already planning to take his older brother and Ye Ye Erge to the wholesale market in the city — might as well bring some goods and sell them along the way. Pooling the villagers' goods together should add up to a decent amount, and it'd solve their problem too.

The group all looked at him in surprise. "You're buying goods? Are you going to buy at the dock like them too?"

"No, no…"

Ye Yaodong quickly waved his hand. Where would he find the energy to both go out to sea and buy goods? He didn't have the connections either. He couldn't just haul every bit of goods to the wholesale market — a tiny amount wouldn't be worth it. All that hassle would be less profitable than going out to sea to fish.

He'd just figured he was going to the market in the early morning anyway, so he might as well bring these along, earn some travel money and a little extra. He'd already walked around the market yesterday and knew the going rates for all kinds of goods.

"I just saw you all have a little bit of goods each, hard to sell, right? Let me do you a favor — I'll take it all, then deliver it to the market together and sell it slowly, and earn a bit of hard money on the side."

"You must have heard too — I just bought a shop and emptied out the family savings. I've got to find ways to earn more money, right? Otherwise even daily life at home is going to be a problem. I can't go out to sea these next couple days either, so I'm anxious too."

It sounded perfectly reasonable — impossible to argue with!

Ye Yaodong was quite pleased with his flawless excuse. He'd made the big money, but he couldn't look down on the small money either — every bit adds up. Collecting all the villagers' scattered goods into his own hands would add up to a decent amount, perfect for earning a little extra to treat the kids to a movie.

They exchanged glances, and someone asked, still uneasy: "Same price as outside the dock?"

"Of course. Like I said, this is just on the side. My older brother caught a red-tailed fish earlier too, about the same size as yours. I'm going to sell it anyway."

"Your older brother caught one too?"

"Mm. Think about whether you want to sell to me. If you do, just bring them straight to my house now. And spread the word to the others — they can all send theirs to my place. My house is right by that beach, very convenient."

Since the price was the same, it didn't matter who they sold to — selling directly to him saved everyone trouble, and spared them having to haul a tiny bit of goods all the way to town to set up a stall. Keeping it for themselves to eat felt like a waste too.

They thought it over and agreed.

"Then I'd trouble you to spread the word to the others too — no one's buying at the dock, but I can temporarily help take goods today."

"Sure, sure."

Ye Yaodong watched them turn to tell their friends and relatives, then hurried home himself. He had to give Lin Lin Xiuqing a heads-up first, let her prepare some small change. He also needed to borrow two scales, and along the way get his dad, older brother, and Ye Ye Erge to help out.

Lin Lin Xiuqing was utterly shocked when she heard at home!

"You're doing the seafood buying business too?"

"How could I? I don't have those connections — everyone I know is in this village. I was thinking, since I'm going to the city with my older brother and Ye Ye Erge anyway, I'll bring these along on the side."

"Stop the chatter — hurry up and prepare plenty of small change, a few cents, a few mao, one-yuan notes. I'm going to borrow scales. When someone shows up, just have them wait…"

"Hey… don't wait at our door. That Da Da Heizi has been getting fiercer lately. Wait at the door of the older brother and Ye Ye Erge next door." Ye Yaodong called out as he ran outside, his voice fading into the distance.

"Got it."

Lin Lin Xiuqing also felt he really knew how to make a fuss, but being able to earn a little money on the side wasn't bad. They'd just spent 3,000 yuan, and it had pained her heart. It was rare for him to show this kind of awareness, and he didn't even find it troublesome—he just figured he'd earn a bit on the side.

Their money used to be locked in a drawer, but as it grew, she sorted out the small change and locked it in the cabinet. The drawer only held important documents, bills over one yuan, and the pearls and Meile beads.

It happened that the house had plenty of empty jars, so she sorted the coins by denomination—one, two, and five fen, one and two jiao—packing each into its own jar, saving them from being piled together in the drawer where they looked a mess. Now they came in handy.

