Chapter 510: Safe Arrival Home

Along the way, the waves surged, and the fishing boat rose and fell. The voyage was somewhat unsteady, with violent rocking, lacking the smoothness of the journey there.

When the waves were high, they could even crash onto the deck, appearing somewhat thrilling and dangerous. They needed to grab onto something for support, otherwise, they couldn't even stand.

As for the cargo, they had no time to look at or pay attention to it. The excitement had mostly passed, and now everyone was keeping an eye on how high the waves were churning on the sea surface, praying that the waves ahead wouldn't get any bigger, otherwise, they would have to find a place to dock halfway.

The sea is ruthless; safety comes first.

Fortunately, although the waves were a bit large, after sailing out of that area for two or three hours, the waves became smaller, though still not entirely calm.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; they didn't want anything to happen just as they were about to reach home.

"The wind and waves on this sea come in patches. Just now, a wave crashed up and splashed all over me. It gave me such a fright; I thought I was going to fall into the water."

"Me too. I was gripping the edge so hard my hands were starting to ache. Fortunately, that patch of waves has passed."

Ye Yaodong also breathed a sigh of relief, then went to pick up the basket placed in the cabin and took out the dry rations inside. "Eat some biscuits to calm your nerves and fill your stomachs. It's already three o'clock. I estimate we'll arrive in another three or four hours. The return trip today is more time-consuming than the journey there; it'll probably take fourteen or fifteen hours to arrive."

Each of them took a Xian-guang biscuit and started gnawing on it.

"It doesn't matter if it takes a bit longer, as long as we can get home safely."

"The risks on the sea are too great. It's better to return as early as possible."

Ye Yaodong also took a bite; it was dry and bland. He went to get a small knife, sliced the biscuit open, and stuffed in the oil-biscuit he had bought extra in the morning. Only then did he feel it tasted much better.

While chewing, he said, "That's why, for the next generation, don't let them work the sea either. If they can study, they should study well. Studying is the simplest way out for us poor country folk."

"Who doesn't want a scholar in the family? But you have to have the fate for it. There hasn't been anyone literate in our family for eighteen generations."

"Everyone knows studying is good. In the past few years, if you could read, you could be an official. It's just that the kids in the family get a headache as soon as they see a book; they aren't cut out for it."

"Anyway, we won't starve to death. As long as there's something to eat, it's fine."

"That's true. Then you guys earn more money. If a father has money to provide protection, it's the same."

"I had a son to provide for my old age; why would I need to risk my life earning money to support him?"

That's hard to say...

Ye Yaodong silently gnawed on his biscuit. Fortunately, his sons would be able to stand on their own two feet in the future, marry wives, and support their own families, without needing to rely on their father.

A father slacking off seems to have some use after all...

He shook his head. He still had to work a bit harder, just to make up for the regrets of his previous life and create better living conditions for his family.

Looking out, the seawater changed from clear to green, from green to blue, and from blue to azure, stretching endlessly. The waves stirred up by the boat rolled gently.

Everyone had originally thought they could reach home safely, but who would have thought that just as they returned to familiar waters and were happy for a moment, they discovered that the boat of Ye Dabo and Ye Erbo had actually fallen behind.

The boat had been sailing at the back, and they only occasionally turned their heads to see if all the boats were following. After all, the smuggling boats before had suddenly fallen behind and hadn't been discovered.

They didn't expect that it would be their turn to have a boat fall behind. Pei Fu's boat accelerated to the front of their boat and told Ye Fu and the others, and only then did they discover it, giving them all a huge fright.

Ye Fu's heart also gave a heavy thud, and he quickly stopped the boat. "How could it just not follow?"

Pei Fu also said anxiously, "Maybe something happened. We only just discovered they weren't following. Let's quickly turn back and look for them."

It wasn't Ye Fu's fault for not noticing; he was the lead boat, and his attention had been entirely on the front.

The others also thought they were almost home, so they were preoccupied with happiness, and their tense nerves had relaxed, so they hadn't been paying close attention.

Now, everyone was lying on the side of the boat, looking back, and only then did they see a small black dot in the distance, motionless.

"It should be there! Fortunately, the sky hasn't gone completely dark yet, so we can still see it."

"Everything was fine, why is it not moving there? Did the machine have some problem?"

"Maybe the machine really stopped."

"Could it be because the waves were too big earlier? Seawater splashed up, and the machine kept running without stopping, causing a malfunction?"

"Hard to say. The machine on that boat was easy to break to begin with. That boat was left behind by my grandfather. It was confiscated when the production team was established, and by the time it was returned after the dissolution, it was almost scrapped. Later, my father repaired it bit by bit. It probably has a lot of issues."

Ye Fu and Pei Fu's two boats turned around simultaneously and headed toward the small black dot in the distance.

Ye Yaopeng, Ye Yaohua, and the others on the boat were like ants on a hot pan, extremely anxious. They were almost at their doorstep, but the machine had suddenly stopped, and the boat could only drift with the waves on the sea surface.

