Chapter 557

They had sold 300 jin at the military unit, but there were still over 400 jin left on the tractor. Ye Yaodong looked quite worried; it looked like a lot would be left over today, and it would be a hassle to haul it back.

Going to the market at this hour, who knew how many jin he could sell?

"Hey, Uncle Zhou, what time will you be heading back after you finish hauling the sand?" Ye Yaodong stood up and asked the tractor driver in front in a loud voice.

"What time is it now?"

"It's 8 o'clock now."

"Then after I drop you off at the market, I'll go back to the sand pit to haul sand. It'll probably be eleven or twelve o'clock by the time I head back."

Ye Yaodong thought about it. Returning at that time would be about right. Otherwise, if they went to set up a stall at the station entrance, although they could sell quite a bit, it wasn't safe.

He didn't know if those little thugs from yesterday would go back there to look for people. After all, they had been beaten, so they would surely remember it for a long time. It was normal to go back to the place where they were beaten from time to time to see if they could get their revenge, right?

"Dad, let's sell for a few hours at the market, then go back with Uncle Zhou's sand-hauling tractor. Let's not go to the station to set up a stall; it's too chaotic. Going back early saves the trouble, and if we go back without a ride, we'll get ripped off again."

"Fine."

Ye Yaodong called out to Uncle Zhou again: "Uncle, after you finish hauling the sand, could you stop by the market to pick us up? I'll add some money, and we'll go back with you."

"Huh? You still have several bags left. Can you sell them all? If you can't sell them, there won't be room."

"We should be able to sell a bag or two. Don't you have a few baffles on your tractor? If we stand them up to increase the height and prevent the sand from leaking out, we can stack the sacks on the edge. We'll keep an eye on them ourselves, or tie them to the tractor with rope. It should work."

"Alright then, after I haul the sand, I'll go to the market to pick you up."

"Good, thank you. Also, could you please keep the matter of us selling dried fish to the military unit a secret? If this gets out, the village will spread it in an exaggerated way again. Everyone doesn't have the ability or the connections to sell, and they'll just be jealous, and it will cause trouble for you too. Let's avoid unnecessary trouble."

As he spoke, Ye Yaodong handed over a pack of cigarettes.

"Don't worry. I just drive, I don't meddle in other people's business. My mouth is tight. I still want to earn more of your travel money. There aren't many people in the village who use the tractor as frequently as you do. Throughout the year, except for weddings, nobody is willing to apply to use the tractor; they'd rather walk until their legs break."

"Hahaha, that's true. The fellow villagers are very hardworking and can really walk."

"However, your brain is really good. To be able to sell dried fish to the military unit, you're really capable. Who would have thought of that? That's the military unit. Most people can't even get close, and they wouldn't even be able to find the road."

"Just lucky, just lucky."

"You must have made quite a bit, right? Give your uncle a hint?"

"Sigh, just earning some hard-earned money. Selling to the military unit also requires connections; it's not that easy. And it's even cheaper; it's not as good as selling retail. It's just for the sake of convenience."

"Indeed, otherwise, selling it pound by pound at a stall would take until the year of the monkey."

"Oh—Uncle, watch out, don't just focus on talking, watch out for the potholes on the ground."

Uncle Zhou was so focused on talking to him that he didn't see a big pothole on the ground and drove straight over it. He and his father were almost launched into the sky, but fortunately, they held on tight.

"Hehe, I'm getting old, my eyes aren't good anymore. Another year or two of driving, and I can pass the rice bowl to my son. Sigh, it's just that I have too many sons, I don't know who to give it to. Whoever I give it to, they'll end up fighting..."

Ye Fu agreed very much: "It is hard to divide. There's only one job. If it's not divided fairly, the brothers will fight to the death."

He had deep personal experience with this. Ye Mu had a job at the Women's Federation, and the eldest daughter-in-law and the second daughter-in-law had already started coveting it long ago, often asking questions in a roundabout way.

"Exactly. This job is considered an iron rice bowl now. I've been driving for so many years. If the village wants to find someone to take over, they tell me to find them. Then I would definitely give the job to my own son, and then pass it down generation after generation. It's just that it's unfair to whoever I give it to. I'm afraid they'll fight, so I'm worried about it. I can only continue working for another two years and see."

Ye Yaodong kept his mouth shut. Tractors couldn't be passed down generation after generation, but they could certainly be driven for quite a few years.

Ye Fu also started chatting with Uncle Zhou on the topic of distribution...

When they parted, both old men were still talking as if they hadn't had enough.

It was already late to come to the market at this time. It was sparse, not many people, not as many as in the early morning. But Uncle Zhou had to go haul sand, so during the waiting time, he would at least try to sell as many jin as he could.

The goods were all moved down. He searched around before finding an empty spot.

It happened to be two stalls away from the person who sold shrimp skins yesterday. He greeted him, and the person asked him why he came so late today. He explained a few words again.

They only set up the stall for three hours, and it wasn't during the peak period of high foot traffic. By the time Uncle Zhou came back to pick them up, Ye Yaodong had just finished selling a whole bag of dried fish.

One bag was about 60 jin. Some bags had more, some had less, and there was no accurate count. He would have to go back and count the money to know.