She also grabbed a handful of one-yuan bills and put them in her pocket. She had no idea how much the villagers would have to sell, but it was better to be prepared than to fumble around in the moment—she had no experience with this either.

By the time she arrived at the gate carrying a pile of jars, Da Da Heizi had already been barking for a while. A group of people stood at the gate with their buckets, too scared to come in, debating whether they should just turn around and go home.

"The dog at home is too fierce. Everyone go to the empty lot next door. Adong went to borrow a scale—he'll be right back."

"Oh, alright, alright, this dog is way too scary~"

"That belly's really big—she about to give birth? When she has the pups, save me one. So fierce, perfect for guarding the door."

"Sure, we'll see how many she has." Lin Lin Xiuqing brushed them off casually, then headed to the empty lot next door, asking Ye Dage and Ye Ye Erge, who were home, to help her carry two tables out for the change jars.

Ye Yaodong was back in no time on his bicycle. He didn't bother pushing it into the house, just parked it casually against the wall. Four or five people were already waiting in the yard.

"Everyone line up, we'll go in order. I'm going home to grab a few baskets—we'll sort things into categories in a bit."

More and more people kept coming after hearing the news; many had come specifically to watch the excitement.

Ye Yaodong and the others went from weighing things slowly at first, to scrambling to keep up, and finally to moving quickly through the scale—after all, each person's haul wasn't large, just varied.

Once Ye Yaodong finished weighing, he called out the numbers—what item, how many jin, how much per jin—and Lin Lin Xiuqing calculated the total. After she finished, Ye's father paid out. A smooth assembly line from right to left.

The other two brothers stood by the side, keeping order and helping sort things.

Luckily everyone trickled in gradually rather than crowding in all at once. Most of the crowd were just onlookers, and even those who'd already sold their goods couldn't tear themselves away, which made it look especially crowded.

Whatever the item and the price he paid, he called it out loud so everyone could hear clearly. They all felt it was fair and were satisfied.

The onlookers standing nearby whispered among themselves, speculating whether Ye Yaodong was planning to open his own purchasing station.

They guessed maybe he was just taking advantage of the dock being empty today to test the waters, buy some goods, and haul them to his shop in the city to sell.

"You're overthinking it. I heard his shop isn't even a done deal yet—they haven't even finished building it."

"What? He spent all that money before it's even built? Is he stupid?"

"Who knows? Maybe he made too much money this past year and has nowhere to spend it…"

Ye Yaodong heard the chatter around him too, but he was busy and had no time to respond.

After two busy hours, the stream of people finally slowed. More than half the crowd in the yard had dispersed—everyone had to head home and cook.

They stopped to rest as well.

Ye's father circled the baskets, pleasantly surprised. "I didn't expect all these scattered goods to add up to something decent when gathered together. Seven or eight baskets are half full, and there's even a whole basket packed with scallops."

Ye Ye Yaopeng was also a bit surprised. "Yeah, everyone only had three, four jin of stuff worth selling—so scattered—but once you sort it all together, it actually looks like quite a lot."

"Dongzi, this is more than just travel money now." Ye Ye Yaohua said, a touch envious.

Dongzi really had a sharp mind. Buying the shop—trusting him definitely wouldn't be wrong. Ye Ye Yaohua was even more convinced now, and so was Ye Ye Ersao.

Just by asking him to take them along on a trip to the city, he could still earn a side of money on the way—surely more than that red-tailed bird.

Ye Yaodong was also quite satisfied. The power of the masses was formidable; his bit of running around hadn't been in vain.

The villagers had basically scoured the beach clean after the tide went out—anything worth a bit of money was gathered here.

Inside there were several red seabreams and yellowfin seabreams, small yellow croakers, and all sorts of fish. Some were quite valuable, but there were too many varieties, all in small bits.

Stone crabs filled an entire basket, along with various other odds and ends.

"So-so, just a little pocket money. Let's still set off tonight—we'll make it to the morning market in time to sell, and you can take in the bustle of the morning market while we're at it."

"Alright."