The boats in front hadn't discovered them yet, and for a moment, they were helpless. The sky was also turning dark, and it was hard to encounter boats on the sea; usually, fishing boats would have docked by this time.

Just when they were at their wit's end, the two boats in front turned back, and they almost wept with joy.

After the two boats got closer and closer, seeing that everyone on the boat was standing there safe and sound, they also breathed a sigh of relief.

After pulling close and stopping the boats, Ye Fu started cursing, "What's wrong with you guys? If the boat broke and wouldn't move, couldn't you have shouted loudly or waved a flag earlier? If it weren't for my in-law chasing after us to tell us, I wouldn't have even noticed the back."

Ye Yaodong changed the subject, "How could it break when everything was fine? Did water get in because of the waves earlier?"

"We thought so too, but we'll have to wait until we dock and ask a master to take a look. We don't understand this machine repair work."

"We're almost at the doorstep, and you're causing trouble. Quickly take out the ropes in the cabin and tie the boat up. Fortunately, no water got in, so it can still be towed back." Ye Fu had been given a fright for no reason, so his tone was quite sharp.

By the time they tied the two brothers' boat behind the two boats, the sky had gone completely dark. One by one, they either put on headlamps or turned on flashlights for illumination.

Fortunately, they were almost home, so being a bit slower was fine. At this time, there were no other boats to be seen on the surrounding sea.

They slowly sailed forward. The return trip, which should have only taken two hours, ended up taking another three hours.

This return trip had many more incidents than the journey there, but fortunately, it was a close call.

They first docked at the town's pier to let Chen Jianian get off, and then continued forward, sailing for nearly half an hour before reaching the village pier.

What they didn't expect was that they thought there shouldn't be anyone at the shore at this time, after all, it was already nearly 9 o'clock, but they discovered seven or eight young and strong men waiting at the shore. Everyone was squinting their eyes, stimulated by the flashlights shining over.

The people on the shore were also given a fright by them. They didn't expect that there would still be boats docking so late.

When the boats reached the shore, both sides saw clearly who the other was, and they all breathed a sigh of relief, asking simultaneously.

"Just got back?"

"You're still here?"

"Yeah, just got home. I'm exhausted from the journey."

"Hmm, it must be quite difficult to be away from home, right?"

Ye Yaodong was the first to get off the boat and nodded, "It's not that easy to earn money."

As he spoke, he intended to start handing out cigarettes, but he didn't have enough cigarettes left. Because he was returning, he hadn't prepared many packs, and the pack he had been smoking all day was almost empty.

Lin Ji waved his hand, "I have some."

"Haven't seen you for a while, I thought..."

"The wind was tight a while ago." He just whispered a casual sentence and then changed the subject, "Is there a lot of stuff on the boat? Do you need help moving it?"

"No need to move it, we hired several long-term laborers."

The people on the boat were moving things down one after another at this time, and Lin Ji was surprised when he saw the things on it, "Are you planning to do this?"

"No, I'm an honest man. These were salvaged from the sea. Many of them have water damage, and I don't know if they're useful. I'll take them back to check first."

"Did a boat meet with an accident?"

His heart suddenly skipped a beat. Returning at this time, he hoped it wasn't their boat?

He quickly followed up and asked, "Where did you salvage this?"

"It was at the border of Fujian and Zhejiang, just entering the sea area of Fujian Province."

He breathed a sigh of relief, "It looks like that side should be very prosperous and lively."

"It is quite lively, not losing to our town, perhaps even more rampant. I saw forty or fifty boats sailing together with my own eyes."

Lin Ji opened his mouth in surprise, then didn't say anything.

"Alright, I've been tired for a day, so I'll head back first. Let's drink together when you're free. I also brought you several local specialties; I'll take them to your house tomorrow."

"Many thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Seeing that you've unloaded quite a lot of things from the boat, I have several flatbed carts here. You can push two over first."

Ye Yaodong turned his head to look at the baskets, bamboo trays, sacks, and miscellaneous items that were already piled up on the ground. They were still moving them off the boat one after another, and it felt like quite a lot, so he didn't stand on ceremony with him.

"Alright, then I'll borrow your flatbed carts. I'll push them out to you in a while."

"I'll have someone help you push them back, and you can just push them out when you're done."

"That works too."

The two of them chatted quite subtly, not saying things very clearly. The others were busy moving the cargo from the boat back and forth and had no time to pay attention to what they were saying.

Being able to have flatbed carts to help push them back was more labor-saving, and Ye Fu and the others also thanked them repeatedly and politely.

After walking far away, they didn't discuss it, after all, the ones helping to push the carts were Lin Ji's people.

The road was pitch black, and there wasn't a glimmer of light at the doorstep, so they were probably all asleep.

They hadn't called to say they were returning today before they came back. Ye Yaodong intended to give his family a surprise, so they wouldn't have to wait from morning till night.

What he didn't expect was that there was really someone at home sitting at the doorstep waiting so late.

Before they even got close to the house, the lights in the house suddenly lit up, followed by the lights of the two neighboring houses. Before long, all three families rushed out at the same time. ===== CHAPTER 511 =====