Before getting on the vehicle, Ye Yaodong bought some stir-fried small beans to take back. These were good for drinking or as snacks for the children. Grabbing a handful and putting it in their pockets would last them a long time and they were fragrant.

On the way back, he and his father were also chewing on them quite happily. They had sold over 100 yuan today, and both of them were in a very good mood.

However, the good mood only lasted until before they got off the vehicle.

He had originally thought that when he got home today, his two sons would still happily run out to welcome him. He didn't expect that it was just his own wishful thinking; only Ye Chengyang ran out holding the dog.

Ye Chenghu, however, was poking the dog with a stick in the courtyard. When he returned, he only looked up once, and then didn't even bother to pay him any mind.

By the time he walked up to them, he only called out "Dad" once.

Ye Yaodong squatted down and glared at him, "I'm back, and this is your attitude?"

Ye Chenghu pouted and didn't speak.

Ye Chengyang, however, spilled the beans, "Brother was kept after school by the teacher, and he was beaten by Mom when he got back."

He raised his eyebrows, "What did you do? You were kept after school?"

"He kept poking other people's backs during the exam..."

Ye Yaodong couldn't hold back his laughter, "Looking for answers, right?"

"You talk too much, you little copycat." Ye Chenghu glared at Ye Chengyang.

Ye Chengyang was suppressed by bloodline, and fearfully squatted and moved a step back, "Everyone knows!"

Ye Yaodong laughed and flicked Ye Chenghu's forehead, and took out the large paper bag of beans from his pocket, "Alright, what's the big deal? Everyone grab a handful."

"Beans!"

Both brothers' eyes widened in surprise!

Where were the little emotions now?

At this moment, there was only excitement left.

"Ah! Dad brought us something good again."

Ye Chenghu was the first to grab a small handful and put it in his pocket.

Ye Chengyang also used his small hand to grab a small handful.

Their hands were truly small; a small handful was really just a small handful, and you could count the number of beans.

However, it was almost time for dinner, so tasting a few was enough. Otherwise, if he gave them all, they would never have enough of anything. Although he had a large bag in his other pocket, it was heat-inducing, so children should eat less... hmm... adults should eat more.

Ye Yaodong handed the paper bag that the two little ones had left over to the happy old lady on the side.

"Put some in your pocket. When you're free, chew on them while listening to the opera. It's quite fragrant."

"Just give them to the children..."

"I have more in my pocket..."

Ye Yaodong felt his pocket and looked around, but he didn't see Ye Chenghai and the others. It was a bit rare; usually, after school, these children would basically gather together to play.

"Where are your Brother Ahai and the others?"

"They went to the beach to dig for clams and pick up crabs. Mom wouldn't let us go, and told me to reflect on myself."

Then forget it, no need to share.

Lin Xiuqing had only run to the door to take a look when she heard the sound, and then went back to stir-fry vegetables with the spatula. Now that she had finished stir-frying, she finally freed up her hands and ran out.

Watching Ye Fu move the dried fish into the courtyard bag by bag, she said in surprise, "Why is there still so much left? Didn't you sell it? Did the military unit not want it?"

"They only ordered 300 jin first. If they want more later, they will call. You should pay attention too. If I go out to sea and am not home, and there is a call for me, you go answer it and help me write it down."

"Alright, alright. So you came back without setting up a stall after selling it?"

"We set up for a while, but after the peak period after midnight, it wasn't easy to sell. We only sold one bag, so there was no need to continue. We came back early today. We might go out to sea tonight. Looking at the wind strength today, it should be fine on the sea."

"Oh, then it's good to come back early and rest. You need to be well-rested to go out to sea."

"Hmm."

Ye Fu moved the bags of dried fish that had just been unloaded into the courtyard and instructed him, "Remember to move them into the house later..."

Just as Ye Fu's voice fell, everyone heard a sound coming from the courtyard gate, along with the sound of dogs barking.

"Are those dried fish you were moving in bag by bag just now?"

"Couldn't sell them, so you brought them back?" It was a few neighbor sisters-in-law from next door who came over out of curiosity.

"Ah? Yes, those weren't sold, so we brought them back."

There was no flaw in his words.

"Oh my, if we had known, we wouldn't have kept so much today. Seeing that your family dried so much, we thought you could sell it for more money."

"Yes, our family also kept several hundred jin of toadfish today. We just heard that dried ones would be a bit more expensive and could sell for more money. Oh my, if we had known it wouldn't sell, we would have just let the wharf take it."

"We already killed them all..."

Ye Yaodong was suddenly between laughter and tears. He hadn't even been selling for two days, and these people had already started following the trend. He didn't know if the village had already started spreading rumors that he had made a big fortune again.

He didn't explain either. Anyway, it would take several days for them to dry, and who knew if the military unit would still want them? If they did, he could just collect them from the fellow villagers then.

A sister-in-law asked unwillingly: "Is all the dried fish you dried here? Or did you sell some?"

Ye Yaodong said honestly: "We sold a little, these are what were left over from today's sales."

"Oh my! With so much left, you probably didn't sell many jin today? It's not even enough for the travel expenses..."

"Damn it, I don't know who said you made a lot of money drying fish recently..."

"So it was all just rumors... It's infuriating..."